First results of systematic studies done with different types of Silicon Photomultipliers

The presented results are obtained during the first steps taken in order to develop a setup and measurement procedures which allow to compare properties of diverse kinds of silicon photomultipliers. The response to low-intensity light was studied for silicon photomultipliers produced by CPTA (Russia), Hamamatsu (Japan), ITC-irst (Italy) and SensL (Ireland).Comment: 3 pages, 3 figures, proceedings of the Internationa Linear Collider Workshop LCWS2007, Hamburg, German

The Qualified Legal Compliance Committee: Using the Attorney Conduct Rules to Restructure the Board of Directors

The Securities and Exchange Commission introduced a new corporate governance structure, the qualified legal compliance committee, as part of the professional standards of conduct for attorneys mandated by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. QLCCs are consistent with the Commission\u27s general approach to improving corporate governance through specialized committees of independent directors. This Article suggests, however, that assessing the benefits and costs of creating QLCCs may be more complex than is initially apparent. Importantly, QLCCs are unlikely to be effective in the absence of incentives for active director monitoring. This Article concludes by considering three ways of increasing these incentives

Pervasive Displays Research: What's Next?

Reports on the 7th ACM International Symposium on Pervasive Displays that took place from June 6-8 in Munich, Germany

Distintos aspectos del tributo entre los Yauyos de Chaclla (siglos XV-XVIII)

Fil: Gentile Lafaille, Margarita E.. Museo de La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentin

Los Yauyos de Chaclla: pueblos y ayllus (siglo XVIII)

Fil: Gentile Lafaille, Margarita E.. Museo de La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentin

Uso ceremonial de cabezas humanas en Nasca : una pieza del Museo de Arte de Lima

Fil: Gentile Lafaille, Margarita E.. Museo de La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentin

Los espacios jurídicos de las identidades étnicas en el área andina argentina: las tres repúblicas en el siglo XVI

Fil: Gentile Lafaille, Margarita E.. Museo de La Plata. Universidad Nacional de La Plata; Argentin

Effect of metabolic and antioxidant supplementation on sperm parameters in oligo-astheno-teratozoospermia, with and without varicocele: a double-blind placebo-controlled study

Since sperm require high energy levels to perform their specialised function, it is vital that essential nutrients are available for spermatozoa when they develop, capacitate and acquire motility. However, they are vulnerable to a lack of energy and excess amounts of reactive oxygen species, which can impair sperm function, lead to immotility, acrosomal reaction impairment, DNA fragmentation and cell death. This monocentric, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigated the effect of 6 months of supplementation with l-carnitine, acetyl-l-carnitine and other micronutrients on sperm quality in 104 subjects with oligo- and/or astheno- and/or teratozoospermia with or without varicocele. In 94 patients who completed the study, sperm concentration was significantly increased in supplemented patients compared to the placebo (p =.0186). Total sperm count also increased significantly (p =.0117) in the supplemented group as compared to the placebo group. Both, progressive and total motility were higher in supplemented patients (p =.0088 and p =.0120, respectively). Although pregnancy rate was not an endpoint of the study, of the 12 pregnancies that occurred during the follow-up, 10 were reported in the supplementation group. In general, all these changes were more evident in varicocele patients. In conclusion, supplementation with metabolic and antioxidant compounds could be efficacious when included in strategies to improve fertility