CSIR Technofest - 2010: Theme 12: Mining, Minerals & Materials

Posters 1) General 2) Industrial Partners 3) CSIR Tecnologies - Mining - Minerals - Material

A new species of Heterospio (Annelida, Longosomatidae) from the Indian Ocean

Knowledge about the taxonomy and distribution of the monogeneric polychaete family Longosomatidae Hartman, 1944 is limited in all parts of the world. A new species of the genus Heterospio Ehlers, 1874 (Annelida, Longosomatidae) is described from the Indian Ocean. Heterospio indica sp. nov. is mainly characterised by the conspicuous fl attening of the distal half of capillary chaetae located in anterior elongated segments. Several body characters of high taxonomic relevance in the genus are examined under the SEM and discussed. The 18S SSU rDNA and COI genes were sequenced and represent the fi rst sequencing of a species of Heterospio, and the sequences have been deposited in GenBankMinisterio de Economía y Competitividad; CGL2014-53332-C5-3-

93-GT-295 CORRELATION BETWEEN MICROSTRUCTURE AND MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF DIFFUSION BRAZED MAR-M 247

ABSTRACT Diffusion brazing is a joining process utilized in the manufacture and repair of turbine blades and vanes. MAR-M247 is an investment cast Ni-based superalloy used for turbine blading and has good strength properties at high temperatures. The objectives of this work was to develop a diffusion brazing procedure to achieve high strength joints. A commercially available diffusion brazing filler metal of composition Ni-15Cr-3,5B of 100 µm thickness was used. With the desire to eliminate brittle centre-line phases, the effects of the processing variables (only temperature and time) on the joint microstructure was studied. Once the metallurgy of the joint was understood, mechanical property assessments were undertaken i.e. tensile and creep rupture tests, and the latter being the severest test to evaluate joint strength. The results demonstrated that the diffusion brazed joints had nearly equivalent mechanical strength to that of the parent metal. This showed that the resultant diffusion brazing parameters enabled effective and reliable joining of MAR-M247

South-South Irregular Migration: The Impacts of China’s Informal Gold Rush in Ghana

This article examines irregular South‐South migration from China to Ghana, and the role it played in transforming livelihoods and broader developmental landscapes. It looks at the entry of approximately 50,000 Chinese migrants into the informal small‐scale gold mining sector from 2008‐2013. These migrants mainly hailed from Shanglin County in Guangxi Province. In Ghana, they formed mutually beneficial relationships with local miners, both legal and illegal, introducing machinery that substantially increased gold production. However, the legal status of Chinese miners was particularly problematic as, by law, small‐scale mining is restricted to Ghanaian citizens. In mid‐2013, President Mahama established a military task force against illegal mining, resulting in the deportation of many Chinese miners. The article examines the experiences of both Chinese migrants and Ghanaian miners. Findings are that irregular migration into an informal sector had long‐lasting impacts and played a significant role in the transformation of economic, political, and physical landscapes in Ghana

Learning Structured Representations of Data

Abstract Bayesian networks have shown themselves to be useful tools for the analysis and modelling of large data sets. However, their complete generality leads to computational and modelling complexities that have limited their applicability. We propose an approach to simplify and constrain Bayesian networks that strikes a more useful compromise between generality and tractability. These constrained graphical will allow us to build computationally tractable models for large high-dimensional data sets. We also describe examples of data sets drawn from image and speech processing on which we can (1) further explore this constrained set of graphical models, and (2) analyse their performance as a general-purpose statistical data analysis tool

