Archives-January 2011

Cadmium Sulphide (CdS) thin films of different thickness are prepared by the chemical bath deposition technique on well cleaned glass substrates at various temperatures. The thicknesses of the deposited films have been determined by gravimetry. The structural characterization is carried out by X-ray diffraction. The study confirms the polycrystalline nature of films with hexagonal structure. The structural parameters such as grain size, dislocation density, strain and lattice parameters have been evaluated. The composition of various constituents in CdS films have been determined by energy dispersive X-ray analysis. The optical properties like optical transmittance, band gap and refractive index has been studied in detail for the CdS films of various thicknesses which would be a promising material for the photo-voltaic applications. This paper deals with structural and optical properties of chemically deposited CdS films at the temperatures 600 C and 700 C  with the composition of CdCl2 in aqueous solution 0.2 gm and 0.3 gm.

The manufacturing sector in India is growing with double digit is likely to continue its growth story in future due to its labor advantage in terms of skill and availability of raw materials. In this research paper authors has conducted an in depth research to establish that how manufacturing competency of Indian manufacturingsector plays a significant role in superior performance.

The test on  in vitro antagonistic acitivity in dual culture showed significance reduction in the radical growth of Rhizoctonia bataticola and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum  over control (90 mm colony diameter) and in the field trial study seed treatment with strains of Pseudomonas fluorescence significantly reduced the disease incidence of dry root rot and stem rot  in all  treatments  in comparison to uninoculated control, however Pseudomonas fluorescence strains BHUPf₄ was found more effective in mycelial growth reduction as well as disease reduction of both fungal pathogen namely Rhizoctonia bataticola and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum this is followed by strains BHUP₅, BHUP₆ and BHUPsb.

The present paper deals with the performance modeling and simulation of the paper making system of a paper plant. The paper plant is a complex and repairable engineering unit which comprises of various systems including feeding, chipping, digesting, washing, bleaching, screening and paper making etc. One of the most important functionaries of a paper plant is paper making system which is having four main subsystems. Considering the exponential distribution for the probable failures and repairs, the performance model has been developed with the help of mathematical formulation based on Markov birth-death process. Using probabilistic approach, the differential equations have been developed. Then these equations are further solved by using normalizing conditions so as to determine the steady state availability i.e. measure of performance of paper making system of a paper plant. The performance of each subsystem of the paper making system of a paper plant also has been analyzed for selecting the best possible maintenance strategies in a paper plant. So, the findings of this paper will be highly useful to the plant management for timely execution of best possible maintenance strategies and hence to enhance the system performance.

The banking industry has undergone a sea change after the first phase of economic liberalization in 1991 and hence credit management. While the primary function of banks is to lend funds as loans to various sectors such as agriculture, industry, personal loans, housing loans etc., in recent times the banks have become very cautious in extending loans. The reason being mounting non-performing assets (NPAs). NPA account not only reduces profitability of banks by provisioning in the profit and loss account, but their carrying cost is also increased which results in excess & avoidable management attention. Apart from this, a high level of NPA also puts strain on a banks net worth because banks are under pressure to maintain a desired level of Capital Adequacy and in the absence of comfortable to assess the health of various categories of loan assets in various categories of banks.

We are very happy to announce that from 20th January 2011, Dr. M.E.Rajasaravanan has joined the team of Elixir Editorial Advisory Board. He will carry a special responsibility for dealing with manuscripts based on the Ultra Sonics & Polymer. M.E.Rajasaravanan is currently working in Department of Physics, Government Arts College (Autonomous), Salem- 636 007, Tamilnadu, India. The appointment of M.E.Rajasaravanan as member Editorial Advisory Board strengthens the links and will make it easier for prospective authors to establish contact with the journal. Please send any expressions of interest to chiefeditor@elixirjournal.org.
Sincerely
Editor-in-Chief

Tropospheric ozone is one of the key species in the atmosphere and it plays a vital role in the air quality, atmospheric chemistry, and climate change over a region. Being a secondary species produced from the photolysis of trace gases, ozone offers a good tracer to comprehend the atmospheric air quality. Economic liberalization in India began in early nineties which lead to a significant growth in industrial, energy and transport sectors in India. The advent of multinational industries in Indian cities could significantly increase the population. The rapid enhancement in industrial and anthropogenic activities in Indian cities could result a deterioration of air quality and this has influenced the rural areas as well. This work aims at the estimation of air quality in rural environment in Indian sub-continent before and after the economic liberalization in India. It shows an evidence of increase in tropospheric ozone over these hotspots lying along the coastal belt of the Arabian Sea which were mostly unpolluted prior to the period of liberalization.

Fudge is a traditional type of confectionary which is usually very sweet and extremely rich, prepared using sugar, butter, milk and flavor. In the present study, the investigator developed cocoa fudge adopting conventional technology and processing techniques involved roasting, grinding and heating. The developed cocoa fudge samples were analyzed for their physicochemical properties and proximate composition and were compared to those of commercially available fudge samples. The results revealed that there was significant difference in the proximate composition between the developed cocoa fudge samples and the standard fudge samples at p?0.05. No significant difference was observed in most of the determined physicochemical properties of the developed sample. Hence the study ascertain that the sensory qualities may be similar as there was no change in the physicochemical characteristic and would be acceptable by everyone. For wider supply and optimum utilization of cocoa, this conventional technology technique can be adopted.Further it may bring great income to the cultivars and in turn add the economy of our country.

The global financial meltdown has propelled the leading Indian IT giants towardsinnovative management strategies. This paper examines the way Infosys Technologies Ltd. is able to withstand impact of GFM by adopting innovative management practices. The paper makes an attempt to enumerate some of the best management practices do adopted by Indian IT giant. The continuous downward moving  bottom-line of IT companies has made most of them to initiate various measures which mainly comprises of uncalled for measures such as lay off, reduced pay package, etc. Such undesirable measures could be detrimental to the employees, corporate image, productivity and efficiency and society at large. The innovative practicesadopted by Infosys Technologies Ltd are tabulated under different areas of decision making which comprises of Pricing, Human Resource Management, Customer Services, Marketing, Innovation & Transformation, Cost Cutting, etc. The above said practices can be a ways to beat economic downturn and may be of tremendous help in enhancing and building business competencies for future growth. The study is descriptive in nature, which fundamentally aims at studying innovative management practices adopted by Infosys Technologies Ltd, and to draw conclusion aboutinnovative management practices. Based on conclusion drawn suggestions have been made.