Papers by Maria Elena Gatto
ABSTRACT This chapter provides an overview of the historical and socio-economic rea-lity of a sma... more ABSTRACT This chapter provides an overview of the historical and socio-economic rea-lity of a small oasis in the wider frame of the Saharan history in the chronological span which saw a deep transition in subsistence strategies. The introduction of agriculture and related irrigation techniques, the development of long distance trade with dromedary as pack animal and the emergence of a hierarchical complex society in the region of Fezzan are among the main radical changes which occurred in the Central Sahara from the early first millennium BC. Changes that brought to the flourishing of the Garaman-tian kingdom and the development of the first urbanisation and state formation by the end of that millennium and the first centuries AD. The core of this process was the Wadi el-Ajal. Wadi Tanezzuft experienced a parallel but original development, sharing some similar cultural traits but also differences in socio-economic and political features. For the good state of preservation of the archaeological evidence, Fewet represents a key site in exploring the formative phases of sedentarisation of the pastoral groups in the area and the later development of the settlements and necropolis facing the impact of a greater polity, centered at Garama, and the spread of a trans and intra-Saharan trade. Moreover the analysis of the skeletal remains from the Fewet necropolis provides a vivid picture of the life conditions of the Fewet inhabitants and of the population dynamics in southern Fezzan in the early-historical times.
Revista Economia E Desenvolvimento, Jun 19, 2011
Os anos mais recentes marcaram a insercao mundial das economias dentro do novo paradigma global ... more Os anos mais recentes marcaram a insercao mundial das economias dentro do novo paradigma global desregulamentacao e liberalizacao dos mercados. Tendo como base o contexto neoliberal e de readequacao das estruturas economico-produtivas, o objetivo deste trabalho e analisar os diferentes posicionamentos dos Estados face aos desafios impostos pela mundializacao, e as implicacoes dessas posturas para o desenvolvimento economico.
Sahara, 2001
En 1973, la Combined Prehistoric Expedition decouvrait a Bir Sahara (Desert Occidental Egyptien) ... more En 1973, la Combined Prehistoric Expedition decouvrait a Bir Sahara (Desert Occidental Egyptien) deux anciennes caches contenant des poteries, quelques objets etranges en ceramique et des anneaux en argile. A proximite, un site datant de «l'Ancien Empire» fut remarque. Tous ces elements furent consignes dans un bref compte-rendu et ne donnerent lieu a aucune etude ulterieure. Dans cet article nous exposons les resultats de l'analyse des ceramiques collectees, pour les replacer dans leur contexte culturel. La production de poteries du Naqadien et du Groupe-A, toutes deux datees de la deuxieme moitie du IV e millenaire B.C., semble devoir etre mise en relation avec la presence du Groupe-A dans le desert. Le fait est confirme par de nouvelles donnees provenant d'autres secteurs du desert, dont un exemple est Laqiya. Cela confirme que le territoire nubien n'etait pas confine au Nil et qu'il debordait sur le desert, des deux cotes du fleuve.
This work has as spatial reference the Northeast of Brazil and as temporary reference the years o... more This work has as spatial reference the Northeast of Brazil and as temporary reference the years of 2000, 2003 and 2006. Its subject is to evaluate the relationships among productive activities concentrated on exports and the endogenous activities that seek the internal market. Its content involves studying the recent export context of the Northeastern economy while applying instruments of regional analysis seeking to test the impact of the export sectors in this economy. Starting from the recent evolution of the values found for the employment multiplier (1,5679 for 2000, 1,5828 for 2003 and 1,5858 for 2006), we verified that the export sectors have achieved satisfactory impacts in the Northeast economy, indicating a tendency of diversification in the productive structure activities and a bigger integration of the internal and external markets, what results in a positive influence of the exports in the creation of employments in Brazilian Northeast.
