Prospective open-label study on the efficacy and tolerability of a combination of nutritional supplements in primary infertile patients with idiopathic astenoteratozoospermia

Aim of the study: To evaluate with an open-label study the efficacy and safety of a complex of nutritional supplements with antioxidant activity (L-carnitine, acetyl-L-carnitine, fructose, citric acid, selenium, coenzyme Q10, zinc, ascorbic acid, cyanocobalamin, folic acid) in primary infertile patients with idiopathic astenoteratozoospermia. Methods: The study was conducted in a population of 114 infertile men (96 completed the study) diagnosed with idiopathic astenoteratozoospermia since at least 18 months. Patients orally received a formulation (Proxeed - Sigma-Tau) containing L-carnitine 145 mg, acetyl-L-carnitine 64 mg, fructose 250 mg, citric acid 50 mg, selenium 50 mcg, coenzyme Q10 20 mg, zinc 10 mg, ascorbic acid 90 mg, cyanocobalamin 1.5 mcg, folic acid 200 mcg in combination once a day for 4 months. Results: At the end of study, the mean sperm progressive motility showed a statistically significant increase from 18.3 ± 3.8 to 42.1 ± 5.5. Sixteen patients achieved pregnancy during the study. No significant improvement were observed for sperm density and rate of morphologically normal forms. The treatment was well tolerated. Conclusions: Carnitines in association with others functional substances can improve the most important parameters of sperm quality

An algorithm for the generation of biofouled surfaces for applications in marine hydrodynamics

The adverse effects of marine biofouling on marine renewable energy devices are well established. In recent fundamental investigations on fluid flow over this type of surface roughness, marine biofouling has mainly been realized as ordered arrangements of roughness elements. These surfaces cannot be compared to realistic biofouled surfaces which show an irregular distribution of roughness features. In this work, a geometric algorithm for generating realistic surface roughness due to barnacle settlement is presented. The algorithm mimics the settlement behaviour of barnacles and allows the generation of a range of fouling states from very sparse rough surfaces to surfaces that are fully covered by barnacle colonies. The generated surfaces can be used in various applications, e.g. in CFD simulations to establish the fluid dynamic roughness effect of different fouling states or as 3D printed surface tiles for use in wind-tunnel and towing tank experiments

Urban blue: A global analysis of the factors shaping people's perceptions of the marine environment and ecological engineering in harbours.

Marine harbours are the focus of a diverse range of activities and subject to multiple anthropogenically induced pressures. Support for environmental management options aimed at improving degraded harbours depends on understanding the factors which influence people's perceptions of harbour environments. We used an online survey, across 12 harbours, to assess sources of variation people's perceptions of harbour health and ecological engineering. We tested the hypotheses: 1) people living near impacted harbours would consider their environment to be more unhealthy and degraded, be more concerned about the environment and supportive of and willing to pay for ecological engineering relative to those living by less impacted harbours, and 2) people with greater connectedness to the harbour would be more concerned about and have greater perceived knowledge of the environment, and be more supportive of, knowledgeable about and willing to pay for ecological engineering, than those with less connectedness. Across twelve locations, the levels of degradation and modification by artificial structures were lower and the concern and knowledge about the environment and ecological engineering were greater in the six Australasian and American than the six European and Asian harbours surveyed. We found that people's perception of harbours as healthy or degraded, but not their concern for the environment, reflected the degree to which harbours were impacted. There was a positive relationship between the percentage of shoreline modified and the extent of support for and people's willingness to pay indirect costs for ecological engineering. At the individual level, measures of connectedness to the harbour environment were good predictors of concern for and perceived knowledge about the environment but not support for and perceived knowledge about ecological engineering. To make informed decisions, it is important that people are empowered with sufficient knowledge of the environmental issues facing their harbour and ecological engineering options

Estudio biodemográfico de la población de Villa Soriano : departamento de Soriano, Uruguay

