Detritus: An exhibition of art from recycled or found art materials

Catalog for the exhibition Detritus: An exhibition of art from recycled or found art materials held at the Seton Hall University Walsh Gallery, April 16 – May 25, 2007. Curated by Mark Schlemmer, Kelsey Quillen and Laura Browarney. Includes an essay by Mark Schlemmer, Kelsey Quillen and Laura Browarney. Includes color illustrations

Tailored support may be required to reduce the impact of the infertility journey on mental health, relationships and daily lives of infertile patients and partners to infertile patients

Research question What is the psychological impact of infertility on infertile patients and partners of infertile patients? Design This online, international, quantitative survey assessed the impact of infertility on mental health, relationships and daily activities for 1944 respondents. Respondents were male or female infertile patients (n = 1037) or partners to infertile patients (n = 907; not necessarily partners of the patient sample) and were recruited at different stages of the treatment journey. Results The most common emotions were ‘sadness’ at infertility diagnosis and ‘anxiety’ during treatment. Emotions differed in nature and intensity throughout the journey. Envy of others who achieved pregnancy was frequently reported by women. More than half of respondents (60.4%; n = 1174) perceived the infertility journey to have impacted their mental health, and 44.1% (n = 857) of respondents sought mental health support. More patients reported mental health impacts (70.1%, n = 727) than partners (49.3%, n = 447). One in three respondents indicated that their relationship had suffered due to the infertility diagnosis. Of these respondents, 55.0% (n = 409) strongly agreed that infertility caused an emotional strain. Patients more often than partners reported a detrimental impact on daily activities. Respondents most commonly agreed with statements regarding an ‘effect on work–life balance’. Conclusion Treatment journey stages are defined by their impact profile, which differs between infertile patients and partners of infertile patients. Negative impacts are diverse (mental health, relational, daily activities). There was disparity between the number of respondents reporting mental health issues and the number seeking mental health support. This indicates the need for support services tailored to different treatment stages

Standardizing definitions and reporting guidelines for the infertility core outcome set : an international consensus development study

Acknowledgments We would like to thank the consensus development meeting participants and colleagues at the Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility Group, University of Auckland, New Zealand. Funding This research was funded by the Catalyst Fund, Royal Society of New Zealand, Auckland Medical Research Fund and Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust. The funder had no role in the design and conduct of the study, the collection, management, analysis or interpretation of data or manuscript preparation. Siladitya Bhattacharya was supported by the University of Auckland Foundation Seelye Travelling Fellowship. B.W.M. is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Practitioner Fellowship (GNT1082548) This article has not been externally peer reviewed. This article has been published simultaneously in Fertility and SterilityPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Protocol for developing a core outcome set for male infertility research:an international consensus development study

