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OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the e fficiency of pre-treatment in dyspermic males in IVF couples with a combination of micronutrients, for the purpose of improving the fertilization rate, the implantation rate and the outcome of the pregnancy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This controlled prospective clinical study was performed in two medically assisted reproduction centers. 59 males with mild oligo-astheno-teratospermia (OAT) were admitted to the study. All of them had a history of previous in vitro fertilization (IVF) attempts with female partners aged < 40 diagnosed having tubal or idiopathic infertility. The subjects upon enrolment underwent a semen test and afterward were treated with alpha lipoic acid and glutathione (Fertiplus SOD®, Idi-Pharma, Catania, Italy) for 4 weeks (short-term). The primary endpoints that were evaluated are the following: fertilization rate (mean fertilization), implantation rate and pregnancy rate. RESULTS: At the end of this study all the males (mean age 39.5 ± 5.1) reported in not having any side effects during the administration of Fertiplus. Their female partners (mean age 34.9 ± 4.5) underwent IVF using the ICSI technique. The number of oocytes retrieved and inseminated was not statistically different in comparison to previous attempts, but with the same number of oocytes treated, the fertilization rate per couple demonstrated statistically significant increase (p<0.001). We did not observe a percentage increase in evolutionary embryos, but we noticed an improvement in embryo quality per individual couple (p<0.001), associated with a net increase in the implantation rate per couple (p<0.001) in terms of clinical pregnancy. The estimated miscarriage risk after treatment was five times lower (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Short-term treatment with micronutrients in dyspermic subjects can improve the reproductive outcome of the IVF procedure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change intensifies the Urban Heat Islands (UHI) in hundreds of cities around the globe. Even though tests on traditional cool materials have shown promising results in terms of UHI mitigation, novel advanced solutions are deemed necessary for strategically counteracting UHI. Unlike traditional materials, phosphorescent materials can not only reflect incident shortwave radiation but also reemit it back, i.e. the phenomenon of phosphorescence. Even though this unique reflection-reemission mechanism known as effective solar reflectance (ESR), has been widely tested for sustainable lightning applications, its cooling potential has been surprisingly overlooked. Here, we examine, in-lab, and numerically, the thermo-optical properties of several phosphorescent coatings of different colours and we evaluate their effective cooling potential. Results reveal that the phosphorescence mechanism could be effectively optimized for obtaining phosphorescent-based coatings with an improved optical performance and hence substantially mitigate surface overheating in the built environment.

Passive systems and solutions aimed at improving local thermal comfort conditions represent a cutting-edge research field in building applications. However, only a few investigations were performed by taking into account the local distribution and spatial variability of the airflow generated by the application of both traditional and innovative passive strategies. The present research work is aimed at bridging such gap by modelling the indoor thermal environment of a case study prototype building, i.e. test-room, situated in central Italy, by taking into account the indoor heat transfer phenomena. In particular, a CFD model of the building is elaborated and used to predict the indoor thermal effect of an adaptive thermochromic envelope, compared to more traditional solutions. The simulation results are post-processed in terms of (i) indoor temperature and (ii) indoor airflows. The main findings confirm a non-negligible and positive impact of the thermochromic building envelope on the local indoor thermal comfort conditions in both summer and winter conditions, due to its capability of selectively tailor the absorption of heat gains and a function of the local boundary conditions.

Resumo Alergia alimentar é uma reação adversa à saúde, cujas manifestações clínicas podem levar o indivíduo a óbito. Dentre os diversos alimentos que podem ser fonte de alergênicos, pode-se destacar o chocolate. Dependendo da composição, o chocolate pode acumular um grande número de ingredientes alergênicos, potencializando os riscos associados ao seu consumo. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a rotulagem de chocolates frente à legislação brasileira RDC n.º 26/2015. Os chocolates foram separados em oito categorias, sendo avaliados 139 rótulos. A declaração para alergênico não foi encontrada em 11% dos rótulos, mesmo havendo ingredientes com obrigatoriedade de declaração. As categorias: “chocolate a base de soja” e “confeitos” representaram 40% e 33% dos rótulos não declarados, respectivamente. Pelo menos uma não conformidade frente à RDC n.º 26/2015 foi encontrada em 53% dos rótulos de chocolate, cujas categorias “chocolate diet/light/zero ” e “confeitos” apresentaram não conformidade em 100% e 50% dos rótulos, respectivamente. A declaração em “ local encoberto, de difícil visualização e/ou no lacre/torção ” foi a não conformidade mais recorrente (21% dos rótulos). A legislação deveria ser suficiente para promover um alinhamento na comunicação entre a indústria e o consumidor. Porém, observa-se que a adesão às regras de rotulagem para alergênicos ainda não é completa, mesmo depois de encerrado o período para adequações.