2,163 research outputs found
Is âUnconsummated Marriageâ still an appropriate term? A snapshot of reality
The most shared definition of Unconsummated Marriage (UM) refers to âthe failure to perform successful sexual intercourse at the beginning of
the marriage. UM usually occurs in the first few nights of marriage and so it is frequently referred to as âhoneymoon impotenceâ or âwedding night
impotenceâ. In the Middle-Eastern (MES) and Western (WS) societies, sexuality follows different patterns in terms of meaning and rules. Moreover
the evolution of societies all around the world created new contexts and kinds of relationship. This could hamper a correct taxonomy of such sexual
dysfunction where a social variable seems crucial.
Aim: To analyze and review data on UM all around the world, to understand if in different societies it refers to the same situation.
Method: A review of published literature on UM from 1970 to date, was conducted.
Results: Substantial difference emerged from MES to WS. In MES, sexuality is allowable only in marriage, while in WS sexuality and relationship are
not strongly linked. This could suggest that the term âmarriageâ is unable to cover the phenomenon in such different countries. Moreover, the average
time before the consultation, causal attribution and prevalence are very different in Western and Middle Eastern countries.
Conclusion: We found that the term âfirst attempts dysfunctionâ could be better used to describe male, female or both difficulties related to
ignorance about sexuality or state/performance anxiety. On the other hand over the individual category of sexual dysfunctions, we suggest a new term
as âUnconsummated relationshipâ, where individual difficulties toward sexuality are involved creating a coupleâs dysfunction.
Keywords: Unconsummated marriage; Honeymoon impotence; White marriage; Vaginismus; Infertilit
Future trends in paleoseismology: Integrated study of the seismic landscape as a vital tool in seismic hazard analyses
This paper forms the Introduction to this Special Issue of Tectonophysics, devoted to selected scientific research
presented during events sponsored by the INQUA Subcommission on Paleoseismicity in the past few years. In this
note, we summarize the contents of the contributed papers and use the issues they raise to review the state-of-the-art in
paleoseismology from a Quaternary geology perspective. In our opinion, the evolution of paleoseismological studies in
the past decade clearly demonstrates that in order to properly understand the seismic potential of a region, and to
assess the associated hazards, broad-based/multidisciplinary studies are necessary to take full advantage from the
geological evidence of past earthquakes. A major challenge in future paleoseismic research is to build detailed
empirical relations between various categories of coseismic effects in the natural environment and earthquake magnitude/
intensity. These relations should be compiled in a way that is fully representative of the wide variety of natural
environments on Earth, in terms of climatic settings, Quaternary tectonic evolution, rheological parameters of the
seismogenic crust, and stress environment. For instance, available data indicate that between earthquake magnitude and
surface faulting parameters different scaling laws exist, and they are a function of the local geodynamic setting
(including style of faulting, typical focal depths, heat flow). In this regard, we discuss in some detail the concept of
seismic landscape, which provides the necessary background for developing paleoseismological research strategies. The
large amount of paleoseismological data collected in recent years shows that each earthquake source creates a signature
on the geology and the geomorphology of an area that is unequivocally related with the order of magnitude of its
earthquake potential. This signature is defined as the seismic landscape of the area (e.g., Serva, L., Vittori, E., Ferreli,
L., Michetti, A.M., 1997. Geology and seismic hazard. In: Grellet, B., Mohammadioun, B., Hays, W. (Eds.),
Proceedings of the Second France\u2013United States Workshop on Earthquake Hazard Assessment in Intraplate Regions:
Central and Eastern United States and Western Europe, October 16, 1995, Nice, France, 20\u201324, Ouest Editions, Nantes,
France; Michetti, A.M., Hancock, P.L., 1997. Paleoseismology: understanding past earthquakes using quaternary geology Journal of Geodynamics 24 (1\u20134), 3\u201310). We then illustrate how this relatively new framework is helpful in understanding
the seismic behavior of faults capable of producing surface faulting and provides a comprehensive approach for the use of
paleoseismicity data in earthquake hazard characterization
Geological Criteria for Evaluating seismicity revisited: Forty Years of Paleoseismic Investigations and the Natural Record of Past Earthquakes
The identifi cation of individual past earthquakes and their characterization in
time and space, as well as in magnitude, can be approached in many different ways
with a large variety of methods and techniques, using a wide spectrum of objects and
features. We revise the stratigraphic and geomorphic evidence currently used in the
study of paleoseismicity, after more than three decades since the work by Allen (1975),
which was arguably the fi rst critical overview in the fi eld of earthquake geology. Natural
objects or geomarkers suitable for paleoseismic analyses are essentially preserved
in the sediments, and in a broader sense, in the geologic record. Therefore, the study
of these features requires the involvement of geoscientists, but very frequently it is a
multidisciplinary effort. The constructed environment and heritage, which typically
are the focus of archaeoseismology and macroseismology, here are left aside. The geomarkers
suitable to paleoseismic assessment can be grouped based on their physical
relation to the earthquake\u2019s causative fault. If directly associated with the fault surface
rupture, these objects are known as direct or on-fault features (primary effects
in the Environmental Seismic Intensity [ESI] 2007 scale). Conversely, those indicators
not in direct contact with the fault plane are known as indirect or off-fault evidence
(secondary effects in the ESI 2007 scale). This second class of evidence can be subdivided
into three types or subclasses: type A, which encompasses seismically induced
effects, including soft-sediment deformation (soil liquefaction, mud diapirism), mass
movements (including slumps), broken (disturbed) speleothems, fallen precarious
rocks, shattered basement rocks, and marks of degassing (pockmarks, mud volcanoes);
type B, which consists of remobilized and redeposited sediments (turbidites, homogenites, and tsunamites) and transported rock fragments (erratic blocks); and
type C, entailing regional markers of uplift or subsidence (such as reef tracts, microatolls,
terrace risers, river channels, and in some cases progressive unconformities).
