Crushing and Grinding : Practice and Problems in Kalyadi Copper Mine Concentrator

At Kalyadi concentrator plant the ROM ore is required to be reduced to 70% - 200 mesh size for liberation of valuable mineral. The metallic minerals that are mainly present in the ore are chalcopyrite, pyrite, magnetite and pyrrhotite the latter two being of minor occurance within quartzite. These minerals occur as disseminations, specks, particles, thin veinlets and concentrations. Ore is highly abrasive in nature with specfic gravity of 2.9. Ore grade varies from 0.5 to 0.8% Cu. giving an average grade of 0. 65% Cu

Constraints in dry chilli cultivation practices and mechanization of harvesting in Southern India

Dry chilli production in India condition faces many challenges apart from adverse weather conditions, labor-intensive production practices and higher overall production costs are limiting profitable dry chilli cultivation. Therefore, a study was carried to know the key constraints in current chilli production practices in eight major production districts of three states. A systematic research and development approach is essential to know the range of constraints and farmers preferences over technological options for field operations. The harvesting operation alone demands 43% of labour 360.5 man-days/ha. So, red chilli harvesting mechanization is a definite immediate requirement to reduce labour input. Farmers (47%) prefer small size self-propelled chilli harvester over tractor operated equipment. In the production catchments, farmer also inferred to change the cultivation practices to mechanize chilli production operations, but 18% of farmers hesitant to adopt one-timeharvesting chilli varieties due to suspicion about the yield potentials

Global Retinoblastoma Presentation and Analysis by National Income Level.

Importance: Early diagnosis of retinoblastoma, the most common intraocular cancer, can save both a child's life and vision. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that many children across the world are diagnosed late. To our knowledge, the clinical presentation of retinoblastoma has never been assessed on a global scale. Objectives: To report the retinoblastoma stage at diagnosis in patients across the world during a single year, to investigate associations between clinical variables and national income level, and to investigate risk factors for advanced disease at diagnosis. Design, Setting, and Participants: A total of 278 retinoblastoma treatment centers were recruited from June 2017 through December 2018 to participate in a cross-sectional analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures: Age at presentation, proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, and tumor stage and metastasis. Results: The cohort included 4351 new patients from 153 countries; the median age at diagnosis was 30.5 (interquartile range, 18.3-45.9) months, and 1976 patients (45.4%) were female. Most patients (n = 3685 [84.7%]) were from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Globally, the most common indication for referral was leukocoria (n = 2638 [62.8%]), followed by strabismus (n = 429 [10.2%]) and proptosis (n = 309 [7.4%]). Patients from high-income countries (HICs) were diagnosed at a median age of 14.1 months, with 656 of 666 (98.5%) patients having intraocular retinoblastoma and 2 (0.3%) having metastasis. Patients from low-income countries were diagnosed at a median age of 30.5 months, with 256 of 521 (49.1%) having extraocular retinoblastoma and 94 of 498 (18.9%) having metastasis. Lower national income level was associated with older presentation age, higher proportion of locally advanced disease and distant metastasis, and smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma. Advanced disease at diagnosis was more common in LMICs even after adjusting for age (odds ratio for low-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 17.92 [95% CI, 12.94-24.80], and for lower-middle-income countries vs upper-middle-income countries and HICs, 5.74 [95% CI, 4.30-7.68]). Conclusions and Relevance: This study is estimated to have included more than half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017. Children from LMICs, where the main global retinoblastoma burden lies, presented at an older age with more advanced disease and demonstrated a smaller proportion of familial history of retinoblastoma, likely because many do not reach a childbearing age. Given that retinoblastoma is curable, these data are concerning and mandate intervention at national and international levels. Further studies are needed to investigate factors, other than age at presentation, that may be associated with advanced disease in LMICs

The global retinoblastoma outcome study : a prospective, cluster-based analysis of 4064 patients from 149 countries

DATA SHARING : The study data will become available online once all analyses are complete.BACKGROUND : Retinoblastoma is the most common intraocular cancer worldwide. There is some evidence to suggest that major differences exist in treatment outcomes for children with retinoblastoma from different regions, but these differences have not been assessed on a global scale. We aimed to report 3-year outcomes for children with retinoblastoma globally and to investigate factors associated with survival. METHODS : We did a prospective cluster-based analysis of treatment-naive patients with retinoblastoma who were diagnosed between Jan 1, 2017, and Dec 31, 2017, then treated and followed up for 3 years. Patients were recruited from 260 specialised treatment centres worldwide. Data were obtained from participating centres on primary and additional treatments, duration of follow-up, metastasis, eye globe salvage, and survival outcome. We analysed time to death and time to enucleation with Cox regression models. FINDINGS : The cohort included 4064 children from 149 countries. The median age at diagnosis was 23·2 months (IQR 11·0–36·5). Extraocular tumour spread (cT4 of the cTNMH classification) at diagnosis was reported in five (0·8%) of 636 children from high-income countries, 55 (5·4%) of 1027 children from upper-middle-income countries, 342 (19·7%) of 1738 children from lower-middle-income countries, and 196 (42·9%) of 457 children from low-income countries. Enucleation surgery was available for all children and intravenous chemotherapy was available for 4014 (98·8%) of 4064 children. The 3-year survival rate was 99·5% (95% CI 98·8–100·0) for children from high-income countries, 91·2% (89·5–93·0) for children from upper-middle-income countries, 80·3% (78·3–82·3) for children from lower-middle-income countries, and 57·3% (52·1-63·0) for children from low-income countries. On analysis, independent factors for worse survival were residence in low-income countries compared to high-income countries (hazard ratio 16·67; 95% CI 4·76–50·00), cT4 advanced tumour compared to cT1 (8·98; 4·44–18·18), and older age at diagnosis in children up to 3 years (1·38 per year; 1·23–1·56). For children aged 3–7 years, the mortality risk decreased slightly (p=0·0104 for the change in slope). INTERPRETATION : This study, estimated to include approximately half of all new retinoblastoma cases worldwide in 2017, shows profound inequity in survival of children depending on the national income level of their country of residence. In high-income countries, death from retinoblastoma is rare, whereas in low-income countries estimated 3-year survival is just over 50%. Although essential treatments are available in nearly all countries, early diagnosis and treatment in low-income countries are key to improving survival outcomes.The Queen Elizabeth Diamond Jubilee Trust and the Wellcome Trust.https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/homeam2023Paediatrics and Child Healt