In years 2004-2006, twenty-four tumuli located in the large necropolis adjacent to the oasis of F... more In years 2004-2006, twenty-four tumuli located in the large necropolis adjacent to the oasis of Fewet were excavated. They were selected among the best preserved stone structures, according to the observation carried out during the survey of the cemete-ry. The investigation of those tumuli provided new data both on Garamantian's funerary practices and population. In fact thirty-three skeletons, at various state of preservation, were uncovered. A detailed description of the excavated structures, inhumations and fu-nerary offerings is here presented. The evidence from Fewet will be then interpreted in the framework of the Late, Final Pastoral and Garamantian funerary traditions in the Fezzan. Authors' contribution. Francesca Ricci carried out the anthropological study on the field and wrote all the parts related to the human skeletal remains. Maria Carmela Gat-to provided information on the ceramic assemblage. Emanuele Cancellieri analysed the arrow head from tumulus FW T1287 ...
TheScientificWorldJournal, 2015
The aim of this RCT was to evaluate plaque control and gingival health promotion effectiveness of... more The aim of this RCT was to evaluate plaque control and gingival health promotion effectiveness of a new toothbrush with extra-soft filaments in postsurgical sets. Ten consecutive patients with at least two scheduled symmetrical periodontal surgeries were selected. Following the first periodontal surgery, a test (TB1) or control (TB2) toothbrush was randomly assigned. After the second surgery, the remaining toothbrush was given. Patients were asked to gently wipe the surgical area from days 3 to 7 postoperatively and to gently brush using a roll technique from day 7 till the end of the study. Baseline evaluation took place on the day of surgery and follow-ups were performed at days 7, 14, and 30 postoperatively. A more evident PI reduction was recorded for test toothbrush where a regular decrease was observed till day 14; then, this parameter tended to stabilize, remaining however lower than that recorded for the control toothbrush. There were no statistical differences in the GI bet...
The new microbiologica, 2014
The aim of this study was to investigate the subgingival prevalence of six periodontal pathogens ... more The aim of this study was to investigate the subgingival prevalence of six periodontal pathogens in 352 Italian patients with chronic periodontitis. Possible correlations with clinical parameters, age, gender and smoking status were also investigated. At first visit a pooled subgingival plaque sample was obtained for each subject by using the paper-point method. The samples were processed and analysed according to a commercially available quantitative real time polymerase chain reaction assay (Meridol® Perio Diagnostics, GABA International, Switzerland). Porphyromonas gingivalis (Pg), Treponema denticola (Td), Tannerella forsythia (Tf), Prevotella intermedia (Pi), Fusobacterium nucleatum (Fn) and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans (Aa) were investigated. Fn resulted the most frequently detected (95%) while Tf showed the highest load (12x105 cells/plaque sample). Aa was the less represented bacteria for load and presence. Bacterial load of Pg, Td, Tf and Fn showed a direct correla...
Progress in Orthodontics, 2013
Background: So far, a few studies have tried to investigate the relationship between the placemen... more Background: So far, a few studies have tried to investigate the relationship between the placement of fixed orthodontic appliances and the change of nonmicrobial salivary properties, mostly with conflicting outcomes and short-term assessment (up to 6 months from bracket placement). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the salivary flow rate, pH and buffer capacity prior to the beginning of therapy and after 1 year from bracket placement using a simple and commercially available chairside saliva check kit. Methods: The study population consisted of 20 healthy patients (mean age, 16.5 ± 4 years) scheduled for fixed orthodontic treatment. Salivary samples were taken just before bracket bonding (T0; baseline assessment) and after 1 year of treatment (T1; half-treatment assessment) using the GC Saliva-Check Kit (GC Corp., Leuven, Belgium). Results: No statistically significant difference was detected between T0 and T1 for the salivary parameters examined in the present study. Conclusions: Under the conditions of this study, the placement of fixed orthodontic appliances did not change the salivary pH, buffer capacity and flow rate after 1 year of treatment if compared with the baseline assessment.
