Fertilizer use saves fuels in India

Dung supplies are inadequate to provide enough farmyard manure (FYM) and cheap dung-cakes. Use of FYM necessitates supply of other fuels for cooking. Fertilizers consume only 5% of the thermal energy embodied in FYM. Replacement of the currently used amount of FYM by fertilizers will save fuels and costs. If all of the plant nutrients are to be supplied by FYM to a hectare of wheat crop, 2.9 tonnes of coal are needed to replace the dung-cakes lost; fertilizer use will save Rs. 1444/ha. It is suggested that FYM use be minimized and fertilizer use increased for fuel thrift.     

Towards improved design of boring bars part 1: Dynamic cutting force model with continuous system analysis for the boring bar performance

The vibrational amplitude is generally large in the case of a boring bar due to its slenderness. A dynamic cutting force model has been presented to take this large amplitude into account. The boring bar is then modelled as a cantilever with this dynamic force acting at the free end and a generalized continuous system model is obtained. This model is solved for the specific case of boring with a zero side cutting edge angle for which published results are available. A reasonably close agreement is found between the proposed model and the experimental results.     

Seeded Crystallization of Leucite

The leucite crystallization kinetics from a hydrothermally derived precursor seeded with nano-crystalline leucite was investigated by X-ray diffraction and non-isothermal differential thermal analysis. The nano-crystalline leucite was prepared by high-energy milling of high-purity leucite powder and the leucite precursor was prepared by the hydrothermal method of silica sol, aluminum nitrate, and potassium nitrate. After the seeds were introduced, the crystallization temperature of the precursor was lowered by 100°C and the transition phase kalsilite did not appear during the crystallization process. When the seeded precursor was heat treated at 700°C, a small amount of cubic leucite was stabilized to room temperature. The seeded precursor showed an exothermic peak between 800° and 920°C under different heating rates. The activation energy for the growth of leucite from the seeded precursor was 256(SD9) kJ/mol.     

State of the academic field of IS in India

The field of information systems (IS) remains ill-defined, facing problems of recognition and identity crisis. Several papers and debates have been dedicated on this topic for over three decades. The focus of these debates have largely centered on the state of the IS field in Americas and Europe and with a limited study conducted in the Asia–Pacific context. This study attempts to assess the field in the Indian context and highlight the challenges and issues faced by IS faculties in India. Based on literature survey of the seminal papers in the field, we identified the salient topics of interest to IS researchers: identity of the IS field; diversity of the field; research approaches, methods and rigor; reference disciplines; journals and conferences; and IS course and curriculum. A two-phase study was carried out to explore the interest generated by the IS field in India. In the first phase, secondary data review of leading business schools in India was carried out to understand their focus on IS as an academic discipline. In the second phase, we conducted interviews of IS researchers from the premium business schools in India. In our study, we analyze the research focus of IS faculties in B-schools in India, analyze the composition of the faculty pool and the nature of research work undertaken by them. Our study points at the restricted focus of IS researchers in India around a few narrow areas, with a significant breadth of topics not being explored for research. We found the identity struggle of the field to be prominent, which was further compounded by the limited number of active, IS researchers. The growing importance of qualitative techniques in IS research, the challenges of developing a sound base in multiple reference disciplines and the need for making IS course interesting for business school students were some of the other significant observations. Our study also highlighted the paradox of the success of the IT industry in India leading to reduced enrollment of IS courses in B-Schools. We conclude by providing recommendations to B-school deans and directors.     

Preparation and surface- active properties of polyoxyethylene-glycol (600) monoesters of fatty acids

Polyoxyethyleneglycol (PEG-600) monoesters of undecylenic, lauric, myristic, palmitic, stearic, oleic, ricinoleic and 12-hydroxystearic acids were prepared in 80-85% yield by reacting PEG with boric acid, esterifying the resultant borate with fatty acid, and selectively hydrolyzing the borate ester; their surface active properties were evaluated. Increase in acyl chain length increased the surface tension. The presence of a double bond or hydroxyl group in C₁₈ series improved the wetting and emulsifying proper-ties. Unsaturation in the fatty acid chain reduced the foaming power.     

Flash pyrolysis of coal: effect of nitrogen,argon and other atmospheres in increasing olefin concentration and its significance on the mechanism of coal pyrolysis

Samples of three Indian coals, of widely differing origin and rank, were subjected to flash pyrolysis at a temperature of about 1150 °C for 30 s in vacuo, and under atmospheres of nitrogen, argon, ammonia, and perdeuterobenzene. The gaseous products of the pyrolyses were analysed by infra-red and mass spectroscopy and by gas chromatography. Observed variations in gas compositions are discussed relative to the possible mode of influence by the pyrolytic atmospheres. It would appear that the pyrolytic atmosphere is an important factor in determining the composition of the pyrolysis products; the influence of nitrogen, argon and perdeuterobenzene is a physical one, leading especially to higher yields of olefins.     

Photocrosslinking of stilbene-modified polymers

The reactions of trans-2,5-dimethoxy-4′-aminostilbene with poly(maleic anhydride-co-methylvinyl ether) and trans-2,5-dimethoxy-4′-isocyanatostilbene with poly(oxy-1,4-phenyleneisopropylidene:1,4-phenyleneoxy-2-hydroxytrimethylene) yield polymeric systems which undergo rapid crosslinking upon short exposure to ultraviolet light. The extent of photocrosslinking as a function of exposure time was determined by the decrease of the trans-stilbene ultraviolet absorption at 350 nm.     

Grafting onto polyester fibers. III. Electrokinetic properties of acrylic acid and acrylonitrile-grafted polyester fibers in the presence of cationic dyes

The electrokinetic properties such as zeta potential, surface charge density, and surface conductivity of polyester fibers grafted with acrylic acid and acrylonitrile were measured when cationic dye solutions were streamed through. The presence of the cationic dyes on the surface of the fibers and their specific adsorption at the carboxylic groups in the acrylic acid graft copolymer produce lowering of zeta potential. The decrease in surface charge density as the percent graft increases is due to the decrease in surface area of the fibers due to the adsorption of the cationic dyes. The same trend is observed with acrylonitrile-grafted fibers. The surface conductivity of the acrylonitrile-grafted polyester fibers increases with increase in dye concentration of the streaming solution. The results for the 27.4% grafted sample differed from those of the 7.32% and 12.1% grafts, which is indicative of the formation of a three-dimensional network causing change in both the physical structure as well as the chemical nature of the surface of the substrate.