Performance of Reconfigurable Antenna Fabricated on Flexible and Nonflexible Materials for Band Switching Applications

In this article, a novel frequency slot-based switchable antenna fabricated on flexible and nonflexible materials is presented for suitable reconfigurable radiations of Bluetooth, WiMAX, and upper WLAN applications. Initially, the performance of this structure was simulated using a CSTTM simulator and evaluated experimentally using a nonflexible FR4 structure. The same antenna was implemented on a flexible (jean) substrate with a relative permittivity of 1.7. The proposed textile antenna prototypes were fabricated by optimal dimensions of an E-shaped slot with a variation on the shape of the ground layer, integrated using a crossed T-shaped strip with ON/OFF switchable state operations. The proposed antenna prototype is compact (20 × 20 mm2), providing switchable radiations with tri bands, has frequencies ranged at 2.36–2.5 GHz for Bluetooth, 3.51–3.79 GHz and 5.47–5.98 GHz for the distinct bands of WiMAX and WLAN, respectively, as well as part of UWB operations

Performance of reconfigurable antenna fabricated on flexible and non-flexible materials for band switching applications

In this article, a novel frequency slot-based switchable antenna fabricated on flexible and nonflexible materials is presented for suitable reconfigurable radiations of Bluetooth, WiMAX, and upper WLAN applications. Initially, the performance of this structure was simulated using a CSTTM simulator and evaluated experimentally using a nonflexible FR4 structure. The same antenna was implemented on a flexible (jean) substrate with a relative permittivity of 1.7. The proposed textile antenna prototypes were fabricated by optimal dimensions of an E-shaped slot with a variation on the shape of the ground layer, integrated using a crossed T-shaped strip with ON/OFF switchable state operations. The proposed antenna prototype is compact (20 × 20 mm2), providing switchable radiations with tri bands, has frequencies ranged at 2.36–2.5 GHz for Bluetooth, 3.51–3.79 GHz and 5.47–5.98 GHz for the distinct bands of WiMAX and WLAN, respectively, as well as part of UWB operations

Not Available

Value Addition to Crop Residues: An Indigenous Resource Conserving and Soil Fertility Enhancing Technology of IndiaA two-year field experitnenl was conductcd luring thc rainy seasons ol' 2004 and 2005 in the farnicrs• fields or Viahbubnagar district in Andhra Pradesh; India, to lest .the practicc ol' caltlc shed bedding with. groundnut (A rachis hypogaca L.) shells by preparing Groundnut Shell' iVianure (GSM) and •its application along with Farmers' practicc (FP) and in cotnparison with, live u•cattncnts nanlely, FP only, FP and GSlNi, FP and coinposti rc2cncrativc (only organics) and Reconuncndcd Dose ol' Fertilizers (RDF), FP and RDF being lhc checks,on rainy season Taint-ed groundnut and castor Ricinus- conununis crops. Thc results indicated that crops receiving GSM and compost perfonncd well during the deficit rainl'all year (2004) as well as during the nortnal rainfall year (2005) and recorded 12-16% hi2her yields or grounclnut and 9-14% highcr -yields in castor over the FP. Duling 2004 which was,a deficit rainfall year, GSM and conipost application cnhanccd soil ,moisture by 14-40%, percentagc of filled poclé by 59 L 65% and 100 seed weight by Il 8% in groundnut while ill castor 6-33% improved soil moisture enhanced cap sulcs per plånL from 45 to 57% without any significant cft•ecl on 100 sccd weight. Thesc tteatlncnts were •rollowcd by groundnut shell applied crop, RDF and rcgcncralive (organics only) -trcatmcnts. However, during 2005 the order •in. which highcr yiclds achieved. by treatments were GSM application, compost followed by RDF due to well-distributed rainrall. Therefore to sustain yields in rainfcd groundnut and castor crops; present experirnentation envhasized application of organics to •improve soil fertility and drought management ability recycling crop Fesidues through a simple process of cattle shed bedding. This was an attetnpt to introduce the practicc of cattle shed bedding as value addition -to process other locally available crop residues to the practitioners of farming (es pecially parts of Africa and Latin America).Not Availabl

Comparative performance of different power weeders in rainfed sweet sorghum crop

Three commercially available power weeders were evaluated for weeding and inter-cultivation in the sweet sorghum crop in Andhra Pradesh. The weeding efficiency of 'V shape blade power weeder was found to be 91%, whereas 'C' type and Sweep type blade power weeders worded 87 % and 84 % respectively. The performance index of “L” shape. Sweep shape and 'C' type blade weeder were observed to be 169.84, 153.23 and 114.30 respectively. Field capacity of Sweep type weeder was 0.12 ha/hr which is more than 'C' and 'L' type blade weeder and plant damage observed minimum as compared to other two. The cost of operation for Sweep type power weeder was Rs.550 against Rs. 580 and Rs.429 per hectare for 'C' and 'L' shape blade power weeder. It is economical and more effective to use L-shape weeder as it saved 10.88 per cent weeding cost; reduces plant damage and achieved weeding efficiency 84 per cent