Elemental analysis of some Egyptian ores and industrial iron samples by neutron activation analysis

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＮｏｗａｄａｙｓ,ｍｏｒｅｉｎｔｅｒｅｓｔｈａｓｇｒｏｗｎｉｎｔｈｅｄｅｔｅｒｍｉｎａｔｉｏｎｏｆｔｈｅｅｌｅｍｅｎｔａｌｃｏｎｓｔｉｔｕｅｎｔｓｏｆｍｏｓｔｉｎｄｕｓｔｒｉａｌｍａｔｅｒｉａｌｓｓｕｃｈａｓｉｒｏｎｗｈｅｒｅｓｅｖｅｒａｌｄｉｆｆｅｒｅｎｔｍｅｔｈｏｄｓａｒｅｕｓｅｄ(Ｈａｓｓａｎ ,1982 ;Ａｂｄｕｌ,1990 ;Ｆａｉｌｅｙ ,1979;Ａｎｄｅｒｓｏｎ ,1981) .Ｒｅｃｅｎｔｌｙ ,ｔｈｅｒｅｗｅｒｅｍａｎｙｉｎｖｅｓｔｉｇａｔｉｏｎｓｏｎｅｌｅｍｅｎｔａｌａｎａｌｙｓｉ…     

Discovery of copper chloride cancer in ancient Egyptian polychromic wall paintings and faience: A developing archaeological disaster

We are deeply indebted to the Stiftung Volkswagenwerk for the generous financial support to conduct a detailed research program on ancient Egyptian pigments in time and space. We are grateful to the Egyptian Antiquities Organization specifically to its former Presidents Dr. Ahmed Kadry and Dr. Abdel Halim Nour El Din for their support and for the permission to collect pigment samples from various archaeological sites. During the course of this study we enjoyed the continuous encouragement of Dr. Ahmed Kadry and Dr. Abdel Halim Nour el Din and their deep understanding for the importance of the link between scientific research and Egyptology in solving archaeological problems. We also enjoyed constructive discussions with Dr. Ali Radwan Dean of the Faculty of Archaeology, Cairo University. We are also grateful to the following Directors, officials, and inspectors of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization: Dr. M. Abdel Razeq, Dr. Ali Hassan, Mr. M. Balbush, Dr. M. El Sughair, Dr. M. Saleh, Mr. M. Nasr, Mr. Ismail El Masri and other colleagues at various sites in Egypt. We are also grateful to Dr. Shawki Nakhla, Director of the Conservation Center of the Egyptian Antiquities Organization. This work has benefited from discussions with Dr. E. Martin-Pardey, Mrs. I. Blom, and Dr. A. Eggebrecht. Specifically Dr. E. Martin-Pardey laid the sampling plan for and participated in the field campaign in March 1988 and we enjoyed her egyptological support.     

Reduced light avoidance in spiders from populations in light-polluted urban environments

New finds of bones of the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), one from Portugal and one from Spain, were directly ¹⁴C dated to the first century AD. While the Portuguese specimen was found without connection to the Chalcolithic occupation of the Pedra Furada cave where it was recovered, the Spanish find, collected in the city of Mérida, comes from a ritual pit that also contained three human and 40 dog burials. The finds reported here show that the Egyptian mongoose, contrary to the traditional and predominant view, did not first arrive in the Iberian Peninsula during the Muslim occupation of Iberia. Instead, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the species was first introduced by the Romans, or at least sometime during the Roman occupation of Hispania. Therefore, radiocarbon dating of new archaeological finds of bones of the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) in the Iberian Peninsula push back the confirmed presence of the species in the region by approximately eight centuries, as the previously oldest dated record is from the ninth century. With these new dates, there are now a total of four ¹⁴C dated specimens of Egyptian mongooses from the Iberian Peninsula, and all of these dates fall within the last 2000 years. This offers support for the hypothesis that the presence of the species in Iberia is due to historical introductions and is at odds with a scenario of natural sweepstake dispersal across the Straits of Gibraltar in the Late Pleistocene (126,000–11,700 years ago), recently proposed based on genetic data.

