Beneficiation of Indian Heavy Mineral Sands- Some New Possibilities Identified by Tata Steel

Titanium, the 9th most abundant element on the earth's crust, is available mostly (90%)in the form of ilmenite (FeO.TiO2) and leucoxene (weathered ilmenite). These titanium bearing minerals occur either as placer minerals or some times, as rock deposits (e.g. in canada and Norway

How long does treated supracondylar humerus fracture in children take to recover elbow range?

Background: Our goal was to address requirement of physiotherapy after treatment of supracondylar humerus fractures in children and evaluate result of casting on elbow without injury using control group of distal forearm fractures.Methods: 57 cases of supracondylar fractures were included in this retrospective study and compared with group of 54 children with distal forearm fractures treated with long arm casting for 28 days. Passive elbow ROM was checked with goniometer on day of cast removal, 2 weeks later, and then every month until the elbow ROM returned to 95% ROM (ROM-95) of uninjured side. No physiotherapy was given.Results: Average time in cast for supracondylar fracture group was 31.8 days and distal forearm fracture group was 32.4 days. The elbow total flexion angle reached a plateau of 139 degrees at 1month after cast removal whereas forearm group required less than 2 weeks. Total rotation ROM required half the time to reach 139 degrees in forearm group. From the paired t test it took more time for pronation to recover than supination in supracondylar fractures. In supracondylar group there was positive correlation between casting period and recovery period of ROM-95 elbow extension (p=0.021) and days of casting (p=0.021) and ROM-95 flexion recovery period. There was no statistically significant impact between casting and recovery period in other directions and recovery of ROM-95 & F-ROM and the subclassification and type of treatment of individual fractures.Conclusions: Lessons learned: thorough assessment of elbow function post cast removal, lack of need of physiotherapy in management protocol and elbow stiffness is related to initial injury and associated treatment not merely immobilisation

A Low Rhodium Content Smart Catalyst for Hydrogenation and Hydroformylation Reactions

Abstract: This paper describes the preparation, broad characterization and study of activity in hydrogenation and hydroformylation reactions of an easily produced 0.18% Rh/Al2O3. Analytical studies on fresh and recycled samples shed light on the smart properties of such catalyst. Results showed high activity as well as fine/excellent chemoselectivity or regioselectivity, characteristics that may suggest a wide range of applicability. Graphic Abstract: The low metal content catalyst 0.18% Rh/Al2O3 was very active in both hydrogenation and hydroformylation reactions so providing intermediates for valuable APIs, as Nabumetone and Eletriptan, and a fragrance with a fresh, green-floral smell, that recalls scent of lily of the valley.[Figure not available: see fulltext.

Implementation of Decoy Deception based Detection System for Ransomware Attack

Ransomware poses a dangerous threat to  cybersecurity. Data as well as rights owned by the user are  adversely impacted. The situation has become considerably  more critical as a result of the emergence of new ransomware  varieties and Ransomware-as-a-Service. In this paper, we  presented a novel deception-based and behaviour-based  method for real-time ransomware detection. In order to avoid  any loss before ransomware is discovered, we build pretend  files and directories for nefarious behaviours. We conducted a  pilot study using Locky, and the results demonstrate the  effectiveness of our strategy with little system resource usage  and geographical cost.&nbsp

Safetxt: a pilot randomised controlled trial of an intervention delivered by mobile phone to increase safer sex behaviours in young people.

OBJECTIVE: To test the procedures proposed for a main trial of a safer sex intervention for young people delivered by mobile phone text message ('safetxt'). DESIGN AND SETTING: Pilot randomised controlled trial. Participants were recruited through sexual health services in the UK. An independent online randomisation system allocated participants to receive the safetxt intervention or to receive the control text messages (monthly messages about participation in the study). Texting software delivered the messages in accordance with a predetermined schedule. PARTICIPANTS: Residents of England aged 16-24 who had received either a positive chlamydia test result or reported unsafe sex in the last year (defined as more than 1 partner and at least 1 occasion of sex without a condom). INTERVENTION: The safetxt intervention is designed to reduce sexually transmitted infection in young people by supporting them in using condoms, telling a partner about an infection and testing before unprotected sex with a new partner. Safetxt was developed drawing on: behavioural science; face-to-face interventions; the factors known to influence safer sex behaviours and the views of young people. OUTCOMES: The coprimary outcomes of the pilot trial were the recruitment rate and completeness of follow-up. RESULTS: We recruited 200 participants within our target of 3 months and we achieved 81% (162/200) follow-up response for the proposed primary outcome of the main trial, cumulative incidence of chlamydia at 12 months. CONCLUSIONS: Recruitment, randomisation, intervention delivery and follow-up were successful and a randomised controlled trial of the safetxt intervention is feasible. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: ISRCTN02304709; Results

Primary Carcinoma of the Fallopian Tube: A Review of a Single Institution Experience of 8 Cases

Aims and Objectives. To evaluate the clinicopathologic features, response to cytoreductive surgery and adjuvant platinum-based chemotherapy with or without paclitaxel. Materials and Methods. A retrospective observational study of 8 women with a histopathologic diagnosis of primary fallopian tube carcinoma (PFTC) from January 2000 to February 2013. Results. 4/8 (50%) of the women were in the early stage and an intraoperative frozen section was 100% effective in identifying fallopian tube carcinoma and then a staging laparotomy was performed. All 4/8 cases in the early stage had received and responded to single agent carboplatin and all are alive without clinical, radiological, or biochemical evidence of recurrence at the end of 2 years and the longest survivor has completed 13 years. Primary optimal cytoreductive surgery was achievable in 3/4 (75%) in advanced disease. All showed response to adjuvant paclitaxel and carboplatin (T+C), but all had succumbed to the disease following recurrence with mean progression-free survival of 19 months (range 15–21 months) and mean overall survival of 27 months (range 22–36 months). Conclusion. The pivotal role played by a frozen section in diagnosing PFTC which is rare needs to be reemphasized, therefore justifying a primary staging laparotomy in an early stage. Prolonged survival observed in this group following an optimum tailored adjuvant single agent carboplatin is worth noting

Inorganic nitrate attenuates cardiac dysfunction: roles for xanthine oxidoreductase and nitric oxide

Nitric oxide (NO) is a vasodilator and independent modulator of cardiac remodelling. Commonly, in cardiac disease (e.g. heart failure) endothelial dysfunction (synonymous with NO-deficiency) has been implicated in increased blood pressure (BP), cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. Currently no effective therapies replacing NO have succeeded in the clinic. Inorganic nitrate (NO3 - ), through chemical reduction to nitrite and then NO, exerts potent BP-lowering but whether it might be useful in treating undesirable cardiac remodelling is unknown. In a nested age- and sex-matched case-control study of hypertensive patients +/- left ventricular hypertrophy (NCT03088514) we show that lower plasma nitrite concentration and vascular dysfunction accompany cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis in patients. In mouse models of cardiac remodelling, we also show that restoration of circulating nitrite levels using dietary nitrate improves endothelial dysfunction through targeting of xanthine oxidoreductase (XOR)-driven H2 O2 and superoxide, and reduces cardiac fibrosis through NO-mediated block of SMAD-phosphorylation leading to improvements in cardiac structure and function. We show that via these mechanisms dietary nitrate offers easily translatable therapeutic options for treatment of cardiac dysfunction