1,720,982 research outputs found
Is Erectile Dysfunction a Reliable Proxy of General Male Health Status? The Case for the International Index of Erectile Function-Erectile Function Domain
No full textIntroduction. Erectile dysfunction (ED) has emerged progressively as a sentinel marker of cardiovascular disease (CVD). The correlation between ED and the burden arising from multiple comorbid conditions has been incompletely analyzed. Aim. Assess whether erectile function, defined with the International Index of Erectile FunctionErectile Function (IIEF-EF) domain score, is associated with health-significant comorbidities scored with the Charlson comorbidity index (CCI). Methods. Clinical and hemodynamic variables of the last 140 consecutive patients who underwent penile color Doppler ultrasonography for new-onset ED were considered. Patients were assessed with a thorough medical and sexual history. Health-significant comorbidities were scored with the CCI. Main Outcome Measure. Descriptive statistics and either linear or logistic regression models tested the association among IIEF-EF, hemodynamic parameters, and CCI, which was included in the model both as continuous and categorized variable (0 vs. =1). Results. Complete data were available for 138 patients (98.6%) (mean age 46.6 years [standard deviation 13.0]; range 2175 years). CCI was 0, 1, and =2 in 94 (68.1%), 23 (16.7%), and 21 (15.25%) patients, respectively. Of all, 35 patients (79.5%) did not have a CVD comorbidity. Mean IIEF-EF was 13.7 (9.3). ED severity was no ED, mild, mild to moderate, moderate, and severe in 12 (9.1%), 28 (20.2%), 12 (9.1%), 23 (16.2%), and 63 (45.5%) patients, respectively. At multivariable linear regression analysis, CCI significantly worsened with increased age (beta = 0.33; P = 0.001) and decreased IIEF-EF values (beta = -0.25; P = 0.01). At logistic regression analysis, age (odds ratio [OR]: 1.05; P = 0.004) and IIEF-EF (OR: 0.95; P = 0.04) emerged as significant predictors of categorized CCI. Conclusions. Severity of ED, as objectively interpreted with IIEF-EF, accounts for a higher CCI, which may be considered a reliable proxy of a lower general male health status regardless of the etiology of ED. Salonia A, Castagna G, Sacca A, Ferrari M, Capitanio U, Castiglione F, Rocchini L, Briganti A, Rigatti P, and Montorsi F. Is erectile dysfunction a reliable proxy of general male health status? The case for the International Index of Erectile FunctionErectile function domain. J Sex Med **;**:****
Acceptance of and Discontinuation Rate from Paroxetine Treatment in Patients with Lifelong Premature Ejaculation
No full textIntroduction. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors are the most widely used agents for delaying ejaculation in patients with premature ejaculation (PE). Aim. The aim of this study was to assess the acceptance of and the discontinuation rate from paroxetine treatment in patients with lifelong PE. Methods. We analyzed the acceptance of and discontinuation rates of 93 consecutive potent patients (mean age, 37.6 years) seeking medical treatment for lifelong PE. The patients were assessed with detailed medical and sexual history, self-reported intravaginal ejaculatory latency time, self-administered International Index of Erectile Function, complete physical examination, and the Meares-Stamey test. The patients received a paroxetine prescription (10 mg daily for 21 days and then 20 mg as needed) for the first 3 months. Thereafter, the patients could either stay with the same on-demand treatment or take paroxetine 10 mg daily for 3 months. The patients were evaluated at 3 and 6 months, and requested to complete multiple-choice global assessment questions regarding specific reasons for eventual therapy discontinuation. Main Outcome Measures. The primary end point was acceptance and discontinuation rates for paroxetine treatment in patients seeking medical treatment for lifelong PE. The secondary end point was the reasons for nonacceptance of treatment or discontinuation. Results. Twenty-eight (30.10%) patients decided not to start paroxetine. Fear of using an "antidepressant drug" was the main reason (42.9%) for treatment nonacceptance. Twenty (30.8%) patients who initiated therapy eventually discontinued it. Treatment effect below expectations was the main reason of treatment dropout (75%) during the first 3 months, followed by temporary loss of interest in sex because of relationship issues (15%) and side effects (10%). Of the patients who continued treatment, 77.8% preferred daily paroxetine, while 22.2% continued as-needed therapy. Conclusions. Thirty percent of lifelong PE patients seeking medical treatment for complaints of early ejaculation freely decided not to start any paroxetine treatment, and roughly 30% of patients who started therapy eventually discontinued it. Salonia A, Rocchini L, Sacca A, Pellucchi F, Ferrari M, Del Carro U, Ribotto P, Gallina A, Zanni G, Deho' F, Rigatti P, and Montorsi F. Acceptance of and discontinuation rate from paroxetine treatment in patients with lifelong premature ejaculation. J Sex Med 2009;6:2868-2877. OI Gallina, Andrea/0000-0002-4540-956
Postoperative Orgasmic Function Increases over Time in Patients Undergoing Nerve-Sparing Radical Prostatectomy
