Basic Science Sector

The presence of the western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis was detected for the first time in Egypt. This species was found on ornamental plants as well as weeds grown in the Giza region during two field surveys carried out in the flowering seasons (July/August) of 2005 and 2006. Out of the 34 plant species inspected, this thrips was recorded on 27 species. Antirrhinum majus harbored the highest number of the thrips. F. occidentalis was differentiated from the onion thrips Thrips tabaci, which was often encountered on the same plant. The differences between the two species were evident in the number of segments of adult antennae, the pronotum of the prothorax, the adult wings and the 8th abdominal tergite by analyzing mounted specimens. F. occidentalis was encountered on Ipomoea tricolor plants (Convolvulacae) with prominent signs of a virus infection, from which impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV) was isolated. The isolate was maintained in a greenhouse on begonia as a virus source. The virus was sap transmitted to a small range of plants, which developed characteristic symptoms of INSV. Infection was confirmed in all inoculated plants by DAS-ELISA using specific antiserum. Out of the 34 species collected in the field, INSV was found on plants of at least 16 tested plant species. This is the first reported occurrence of INSV in Egypt. Insect transmission tests were carried out using nymphs and adults of either F. occidentalis, F.tritci or T. tabaci species. F. occidentalis proved to be the vector of the virus, while T. tabaci and F.tritici failed to transmit INSV.

New synthetic approaches to the functionally substituted nitriles as well as the chemical reactivity profiles of these substances are reviewed.

Efficiencies for in vitro production of equine embryos are still low due to highly variable developmental competences of equine immature oocytes. In contrast to the equine, in vitro developmental competence of immature oocytes has been predicted successfully by the activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) indicated by brilliant cresyl blue (BCB) dye in a range of different species. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to test the association between G6PDH activity in equine oocytes with: (1) cumulus morphology and oocyte properties in terms of diameter and volume; (2) maturational competence; (3) gene expression of certain molecular markers; and (4) in vitro embryo development after intracytoplasmic sperm injection. Equine oocytes were exposed to BCB

Previously we established a series of catalytic antibodies (catAbs) capable of hydrolyzing DNA prepared by hybridoma technology. A group of these catAbs exhibited high reactivity and substrate specificity. To determine the molecular basis for these catAbs, we cloned, sequenced, and expressed the variable regions of this group of antibodies as functional Fab fragments. The nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences of the expressed light chain (Vk) germline gene assignments confidently belonged to germline family Vk1A, gene bb1.1 and GenBank accession number EF672207 while heavy chain variable region VH genes belonged to VH1/VHJ558, gene V130.3 and GenBank accession number EF672221. A well-established expression system based on the pARA7 vector was examined for its ability to produce catalytically active antibodies. Recombinant Fab (rFab) fragments were purified and their hydrolyzing activity was analyzed against supercoiled pUC19 plasmid DNA (scDNA). The study of rFab provides important information about the potential catalytic activities of antibodies whose structure allows us to understand their basis of catalysis. Molecular surface analysis and docking studies were performed on the molecular interactions between the antibodies and poly(dA9), poly(dG9), poly(dT9), and poly(dC9) oligomers. Surface analysis identified the important sequence motifs at the binding sites, and different effects exerted by arginine and tyrosine residues at different positions in the light and heavy chains. This study demonstrates the potential usefulness of the protein DNA surrogate in the investigation of the origin of anti-DNA antibodies. These studies may define important features of DNA catAbs.

Electrophoresis for SDS-proteins and isoenzymes were conducted to investigate the genetic variations within the agamid lizard Uromastyx aegyptia microlepis inhabiting the desert of Saudi Arabia. Samples were collected from four localities: a) Ushayrah near the town of Taif, b) Al Gwaih near Riyadh, c) Nairyah near Dammam and d) Mouileh near Tabok. A range of 7 to 14 protein bands were recorded in the patterns of the studied samples as measured by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Among them, only one fraction was recorded in all samples as a common protein band. Six arbitrary chosen enzymes were examined by native-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. They were ? and ? esterase (Est), acid phosphatase (Acph), Alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) , Aldehyde oxidase (Ao) and peroxidase (Px). Seventeen heterogeneous alleles have been recorded; seven of them were fixed in all populations and 10 were polymorphic. Nearly all recorded alleles were monomeric in all samples. ?-Est2, ?-Est2, Acph2 and Px1 were restricted to Tabok samples and were not recorded in other localities. ?-Est3, Acph3, Adh1, Adh1and Px2 were not recorded in Taif samples and the latter one was not recorded in the Dammam samples. The similarity coefficient that has been calculated according to the number of sharing bands indicated the clustering of Tabok and Dammam populations together. The constructed tree based on the sharing protein bands and isozyme alleles revealed similar results regarding the kinship of both populations. The present results indicated that the populations of this subspecies exhibits high genetic variability among its populations.

