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

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

Sage Extracts as Inhibitors of Steel Corrosion in 4% HCl

In this paper the research of corrosion protection of steel by processing corrosion environment using various concentrations of sage extracts (Salvia officinalis) (0.5 g/dm(3), 1 g/dm(3) and 1.5 g/dm(3)) in a 4% solution of HCl was carried out. Measurements were performed using gravimetric and electrochemical methods (Tafel extrapolation method and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy). The results have showed that sage is recommendable as a possible inhibitor in 4% solutions of HCl. The research also confirms that electrochemical impedance spectroscopy is a reliable method to use for rapid corrosion tests, since the results confirm the gravimetric measurements of corrosion indicators. Determination of corrosion rate and the degree of protection using Tafel diagrams calculated on the basis of corrosion current did not give reliable results. The results show that sage may be used as a "green inhibitor" for protection of steel in a shorter period of time. The degree of protection ranges up to 64.5% for steel 2; however, since sage is environmentally friendly, it is a suitable corrosion inhibitor for shorter periods of time

An accurate description of quantum size effects in InP nanocrystallites over a wide range of sizes

We obtain an effective parametrization of the bulk electronic structure of InP within the Tight Binding scheme. Using these parameters, we calculate the electronic structure of InP clusters with the size ranging upto 7.5 nm. The calculated variations in the electronic structure as a function of the cluster size is found to be in excellent agreement with experimental results over the entire range of sizes, establishing the effectiveness and transferability of the obtained parameter strengths.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, pdf file available at http://sscu.iisc.ernet.in/~sampan/publications.htm

Gravitational recoils of supermassive black holes in hydrodynamical simulations of gas rich galaxies

We study the evolution of gravitationally recoiled supermassive black holes (BHs) in massive gas-rich galaxies by means of high-resolution hydrodynamical simulations. We find that the presence of a massive gaseous disc allows recoiled BHs to return to the centre on a much shorter timescale than for purely stellar discs. Also, BH accretion and feedback can strongly modify the orbit of recoiled BHs and hence their return timescale, besides affecting the distribution of gas and stars in the galactic centre. However, the dynamical interaction of kicked BHs with the surrounding medium is in general complex and can facilitate both a fast return to the centre as well as a significant delay. The Bondi-Hoyle-Lyttleton accretion rates of the recoiling BHs in our simulated galaxies are favourably high for the detection of off-centred AGN if kicked within gas-rich discs -- up to a few per cent of the Eddington accretion rate -- and are highly variable on timescales of a few 10^7 yrs. In major merger simulations of gas-rich galaxies, we find that gravitational recoils increase the scatter in the BH mass -- host galaxy relationships compared to simulations without kicks, with the BH mass being more sensitive to recoil kicks than the bulge mass. A generic result of our numerical models is that the clumpy massive discs suggested by recent high-redshift observations, as well as the remnants of gas-rich mergers, exhibit a gravitational potential that falls steeply in the central regions, due to the dissipative concentration of baryons. As a result, supermassive BHs should only rarely be able to escape from massive galaxies at high redshifts, which is the epoch where the bulk of BH recoils is expected to occur.[Abridged]Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures, minor revisions, MNRAS accepte

The mortality risk of night-time and daytime insomnia symptoms in an older population

The current study examined the association between insomnia symptoms and all-cause mortality in older adults (≥ 65 years). Data was used from 1969 older adults [M = 78 years, SD = 6.7 years] who participated in the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing. Insomnia symptoms were defined by nocturnal symptoms (difficulty falling asleep, difficulty maintaining sleep, early morning awakenings) and daytime symptoms (concentration difficulties, effort, inability to get going). Frequency of symptoms were combined to calculate an insomnia symptom score ranging from 0 (no symptoms) to 24 (sever symptoms) and quintiles of the score were constructed to provide a range of symptom severity. Multivariable Cox models were conducted to assess associations between insomnia symptom severity and mortality risk. In the median follow up of 9.2 years, there were 17,403 person-years at risk and the mortality rate was 8-per 100 person-years. Insomnia symptom severity was associated with increased mortality in the most severe quintile (adjusted HRQ1vsQ5 = 1.26, 95%CI [1.03-1.53], p = .02). Subsequent analyses showed this association was driven by daytime symptoms (adjusted HRQ1vsQ5 = 1.66, [1.39-2.00], p Q1vsQ5 = 0.89, [0.72-1.10], p = .28). Findings suggest daytime symptoms drive increased mortality risk associated with insomnia symptoms. Findings may be therapeutically helpful by reassuring individuals with nocturnal insomnia symptoms alone that their longevity is unlikely to be impacted.Amy Harvey, Hannah Scott, Yohannes Adama Melaku, Leon Lack, Alexander Sweetman, Gorica Micic, Nicole Lovat

A multiplexed immunoassay system based upon reciprocating centrifugal microfluidics

A novel, centrifugal disk-based micro-total analysis system (mu TAS) for low cost and high throughput semi-automated immunoassay processing was developed. A key innovation in the disposable immunoassay disk design is in a fluidic structure that enables very efficient micro-mixing based on a reciprocating mechanism in which centrifugal acceleration acting upon a liquid element first generates and stores pneumatic energy that is then released by a reduction of the centrifugal acceleration, resulting in a reversal of direction of flow of the liquid. Through an alternating sequence of high and low centrifugal acceleration, the system reciprocates the flow of liquid within the disk to maximize incubation/hybridization efficiency between antibodies and antigen macromolecules during the incubation/hybridization stage of the assay. The described reciprocating mechanism results in a reduction in processing time and reagent consumption by one order of magnitude.open121

LISA observations of massive black hole mergers: event rates and issues in waveform modelling

The observability of gravitational waves from supermassive and intermediate-mass black holes by the forecoming Laser Interferometer Space Antenna (LISA), and the physics we can learn from the observations, will depend on two basic factors: the event rates for massive black hole mergers occurring in the LISA best sensitivity window, and our theoretical knowledge of the gravitational waveforms. We first provide a concise review of the literature on LISA event rates for massive black hole mergers, as predicted by different formation scenarios. Then we discuss what (in our view) are the most urgent issues to address in terms of waveform modelling. For massive black hole binary inspiral these include spin precession, eccentricity, the effect of high-order Post-Newtonian terms in the amplitude and phase, and an accurate prediction of the transition from inspiral to plunge. For black hole ringdown, numerical relativity will ultimately be required to determine the relative quasinormal mode excitation, and to reduce the dimensionality of the template space in matched filtering.Comment: 14 pages, 2 figures. Added section with conclusions and outlook. Matches version to appear in the proceedings of 10th Annual Gravitational Wave Data Analysis Workshop (GWDAW 10), Brownsville, Texas, 14-17 Dec 200