Production of Ultrafine, High-purity Ceramic Powders Using the US Bureau of Mines Developed Turbomill

Turbomilling, an innovative grinding technology developed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines in the early 1960's for delaminating filler-grade kaolinitic clays, has been expanded into the areas of particle size reduction, material mixing, and process reaction kinetics. The turbomill, originally called an attrition grinder, has been used for particle size reduction of many minerals, including natural and synthetic mica, pyrophyllite, talc, and marble. In recent years, an all-polymer version of the turbomill has been used to produce ultrafine, high-purity, advanced ceramic powders such as SiC, Si3N4, TiB2, and ZrO2. In addition to particle size reduction, the turbomill has been used to produce intimate mixtures of high surface area powders and whiskers. Raw materials, TiN, AlN, and Al2O3, used to produce a titanium nitride/aluminum oxynitride (TiN/AlON) composite, were mixed in the turbomill, resulting in strength increases over samples prepared by dry ball milling. Using the turbomill as a leach vessel, it was found that 90.4 pct of the copper was extracted from the chalcopyrite during a 4-hour leach test in ferric sulfate versus conventional processing which involves either roasting of the ore for Cu recovery or leaching of the ore for several days

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

Evidence synthesis to inform model-based cost-effectiveness evaluations of diagnostic tests: a methodological systematic review of health technology assessments

Background: Evaluations of diagnostic tests are challenging because of the indirect nature of their impact on patient outcomes. Model-based health economic evaluations of tests allow different types of evidence from various sources to be incorporated and enable cost-effectiveness estimates to be made beyond the duration of available study data. To parameterize a health-economic model fully, all the ways a test impacts on patient health must be quantified, including but not limited to diagnostic test accuracy. Methods: We assessed all UK NIHR HTA reports published May 2009-July 2015. Reports were included if they evaluated a diagnostic test, included a model-based health economic evaluation and included a systematic review and meta-analysis of test accuracy. From each eligible report we extracted information on the following topics: 1) what evidence aside from test accuracy was searched for and synthesised, 2) which methods were used to synthesise test accuracy evidence and how did the results inform the economic model, 3) how/whether threshold effects were explored, 4) how the potential dependency between multiple tests in a pathway was accounted for, and 5) for evaluations of tests targeted at the primary care setting, how evidence from differing healthcare settings was incorporated. Results: The bivariate or HSROC model was implemented in 20/22 reports that met all inclusion criteria. Test accuracy data for health economic modelling was obtained from meta-analyses completely in four reports, partially in fourteen reports and not at all in four reports. Only 2/7 reports that used a quantitative test gave clear threshold recommendations. All 22 reports explored the effect of uncertainty in accuracy parameters but most of those that used multiple tests did not allow for dependence between test results. 7/22 tests were potentially suitable for primary care but the majority found limited evidence on test accuracy in primary care settings. Conclusions: The uptake of appropriate meta-analysis methods for synthesising evidence on diagnostic test accuracy in UK NIHR HTAs has improved in recent years. Future research should focus on other evidence requirements for cost-effectiveness assessment, threshold effects for quantitative tests and the impact of multiple diagnostic tests

Erratum to: Methods for evaluating medical tests and biomarkers

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s41512-016-0001-y.]

Effects of turbomilling parameters on the comminution of [alpha]-SiC /

Bibliography: p. 8-9.Mode of access: Internet