Rationale for reconsidering current regulations restricting use of hybrids in orange juice.

Huanglongbing (HLB) is a disease that has devastated the Florida citrus industry, threatens the entire U.S. citrus industry, and globally is rapidly spreading.

Molecular ontogeny of the stomach in the catshark Scyliorhinus canicula.

The origin of extracellular digestion in metazoans was accompanied by structural and physiological alterations of the gut. These adaptations culminated in the differentiation of a novel digestive structure in jawed vertebrates, the stomach. Specific endoderm/mesenchyme signalling is required for stomach differentiation, involving the growth and transcription factors: 1) Shh and Bmp4, required for stomach outgrowth; 2) Barx1, Sfrps and Sox2, required for gastric epithelium development and 3) Cdx1 and Cdx2, involved in intestinal versus gastric identity.

Evolutionary and domestication history of Cucurbita (pumpkin and squash) species inferred from 44 nuclear loci.

Phylogenetics can facilitate the study of plant domestication by resolving sister relationships between crops and their wild relatives, thereby identifying the ancestors of cultivated plants. Previous phylogenetic studies of the six Cucurbita crop lineages (pumpkins and squashes) and their wild relatives suggest histories of deep coalescence that complicate uncovering the genetic origins of the six crop taxa. We investigated the evolution of wild and domesticated Cucurbita using the most comprehensive and robust molecular-based phylogeny for Cucurbita to date based on 44 loci derived from introns of single-copy nuclear genes.

A cleavage clock regulates features of lineage-specific differentiation in the development of a basal branching metazoan, the ctenophore Mnemiopsis leidyi.

Background: An important question in experimental embryology is to understand how the developmental potential responsible for the generation of distinct cell types is spatially segregated over developmental time. Classical embryological work showed that ctenophores, a group of gelatinous marine invertebrates that arose early in animal evolution, display a highly stereotyped pattern of early development and a precocious specification of blastomere fates. Here we investigate the role of autonomous cell specification and the developmental timing of two distinct ctenophore cell types (motile compound comb-plate-like cilia and light-emitting photocytes) in embryos of the lobate ctenophore, Mnemiopsis leidyi.

Seed train development for the fermentation of bagasse from sweet sorghum and sugarcane using a simplified fermentation process.

A process was developed for seed culture expansion (3.6 million-fold) using 5% of the hemicellulose hydrolysate from dilute acid pretreatment as the sole organic nutrient and source of sugar. Hydrolysate used for seed growth was neutralized with ammonia and combined with 1.

Aluminum water treatment residuals as permeable reactive barrier sorbents to reduce phosphorus losses.

Two aluminum water treatment residuals (Al-WTRs) from water treatment plants in Manatee County, FL and Punta Gorda, FL were evaluated as potential permeable reactive barrier (PRB) media to reduce groundwater phosphorus (P) losses. Short-term (<24h) P sorption kinetics and long-term P sorption capacity were determined using batch equilibration studies. Phosphorus desorption was characterized following P loadings of 10, 20, 30, 40 and >70 g kg(-1).

Efficacy of drinking-water treatment residual in controlling off-site phosphorus losses: a field study in Florida.

Land application of drinking-water treatment residuals (WTR) has been shown to control excess soil soluble P and can reduce off-site P losses to surface and ground water. To our knowledge, no field study has directly evaluated the impacts of land application of WTRs on ground water quality. We monitored the effects of three organic sources of P (poultry manure, Boca Raton biosolids, Pompano biosolids) or triple superphosphate co-applied with an aluminum-based WTR (Al-WTR) on soil and ground water P and Al concentrations under natural field conditions for 20 mo in a soil with limited P sorption capacity.

Life history and larval morphology of Eurhinus magnificus Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), a new weevil to the United States.

Eurhinus magnificus Gyllenhal has been collected in south Florida, presumably introduced through trade with countries in its native range. Very little information has been published on the biology or taxonomy of this insect. We conducted studies to investigate various aspects of its life history and host plant associations.

