South Asian Figurines in the British Museum: Literature Review and Analysis

In the early twenthieth century in British India, many military officers were also amateur archaeologists. Some of them, including Colonel D.H. Gordon and Colonel D.R. Martin, collected human terracotta figurines. The figurines in this collection came from the northwest of pre-partition India, mostly from villages in the vicinity of Peshawar in Pakistan. They were bought from farmers or antiquities dealers. Thus this is a surface collection. The figurines were then sold or donated to the British Museum. There they were stored without being studied. This purpose of this thesis is two-fold: 1) to review the literature on South Asian human figurines, and 2) to analyze and interpret a collection of figurines that has not so far been published. The analysis includes a description of the characteristics of the figurines, and interpretations of their functions and meanings. There are four major types of figurines, based on decorations and facial features: Sar Dheri, Sahri Bahlol, Hellenistic and “other”. The Sar Dheri figurines with rosettes may represent an unknown folk deity as the decorations are not the symbol of any deity that appears in Hindu, Jain or Buddhist mythology. The Sahri Bahlol figurines greatly resemble those figurines identified as Naigameśīs in other excavation reports. The analysis ends by proposing further research in South Asian terracotta figurines that would lead to a detailed history of the evolution of figurines in South Asia from Mehrgarh to the present

South Asian Figurines in the British Museum: Literature Review and Analysis

In the early twenthieth century in British India, many military officers were also amateur archaeologists. Some of them, including Colonel D.H. Gordon and Colonel D.R. Martin, collected human terracotta figurines. The figurines in this collection came from the northwest of pre-partition India, mostly from villages in the vicinity of Peshawar in Pakistan. They were bought from farmers or antiquities dealers. Thus this is a surface collection. The figurines were then sold or donated to the British Museum. There they were stored without being studied. This purpose of this thesis is two-fold: 1) to review the literature on South Asian human figurines, and 2) to analyze and interpret a collection of figurines that has not so far been published. The analysis includes a description of the characteristics of the figurines, and interpretations of their functions and meanings. There are four major types of figurines, based on decorations and facial features: Sar Dheri, Sahri Bahlol, Hellenistic and “other”. The Sar Dheri figurines with rosettes may represent an unknown folk deity as the decorations are not the symbol of any deity that appears in Hindu, Jain or Buddhist mythology. The Sahri Bahlol figurines greatly resemble those figurines identified as Naigameśīs in other excavation reports. The analysis ends by proposing further research in South Asian terracotta figurines that would lead to a detailed history of the evolution of figurines in South Asia from Mehrgarh to the present

Nemesis: Judging the Efficacy of OS Fingerprinting Systems

The internet has gone from being a small network of niche uses and mostly academic interest to being a vital, foundational, piece of modern infrastructure that the world depends on. Because of its importance, the internet has also become a target and a gateway for malicious entities. Indeed, it has spawned a whole new military dimension: cyberwarefare. Of vital importance to both attackers and defenders is the identification of vulnerable systems connected to the internet. OS Fingerprinting is one mechanism by which vulnerable systems may be detected. Despite the importance and proliferation of OS Fingerprinting tools, there has not been a systematic effort to evaluate the effectiveness of such tools. We propose dimensionality as a metric for evaluating OS Fingerprinting Systems and provide a Framework to calculate this value. In addition, we identify NMAP as being the premier OS Fingerprinting tool used today and apply our Framework to this tool under various distortions to ascertain its performance based on our metric of dimensionality. Under its default conditions NMAP struggles with Firewalls, which are abundant on the internet, and performs poorly. Our Framework can identify confounding signatures within the database which disproportionately harm NMAPs dimensionality and can remove them from the database. Further, we find that NMAP has modest struggles with network jitter, potentially even on local networks. This, combined with NMAPs difficulty with Firewalls suggests that it is ill suited to the task of Fingerprinting Operating Systems over the internet. Lastly, we identify which features are crucial to NMAPs ability to identify Operating Systems. This, in addition to our other findings, potentially points in the directions for improvements to NMAP, both in it’s ability to identify an OS over the internet, and in reducing the number of probes needed to do so

How to Study the Early Indo-Europeans

How to Study the Early Indo-European

Culture Contact and Diversity at a Site of the Northeastern Plains: An analysis of the ceramics and lithics at Snyder V (DhMg-6) in southwestern Manitoba

This report argues that DhMg-6, previously identified as the southern half of Snyder I(DhMg-4), should be a separate site, Snyder V. It finds that the ceramics at Snyder V belong to the Mortlach Tradition, Fort Yates Phase, and Late Northern Plains Pattern, and that the ceramics at the northern side of Snyder I are from the Harmon Complex. Based on this, it was concluded that the two sites, separated by the Gainsborough Creek in southwestern Manitoba, represent different occupations, and it finds an example of great intrasite variability in a region that shows great intersite variability

Regional Variation in Hemoglobin Distribution Among Individuals With CKD: the ISN International Network of CKD Cohorts

International audienceIntroduction: Despite recognized geographic and sex-based differences in hemoglobin in the general population, these factors are typically ignored in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) in whom a single therapeutic range for hemoglobin is recommended. We sought to compare the distribution of hemoglobin across international nondialysis CKD populations and evaluate predictors of hemoglobin. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, hemoglobin distribution was evaluated in each cohort overall and stratified by sex and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Relationships between candidate predictors and hemoglobin were assessed from linear regression models in each cohort. Estimates were subsequently pooled in a random effects model. Results: A total of 58,613 participants from 21 adult cohorts (median eGFR range of 17–49 ml/min) and 3 pediatric cohorts (median eGFR range of 26–45 ml/min) were included with broad geographic representation. Hemoglobin values varied substantially among the cohorts, overall and within eGFR categories, with particularly low mean hemoglobin observed in women from Asian and African cohorts. Across the eGFR range, women had a lower hemoglobin compared to men, even at an eGFR of 15 ml/min (mean difference 5.3 g/l, 95% confidence interval [CI] 3.7–6.9). Lower eGFR, female sex, older age, lower body mass index, and diabetic kidney disease were all independent predictors of a lower hemoglobin value; however, this only explained a minority of variance (R2 7%–44% across cohorts). Conclusion: There are substantial regional differences in hemoglobin distribution among individuals with CKD, and the majority of variance is unexplained by demographics, eGFR, or comorbidities. These findings call for a renewed interest in improving our understanding of hemoglobin determinants in specific CKD populations

Cognitive impairment in CKD patients: a guidance document by the CONNECT network

International audienceCognitive impairment (CI) is a prevalent and debilitating complication in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This position paper, developed by the CONNECT network, provides guidance on the epidemiology, risk factors, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and clinical management of CKD-related CI. CI is significantly more common in CKD patients compared to the general population, particularly those undergoing haemodialysis. The development of CI is influenced by a complex interplay of factors, including uremic neurotoxins, electrolytes and acid base disorders, anaemia, vascular damage, metabolic disturbances and comorbidities like diabetes and hypertension. Effective screening and diagnostic strategies are essential for early identification of CI, utilizing cognitive assessment tools, neuroimaging, and circulating biomarkers. The impact of various drug classes, including antiplatelet therapy, oral anticoagulants, lipid-lowering treatments, and antihypertensive drugs, on cognitive function is evaluated. Management strategies encompass pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions, with recommendations for optimizing cognitive function while managing CKD-related complications. This guidance highlights the importance of addressing CI in CKD patients through early detection, careful medication management, and tailored therapeutic strategies to improve patient outcomes