Isolation of PCR-quality Genomic DNA from Soils Impacted with Extra Heavy Crude Oil.

For the study of microbial communities in samples of soils impacted with extra heavy crude oil, it is necessary to perform molecular analyses. Due to the difficulty of oil matrix handling, there are very few protocols reported in writing. Also, one can only observe a very low concentration of DNA. That's why it is required to have an effective protocol to conduct studies in this type of matrix. This protocol includes steps of cell lysis by saline buffer with ionic/non-ionic detergents, and enzymatic digestion with lysozyme and proteases, complemented with organic extraction and alcohol precipitation. Additionally, it requires purification to eliminate the inhibitory substances of the extract that cause PCR inhibition. The method of DNA extraction proposed in this study is easy to handle and low cost. It allows the extraction of DNA from different bacteria and fungi, associated with soil contaminated with extra heavy crude.

[Parental project of general medicine residents from Aix-Marseille university: Theoretical knowledge in reproduction and behavior towards parenting]. / Projet parental des internes de médecine générale d'Aix-Marseille université : connaissances théoriques en reproduction et attitude vis-à-vis de la parentalité.

OBJECTIVES: Analyze residents' intentions about parenting and knowledge about fertility, as well as their alleged behavior towards a diagnosis of diminished ovarian reserve. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Prospective study with distribution of self-administered questionnaire to residents of Aix-Marseille university from June to September 2015. The questionnaire was composed of a first descriptive part including generic and personal informations about the residents and their intentions towards parenting. The second part was a 9 questions survey aimed at testing their knowledge about fertility and ovarian reserve and a final question placing them in a situation of a diminished ovarian reserve diagnosis in order to analyze their reactions. RESULTS: The overall participation rate was 53.2%, including 220 women with an average age of 27 years (SD: 1.8 years) and 116 men with an average age of 27.3 years (SD: 2.2 years). The 11.8% of female residents (n=26) already had one or more children vs.6.9% of male residents (n=8). Among the residents without children, 99% of females (n=192) and 91.7% of males (n=99) said they wanted to have children in the future, planning an average age to have their first child of 29.6 years (SD: 1.9 years) for females and 30.4 years (SD: 2.2 years) for men. Moreover, 58.3% of female residents (n=112) and 53.5% of male residents (n=53) reported that they were postponing their plan to have children after the completion of their medical studies. In a simulation of couples facing a diagnosis of diminished ovarian reserve, 73.6% of females and 61.2% of males would be ready to change their life choices and conceive a baby sooner than originally planned. CONCLUSION: Almost all the general medicine residents have plannedto have children in the future and more than half of them postpone their parental plan after the end of their residency, although the decline of female fertility in relation to aging is widely known among them.