Complex organic chemical balms of Pharaonic animal mummies

Millions of votive mummies of mammals, birds and reptiles were produced throughout ancient Egypt, with their popularity increasing during the reign of Amenhotep III (1400 bc) and thereafter. The scale of production has been taken to indicate that relatively little care and expense was involved in their preparation compared with human mummies. The accepted view is that animals were merely wrapped in coarse linen bandages and/or dipped in 'resin' before death. However, as with human mummification there was a range of qualities of treatments, and visual inspection of animal mummies suggests that the procedures used were often as complex as those used in humans (for example, evisceration and elaborate bandaging). Moreover, the ancient Egyptians treated animals with great respect, regarding them both as domestic pets and representatives of the gods; for example, the cat symbolized the goddess Bastet; the hawk, Horus; the ibis, Thoth, and so on. We report here the results of chemical investigations of tissues and wrappings from Pharaonic cat, hawk and ibis mummies using gas chromatography, gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, thermal desorption-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and pyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The analyses reveal the presence of highly complex mixtures of n-alkyl and cyclic biomarker components characteristic of fats, oils, beeswax, sugar gum, petroleum bitumen, and coniferous, Pistacia and possibly cedar resins. The mixture of balms is of comparable complexity to those used to mummify humans from the same period.     

Evidence from carbon isotope measurements for diverse origins of sedimentary hydrocarbons

The organic matter found in sedimentary rocks must derive from many sources; not only from ancient primary producers but also from consumers and secondary producers. In all of these organisms, isotope effects can affect the abundance and distribution of 13C in metabolites. Here, by using an improved form of a previously described technique in which the effluent of a gas chromatograph is continuously analysed isotopically, we report evidence of the diverse origins of sedimentary organic matter. The record of 13C abundances in sedimentary carbonate and total organic carbon can be interpreted in terms of variations in the global carbon cycle. Our results demonstrate, however, that isotope variations within sedimentary organic mixtures substantially exceed those observed between samples of total organic carbon. Resolution of isotope variations at the molecular level offers a new and convenient means of refining views both of localized palaeoenvironments and of control mechanisms within the global carbon cycle.     

Coprophagy: an unusual source of essential carotenoids

The rare Egyptian vulture (Neophron percnopterus) stands out among the Old World vultures (Family Accipitridae) because of its brightly ornamented head, which is coloured yellow by carotenoid pigments, and its practice of feeding on faeces. Here we show that Egyptian vultures obtain these pigments from the excrement of ungulates. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that faeces can be used as a source of carotenoids by a vertebrate.     

古希腊哲学产生的社会背景和文化渊源

古希腊哲学是古巴比伦人和古埃及人经验性的知识与古希腊人崇尚思辨的理性精神相结合的产物。它对整个西方社会的发展产生了长远而深刻的影响     

空管糊剂与干髓剂治疗乳磨牙牙髓炎和根尖周围炎的临床观察

采用空管糊剂与干髓剂对394颗乳磨牙牙髓炎和根尖周炎进行治疗观察,并经过半年至2年的随访.结果表明:空管糊剂疗法治疗乳磨牙牙髓炎和根尖周炎,有效率为97.12%,干髓剂治疗有效率为86.42%.经统计学处理两组疗效有显著性差异,P<0.05.     

Pleistocene to Holocene extinction dynamics in giant deer and woolly mammoth

The extinction of the many well-known large mammals (megafauna) of the Late Pleistocene epoch has usually been attributed to 'overkill' by human hunters, climatic/vegetational changes or to a combination of both. An accurate knowledge of the geography and chronology of these extinctions is crucial for testing these hypotheses. Previous assumptions that the megafauna of northern Eurasia had disappeared by the Pleistocene/Holocene transition were first challenged a decade ago by the discovery that the latest woolly mammoths on Wrangel Island, northeastern Siberia, were contemporaneous with ancient Egyptian civilization. Here we show that another spectacular megafaunal species, the giant deer or 'Irish elk', survived to around 6,900 radiocarbon yr bp (about 7,700 yr ago) in western Siberia-more than three millennia later than its previously accepted terminal date-and therefore, that the reasons for its ultimate demise are to be sought in Holocene not Pleistocene events. Before their extinction, both giant deer and woolly mammoth underwent dramatic shifts in distribution, driven largely by climatic/vegetational changes. Their differing responses reflect major differences in ecology.     

浙江西天目山土壤理化性质的海拔梯度格局

通过分析土壤理化性质,了解西天目山土壤理化性质的变化并验证酸沉降导致近年来西天目山柳杉衰退的观点.沿海拔梯度从350~1 350 m每隔200 m选定取样点,每个样点分3层取土样,分析土壤的理化性质.总体来看,随着海拔的升高,粗颗粒比例、土壤含水量和有机物含量增加,土壤容重和pH值随海拔的升高而降低,而总氮和总磷含量没有固定的趋势.与11年和20年前相比,土壤pH值显著降低,表明土壤呈现明显的酸化,土壤的快速酸化提供了酸沉降诱发柳杉快速衰退的证据.     

