The effect of fluxes and binders on the bonding mechanism and properties of iron ore pellets

Basic aspects of pelletisation -- Bonding mechanism during various stages of pellet formation -- Alternative binders to bentonite -- Fluxed pellets -- The porous pellets -- Production of pellets -- Production of fluxed pellets in the laboratory -- Production of pellets in pilot plant scale to study pellet properties -- Procedure for bonding mechanism studies -- Pellet testing procedure -- Results : laboratory pellets -- TGA and DTA results -- Phase area measurement by image analyser -- Microanalysis results -- Mineralogy of pellets at various basicity levels -- Chemicla analysis of fired pellets -- Properties of the fired pellets -- Results : pilot scale pellets -- Green stage properties -- Chemical analysis of fired pellets -- Pellet mineralogy -- Porosity -- Compression strength -- Tumbler strength -- Low temperature break down test (LTBT) -- Reductibility -- Swelling -- Pellet mineralogy

Psychotropic drug utilization in psychiatric outpatient department of a tertiary care government hospital

Background: Mental disorders are associated with significant distress in social, occupational and other important activities. Of the ten health conditions contributing to the DALYs, four are psychiatric disorders.  Psychiatric disorders form an important public health priority and major causes of morbidity. Psychotropic drugs had a remarkable impact in psychiatric practice. The utilization, clinical practice, effectiveness and safety in real life situation need continuous study.Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out by analyzing prescriptions of patients who visited the OPD of the psychiatry department of VIMSAR, Burla for a period of 4 months. Patients of all ages and both sexes were included in this study with exclusion of patients suffering from epilepsy and cases with uncertain diagnosis. The prescribing pattern was analyzed using WHO basic drug indicators.Results: Average number of drugs per prescription was 3.17. Bipolar affective disorder (BPAD) was the most common psychiatric condition (44%) with a male predominance followed by schizophrenia. Olanzapine was the most common antipsychotic used. The most frequently used fixed dose combination was tri-hexiphenydyl and risperidone. Prescribing frequency of different psychotropic drugs (antipsychotics, antianxiety, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressant, mood stabilizers) were compared.Conclusions: The study advocated a rational use of psychotropic drugs with fewer deviations due to socio-economic status of patients and prescription practices of healthcare providers.

Advancement of Plasma Cold-Hearth Melting for Production of Gamma Titanium Aluminide Alloys within Arconic

Utilization of gamma titanium aluminide alloys in aerospace and automotive/industrial applications has placed significant demand on melting sources for products to be used in cast, wrought, and direct-machining applications. There is also an increased demand for input stock used in gas atomization of powders. Current technologies used in ingot manufacturing include plasma arc melting, vacuum arc melting, and induction skull melting + centrifugal casting. Subsequent processing may include forging, re-melting + casting, or machining directly into components. Over the past six years, Arconic Engineered Structures has developed a robust melting method using plasma cold-hearth melting technology, including the design and implementation of a new 3-torch system to produce Ti-48-2-2 cast bars. General discussions concerning plasma cold-hearth melting, manufacturing challenges, and metallurgical attributes associated with cast Ti-48-2-2 bars will be reviewed. Emphasis will be on understanding the impact of hot isostatic pressing on internal voids, residual stress cracking and resulting mechanical properties

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Plant's response to fresh- and saline-water flooding and the resulting partial submergence, seems different due to the added complexities of element toxicity of salinity. We identified a few rice genotypes which can tolerate combined stresses of partial submergence and salinity during saline water flooding. To gain mechanistic insights, we compared two rice genotypes: Varshadhan (freshwater-flooding tolerant) and Rashpanjor (both fresh- and saline-water flooding tolerant). We found greater ethylene production and increased “respiratory burst oxidase homolog” (RBOH)-mediated reactive oxygen species (ROS) production led to well-developed constitutive aerenchyma formation in Rashpanjor, which makes it preadapted to withstand fresh- and saline-water flooding. On the contrary, an induced aerenchyma formation-dependent tolerance mechanism of Varshadhan worked well for freshwater flooding but failed to provide tolerance to saline-water flooding. Additional salt stress was found to significantly inhibit the induced aerenchyma formation process due to the dampening of ROS signaling by the action of metallothionein in Varshadhan. Besides, inconspicuous changes in ionic regulation processes in these two genotypes under saline-water flooding suggest preadapted constitutive aerenchyma formation plays a more significant role than elemental toxicity per se in tolerating combined stresses encountered during saline water flooding in rice. Overall, our study indicated that well-developed constitutive aerenchyma provide an adaptive advantage during partial submergence due to saline water flooding in rice as the key process of induced aerenchyma formation is hampered in the presence of salinity stress coupled with partial submergence.Not Availabl