Electrophoresis for SDS-proteins and isoenzymes were applied to investigate the genetic variability within the tropical grasshopper Poecilocerus bufonius inhabits Saudi Arabia. Samples were selected from different localities that are encompassing the Sarawat mountains in the west and An-Nafud desert in the north and middle. A range of 2 to 14 protein bands were recorded in the studied samples as measured by SDS-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, from which only two were common. The maximum number of protein bands has been recorded in the samples from the west and the minimum number has been recorded in the samples from the north and middle. Six arbitrary chosen enzymes were examined by native-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis.

In the present work RAPD-PCR was used to study the relatedness among 10 strains of both Candida albicans and Cryptococcus neoformans previously isolated from man, animals and soil in El-Fayoum Governorate. The profile of DNA fragments for C. albicans strains showed the differentiation of the genomic DNA of C. albicanss isolates into numbers of DNA bands, which were different in molecular weight. The dendogram analysis of RAPD pattern of C. albicans isolates using specific primers divided the isolates into 3 groups of high similarity (92 - 100 %) and a group of low similarity (21%).

Graft copolymerization of acrylamide (AAm) on Gum Karaya GK using diode laser (532 nm) was investigated. The results showed that, the optimum conditions to achieve efficient graft copolymerization were: 60 minutes laser irradiation time and 0.5 gm of GK, 0.142 gm of acrylamide (monomer). The percentage of graft efficiency and percentage of graft yield were 28.00%, and 98.59%, respectively.

Chitosan was grafted with a novel monomer namely Acryloyl cyanoacetohydrazide (ACAH) which contains carbonyl and cyano groups. The graft copolymerization was conducted in heterogeneous phase using potassium persulfate (K2S2O8) and sodium bisulfate (NaHSO3) as redox initiators. The effect of monomer concentration, initiator concentration and ratio, time and temperature on the extent of grafting (G%) and the efficiency of grafting were studied. Homopolymer formation has not been observed under all the investigated conditions. The grafted samples were characterized by FTIR spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis. The crystallinity of the used chitosan was reduced by grafting. Dye uptake of the grafted samples towards the different types of dyes (acidic, and basic) was investigated and was found to improve profoundly over the native chitosan with a higher uptake for the acidic dye.

This work deals with the grafting of N-isopropyl acrylamide (IPA) onto poly (3-hydroxybutyrate-3-hydroxyvalerate), (PHBV) (5.4 mole % 3-hydroxyvalerate), using benzoyl peroxide as free radical initiators. The effect of N-isopropyl acrylamide and initiator concentrations and reaction time on the degree of grafting has been investigated. The maximum degree of grafting was 82%. The grafted products were characterized by FTIR, 1HNMR, DSC, wide-angle X-ray diffraction and TGA analysis. The DSC results showed that the cold crystallization temperature from the glassy state increased with increasing the extent of grafting, while the Tg and Tm are not affected significantly. TGA analysis revealed that grafting of the host PHBV polymer did not affect much its onset decomposition temperature. The Grafted products swell in aqueous solution and the swelling is controlled by the extent of grafting, temperature, and pH. The biodegradability of PHBV and its graft copolymers solutioncast films was investigated in active soil. The results indicated that the introduction of the hydrophilic PVP and PIPA graft chains enhanced the biodegradability of PHBV.

A series of trifluoromethyl-substituted hexahydropyrimidine derivatives were efficiently synthesized in excellent yields via one-pot three-component reaction of aromatic aldehydes, ethyl trifluoroacetoacetate and thiourea(urea) in presence of p-toluenesulfonic acid under solvent-free conditions at room temperature by grinding. The present method does not involve any hazardous organic solvent and has proven to be simple, efficient, environmentally benign and cost-effective compared with the classical synthetic methods. These compounds were screened for their antibacterial activities against E. coli and B. thuringiensis and found to exhibit remarkably better antibacterial activities than the control drug.