分拆正有理数成单位分数之和

在古埃及数学中,通常将一个既约分数mn分拆成若干个单位分数之和.有此将考虑把任一个正有理数mn分拆成互不相同的单位分数之和的问题.     

西方文明的起源与特质

长期以来，东西方的学者习惯于将古希腊文明视为西方文化的源头。其实，真正的源头应是克里特岛上的米诺斯文明。但它并非原生文明，而是在埃及农业文明与西亚商业文明的影响下发展起来的次生文明。而西方文明则是一种在游牧文化骑马民族的反复冲击下，主要继承和发扬了游牧文化集贸易、掠夺、殖民于一体的骑马民族传统，由原始狩猎文化、游牧文化、商品文化、农耕文化杂交而成的海洋文明。     

Ancient Egyptian chronology and the astronomical orientation of pyramids

The ancient Egyptian pyramids at Giza have never been accurately dated, although we know that they were built approximately around the middle of the third millennium BC. The chronologies of this period have been reconstructed from surviving lists of kings and the lengths of their reigns, but the lists are rare, seldom complete and contain known inconsistencies and errors. As a result, the existing chronologies for that period (the Old Kingdom) can be considered accurate only to about +/-100 years, a figure that radiocarbon dating cannot at present improve. Here I use trends in the orientation of Old Kingdom pyramids to demonstrate that the Egyptians aligned them to north by using the simultaneous transit of two circumpolar stars. Modelling the precession of these stars yields a date for the start of construction of the Great Pyramid that is accurate to +/-5 yr, thereby providing an anchor for the Old Kingdom chronologies.     

Carbonaceous meteorites as a source of sugar-related organic compounds for the early Earth.

The much-studied Murchison meteorite is generally used as the standard reference for organic compounds in extraterrestrial material. Amino acids and other organic compounds important in contemporary biochemistry are thought to have been delivered to the early Earth by asteroids and comets, where they may have played a role in the origin of life. Polyhydroxylated compounds (polyols) such as sugars, sugar alcohols and sugar acids are vital to all known lifeforms-they are components of nucleic acids (RNA, DNA), cell membranes and also act as energy sources. But there has hitherto been no conclusive evidence for the existence of polyols in meteorites, leaving a gap in our understanding of the origins of biologically important organic compounds on Earth. Here we report that a variety of polyols are present in, and indigenous to, the Murchison and Murray meteorites in amounts comparable to amino acids. Analyses of water extracts indicate that extraterrestrial processes including photolysis and formaldehyde chemistry could account for the observed compounds. We conclude from this that polyols were present on the early Earth and therefore at least available for incorporation into the first forms of life.     

原始的三度视觉概念与现代艺术

任何绘画的表现形式都应该是在完整的三度视觉概念的基础上进行的。古代岩画、古埃及壁画以及儿童绘画的潜在的共性恰恰是对三度物体感知后的活动,客观意义上也影响了现代艺术家们对于三度视觉概念的重新认识,即三度视觉概念的平面化再现。     

授时历议中的仲康日食记录研究

“授时历议”见于《元史·历志》,是一篇用以阐述《授时历》（元代郭守敬等编制,行用于ＡＤ１２８１—１６４４）博大精深的长篇论文．通过对其中“仲康日食”记录的研究得出：１）“仲康日食”是一个与古代天文家推步合验的事件;２）《授时历》能求解出大部分“仲康日食”的现有结果;３）公元前２１２８年１０月１３日是僧一行（６８３—７２７）和郭守敬（１２３１—１３１６）推步“仲康日食”发生的日期,但尚未得到现代计算的认同;４）公元前２１２８年为仲康五年,只是古代的一个年代学结论．     

Geochemical evidence for terrestrial ecosystems 2.6 billion years ago

Microorganisms have flourished in the oceans since at least 3.8 billion years (3.8 Gyr) ago, but it is not at present clear when they first colonized the land. Organic matter in some Au/U-rich conglomerates and ancient soils of 2.3-2.7 Gyr age has been suggested as remnants of terrestrial organisms. Some 2.7-Gyr-old stromatolites have also been suggested as structures created by terrestrial organisms. However, it has been disputed whether this organic matter is indigenous or exogenic, and whether these stromatolites formed in marine or fresh water. Consequently, the oldest undisputed remnants of terrestrial organisms are currently the 1.2-Gyr-old microfossils from Arizona, USA. Unusually carbonaceous ancient soils--palaeosols--have been found in the Mpumalanga Province (Eastern Transvaal) of South Africa. Here we report the occurrences, elemental ratios (C, H, N, P) and isotopic compositions of this organic matter and its host rocks. These data show that the organic matter very probably represents remnants of microbial mats that developed on the soil surface between 2.6 and 2.7 Gyr ago. This places the development of terrestrial biomass more than 1.4 billion years earlier than previously reported.     

