Factors affecting the microwave coking of coals and the implications on microwave cavity design

The work carried out in this paper assessed how processing conditions and feedstock affect the quality of the coke produced during microwave coke making. The aim was to gather information that would support the development of an optimised microwave coke making oven. Experiments were carried out in a non-optimised 2450 MHz cylindrical cavity. The effect of treatment time (15–120 min), power input (750 W–4.5 kW) and overall power input (1700–27,200 kWh/t) on a range of coals (semi-bituminous–anthracite) was investigated. Intrinsic reactivity, random reflectance, strength index and dielectric properties of the produced cokes were compared with those of two commercial cokes to assess the degree of coking produced in the microwave system. Overall energy input and coal rank were found to be the major factors determining the degree of coking following microwave treatment. The dependency on coal rank was attributed to the larger amount of volatiles that had to be removed from the lower ranked coals, and the increasing dielectric loss of the organic component of the coal with rank due to increased structural ordering. Longer treatment times at lower powers or shorter treatment times at higher powers are expected to produce the same degree of coking. It was concluded that microwave coke making represents a potential step-change in the coking industry by reducing treatment times by an order of magnitude, introducing flexibility and potentially decreasing the sensitivity to quality requirement in the feedstock. The main challenges to development are the energy requirements (which will need to be significantly reduced in an optimised process) and penetration depth (which will require an innovative reactor design to maximise the advantage of using microwaves). Understanding and quantifying the rapidly changing dielectric properties of the coal and coke materials is vital in addressing both of these challenges

Statistical monitoring of a grinding circuit: An industrial case study

With the increasing availability of large amounts of real-time process data and a better fundamental understanding of the operation of mineral processing units, statistical monitoring of mineral processing plants is becoming increasingly widespread. Process plants are typically too complex to model from first principles and therefore models based on historical process data are used instead. Multivariate methods such as principal component analysis are indispensable in these analyses and in this paper, it is shown how the statistical analysis of process data from a grinding circuit and a sound fundamental knowledge of the operation of mineral processing plants complement one another. For this purpose a philosophy for the statistical monitoring and cause and effect analysis of a process was outlined. It was shown how a well defined process hierarchy with complementing performance measures can effectively be used to detect a shift in the operation of a mineral processing plant and find the root cause of the shift. Visualisation of the results was found fundamental in communicating the findings of the statistical analysis to the processing plant. This resulted in the requirement for multidimensional visualisation of the process for which principal component analysis plots and process performance graphs in the form of two-dimensional histogram plots and parallel plots were found to be the most effective. Data availability, process variable selection, process hierarchy definition and performance measure selection were also found to be critical factors directly impacting on the success of statistically monitoring a process

Establishing a neuropsychiatry clinic at Tygerberg hospital

Objective. Neuropsychiatry is a neglected subspecialty in South Africa. The aim of this study was to assess the need for neuropsychiatry clinics by evaluating a recently established unit in South Africa and testing opinions of heads of academic psychiatry departments.Design. Three separate aspects were investigated. First, a retrospective analysis of patient records from the University of Stellenbosch neuropsychiatry and  neuropsychology clinic (USNNC) was undertaken. Second, interviews were conducted with the clinical staff of the clinic, and third, questionnaires were sent to all heads of psychiatry departments in South Africa.Setting. USNNC, situated at Tygerberg Hospital.Subjects. Patients attending the USNNC clinicians of the USNNC and heads of academic psychiatry departments in South Africa.Main outcome measures. Patients were assessed by means of a standard clinical assessment procedure and a multi-axial diagnosis was made according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual ofMental Disorders (DSM-IV), 4th ed. A semi-structured interview was conducted with the USNNC clinical staff to assess their opinions regarding the clinical importance of such a specialised clinic, possibilities for training, opportunities for research and possible improvements that could be made. The staff included a psychiatrist, a psychologist, an occupational therapist, a neurologist and a nuclear physician:An adapted questionnaire was used to assess the attitudes of heads of psychiatry departments in South Africa toward neuropsychiatry.Results. Mild neurocognitive disorder was the most common DSM-IV diagnosis.  Head injuries were the most common Axis III disorder. According to USNNC  clinicians, a multidisciplinary neuropsychiatric clinic provides for improved diagnosis and management of these disorders, as well as providing excellent training opportunities for psychiatry registrars and students of related disciplines. Heads of departments of psychiatry in South Africa had a clear understanding of the entity of neuropsychiatry but were divided on the question of fostering  neuropsychiatry as a subspecialty. Most were confident that their graduates acquire the necessary clinical skills to evaluate and treat common neuropsychiatric disorders.Conclusions. Mild cognitive impairment, often due to head trauma, is most appropriately managed within a multidisciplinary  setting. Such a facility provides good training opportunities for students in various disciplines. Much-needed research on  treatment outcomes and cognitive rehabilitation can be undertaken in this setting. Improved communication between psychiatry departments in South Africa should lead to a pooling of resources and the provision of a better service to neuropsychiatric patients