The fi rst subclass of objects (type A) is generated by seismic shaking. The second
subclass (type B) relates either to water bodies set in motion by the earthquake (for
the sediments and erratic blocks) or to earthquake shaking; in a general way, they all
relate to wave propagation through different materials. The third subclass (type C) is
mostly related to the tectonic deformation itself and can range from local (next to the
causative fault) to regional scale.
The natural exposure of the paleoseismic objects\u2014which necessarily conditions
the paleoseismic approach employed\u2014is largely controlled by the geodynamic setting.
For instance, oceanic subduction zones are mostly submarine, while collisional
settings tend to occur in continental environments. Divergent and wrenching margins
may occur anywhere, in any marine, transitional, or continental environment.
Despite the fact that most past subduction earthquakes have to be assessed through
indirect evidence, paleoseismic analyses of this category of events have made dramatic
progress recently, owing to the increasingly catastrophic impact that they have
on human society
Paleoseismology, integrated study of the Quaternary geological record for earthquake deformation and faulting
Tectonophysics 408 (2005) v\u2013 vi, Special Issue
Paleoseismology:
Integrated study of the Quaternary geological record
for earthquake deformation and faulting, doi:10.1016/S0040-1951(05)00465-
A dynamically consistent discretization method for Goodwin model
In economic theory the majority of macroeconomic models describing economic growth employ differential equations or sets of differential equations (see, among all, Solow, 1956 and Haavelmo, 1954). Nevertheless, economic data are usually available in discrete time. Therefore, when attempting to apply these models it is often necessary to use their discrete form, i.e. difference equations. To this aim, more and
more often authors propose and analyse discrete versions of the models originally built with the assumption of time continuity. Despite many standard numeric techniques and ready-made software, obtained discrete models do not always maintain model characteristics in continuous time and the long run behaviours of the discretized model could differ from the original one. In this work, we present
a modification of non-standard discretization method related to the methodology proposed by Mickens (2000), (2003) and its revisions (see Kwessi et al., 2018) for converting economic models from continuous time to discrete time. Such a discretization method preserves the original dynamic properties of the continuous model, in the sense of equilibria, their stability and bifurcation characteristics. Furthermore,
the discretization produces solution trajectories in qualitative and quantitative agreement with those of the continuous model. An example of economic model described by a system of nonlinear differential equations is studied: we applied the discretization method to the Goodwin model (Goodwin, 1967) and provided a comparative analysis for qualitative and quantitative long run behaviour of the continuous and discrete version of the system
On the Effect of Labour Productivity on Growth: Endogenous Fluctuations and Complex Dynamics
This paper introduces a sigmoidal production function that considers production possible even when the only input is labour. The long-run behaviour of an economy described by the neoclassical Solow-type growth model with differential savings is investigated considering the technology presented. It is found that labour productivity influences the existence of boom and bust periods as well as the level of capital per capita in equilibrium
Variable fault tip propagation rates affected by near-surface lithology and implications for fault displacement hazard assessment
The fabric of reverse fault zones close to the surface is usually partitioned in between a narrow discrete rupture zone and a more distributed one, where folding is predominant. This makes quite challenging the adoption of proper setbacks in surface rupture hazard studies for critical facilities or microzoning. Some of the parameters controlling fault zone fabric are related to mechanics of near-surface geology (lithology, overburden thickness, cohesion and water content) whose interaction is complex and only partially understood. Nevertheless, these can be seldom measured or derived. Kinematic models, conversely, express such an interaction of complex variables as simple synthetic parameters, such as the amount of upward propagation of the fault tip for unit of slip, usually referred to as the P/S ratio (Propagation on Slip). Here, we discuss results on the trishear kinematic inverse modeling of a contractional fault propagation fold at Monte Netto Hill (Capriano del Colle, N. Italy), observing a two-stage fault and fold growth evolution, marked