CORRELATION OF ZONA-BINDING WITH OOCYTE MATURATION AND SPERM MOTILITY IN RHESUS-MONKEYS BY HEMIZONA ASSAY

The hemizona assay (HZA) in Rhesus monkeys was employed to study the correlation of zona-binding ability with sperm motility or with naturally developing oocytes at various maturational stages. Oocytes from unstimulated ovaries were retrieved within 2 hr from monkeys sacrificed for vaccine production (in reproductive season, but with their menstrual cycles not determined). Oocytes were divided into four groups based on their morphological maturation: 1) Oocytes surrounded by more than one cumulus layer (MC); 2) Oocytes retaining intact germinal vesicle nuclei (GV); 3) Oocytes with germinal vesicle breakdown showing distinct perivitelline space (PVS); and 4) Oocytes extruding the first polar body (PB1). The mean numbers of sperm bound to hemizona for PBI, PVS, GV, and MC groups were 132.9 +/- 12.0, 71.5 +/- 10.1, 36.1 +/- 4.0, and 20.1 +/- 2.9 (Mean +/- SE), respectively. The four groups showed significant differences from each other in sperm/egg binding ability (P < 0.01). The number of bound sperm significantly increased with oocyte maturation. The present study also showed that zona-binding ability was also affected by sperm motility. For sperm with 67.7% motility and sperm with 31.2% motility, the average numbers of bound sperm were 43.5 +/- 2.2 and 25.3 +/- 2.9 (Mean +/- SE), respectively. There was significantly higher binding ability for sperm with higher motility (P < 0.01). The results suggest that: 1)The rhesus monkey model can serve as a very sensitive model for studying sperm/egg interaction by HZA; 2) Sperm motility positively correlated with sperm/egg binding; and 3) Sperm/egg binding ability increases with oocyte maturation. The binding ability is highest when oocytes matured to the PB1 stage, which is also the best opportunity for fertilization. This is strong evidence for the ''zona maturation'' hypothesis. (C) 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Chromosome segregation in fertilized eggs from triploid Pacific oysters, Crassostrea gigas (Thunberg), following inhibition of polar body 1

Chromosome segregation in fertilized eggs from triploid Pacific oysters, following inhibition of the first polar body (PB1), was studied with acetic orcein staining techniques. To block the release of PB1, fertilized eggs were treated with 0.5 mg/l of cytochalasin B (CB). Four types of segregation were observed, namely, ''tripolar segregation'' (54.5%), ''united bipolar segregation'' (12%), ''separated bipolar segregation'' (2.5%), and ''incomplete united bipolar segregation'' (4%). The remaining 23% could not be classified because of chromosome disorganization, but appeared to be variants of the above. It seemed clear that the predominant pattern that gave rise to tetraploids was united bipolar segregation, although certain separated bipolar segregations might also lead to the formation of tetraploids. The sequential events of meioses observed in CB-treated eggs are described. The asynchrony of meiotic events and possible mechanisms for the various types of chromosome segregation are discussed.

H5N1 avian influenza re-emergence of Lake Communication Qinghai: phylogenetic and antigenic analyses of the newly isolated viruses and roles of migratory birds in virus circulation

Highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 virus has swept west across the globe and caused serious debates on the roles of migratory birds in virus circulation since the first large-scale outbreak in migratory birds of Lake Qinghai, 2005. In May 2006, another outbreak struck Lake Qinghai and six novel strains were isolated. To elucidate these QH06 viruses, the six isolates were subjected to whole-genome sequencing. Phylogenetic analyses show that QH06 viruses are derived from the lineages of Lake Qinghai, 2005. Five of the six novel isolates are adjacent to the strain A/Cygnus olor/Croatia/1/05, and the last one is related to the strain A/duck/Novosibirsk/ 02/05, an isolate of the flyway. Antigenic analyses suggest that QH06 and QH05 viruses are similar to each other. These findings implicate that QH06 viruses of Lake Qinghai may travel back via migratory birds, though not ruling out the possibility of local circulation of viruses of Lake Qinghai.

炼锌固体废渣中重金属（Pb、Zn）的存在状态及环境影响

利用XRD、TEM／EDS和连续提取实验研究了土法炼锌固体废渣中重金属的矿物学特征及不同粒度中重金属的相态分布特征。与通常发现的重金属一般富集在小粒径废渣中的情况不同，本工作所研究的废渣样品中大粒径废渣与细粒径废渣相似，甚至有更高的金属含量。化学形态研究表明，冶炼过程形成的矿物（或玻璃质）集合体和堆积后的风化过程形成的次生矿物是废渣中重金属存在的主要化学相。同时发现Pb的殖渣态很少（0.39%-15.75%)，而Zn的残渣态较高（14.3%-46.2%)，这可能与冶炼工艺所形成较多Zn的硅酸盐矿物有关。尽管可交换态Pb、Zn在不同相态中的相对比例非常小（Pb 0.03%-1.30%;Zn 0.03%-3.30%)，但其绝对含量却比一般土壤或沉积物要高(Pb1.5-385μg/g;Zn3-590μg/g)。由于重金属可交换态有比其他化学相态更高的活动性和生物可利用性，因此，对环境有较大的潜在影响。废渣样品的微束分析表明，Pb在废渣中见有金属Pb存在形式或呈纳米金属Pb颗粒包裹于其他矿物或铁合金及熔球集合体中。同时不排除有Pb的碳酸盐矿物存在的可能。而以硅锌矿Zn2(SiO4)、锰硅锌矿（Zn,Mn)2[SiO4]和纤维状的丝锌铝石Zn8Al4[(OH)8(SiO4)5]·7H2O等矿物形式存在以及Fe、Mn等的铝硅酸盐形式存在的Zn，可能是导致Zn的残渣态较高的原因。与连续提取法的实验结果有较好的一致性。