Antiquity, 2012
The vivid engravings on vertical rocks at the desert site of Nag el-Hamdulab west of the Nile com... more The vivid engravings on vertical rocks at the desert site of Nag el-Hamdulab west of the Nile comprise a rock art gallery of exceptional historical significance. The authors show that the images of boats with attendant prisoners, animals and the earliest representation of a pharaoh offer a window on Dynasty 0, and depict the moment that the religious procession of pre-Dynastic Egypt became the triumphant tour of a tax-collecting monarch.
Natural Science, 2013
The chemical characterization of phenolic extracts of salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor Scop. s.l.)... more The chemical characterization of phenolic extracts of salad burnet (Sanguisorba minor Scop. s.l.) and broomrape (Orobanche crenata Forsk.) was performed. Active fractions were separated and characterized and, in the case of O. crenata, two phenolic compounds, verbascoside and isoverbascoside, were quantitatively extracted, purified and characterized. These compounds proved to be effective in reducing the growth of some important fungi responsible for the decay of fresh fruit and vegetables in postharvest. Verbascoside showed significant activity against Penicillium italicum, fairly inhibited Monilinia laxa, P. expansum, and Aspergillus carbonarius, and showed little activity against Botrytis cinerea, M. fructicola and P. digitatum. Isoverbascoside completely inhibited B. cinerea, P. digitatum, P. italicum, and P. expansum; it fairly inhibited M. laxa and A. carbonarius; while it showed to be less effective against M. fructicola. The obtained results support the possible use of some wild edible plants as a source of phenolic substances for the postharvest biological control of fresh fruit and vegetable rots.
Resumo: A crescente incidência de casos clínicos e cirúrgicos que necessitam de cuidados imediato... more Resumo: A crescente incidência de casos clínicos e cirúrgicos que necessitam de cuidados imediatos, por configurarem a emergência, tem chamado a atenção da Secretaria de Estado da Saúde de São Paulo, principalmente a partir da década de 70. Paralelamente, ...
The Open Dentistry Journal, 2012
A total removal of the bacterial deposits is one of the main challenges of periodontal therapy. A... more A total removal of the bacterial deposits is one of the main challenges of periodontal therapy. A surgical approach is sometimes required in order to allow a correct access to the areas not thoroughly reached during the initial therapy. The present study focuses on the surgical scaling effectiveness in root deposits removal; the potential support of a disclosing agent during this procedure is also evaluated. Forty surgical periodontal patients were randomly divided between surgeries where the operator was informed about a final examination of the residual root deposits and surgeries where the operator was not informed. Straight after scaling procedures a supervisor recorded the O’Leary Plaque Index of the exposed roots by mean of a disclosing agent and the percentage of teeth with residual biofilm. After the stained deposits removal, a second chromatic examination was performed and new data were collected. Mann-Whitney U-test and Wilcoxon test for paired samples were used for compar...
Postharvest Biology and Technology, 2011
The use of plant extracts could be a useful alternative to synthetic fungicides in the management... more The use of plant extracts could be a useful alternative to synthetic fungicides in the management of rot fungi during postharvest handling of fruit and vegetables. The aim of this study was to assess the in vitro and in vivo activity of extracts obtained from nine wild edible herbaceous species (Borago officinalis, Orobanche crenata, Plantago coronopus, P. lanceolata, Sanguisorba minor, Silene vulgaris, Sonchus asper, Sonchus oleraceus, and Taraxacum officinale) against some important postharvest pathogens, i.e. Botrytis cinerea, Monilinia laxa, Penicillium digitatum, P. expansum, P. italicum, Aspergillus carbonarius, and A. niger. Phenolic composition of all extracts was evaluated by HPLC. Several derivatives of caffeic acid, of the flavones apigenin and luteolin, and of the flavonols kaempferol and quercetin, were identified. Extracts from S. minor and O. crenata showed the highest efficacy in all the trials. In particular, S. minor completely inhibited in vitro the conidial germination of M. laxa, P. digitatum, P. italicum, and A. niger and strongly reduced those of B. cinerea; O. crenata extract showed a lower but still significant reduction of conidial germination on all the tested fungi. Moreover, the extracts from both species were effective in reducing the germ tube elongation also when a slight inhibition of conidial germination was observed. In many cases, a dose effect was observed, with an increase of antifungal activity as the phenolic concentration increased. In trials performed on wounded fruit, S. minor extract completely inhibited brown rot on apricots and nectarines; O. crenata extract strongly reduced grey mould, brown rot, and green mould on table grapes, apricots and nectarines, and oranges, respectively. The inhibition efficacy of extracts was ascribed to the presence of some caffeic acid derivatives and/or flavonoids. HPLC phenolic analyses provided useful information to identify the possible active compounds.
