Humic fractions of organic wastes

The distribution and composition of humic and fulvic acids have been investigated in the following organic wastes: straw, farmyard manure, sewage sludge, poultry manure, municipal refuse compost and pig slurry. Of the total organic carbon, the proportion present as humic carbon varied from about 13% in the compost to 50% in the pig slurry; the humic compounds extracted are characterized by a variable chemical composition. As compared to the natural humic substances from soil organic matter, these compounds show a lower content of acidic functional groups, lower E₄/E₆ and C/H ratios and can be classified as young forms of humic substances.     

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.     

Prenatal exclusion of Hurler's disease by leucocyte α-L-iduronidase assay

Hurler's disease was excluded in a fetus at 23 weeks' gestation by demonstrating normal iduronidase activity in fetal leucocytes following failure of amniotic cell culture after amnic-centesis at 16 and 19 weeks' gestation. The diagnosis was confirmed in the neonate.