     

Did the Romans introduce the Egyptian mongoose (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Herpestes ichneumon</Emphasis>) into the Iberian Peninsula?

New finds of bones of the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon), one from Portugal and one from Spain, were directly ¹⁴C dated to the first century AD. While the Portuguese specimen was found without connection to the Chalcolithic occupation of the Pedra Furada cave where it was recovered, the Spanish find, collected in the city of Mérida, comes from a ritual pit that also contained three human and 40 dog burials. The finds reported here show that the Egyptian mongoose, contrary to the traditional and predominant view, did not first arrive in the Iberian Peninsula during the Muslim occupation of Iberia. Instead, our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the species was first introduced by the Romans, or at least sometime during the Roman occupation of Hispania. Therefore, radiocarbon dating of new archaeological finds of bones of the Egyptian Mongoose (Herpestes ichneumon) in the Iberian Peninsula push back the confirmed presence of the species in the region by approximately eight centuries, as the previously oldest dated record is from the ninth century. With these new dates, there are now a total of four ¹⁴C dated specimens of Egyptian mongooses from the Iberian Peninsula, and all of these dates fall within the last 2000 years. This offers support for the hypothesis that the presence of the species in Iberia is due to historical introductions and is at odds with a scenario of natural sweepstake dispersal across the Straits of Gibraltar in the Late Pleistocene (126,000–11,700 years ago), recently proposed based on genetic data.     

ASM3模型的改进和应用

以ASM3原理为基础,引入污染物迁移方程,并加入位移变量,建立了基于ASM3的改进活性污泥模型模拟系统。以序批式呼吸计量试验对ASM3中异养菌好氧产率系数YH1O2、异养菌好氧内源呼吸速率系数bH1O2、异养菌的最大比生长速率μH和自养菌的最大比生长速率μA等4个重要的模型参数进行了确定,其它参数采用IWA推荐的典型值对工艺试验进行模拟。通过对COD,NH4^＋-N以及NO3^- -N进行模拟,模拟结果和实测结果吻合较好。     

Population dynamics and the physical and financial impacts to cereal crops of the Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus on the Agulhas Plain, Western Cape, South Africa

Cereal crop farmers in the Western Cape province of South Africa regard the Egyptian Goose as a serious pest. The Agulhas Plain, in particular, attracts thousands of geese annually primarily because of the abundance and availability of nutritious crops such as wheat Triticum spp. and barley Hordeum spp. for food and permanent water bodies for roosting, moulting and breeding. Therefore, this paper investigates the population dynamics and physical and financial impacts to cereal crops of the Egyptian Goose on the Agulhas Plain, Western Cape. Egyptian Geese inflict damage during three main periods, viz. soon after sowing (surface seeds); young, developing plants (growing plants); and cut plants stacked in windrows (long, linear piles) to dry. The largest numbers of geese were recorded during June and July when they foraged on growing plants less than 25 cm tall. Overall, the mean yield loss was 65.6% in 1997 and 63.5% in 1998. Fields suffering greatest yield loss in 1997 and 1998 were generally those within 600 m of the roosting sites and had about 300 geese grazing on them on areas of around 2 ha in size for about 2 months. By August, geese moved from croplands on to pastures. During October and November, geese once again fed primarily on barley seeds in harvested crops stacked in windrows. Damage by geese to farmers was estimated to be >2.5 and 7% of annual revenue received from barley and wheat farming, in 1997 and 1998, respectively. There are many variables that need to be considered when attempting to quantify and explain damage to cereal crops by Egyptian Geese.     

