Evaluation of infertility

The most important goal of fertility investigation is to identify the cause(s) of infertility and to prescribe adequate therapy. The couple should be treated as a single unit as each partner contributes a share to the infertility potential of the couple. Evaluation should begin with the taking of a detailed history and a complete physical examination of both partners, which may point the investigation in a particular direction. However, other pertinent fertility factors should not be overlooked. A standardized and comprehensive approach to the investigation of infertility is proposed and is presented as a series of flow chart

Evaluation of infertility

The most important goal of fertility investigation is to identify the cause(s) of infertility and to prescribe adequate therapy. The couple should be treated as a single unit as each partner contributes a share to the infertility potential of the couple. Evaluation should begin with the taking of a detailed history and a complete physical examination of both partners, which may point the investigation in a particular direction. However, other pertinent fertility factors should not be overlooked. A standardized and comprehensive approach to the investigation of infertility is proposed and is presented as a series of flow chart

Component-resolved diagnosis of hazelnut allergy in children

Hazelnuts commonly elicit allergic reactions starting from childhood and adolescence, with a rare resolution over time. The definite diagnosis of a hazelnut allergy relies on an oral food challenge. The role of component resolved diagnostics in reducing the need for oral food challenges in the diagnosis of hazelnut allergies is still debated. Therefore, three electronic databases were systematically searched for studies on the diagnostic accuracy of specific-IgE (sIgE) on hazelnut proteins for identifying children with a hazelnut allergy. Studies regarding IgE testing on at least one hazelnut allergen component in children whose final diagnosis was determined by oral food challenges or a suggestive history of serious symptoms due to a hazelnut allergy were included. Study quality was assessed by the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies-2 tool. Eight studies enrolling 757 children, were identified. Overall, sensitivity, specificity, area under the curve and diagnostic odd ratio of Cor a 1 sIgE were lower than those of Cor a 9 and Cor a 14 sIge. When the test results were positive, the post-test probability of a hazelnut allergy was 34% for Cor a 1 sIgE, 60% for Cor a9 sIgE and 73% for Cor a 14 sIgE. When the test results were negative, the post-test probability of a hazelnut allergy was 55% for Cor a 1 sIgE, 16% for Cor a9 sIgE and 14% for Cor a 14 sIgE. Measurement of IgE levels to Cor a 9 and Cor a 14 might have the potential to improve specificity in detecting clinically tolerant children among hazelnut-sensitized ones, reducing the need to perform oral food challenges

Report on advances for pediatricians in 2018: allergy, cardiology, critical care, endocrinology, hereditary metabolic diseases, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, neonatology, nutrition, respiratory tract disorders and surgery.

This review reported notable advances in pediatrics that have been published in 2018. We have highlighted progresses in allergy, cardiology, critical care, endocrinology, hereditary metabolic diseases, gastroenterology, infectious diseases, neonatology, nutrition, respiratory tract disorders and surgery. Many studies have informed on epidemiologic observations. Promising outcomes in prevention, diagnosis and treatment have been reported. We think that advances realized in 2018 can now be utilized to ameliorate patient car

Microemulsion-Based Gels for Lipase-Catalyzed Ester Synthesis in Organic Solvents

Microemulsions are clear, stable, isotropic mixtures of oil, water, and surfactant, frequently in combination with a cosurfactant. These systems are currently of interest to the pharmaceutical scientist because of their considerable potential to act as drug delivery vehicles by incorporating a wide range of drug molecules. The purpose of this work is to solubilize in AOT [sodium bis(2-ethylhexyl)sulphosuccinate] water-in-oil microemulsions at two different R-values the Chromobacterium viscosum (CV) lipase and lipoprotein lipase ex Pseudomonas and to use them to catalyze the lactonization of 16-hydroxyhexadecanoic acid at 40°C. CV lipase is also immobilized in gelatin-containing microemulsion-based gels (MBGs) with retention of catalytic activity. These lipase-containing MBGs proved to be novel solid-phase catalysts for use in apolar organic solvents. CV lipase-containing MBGs are used to synthesize, on a preparative scale, a variety of different esters under mild conditions

Partial Hydrogenation of Soybean and Waste Cooking Oil Biodiesel over Recyclable-Polymer-Supported Pd and Ni Nanoparticles

Biodiesel obtained through the transesterification in methanol of vegetable oils, such as soybean oil (SO) and waste cooking oil (WCO), cannot be used as a biofuel for automotive applications due to the presence of polyunsaturated fatty esters, which have a detrimental effect on oxidation stability (OS). A method of upgrading this material is the catalytic partial hydrogenation of the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) mixture. The target molecule of the partial hydrogenation reaction is monounsaturated methyl oleate (C18:1), which represents a good compromise between OS and the cold filter plugging point (CFPP) value, which becomes too high if the biodiesel consists of unsaturated fatty esters only. In the present work, polymer-supported palladium (Pd-pol) and nickel (Ni-pol) nanoparticles were separately tested as catalysts for upgrading SO and WCO biodiesels under mild conditions (room temperature for Pd-pol and T = 100◦ C for Ni-pol) using dihydrogen (p = 10 bar) as the reductant. Both catalysts were obtained through co-polymerization of the metal containing monomer M(AAEMA)2 (M = Pd, Ni; AEEMA− = deprotonated form of 2-(acetoacetoxy)ethyl methacrylate)) with co-monomers (ethyl methacrylate for Pd and N,N-dimethylacrilamide for Ni) and cross-linkers (ethylene glycol dimethacrylate for Pd and N,N’-methylene bis-acrylamide for Ni), followed by reduction. The Pd-pol system became very active in the hydrogenation of C=C double bonds, but poorly selective towards the desirable C18:1 product. The Ni-pol catalyst was less active than Pd-pol, but very selective towards the mono-unsaturated product. Recyclability tests demonstrated that the Ni-based system retained its activity and selectivity with both the SO and WCO substrates for at least five subsequent runs, thus representing an opportunity for waste biomass valorization