Demand Side Management potentials for mitigating energy poverty in South Africa

© 2017 Elsevier Ltd South Africa is severally posited to be Africa's most industrialized nation with an economy heavily reliant on energy. With depleted electricity reserve margin which led to massive load shedding and rationing of electricity in 2008, Eskom has stepped up the construction of additional power plants to cover for growing supply deficits. Emerging trends however favour Demand Side Management (DSM) initiatives as alternatives to building additional supply capacity due to environmental and economic constraints. This research evaluates the electricity per capita for 2007, 2011 and 2016 on provincial basis assuming 100% and 36.8% residential sector consumption of generated electricity to show declining electricity per capita values. A scenario simulation (for 100%, 50% and 30% household participation) of cloth washers and cloth dryers optimal dispatch is then modelled to show the enormous DSM potentials in terms of electricity cost reduction and supply flexibility. A modified genetic algorithm (MGA) is used in the dispatch of participating loads on the Medupi power plant which has been modelled to operate with carbon capture and sequestration (CCS) technology. DSM potentials of 6938.34 MW, 3469.18 MW and 2081.51 MW are computed for 100%, 50% and 30% household participation for cloth washers and cloth dryers

A study on trypsin, Aspergillus flavus and Bacillus sp. protease inhibitory activity in Cassia tora (L.) syn Senna tora (L.) Roxb. seed extract

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Proteases play an important role in virulence of many human, plant and insect pathogens. The proteinaceous protease inhibitors of plant origin have been reported widely from many plant species. The inhibitors may potentially be used for multiple therapeutic applications in viral, bacterial, fungal diseases and physiological disorders. In traditional Indian medicine system, <it>Cassia tora </it>(<it>Senna tora</it>) is reportedly effective in treatment of skin and gastrointestinal disorders. The present study explores the protease inhibitory activity of the above plant seeds against trypsin, <it>Aspergillus flavus </it>and <it>Bacillus </it>sp. proteases.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The crushed seeds of <it>Cassia tora </it>were washed thoroughly with acetone and hexane for depigmentation and defatting. The proteins were fractionated by ammonium sulphate (0-30, 30-60, 60-90%) followed by dialysis and size exclusion chromatography (SEC). The inhibitory potential of crude seed extract and most active dialyzed fraction against trypsin and proteases was established by spot test using unprocessed x-ray film and casein digestion methods, respectively. Electrophoretic analysis of most active fraction (30-60%) and SEC elutes were carried employing Sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and Gelatin SDS-PAGE. Inhibition of fungal spore germination was studied in the presence of dialyzed active inhibitor fraction. Standard deviation (SD) and ANOVA were employed as statistical tools.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The crude seeds' extract displayed strong antitryptic, bacterial and fungal protease inhibitory activity on x-ray film. The seed protein fraction 30-60% was found most active for trypsin inhibition in caseinolytic assay (P < 0.001). The inhibition of caseinolytic activity of the proteases increased with increasing ratio of seed extract. The residual activity of trypsin, <it>Aspergillus flavus </it>and <it>Bacillus </it>sp. proteases remained only 4, 7 and 3.1%, respectively when proteases were incubated with 3 mg ml^-1seed protein extract for 60 min. The inhibitory activity was evident in gelatin SDS-PAGE where a major band (~17-19 kD) of protease inhibitor (PI) was detected in dialyzed and SEC elute. The conidial germination of <it>Aspergillus flavus </it>was moderately inhibited (30%) by the dialyzed seed extract.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>Cassia tora </it>seed extract has strong protease inhibitory activity against trypsin, <it>Aspergillus flavus </it>and <it>Bacillus </it>sp. proteases. The inhibitor in <it>Cassia tora </it>may attenuate microbial proteases and also might be used as phytoprotecting agent.</p

Earth observation for sustainable urban planning in developing countries: needs, trends, and future directions

Abstract: Cities are constantly changing and authorities face immense challenges in obtaining accurate and timely data to effectively manage urban areas. This is particularly problematic in the developing world where municipal records are often unavailable or not updated. Spaceborne earth observation (EO) has great potential for providing up-to-date spatial information about urban areas. This article reviews the application of EO for supporting urban planning. In particular, the article overviews case studies where EO was used to derive products and indicators required by urban planners. The review concludes that EO has sufficiently matured in recent years but that a shift from the current focus on purely science-driven EO applications to the provision of useful information for day-to-day decision-making and urban sustainability monitoring is clearly needed