Recovery of Certain Non-ferrous Metals from Industrial by Products

The primary resources of certain non-ferrous metals that are of great industrial value, such as copper, zinc and lead are lean in our country and the entire demand for the same cannot be met fully but for the import. Quite a good percentage of the total consumption is available as a good percentage of the total consumption is avail-able as byproduct oxides and hydroxides. Any attempt to recover the metals from such byproducts will be great value especially with respect to saving foreign exchange. In this communication, the methods for the recovery of copper, zinc and lead from byproducts are reviewed. Well known thermal and electrolytic processes are briefly discussed and two processes that have been developed for the recovery, by the authors are discussed in detail. The first method involves direct electrolytic reduction of the byproduct oxide or hydroxide to the respective metal powder when the same is kept as a sediment on a metal cathode immersed in an alkaline medium. The character-istics of the metal powder obtaine depends on those of the starting material.In the other method, known as susp-ension electrolysis, the finely powdered byproduct is suspended in a suitable medium and the suspension is then electrolysed. The metal can be recovered either in the form of powder or sheet by varying the conditions of electrolysis. The above mentioned methods as applied to the recovery of copper, zinc, lead and silver are discussed

Recovery of certain non-ferrous metals from Industrial by-products

THE resources of the important non-ferrous metals- namely, lead, zinc and copper-are very lean in our country and large quantities of the same are imported. An idea of the extent of the import during 67--68 is given in Table 1. Some zinc, lead and copper are being produced in the country but the total production meets only less than 40% of the total requirement. So, recovery of these metals from industrial byproducts and wastes in a form which is useful again in the same or similar industry is a nece-ssity. This will substantially reduce the quantity of imports and at the same time improve the economic feasi-bility of the processes. It is true that the metal thus recovered is only secondary in nature and would yield less favourable results than the primary metal. Still, whenever it is not disadvantageous, attempts should be made to adopt recovery processes and use the recovered metal

Tamm plasmon polariton in planar structures: A brief overview and applications

Tamm plasmon provides a new avenue in plasmonics of interface states in planar multilayer structures due to its strong light matter interaction. This article reviews the research and development in Tamm plasmon polariton excited at the interface of a metal and a distributed Bragg reflector. Tamm plasmon offers an easy planar solution compared to patterned surface plasmon devices with huge field enhancement at the interface and does not require of any phase matching method for its excitation. The ease of depositing multilayer thin film stacks, direct optical excitation, and high-Q modes make Tamm plasmons an attractive field of research with potential practical applications. The basic properties of the Tamm plasmon modes including its dispersion, effect of different plasmon active metals, coupling with other resonant modes and their polarization splitting, and tunability of Tamm plasmon coupled hybrid modes under externally applied stimuli have been discussed. The application of Tamm plasmon modes in lasers, hot electron photodetectors, perfect absorbers, thermal emitters, light emitting devices, and sensors have also been discussed in detail. This review covers all the major advancements in this field over the last fifteen years with special emphasis on the application part

Studies on length-weight relationship of Gerres filamentosus Cuvier from the estuaries of the southern Karnataka coast

Random samples of Gerres filamentosus Cuvier from the Netravathi-Gurpur, Mulky, Kallayanapura, Mabukala and Kundapura estuaries of the southern Karnataka Coast were collected in the years 2000, 2001 and 2002, and length-weight relationships for each estuary were derived using multiple linear regression technique with one dummy variable. Hence, combined or sex-wise length-weight relationships were obtained after testing for homogeneity and isometric growth condition of fishes for each estuary by t-test. The extent of closeness of length-weight relationships between sexes and among estuaries for different years is explained by a trend line graph. The whole process of multiple linear regression analysis with one dummy variable is a better substitute for the analysis of covariance technique

Screening New Legume Species for Use as Cover Crop in Southern Germany

A screening among more than 800 accessions, belonging to more than 100 species was performed in the frame of an international cooperative research program from 2012 to 2016. Aim of the screening was, to identify new species and suitableaccessions, suitable as cover crops and living mulches in Mediterranean, temperate and more continental climates. In this contribution, results obtained in southern Germany are reported, focusing on potential new cover crops. Several new cover crop species could be identified, which were characterized by high biomass production ad weed suppression, as well as by good seed production. Both species and accessions with early and late growth cycle could be identified