Synthesis by sol-gel route, chemical and biological characterization of hybrid material composed by Fe(II)C and poly(ε-caprolactone)

Abstract. Sol-gel route represents a valuable technique to obtain functional materials, in which organic and inorganic members are closely connected. Imbalance of the iron level in the body causes several diseases. In particular, the low level of iron, during pregnancy, is responsible of the iron deficiency anemia, and even of neurodegenerative diseases. The aim of this work was the synthesis of therapeutic systems, iron (II) based, by sol-gel method. In a SiO2 matrix were embedded polyethylene glycol (PCL 7, wt%) and ferrous citrate (Fe(II)C 6wt%) for drug delivery applications. Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy was used to study the interactions among different components in the hybrid materials. SiO2/Fe(II)C/PCL materials have been proposed as valuable antibacterial agents against Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis

. Microwave-assisted solvothermal controlled synthesis of Fe-Co

Syntheses of bimetallic cobalt-iron-based nanoparticles starting from Co(acac)2 and Fe(acac)3 (acac = acetylacetonate) were carried out by microwave-assisted solvothermal process, using ethylene glycol as the solvent and (polyvinylpyrrolidone) PVP, as the stabilizer. Indeed, the reaction mechanism in the presence of ethylene glycol is well understood [1] with the role of PVP being the inhibition of nanoparticles growth [2]. However, the control of the morphology of the synthetized nanoparticles is still a great challenge. Herein, we demonstrated that by adding amines to the reaction mixture, it is possible to control the morphology of the prepared bimetallic cobalt-iron materials. Thus, different Co-Fe micro-composites were synthetized by an innovative microwave assisted solvothermal synthesis, which allows to considerably reduce reaction time from 12 h to 15 min, with respect to classical thermal methods. The procedure was optimized by varying several parameters, such as: amount of PVP, in the presence or in the absence of amines, reaction temperature. The dark brown obtained powders were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, infrared spectroscopy and thermogravimetric analysis, confirming the beneficial effect of the presence of the amine in the morphology of the obtained composites. The obtained results open a new scenario for further studies on the possibility to control the morphology of bimetallic composite materials. [1] Fievet F, Lagier J P and Figlarz M Mater. Res. Soc. Bull. 24 (1989) 29–34 [2] Teranishi T, Kurita R and Miyake M J. Inorg. Organometall. Polym. 10 (2000) 145–5

Synthesis and activity of -Fe2O3 nanoparticles in the catalytic reduction of halonitroarenes under sustainable conditions

Abstract. The catalytic reduction of nitroarenes towards anilines is an important reaction from both academic and industrial points of view, being the resulting products important intermediates to produce dyes, agrochemicals, pigments, and pharmaceuticals. In addition, removal of nitroarene pollutants from water by reducing them into anilines is a valuable method to purify contaminated matrices. Such reductive reactions are frequently carried out by using noble metal catalysts [1], which are usually very active and recyclable in some cases. Recently, the use of earth abundant metal catalysts has gained great interest especially for economic reasons, as these materials are generally cheap and easy to be reached [2]. In this framework, iron oxides catalysts are very attractive because they are cheap and not toxic. Herein, we report on the synthesis of α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles (NPs) of size ranging from 50 to 80 nm starting from a porous organic polymer (POP) containing Fe(III) sites, which was in turn annealed at 400°C. The obtained NPs were characterized by SEM-EDX, XRPD, IR and TXRF and were employed as active and recyclable catalysts in the reduction of p-bromonitrobenzene into p-bromo-aniline, using hydrazine hydrate in ethanol, taken as the model reaction. [1] Dell’Anna, M.M.; Intini, S.; Romanazzi, G.; Rizzuti, A.; Leonelli, C.; Piccinni, F.; Mastrorilli, P. J. Mol. Catal. A: Chem. 2014, 395, 307–314. [2] Romanazzi, G.; Fiore, A.M.; Mali, M.; Rizzuti, A.; Leonelli, C.; Nacci, A.; Mastrorilli, P.; Dell'Anna, M. M. Mol. Catal., 2018, 446, 31–3

A non-targeted metabolomics study on Xylella fastidiosa infected olive plants grown under controlled conditions

In the last decade, the bacterial pathogen Xylella fastidiosa has devastated olive trees throughout Apulia region (Southern Italy) in the form of the disease called “Olive Quick Decline Syndrome” (OQDS). This study describes changes in the metabolic profile due to the infection by X. fastidiosa subsp. pauca ST53 in artificially inoculated young olive plants of the susceptible variety Cellina di Nardò. The test plants, grown in a thermo-conditioned greenhouse, were also co-inoculated with some xylem-inhabiting fungi known to largely occur in OQDS-affected trees, in order to partially reproduce field conditions in terms of biotic stress. The investigations were performed by combining NMR spectroscopy and MS spectrometry with a non-targeted approach for the analysis of leaf extracts. Statistical analysis revealed that Xylella-infected plants were characterized by higher amounts of malic acid, formic acid, mannitol, and sucrose than in Xylella-non-infected ones, whereas it revealed slightly lower amounts of oleuropein. Attention was paid to mannitol which may play a central role in sustaining the survival of the olive tree against bacterial infection. This study contributes to describe a set of metabolites playing a possible role as markers in the infections by X. fastidiosa in olive