In this project, studies were conducted to 1) develop a method to detect and differentiate multiple strains of Xylella fastidiosa in individual glassy-winged sharpshooters (GWSS,) and 2) determine the relative ability of an individual GWSS to simultaneously retain or transmit two strains of X. fastidiosa. Strain-specific primers were developed that can detect and differentiate the Pierce’s dise...

Learning programs that generalize from real-world examples will have to deal with many different kinds of data. Continuous numeric data can cause problems far algorithms that scorch for examples with identical property values. These problems can be surmounted by categorizing the numeric doto. However, this process has problems of its awn. In this paper, we look at the need for categorizing nume...

In this assessment, hybrid composites were prepared from the combination of industrial waste, as marble waste powder (MWP) with conventional fillers, carbon black (CB) as well as silica as reinforcing material, incorporated with natural rubber (NR). The properties studied were curing, mechanical and swelling behavior. Assimilation of CB as well as silica into MWP containing NR compound responde...

To detect five plant viruses (Beet black scorch virus, Beet necrotic yellow vein virus, Eggplant mottled dwarf virus, Pelargonium zonate spot virus, and Rice yellow mottle virus) for quarantine purposes, we designed 15 RT-PCR primer sets. Primer design was based on the nucleotide sequence of the coat protein gene, which is highly conserved within species. All but one primer set successfully amp...

The grass sharpshooter, Draeculacephala minerva Ball (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), is a very common and often abundant grass-feeding leafhopper in California. Its population dynamics and ability to transmit Xylella fastidiosa were monitored over a 2-yr period in California's San Joaquin Valley. Collections of individuals from natural populations in irrigated pastures and alfalfa, Medicago savita L...

Blends of acrylonitrile butadiene rubber/high density polyethylene (NBR/HDPE) compatibilized by Chloroprene rubber (CR) were prepared. A fixed quantity of industrial waste such as marble waste (MW, 40 phr) was also included. The effect of the blend ratio and CR on cure characteristics, mechanical and swelling properties of MW-filled NBR/HDPE blends was investigated. The results showed that the ...