A total of 341 fertilized and 37 unfertilized oocytes from 63 intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) treatment cycles were included for retrospective assessment using the Embryoscope time-lapse video system. The second polar body (pb2) extrusion occurred at 2.9±0.1 h (range 0.70-10.15 h) relative to sperm injection. All oocytes reduced in size following sperm injection (p<0.05) with shrinkage ...

The present study was carried out to investigate the adsorption and leaching behavior of Cu2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+ by sediments collected from the western banks of three different sectors along River Nile at Aswan governorate, Egypt. The feasibility of sediments for the removal of Cu2+, Zn2+ and Pb2+ from aqueous solutions was tested under the effect of three conditions (pH, initial metal concentrati...

The RNA genome of influenza A viruses is transcribed and replicated by the viral RNA-dependent RNA polymerase, composed of the subunits PA, PB1, and PB2. High-resolution structural data revealed that the polymerase assembles into a central polymerase core and several auxiliary highly flexible, protruding domains. The auxiliary PB2 cap-binding and the PA endonuclease domains are both involved in...

In the last hundred years, four influenza pandemics have been experienced, beginning with that in Spain in 1918. Influenza A virus causes severe pneumonia and its RNA polymerase is an important target for drug design. The influenza A (H1N1) virus has eight ribonucleoprotein complexes, which are composed of viral RNA, RNA polymerases and nucleoproteins. PB2 forms part of the RNA polymerase compl...

H9N2 influenza viruses have been circulating worldwide in multiple avian species and have repeatedly infected humans to cause typical disease. The continued avian-to-human interspecies transmission of H9N2 viruses raises concerns about the possibility of viral adaption with increased virulence for humans. To investigate the genetic basis of H9N2 influenza virus host range and pathogenicity in m...

Influenza virus nucleoprotein (NP) is a critical factor in the viral infectious cycle in switching influenza virus RNA synthesis from transcription mode to replication mode. In this study, we investigated the interaction of NP with the viral polymerase protein complex. Using coimmunoprecipitation with monospecific or monoclonal antibodies, we observed that NP interacted with the RNP-free polyme...

Schizophrenia: A Plausible Neurobiologic Connection In their article in the April issue of EHP, Opler et al. (2004) raise the intriguing possibility that prenatal exposure to the ubiquitous developmental neurotoxicant lead (Pb2+) may be associated with schizophrenia, an adult psychiatric disease. Although the study has certain limitations that the authors discussed, it brings to light the possi...

A new fluorescent sensor based on rhodamine B for Pb2+ was synthesized. The new fluorescent sensor showed an extreme selectivity for Pb2+ over other metal ions examined in acetonitrile. Upon the addition of Pb2+, an overall emission change of 100-fold was observed, and the selectivity was calculated to be 200 times that of Zn2+. The signal transduction occurs via of reversible CHEF (chelation-e...

We quantitatively modeled the volume phase transition of a hydrogel containing a crystalline colloidal array with a crown ether ligand which binds Pb2+. The hydrogel volume response and the wavelength diffracted depend on the Pb2+ concentration and on both the ionic strength and the valence of the nonbinding ionic species. We successfully modeled the response of this hydrogel Pb2+ sensor to ion...

The 2009/2010 pandemic influenza virus (H1N1pdm) contains an avian-lineage PB2 gene that lacks E627K and D701N substitutions important in the pathogenesis and transmission of avian-origin viruses in humans or other mammals. Previous studies have shown that PB2-627K is not necessary because of a compensatory Q591R substitution. The role that PB2-701N plays in the H1N1pdm phenotype is not well un...