Psycho-relational well-being in women with sexual pain: a preliminary study

Female sexual pain is a complex multi-factorial condition. Most of the research has focused on underlying biomedical factors. Although psychological and relational factors have been studied as possible correlates, data are still controversial. The aim of the present study was to investigate psychological and relational well-being in women who complain of sexual pain. The hypothesis was that sexual pain is associated with worse scores

Sexual orientation and drive: a comparative pilot study on sexual desire

Many studies addressing sexual drive and hypersexuality stated that homosexuals are used to report higher levels of sexual desire and compulsive sexual behaviors. Literature showed a lack of comparisons between perceived level of desire in hetero and gay population. This study aims to analyze some variables which could predict levels of sexual desire in both heterosexual and homosexual men such as sexual satisfaction, distress, sexism and dysfunctional sexual beliefs

Seeded excitation avalanches in off-resonantly driven Rydberg gases

We report an experimental investigation of the facilitated excitation dynamics in off-resonantly driven Rydberg gases by separating the initial off-resonant excitation phase from the facilitation phase, in which successive facilitation events lead to excitation avalanches. We achieve this by creating a controlled number of initial seed excitations. Greater insight into the avalanche mechanism is obtained from an analysis of the full counting distributions. We also present simple mathematical models and numerical simulations of the excitation avalanches that agree well with our experimental results.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figure

Extraversion and neuroticism in sexually dysfunctional men suffering from erectile dysfunction and premature ejaculation: a cross-sectional study

The role of personality traits in sexual complaints and dysfunctions is ever more evident. However, the literature is very scarce as to the possible relationships between such personality traits and specific sexual dysfunctions like ED, PE or both, their subtypes as to time of onset and severity levels. The main aim of the present study was to investigate if Neuroticism and Extraversion have different roles and trends in men suffering from PE and/or ED, both lifelong and acquired. Moreover, we verified if, by adopting DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 criteria for diagnosing PE, some differences emerged in percentages of diagnosed cases. The sample consisted of 222 patients aged 18-70. The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-15) was used to assess erectile function, and the Premature Ejaculation Severity Index (PESI) was used to assess the severity of PE dysfunction. Neuroticism and Extraversion were measured with the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (EPQ-R). In our results, Neuroticism and Extraversion were dependent on the kind of sexual dysfunction and its severity. These results suggest that type, time of onset and severity of sexual dysfunctions should be considered as related to specific personality characteristics and vice versa

Le lesioni polipoidi della colecisti: problemi diagnostici e terapeutici

Le lesioni polipoidi della colecisti costituiscono un’entità eterogenea di difficile definizione diagnostica preoperatoria. L’indicazione chirurgica è discutibile ma in alcuni casi obbligatoria . In questo studio abbiamo analizzato i dati clinici relativi a 25 pazienti sottoposti consecutivamente a colecistectomia laparoscopica per formazioni polipoidi. Ciò al fine di evidenziare la possibile correlazione fra aspetto ecografico e valutazione istopatologica e di definire l’indicazione terapeutica

Molecular and clinical characterization of albinism in a large cohort of Italian patients.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the molecular basis of albinism in a large cohort of Italian patients showing typical ocular landmarks of the disease and to provide a full characterization of the clinical ophthalmic manifestations. METHODS: DNA samples from 45 patients with ocular manifestations of albinism were analyzed by direct sequencing analysis of five genes responsible for albinism: TYR, P, TYRP1, SLC45A2 (MATP), and OA1. All patients studied showed a variable degree of skin and hair hypopigmentation. Eighteen patients with distinct mutations in each gene associated with OCA were evaluated by detailed ophthalmic analysis, optical coherence tomography (OCT), and fundus autofluorescence. RESULTS: Disease-causing mutations were identified in more than 95% of analyzed patients with OCA (28/45 [62.2%] cases with two or more mutations; 15/45 [33.3%] cases with one mutation). Thirty-five different mutant alleles were identified of which 15 were novel. Mutations in TYR were the most frequent (73.3%), whereas mutations in P occurred more rarely (13.3%) than previously reported. Novel mutations were also identified in rare loci such as TYRP1 and MATP. Mutations in the OA1 gene were not detected. Clinical assessment revealed that patients with iris and macular pigmentation had significantly higher visual acuity than did severe hypopigmented phenotypes. CONCLUSIONS: TYR gene mutations represent a relevant cause of oculocutaneous albinism in Italy, whereas mutations in P present a lower frequency than that found in other populations. Clinical analysis revealed that the severity of the ocular manifestations depends on the degree of retinal pigmentation

Accreditation of dental care services ”“: a proposal for a logical model

The National Accreditation Organization published in 2010, the Brazilian Manual of Accreditation for Healthcare Providers. This manual provides the guidelines for the development of an accreditation process for healthcare providers; however, it does not provide standards for a dental accreditation process. The aim of this study was to conceptualize the accreditation of dental care services and present a logical model that can anchor the development of a tool for accreditation of dental care services in Brazil. The Brazilian Manual of Accreditation for providers of health care services of the National Accreditation Organization (ONA) provides guidelines for the development of the accreditation process in health care institutions; however, it does not provide standards for the dental accreditation process. The model proposed has three foci of analysis, six described sections and thirteen described subsections, all considering relevant aspects concerning high quality providers of dental care services. Accreditation was possible to conceptualize and present a logical model which was designed for the accreditation of Units for Provision of Dental Care Services (UPDCS) - (UPSAO in Portuguese) and Complexes for Provision of Dental Care Services (CPDCS) - (CPSAO in Portuguese)

La concezione relativistica della devianza e della criminalità. Un racconto di Italo Calvino

[The relativistic conception of deviance and criminality. A story by Italo Calvino] In her paper, the Author takes a cue from a youthful story by Italo Calvino to illustrate the relativistic nature of the concepts of deviance and criminality: that is, there are no acts and behaviors considered deviant or criminal at all times and in all societies. Retracing classical and modern literature, the Author links the elaboration of these concepts to a social construction of them, in the sense that the societies themselves define what is deviant and what is not