Coenzyme Q10 treatment in infertile men with idiopathic asthenozoospermia: a placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized trial

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of coenzyme Q(10) treatment in improving semen quality in men with idiopathic infertility. DESIGN: Placebo-controlled, double-blind randomized trial. SETTING: Andrology Unit, Department of Internal Medicine, Polytechnic University of Marche, Italy. PATIENT(S): Sixty infertile patients (27-39 years of age) with the following baseline sperm selection criteria: concentration >20 x 10(6)/mL, sperm forward motility 30%; 55 patients completed the study. INTERVENTION(S): Patients underwent double-blind therapy with coenzyme Q(10), 200 mg/day, or placebo; the study design was 1 month of run-in, 6 months of therapy or placebo, and 3 months of follow-up. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE(S): Variations in semen parameters used for patient selection and variations of coenzyme Q(10) and ubiquinol concentrations in seminal plasma and spermatozoa. RESULT(S): Coenzyme Q(10) and ubiquinol increased significantly in both seminal plasma and sperm cells after treatment, as well as spermatozoa motility. A weak linear dependence among the relative variations, baseline and after treatment, of seminal plasma or intracellular coenzyme Q(10) and ubiquinol levels and kinetic parameters was found in the treated group. Patients with a lower baseline value of motility and levels of coenzyme Q(10) had a statistically significant higher probability to be responders to the treatment. CONCLUSION(S): The exogenous administration of coenzyme Q(10) increases the level of the same and ubiquinol in semen and is effective in improving sperm kinetic features in patients affected by idiopathic asthenozoospermia

A Story of Strengths and Weaknesses in Tertiary Education: Evaluating 'Mobility' and 'Opportunities' in OECD Countries with Composite Indicators

Assuming a high education level associated with a high probability of job occupancy and greater income, comparative exercises analyzing academic performances and socioeconomic dynamics at regional, country, or supra-national scales have intensified in recent years. As far as tertiary education is concerned, a great disparity in academic performance was characteristic of OECD countries. While adults 25-34 years old were attaining tertiary degrees more frequently than adults 55-64 years old, adults 30-34 years old with at least one tertiary-educated parent were more likely to attain a tertiary degree than individuals from families whose parents have attended secondary-or at least primary-education. 'Mobility' and 'opportunities' are two dimensions of sustainable education systems that deserve further investigation when assessing disparities in academic performances as a possible source of unsustainable development and social polarizations. 'Mobility' refers to the probability of achieving tertiary education for children coming from families with a different-i.e., lower (e.g., secondary or primary)-level of education. 'Opportunities' refers to the probability for a child to attain tertiary education, regardless of the education level achieved by the parents. The present study proposes a quantitative assessment of both dimensions through an original approach and novel statistical measures ranking OECD countries. A comparison of individual rankings of 'mobility' and 'opportunities' reveals counterintuitive results in some cases. To overcome this issue, our study introduces aggregate methods combining the two measures with the aim of developing a bivariate ranking that accounts for both dimensions simultaneously and delineates a more complete evolution of academic performance divides in advanced economies

Surfactant protein B and A concentrations are increased in neonatal pneumonia

BACKGROUND: Term newborns with pneumonia show a reduced pulmonary compliance due to multiple and ill-defined factors. Surfactant proteins' (SPs) changes could have a role in the reduced compliance but the matter is still unsettled. The aim of this study was to clarify the meaning of SPs changes during pneumonia in term newborns. METHODS: In 28 term ventilated newborns, 13 with pneumonia and 15 with no lung disease, we measured SP-B, SP-A, disaturated-phosphatidylcholine (DSPC), and total phospholipids (PL) concentrations in tracheal aspirates at intubation and close to extubation. We also measured DSPC kinetics using (U-(13)C-PA)dipalmitoyl-phosphatidylcholine. RESULTS: At baseline, SP-B, expressed as % of PL, was significantly different between the groups, being 3.5-fold higher in pneumonia than controls. Conversely, SP-A did not vary between the groups. At extubation, SP-B and SP-A concentrations had decreased significantly in newborns with pneumonia, while there was no significant change in controls. DSPC t1/2 was significantly shorter in the pneumonia group (11.8 (5.5-19.8) h vs. 26.6 (19.3-63.6) h, P = 0.011). CONCLUSION: In term newborns with pneumonia, SP-B increases with respect to PL, and DSPC is turned over at a faster rate. Disease's resolution is associated with the restoration of the normal ratio between SP-B and PL

50 Years of Teaching and Research Trends at the Faculty of Economics of the Università Politecnica delle Marche

The chapter aims to provide an overview of the research and teaching activities carried out at the Faculty of Economics of the Università Politecnica delle Marche over the last 50 year