Influence of Wettability and Reactivity on Refractory Degradation – Interactions of Molten Iron and Slags with Steelmaking Refractories at 1550°C

Refractories, materials that can withstand high temperatures, play an important role in the iron and steel sector which alone accounts for ~70% of total refractories produced. In this chapter, detailed wettability and interfacial phenomena investigations on alumina-carbon and zirconia-carbon refractories at steelmaking temperatures. The wettability between refractory substrates and molten iron/slags was investigated at 1550°C using the sessile drop approach in a horizontal tube furnace equipped with a CCD camera. Detailed experimental results were obtained on alumina-carbon/molten iron system at high temperatures. Alumina is known to be non-wetting to molten iron while carbon can be easily wetted. Observed contact angles were found to depend strongly on the substrate composition and contact time. While the refractory substrates containing 50 and 60% carbon were found to be non-wetting to molten iron, the substrates containing higher amounts of C (≥ 70%) were found to become increasingly wetting. Molten iron droplets were seen to spread on these substrates

Pioneering the human development revolution: Analysing the trajectory of Mahbub ul Haq

Mahbub ul Haq's work to coordinate, establish and propagate the human development approach offers an example of effective leadership in promoting more ethical socio-economic development. This article reviews Pioneering the Human Development Revolution-An Intellectual Biography of Mahbub ul Haq (edited by Haq and Ponzio), and extends themes from the United Nations Intellectual History Project to examine Haq's contributions in terms of four aspects of leadership: articulating and applying values that combine depth with broad appeal; providing a fruitful and vivid way of seeing, a 'vision', that reflects the values; embodying the values and vision in workable practical proposals; and supporting and communicating the previous aspects through wide and relevant networks. It suggests that the human development approach may need to update its values and vision, including through better integration of human security thinking, if it is to retain the leadership role it acquired thanks to Haq

Heaviness, health and happiness: a cross-sectional study of 163 066 UK Biobank participants

<b>Background</b><p></p> Obesity is known to increase the risk of many diseases and reduce overall quality of life. This study examines the relationship with self-reported health (SRH) and happiness.<p></p> <b>Methods</b> <p></p>We conducted a cross-sectional study of the 163 066 UK Biobank participants who completed the happiness rating. The association between adiposity and SRH and happiness was examined using logistic regression. SRH was defined as good (excellent, good), or poor (fair, poor). Self-reported happiness was defined as happy (extremely, very, moderately) or unhappy (moderately, very, extremely). <p></p> <b>Results</b> <p></p>Poor health was reported by 44 457 (27.3%) participants. The adjusted ORs for poor health were 3.86, 2.92, 2.60 and 6.41 for the highest, compared with lowest, deciles of Body Mass Index, waist circumference, waist to hip ratio and body fat percent, respectively. The associations were stronger in men (p<0.001). Overall, 7511 (4.6%) participants felt unhappy, and only class III obese participants were more likely to feel unhappy (adjusted OR 1.33, 95% CI 1.15 to 1.53, p<0.001) but the associations differed by sex (p<0.001). Among women, there was a significant association between unhappiness and all levels of obesity. By contrast, only class III obese men had significantly increased risk and overweight and class I obese men were less likely to be unhappy. <p></p> <b>Conclusions</b><p></p>Obesity impacts adversely on happiness as well as health, but the association with unhappiness disappeared after adjustment for self-reported health, indicating this may be mediated by health. Compared with obese men, obese women are less likely to report poor health, but more likely to feel unhappy. <p></p&gt

Comparison of simple and chelated amberlite IR-120 for preconcentration and Determination of Cu(II) from aqueous samples

In the present study, the efficiency of simple and chelating Amberlite IR-120 with α-nitroso β-naphthol (IR-αNβN) and with 8-hydroxy quinoline (IR-8HQ) has been compared for the removal of Cu(II) from aqueous solutions. The chelation was confirmed using different characterization techniques like SEM, TGA and FTIR. A number of experiments were carried out in batch system to determine the effect of different parameters on adsorption of Cu(II) like pH, contact time and sample volume. The results showed occurrence of maximum adsorption at pH 7 in 10 min with adsorption capacity of 71.5 mg g-1 at 298 K. The adsorption followed pseudo second order kinetic model among the four kinetic models applied. Maximum desorption from IR-8HQ was obtained with a mixture of 4.0 M HCl and 0.5 M HNO3. Furthermore, IR-8HQ was found to be most selective adsorbent among three adsorbents investigated. The developed preconcentration procedure was successfully applied to spiked tap water and real samples. KEY WORDS: Chelating adsorbent, Amberlite IR-120, α-Nitroso β-naphthol, 8-Hydrox quinoline, Preconcentration Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2016, 30(1), 39-54.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/bcse.v30i1.

