Intelligent Control and Optimization: Need of the Time in Mineral Processing Industry

Mineral processing sits at the heart of metal extraction process for sectors such as ferrous and nonferrous metallurgy. Continuous endeavors towards fundamental process improvement and explosion of technological advancements has driven mineral processing plants to command high level of efficiency and consistency in output quality. However, the challenges are numerous and multifold, demanding significant effort towards crafting intelligent and learning systems for further improvements. Moreover, cutting edge technology is often coupled with a "cutting edge" cost of its acquisition and sustenance

Soft chemical routes to semiconductor nanostructures

Soft chemistry has emerged as an important means of generating nanocrystals, nanowires and other nanostructures of semiconducting materials. We describe the synthesis of CdS and other metal chalcogenide nanocrystals by a solvothermal route. We also describe the synthesis of nanocrystals of AlN, GaN and InN by the reaction of hexamethyldisilazane with the corresponding metal chloride or metal cupferronate under solvothermal conditions. Nanowires of Se and Te have been obtained by a self-seeding solution-based method. A single source precursor based on urea complexes of metal chlorides gives rise to metal nitride nanocrystals, nanowires and nanotubes. The liquidliquid interface provides an excellent medium for preparing single-crystalline films of metal chalcogenides

Development and Evaluation of Handy Jute Fibre Bundle Strength Tester

113-117Jute is traditionally tested for bundle strength by breaking the fibers in the hand and using a manual bundle strength tester. Hand method is subjective and grade may vary from grader to grader. The manual bundle strength tester requires a lot of time for sample preparation and manual calculation of the strength of the fibre. In the present study, the goal was to develop an accurate and quick tester for measuring the strength of jute fibre bundles. The unit consists of a handle, fibre holder with clamp, pointer with an analog indicator, body, and a chain. The analog indicator has a colour code to indicate the strength of the fibre. This instrument has an overall dimension of 350 × 185 × 90 mm. Randomly twenty samples were selected from the bale sample to perform the test. The results of the developed instrument were compared with the results of a manual bundle strength tester. The T-test result showed that there was no significant (p > 0.05) difference between results from the handy type bundle strength tester and mechanical instrument. Strength of the jute measured from a handy jute fibre tester was almost on par with manual type instrument. The repeatability of the handy bundle strength tester at 95% confidence level is 3.02 and 2.90 g/tex, respectively for Corchorus olitorius and Corchorus capsularis. The instrument readings are repeatable since the difference between two readings is less than the rp (repeatability) value at 95% confidence level. The study concluded that the time taken to measure bundle strength of jute was shorter than with a manual tool. In contrast to manual instruments, this instrument is easy to operate and can provides reliable results

Leishmania spp. proteome data sets: a comprehensive resource for vaccine development to target visceral leishmaniasis

Visceral leishmaniasis is a neglected infectious disease caused primarily by Leishmania donovani and Leishmania infantum protozoan parasites. A significant number of infections take a fatal course. Drug therapy is available but still costly and parasites resistant to first line drugs are observed. Despite many years of trial no commercial vaccine is available to date. However, development of a cost effective, needle-independent vaccine remains a high priority. Reverse vaccinology has attracted much attention since the term has been coined and the approach tested by Rappuoli and colleagues. This in silico selection of antigens from genomic and proteomic data sets was also adapted to aim at developing an anti-Leishmania vaccine. Here, an analysis of the efforts is attempted and the challenges to be overcome by these endeavors are discussed. Strategies that led to successful identification of antigens will be illustrated. Furthermore, these efforts are viewed in the context of anticipated modes of action of effective anti-Leishmania immune responses to highlight possible advantages and shortcomings

Apoptosis-like cell death in Leishmania donovani treated with KalsomeTM10, a new liposomal amphotericin B

