[en] The main objective of this research was to investigate the fertilizer qualities and possible agricultural use of an industrial slag, originated from the Spoon Furnace during the process of steel production in the Siderurgia de Boyaca company, which generates 10 tons/day of this material as a contaminant factor an experimental design of complete randomized blocks was selected. Eleven treatments were tested including four repetitions and a comparison test or absolute control. The crop indicator was wheat (Triticum vulgare), cultivar ICA Hunza. The treatments were defined in the following way: to absolute control, as an indicator of the natural fertility of the experimental soil to which no fertilizers were applied; T regional test using a common fertilization solution of NPK, treatments T2, T3, T4 and T5 received a doses of 500, 1000, 2000 and 4000 kg/ha of industrial slag respectively. Treatments T6, T7, T8, T9 and T10 are referred to an average doses of 1000 kg/ha of conventional materials as dolomitic lime, Abono Paz del Rio (another local basic slag), North Caroline rock phosphate and phosphacid S-B, respectively. The objective of the research was to compare the effect of equal doses using material of different origin and composition. According with the results, it was concluded that the experimental slag has characteristics as a fertilizer material and could be used in agriculture in soils of low fertility level with properties as those studied. The chemical composition of soluble elements in the industrial slag and the results of yield components obtained by the indicator crop, gives evidence to continue with further researches in order to test at the farming level the validity of the selected doses and their chemical evaluation as liming material containing magnesium, sulfur and trace elements. The results of this research offers new and helpful information for the local steel industrial to evaluate the possibilities to use this residual material in agricultural use as it is already done with other industrial byproducts and residues

[en] Rice husk ash (RHA) which contains more than 90 percent silica is proven to be an active silica source in zeolite synthesis. In this study, nano sodalite has been successfully synthesized hydrothermally at 60 degree Celsius using RHA as silica source in alkaline medium at various crystallization times. Commercial fumed silica was used as comparison for the silica source. Analysis by XRD has shown that pure nano sodalite was formed in 3 hours and stable up to more than 24 hours when using RHA as silica source. On the other hand, fumed silica produced pure nano sodalite only at 4 hours while a mixture of zeolites was observed outside this time range. FESEM shows a worm-like morphology of nano sodalite in the size range of 50-100 nm while FTIR shows the formation of aluminosilicates bonds. Analysis on the dissolved silica in the gel reaction mixture demonstrates the decreasing mass of silica after prolong time of crystallization which indicates the consumption of the dissolved silica in crystal growth of nano sodalite. This study shows that RHA is a better silica source in stabilizing the nano sodalite phase in oxide gel reaction mixture as compared to fumed silica. (author)

No abstract available

[en] Solutions are proposed for enhancement of the in-service safety of hydraulicked ash-slag dumps with consideration of their hydrothermal regime. An assessment is given for the minimum dimensions of the settling basins and top surface of ash-slag dumps.

[en] Full text: In this study the ash method has been applied for environmental sample treatment in order to decrease of the detection limit in gamma-ray spectrometry for low level radioactivity measurements. Detection limit in gamma ray spectrometry is the smallest expectation value of the net counting rate that can be detected on given probabilities. The environmental test samples have been changed into ash using a suitable oven. The heating were made under controlled temperature to avoid the escape of some radionuclides such as radiocaesium. The ash samples were measured by high resolution gamma-ray spectrometry system. (author)

No abstract available

No abstract available

[en] Respiratory system resistance (Rrs) and reactance (Xrs) measured by forced oscillation technique (FOT) can be potentially used for home monitoring in COPD. Our aims were to determine the technical acceptability, adherence and variability of unsupervised, home FOT measurements over ten consecutive days. Supervised spirometry and FOT measurements were made on ten clinically stable COPD subjects at their homes at the study initiation. Subjects then self-recorded FOT twice daily for ten consecutive days with data transmitted to the laboratory server via a 3G mobile network. Subjects had a mean (SD) age of 68(8) years, smoking history 38.4(8.7) pack/years, post-bronchodilator FEV1 42.4(12.0)% predicted, FEV1/FVC ratio 0.45(0.10), mean Rrs 121.7(26.1)% predicted and mean Xrs 746.8(330.3)% predicted. The supervised measurements of mean Rrs and mean Xrs were similar to the unsupervised measurements (p = 0.34 and p = 0.92, respectively). 197 of 200 possible measurements were transmitted, all of which were deemed to be technically acceptable. The within-subject standard deviation, Sw, of Rrs-total and Xrs-total were 0.47 and 1.0 cmH_2O L s"–"1, respectively. Subjects who have COPD make reliable, unsupervised FOT measurements at home with a high degree of adherence. The day-to-day variability of FOT measurements was similar to that of supervised laboratory recordings. These results support the conduct of larger, longer-term studies of FOT monitoring in COPD. (paper)

[en] The scintillation detection unit consists of detectors placed underneath the conveyer. Each detector is wired to the corresponding radiation evaluation device. Broken ore transported on the conveyer is passed above the detectors that detect the presence of radioactive grains. Sorting the radioactive grains out of the broken ore is done using the signals from the evaluation device. Sensitivity reculators are used for adjusting the sensitivity of the evaluation devices. The scintillation unit is mainly suitable for testing waste products in radioactive raw materials mining facilities. (J.B.)

[en] An ionization smoke detector particularly suited to residential use is disclosed. The detector is battery-operated and is connected with a non-latching, pulsating alarm circuit. The detector has a sensing chamber formed by a perforated metallic shell and an electrode within which an insulated radiation source is centrally positioned to generate an ionization current for detecting smoke or other similar aerosols. The alarm circuit provides a pulsating alarm signal when smoke levels above a pre-determined value are sensed. The alarm circuit also includes a low voltage detection circuit for sounding the alarm when the end of useful battery life is approaching. (Auth.)