Armenia, Caucaso e Asia Centrale, Ricerche 2017

Questo nuovo volume della serie Eurasiatica. Quaderni di Studi su Balcani, Anatolia, Iran, Caucaso e Asia Centrale delle Edizioni Ca’ Foscari di Venezia raccoglie diversi articoli dedicati all’Armenia, al Caucaso e all’Asia Centrale. Gli articoli del volume vanno dall’archeologia alla letteratura, dal folclore alla storia, dalla storia del cristianesimo orientale all’arte, dalla narrazione di viaggio all’urbanistica. Un’intera sezione è dedicata agli studi osseti, di grande interesse non solo nell’ambito caucasico e in quello iranistico, ma anche per quel che riguarda la storia e la cultura russe

Biogeographical analyses to facilitate targeted conservation of orchid diversity hotspots in Costa Rica

Aim: We conduct a biogeographical assessment of orchids in a global biodiversity hotspot to explore their distribution and occurrences of local hotspots while identifying geographic attributes underpinning diversity patterns. We evaluate habitat characteristics associated with orchid diversity hotspots and make comparisons to other centres of orchid diversity to test for global trends. The ultimate goal was to identify an overall set of parameters that effectively characterize critical habitats to target in local and global orchid conservation efforts. Location: Costa Rica; Mesoamerica. Taxon: Orchidaceae. Methods: Data from an extensive set of herbarium records were used to map orchid distributions and to identify diversity hotspots. Hotspot data were combined with geographic attribute data, including environmental and geopolitical variables, and a random forest regression model was utilized to assess the importance of each variable for explaining the distribution of orchid hotspots. A likelihood model was created based on variable importance to identify locations where suitable habitats and unidentified orchid hotspots might occur. Results: Orchids were widely distributed and hotspots occurred primarily in mountainous regions, but occasionally at lower elevations. Precipitation and vegetation cover were the most important predictive variables associated with orchid hotspots. Variable values underpinning Costa Rican orchid hotspots were similar to those reported at other sites worldwide. Models also identified suitable habitats for sustaining orchid diversity that occurred outside of known hotspots and protected areas. Main conclusions: Several orchid diversity hotspots and potentially suitable habitats occur outside of known distributions and/or protected areas. Recognition of these sites and their associated geographic attributes provides clear targets for optimizing orchid conservation efforts in Costa Rica, although certain caveats warrant consideration. Habitats linked with orchid hotspots in Costa Rica were similar to those documented elsewhere, suggesting the existence of a common biogeographical trend regarding critical habitats for orchid conservation in disparate tropical regions.Universidad de Puerto Rico/[]/UPR/Puerto RicoUniversidad de Costa Rica/[]/UCR/Costa RicaUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Agroalimentarias::Jardín Botánico Lankester (JBL

A new species of Dichaea (Orchidaceae) for northern Brazil

Dichaea é o maior gênero da subtribo Zygopetalinae e possui sua maior diversidade de espécies na América do Sul. Diante disto, este trabalho teve o objetivo de descrever uma nova espécie de Dichaea ocorrente na região norte do Brasil, Dichaea bragae Valsko, Krahl & Holanda. A nova espécie foi coleta ao norte de Manaus em área de floresta ombrifila e floresceu em cultivo. O epíteto é em homenagem ao Dr. Pedro Ivo Soares Braga (in memorian), orquidilogo que realizou vários estudos na Amazônia brasileira. A nova espécie possui afinidade com espécies de Dichaea serão Dichaeopsis, contudo são diferenciadas vegetativamente e na morfologia do labelo

Sexual Functioning and Opioid Maintenance Treatment in Women. Results From a Large Multicentre Study

Opioid maintenance treatment (OMT) is the most widespread therapy for both females and males opioid addicts. While many studies have evaluated the OMT impact on men’s sexuality, the data collected about the change in women’s sexual functioning is still limited despite the fact that it is now well-known that opioids - both endogenous and exogenous - affect the endocrine system and play an important role in sexual functioning. The present study aims to determine how OMT with buprenorphine (BUP) or methadone (MTD) affects sexual health in women; examining also any possible emerging correlation between sexual dysfunction (SD), type of opioid and patients’ mental health. This multi-center study case recruited 258 female volunteers attending Italian public Addiction Outpatients Centers that were stabilized with OMT for at least 3 months. SD was assessed with the Arizona Sexual Experience Scale. The twelve-item General Health Questionnaire was used to assess participants’ mental health conditions. The results show that 56.6% of women receiving OMT for at least 3 months presented SD without significant differences between MTD e BUP groups. The majority of the subjects with SD have a poorer quality of intimate relationships and worse mental health than the average. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the largest report on the presence of SDs in women as a side effects of MTD and BUP used in OMT. Since SDs cause difficulties in intimate relationships, lower patients’ quality of life and interfere with OMT beneficial outcomes, we recommend that women undertaking an opioid therapy have routine screening for SD and we highlight the importance to better examine opioid-endocrine interactions in future studies in order to provide alternative potential treatments such as the choice of opioid, opioid dose reduction and hormone supplementation

Emarginazione, povert\ue0 e giustizia sociale.

Si tratta di un volume su temi sociali, affrontati, soprattutto, attraverso i contributi magistrali di due studiosi come Ferdinando Montuschi e Giovanni Nervo e coordinati da Roberta Caldin