Abstract STUDY QUESTION We aim to develop, disseminate and implement a minimum data set, known as a core outcome set, for future male infertility research. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY Research into male infertility can be challenging to design, conduct and report. Evidence from randomized trials can be difficult to interpret and of limited ability to inform clinical practice for numerous reasons. These may include complex issues, such as variation in outcome measures and outcome reporting bias, as well as failure to consider the perspectives of men and their partners with lived experience of fertility problems. Previously, the Core Outcome Measure for Infertility Trials (COMMIT) initiative, an international consortium of researchers, healthcare professionals and people with fertility problems, has developed a core outcome set for general infertility research. Now, a bespoke core outcome set for male infertility is required to address the unique challenges pertinent to male infertility research. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION Stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, allied healthcare professionals, scientists, researchers and people with fertility problems, will be invited to participate. Formal consensus science methods will be used, including the modified Delphi method, modified Nominal Group Technique and the National Institutes of Health’s consensus development conference. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS An international steering group, including the relevant stakeholders outlined above, has been established to guide the development of this core outcome set. Possible core outcomes will be identified by undertaking a systematic review of randomized controlled trials evaluating potential treatments for male factor infertility. These outcomes will be entered into a modified Delphi method. Repeated reflection and re-scoring should promote convergence towards consensus outcomes, which will be prioritized during a consensus development meeting to identify a final core outcome set. We will establish standardized definitions and recommend high-quality measurement instruments for individual core outcomes. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This work has been supported by the Urology Foundation small project award, 2021. C.L.R.B. is the recipient of a BMGF grant and received consultancy fees from Exscentia and Exceed sperm testing, paid to the University of Dundee and speaking fees or honoraria paid personally by Ferring, Copper Surgical and RBMO. S.B. received royalties from Cambridge University Press, Speaker honoraria for Obstetrical and Gynaecological Society of Singapore, Merk SMART Masterclass and Merk FERRING Forum, paid to the University of Aberdeen. Payment for leadership roles within NHS Grampian, previously paid to self, now paid to University of Aberdeen. An Honorarium is received as Editor in Chief of Human Reproduction Open. M.L.E. is an advisor to the companies Hannah and Ro. B.W.M. received an investigator grant from the NHMRC, No: GNT1176437 is a paid consultant for ObsEva and has received research funding from Ferring and Merck. R.R.H. received royalties from Elsevier for a book, consultancy fees from Glyciome, and presentation fees from GryNumber Health and Aytu Bioscience. Aytu Bioscience also funded MiOXYS systems and sensors. Attendance at Fertility 2020 and Roadshow South Africa by Ralf Henkel was funded by LogixX Pharma Ltd. R.R.H. is also Editor in Chief of Andrologia and has been an employee of LogixX Pharma Ltd. since 2020. M.S.K. is an associate editor with Human Reproduction Open. K.Mc.E. received an honoraria for lectures from Bayer and Pharmasure in 2019 and payment for an ESHRE grant review in 2019. His attendance at ESHRE 2019 and AUA 2019 was sponsored by Pharmasure and Bayer, respectively. The remaining authors declare no competing interests. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trials (COMET) initiative registration No: 1586. Available at www.comet-initiative.org/Studies/Details/1586. TRIAL REGISTRATION DATE N/A. DATE OF FIRST PATIENT’S ENROLMENT N/A

Developing a core outcome set for future infertility research : An international consensus development study

STUDY QUESTION: Can a core outcome set to standardize outcome selection, collection and reporting across future infertility research be developed? SUMMARY ANSWER: A minimum data set, known as a core outcome set, has been developed for randomized controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews evaluating potential treatments for infertility. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY: Complex issues, including a failure to consider the perspectives of people with fertility problems when selecting outcomes, variations in outcome definitions and the selective reporting of outcomes on the basis of statistical analysis, make the results of infertility research difficult to interpret. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION: A three-round Delphi survey (372 participants from 41 countries) and consensus development workshop (30 participants from 27 countries). PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS: Healthcare professionals, researchers and people with fertility problems were brought together in an open and transparent process using formal consensus science methods. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE: The core outcome set consists of: viable intrauterine pregnancy confirmed by ultrasound (accounting for singleton, twin and higher multiple pregnancy); pregnancy loss (accounting for ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage, stillbirth and termination of pregnancy); live birth; gestational age at delivery; birthweight; neonatal mortality; and major congenital anomaly. Time to pregnancy leading to live birth should be reported when applicable. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION: We used consensus development methods which have inherent limitations, including the representativeness of the participant sample, Delphi survey attrition and an arbitrary consensus threshold. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS: Embedding the core outcome set within RCTs and systematic reviews should ensure the comprehensive selection, collection and reporting of core outcomes. Research funding bodies, the Standard Protocol Items: Recommendations for Interventional Trials (SPIRIT) statement, and over 80 specialty journals, including the Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility Group, Fertility and Sterility and Human Reproduction, have committed to implementing this core outcome set. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S): This research was funded by the Catalyst Fund, Royal Society of New Zealand, Auckland Medical Research Fund and Maurice and Phyllis Paykel Trust. The funder had no role in the design and conduct of the study, the collection, management, analysis or interpretation of data, or manuscript preparation. B.W.J.M. is supported by a National Health and Medical Research Council Practitioner Fellowship (GNT1082548). S.B. was supported by University of Auckland Foundation Seelye Travelling Fellowship. S.B. reports being the Editor-in-Chief of Human Reproduction Open and an editor of the Cochrane Gynaecology and Fertility group. J.L.H.E. reports being the Editor Emeritus of Human Reproduction. J.M.L.K. reports research sponsorship from Ferring and Theramex. R.S.L. reports consultancy fees from Abbvie, Bayer, Ferring, Fractyl, Insud Pharma and Kindex and research sponsorship from Guerbet and Hass Avocado Board. B.W.J.M. reports consultancy fees from Guerbet, iGenomix, Merck, Merck KGaA and ObsEva. C.N. reports being the Co Editor-in-Chief of Fertility and Sterility and Section Editor of the Journal of Urology, research sponsorship from Ferring, and retains a financial interest in NexHand. A.S. reports consultancy fees from Guerbet. E.H.Y.N. reports research sponsorship from Merck. N.L.V. reports consultancy and conference fees from Ferring, Merck and Merck Sharp and Dohme. The remaining authors declare no competing interests in relation to the work presented. All authors have completed the disclosure form

