The material resources for the iron and steel industries

The future supplies of iron ore, coking coal and ferrous scrap are discussed. There is no likelihood of the resources of iron ore being exhausted until well into the twenty-first century. Coking coal, on the other hand, is in shorter supply but it is being eked out by blending with non-coking coal and by making blast furnaces more efficient. Briquettes made completely from non-coking coal will play a part in iron making in the future. To ensure greater flexibility in steel making, hydrocarbons are being considered as possible substitutes for coal. Scrap has always played an important part in steel making and the amount recycled is increasing every year. But more effort is needed, for example, to ensure that the steel in car scrap is fully utilised and that refuse is efficiently recycled. Steel making increasingly demands the scrap to have few impurities and to be in uniform sized pieces. A cryogenic method of preparing such scrap is described. A futuristic way of extracting iron, non-ferrous metals and other saleeable by-products from refuse, by using redundant blast furnaces, is also discussed.     

EXPERIMENTAL DREDGING TO CONVERT LAKE BOTTOM FROM ABIOTIC MUCK TO PRODUCTIVE SAND1

ABSTRACT: Conversion of muck to sand bottom was tested to increase benthic production in two eutrophic Florida lakes, and preliminary results indicate that benthos will be increased in areas converted to sand. Muck removal with a specially designed dredge, or “Mudcat,” was tested in Trout Lake. The Mudcat removed 41,650 cu. yds. of muck and exposed 17 acres of sand bottom, but 10 of those acres developed thin layers of muck, which proved too soft to be picked up by the Mudcat. Consequently, only 7 acres were satisfactorily converted. Bottom redistribution with a suction-type dredge was tested in Lake Carlton, and 14 acres were converted from muck to sand. Sand covered with muck was pumped from midlake areas to more peripheral areas of the lake where water depths were 11 to 13 feet and muck layer about 1.5 feet deep. The bottom was built up to an elevation above the previous muck elevation. Several methods for depositing the sand were tested. Level areas of sand fill developed accumulations of muck from fallout following dredging activity. Piles or dunes provided the best cost-return ratio. The bottom in filled areas changed very little during a 1½ year period following filling.     

Fetal brain imaging in isolated congenital heart defects – a systematic review and meta-analysis

Congenital heart defects (CHDs) are associated with neurodevelopmental (ND) delay. This study aims to assess evidence for impaired prenatal brain development, in fetuses with CHD. A systematical search was performed, and 34 studies evaluating the fetal brain [magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound] in isolated CHD were included (1990–2015). Data regarding cerebral abnormalities, head circumference growth and middle cerebral artery flow were extracted. Prenatal MRI was studied in ten articles (445 fetuses), resulting in a pooled prevalence of 18% (95%CI −6%; 42%) for combined structural and acquired cerebral abnormalities. Prenatal head circumference was studied in 13 articles (753 fetuses), resulting in a pooled z-score of −0.51 (95%CI −0.84; −0.18). Doppler was studied in 21 articles (1412 fetuses), resulting in a lower middle cerebral artery pulsatility index (z-score −0.70 95%CI −0.99; −0.41) in left-sided CHD only. We conclude that prenatal MRI and ultrasound demonstrate brain abnormalities, delay in head growth and brainsparing in subgroups of CHD. However, large MRI studies are scarce, and ultrasound data are biased towards severe and left-sided CHD. Long-term follow-up studies correlating prenatal findings with postnatal ND outcome are limited, and data are lacking to support counseling families regarding ND outcome based on prenatal findings suggestive of altered brain development. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Shifting wavelengths of ultraweak photon emissions from dying melanoma cells: their chemical enhancement and blocking are predicted by Cosic’s theory of resonant recognition model for macromolecules

During the first 24 h after removal from incubation, melanoma cells in culture displayed reliable increases in emissions of photons of specific wavelengths during discrete portions of this interval. Applications of specific filters revealed marked and protracted increases in infrared (950 nm) photons about 7 h after removal followed 3 h later by marked and protracted increases in near ultraviolet (370 nm) photon emissions. Specific wavelengths within the visible (400 to 800 nm) peaked 12 to 24 h later. Specific activators or inhibitors for specific wavelengths based upon Cosic’s resonant recognition model elicited either enhancement or diminishment of photons at the specific wavelength as predicted. Inhibitors or activators predicted for other wavelengths, even within 10 nm, were less or not effective. There is now evidence for quantitative coupling between the wavelength of photon emissions and intrinsic cellular chemistry. The results are consistent with initial activation of signaling molecules associated with infrared followed about 3 h later by growth and protein-structural factors associated with ultraviolet. The greater-than-expected photon counts compared with raw measures through the various filters, which also function as reflective material to other photons, suggest that photons of different wavelengths might be self-stimulatory and could play a significant role in cell-to-cell communication.     

Human Hunting of Nongame Birds at Zuni, New Mexico, U.S.A.

Abstract: Nongame bird hunting is a critical activity of the Zuni people of the southwestern United States. To help determine whether their current hunting practices may be negatively affecting bird populations on the Zuni Reservation, we interviewed 98 Zuni hunters. Nongame bird hunting was practiced by a large portion of Zuni males (45%); the most active age group was 20- to 49-year-olds. The rate a species was hunted was not a function of its abundance at Zuni but seemed instead to be related to its cultural demand. Five "species"—bluebirds ( Sialia currucoides , S. mexicana ), Northern Flicker ( Colaptes auratus ), woodpeckers ( Picoides villosus , P. pubescens , Melanerpes lewis ), Steller's Jay ( Cyanocitta stelleri ), and American Kestrel ( Falco sparverius )—made up 77% of all birds taken. The two most heavily hunted species were each taken in numbers> 10,000 individuals per year. Although the greatest number of hunters were active in autumn, 31% hunted in spring, despite discouragement by the tribal government. Habitats favored by hunters were coniferous forests and riparian areas. Rates of hunting of nongame birds at Zuni equaled or exceeded those reported for game birds hunted by indigenous hunters in the Neotropics and New Mexico. The Zuni believe that some heavily hunted species are decreasing in number because of hunting. Although we cannot prove this at present, we suggest measures to mitigate possible overhunting, including the creation of refugia and a reduction of spring hunting.     

Prenatal DNA Sequencing: Clinical,Counseling, and Diagnostic Laboratory Considerations

Clinical diagnostic laboratories are producing next-generation sequencing-based test results that are becoming increasingly incorporated into patient care. Whole genome and exome sequencing on fetal material derived from amniocytes, chorionic villi, or products of conception is starting to be offered clinically in specialized centers, but it has not yet become routine practice. The technical, interpretation, and ethical challenges are greatest in the area of prenatal medicine because the fetus has a limited health history, and the physical examination is only indirectly available via prenatal sonography. Here, we provide an overview of these challenges and highlight the clinical utility, reporting, and counseling issues associated with prenatal DNA sequencing. Future considerations are also discussed. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.