Evidence of vertical transmission of lumpy skin disease virus in Rhipicephalus decoloratus ticks

Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is an economically important acute or sub-acute disease of cattle that occurs across Africa and in the Middle East. The aim of this study was to assess whether Rhipicephalus decoloratus ticks were able to transmit lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV) transovarially. Uninfected, laboratory-bred R. decoloratus larvae were placed to feed on experimentally infected "donor" cattle. After completion of the life cycle on donor animals, fully engorged adult female ticks were harvested and allowed to lay eggs. Larvae that hatched from these eggs were then transferred to feed on uninfected "recipient" cattle. The latter became viraemic and showed mild clinical disease with characteristic skin lesions and markedly enlarged precrural and subscapular lymph nodes. This is the first report of transovarial transmission of poxviruses by R. decoloratus ticks, and the importance of this mode of transmission in the spread of LSDV in endemic settings requires further nvestigation

Conservation Assessments: Hesperiidae; Lycaenidae: Alaena - Capys

Issue consists of one article divided into downloadable PDFs. This section contains the conservation assessments and Red Listings (all global) of the taxa assessed during the Southern African Lepidoptera Conservation Assessment (SALCA) project, ordered alphabetically by family and then by genus, species and subspecies. Details of the methods used can be found in the main article, with each assessment set out as follows: Taxon scientific name followed by the describer of the taxon and the date. English and Afrikaans common names. Name of the assessor/ taxon author. Red Listing with relevant categories and criteria, as per the IUCN Red Listing protocol (IUCN, 2017). For those Least Concern taxa which are rare, their rarity category is also given. Also indicated are those taxa endemic to the South Africa. Taxon images are arranged with males above and females below (upper side and underside). Specimen label data and photo credits are tabulated on pages 155–160. Seasonality table: This table shows the months of occurrence of the taxon, starting August and ending July. Each month is divided into quarters. Quarters for which there are Accepted records are highlighted in grey. Distribution map: The map’s extent is for South Africa. Data points are displayed for Accepted and Locally Extinct records. The following key is used for each data point: Red List category Symbol EX (also if a taxon is locally extinct) Black CR‒PE Dark purple CR Red EN Orange VU Yellow NT Mustard DD Lilac LC (rare categories) Blue LC Green Type locality: As originally stated by the describer. Taxonomy: Highlighting any relevant taxonomic issues. Distribution: A description of the taxon’s distribution. Habitat: A description of the taxon’s habitat. Vegetation types: The vegetation types where the taxon is found, based on the 2018 vegetation map (SANBI, 2018), for records flagged as both Accepted and Locally Extinct. For those sites where the taxon is locally extinct, the vegetation types are given in parentheses. Assessment rationale: The assessment rationale provides information which justifies the Red Listing and related categories and criteria. Change in status from the Southern African Butterfly Conservation Assessment (SABCA): For those taxa where the Red Listing changed from the previous SABCA assessment of 2012 (Mecenero et al., 2013), an evaluation is given of whether or not the change in status is genuine or non-genuine. Threats: A description of any threats relevant to the taxon. Conservation measures and research required: Any conservation measures or research required are mentioned here, where relevant. Relevant literature: Taxon-specific references published since SABCA are listed in this field, where applicable. The key references listed below were perused for all assessments. An example of citing a specific conservation assessment: “Woodhall, S.E. 2020. Abantis bicolor. pp. 34–35 In: Mecenero et al. 2020. Outcomes of the Southern African Lepidoptera Conservation Assessment (SALCA). Metamorphosis 31(4): 1–160”. Abbreviations: AOO:       Area of occupancy CR:           Critically Endangered CR–PE:    Critically Endangered – Possibly Extinct DD:          Data Deficient EN:           Endangered EOO:        Extent of occurrence EX:           Extinct LC:           Least Concern NT:           Near Threatened VU:          Vulnerable RELEVANT LITERATURE The relevant literature listed below applies to all the conservation assessments. Literature applying only to specific taxa is given after each conservation assessment. HENNING, G.A., TERBLANCHE, R.F. & BALL, J.B. (eds) 2009. South African Red Data Book: butterflies. SANBI Biodiversity Series Pretoria, South African National Biodiversity Institute. 13: 1–158. IUCN. 2017. Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 13. Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Subcommittee. Download from: http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/RedListGuidelines.pdf MECENERO, S., BALL, J.B., EDGE, D.A., HAMER, M.L., HENNING, G.A., KRÜGER, M., PRINGLE, E.L., TERBLANCHE, R.F. & WILLIAMS, M.C. 2013. Conservation Assessment of Butterflies of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland: Red List and Atlas. Saftronics (Pty) Ltd., Johannesburg & Animal Demography Unit, Cape Town. PRINGLE, E.L., HENNING, G.A. & BALL, J.B. (eds) 1994. Pennington's Butterflies of southern Africa. 2nd Edition. Cape Town, Struik-Winchester. 1–800, 210 pls. SANBI. 2018 Beta Vegetation Map of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland (Shapefile) [vector geospatial dataset] 2018. https://bgis.sanbi.org/SpatialDataset/Detail/669 (Accessed on 28 June 2020). WILLIAMS, M.C. 2019. Afrotropical Butterflies Encyclopaedia. http://www.metamorphosis.org.za/?p=articles&s=atb WOODHALL, S.E. 2020. Field guide to butterflies of South Africa (2nd Edn). Penguin Books South Africa