No full textIntroduction. Postprostatectomy orgasmic function (OF) remains poorly defined. Aims. To assess OF over time in patients who underwent bilateral nerve-sparing radical retropubic prostatectomy (BNSRRP) for organ-confined prostate cancer (PCa). Methods. Baseline data were obtained from 334 consecutive preoperatively sexually active PCa patients at hospital admission; data included a medical and sexual history, IIEF domain scores, and ICIQ-SF. Questionnaire were then completed every 12 months postoperatively, and patients participated in a semistructured interview at the 12-month (191/334 [57.2%] patients), 24-month (95/334 [28.4%] patients), 36-month (42/334 [12.6%] patients), and 48-month (19/334 [5.7%] patients) follow-up (FU). Main Outcome Measures. IIEF-OF domain values throughout the FU. Multivariate linear regression analysis (MVA) of the association between predictors (patient's age, IIEF-erectile function [EF], ICIQ-SF, and the use of postoperative proerectile pharmacological treatments) and the IIEF-OF at 12-month, 24-month, and 36-month FU. Results. Preoperative mean (median) IIEF-OF was 7.6 (10). The anova analysis showed an increase of the IIEF-OF values (P = 0.008; F = 4.009) throughout the FU (namely, IIEF-OF 12-month: 6.1 [6]; 24-month: 7.2 [8]; 36-month: 7.3 [8]; and 48-month: 7.7 [9.50]). The 12-month MVA showed that while proerectile oral therapy did not affect postoperative OF (P = 0.150; Beta 0.081), IIEF-OF linearly increased with IIEF-EF (P < 0.001; Beta 0.425). Conversely, IIEF-OF linearly decreased with patient's age (P < 0.001; Beta -0.135) and with ICQ-SF scores (P < 0.001; Beta -0.438). The 24-month and 36-month analyses showed that IIEF-OF still linearly increased with IIEF-EF (P < 0.001; Beta 0.540, and P < 0.001; Beta 0.536 respectively at the 24- and 36-month FU), whereas pharmacological therapy, rate of urinary continence, and patient's age did not significantly affect postoperative OF. Conclusions. Postoperative OF significantly ameliorates over time in patients undergoing BNSRRP. The higher the postoperative EF score, the higher the OF throughout the FU time frame. Salonia A, Gallina A, Briganti A, Colombo R, Bertini R, Da Pozzo LF, Zanni G, Sacca A, Rocchini L, Guazzoni G, Rigatti P, and Montorsi F. Postoperative Orgasmic Function Increases over Time in Patients Undergoing Nerve-Sparing Radical Prostatectomy. J Sex Med 2010;7:149-155
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Quantitative Sensory Testing of Peripheral Thresholds in Patients with Lifelong Premature Ejaculation: A Case-Controlled Study
No full textThe main functional factors related to lifelong premature ejaculation (PE) etiology have been suggested to be penile hypersensitivity, greater cortical penile representation, and disturbance of central serotoninergic neurotransmission. To quantitatively assess penile sensory thresholds in European Caucasian patients with lifelong PE using the Genito-Sensory Analyzer (GSA, Medoc, Ramat Yishai, Israel) as compared with those of an age-comparable sample of volunteers without any ejaculatory compliant. Forty-two consecutive right-handed, fully potent patients with lifelong PE and 41 right-handed, fully potent, age-comparable volunteers with normal ejaculatory function were enrolled. Each man was assessed via comprehensive medical and sexual history; detailed physical examination; subjective scoring of sexual symptoms with the International Index of Erectile Function; and four consecutive measurements of intravaginal ejaculatory latency time with the stopwatch method. All men completed a detailed genital sensory evaluation using the GSA; thermal and vibratory sensation thresholds were computed at the pulp of the right index finger, and lateral aspect of penile shaft and glans, bilaterally. Comparing quantitatively assessed penile thermal and vibratory sensory thresholds between men with lifelong PE and controls without any ejaculatory compliant. Patients showed significantly higher (P < 0.001) thresholds at the right index finger but similar penile and glans thresholds for warm sensation as compared with controls. Cold sensation thresholds were not significantly different between groups at the right index finger or penile shaft, but glans thresholds for cold sensation were bilaterally significantly lower (P = 0.01) in patients. Patients showed significantly higher (all P <= 0.04) vibratory sensation thresholds for right index finger, penile shaft, and glans, bilaterally, as compared with controls. Quantitative sensory testing analysis suggests that patients with lifelong PE might have a hypo- rather than hypersensitivity profile in terms of peripheral sensory thresholds. The peripheral neuropathophysiology of lifelong PE remains to be clarified. Salonia A, Sacca A, Briganti A, Carro UD, Deho F, Zanni G, Rocchini L, Raber M, Guazzoni G, Rigatti P, and Montorsi F. Quantitative sensory testing of peripheral thresholds in patients with lifelong premature ejaculation: A case-controlled study. J Sex Med 2009;6:1755-1762. OI Guazzoni, Giorgio Ferruccio/0000-0002-5713-831
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
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