Orthodontics & Craniofacial Research, 2013
To test the reliability of 4 different methods of measuring maxillary canine inclination (CI) on ... more To test the reliability of 4 different methods of measuring maxillary canine inclination (CI) on panoramic radiographs, and to determine whether examiner experience level influenced these measurements under ideal experimental conditions. The sample consisted of 20 high-quality panoramic radiographs obtained under standardized conditions using the same radiological apparatus. Canine inclination (CI) was measured as either the angle formed by the canine long axis and the midline (method A), a line passing through the suborbitary points (method B), the most superior points of condyles (method C) or the mesiobuccal cusp tip of the first molars (method D). Measurements were made at initial observation (T1) and after 3 months (T2) by 5 experienced orthodontists and 5 undergraduate dental students. Mean T1-T2 differences for the measurements were close to zero, with no relationship between their magnitude or direction for each method. Intra-rater reliability was excellent, with the lowest values being observed for method B and the highest for method C. No influence of the examiner experience level was detected. The four methods used in this study to measure CI showed excellent intra-rater and inter-rater reliability, irrespective of examiner experience level. Method B was the least reliable and method C the most reliable, if compared with the others.
Lasers in Medical Science, 2013
The effect of ozone, diode laser irradiation, and presence of teeth crowding/spacing on pain perc... more The effect of ozone, diode laser irradiation, and presence of teeth crowding/spacing on pain perception in orthodontic patient was tested. Overall, 76 patients [55 women and 21 men; age 35.1(6.4) years] who met the inclusion criteria participated in the study. Immediately after fixed orthodontic appliance placement, the patients were exposed to a pain relief treatment (one single session) using either 635-nm diode laser (SmartM, Lasotronix, Warsaw, Poland) or ozone therapy (OzoneDTA, Apoza, New Taipei City, Taiwan) by placing the handpieces in the area of each teeth apex and interdental papillae, from the maxillary right first molar to the maxillary left first molar. Subjects were divided into three groups: control group (G1, n = 26), ozone (G2, n = 26, exposed to ozone therapy, generator probe type 3, working time per point 5 s, 23 points, application time 1 min and 55 s), and laser group (G3, n = 25, exposed to continuous mode diode laser, 400 mW, handpiece diameter 8 mm, spot area 0.5024 cm 2 , power density per second 1.59 W/cm 2 , dose 2 J per point, time: 5 s per point, 23 points, total energy per session 46 J, application time 1 min and 55 s). The level of teeth crowding was assessed using the Lundstrom indicator. The patients received a questionnaire for pain assessment (the Numeric Rating Scale, NRS-11, grade level 0-10) and recorded at 7 time points (1 h, 6 h, and 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 days) after the fixed orthodontic appliance placement. The mean pain values for the diode laser, ozone, and control group were 3.6 (1.31) (95% CI, 2.95-4.25), 5.25 (3.37) (95% CI, 3.52-6.98), and 5.75 (2.40) (95% CI, 4.69-6.81), respectively. We observed lower pain values in the diode laser group compared to the control group (p = 0.0237). The use of ozone in this study did not result in significant pain reduction in comparison to control (p = 0.8040) and laser groups (p = 0.1029). There were no differences in pain perception between patients with crowded teeth and non-crowded teeth in each group (G1, p = 0.66, G2, p = 0.86, G3, p = 0.24). The use of 635-nm diode laser led to decreased pain perception; however, ozone and presence of teeth crowding/spacing did not affect the pain perception in orthodontic patients during the first 5 days after the fixed orthodontic appliance placement.