LA DIAGNOSI DI IPOTIROIDISMO CONGENITO AI TEMPI DELLA PANDEMIA DA SARS-CoV-2: L’ESPERIENZA DELLA CLINICA PEDIATRICA DI PALERMO

Obiettivi La pandemia da SARS-CoV-2 ha severamente compromesso i programmi di assistenza sanitaria, specie in casi in cui l’accesso alle cure ha richiesto tempi brevi, non programmabili. Lo screening neonatale per l’ipotiroidismo congenito (IC) rientra fra queste necessità assistenziali, con cooperazione fra componenti di un team multi-specialistico. E’ indispensabile l’integrazione fra medici e infermieri professionali, con competenze ed esperienza in ambito neonatologico. Metodi Abbiamo valutato l’attività integrata diagnostico-terapeutica del nostro centro di Endocrinologia Pediatrica, nel periodo gennaio 2020–aprile 2021, corrispondente alla diffusione del SARS-CoV-2 in Italia. Risultati Su un totale di 21300 neonati sottoposti a screening neonatale, sono stati screenati 1122 neonati con un TSH > 6. Fra questi, 75 neonati (7%) avevano un incremento del TSH sul secondo spot e/o su siero (48 M, 27 F, età gestazionale: 38.3 ± 1.3 w; p.c. neonatale: 3154 ± 121 gr). Il TSH al primo screening era 12.5 ± 21; il TSH su siero all’accesso presso il nostro centro, prima di un eventuale terapia con L-tiroxina, era 37.1 ± 77.5. Fra questi, 25 (33%) hanno presentato la normalizzazione di TSH, fT3 e fT4, valutati su siero al momento della valutazione presso il nostro centro e, pertanto, non hanno iniziato la terapia con L-tiroxina. I neonati ai quali è stato confermato un livello di TSH, fT3, fT4 patologico, avevano un’età all’inizio della terapia sostitutiva con L-tiroxina di 17 ± 3 gg. Fra questi pazienti, 2 con agenesia tiroidea; 3 con ipoplasia tiroidea, 25 con tiroide in situ. 4 hanno iniziato terapia oltre 22 gg ma non in relazione al lockdown: 1 proveniva da altra provincia, tutti e 4, comunque, con TSH < 10 al primo screening, e solo successivamente hanno presentato livelli di TSH francamente patologici. Conclusioni Il follow-up terapeutico è stato realizzabile, nonostante le limitazioni numeriche relative agli accessi in ospedale, grazie ad un programma di telemedicina, coordinato con i pediatri di famiglia. La strategia del team multi-specialistico, costruito attorno alle esigenze del piccolo paziente sottoposto a screening neonatale, ha garantito tempistica, coordinazione dei ruoli e affidabilità di una presa in carico efficace ai fini terapeutici e del follow-up

Astronomical soft x-ray mirrors reflectivity enhancement by multilayer coatings with carbon overcoating

