Testicular volume (TV) is proposed to be a positive predictor of male fertility status, because of the relation known between the TV and the seminiferous tubule content. Independently of the ...measurement methodology, the role of TV and testicular ultrasound (US) assessments is still debated in andrological clinical practice. In this retrospective cohort study, we evaluated TV and testis US role in the diagnostic workup of andrological patients. All consecutive outpatients undergoing single-operator testis US (Modena, Italy) from March 2012 to March 2018 were enrolled, matching sonographic, hormonal, and seminal data. A total of 302 men were referred and evaluated for gynecomastia, suspected hypogonadism, couple infertility (CI), or sexual dysfunction. In the hypogonadal group, TV was lower compared to that in other groups (P < 0.001), and a significant, direct correlation between TV and testosterone level was observed in nonandrogen-treated patients (R = 0.911, P < 0.001), suggesting that testicular size could be related to the testosterone-secreting compartment. In the CI group, normozoospermic patients showed higher TV compared to men with impaired semen quality (P = 0.003) and azoospermia (P = 0.003). However, TV was not able to discriminate between patients presenting normal and altered semen quality. On the contrary, testis US inhomogeneity was more frequent in patients with impaired sperm quality (55.0%; P = 0.007) and azoospermia (40.0%; P = 0.012), compared to patients with normozoospermia (5%), identifying thereby the sonographic pattern as an informative parameter of the fertility status. Therefore, in the CI workup, US evaluation seems to be more informative than the TV assessment alone.
Brownian thermal noise associated with highly reflective mirror coatings is a fundamental limit for several precision experiments, including gravitational-wave detectors. Recently, there has been a ...worldwide effort to find mirror coatings with improved thermal noise properties that also fulfill strict optical requirements such as low absorption and scatter. We report on the optical and mechanical properties of ion-beam-sputtered niobia and titania-niobia thin films, and we discuss application of such coatings in current and future gravitational-wave detectors. We also report an updated direct coating thermal noise measurement of the HR coatings used in Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo, and the observation of a discrepancy between ring-down measurements and thermal-noise estimations of mechanical loss in highly reflective mirror coatings. This discrepancy might be ascribed either to a dissipation of the silica layers considerably higher than expected or to an unexplained excess loss of stacked layers.
Environmental rhythmicity is able to affect the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in several animals to achieve reproductive advantages. However, conflicting results were obtained when assessing ...the environmental-dependent rhythmicity on reproductive hormone secretion in humans. This study was designed to evaluate seasonal fluctuations of the main hormones involved in the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis in men, using a big data approach. An observational, retrospective, big data trial was carried out, including all testosterone, luteinizing hormone (LH) and follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) measurements performed in a single laboratory between January 2010 and January 2019 using Chemiluminescent Microparticle Immunoassay. Subjects presenting any factor interfering with the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis were excluded. The trend and seasonal distributions were analyzed using autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) models. A total of 12,033 data, accounting for 7,491 men (mean age 47.46 ± 13.51 years, range 18-91 years) were included. Testosterone serum levels (mean 5.34 ± 2.06 ng/dL, range 1.70-15.80 ng/dL) showed a seasonal distribution with higher levels in summer and a direct correlation to environmental temperatures and daylight duration. LH levels (mean 4.64 ± 2.54 IU/L, range 1.00-15.00 IU/L) presented 2 peaks of secretion in autumn and spring, independently from environmental parameters. FSH levels (mean 5.51 ± 3.24 IU/L) did not show any seasonal distribution. A clear seasonal fluctuation of both LH and testosterone was demonstrated in a large cohort of adult men, although a circannual seasonality of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal hormones in humans could be not strictly evolutionarily required. Testosterone seasonality seems independent from LH fluctuations, which could be regulated by cyclic central genes expression, and more sensible to environmental temperatures and daylight duration.
We report on the first experimental demonstration of higher-order Laguerre-Gauss (LG(p)(ℓ)) mode generation and interferometry using a method scalable to the requirements of gravitational wave (GW) ...detection. GW detectors which use higher-order LG(p)(ℓ) modes will be less susceptible to mirror thermal noise, which is expected to limit the sensitivity of all currently planned terrestrial detectors. We used a diffractive optic and a mode-cleaner cavity to convert a fundamental LG(0)(0) Gaussian beam into an LG(3)(3) mode with a purity of 98%. The ratio between the power of the LG(0)(0) mode of our laser and the power of the LG(3)(3) transmitted by the cavity was 36%. By measuring the transmission of our setup using the LG(0)(0), we inferred that the conversion efficiency specific to the LG(3)(3) mode was 49%. We illuminated a Michelson interferometer with the LG(3)(3) beam and achieved a visibility of 97%.
Testis stimulation with follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is one of the empirical treatments proposed for male idiopathic infertility, although reliable markers to predict its efficacy are still ...lacking. This study aimed to identify parameters able to predict FSH efficacy in terms of pregnancy achievement. A real-world study was conducted, enrolling idiopathic infertile men treated with FSH 150IU three times weekly. Patients were treated until pregnancy achievement or for a maximum of two years and two visits were considered: V0 (baseline) and V1 (end of FSH treatment). Primary endpoints were the V1-V0 percentage change in sperm concentration, total sperm count, and total motile sperm number. In total, 48 pregnancies were recorded (27.7%) among 173 men (age 37.9 ± 6.2 years). All three endpoints increased after FSH administration, and only the V1-V0 percentage of sperm concentration significantly predicted pregnancy (p = 0.007). A V1-V0 sperm concentration of 30.8% predicted pregnancy, and the sperm concentration V1-V0 percentage (Y) required to obtain a pregnancy was predicted according to its baseline values (x): Y = 9.8433x2 − 203.67x + 958.29. A higher number of pregnancies was reached in men with baseline sperm concentration below 7.3 million/mL. Thus, the percentage of sperm concentration increasing after FSH administration could predict the treatment efficacy in terms of pregnancy. At the dosage used, the efficacy was significantly higher in patients with a starting sperm concentration < 7.3 mill/mL. Mathematical analyses identified a function able to predict the sperm concentration increase required to obtain a pregnancy in relation to the baseline sperm number.
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