The EURARE Project: development of a sustainable exploitation scheme for Europe’s Rare Earth Ore Deposits

Numerous European industries are heavily dependent on imported rare earth element (REE) raw materials. This has created a need for the European Union (EU) to ensure a sustainable supply of REE minerals, as well as develop from the ground up the currently non-existent European REE extraction and processing industry. In order to support this, the European Commission, through the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) scheme, funded the EURARE project which runs from 1st January 2013 to 31st December 2017. Through the EURARE project, selected European REE deposits have been researched and in certain cases identified resources were successfully processed for REE production. Several REE deposits across Europe have been the focus of detailed geological field and laboratory work. Mineral concentrates obtained from the Norra Kärr deposit in Sweden, the Kringlerne deposit in Greenland and the Kvanefjeld deposit in Greenland, Rødberg ore from Norway and bauxite residue from Greece were tested from laboratory to pilot scale by means of conventional and innovative metallurgical processing. The novel technologies developed provide efficiency and selectivity in various steps of the metallurgical processing, from ore beneficiation to metal production. A road map for sustainable REE production in Europe is now being developed, which includes an evaluation of the environmental benefits and risks of the EURARE technologies

Stimulation of cortisol release by the N terminus of teleost parathyroid hormone-related protein in interrenal cells in vitro

The mode of action of PTHrP in the regulation of sea bream (Sparus auratus) interrenal cortisol production was studied in vitro using a dynamic superfusion system. Piscine (1–34)PTHrP (10−6–10−11 m) stimulated cortisol production in a dose-dependent manner. The ED50 of (1–34)PTHrP was 2.8 times higher than that of (1–39)ACTH, and maximum increase in cortisol production in response to 10−8 m of (1–34)PTHrP was approximately 7-fold lower than for 10−8 m of (1–39)ACTH. In contrast to (1–34)PTHrP, piscine (10–20)PTHrP, (79–93)PTHrP, and (100–125)PTHrP (10−9–10−7 m) did not stimulate cortisol production. The effect of piscine (1–34)PTHrP on cortisol production was abolished by N-terminal peptides in which the first amino acid (Ser) was absent and by simultaneous addition of inhibitors of the adenylyl cyclase-protein kinase A and phospholipase C-protein kinase C intracellular pathways but not by each separately. The PTHrP-induced signal transduction was further investigated by measurements of cAMP production and [H3]myo-inositol incorporation in an interrenal cell suspension. Piscine (1–34)PTHrP increased cAMP and total inositol phosphate accumulation, which is indicative that the mechanism of action of PTHrP in interrenal tissue involves the activation of both the adenylyl cyclase-cAMP and phospholipase C-inositol phosphate signaling pathways. These results, together with the expression of mRNA for PTHrP and for PTH receptor (PTHR) type 1 and PTHR type 3 receptors in sea bream interrenal tissue, suggest a specific paracrine or autocrine steroidogenic action of PTHrP mediated by the PTHRs

The Strategic Role of Training and Development at a North American Airline

Training and development (T&D) (also known as Human Resource Development – HRD) and its strategic role are currently debated at the national, organizational and individual levels. General literature regarding its impact is undecided. In the airline industry, training literature and studies have been confined to either “great carriers” such as Southwest and Singapore Airlines or to technical areas of expertise such as engineering, maintenance and navigation of aircraft. Very little work has been done at the broader levels of a typical network airline carrier, particularly its frontline branches. Therefore, the current qualitative study will focus on if and how training and development is strategic at the organizational, departmental and individual levels of an international North American airline. Here, a collective case study approach is used whereby three frontline departments from three distinct branches (Airports, Call Centers, and In-Flight) have been assessed. Semi-structured interviews have been conducted with a Training Manager, Curriculum Developer/Instructor and Frontline employee from each branch making a total of nine interviewees. This study will show if and how each department deems T&D as strategic in its own way. It also shows how the three different T&D departments have different requirements to become more strategic due to the very different nature of their work

Ρεύματα και Επιρροές της Μετάβασης από την Συνομοσπονδία στην Ομοσπονδία: Το Ελβετικό Παράδειγμα.

