Humans and Water in Desert “Refugium” Areas: Palynological Evidence of Climate Oscillations and Cultural Developments in Early and Mid-Holocene Saharan Edges

Saharan anthropic deposits from archaeological sites, located along wadis or close to lakes, and sedimentary sequences from permanent and dried basins demonstrate that water has always been an attractive environmental feature, especially during periods of drought. This paper reports on two very different examples of Holocene sites where “humans and water” coexisted during dry periods, as observed by stratigraphic, archaeological and palynological evidence. Independent research was carried out on the Jefara Plain (Libya, 32°N) and the Gobero area (Niger, 17°N), at the extreme northern and southern limits of the Sahara, respectively. The histories of the Jefara and Gobero areas, as revealed by the archaeological and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions, suggest that these areas were likely to have been visited and exploited for a long time, acting as anthropic refugia, and therefore they have been profoundly transformed. Human presence and actions have conditioned the local growing of plants and selected a more or less synanthropic flora. Today, modern conservation strategies should take into consideration that water reservoirs, which are crucial for the long-term conservation of biodiversity, have provided refugia in the past just as they presently do under global warming conditions

Geotecnologias na elaboração de material didático para o ensino fundamental: Atlas escolar da Região Metropolitana de Campinas.

Este artigo tem o objetivo de apresentar as etapas que levaram à construção do Atlas escolar da Região Metropolitana de Campinas. O recurso didático produzido pela equipe pode ser consultado e utilizado em escolas da região de Campinas e também pode servir de modelo para outras escolas interessadas em replicar a experiência

Parkinsonian motor impairment predicts personality domains related to genetic risk and treatment outcomes in schizophrenia

Identifying endophenotypes of schizophrenia is of critical importance and has profound implications on clinical practice. Here we propose an innovative approach to clarify the mechanims through which temperament and character deviance relates to risk for schizophrenia and predict long-term treatment outcomes. We recruited 61 antipsychotic naïve subjects with chronic schizophrenia, 99 unaffected relatives, and 68 healthy controls from rural communities in the Central Andes. Diagnosis was ascertained with the Schedules of Clinical Assessment in Neuropsychiatry; parkinsonian motor impairment was measured with the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale; mesencephalic parenchyma was evaluated with transcranial ultrasound; and personality traits were assessed using the Temperament and Character Inventory. Ten-year outcome data was available for ~40% of the index cases. Patients with schizophrenia had higher harm avoidance and self-transcendence (ST), and lower reward dependence (RD), cooperativeness (CO), and self-directedness (SD). Unaffected relatives had higher ST and lower CO and SD. Parkinsonism reliably predicted RD, CO, and SD after correcting for age and sex. The average duration of untreated psychosis (DUP) was over 5 years. Further, SD was anticorrelated with DUP and antipsychotic dosing at follow-up. Baseline DUP was related to antipsychotic dose-years. Further, ‘explosive/borderline’, ‘methodical/obsessive’, and ‘disorganized/schizotypal’ personality profiles were associated with increased risk of schizophrenia. Parkinsonism predicts core personality features and treatment outcomes in schizophrenia. Our study suggests that RD, CO, and SD are endophenotypes of the disease that may, in part, be mediated by dopaminergic function. Further, SD is an important determinant of treatment course and outcome

Indicatori microscopici di pascolo per ricostruzioni di paleoeconomia e paleoambiente: polline, spore di funghi coprofili e uova di parassiti

The paper reports two study cases showing integrated analyses of microscopic records (pollen, coprophilous fungi and parasites remains) which are of basic importance to reconstruct past breeding and pastoral activities in Italy. The sites are located at Piano Locce (1225 m a.s.l., Barisciano, L’Aquila) in a depression in a mountain area and in the Bradano Valley (about 150-500 m a.s.l., Basilicata) in a hilly area rich in archaeological sites. The pollen-based palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of Piano Locce provided the history of plants landscape from around 36.000 years BP. Before the Holocene, a steppe vegetation and a grassland characterized the area where wild animals freely browsed. This assumption is strongly supported by the association of spores of coprophilous fungi with intestinal parasites eggs (Dicrocoelium) and pollen clumps. The trend of coprophilous fungi and pollen assemblages including Anthropogenic Indicators shows that, after the wild animals browsing, a fairly continuous presence of domesticated animals, prevalently ovicaprines, interested the area in the Holocene. The archaeological sites of Difesa San Biagio and Altojanni in Bradano Valley showed evidences of ovicaprine-farming and cattle breeding during Hellenistic and Mediaeval periods. In particular, Cichorioideae, Chenopodiaceae and Brassicaceae pollen and spores of coprophilous fungi (such as Sordaria type, Sporormiella and Podospora type) attest the predominance of pastoral activities during the Hellenistic period at San Biagio. A greater pollen biodiversity characterizes Altojanni, where spores of the coprophilous fungi were associated with spores of fungi with a different ecology as Chaetomium and Valsaria variospora type. The environmental and microarchaeobotanical contexts are in agreement with archaeological evidences that attest the presence of domestic animals, probably cattle, maintained in this site during Middle Ages

The Influence of Different Bleaching Protocols on Dentinal Enzymatic Activity: An In Vitro Study

This study aimed to investigate matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity in human dentin using in-situ and gelatin zymography, after at-home and in-office bleaching, related to their clinical exposure times. Dentin specimens (n = 5) were treated with 35% hydrogen peroxide (50 min per session/4 sessions), 10% carbamide peroxide (180 min/21 sessions), or no treatment. All were subjected to in-situ zymography. Dentin slices were, subsequently, obtained, covered with fluorescein-conjugated gelatin, and examined with confocal laser-scanning microscopy. The fluorescence intensity was quantified and statistically analyzed using one-way ANOVA and Bonferroni tests (α = 0.05). Furthermore, gelatin zymography was performed on protein extracts obtained from dentin powder (N = 8 teeth), treated with hydrogen peroxide or carbamide peroxide, with different exposure times (10/50 min for hydrogen peroxide; 252/1260 min for carbamide peroxide). The results of the in-situ zymography showed no statistical differences between the bleached specimens and the control group, with a medium level of gelatinolytic activity expressed in the dentin tubules. The results of gelatin zymography showed an increased expression of pro-MMP-9 in carbamide peroxide groups. The expression of pro-MMP-2 decreased in all the experimental groups. The bleaching treatments performed on the enamel of sound teeth do not influence dentinal enzymatic activity. However, when unprotected dentin tissue is bleached, matrix metalloproteinases are more expressed, particularly when carbamide peroxide is used, proportional to the exposure time