The present study aimed to elucidate the cell death mechanism in Leishmania donovani upon treatment with KalsomeTM10, a new liposomal amphotericin B. Methodology/Principal findings We studied morphological alterations in promastigotes through phase contrast and scanning electron microscopy. Phosphatidylserine (PS) exposure, loss of mitochondrial membrane potential and disruption of mitochondrial integrity was determined by flow cytometry using annexinV-FITC, JC-1 and mitotraker, respectively. For analysing oxidative stress, generation of H2O2 (bioluminescence kit) and mitochondrial superoxide O2 − (mitosox) were measured. DNA fragmentation was evaluated using terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase mediated dUTP nick-end labelling (TUNEL) and DNA laddering assay. We found that KalsomeTM10 is more effective then Ambisome against the promastigote as well as intracellular amastigote forms. The mechanistic study showed that KalsomeTM10 induced several morphological alterations in promastigotes typical of apoptosis. KalsomeTM10 treatment showed a dose- and time-dependent exposure of PS in promastigotes. Further,study on mitochondrial pathway revealed loss of mitochondrial membrane potential as well as disruption in mitochondrial integrity with depletion of intracellular pool of ATP. KalsomeTM10 treated promastigotes showed increased ROS production, diminished GSH levels and increased caspase-like activity. DNA fragmentation and cell cycle arrest was observed in KalsomeTM10 treated promastigotes. Apoptotic DNA fragmentation was also observed in KalsomeTM10 treated intracellular amastigotes. KalsomeTM10 induced generation of ROS and nitric oxide leads to the killing of the intracellular parasites. Moreover, endocytosis is indispensable for KalsomeTM10 mediated anti-leishmanial effect in host macrophag

Template generation for continuous transfer functions using interval analysis

This paper presents a template generation algorithm for transfer functions that are continuous in the uncertain system parameters. The algorithm is developed using interval mathematics. The generated templates are of arbitrary accuracy, safe, and reliable. Further, if the magnitude and phase are continuously differentiable functions of the parameters, then the algorithm can be speeded up considerably with the help of an additional step based on the interval Gauss–Seidel method. The convergence, finite termination, safety, and reliability properties of the algorithm are proven, and an example is provided to demonstrate its versatility.© Elsevie

Towards resilient supply chains: uncertainty analysis using fuzzy mathematical programming

Formulation of a multi-site, multi-product, multi-period supply chain planning problem under uncertainty has been presented and analyzed in this paper using the fuzzy mathematical programming approach. Such problems have been popularly addressed in literature using the two-stage stochastic programming approach that has primarily following two demerits: (i) the size of the planning problem exponentially increases with the increase in number of uncertain parameters thus leading to either huge time consumption or inability to solve big instances of problems, and (ii) probability distribution for uncertain parameters should be known. To circumvent the above-mentioned demerits of two-stage scenario-based stochastic programming and make the analysis more tractable, the uncertainty problem have been recast in this paper in a fuzzy framework that uses a more suitable representation of uncertainty. Addressing uncertainty issues in product demands, machine uptime and various cost components using the fuzzy approach leads to evaluation of multi-objective Pareto trade-offs among the total cost of the planning model, margin provided in the constraint violation and the extent of demand satisfaction. We demonstrate the analysis on a relatively moderate size mid-term planning problem taken from the work of McDonald and Karimi [McDonald, C.M. and Karimi, I.A., 1997, Planning and Scheduling of parallel semicontinuous processes. 1. Production planning, Ind Eng Chem Res, 36: 2691–2700] and discuss various aspects of uncertainty in context of this problem. It is seen that this fuzzy approach is quite generic, relatively simple to use and can be adapted for bigger size planning problems, as the equivalent deterministic problem does not blow up in size with increase in number of uncertain parameters while using fuzzy approach.© Elsevie

Soft chemical routes to semiconductor nanostructures

Soft chemistry has emerged as an important means of generating nanocrystals, nanowires and other nanostructures of semiconducting materials. We describe the synthesis of CdS and other metal chalcogenide nanocrystals by a solvothermal route. We also describe the synthesis of nanocrystals of AlN, GaN and InN by the reaction of hexamethyldisilazane with the corresponding metal chloride or metal cupferronate under solvothermal conditions. Nanowires of Se and Te have been obtained by a, self-seeding solution-based method. A single source precursor based on urea complexes of metal chlorides gives rise to metal nitride nanocrystals, nanowires and nanotubes. The liquid-liquid interface provides an excellent medium for preparing single-crystalline films of metal chalcogenides

Detecting diseases of neglected seminal vesicles using imaging modalities: A review of current literature

Seminal vesicles (SVs) are sex accessory organs and part of male genitourinary system. They play a critical role in male fertility. Diseases of the SVs, usually results in infertility. Diseases of the SVs are extremely rare and are infrequently reported in the literature. We address the current literature of SV pathologies, symptoms, diagnosis, and treatment options. We review the clinical importance of SVs from PubMed. The current imaging modalities and instrumentation that help diagnose SV diseases are reviewed. Common pathologies including, infection, cysts, tumors, and congenital diseases of the SVs are addressed. Many times symptoms of hematospermia, pain, irritative and obstructive lower urinary tract symptoms, and infertility are presented in patients with SV disease