This study was carried out to investigate the effect of elemental sulfur (S0) combined with or without Nfertilizer on the growth and nutrient uptake such as nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), sulfur (S), iron (Fe),zinc (Zn) and manganese (Mn) by maize plants grown in sandy calcareous soils. Elemental S at rates of0, 1, 5 and 10 t ha-1 were tested combined with or without N fertilizer at rates of 0 and 0.34 t ha-1 in potsusing normal irrigation water (pH >7.5) under Al Zaid and Al Semaih soils in evaporative cooledgreenhouse conditions. Electrical conductivity (EC) increased (2.50 to 2.95 dSm-1) significantly anddecreased (5.07 to 6.06 dSm-1) with application of S0 at rates of 5 and 10 t ha-1 combined with N fertilizerin both Al Zaid and Al Semaih soils, respectively. Soil acidity improved by decreasing soil pH (1.41to1.52 unit) with application of S0 at the rate of 10 t ha-1 combined with N fertilizer. Addition of S0 at therate of 5 t ha-1 combined with N fertilizer recorded superior total dry matter (TDM) and maximum uptakeof all nutrients in both soils. Total dry matter accumulation and nutrient uptake had positive correlation,while soil pH showed negative correlation with TDM and uptake of all nutrients. Based on experimentalfindings, S0 at the rate of 5 t ha-1 combined with N fertilizer is suitable for growth of maize in both soils.

Growth and resource allocation of three black sand plants namely Cakilemaritima, Senecioglaucusand Rumexpictus were investigated in a greenhouse experiment. The effect of absorbed radionuclideson the plant growth was monitored at different growth stages including seedling, juvenile, flowering,fruiting and senescing stages. The study reveals that growth attributes including relative growth rate,net assimilation rate, leaf are index and specific leaf area, dry matter allocated to stem and leaves andnumber of reproductive organs decreased with the increase of radionuclide content of the plant, whilethe dry matter allocated to root and reproductive organs and root to shoot weight ratio were associatedwith high level of radionuclides. Because of their tolerance to high levels and accumulation ofradionuclides, the species C. maritima, S. glaucus and R. pictus could be potential candidate plants forradio-phytoremediation of soils contaminated with uranium and thorium.

Floristic composition and soil characters in representative habitats of the southern Nile Deltaregion in Qalyubia were analyzed in terms of habitat variations and species diversity. A totalof 90 sites were surveyed and nineteen environmental factors were recognized in four main habitats: canal banks, cultivated lands, waste lands and sandy plains. Basic statistical treatments were established by using SPSS v. 10.0. The produced data were subjected to cluster analysis by using MVSP v. 3.1; indirect and direct ordination methods i.e. Detrended and Canonical Correspondence analyses, respectively by using CANOCO v. 4.5. A total of 164 species representing c. 7.7% of the Egyptian plant species were recorded and their life-form spectrum was identified. The majority of species were belonging to the families: Gramineae, Compositae, Leguminosae and Cruciferae.

We present the SUSY QCD corrections to the production of light neutral MSSM Higgs boson with a pair of supersymmetric scalar partners of the top quark at next-to-leading order at LHC. We study the dependence of the lowest order total cross section on both the renormalization/factorization scale and the Higgs mass in the framework of minimal supergravity, taking the point SPS1a as a benchmark, for the numerical calculations. The dependence of the total cross section is strong. Including the NLO SUSY QCD corrections significantly reduce and stabilize the dependence of the lowest order total cross section on the renormalization/factorization scale.

Experiments were performed to study the airflow rates (AFRs) in a naturally ventilated building through four summer seasons and three winter seasons. The AFRs were determined using heat balance (HB), tracer gas technique (TGT) and CO2-balance as averages of the values of all experiments carried out through the different seasons. The statistical analyses were correlation analysis, regression model and t-test. Continuous measurements of gaseous concentrations (NH3, CH4, CO2 and N2O) and temperatures inside and outside the building were performed. The HB showed slightly acceptable results through summer seasons and unsatisfactory results through winter seasons. The CO2-balance showed unexpected high differences to the other methods in some cases. The TGT showed reliable results compared to HB and CO2-balance. The AFRs, subject to TGT, were 0.12 m3 s?1 m?2, 1.15 m3 s?1 cow?1, 0.88 m3 s?1 LU?1, 56 h?1, 395 m3 s?1 and 470 kg s?1 through summer seasons, and 0.08 m3 s?1 m?2, 0.83 m3 s?1 cow?1, 0.64 m3 s?1 LU?1 39 h?1, 275 m3 s?1 and 328 kg s?1 through winter seasons. The AFRs are not independent values, rather they were estimated for specific reference values, which are: area, cow and LU as well as rates. The emission rates through summer seasons, subject to TGT, were 9.4, 40, 3538 and 2.3 g h?1 cow?1; and through winter seasons were 4.8, 19, 2332 and 2.6 g h?1 cow?1, for NH3, CH4, CO2 and N2O, respectively.