Long-term phosphorus immobilization by a drinking water treatment residual.

Excessive soluble P in runoff is a common cause of eutrophication in fresh waters. Evidence indicates that drinking water treatment residuals (WTRs) can reduce soluble P concentrations in P-impacted soils in the short term (days to weeks). The long-term (years) stability of WTR-immobilized P has been inferred, but validating field data are scarce.

Inter-alpha-inhibitor: a protein family involved in the inhibition of calcium oxalate crystallization.

Inter-alpha-inhibitor (I alpha I) is a serine protease inhibitor present in human plasma. It has a molecular weight of about 220 kDa which encompasses 3 chains including two heavy chains and one light chain. The light chain, known as bikunin, is responsible for the antitryptic activity of I alpha I in the inhibition of various enzymes, such as trypsin and chymotrypsin.

Differential expression and subcellular-localization of protein-kinase-C, alpha, gamma, delta, xi and zeta isoforms in agf T-cells - modification during pma-induced differentiation.

The steady-state level and translocation of the protein kinase C (PKC) isozymes during the early stages of phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-induced differentiation, was followed in AGF cells by Western blot analysis of various cell fractions, immunofluorescence staining and by confocal microscopy. By Western blot analysis, uninduced AGF cells express four PKC isoforms, PKC-alpha, PKC-gamma, PKC-epsilon and PKC-zeta with no expression of PKC-beta or PKC-delta. PKC-alpha was exclusively localized to the cytosol, whereas PKC-epsilon was localized predominantly in the cytosol.

A safe procedure for transporting bone-marrow for purging in a central laboratory.

A central facility for ex vivo removal of neuroblastoma cells from bone marrow, to be used for autologous reinfusion after myeloablative treatment, was established and a study was designed to compare the survival time and the rate of bone marrow engraftment between local marrows obtained and processed at the University of Florida (UF) and marrow transported for purging from out of state, participating Pediatric Oncology Group (FOG) centers. Marrow harvest from patients either at UF or at participating centers, was done under a similar protocol. Marrows from participating centers were transported by air, to UF and purged using the immunomagnetic technique.

Fluctuations and nuclear translocation of p53, C-myc, cdc-2 and pcna proteins during growth and commitment to differentiation of agf cells.

Transcription regulatory proteins such as c-myc and p53 play an important role in the regulation of cell growth, differentiation and apoptosis. Similarly, cell cycle regulatory proteins such as CDC-2, cyclin A and the proliferation cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), play an important role in regulation of cell growth. Yet, there are contradictory reports as for the exact mechanism by which these proteins affect antagonistic processes like growth, differentiation and apoptosis.

Prognostic factors in purged marrow from patients with neuroblastoma receiving myeloablative treatment - tumor-cell number, N-myc protein, N-myc gene amplification and rate of hematologic recovery.

We have previously reported on a study of a small number of patients with advanced neuroblastoma (NBL) receiving myeloablative treatment and autologous marrow rescue in which occult NBL cells were found in the marrow of almost every transplanted patient. In addition, we have shown that the incidence of later relapse correlated better with the N-myc protein level in the harvested marrow than with the presence of N-myc gene amplification. We have now analyzed the characteristics of marrow harvested from 60 patients in remission and correlated survival time with the following variables: number of NBL cells, expression of N-myc and c-myc protein, N-myc gene amplification, expression of MDR-1, DNA index, and rate of the patients' engraftment after myeloablation.

Regulation of cell-growth and apoptosis in synchronized agf cells - involvement of oncogenes and cell-cycle regulatory proteins.

Cell synchrony was induced in AGF cells by blocking of the cell cycle at GI-S boundary with high concentrations (2 mM) of thymidine for 11 h. Prolonged arrest of cells in GI-S (15 h-20 h) induced progressive and time dependent apoptosis. Early morphological changes in cellular and nuclear morphology (blebbing) were monitored by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and by staining of nuclei with Hoechst and propidium iodide and stained cells viewed by fluorescence and confocal microscopy.