La publicación de este libro fue realizada con el apoyo de la Comisión Sectorial de Investigación Científica (CSIC) de la Universidad de la República. El trabajo que se presenta fue seleccionado por el Comité de Referato de Publicaciones de la Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación integrado por Juan Introini, Juan Fló, Ana Frega, Mónica Sans, Renzo Pi, Eloisa Bordoli, Graciela Barrios.Villa de Soriano (Departamento de Soriano, suroeste del Uruguay), fue fundada en el siglo XVII como una reducción de indios y constituye la población más antigua del Uruguay. Durante el siglo XVIII, la reducción habrá de convertirse en una villa de la campaña, en la que convergen diferentes pobladores. Durante gran parte de su trayectoria el poblado crece en forma lenta, para luego decrecer drásticamente en el siglo XX, siendo nulo su crecimiento actual. Se plantea como objetivo general de la investigación, conocer el proceso poblacional de esta población, desde su fundación hasta la actualidad, enfatizando los aspectos biodemográficos. Como objetivos específicos se consideran: 1. analizar el comportamiento de las variables demográficas; 2. analizar la estructura de la población a partir de las pautas matrimoniales; 3. determinar el grado de representatividad del componente fundador indígena en la población actual. Los principales resultados resaltan la feminización de la población, el envejecimiento y la emigración constante de grupos en edades reproductivas, lo que genera un descenso de la natalidad. En la reconstrucción genealógica de la población realizada a partir de 344 entrevistas, se constata la permanencia de linajes maternos y paternos indígenas; resultados éstos verificados con estudios moleculares de ADNmt y Cr.Y.Villa Soriano (Departamento [Province] of Soriano, southwestern Uruguay), was founded in the 17th century as a reduction, and it is Uruguay’s most ancient village. During the 18th century, the reduction became a village where people from several differnt origins were to converge. During most part of its history, the village grew in a slow pace, diminising drastically in the 20th century. Today, its rate of increase is null. The general aim of this investigation is to know the populational process of this village, from its foundation to present day, with emphasis on biodemographic issues. The specific aims of this work are: 1. the analysis of demographic variables; 2. the analysis of population structure by means of marriage patterns; 3. to determine the representativity of the Indian founding component in the present day population. The main results show a feminization and aging of the population, and the constant emigration of people in reproductive age, which results in a decrease of the birth rate. In the genealogy of the population, reconstructed from 344 interviews, both maternal and paternal Indian lineages are observed, these lineages have been verified by molecular (mitochondrial DNA and Y chromosome) analyses

Past and present of risk management in healthcare

II presente lavoro ha ricostruito la storia del risk management come è nato e come si è evoluto con particolare attenzione all'ambito sanitario. Infatti il risk management nasce come strategia di gestione del rischio per essere applicato principalmente a livello economico. Successivamente abbiamo analizzato conte il continuo aumento di denunce per errori medici con relative richieste di risarcimento, abbia condotto all'adozione delle strategie di risk management anche in ambito sanitario. Alla fine abbiamo analizzato le varie strategie clinical risk management nei diversi paesi del mondo e nei diversi periodi storici fino al modello attuale.The present article describes the history of risk management, how it was bom and how it has evolved, with a specific focus on healthcare. Risk management was a strategy initially used primarily in the economic and business sector. We analyse how the continuous increase of medical malpractice lawsuits involving demands for compensation led to the adoption of risk management strategies in healthcare. The various clinical risk-management strategies adopted in different countries and in different historical periods are also described

Past and present of risk management in healthcare

II presente lavoro ha ricostruito la storia del risk management come è nato e come si è evoluto con particolare attenzione all'ambito sanitario. Infatti il risk management nasce come strategia di gestione del rischio per essere applicato principalmente a livello economico. Successivamente abbiamo analizzato conte il continuo aumento di denunce per errori medici con relative richieste di risarcimento, abbia condotto all'adozione delle strategie di risk management anche in ambito sanitario. Alla fine abbiamo analizzato le varie strategie clinical risk management nei diversi paesi del mondo e nei diversi periodi storici fino al modello attuale.The present article describes the history of risk management, how it was bom and how it has evolved, with a specific focus on healthcare. Risk management was a strategy initially used primarily in the economic and business sector. We analyse how the continuous increase of medical malpractice lawsuits involving demands for compensation led to the adoption of risk management strategies in healthcare. The various clinical risk-management strategies adopted in different countries and in different historical periods are also described