An attention-based view of short-termism:The effects of organizational structure

Debates about short-termism in business tend to center around the role of shareholder pressures and managers’ incentives, while the role of organizational structure remains understudied. In our paper, we adopt an attention-based lens to elucidate the role of organizational structure in directing the attention of management towards pressures for short-term results at the expense of the long term. Specifically, we argue that greater scale of operations, hierarchy, bureaucracy, and workforce flexibility reduce slack resources available to senior managers and increase the complexity of information presented to them in different ways. As a result, the senior managers shift their attention to short-term pressures, which are more easily understood, at the expense of attention for long-term considerations. Analysis based on a survey of senior managers in 3221 private firms in the Netherlands provides support for our arguments

Environmental Impact of Processing Electronic Waste – Key Issues and Challenges

Extensive utilization of electric and electronic equipment in a wide range of applications has resulted in the generation of huge volumes of electronic waste (e-waste) globally. Highly complex e-waste can contain metals, polymers and ceramics along with several hazardous and toxic constituents. There are presently no standard approaches for handling, dismantling, and the processing of e-waste to recover valuable resources. Inappropriate and unsafe practices produce additional hazardous compounds and highly toxic emissions as well. This chapter presents an overview of the environmental impact of processing e-waste with specific focus on toxic elements present initially in a variety of e-waste as well as hazardous compounds generated during e-waste processing. Hazardous constituents/ and contaminants were classified in three categories: primary contaminants, secondary contaminants, and tertiary contaminants. Primary contaminants represent hazardous substances present initially within various types of e-waste; these include heavy metals such as lead, mercury, nickel and cadmium, flame retardants presents in polymers etc. Secondary contaminants such as spent acids, volatile/toxic compounds, PAHs are the by-products or waste residues produced after inappropriate processing of e-waste and the tertiary contaminants include leftover reagents or compounds used during processing. A detailed report is presented on the environmental impact of processing e-waste and the detrimental impact on soil contamination, vegetation degradation, water and air quality along with implications for human health. Challenges and opportunities associated with appropriate e-waste management are also discussed

Gender differences in the association between adiposity and probable major depression: a cross-sectional study of 140,564 UK Biobank participants

<b>Background</b><p></p> Previous studies on the association between adiposity and mood disorder have produced contradictory results, and few have used measurements other than body mass index (BMI). We examined the association between probable major depression and several measurements of adiposity: BMI, waist circumference (WC), waist-hip-ratio (WHR), and body fat percentage (BF%).<p></p> <b>Methods</b><p></p> We conducted a cross-sectional study using baseline data on the sub-group of UK Biobank participants who were assessed for mood disorder. Multivariate logistic regression models were used, adjusting for potential confounders including: demographic and life-style factors, comorbidity and psychotropic medication.<p></p> <b>Results</b><p></p> Of the 140,564 eligible participants, evidence of probable major depression was reported by 30,145 (21.5%). The fully adjusted odds ratios (OR) for obese participants were 1.16 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.12, 1.20) using BMI, 1.15 (95% CI 1.11, 1.19) using WC, 1.09 (95% CI 1.05, 1.13) using WHR and 1.18 (95% CI 1.12, 1.25) using BF% (all p <0.001). There was a significant interaction between adiposity and gender (p = 0.001). Overweight women were at increased risk of depression with a dose response relationship across the overweight (25.0-29.9 kg/m2), obese I (30.0-34.9 kg/m2), II (35.0-39.9 kg/m2) and III (≥40.0 kg/m2) categories; fully adjusted ORs 1.14, 1.20, 1.29 and 1.48, respectively (all p < 0.001). In contrast, only obese III men had significantly increased risk of depression (OR 1.29, 95% CI 1.08, 1.54, p = 0.006).<p></p> <b>Conclusion</b><p></p> Adiposity was associated with probable major depression, irrespective of the measurement used. The association was stronger in women than men. Physicians managing overweight and obese women should be alert to this increased risk