Broward County relies on its beaches to attract tourists but 21 of the 24 miles of Broward beaches are defined as critically eroded. The Broward County Office of Waste and Recycling Services processed approximately 15,000 tons of glass each year and is searching for beneficial use of this material. The Broward County Beach Demonstration Project is investigating the feasibility of using recycled glass to augment the shore protection program needs, specifically in areas of higher relative erosion (hotspots). The addition of glass cullet as emergency beach fill may extend the life of the shore protection project by nourishing these areas with smaller volumes of fill. This paper details investigations performed to date including a literature review, geotechnical investigation, biological analyses, public perception research, and abiotic testing and shows that glass cullet is a viable beach compatible material.

Combining messenger RNA from one kind of secretory cell with the cytoplasm of another such cell can reveal the nature and specificity of protein export mechanisms. We show that messenger RNAs from secretory cells of chickens, rats, mice, frogs, guinea-pigs, locusts and barley plants, when injected into Xenopus oocytes, direct the synthesis and export of proteins. Chicken ovalbumin, Xenopus albumin, mouse thyroid-stimulating hormone, locust vitellin and guinea-pig milk proteins were identified using specific antibodies, whilst chicken lysozyme and ovomucoid, rat albumin, Xenopus vitellogenin and rat seminal vesicle basic proteins were identified provisionally from their molecular weights. Certain endogenous proteins are sequestered and secreted although most oocyte proteins are not exported. Similarly the major polyoma viral protein and the simian virus 40 and polyoma tumour antigens are retained within the oocyte. Radioactive proteins exported by oocytes programmed with chicken oviduct or Xenopus liver RNA are not re-exported in detectable amounts when injected into fresh oocytes, nor is there secretion of chicken oviduct or guinea-pig mammary gland primary translation products prepared using wheat germ extracts. Thus the export of secretory proteins from oocytes cannot be explained by leakage and may require a cotranslational event. The secretory system of the oocyte is neither cell-type nor species-specific yet is highly selective. We suggest that the oocyte can be used as a general surrogate system for the study of gene expression, from transcription through translation to the final subcellular or extracellular destination of the processed protein.

Seminal vesicle F gene, encoding an androgen-regulated serine-rich structural protein of the rat copulatory plug, has been sequenced together with 5' and 3' flanking regions. The intron/exon arrangement of the gene deduced from restriction maps was confirmed. The major and possible minor transcriptional start points were located by primer extension analysis and S1 nuclease mapping. A published nucleotide sequence for seminal vesicle S gene which also encodes an androgen-regulated protein of the copulatory plug has been extended to allow comparison of F and S genes. The considerable sequence homology between the two genes confirms their evolutionary relatedness. Homology is especially high in their promoter regions and their transcriptional start points are identical. They share several regions of dyad symmetry including one just upstream of the promoter. The upstream regions of F and S genes were compared with those of five other androgen-responsive rodent genes in an attempt to identify common sequence motifs that might be involved in hormonal regulation of gene expression.

Under the influence of testosterone, rat seminal vesicles synthesise large amounts of a tissue specific protein, S. Recombinant lambda clones have been isolated containing overlapping sequences covering a 27.5 kilo base region of the rat genome within which the gene for protein S is located. Recombinant plasmids bearing cDNA sequences for protein S were constructed in pBR328. One (pcS2) contains a 690 nucleotide insert and is probably full length. Detailed restriction maps of the S-gene are presented and the structure was confirmed by analysis of R-loops and heteroduplexes. The S-gene covers a 2 kbp region of the genome and consists of a 5' intron (490 bp) separating a leading exon (120 bp) containing the 5' untranslated region from a central exon (310 bp) containing most of the coding sequence and part of the 3' untranslated region. A larger intron (1100 bp) lies within the 3' untranslated region. The cloned gene is representative of the native gene but the S gene may be heterogeneous. Using pcS2, the hormonal control of S-specific mRNA was examined and a pronounced differential response to testosterone was observed.

Testosterone controls the synthesis of seminal vesicle protein F in male rats by regulating the cellular concentration of its mRNA (mRNAF). Phage lambda recombinants have been isolated containing the complete F gene. In addition plasmids have been constructed containing cDNAF sequences some of which are probably full-length (approximately 700 bp). Detailed restriction mapping shows that the F gene is 1.7 kbp long and contains approximately 1.0 kbp of intervening sequence arranged in at least two introns (420 bp and 600 bp). Part of cDNAF has been sequenced showing that the terminal 125 bp of the 3' untranslated region of mRNAF has substantial (greater than 70%) sequence homology with the 3' end of the mRNA coding for another androgen-dependent seminal vesicle protein (protein S). The cloned F gene has been detected in liver and seminal vesicle DNA along with an homologous but structurally different gene. The hormonal control of mRNAF was examined with cDNAF. A pronounced (approximately 3000-fold) differential response to testosterone was observed.