Teardrops at the Lake: Chemistry of New Kingdom to Makuria Glass Beads and Pendants Between the First and Second Nile Cataracts

International expeditions extensively excavated Lower Nubia (between the First and Second Nile Cataracts) before it was submerged under the waters of Lake Nasser and Lake Nubia. The expeditions concentrated on monumental architecture and cemeteries, including sites at Qustul and Serra East, where the New Kingdom, and Napatan, Meroitic, Nobadian, and Makurian-period elites and common people were buried, ca. 1400 BC–AD 1400. Although the finds abound in adornments, including bead imports from Egypt and South India/Sri Lanka, only a few traces of local glass bead-making have been recorded in Nubia so far. Based on results of laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) analysis of 76 glass beads, pendants, and chunks from Qustul and Serra East contexts, dated between the New Kingdom and the Makuria Kingdom periods, this paper discusses the composition and provenance of two types of plant-ash soda-lime (v-Na-Ca) glass, two types of mineral soda-lime glass (m-Na-Ca), and two types of mineral-soda-high alumina (m-Na-Al) glass. It also presents the remains of a probable local glass bead-making workshop dated to the period of intensive long-distance bead trade in Northeast Africa, AD 400–600.

Synergistic effect of glass bead and glass fiber on the crystalline structure, thermal stability, and mechanical, rheological, and morphological properties of polyamide 6 composites

The effect of filler amount and kind on the crystalline structure, thermal stability, and mechanical, rheological, and morphological properties of polyamide 6 (PA6) was studied in this research. Glass bead and glass fiber were chosen as mineral fillers. They were incorporated to PA6 solely or in mixed formulations at different proportions (hybrid composites). Tensile strain, tensile strength, impact strength, flexural strain, flexural strength, melt flow index, crystallite size, and thermal degradation parameters were determined for all composites. The addition of glass bead or glass fiber increased the brittleness of pure PA6. The incorporation of glass fiber to pure PA6 improved flexural, impact, and tensile strengths, and mixing of glass bead with pure PA6 polymer caused deterioration of both (tensile and flexural) strengths, but enhanced impact strength. Among hybrid composites, the highest flexural, tensile, and impact strength values were achieved with 15 wt% glass bead and 15 wt% glass fiber content. The addition of glass bead and/or glass fiber to PA6 polymer caused a decrement in melt flow index value. X-ray diffraction results indicated that pure PA6 polymer had α- and γ-crystalline forms, and the reinforcement of glass bead or glass fiber would induce the crystallization into γ-form. It was also found that the incorporation of glass bead or glass fiber influenced the lamellar thickness, and pure PA6 gave thicker lamellar crystal than that of glass bead/fiber-reinforced PA6 and its hybrid composites. Higher thermal stability with glass bead or glass fiber incorporation was found as compared to pure PA6 polymer.

Endoparasite infestation of Indian Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak) in Citra Pesona Ladangku Animal Park, North Sumatra

An investigation on the infestation by endoparasites in the fecal samples of Indian Muntjac (Muntiacus muntjak) captived at Citra Pesona Ladangku Animal Park, North Sumatera, Indonesia had been conducted from October to November 2020. The study aimed to determine the endoparasite species, prevalence, and intensity of the infestation. Fecal samples were prepared for microscopical examination using glass bead sedimentation method. Based the observation on 9 deers, three species of endoparasites were found namely Ascaris sp, Haemonchus sp and Paramphistomum sp. Observations in the first week revealed the prevalence of each species from often (Ascaris sp, Haemonchus sp) to common (Paramphistomum sp) with light (Haemonchus sp, Paramphistomum sp) to moderate (Ascaris sp). Observations in the second week only revealed the presence of Paramphistomum with often prevalency and light intensity of infection.

EL JUEGO DE LOS ABALORIOS: del Último Teorema de Fermat a los Solitones Ópticos

Siguiendo la idea del Juego de los Abalorios (de Hermann Hesse), en este trabajo investigamos qué relación existe entre el último Teorema de Fermat (UTF) y los solitones ópticos. Para encontrar esta relación examinamos los pasos principales que condujeron a la demostración del UTF, empezando por la conjetura de Taniyama-Shimura, y pasando por las contribuciones de Hellegouarch, Frey y Ribet, hasta llegar al trabajo de Wiles. Posteriormente examinamos algunas de las ecuaciones que describen a los solitones ópticos. De este análisis se desprende que las curvas elípticas constituyen el puente que relaciona ambos temas. Veremos, además, que las ecuaciones que describen solitones ópticos también podrían tener alguna relación con la criptografía. Finalmente veremos que los resultados encontrados en este trabajo nos permiten proponer 2 conjeturas que constituyen temas de investigación para el futuro. Following the idea of the Glass Bead Game (by Hermann Hesse), in this work we investigate what relation exists between Fermat´s Last Theorem (FLT) and the optical solitons. To find such a relationship we examine the principal steps which lead to the demonstration of FLT, starting from Taniyama-Shimura´s conjecture, then paying attention to the contributions of Hellegouarch, Frey and Ribet, and finally the work of Wiles. Then we examine some of the equations which describe optical solitons. From this analysis it follows that the elliptic curves constitute the bridge that connects both topics. Moreover, we will observe that the equations which describe optical solitons might also be related to cryptography. Finally, we will see that the results found in this communication permit us to propose 2 conjectures that constitute research topics for future works.