Conservation Assessments: Lycaenidae: Chrysoritis - Durbaniella

Issue consists of one article divided into downloadable PDFs. This section contains the conservation assessments and Red Listings (all global) of the taxa assessed during the Southern African Lepidoptera Conservation Assessment (SALCA) project, ordered alphabetically by family and then by genus, species and subspecies. Details of the methods used can be found in the main article, with each assessment set out as follows: Taxon scientific name followed by the describer of the taxon and the date. English and Afrikaans common names. Name of the assessor/ taxon author. Red Listing with relevant categories and criteria, as per the IUCN Red Listing protocol (IUCN, 2017). For those Least Concern taxa which are rare, their rarity category is also given. Also indicated are those taxa endemic to the South Africa. Taxon images are arranged with males above and females below (upper side and underside). Specimen label data and photo credits are tabulated on pages 155–160. Seasonality table: This table shows the months of occurrence of the taxon, starting August and ending July. Each month is divided into quarters. Quarters for which there are Accepted records are highlighted in grey. Distribution map: The map’s extent is for South Africa. Data points are displayed for Accepted and Locally Extinct records. The following key is used for each data point: Red List category Symbol EX (also if a taxon is locally extinct) Black CR‒PE Dark purple CR Red EN Orange VU Yellow NT Mustard DD Lilac LC (rare categories) Blue LC Green Type locality: As originally stated by the describer. Taxonomy: Highlighting any relevant taxonomic issues. Distribution: A description of the taxon’s distribution. Habitat: A description of the taxon’s habitat. Vegetation types: The vegetation types where the taxon is found, based on the 2018 vegetation map (SANBI, 2018), for records flagged as both Accepted and Locally Extinct. For those sites where the taxon is locally extinct, the vegetation types are given in parentheses. Assessment rationale: The assessment rationale provides information which justifies the Red Listing and related categories and criteria. Change in status from the Southern African Butterfly Conservation Assessment (SABCA): For those taxa where the Red Listing changed from the previous SABCA assessment of 2012 (Mecenero et al., 2013), an evaluation is given of whether or not the change in status is genuine or non-genuine. Threats: A description of any threats relevant to the taxon. Conservation measures and research required: Any conservation measures or research required are mentioned here, where relevant. Relevant literature: Taxon-specific references published since SABCA are listed in this field, where applicable. The key references listed below were perused for all assessments. An example of citing a specific conservation assessment: “Woodhall, S.E. 2020. Abantis bicolor. pp. 34–35 In: Mecenero et al. 2020. Outcomes of the Southern African Lepidoptera Conservation Assessment (SALCA). Metamorphosis 31(4): 1–160”. Abbreviations: AOO:       Area of occupancy CR:           Critically Endangered CR–PE:    Critically Endangered – Possibly Extinct DD:          Data Deficient EN:           Endangered EOO:        Extent of occurrence EX:           Extinct LC:           Least Concern NT:           Near Threatened VU:          Vulnerable RELEVANT LITERATURE The relevant literature listed below applies to all the conservation assessments. Literature applying only to specific taxa is given after each conservation assessment. HENNING, G.A., TERBLANCHE, R.F. & BALL, J.B. (eds) 2009. South African Red Data Book: butterflies. SANBI Biodiversity Series Pretoria, South African National Biodiversity Institute. 13: 1–158. IUCN. 2017. Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 13. Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Subcommittee. Download from: http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/RedListGuidelines.pdf MECENERO, S., BALL, J.B., EDGE, D.A., HAMER, M.L., HENNING, G.A., KRÜGER, M., PRINGLE, E.L., TERBLANCHE, R.F. & WILLIAMS, M.C. 2013. Conservation Assessment of Butterflies of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland: Red List and Atlas. Saftronics (Pty) Ltd., Johannesburg & Animal Demography Unit, Cape Town. PRINGLE, E.L., HENNING, G.A. & BALL, J.B. (eds) 1994. Pennington's Butterflies of southern Africa. 2nd Edition. Cape Town, Struik-Winchester. 1–800, 210 pls. SANBI. 2018 Beta Vegetation Map of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland (Shapefile) [vector geospatial dataset] 2018. https://bgis.sanbi.org/SpatialDataset/Detail/669 (Accessed on 28 June 2020). WILLIAMS, M.C. 2019. Afrotropical Butterflies Encyclopaedia. http://www.metamorphosis.org.za/?p=articles&s=atb WOODHALL, S.E. 2020. Field guide to butterflies of South Africa (2nd Edn). Penguin Books South Africa