Set a thief to catch a thief: brown-necked raven (Corvus ruficollis) cooperatively kleptoparasitize Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus)

Our study describes how brown-necked ravens (Corvus ruficollis) are able to take advantage of an ordinarily inaccessible, high-quality food source by relying upon their innovative and manipulative thinking capabilities to exploit methods used by Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) to overcome the problem. In five observed interactions, the ravens were first seen in the vicinity of an abandoned clutch of ostrich eggs (Struthio camelus). The area was frequented by a pair of Egyptian vultures that bred on the cliffs across the road from the nature reserve. The Egyptian vulture exhibits tool use in birds, and is able to crack the hard shells of ostrich eggs by lifting a rock in the beak and pounding at the egg till it breaks open or cracks. If the egg is only cracked, the vulture inserts its narrow bill into the fissure and widens it by opening the mandibles. Pieces of eggshell are removed from around the crack in order to further open the egg. This is the point at which the pair of ravens attacked the vulture and harassed it till it abandoned the egg and left the area. The ravens then jointly enjoyed the contents of the egg which was otherwise inaccessible to them because of the strong egg shell.     

Egyptian blue — Cuprorivaite a window to ancient Egyptian technology

Egyptian Blue, a multicomponent synthetic blue pigment has been recorded in ancient Egypt since the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom (2600–2480 B.C.). The pigment consisting of cuprorivaite (CaCuSi₄O₁₀) with variable amounts of wollastonite (CaSiO₃), Cu-rich glass and cuprite (Cu₃O) or tenorite (CuO) was prepared by melting the copper-rich ingredient with lime and desert sand. Low melting temperatures (below 742 °C) were achieved by addition of flux-like plant ashes. The high quality of the pigments collected from monuments of the Fifth Dynasty (2480–2320 B.C.) may indicate that the first manufacture was in early dynastic or perhaps predynastic eras. During the reign of Thutmosis III (18th Dynasty, 1490–1436 B.C.) probably bronze filings were first applied as starting material, thus indicating a technological innovation. This new method was employed till the Roman times.     

The Toshka mirage in the Egyptian desert – River diversion as political diversion

Egypt's geography renders it vulnerable to water scarcity, but also enables it to control its inflow. After a run of high influx years from the Nile, Egypt embarked on a project to utilise the surplus water by planning a gigantic desert development project, Toshka, in the late 1990s. The present contribution argues that the project, even only as a dream, is instrumental to the control of the Egyptian population as well as Egypt's co-riparians on the river Nile.Rather than abandon the project, the post-revolutionary Egyptian government decided to push harder to make Toshka work. Three myths underlying the scheme (contribution to food security, solution to overpopulation and unlimited availability of water) however almost guarantee the scheme ending up another ‘white elephant’. Given the continuing disconnect between Egypt's government and population and Toshka's claim to boosting national greatness, I argue that, more than a river diversion plan, Toshka has turned out to be a political diversion plan from an enduring legitimacy deficit. The legitimacy base commanded by the newly elected president may obviate the need for such diversion in future.     

烟尘平行采样计算程序的编制及应用

结合ＳＹＣ－Ⅲ型皮托管采样测试仪的特点,编制了具有一定通用性的烟尘平行采样计算程序。该程序包括从烟道布点至除法器评价等５个功能相对独立的计算模块。程序采用菜单选择数据变数输入方式,操作较简便,等速采样流量计算时间〈２０ｓ,具有跟踪烟气基本参数变化,计算均值,快速选取最佳采样嘴等性能。经实际应用于焦炉自动装煤除尘系统及推焦除尘系统的烟尘测定,结果与静压平衡法吻合。     

The affect of industrial activities on zinc in alluvial Egyptian soil determined using neutron activation analysis