El juego de los abalorios: del Último Teorema de Fermat a los Solitones Ópticos

Siguiendo la idea del Juego de los Abalorios (de Hermann Hesse), en este trabajo investigamos qué relación existe entre el último Teorema de Fermat (UTF) y los solitones ópticos. Para encontrar esta relación examinamos los pasos principales que condujeron a la demostración del UTF, empezando por la conjetura de Taniyama-Shimura, y pasando por las contribuciones de Hellegouarch, Frey y Ribet, hasta llegar al trabajo de Wiles. Posteriormente examinamos algunas de las ecuaciones que describen a los solitones ópticos. De este análisis se desprende que las curvas elípticas constituyen el puente que relaciona ambos temas. Veremos, además, que las ecuaciones que describen solitones ópticos también podrían tener alguna relación con la criptografía. Finalmente veremos que los resultados encontrados en este trabajo nos permiten proponer 2 conjeturas que constituyen temas de investigación para el futuro. Following the idea of the Glass Bead Game (by Hermann Hesse), in this work we investigate what relation exists between Fermat´s Last Theorem (FLT) and the optical solitons. To find such a relationship we examine the principal steps which lead to the demonstration of FLT, starting from Taniyama-Shimura´s conjecture, then paying attention to the contributions of Hellegouarch, Frey and Ribet, and finally the work of Wiles. Then we examine some of the equations which describe optical solitons. From this analysis it follows that the elliptic curves constitute the bridge that connects both topics. Moreover, we will observe that the equations which describe optical solitons might also be related to cryptography. Finally, we will see that the results found in this communication permit us to propose 2 conjectures that constitute research topics for future works.

Effect of Grain Size on Microscopic Pore Structure and Fractal Characteristics of Carbonate-Based Sand and Silicate-Based Sand

In this study, a series of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) tests was conducted on calcareous sand, quartz sand, and glass bead with a wide range of grain sizes, to understand the effect of grain size on the micro-pore structure and fractal characteristics of the carbonate-based sand and silicate-based sand. The pore size distribution (PSD) of the tested materials were obtained from the NMR T2 spectra, and fractal theory was introduced to describe the fractal properties of PSD. Results demonstrate that grain size has a significant effect on the PSD of carbonate-based sand and silicate-based sand. As grain size increases, the PSD of sands evolves from a binary structure with two peaks to a ternary structure with three peaks. The increase in the grain size can cause a remarkable increase in the maximum pore size. It is also found that the more irregular the particle shape, the better the continuity between the large and medium pores. In addition, grain size has a considerable effect on the fractal dimension of the micro-pore structure. The increase of grain size can lead to a significant increase in the heterogeneity and fractal dimension in PSD for calcareous sand, quartz sand and glass bead.

Upgrading the Glass Bead Making Furnace for Ease of Operation: A Case Study of the Masaga Glass Guild

The glass bead making furnace of the Masaga Glass Guild in Bida, Niger State Nigeria was evaluated in comparison to those of Ghana (Krobo) and India (Firozabad); it was discovered that the Masaga furnace falls short of an efficient system for sustainable work that should facilitate appreciable productivity. Furthermore, the furnace is not built with refractory bricks, implying that it has a short life span; the furnace is operated by hand-worked traditional cloth bellows requiring sustained and strenuous efforts over a relatively long period of time; Following this assessment, efforts were directed at modifying the furnace by producing design drawings of the modified furnace, design and production of refractory bricks from the design drawing, constructing the modified furnace structure using the refractory bricks, producing suitable furniture for the furnace and subsequently, devising a suitable mechanical blower device as an alternative to the manually worked bellows for the supply of combustion air. Consequently, a furnace was developed which eliminates the strenuous manual working of the bellows as well as the bellow operator and ensures that a single individual can work unassisted at the furnace in the process of glassware production.

FindingNemo: A Toolkit of CoHex- and Glass Bead-based Protocols for Ultra-Long Sequencing on ONT Platforms v1

This collection of protocols is designed to enable ultra-long (UL) reads on Nanopore sequencers. It is split into five sections dealing with ultra-high molecular weight (UHMW) DNA: Extraction QC Library preparation Nemo clean-up using glass beads and Hexamminecobalt(III) Chloride, aka. CoHex. Flowcell priming and library loading We have tested and optimised the full protocol in human cell lines. Various options are available for each of the steps and we hope that the components here will be useful to the community and provide a long read toolkit.