Starch grain evidence reveals early pottery function cooking plant foods in North China

Early pottery sherds excavated in northern China date back to more than 11,000 cal a BP, and are presumed to have been used as cooking vessels. There has been, however, no direct evidence to demonstrate this function. Here we report ancient starch grains recovered from carbonized residues adhering to the bases of flat- bottomed vessels excavated from the Zhuannian site dating more than 10,000 cal a BP in the North China Plain. This evidence demonstrates that early pottery was being used to cook cereal grains, particularly millets, and acorns. Because millets were in the process of domestication at thistime, we propose that pottery invention in northern China may have been related to early farming activities.     

Starch grains reveal early root crop horticulture in the Panamanian tropical forest

Native American populations are known to have cultivated a large number of plants and domesticated them for their starch-rich underground organs. Suggestions that the likely source of many of these crops, the tropical forest, was an early and influential centre of plant husbandry have long been controversial because the organic remains of roots and tubers are poorly preserved in archaeological sediments from the humid tropics. Here we report the occurrence of starch grains identifiable as manioc (Manihot esculenta Crantz), yams (Dioscorea sp.) and arrowroot (Maranta arundinacea L.) on assemblages of plant milling stones from preceramic horizons at the Aguadulce Shelter, Panama, dated between 7,000 and 5,000 years before present (BP). The artefacts also contain maize starch (Zea mays L.), indicating that early horticultural systems in this region were mixtures of root and seed crops. The data provide the earliest direct evidence for root crop cultivation in the Americas, and support an ancient and independent emergence of plant domestication in the lowland Neotropical forest.     

北京市古树多样性研究

根据2007年北京市古树名木调查统计数据,全市现有古树28科47属66种(含变种、变型、品种)39 408株.通过对古树数量、种类构成、地理成分、珍稀濒危及重点保护树种和特色古树进行分析研究,表明北京市古树具有以下特征:种类丰富,数量众多;地理成分多样,温带特征明显;珍稀树种和特色古树占相当比例.     

竹浆造纸污泥蚯蚓生物处理的培养条件与重金属富集

竹浆造纸污泥产生量大,处置成本高,利用蚯蚓处理造纸污泥是一种低成本的生物处理方法,利用蚯蚓对重金属的富集作用,还可以达到无害化的处理效果。本试验采用正交设计,研究湿度、接种密度、污泥厚度和处理时间对蚯蚓生长的影响。结果表明:造纸污泥蚯蚓生物处理的最佳培养参数为湿度85%,蚯蚓接种密度10条,污泥厚度6 cm,处理天数60天,其中,污泥的湿度对蚯蚓的日增重倍数影响较大;蚯蚓能有效降低污泥中重金属Cd、Pb、Zn的含量,对Cu、Mn的影响效应不明显,处理后的造纸污泥重金属符合农用标准,可作为撑绿竹等造纸原料的有机肥源,实现造纸污泥的资源化。     

Ancient DNA sequences of rice from the low Yangtze reveal significant genotypic divergence

Rice (Oryza sativa) was first domesticated in the lower and middle Yangtze regions of China, and rice remains have been found in many Chinese archaeological sites. Until now, only phenotypic archeobotanical evidence, such as the spikelet bases of ancient grains, has been used to speculate on the domestication process and domestication rate of rice. In this study, we sequenced 4 genomic segments from rice remains in Tianluoshan, a site of the local Hemudu Neolithic culture in the low Yangtze and two other archaeological sites (~2400 and 1200 BC, respectively). We compared our sequences with those of the current domesticated and wild rice (O. rufipogon) populations. At least two genotypes were found in the remains from each site, suggesting a heterozygotic state of the rice seeds. One ancient genotype was not found in the current domesticated population and might have been lost. The rice remains belonged to the japonica group, and most if not all were japonica-type, suggesting that the remains might be at an early stage of indica-japonica divergence or an indica-japonica mixture. We also identified sequences with significant similarity to those from species of Sapindales, Zygophyllales, and Brassicales, which is consistent with the identification of other plant remains in the Tianluoshan site and the common rice field weeds such as mustards in southern China.     

Isotopic evidence for microbial sulphate reduction in the early Archaean era

Sulphate-reducing microbes affect the modern sulphur cycle, and may be quite ancient, though when they evolved is uncertain. These organisms produce sulphide while oxidizing organic matter or hydrogen with sulphate. At sulphate concentrations greater than 1 mM, the sulphides are isotopically fractionated (depleted in 34S) by 10-40/1000 compared to the sulphate, with fractionations decreasing to near 0/1000 at lower concentrations. The isotope record of sedimentary sulphides shows large fractionations relative to seawater sulphate by 2.7 Gyr ago, indicating microbial sulphate reduction. In older rocks, however, much smaller fractionations are of equivocal origin, possibly biogenic but also possibly volcanogenic. Here we report microscopic sulphides in approximately 3.47-Gyr-old barites from North Pole, Australia, with maximum fractionations of 21.1/1000, about a mean of 11.6/1000, clearly indicating microbial sulphate reduction. Our results extend the geological record of microbial sulphate reduction back more than 750 million years, and represent direct evidence of an early specific metabolic pathway--allowing time calibration of a deep node on the tree of life.