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＺｎｂｅｌｏｎｇｓｔｏｔｈｅｇｒｏｕｐｏｆｔｒａｃｅｍｅｔａｌｓｐｏｔｅｎｔｉａｌｌｙｍｏｓｔｈａｚａｒｄｏｕｓｔｏｔｈｅｂｉｏｓｐｈｅｒｅ.ＴｏｇｅｔｈｅｒｗｉｔｈＣｕａｎｄＮｉ,ｚｉｎｃｉｓｐｈｙｔｏｔｏｘｉｃ ,ｓｏｔｈｅｃｏｎｃｅｒｎａｂｏｕｔｔｈｉｓｍｅｔａｌｉｓｍａｉｎｌｙｄｉｒｅｃｔｅｄａｔｅｆｆｅｃｔｓｏｎｃｒｏｐｙｉｅｌｄａｎｄｓｏｉｌｆｅｒｔｉｌｉｔｙ(Ｋｉｅｋｅｎｓ,1 990 ) .ＴｈｅｍａｉｎｐｏｌｌｕｔａｎｔｓｏｕｒｃｅｓｆｏｒＺｎｉｓｓｏｉｌｓａｒｅｍｅ…     

Implementing sustainable laundering procedures for textiles in a commercial laundry and thus decreasing wastewater burden

This paper presents a research on how to optimize a laundering program to reduce wastewater burden thus achieving a more sustainable laundering procedure. A green surgical textiles program was investigated and the first step of optimization was performed based on the results of measuring certain parameters in the water taken from individual chambers. The wastewater parameters were reduced after optimization of the program although effluent treatment plants for water reuse remain necessary. An experimental laundering procedure with a high dosage of sodium hypochlorite was also conducted in order to observe a correlation between measured values of active chlorine and conductivity. As an approximate correlation was found this could result in the possibility of incorporating a sensor in the washing machine measuring online the conductivity with the possibility of regulating the dosage of sodium hypochlorite and thus preventing overdosing, which increases the damages of the laundered textiles and the burden of wastewater.     

应用MATLAB仿真烟气脱硫除尘过程

介绍了MATLAB语言在烟气脱硫除尘过程仿真中的应用。根据实验，得到不同参数值时烟气的脱硫、除尘效率，用MATLAB对数据用最小二乘法进行拟合，得到方程式。已知烟气风量和不同阶段的温度、进口和达标污染物浓度，根据拟合得到的方程式(乘以修正系数)，用MATLAB编程可计算出污染物满足达标情况下的参数值。结果表明，此程序简单、易读、使用方便、功能强大、高精度，由此说明基于MATLAB语言开发烟气脱硫除尘设计软件的可行性与优越性。     

石墨炉原子吸收法测定自来水中总铬升温参数的探讨

对石墨炉原子吸收测定自来水中总铬的方法进行优化。通过对石墨炉升温程序条件进行优化,找出其最佳参数值,其方法的线性关系良好,相关系数为0.999以上,回收率在96.7%~99.5%之间。该法操作简便,灵敏度和准确度高,线性好,便于推广,适合自来水中总铬的测定。     

黄河水质COD监测问题的研究

通过研究黄河原状水样COD值与澄清水COD值的关系,得出黄河泥沙对分析结果影响太大,不能合理分析黄河水质受污染的程度,建议对黄河水质COD监测与评价采用原状水与澄清水同时进行的方案为最佳.     

特殊区域地表水环境背景值表征技术方法研究与应用

选取黑龙江省源头水保护区作为研究对象,根据DEM数据对保护区内随机布设的水质监测点控制单元进行划分并提取单元内的相关指标建立监测点背景特性量化模型,基于量化结果提出地表水环境背景值监测方案,建立背景值数据库.选取研究区自然属性指标与空间属性指标,以空间叠置技术与聚类分析方法对研究区地表水进行背景值分区,最终将黑龙江省分为六大地表水水质背景值地理分区,并计算了各分区地表水环境背景值表征范围.表征范围显示：依据现行标准进行水质评价,保护区内水质背景值已超出Ⅱ类水质标准限值.因此,基于水质背景值研究成果提出了考虑背景值影响下的水环境质量评价方法,并将方法应用于研究区,结果表明方法切实可行且优于单因子评价法.研究成果可为区域制定背景值影响下的水环境评价方法提供科学的数据支撑与理论依据.     

