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We performed a randomized, prospective, controlled, intention to treat study in order to determine the effectiveness of an antioxidant therapy in improve the quality of seminal fluid parameters and the natural pregnancies in men with persistent oligospermia (5-20 million/ml) 6 months after retrograde embolization. Forty-two subjects were enrolled and randomized in the study. Treated group (20 subjects) was assigned to receive antioxidant therapy (NAC 600 mg and vitamins-minerals). Untreated group (22 subjects) received no adjunctive medical therapy and was used as controls. Our data were analyzed with an intention to treat strategy. A statistically significant increase in sperm count after antioxidant therapy was recorded (P=0.009). After this therapy, no statistical differences in percentage of WHO class A motile sperm (P=0.752) and typical forms (P=0.926) were found. The univariate logistic regression analysis showed that a man treated with antioxidant therapy presented a probability to have a normal sperm count 20-fold (OR=20.1; CI 95%=1.05-43.2; P=0.014) higher than a man who was untreated. No significant impact on spontaneous pregnancies was found after antioxidant therapy. Despite this preliminary data, we show that antioxidant therapy based on a combination of NAC and micronutrient supplementation can be helpful in improve the sperm count at least in a subset of oligospermic males. However, this improving in sperm count is not associated with a significant increase in spontaneous pregnancies after 12 months.

Nitrogen (N) nutrition plays a key role for high yields and quality in durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum (Desf.) Husn); in Mediterranean environments, data regarding N fertilisation management during the transition phase to conservation agriculture (CA) are limited. The aim of this work was to study the effects of N fertiliser forms and rates on yield and some quality traits of durum wheat, during the transition period to CA in Mediterranean areas; moreover, indication on the recommendable N form/rate combinations have been given. Field trials were carried out in south of Italy, during the first two years of transition to CA (from 2010 to 2012) in a durum wheat-based rotation. Following a split-plot design arranged on a randomised complete blocks with three replications, two N forms (main plots) -urea and calcium nitrate -and four N rates (sub-plots) -50, 100, 150 and 200 kg N ha -1 -plus an un-fertilised Control, were compared. The following parameters were analysed: grain yield, N-input efficiency, grains protein concentration (GPC), total gluten, gluten fractions and minerals concentration in kernels. Calcium nitrate gave the highest yield (4.48 t ha -1 ), as predicted by the quadratic model, at 146 kg N ha -1 , on average. This was particularly noticeable in 2012, when the distribution of rainfall and temperatures regimes as well as residues' status could have favoured such N-form. These results were confirmed by the observed higher values of all indices describing N-input efficiency. High GPC values (14.8%) were predicted at slightly higher N-rates (173 kg N ha -1 , averaging both N forms). In particular, gluten proteins and glutenin/gliadin ratio accrued as the N doses increased, reaching the highest values at 150 kg N ha -1 , also positively affecting the quality of durum wheat flour. Iron and zinc concentrations were noticeably increased (38% and 37% on average) by N supply, probably due to the enhanced water use efficiency under CA systems.Principal component analysis summarised properly the obtained results: analysing the N-rates at 150 kg N ha -1 , it was confirmed that yields and quality characteristics of durum wheat were optimised in the wettest year (2011) with calcium nitrate. Moreover, the scarce amount of residues characterising the transition phase to CA, requires N application rates not lower than 150 kg ha -1 in order to ensure stable yields and important quality traits. These N rates should be modulated as the accumulation of crop residues increases over time, thanks to long-term effects of CA on soil chemical, physical and biological properties. IntroductionSouthern Europe's environment is characterised by cool and wet winters and hot and dry summers with low and erratic rainfall distribution, and by soils with very low organic matter levels and nitrogen (N) content. Nitrogen is subjected to several losses with the main pathways being represented by ammonia volatilisation, denitrification and nitrate leaching (Plaza-Bonil et al., 2014). Moreover, in these environments ...

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The objectives of this research were, first, to determine the concentrations of certain heavy metals in the edible tissue of wild brown trout (Salmo trutta trutta) from two different rivers located in the Abruzzi region (Italy), and then, to investigate the levels of variation in vitellogenin (VTG) associated with the presence of metalloestrogens. VTG is an effective indicator for endocrine disturbance, and an increase in the vitellogenin levels in male fish is widely employed as a biomarker of estrogenic contamination in the aquatic environment. The muscles of the trout were analyzed for As, Cd, Co, Cr, Ni, Pb, Al, and Zn using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometer (ICP-MS), and Hg was measured using a direct mercury analyzer (DMA-80). The calculated values of the condition factor confirmed a healthy status for this species, indicating that the aquatic habit in both rivers is suitable for brown trout life. No significant difference in the concentrations of each metal were reported between the trout from the two rivers, and no significant difference for VTG levels were found between male and female fish. It is interesting to note the high concentrations of Al/Zn, while the Pb, Cd, and Hg concentrations in all of the samples were lower than those established by the European Commission.