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In the present study, the effect of MgO in the form of olivine flux on low- and high-alumina iron ore pellet mineralogy and pellet quality was studied. Green pellets were prepared by varying the MgO content from 0 to 1.5% with a basicity (CaO/SiO2) of 0.30. The pellets were tested for green pellet properties, cold crushing strength (CCS), and reduction degradation index (RDI) and fired at temperatures between 1300 and 1320 oC. An optical microscope with an image analyzer, SEM-EDS, was used to assess the mineralogical phases present in the pellets and the chemical analysis of the mineralogical phases, respectively. The laboratory tests showed that with increasing MgO addition in both low and high alumina pellets, magnesio-ferrite & silicate melt phases increased and the porosity and hematite phases decreased. The decrease in porosity was due to increase in silicate melt formation from the silica in the olivine. With increasing MgO addition, the CCS value of the pellets increased up to an MgO content of 0.9 to 1.1%. Thereafter, the CCS value of the pellets decreased with increasing MgO addition for both low and high alumina pellets. At an MgO content of 0.9 to 1.1%, the CCS value was higher due to the formation of a low melting point magnesio-ferrite phase, which imparted strength to the pellets. For pellets with an MgO level of >1.1, the RDI was within the control limit for both low- and high-alumina pellets. This may be due to a reduction in the porosity of the pellet and a better distribution of the silicate melt phase. Low-alumina pellets showed better physical and metallurgical properties compared to high-alumina iron ore pellets.

Specular iron ores are medium grade iron ores suitable for the use in agglomeration process. However, due to their hard texture, undesirable particle size and shape, poor assimilation performance and low reactivity at high temperature, its uses in agglomeration is very limited and restricted to almost 3-10% at most of the plants. In the present study, the effect of specular iron ore on sintering performance and sinter qualities are examined. It was observed that an increased proportion of specular iron ore in sinter blend showed poor sintering performance in both laboratory scale studies and plant scale trials. In the present work, the effect of blending of specular iron ore with goethite iron ore in sinter mix on sintering performance was examined and an optimum iron ore blend ratio for sustainable performance and quality was proposed. To increase the specular iron ore usage in sintering, goethitic iron ore up to 30% was introduced in sinter blend to overcome the deteriorating nature of specular iron ore. The goethite iron ore contains chemically bonded water which gets removed at higher temperatures (300-500°C) during sintering. The evaporated water gets cooled at lower bed and condenses which retards the air flow during sintering process and thus the combustion zone stays for longer time allowing better melt assimilation and sinter qualities. The poor melt assimilation of specularite is thus countered in presence of goethite iron ore. Having better reactive and hydrophilic nature of goethite iron ore, nullifying or reducing the ill effect of poor reactive and hydrophobic characteristics of specular iron ore during granulation and sintering process. Therefore, the blended specular and goethite iron ore resulted in improved sintering rate and consequently improved sinter productivity. The present work proposed usage of up to 30% of specular iron ore when blended with goethite iron ore in sinter making.

Purpose slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) can result in a complex three-dimensional (3D) deformity of the proximal femur. A three-plane proximal femoral osteotomy (TPFO) has been described to improve hip mechanics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the benefits of using 3D print technology to aid in surgical planning.

The damage caused by high temperature is one of the most important abiotic stress affecting rice production. Reproductive stage of rice is highly susceptible to high temperature. The present investigation was undertaken to identify polymorphic microsatellite markers (SSR) associated with heat tolerance. The rice cultivars NERICA-L 44 (heat tolerant) and Uma (heat susceptible) were crossed to generate F¹ and F² populations. The F² population was subjected to heat stress at >38°C and the 144 F² plants were evaluated for their tolerance. The results note that the mean of the F² population was influenced by the tolerant parent with regards to the traits of plant height, membrane stability index, photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, evapotranspiration rate, pollen viability, spikelet fertility and 1000 grain weight. Ten each of the extremely susceptible and tolerant plants were selected based on the spikelet fertility percentage. Their DNA was pooled into tolerant and susceptible bulks and Bulked Segregant Analysis (BSA) was carried out using 100 SSR markers to check for polymorphism. The survey revealed a polymorphism of 18% between the parents. RM337, RM10793, RM242, RM5749, RM6100, RM490, RM470, RM473, RM222 and RM556 are some of the prominent markers that were found to be polymorphic between the parents and the bulks. We performed gene annotation and enrichment analysis of identified polymorphic markers. Result revealed that the sequence specific site of that chromosome mostly enriched with biological processes like metabolic pathway, molecular mechanism, and subcellular function. Among that RM337 was newly reported marker for heat tolerance. Expression analysis of two genes corresponds to RM337 revealed that LOP1 (LOC_Os08g01330) was linked to high temperature tolerance in rice. The results demonstrate that BSA using SSR markers is useful in identifying genomic regions that contribute to thermotolerance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A retrospective study was undertaken from the year 1988 to 1998 to study the pattern of sexually transmitted diseases in and around Lucknow. Among 1890 patients examined, chancroid predominated followed by syphilis, gonorrhoea, genital warts, herpes genitalis, LGV and non-specific urethritis. The incidence of donovanosis was the lowest.

Oat is grown as winter forage in India. It is a self-pollinated crop with less variability. However, the variation for different morphological traits in oat germplasm may be available at genotypic level. The present study was conducted to find out the genetic diversity among 24 oat landraces using 9 morphological traits and 24 SSR primers. Morphological data observed across the 24 landraces showed wide variation and grouped various landraces into two clusters. GFY and DMY were positively and significantly correlated with most of the traits studied. The molecular analysis using 24 SSR primers resulted amplification of 62 polymorphic alleles with an average of 2.58 alleles per primer. Size of amplified alleles ranged from 70 to 480 bp. Mean polymorphic information content was 0.42 showing moderate level of SSR polymorphism. Cluster analysis based on SSR data differentiated 24 oat landraces into three major clusters. Bayesian model-based STRUCTURE analysis assigned landraces into two clusters and showed the extent of admixture within individuals. Clustering pattern of oat landraces based on SSR marker profiles were different from that of morphometric traits. So, based on the pooled analysis at morphological and molecular level, the landraces IG-02-121, IG-02-129 and IG-02-113 were found superior for morphological traits as well as most distant among all the landraces under study. Hence, these landraces could be used in for future breeding programmes for genetic improvement in oats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]