Abstract: A system for ashing carbon includes a vertically oriented burner column having a first end and an opposing end with an interior chamber therebetween. The burner column has an aperture at the first end and a suction port proximal to the second end, the aperture and the suction port in communication with the interior chamber. The system also comprises a porous media screen located in the interior chamber and positioned between the first end and the second end of the burner column. The media screen is adapted to hold ignited carbon containing a precious metal therein. The system also contains a pump that is coupled to the suction port. The pump is configured to apply a negative pressure to the interior chamber of the burner column to draw air into the interior chamber via the aperture. The drawn air passes through the ignited carbon at a desired flow rate to achieve a temperature of the carbon suitable for ashing the carbon.

Abstract: The invention provides compositions and methods useful for identifying, verifying or authenticating any type of sample, whether the sample, is biological or non-biological.

Abstract: A modular artificial reef effective to prevent shoreline erosion is constructed of base modules placed in side-by-side contact adjacent the shoreline and locked together by superposed reef-forming modules, preferably having a triangular prismatic shape presenting a gently sloping face to the sea, which contact is at least two base modules and are in side-by-side contact with each other.

Abstract: Authorized disks made in accordance with the invention are physically distinguishable from the blank disks which would be used for making unauthorized copies. A security check procedure is included in the initializing routine that is recorded on the authorized disk and that is executed prior to the reading out of any of the protected data. The security check procedure involves a test to determine whether the disk on which it has been recorded has or does not have the physical fingerprint that is the hallmark of an authorized disk. If the fingerprint is absent, the security check procedure prevents the protected material from being read out. Thus, unauthorized copies are useless because the protected data cannot be read out of them.