Desphosphorization in ironmaking and oxygen steelmaking

Steelmaking is an extensive industry based on modifying the physical properties of iron to fit a wide range of applications by either adding alloying elements or removal of impurities. Thus, the effects of various elemental components on final steel properties are at the heart of the steelmaking process whether in small concentrations coming from the raw materials or being in larger concentrations as alloying elements. Owing to increased demand of iron ore raw materials, the access to high-quality ores has been under stress and thus, increased usage of low-quality ores, which contains high concentrations of impurities such as phosphorus and sulphur has become more economical. Such impurities have been known to have adverse impacts on the final steel properties and need special management in conventional steel making operation. This report primarily focuses on the management strategies of phosphorus in steelmaking including the behavior of phosphorus and its removal strategies in several core components of the process: blast furnace (BF), basic oxygen furnace (BOF), electric arc furnace (EAF) and argon oxygen decarburization (AOD). The objective of the report is to review underlying research in the area giving a reference to the available literature and support propagation of future research projects addressing various aspects of dephosphorization in steelmaking

COMPREHENSIVE STUDY ANALYSIS OF NOVEL MAPPING MULTIPLEXING (NMM) TECHNIQUE FOR LONG HAUL OPTICAL FIBER TRANSMISSION SYSTEMS

A new multiplexing technique based on mapping method called Novel Mapping Multiplexing (NMM) is proposed and well demonstrated. It is reported that spectral width occupied by 40 Gb/s NMM is 40 GHz with spectral efficiency of 1bit/sec/Hz that shows a clear advantage over the conventional NRZ-OOK and RZ-OOK with same data rate of 40Gbits/sec having spectral efficiency of 0.5bit/sec/Hz and 0.25bit/sec/Hz respectively. This technique features better chromatic dispersion (CD) tolerance and Q-Factor because of its narrow spectral width

The Effect of Corporate Governance on Capital Structure Decisions – A Case of Saudi Arabian Banking Sector

Purpose – The aim of this empirical study is to analyse the impact of Corporate Governance on Capital Structure Decisions in Saudi Arabian commercial banking sector. The components of corporate governance whose impact has been analysed on the capital structure are board size, independence of directors, ownership structure, ownership of management, board meetings. Methodology – Multiple regression analysis, Correlation matrix and Descriptive Statistics is used to assess the relationship among corporate governance components and capital structure of Saudi commercial banks for the years 2010 and 2011. Findings – The results shows that ownership structure and board size are positively correlated which is coherent with most of the previous studies. Managerial ownership and board independence are negatively correlated and board meeting held in a year is also negatively correlated but is statistically insignificant. Moreover the study found that on average the Saudi banks uses 68 % debt capital.  Implications- The research study is supposed to facilitate regulatory authorities like CMA for improving the implementation of rules and regulations in order to make corporate governance tools work more efficiently in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Originality- The research study evaluates the effects of corporate governance components on capital structure decisions of Saudi commercial banks

Interval Valued, m-Polar and m-Polar Interval Valued Neutrosophic Hypersoft Sets

Decision making is a complex issue due to vague, imprecise and indeterminate environment specially, when attributes are more than one, and further bifurcated. To solve such type of problems, concept of neutrosophic hypersoft set (NHSS) was proposed [1]. The purpose of this paper is to provide the extension of NHSS into: Interval Valued, m-Polar and m-Polar interval valued Neutrosophic Hypersoft sets. The definitions of proposed extensions and mathematical operations are discussed in detail with suitable examples. Finally, concluded the present work with the future direction

DISSOLUTION BEHAVIOR OF BIOACTIVE GLASS CERAMICS WITH DIFFERENT CaO/MgO RATIOS

In this work, powders of three different compositions, each having 34 SiO2-14.5 P2O5-1 CaF2-0.5 MgF (% wt) and ratio of CaO/MgO varying from 11.5:1 to 1:11.5 were thoroughly mixed and melted under oxy-acetylene flame in a fire clay crucible that made the glass formation cheaper in time and cost. The melt of each composition was quenched in water to form three different glasses. Every glass was sintered at 950°C to form three glass ceramics named G1, G2 and G3 respectively. To study the dissolution behavior, each sample was immersed in a simulated body fluid (SBF) for 2, 5, 10, 20 and 25 days at room temperature. Thin film XRD analysis revealed that the samples with larger CaO/MgO ratio exhibited better bioactivity. pH of SBF increased efficiently in case of G1 whereas in case of G2 and G3, this increase was slower due to greater amount of MgO. The concentrations of Ca, P, Mg and Si ions were measured by Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy. EDS analysis showed the increase in P and Ca ions and presence of C in G1 after 5 days immersion and after 10 days, in case of G2 indicating the higher formation rate of hydroxycarbonate Apatite layer in G1 as compared to G2 due to greater CaO/MgO ratio whereas in G3 Mg-hydroxycarbonate apatite (Ca(Mg)5(CO3)(PO4)3(OH)) (heneuite) layer was recognized after 20 days showing the least bioactivity due to very large amount of Mg and the least CaO/MgO ratio

Knowledge, Attitude, and Practices (KAPs) of Community Pharmacists Regarding COVID-19

The 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is a global pandemic with no therapy, and pharmacists being a part of the health care system have a vital role in the management of COVID-19. The purpose of this study is to assess the knowledge, attitude, and practices of community pharmacists (CPs) regarding COVID-19.An online survey was conducted among 393 CPs in 2 provinces of Pakistan during the lockdown period. A validated questionnaire (Cronbach's alpha, 0.745) was used for data collection. All statistical analyses were analyzed by using SPSS, version 21 (IBM Corp, Armonk, NY).Among 393 participants, 71.5% (n = 281) had good knowledge, 44% (n = 175) had a positive attitude, and 57.3% (n = 225) had good practices regarding COVID-19. Social media (45.29%, n = 178) were reported as the main source to seek information of COVID-19. Good knowledge, age ≥ 26 years, and a PhD degree level were the substantial determinants (P = 5 years, a PhD degree, good knowledge, and a good attitude has higher odds of having good practices as compared with reference categories (P = < 0.05).In short, a majority of the CPs had good knowledge but had a poor attitude and practice toward the management of COVID-19. Standard-structured educational and counseling programs for CPs regarding COVID-19 are needed for effective management

Coal Consumption: An Alternate Energy Resource to Fuel Economic Growth in Pakistan

This study is an attempt to revisit the causal relationship between coal consumption and economic growth in case of Pakistan. The present study covers the period of 1974-2010. The direction of causality between the variable is investigated by applying the VECM Granger causality approach. Our findings have exposed that there exists bidirectional Granger causality between economic growth and coal consumption. The Cumulative Sum (CUSUM) and Cumulative Sum of Square (CUSUMSQ) diagrams have not found any structural instability over the period of 1974-2010