Beneficiation Studies on Cobalt Bearing Ore from Africa

Cobalt bearing ore is used in Africa for hydro-metallurg-ical extraction of Co. The party desired to know whether it is possible to pre-concentrate this ore in order to reduce the material handled by metallurgical operations. This cobalt bearing sample (5% Co) was beneficiated in the Modern Mineral Processing Laboratory and Pilot Plant of Indian Bureau of Mines at Nagpur. The cobalt was ident-ified by EPMA to be present as WAD where manganese is replaced by cobalt. The as-received sample was dominated by fines. Screening the as received sample on 10 mesh followed by desliming of -10 mesh fraction yielded a Co concentrate assaying 7.2% Co with 94.6% cobalt recovery. Although the concentrate assays only 7.2% Co, this simple process developed offers the advantage that around 33% of the slimes (<20 microns in size assaying around I% Co) can bypass the metallurgical operations to follow thus drast-ically reducing the handling, settling and filtration problems in the extraction of Co by hydrometallurgical route with minimum Co losses in the tailings

A study of empyema thoracis and role of intrapleural streptokinase in its management

BACKGROUND: Clinical spectrum, microbiology and outcome of empyema thoracis are changing. Intrapleural instillation of fibrinolytic agents is being increasingly used for management of empyema thoracis. The present study was carried out to describe the clinical profile and outcome of patients with empyema thoracis including those with chronic empyema and to study the efficacy and safety of intrapleural streptokinase in its management. METHODS: Clinical profile, etiological agents, hospital course and outcome of 31 patients (mean age 40 ± 16 years, M: F 25: 6) with empyema thoracis treated from 1998 to 2003 was analyzed. All patients were diagnosed on the basis of aspiration of frank pus from pleural cavity. Clinical profile, response to therapy and outcome were compared between the patients who received intrapleural streptokinase (n = 12) and those who did not (n = 19). RESULTS: Etiology was tubercular in 42% of the patients (n = 13) whereas the rest were bacterial. Amongst the patients in which organisms could be isolated (n = 13, 42%) Staphylococcus aureus was the commonest (n = 5). Intrapleural streptokinase was instilled in 12 patients. This procedure resulted in increase of drainage of pleural fluid in all patients. Mean daily pleural fluid drainage after streptokinase instillation was significantly higher for patients who received intrapleural streptokinase than those who did not (213 ml vs 57 ml, p = 0.006). Only one patient who was instilled streptokinase eventually required decortication, which had to be done in five patients (16.1%). Mean hospital stay was 30.2 ± 17.6 days whereas two patients died. CONCLUSIONS: Tubercular empyema is common in Indian patients. Intrapleural streptokinase appears to be a useful strategy to preserve lung function and reduce need for surgery in patients with late stage of empyema thoracis

Tuberculosis (TB) Aftermath: study protocol for a hybrid type I effectiveness-implementation non-inferiority randomized trial in India comparing two active case finding (ACF) strategies among individuals treated for TB and their household contacts

Background : Approximately 7% of all reported tuberculosis (TB) cases each year are recurrent, occurring among people who have had TB in the recent or distant past. TB recurrence is particularly common in India, which has the largest TB burden worldwide. Although patients recently treated for TB are at high risk of developing TB again, evidence around effective active case finding (ACF) strategies in this population is scarce. We will conduct a hybrid type I effectiveness-implementation non-inferiority randomized trial to compare the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and feasibility of two ACF strategies among individuals who have completed TB treatment and their household contacts (HHCs). Methods : We will enroll 1076 adults (≥ 18 years) who have completed TB treatment at a public TB unit (TU) in Pune, India, along with their HHCs (averaging two per patient, n = 2152). Participants will undergo symptom-based ACF by existing healthcare workers (HCWs) at 6-month intervals and will be randomized to either home-based ACF (HACF) or telephonic ACF (TACF). Symptomatic participants will undergo microbiologic testing through the program. Asymptomatic HHCs will be referred for TB preventive treatment (TPT) per national guidelines. The primary outcome is rate per 100 person-years of people diagnosed with new or recurrent TB by study arm, within 12 months following treatment completion. The secondary outcome is proportion of HHCs < 6 years, by study arm, initiated on TPT after ruling out TB disease. Study staff will collect socio-demographic and clinical data to identify risk factors for TB recurrence and will measure post-TB lung impairment. In both arms, an 18-month “mop-up” visit will be conducted to ascertain outcomes. We will use the RE-AIM framework to characterize implementation processes and explore acceptability through in-depth interviews with index patients, HHCs and HCWs (n = 100). Cost-effectiveness will be assessed by calculating the incremental cost per TB case detected within 12 months and projected for disability-adjusted life years averted based on modeled estimates of morbidity, mortality, and time with infectious TB. Discussion : This novel trial will guide India’s scale-up of post-treatment ACF and provide an evidence base for designing strategies to detect recurrent and new TB in other high burden settings. Trial registration : NCT04333485, registered April 3, 2020. CTRI/2020/05/025059 [Clinical Trials Registry of India], registered May 6 2020.Research reported in this manuscript was supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) of the National Institutes of Health(NIH) under award number R01AI143748. See funding documentation in Additional file3. The funding body does not have a role in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data for TB Aftermath nor were they involved in writing this manuscript

Reconceptualizing regional security in South Asia: A critical security approach

South Asia has garnered much attention in international security scholarship and policymaking, not least due to the number of protracted armed conflicts in the region. Yet, the dominant discourse on regional security in South Asia fails to adequately capture the insecurities that undermine the everyday lives and livelihoods of a majority of South Asians. The article first interrogates this prevalent discourse to reveal the inadequacies of traditional state-centric regional security analysis in South Asia. Drawing on critical approaches to security, including concepts that have been developed in the region, it then offers a reconceptualization of regional security. A brief case study discussion on food insecurity is employed to develop, and demonstrate the relevance of, such an approach to identifying and addressing contemporary security imperatives in South Asia. In doing so, the article presents a critical approach to regional security that is deeply rooted in South Asian experiences.</jats:p