by a significant shift in the P/S parameter. At this site, exceptional sequence of exposures due to ca. 10 years of quarry excavations allowed to obtain a series of cross-sections across the fault zone. We use this detailed, high-resolution, example as a natural \u201canalogue\u201d for more general, large-scale surface ruptures involving a thick alluvial cover, a very common setting for the siting of critical facilities. During the early stage of displacement, the fault cut through clast-supported fluvial gravels with a high propagation rate (P/S\u202f=\u202f7) and a discrete rupture width. Then, during the latest movements of the thrust, fault tip propagation slowed down to P/S\u202f 48\u202f2.9, as the fault started cutting through several stacked bodies of clays and silty clays, pedogenized aeolian silts and overbank deposits, causing a pronounced folding of the layers over a wider deformation zone. These results strongly suggest that lithological changes in the underlying shallow stratigraphy, common in an alluvial plain depositional setting, would significantly affect the potential for surface faulting across the same tectonic structure, with relevant implications in the fault displacement hazard assessment
What is a Gene? A Two Sided View
The need to account for all currently available experimental observations
concerning the gene nature, has reshaped the concept of gene turning it from the
essentially mechanistic unit, predominant during the '70s, into a quite abstract
open and generalized entity, whose contour appears less defined as compared to the
past. Here we propose the essence of the gene to be considered double faced. In
this respect genotypic and phenotypic entities of a gene would coexist and mix
reciprocally. This harmonizes present knowledge with current definitions and
predisposes for remodelling of our thinking as a consequence of future discoveries.
A two sided view of the gene also allows to combine the genetic and epigenetic
aspects in a unique solution, being structural and functional at the same time and
simultaneously able to include the different levels in an overlapping unicum
Mild Inactivation of RE-1 Silencing Transcription Factor (REST) Reduces Susceptibility to Kainic Acid-Induced Seizures
RE-1 Silencing Transcription factor (REST) controls several steps in neural development by modulating the expression of a wide range of neural genes. Alterations in REST expression have been associated with the onset of epilepsy; however, whether such alterations are deleterious or represent a protective homeostatic response remains elusive. To study the impact of REST modulation on seizure propensity, we developed a tool for its negative modulation in vivo. The tool is composed of the paired-amphipathic helix 1 (PAH1) domain, a competitive inhibitor of REST activation by mSin3, fused to the light-oxygen-voltage sensing 2 (LOV2) domain of Avena sativa phototropin 1, a molecular switch to alternatively hide or expose the PAH1 inhibitor. We employed the C450A and I539E light-independent AsLOV2 variants to mimic the closed (inactive) and open (active) states of LOV2-PAH1, respectively. Recombinant AAV1/2 viral particles (rAAVs) allowed LOV2-PAH1 expression in HEK293T cells and primary neurons, and efficiently transduced hippocampal neurons in vivo. mRNA expression analysis revealed an increased expression of several neuronal genes in the hippocampi of mice expressing the open probe. AAV-transduced mice received a single dose of kainic acid (KA), a treatment known to induce a transient increase of REST levels in the hippocampus. Remarkably, mice expressing the active variant displayed a reduced number of KA-induced seizures, which were less severe compared to mice carrying the inactive probe. These data support the validity of our tool to modulate REST activity in vivo and the potential impact of REST modulation on epileptogenesis
Helical edge states in multiple topological mass domains
The two-dimensional topological insulating phase has been experimentally
discovered in HgTe quantum wells (QWs). The low-energy physics of
two-dimensional topological insulators (TIs) is described by the
Bernevig-Hughes-Zhang (BHZ) model, where the realization of a topological or a
normal insulating phase depends on the Dirac mass being negative or positive,
respectively. We solve the BHZ model for a mass domain configuration, analyzing
the effects on the edge modes of a finite Dirac mass in the normal insulating
region (soft-wall boundary condition). We show that at a boundary between a TI
and a normal insulator (NI), the Dirac point of the edge states appearing at
the interface strongly depends on the ratio between the Dirac masses in the two
regions. We also consider the case of multiple boundaries such as NI/TI/NI,
TI/NI/TI and NI/TI/NI/TI.Comment: 11 pages, 15 figure
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