Fruit growth and development in apple: a molecular, genomics and epigenetics perspective.

Fruit growth and development are physiological processes controlled by several internal and external factors. This complex regulatory mechanism comprises a series of events occurring in a chronological order over a growing season. Understanding the underlying mechanism of fruit development events, however, requires consideration of the events occurring prior to fruit development such as flowering, pollination, fertilization, and fruit set.

Crops : Generating Virtual Crops Using an Integrative and Multi-scale Modeling Platform.

Multi-scale models can facilitate whole plant simulations by linking gene networks, protein synthesis, metabolic pathways, physiology, and growth. Whole plant models can be further integrated with ecosystem, weather, and climate models to predict how various interactions respond to environmental perturbations. These models have the potential to fill in missing mechanistic details and generate new hypotheses to prioritize directed engineering efforts.

Increase in fruit size of a spontaneous mutant of 'Gala' apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) is facilitated by altered cell production and enhanced cell size.

Fruit size regulation was studied in the apple cultivar 'Gala' and a large fruit size spontaneous mutant of 'Gala', 'Grand Gala' (GG). GG fruits were 15% larger in diameter and 38% heavier than 'Gala' fruits, largely due to an increase in size of the fruit cortex. The mutation in GG altered growth prior to fruit set and during fruit development.

A comparison of the pulmonary bioavailability of powder and liquid aerosol formulations of salmon calcitonin.

Purpose: To compare the pulmonary pharmacokinetics and relative bioavailability of salmon calcitonin delivered as aqueous droplets, pH 6.6 and pH 4.8 with that of a spray dried powder in healthy volunteers.

Inhalation of a dry powder tobramycin PulmoSphere formulation in healthy volunteers.

Study Objectives: To evaluate the efficiency and reproducibility of pulmonary delivery of an investigational tobramycin PulmoSphere formulation (PStob) [Inhale Therapeutic Systems; San Carlos, CA] by a passive dry powder inhaler, and to compare serum concentrations and whole-lung deposition with a commercial nebulized tobramycin product (TOBI; Chiron Corporation; Seattle, WA).

Design: A five-period, open-label, nonrandomized crossover study.

Participants: Fourteen healthy volunteers were studied, and 12 completed the study.

Radionuclide imaging technologies and their use in evaluating asthma drug deposition in the lungs.

Whole lung and regional lung deposition of inhaled asthma drugs in the lungs can be quantified using either two-dimensional or three-dimensional radionuclide imaging methods. The two-dimensional method of gamma scintigraphy has been the most widely used, and is currently considered the industry standard, but the three-dimensional methods (SPECT, single photon emission computed tomography; and PET, positron emission tomography) give superior regional lung deposition data and will undoubtedly be used more frequently in future. Recent developments in radionuclide imaging are described, including an improved algorithm for assessing regional lung deposition in gamma scintigraphy, and a patent-protected radiolabelling method (TechneCoat), applicable to both gamma scintigraphy and SPECT.

Deposition and pharmacokinetics of budesonide from the Miat Monodose inhaler, a simple dry powder device.

Dry powder inhalers (DPIs) are used to deliver asthma drugs to patients, but lung deposition may depend upon the degree of inspiratory effort. The pulmonary deposition of the glucocorticosteroid budesonide (SMB-Galephar) has been assessed in 12 asthmatic patients when delivered by the Monodose inhaler (Miat, Milan, Italy); the Pulmicort Turbuhaler DPI (AstraZeneca, Lund, Sweden) was used as a comparator product. Patients inhaled from each device with maximal or sub-maximal inspiratory effort: Monodose inhaler 90 vs 45 l/min; Turbuhaler DPI 60 vs 30 l/min.

Improved lung delivery from a passive dry powder inhaler using an Engineered PulmoSphere powder.

Purpose: To assess the pulmonary deposition and pharmacokinetics of an engineered PulmoSphere powder relative to standard micronized drug when delivered from passive dry powder inhalers (DPIs).

Methods: Budesonide PulmoSphere (PSbud) powder was manufactured using an emulsion-based spray-drying process. Eight healthy subjects completed 3 treatments in crossover fashion: 370 microg budesonide PulmoSphere inhaled from Eclipse DPI at target PIF of 25 L x min(-1) (PSbud25), and 50 L x min(-1) (PSbud50), and 800 microg of pelletized budesonide from Pulmicort Turbuhaler at 60 L x min(-1)(THbud60).

In vivo lung deposition of hollow porous particles from a pressurized metered dose inhaler.

Purpose: PulmoSphere particles are specifically engineered for delivery by the pulmonary route with a hollow and porous morphology, physical diameters < 5 microm, and low tap densities (circa 0.1 g x cm(-3)). Deposition of PulmoSphere particles in the human respiratory tract delivered by pressurized metered dose inhaler (pMDI) was compared with deposition of a conventional micronized drug pMDI formulation.