Conservation Assessments: Lycaenidae: Erikssonia - Lepidochrysops

Issue consists of one article divided into downloadable PDFs. This section contains the conservation assessments and Red Listings (all global) of the taxa assessed during the Southern African Lepidoptera Conservation Assessment (SALCA) project, ordered alphabetically by family and then by genus, species and subspecies. Details of the methods used can be found in the main article, with each assessment set out as follows: Taxon scientific name followed by the describer of the taxon and the date. English and Afrikaans common names. Name of the assessor/ taxon author. Red Listing with relevant categories and criteria, as per the IUCN Red Listing protocol (IUCN, 2017). For those Least Concern taxa which are rare, their rarity category is also given. Also indicated are those taxa endemic to the South Africa. Taxon images are arranged with males above and females below (upper side and underside). Specimen label data and photo credits are tabulated on pages 155–160. Seasonality table: This table shows the months of occurrence of the taxon, starting August and ending July. Each month is divided into quarters. Quarters for which there are Accepted records are highlighted in grey. Distribution map: The map’s extent is for South Africa. Data points are displayed for Accepted and Locally Extinct records. The following key is used for each data point: Red List category Symbol EX (also if a taxon is locally extinct) Black CR‒PE Dark purple CR Red EN Orange VU Yellow NT Mustard DD Lilac LC (rare categories) Blue LC Green Type locality: As originally stated by the describer. Taxonomy: Highlighting any relevant taxonomic issues. Distribution: A description of the taxon’s distribution. Habitat: A description of the taxon’s habitat. Vegetation types: The vegetation types where the taxon is found, based on the 2018 vegetation map (SANBI, 2018), for records flagged as both Accepted and Locally Extinct. For those sites where the taxon is locally extinct, the vegetation types are given in parentheses. Assessment rationale: The assessment rationale provides information which justifies the Red Listing and related categories and criteria. Change in status from the Southern African Butterfly Conservation Assessment (SABCA): For those taxa where the Red Listing changed from the previous SABCA assessment of 2012 (Mecenero et al., 2013), an evaluation is given of whether or not the change in status is genuine or non-genuine. Threats: A description of any threats relevant to the taxon. Conservation measures and research required: Any conservation measures or research required are mentioned here, where relevant. Relevant literature: Taxon-specific references published since SABCA are listed in this field, where applicable. The key references listed below were perused for all assessments. An example of citing a specific conservation assessment: “Woodhall, S.E. 2020. Abantis bicolor. pp. 34–35 In: Mecenero et al. 2020. Outcomes of the Southern African Lepidoptera Conservation Assessment (SALCA). Metamorphosis 31(4): 1–160”. Abbreviations: AOO:       Area of occupancy CR:           Critically Endangered CR–PE:    Critically Endangered – Possibly Extinct DD:          Data Deficient EN:           Endangered EOO:        Extent of occurrence EX:           Extinct LC:           Least Concern NT:           Near Threatened VU:          Vulnerable RELEVANT LITERATURE The relevant literature listed below applies to all the conservation assessments. Literature applying only to specific taxa is given after each conservation assessment. HENNING, G.A., TERBLANCHE, R.F. & BALL, J.B. (eds) 2009. South African Red Data Book: butterflies. SANBI Biodiversity Series Pretoria, South African National Biodiversity Institute. 