特殊区域地表水环境背景值表征技术方法研究与应用

选取黑龙江省源头水保护区作为研究对象,根据DEM数据对保护区内随机布设的水质监测点控制单元进行划分并提取单元内的相关指标建立监测点背景特性量化模型,基于量化结果提出地表水环境背景值监测方案,建立背景值数据库.选取研究区自然属性指标与空间属性指标,以空间叠置技术与聚类分析方法对研究区地表水进行背景值分区,最终将黑龙江省分为六大地表水水质背景值地理分区,并计算了各分区地表水环境背景值表征范围.表征范围显示：依据现行标准进行水质评价,保护区内水质背景值已超出Ⅱ类水质标准限值.因此,基于水质背景值研究成果提出了考虑背景值影响下的水环境质量评价方法,并将方法应用于研究区,结果表明方法切实可行且优于单因子评价法.研究成果可为区域制定背景值影响下的水环境评价方法提供科学的数据支撑与理论依据.     

污染河流底泥释放与耗氧对水质的影响

本文较系统地研究了苏州河底泥对水质的影响。应用底泥释放与悬浮的规律,提出了悬浮释放速率方程,其计算值与实测值的误差不大于30%;根据建立的底泥释放迁移和底泥耗氧过程的数学模式,探讨了苏州河污染底泥释放与耗氧对水质的影响,为苏州河污染底泥的评价提供依据。      

Comparative study of seasonal air pollutant behavior in a Mediterranean coastal site: Castellón (Spain)

During January, July and August 1988, two experimental campaigns were carried out in the surroundings of the Castellón industrial area located on the Spanish east coast. The main objective was to study the dispersion of the power plant plume located on this site. This work also forms part of a larger program intended to compose a mosaic of atmospheric mesoscale flows related to air pollution cycles for the whole of the Iberian peninsula.In this program, air pollutants have also been considered as tracers of opportunity of the atmospheric circulations, and the study of ground-level concentration cycles has been used to provide evidence for the meso-meteorological processes. On the Castellón coast, and for most of the year, surface atmospheric dynamics are dominated by local cycles of north-west nocturnal drainage winds and east to south-south-east daytime sea-breeze flows. This regime is particularly marked during the summer, while the effect of large scale synoptic conditions is more noticeable in winter and spring.A mobile laboratory was used to collect 10 min averaged values of O₃, NO, NO₂, and SO₂. This unit was placed in the expected zone of influence of the coastal industries during the sea-breeze regime. Data obtained under summer and winter conditions have been compared and, while the temporal evolution of the concentrations of the compounds studied have similar structures, high ozone values have been detected in association with the onset of the sea-breeze during the summer.     

Clinical and Environmental Surveillance of Rotavirus Common Genotypes Showed High Prevalence of Common P Genotypes in Egypt

The objective of this study was to compare the prevalence of human rotavirus group A common G and P genotypes in human Egyptian stool specimens and raw sewage samples to determine the most common genotypes for future vaccine development. From 1026 stool specimens of children with acute diarrhea and using nested RT-PCR, 250 samples (24.37%) were positive for human rotavirus group A. Using multiplex RT-PCR, rotavirus common P and G genotypes were detected as 89.20% and 46.40% of the positive clinical specimens respectively. This low percentage of common G genotypes frequency may affect the efficiency of the available live attenuated oral rotavirus vaccines [Rotarix® (human rotavirus G1P[8]) and RotaTeq® (reassortant bovine–human rotavirus G1-4P[5] and G6P[8])], however the percentage of clinical specimens which were negative for common G genotypes but positive for P[8] genotype was 12.00%. From 24 positive raw sewage samples for rotavirus group A VP6 collected from Zenin and El-Gabal El-Asfar wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), 21 samples (87.50%) were typeable for common P genotypes while 13 samples (54.17%) were typeable for common G genotypes. Phylogenetic analysis of a VP8 partial gene of 45 P-typeable clinical isolates and 20 P-typeable raw sewage samples showed high similarity to reference strains and the majority of mutations were silent and showed lower to non-significant similarity with the two vaccine strains. This finding is useful for determining the most common antigens required for future vaccine development.