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The highly steam-efficient overseas cane factories almost universally undertake extensive flashing of vapour from condensates into the calandrias of evaporator vessels. The condensates subjected to flashing include condensates from the calandrias of evaporators and pans and from the vapour chests of non-contact heaters. The condensate management equipment is commonly referred to as a condensate cigar as the usual arrangement is a long horizontal vessel. The vessel contains several compartments operating at different pressures. The recovery of heat in the flashed vapour is primarily adopted in order to reduce the process steam consumption of the factory. Modelling of the process stations at a factory has been undertaken to investigate the changes resulting from the implementation of extensive condensate flashing. It is found that the flashing of condensate has numerous beneficial implications but one consequence is a reduction in the juice processing capacity of the evaporation set. Close attention is also required to the condensate management system of the factory. This paper describes the results of the investigations and the implications of adopting extensive condensate flashing on the process stations of factories.

To reduce the costs of maintaining mill roll shells, efforts have been made to extend roll shell life and to maintain the roughness of the tips of roll grooves through a season without the need for roll arcing. Techniques for maintaining the diameter of the roll and the roughness of the groove tips have been previously developed, including tungsten carbide-impregnated hardfacing and picots. These techniques for coating the tips of the grooves have a deficiency in that they do not protect the lower flanks of the grooves. As a result, the lower flanks continue to wear away at an unacceptably high rate. This paper reports on the development of a coating to protect the lower flanks and root of the roll grooves. As part of the development, a change to SG iron as a roll shell material is recommended. Plasma transfer arc welding, metal inert gas welding and laser cladding techniques were developed, with laser cladding being the preferred methodology. There remains a need to test the clad surface in service to determine if the benefits from increasing the durability of the groove flanks justifies the cost of the coating.

IF the AUSTRALIAN sugar industry is to substantially increase the revenue from bagasse (e.g. from cogeneration, biofuels, animal feeds etc.) the pan stages must operate effectively on low pressure vapour e.g. vapour from the third evaporation stage, in order to reduce the steam consumption to below 35% on cane. Currently the lowest steam consumption in Australian factories is approximately 40% on cane. The designs of the majority of the strike pans currently in the industry (viz. large, unstirred batch pans) are appropriate for operation on steam/vapour of pressure 180 kPa abs and higher but are unsuited to operation on vapour of 100 to 95 kPa abs, as would be required. A dynamic model using the SysCAD software has been developed to simulate batch pan operation and used to investigate the changes in pan cycle times and exhaustion of massecuites at pan drop as a function of vapour supply pressure. The control strategy in the model was to regulate the feed rate to suit a predefined crystal content profile and to regulate the supersaturation according to the available evaporation rate. Supersaturation was kept below the nucleation limit. The available evaporation rate is the lower of (1) evaporation using a pre-set steam rate set point and (2) a modified form of the Rouillard (1985) equation. The modelling is considered to be a preliminary study as little data are available on the changes in evaporation rates (and hence crystallisation rates) that result when a low pressure vapour is used. The model was used to investigate typical duties for the A, B and C massecuite strikes. The investigations have shown, as expected, that when low pressure vapour is used the cycle times are increased (due to both run up times and heavy up times being increased) and the massecuites at pan drop may be at reduced exhaustion. Reduced exhaustion has implications for the massecuite production loadings on the stage and on sugar recovery. This paper describes the model, the preliminary resul

If in the AUstralian sugar industry is to substantially increase the revenue from bagasse (e.g. from cogeneration, biofuels, animal feeds etc.) the pan stages must operate effectively on low pressure vapour e.g. vapour from the third evaporation stage, in order to reduce the steam consumption to below 35% on cane. Currently the lowest steam consumption in Australian factories is approximately 40% on cane. The designs of the majority of the strike pans currently in the industry (viz. large, unstirred batch pans) are appropriate for operation on steam/vapour of pressure 180 kPa abs and higher but are unsuited to operation on vapour of 100 to 95 kPa abs, as would be required. A dynamic model using the SysCAD software has been developed to simulate batch pan operation and used to investigate the changes in pan cycle times and exhaustion of massecuites at pan drop as a function of vapour supply pressure. The control strategy in the model was to regulate the feed rate to suit a predefined crystal content profile and to regulate the supersaturation according to the available evaporation rate. Supersaturation was kept below the nucleation limit. The available evaporation rate is the lower of (1) evaporation using a pre-set steam rate set point and (2) a modified form of the Rouillard (1985) equation. The modelling is considered to be a preliminary study as little data are available on the changes in evaporation rates (and hence crystallisation rates) that result when a low pressure vapour is used. The model was used to investigate typical duties for the A, B and C massecuite strikes. The investigations have shown, as expected, that when low pressure vapour is used the cycle times are increased (due to both run up times and heavy up times being increased) and the massecuites at pan drop may be at reduced exhaustion. Reduced exhaustion has implications for the massecuite production loadings on the stage and on sugar recovery. This paper describes the model, the preliminary re