Ο 1999 ο Philip Petit στο μνημειώδες έργο του ‘Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government’ επανέφερε στο προσκήνιο τις αρχές του πολιτικού ρεπουμπλικανισμού (civic republicanism). Αυτές είχαν συσκοτιστεί από το τέλος του 19ου αι. ακόμα, συμπλεκόμενες με έννοιες όπως το οργανικό έθνος, ο εθνικισμός, η λαϊκή δημοκρατία κ.α. Για τον Petit η ρεπουμπλικανική πολιτεία εμφανίζεται, όταν τελειώνει η επικυριαρχία, τη στιγμή δηλαδή που η εξουσία των δίκαιων νόμων αντικαθιστά τη θέληση συγκεκριμένων ανθρώπων. Αυτή με λίγα λόγια είναι και η εξιστόρηση των γεγονότων που συνδέονται με την Ελβετική ρεπούμπλικα από τις αρχές της ύπαρξής της τον 13ο αι. ως την ίδρυση της Ομοσπονδίας το 1848. Σε αυτήν την εργασία εξηγούμε την πρώτη μακρά φάση της, ως Συνομοσπονδίας, μιας ατελούς ρεπούμπλικας και την Ομοσπονδία ως το εντελές της. Για την ανάλυσή μας χρησιμοποιούμε παλιά εργαλεία. Η έρευνά μας προσπαθεί να εξηγήσει με βάση την αργή αυτή μετάβαση όχι μόνον τις επιδράσεις και τις επιρροές από και προς τον ελβετικό χώρο, αλλά και την ανθεκτικότητα μιας πολιτειακής ιδέας που λειτούργησε και λειτουργεί εν πολλοίς ως φάρος, πότε μέσα στη θάλασσα των δυναστικών πολέμων και πότε μέσα στα κύματα των εθνικιστικών συγκρούσεων. Ουδέτερη, φιλειρηνική, ενοποιητική και απόλεμη, η Confoederatio Helvetica στέκει επί αιώνες ως ένα περίεργο παράδειγμα και μια υπενθύμιση ότι η ύπαρξη πατρίδας και έθνους δεν σημαίνει απαραίτητα μισαλλοδοξία και πόλεμο. To αντίθετο...In his monumental book "Republicanism: A Theory of Freedom and Government", published in 1999, Philip Petit reintroduced the concepts of civic republicanism. These had been darkening since the end of the nineteenth century and were nevertheless interwoven with conceptions like the organic nation, nationalism, popular democracy, and so on. According to Petit, the republican state emerges when sovereignty expires, that is, when the rule of law replaces the will of a certain group of people. This could serve as the synopsis of our narrative of the events associated with the Swiss Republic, from its founding in the 13th century to the formation of the Federation in 1848. In this work, we interpret the first long phase of it as a confederation, an imperfect republic, and the federation as its completion. We use ancient tools for our analysis.Our research seeks to explain not only the currents and influences from and to the Swiss space, but also the persistence of a state concept that has served and continues to serve as a lighthouse, sometimes during dynastic strife and other times during nationalist battles.The Confoederatio Helvetica, neutral and civilian as a power, has stood for centuries as a curious example and a reminder that the existence of a country and a nation does not inevitably imply intolerance and violence. Quite the opposite, in fact..

Gold recovery from pressure oxide residues using thiosulfate

Considering the toxicity and environmental problems created using cyanide in industrial applications of gold extraction, intensive research has been developed during the decades for identifying new effective reagents able to replace cyanide in gold extraction operations. The high thermodynamic stability of gold complexes with certain compounds is the first prerequisite for the selection of a promising extractant. The stability of gold-thiosulphate complex, though considerably lower than that of cyanide, is the highest amongst other alternative ligands, and for this reason it has been thoroughly investigated with laboratory and pilot scale tests. Ca-thiosulphate salt was selected for evaluation in the framework of the present work, as a promising cyanide-free alternative for obtaining the recovery of gold from the pressure oxidation (POX) residue of gold bearing sulfide concentrates. Ca- thiosulfate leaching experiments were conducted, investigating parameters such as initial thiosulfate concentration, initial pH, temperature, and solid-liquid mixing ratio (S/L). Findings reveal promising gold recovery rates with potential optimization through parameter adjustments. The objective of this research is to offer valuable insights into the feasibility of employing thiosulfate as a gold recovery agent, advocating environmentally conscious practices in the metallurgical industry and addressing challenges linked to pressure oxidation residue