ZOLEDRONIC ACID: A MISCHIEVOUS SUSPECT FOR LIVER INJURY

ABSTRACTA 47-year-old male diagnosed as adenocarcinoma of the lung and received 8 cycles of chemotherapy comprising intravenous administration ofcisplatin 125 mg, pemetrexed 850 mg along with zoledronic acid 4 mg. After the completion of the 8 cycle, the liver enzymes were found to bemarkedly elevated, evincing zoledronic acid as the cause for hepatotoxicity. The case details were taken from the patient's medical record along withthe biochemical test reports and radiographic images. The causal association was confirmed using Naranjo's algorithm and Roussel Uclaf CausalityAssessment Method (RUCAM). After the uneventful chemotherapy, patient's liver function tests (LFT) were abnormal. There was an elevation in theaspartate aminotransferase, alanine transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, and direct bilirubin. The causal relationship was established using Naranjo'salgorithm (score-6) and RUCAM (score-5), displayed a probable†and possible†association. Hartwig's severity scale and Thornton's preventabilityscale displayed the adverse drug reaction to being moderately severe and not preventable, respectively. The zoledronic acid was stopped and neverreadministered. The LFTs assumed normal after a span of 2 months. The mechanism underlying hepatotoxicity due to zoledronic acid remains elusive.Zoledronic acid can induce acute phase response mediated by active production of interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor alpha, and pro-inflammatorycytokines from the T-cells and macrophages. Vigilant monitoring along with timely assessment and management can prevent the occurrence ofirreversible liver damage. Henceforth, we would like to report the rare incidence of drug induced hepatic damage due to zoledronic acid. Henceforth,we would like to report the rare incidence of drug induced hepatic damage due to zoledronic acid.Keywords: Bisphosphonate, Dechallenge, Hepatotoxicity, Rechallenge.t

Allelic richness and diversity in global composite collection and reference sets in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.)

Chickpea is the fourth largest grain legume crop globally. A composite collection of 3000 accessions was formed and genotyped using 50 SSR markers. The accessions were also field evaluated for seven qualitative traits. Analysis of 48 SSR markers data on 2915 accessions detected 1683 alleles, of which 935 were rare and 748 common. Gene diversity varied from 0.533 to 0.975. Kabuli chickpea as a group were genetically more diverse than other seed types. Several group-specific unique alleles were detected: 104 in Kabuli, 297 in desi, and 69 in wild Cicer; 114 each in West Asia and Mediterranean, 117 in South and South East Asia, and 10 in African region accessions. A genotype-based reference set captured 1315 alleles compared to 1237 alleles in the reference set based on qualitative traits or 1354 alleles based on SSRs and qualitative traits data. The relative usefulness of these reference sets in chickpea breeding and genomics studies are being further investigated

Mycobacteria-responsive sonic hedgehog signaling mediates programmed death-ligand 1 and prostaglandin E<SUB>2</SUB>-induced regulatory T cell expansion

CD4+CD25+FoxP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs) are exploited by mycobacteria to subvert the protective host immune responses. The Treg expansion in the periphery requires signaling by professional antigen presenting cells and in particularly dendritic cells (DC). However, precise molecular mechanisms by which mycobacteria instruct Treg expansion via DCs are not established. Here we demonstrate that mycobacteria-responsive sonic hedgehog (SHH) signaling in human DCs leads to programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) expression and cyclooxygenase (COX)-2-catalyzed prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) that orchestrate mycobacterial infection-induced expansion of Tregs. While SHH-responsive transcription factor GLI1 directly arbitrated COX-2 transcription, specific microRNAs, miR-324-5p and miR-338-5p, which target PD-L1 were downregulated by SHH signaling. Further, counter-regulatory roles of SHH and NOTCH1 signaling during mycobacterial-infection of human DCs was also evident. Together, our results establish that Mycobacterium directs a fine-balance of host signaling pathways and molecular regulators in human DCs to expand Tregs that favour immune evasion of the pathogen