Socio-cultural inequities in access to prenatal diagnosis: The role of insurance coverage and regulatory policies

The article presents the results of a 4-month-period survey by questionnaire among all women attending the Marseille Centre for Prenatal Diagnosis for amniocentesis. Socio-cultural status of women getting access to amniocentesis is significantly higher than in the general population of pregnant women in the same geographic area of south-eastern France. Sociocultural status is also higher among women who have to cover costs of procedure to get access to amniocentesis than among those who benefit from it free-of-charge according to French Social Security regulations. In contrast, risk perception and attitudes toward termination of pregnancy are similar in these two groups. A total of 24·4 per cent of respondents declared that they got access to amniocentesis ‘on their own initiative’, the remaining 75·6 per cent declaring that they ‘were following medical advice’. Multidimensional analysis shows that the women who do not benefit from free-of-charge amniocentesis, and who have a high level of education and no antecedents of fetal and perinatal deaths, are more likely to perceive themselves as ‘self-referring’. The study indicates that institutional coverage may be effective in reducing socio-cultural inequities in access to prenatal diagnosis. But such a policy may conflict with the respect of women' s individual autonomy in the amniocentesis decision.     

Isolation and characterization of a diverse group of phenylacetic acid degrading microorganisms from pristine soil

A diverse range of microorganisms capable of growth on phenylacetic acid as the sole source of carbon and energy were isolated from soil. Sixty six different isolates were identified and grouped according to 16S rRNA gene RFLP analysis. Subsequent sequencing of 16S rDNA from selected strains allowed further characterization of the phenylacetic acid degrading population isolated from soil. Nearly half (30) of the isolates are Bacillus species while the rest of the isolates are strains from a variety of genera namely, Arthrobacter, Pseudomonas, Rhodococcus, Acinetobacter, Enterobacter, Flavobacterium, and Paenibacillus. Sixty-one of the sixty-six strains reproducibly grew in defined minimal liquid culture medium (E2). All strains isolated grew when at least one hydroxylated derivative of phenylacetic acid was supplied as the carbon source, while 59 out of the 61 strains tested, accumulated ortho-hydroxyphenylacetic acid in the assay buffer; when pulsed with phenylacetic acid. Oxygen consumption experiments failed to indicate a clear link between phenylacetic acid and hydroxy-substituted phenylacetic acid in isolates from a broad range of genera.     

阿拉善盟沙尘暴情况调研报告

本文重点介绍阿拉善沙尘暴发生的基本情况并对成因进行了分析，最后提出恢复生态环境防治沙尘暴的频频垄击。     

几种天敌对麦蚜蜜露的行为反应

麦长管蚜和禾谷缢管蚜蜜露的主要糖分为果糖、葡萄糖、蔗糖及两种未知糖分．其中前者以蔗糖含量最高，后者则不含蔗糖．其游离氨基酸种类基本相同，但后者蜜露中未鉴定出苏氨酸；除丙氨酸和组氨酸外，麦长管蚜中各类氨基酸的含量明显高于禾谷缢管蚜，其中单头麦长管蚜日分泌氨基酸量以亮氨酸和丙氨酸最高，分别达到了0．204 7ng和0．137 7ng，而禾谷缢管蚜以丙氨酸和亮氨酸最高，分别达到了0．154 3ng和0．102 5ng．随着蜜露含量的增加，各天敌的搜索与滞留时间显著延长，但逐渐趋于平缓，基本符合逻辑斯蒂增长．燕麦蚜茧蜂在两种蚜虫蜜露上的搜索与滞留时间差异显著，而瓢虫与草蛉类的搜索与滞留时间差异不显著，说明蜜露对捕食性和寄生性天敌的影响不同．图3表1参13