13: 1–158. IUCN. 2017. Guidelines for Using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria. Version 13. Prepared by the Standards and Petitions Subcommittee. Download from: http://www.iucnredlist.org/documents/RedListGuidelines.pdf MECENERO, S., BALL, J.B., EDGE, D.A., HAMER, M.L., HENNING, G.A., KRÜGER, M., PRINGLE, E.L., TERBLANCHE, R.F. & WILLIAMS, M.C. 2013. Conservation Assessment of Butterflies of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland: Red List and Atlas. Saftronics (Pty) Ltd., Johannesburg & Animal Demography Unit, Cape Town. PRINGLE, E.L., HENNING, G.A. & BALL, J.B. (eds) 1994. Pennington's Butterflies of southern Africa. 2nd Edition. Cape Town, Struik-Winchester. 1–800, 210 pls. SANBI. 2018 Beta Vegetation Map of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland (Shapefile) [vector geospatial dataset] 2018. https://bgis.sanbi.org/SpatialDataset/Detail/669 (Accessed on 28 June 2020). WILLIAMS, M.C. 2019. Afrotropical Butterflies Encyclopaedia. http://www.metamorphosis.org.za/?p=articles&s=atb WOODHALL, S.E. 2020. Field guide to butterflies of South Africa (2nd Edn). Penguin Books South Africa

Outcomes of the Southern African Lepidoptera Conservation Assessment (SALCA)

The Southern African Lepidoptera Conservation Assessment (SALCA) was a collaborative venture between the Lepidopterists’ Society of Africa (LepSoc Africa), the Brenton Blue Trust (BBT) and the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), and formed part of the National Biodiversity Assessment (NBA). SALCA was founded on the importance of Lepidoptera both ecologically and as biodiversity indicators and the proven expertise of the participants during the Southern African Butterfly Conservation Assessment (SABCA). The main outcomes of the SALCA project are presented and discussed here.The SALCA tool, a custom-designed interactive distribution database, enabled high quality data to be derived so that accurate conservation assessments could be produced in accordance with IUCN methodology. The Red Lists of SALCA and SABCA facilitated the first opportunity to calculate the Red List Index (RLI) for South African butterflies during the period from 2012–2018. Other metrics required for the NBA included protection level and threats analyses. A further outcome was the critical habitat mapping for butterflies, which formed part of a screening tool implemented by SANBI, to ensure that land use changes did not cause any further loss of butterfly biodiversity.A comprehensive distribution database was developed for South African moths, enabling data to be analysed so that moth species potentially threatened could be short-listed for further investigation.Geographical hotspots and ecosystems (vegetation types) containing butterflies of conservation concern are highlighted. The societal, economic and human wellbeing benefits of conserving Lepidoptera are identified. Responses by LepSoc Africa to the increasing pressures on South African Lepidoptera biodiversity, are also reported on and discussed. The significant outcomes of SABCA and SALCA are benchmarked against a well-known European butterfly atlasing and conservation assessment project.The 165 SALCA Red Lists and conservation assessments are presented at the end of this publication