Continuous, efficient and safe operation of a sugar factory depends on having competent and confident operators who can prioritise sometimes conflicting requirements and choose the best option under pressure. Most operators have another role during the maintenance season and there is anecdotal evidence from factories that issues arising from operator error are more common early in the crushing season when operators are getting back up to speed. This switching between different roles is more difficult for inexperienced operators and a suitable mentor may not be available when needed. In some other industries simulation packages are an integral part of operator training, maintenance of skill levels and assessment of competence. Most of the training for sugar factory operators is on the job under the direction of a mentor and with assistance from peers. A simulation package that allows a trainee to test how changes in settings affect operations and for trainers to test how trainees respond to specific events without any risk is an ideal way to augment the usual on the job training. This paper summarises the progress towards the development of a boiler simulator for the sugar industry.

Background: TRK fusion cancer results from gene fusions involving NTRK1, NTRK2 or NTRK3. Larotrectinib, the first selective TRK inhibitor, has demonstrated an overall response rate (ORR) of 75% with a favorable safety profile in the first 55 consecutively enrolled adult and pediatric patients with TRK fusion cancer (Drilon et al.,NEJM2018). Here, we report the clinical activity of larotrectinib in an additional 35 TRK fusion cancer patients and provide updated follow-up of the primary analysis set (PAS) of 55 patients as of 19thFeb 2018. Methods: Patients with TRK fusion cancer detected by molecular profiling from 3 larotrectinib clinical trials (NCT02122913, NCT02637687, and NCT02576431) were eligible.Larotrectinib was administered until disease progression, withdrawal, or unacceptable toxicity. Disease status was assessed using RECIST version 1.1. Results: As of Feb 2018, by independent review, 6 PRs in the PAS deepened to CRs. The median duration of response (DoR) and progression-free survival in the PAS had still not been reached, with 12.9 months median follow-up. At 1 year, 69% of responses were ongoing, 58% of patients remained progression-free and 90% of patients were alive. An additional 19 children and 25 adults (age range, 0.1-78 years) with TRK fusion cancer were enrolled after the PAS, and included cancers of the salivary gland, thyroid, lung, colon, melanoma, sarcoma, GIST and congenital mesoblastic nephroma. In 35 evaluable patients, the ORR by investigator assessment was 74% (5 CR, 21 PR, 6 SD, 2 PD, 1 not determined). In these patients, with median follow-up of 5.5 months, median DoR had not yet been reached, and 88% of responses were ongoing at 6 months, consistent with the PAS. Adverse events (AEs) were predominantly grade 1, with dizziness, increased AST/ALT, fatigue, nausea and constipation the most common AEs reported in ≥ 10% of patients. No AE of grade 3 or 4 related to larotrectinib occurred in more than 5% of patients. Conclusions: TRK fusi

Clinical trial results indicate that lenalidomide, an immunomodulatory drug, is a promising treatment in relapsed/refractory non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). This retrospective multicenter study was conducted in patients with relapsed/refractory NHL treated with lenalidomide monotherapy through a Named Patient Program in Italy. Principal endpoints were overall response rate (ORR), safety and overall survival (OS). The ORR in 64 evaluable patients was 42.2% and was similar among patients receiving 10, 15 or 25 mg/day lenalidomide. Response rates in patients with mantle cell, diffuse large B-cell and follicular lymphoma were 45.5%, 42.1% and 20%, respectively. Among patients who responded to most recent prior therapy, ORR was 50.0% versus 36.8% in patients with refractory NHL. Mean duration of response in patients receiving any lenalidomide dose was 10.5 months; 1-year progression-free survival and OS were 50.3% and 82.6%, respectively. These findings suggest that lenalidomide is effective and safe for heavily pretreated patients with NHL in the clinical setting.