Remote sensing techniques can decrease pest monitoring costs in orchards. To evaluate the feasibility of detecting spider mite damage in orchards, we measured visible and near infrared reflectance of 1153 leaves and 392 canopies in 11 peach orchards in California. Pairs of significant wavelengths, identified by Partial Least Squares regression, were combined into normalized difference indices. ...

Bud mite, blister mite ( Colomerus vitis Pagenstecher), and rust mite ( Calepitrimerus vitis Nalepa) (Acari: Eriophyoidae) are recognized grapevine pests. Much of the biology and ecology of these pests is poorly understood. We used two types of molecular markers to gain further insight into the breeding biology and population structure of these mites, using individuals collected from sites arou...

Anti-Helicobacter pylori activities were determined by agar dilution, confocal laser scanning microscopy, and cell proliferation assays following treatment with various grape extracts. Muscadine grape skin possessed the strongest activity, followed by grape synergy (skin and seed) and seed, suggesting that higher phenolic levels do not necessarily determine overall anti-H. pylori efficacy.

BACKGROUND Knowledge of the domestic mite fauna and allergen levels is important for a correct diagnosis and treatment of mite allergy. Our objectives were to describe the domestic mite fauna in the region of Murcia, Spain, to quantify mite allergens in dust samples obtained from mattresses of this area and to assess the influence of geographical, climatic and dwelling factors. METHODS Dust s...

BACKGROUND Several acaricides have become available for reducing house dust mite allergen levels. OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to assess whether the use of benzyl benzoate (Acarosan) provides additional benefit to the usual mite control measures including encasement of mattress and pillows with vinyl covers. METHODS A randomized controlled trial was carried out in 26 homes (14 co...

OBJECTIVE Mucositis is a serious disorder of the gastrointestinal tract that results from cancer chemotherapy. We investigated the effects of increasing grape seed extract doses on the severity of chemotherapy in a rat model and its coincident impact on chemotherapeutic effectiveness in colon cancer cells. DESIGN Female Dark Agouti rats were gavaged with grape seed extract (400-1000 mg/kg) or...

Sucrose synthase (SS) is widely considered as the key enzyme involved in the plant sugar metabolism that is critical to plant growth and development, especially quality of the fruit. The members of SS gene family have been identified and characterized in multiple plant genomes. However, detailed information about this gene family is lacking in grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.). In this study, we pe...

BACKGROUND House dust mite avoidance is advised in dust mite sensitized patients to decrease the risk to develop allergic symptoms. Maintaining a relative humidity (RH) of less than 50% in households is recommended to prevent dust mite proliferation. OBJECTIVE To investigate the efficacy of a novel temperature and humidity machine to control the level of dust mite allergens and total nasal sy...

Exposure to indoor allergens is associated with asthma, but there is no standardized sampling method for measuring allergens. We compared the association of measured allergen exposure and serum-specific IgE levels and the precision of three sampling methods (Cyclone, Mighty Mite, and Readivac II) to identify a standardized sampling method for indoor allergens. A random sample of 72 children, 5 ...