A number of X-ray astronomical missions of near future will make use of hard X-ray optics with broad-band multilayer coatings. However multilayer mirrors can be also useful to enhance the effective area of a given X-ray telescope in the "classical" low energy X-ray band (0.1 – 10 keV), the window where X-ray spectroscopy provides very useful plasma diagnostics) with a consistent gain with respect to usual single-layer reflectors. Multilayers for soft X-rays are based on stacks with constant d-spacing (in order to minimize the loss due to the photoelectric effect). A further gain in reflectivity (however only restricted to the energy range between 0.5 and 4 keV) can be achieved by using a low density material as a first external layer of the film, with the role of reducing the photoelectric absorption effect when the mirror acts in total external reflection regime (Carbon is the most performing material for this specific scope). In this paper the impact of using soft X-ray multilayer mirrors in future X-ray telescopes is discussed, and soft X-ray reflectivity tests performed on prototype samples presente

Barriers and factors associated with significant delays to initial consultation and treatment for infertile patients and partners to infertile patients.

Research Question What are the key drivers and barriers for infertile patients and their partners to see an infertility specialist Design An online, international, 30-minute quantitative survey collected data from 1,944 respondents from nine countries. Respondents were infertile patients (n=1,037) or partners to infertile patients (n=907; but not necessarily partners of the patient sample), at different stages of the treatment journey. Results The overall average times were 3.2 years to receiving a medical infertility diagnosis, 2.0 years attempting to achieve pregnancy without assistance before treatment, and 1.6 years of treatment before successful respondents achieved pregnancy. The most common driver for considering treatment after a consultation (n=1,025) was an equal desire within the couple to have a child (40.8%). Of partners (n=356), 27.3% reported that transparency of information from healthcare professionals about treatment expectations was important. A significantly higher proportion of respondents seeking treatment reported that healthcare professionals offered supportive services (61.0%) and mental health services (62.0%) than the 207 respondents who did not seek treatment (32.0% and 37.0%, respectively; p<0.001). Perceived cost was the most commonly reported barrier for respondents not seeking a consultation (37.5% of n=352) or treatment (42.0% of n=207). Of the 95 respondents who discontinued treatment, 34.7% discontinued due to financial impact. Conclusion Respondents reported significant delays to seeking treatment, likely negatively impacting chances of achieving pregnancy. Motivational coherence within couples was a key driver and cost of treatment was the main barrier. Reported offerings of supportive services by healthcare professionals were highly positively correlated to treatment journey continuation

Identifying Factors Associated with Discontinuation of Infertility Treatment Prior to Achieving Pregnancy: Results of a Nationwide Survey

The purpose of this mixed methods, cross-sectional patient survey was to characterize patient experience, to explore the frequency of and reasons for infertility treatment discontinuation and return to infertility treatments. Participants were recruited from United States patient support groups. Participants had received or were receiving ovulation induction (OI) with or without intrauterine insemination (IUI), with or without subsequent in vitro fertilization (IVF), or IVF with no other previous infertility treatment. Live birth was achieved by 62% of participants. Compared with participants treated with OI/IUI only, participants who underwent OI/IUI followed by ≥1 IVF cycle were less likely to consider discontinuing care (64% vs 77%; P  = .014) or to discontinue treatment without achieving a pregnancy (40% vs 58%; P  = .004). The most commonly cited reasons for treatment discontinuation were financial (62%) and psychological burden/treatment fatigue (58%). Expected versus actual time to pregnancy differed greatly. Continued desire for a child (60%) was the most frequently cited reason for continuing or resuming treatment. Expanded access to treatment, counseling and fostering realistic expectations regarding cumulative time to pregnancy may reduce treatment discontinuation

Detritus: An exhibition of art from recycled or found art materials

Catalog for the exhibition Detritus: An exhibition of art from recycled or found art materials held at the Seton Hall University Walsh Gallery, April 16 – May 25, 2007. Curated by Mark Schlemmer, Kelsey Quillen and Laura Browarney. Includes an essay by Mark Schlemmer, Kelsey Quillen and Laura Browarney. Includes color illustrations