The Journal of the American Dental Association, 2004
Background. The authors conducted a study to evaluate the predictive value of five radiographic m... more Background. The authors conducted a study to evaluate the predictive value of five radiographic markers on the panoramic radiograph, or PR, to point out the relationship between the mandibular canal and the impacted third molar. Methods. The authors evaluated the accuracy of the radiographic markers by comparing the PR with an axial computed tomographic, or CT, scan. They identified a sample of 73 third molars that showed a close relationship between the tooth roots and the mandibular canal on the PR, and then classified them on the basis of five radiographic markers. They also detected contact between the third molar and the mandibular canal on the CT scan. Results. The distribution of the five radiographic markers was as follows: 37 teeth exhibited increased radiolucency, 13 exhibited superimposition, 14 exhibited interruption of the radiopaque border, 14 exhibited narrowing of the canal and seven exhibited diversion of the canal. In 11 cases, two or more markers were recognizable. The predictive values of a positive test result were as follows: increased radiolucency, 73 percent; superimposition, 38.5 percent; interruption of the radiopaque border, 71.4 percent; narrowing, 78.6 percent; and diversion, 100 percent. The authors detected contact in all of the cases that exhibited two or more markers. Conclusion. Increased radiolucency, narrowing and interruption of the radiopaque border, as well as the concomitant presence of two or more radiographic markers, on the PR were highly predictive of contact between the third molar and the mandibular canal. An axial CT scan probably is indicated in such cases. Clinical Implications. The results of this study may lead to some guidelines for oral surgeons evaluating whether to obtain an axial CT scan for further investigation after examining an impacted mandibular third molar via PR.
Journal of technology management & innovation, 2013
This paper proposes to prepare a case study on the role of the tourism cluster of Porto de Galinh... more This paper proposes to prepare a case study on the role of the tourism cluster of Porto de Galinhas in local development. For such, the analysis on the indicators listed in the database of the Annual Report of Social Information (RAIS) was performed, whose time interval was 15 years comprised between 1994 and 2008, the pair years in the aforementioned period being analyzed. The results show that the impact of tourism cluster is positive, both from economic, as the social point of views, i.e. it entails development both in physical infrastructure and in terms of socioeconomic relationships of the resident population. This study reinforces therefore, the argument of the positive influence of a tourism cluster in the region, specifically in case of Porto de Galinhas.
Journal of Clinical Virology, 2003
Background: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) clinical isolates display genetic polymorphisms, suppose... more Background: Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) clinical isolates display genetic polymorphisms, supposed to be related with strain-specific tissue-tropism and HCMV-induced immunopathogenesis. One recently discovered polymorphic gene is ORF UL73, encoding for the envelope glycoprotein gN. Among HCMV clinical strains, it shows four distinct genomic variants denoted as gN-1, gN-2, gN-3 and gN-4. Objectives: Aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of the different gN types in the populations examined and to investigate the possible relationship between genotypes and severity of congenital CMV disease. Study design: The gN genotyping was carried out by sequencing analysis of the HCMV ORF UL73. Comparisons were made by chi-square test and contingency tables. Results: All the four gN genotypes can cause congenital infections and the overall distribution was as follows: gN-1, 23.6%; gN-2, 1.1%; gN-3, 12.9%; gN-4, 62.4%. None of them seems to be preferentially associated with vertical transmission or with acute outcome of congenital infection. However, considering the chronic outcome and long-term sequelae, there was a statistically significant (P B/0.05) difference between congenitally infected infants with or without adverse chronic outcome. Conclusions : HCMV congenital infections, which displayed a prevalence of the gN-1 variants, seem to be associated with favorable chronic outcome.
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Papers by Maria Elena Gatto