Analysis of resource use efficiency of the spinning mills in Kerala

This thesis discusses the factors which influence the productive and financial performance of the spinning mills in Kerala. The study will also help to assess the effect of ongoing reforms in the industrial sector in India. The main objective of the study is to identify and analyse the factors affecting the efficiency of the spinning mills. The unique feature of the study is that it compares the performance of private sector in relation to its public counterparts and also performance of small sector in relation to medium sector. The study is carried out with reference to the relative performance of differmills in Kerala and to identify the sources of differences in performance. The study covers twenty one spinning mills in Kerala, of which ten are in the private sector, four under NTC, three under co—operat;ive sector and four under KSTC.Measured in terms of firm-size fifteen belong to small size with a spindleage of less than 26,000 and six are in the medium size with a spindleage of 26,000 to 50,0OO.1 The period of study is 1982-83 to 1991-92. Hence, only those companies, of which data of 10 years upto 1991-92 wereavailable, are taken for study.

Protease inhibitor from Moringa oleifera with potential for use as therapeutic drug and as seafood preservative

Protease inhibitors are well known to have several applications in medicine and biotechnology. Several plant sources are known to return potential protease inhibitors. In this study plants belonging to different families of Leguminosae, Malvaceae, Rutaceae, Graminae and Moringaceae were screened for the protease inhibitor. Among them Moringa oleifera, belonging to the family Moringaceae, recorded high level of protease inhibitor activity after ammonium sulfate fractionation. M. oleifera, which grows throughout most of the tropics and having several industrial and medicinal uses, was selected as a source of protease inhibitor since so far no reports were made on isolation of the protease inhibitor. Among the different parts of M. oleifera tested, the crude extract isolated from the mature leaves and seeds showed the highest level of inhibition against trypsin. Among the various extraction media evaluated, the crude extract prepared in phosphate buffer showed maximum recovery of the protease inhibitor. The protease inhibitor recorded high inhibitory activity toward the serine proteases thrombin, elastase, chymotrypsin and the cysteine

Water relations, growth and gas exchange in Acacia auriculiformis under experimental and natural conditions

Investigations on the water relations and gas exchange of/tcacia aun'culiji_2rmis were carried out in natural and controlled environments. The experiments were performed in both seedlings and five year old trees. Different sets of experiments were conducted in Acacia plantations, at Kothachira, Palakkad District and in .seedlings, at KFRI campus nursery mainly during the summer months. Investigations were also extended to seedlings of A.mangium, Aaulacocarpa and /Lholocericea, which are also phyllodinous species with the intention of comparing their physiology with Acacia auriculifomus. Potted seedlings of four species of Acacia viz., A. auriculi/E)/7r:i.r, /I. aulacocarpa, A. holocericea and A. mangium were used for the study. Measurements of relative water content (RWC), water potential, photosynthetic rate, transpiration, stomatal conductance, water use efficiency etc. of phyllodes were measured diumally in plants subjected to three stress conditions namely, drought, salinity and flooding

Application of bacterins and yeast Acremonium dyosporii to protect the larvae of Macrobrachium rosenbergii from vibriosis

The fresh water prawn, Macrobrachium rosenbergii, has proven potential for use as an aquaculture species (Hanson & Goodwin, 1997; Kurup, 1984). In India alone, culture of this species of prawn in low saline areas requires about 200 million seed per year (Kurup, 1984). In hatcheries poor survival rate has been associated with vibriosis at di#erent stages of the larval cycle. Members of the family Vibrionaceae associated with the larvae of M. rosenbergii were shown to be pathogenic under laboratory conditions (Bhat et al., 2000, in press). Vibrios have been associated with mortality of penaeid prawns by several workers (Aquacop, 1977; Hameed, 1993; Karunasagar et al., 1994). Two methods have been suggested to protect both the larvae and juveniles from vibriosis; one is the administration of bacterins prepared from pathogenic strains (Itami et al., 1989, 1991; Adams, 1991; Song & Sung, 1990; Sung et al., 1991) and the other is the utilization of yeast 1-3 and 1-6 glucans as immunostimulants for enhancing the non-specific defense system (Sung et al., 1994; Song et al., 1997). In the light of these observations it was hypothesised that bacterins and yeast glucans may also be e#ective in protecting the larvae of M. rosenbergii from vibriosis as has been achieved in the case of penaeids. To examine this hypothesis, the ability of bacterins and an extracellular glucan-producing yeast to increase the overall survival and metamorphosis of larvae in a hatchery, as well as to protect against an experimental challenge under laboratory conditions, was evaluated

Characterization of an extracellular alkaline serine protease from marine Engyodontium album BTMFS10

An alkaline protease from marine Engyodontium album was characterized for its physicochemical properties towards evaluation of its suitability for potential industrial applications. Molecular mass of the enzyme by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS) analysis was calculated as 28.6 kDa. Isoelectric focusing yielded pI of 3–4. Enzyme inhibition by phenylmethylsulfonyl fluoride (PMSF) and aprotinin confirmed the serine protease nature of the enzyme.Km, Vmax, and Kcat of the enzyme were 4.727 9 10-2 mg/ml, 394.68 U, and 4.2175 9 10-2 s-1, respectively. Enzyme was noted to be active over a broad range of pH (6–12) and temperature (15–65 C), withmaximumactivity at pH 11 and 60 C. CaCl2 (1 mM), starch (1%), and sucrose (1%) imparted thermal stability at 65 C. Hg2?, Cu2?, Fe3?, Zn2?, Cd?, and Al3? inhibited enzyme activity, while 1 mMCo2? enhanced enzyme activity. Reducing agents enhanced enzyme activity at lower concentrations. The enzyme showed considerable storage stability, and retained its activity in the presence of hydrocarbons, natural oils, surfactants, and most of the organic solvents tested. Results indicate that the marine protease holds potential for use in the detergent industry and for varied applications.

Development of functionalised multiwalled carbon nanotube/polyaniline composites for electrical applications

Combining intrinsically conducting polymers with carbon nanotubes (CNT) helps in creating composites with superior electrical and thermal characteristics. These composites are capable of replacing metals and semiconductors as they possess unique combination of electrical conductivity, flexibility, stretchability, softness and bio-compatibility. Their potential for use in various organic devices such as super capacitors, printable conductors, optoelectronic devices, sensors, actuators, electrochemical devices, electromagnetic interference shielding, field effect transistors, LEDs, thermoelectrics etc. makes them excellent substitutes for present day semiconductors.However, many of these potential applications have not been fully exploited because of various open–ended challenges. Composites meant for use in organic devices require highly stable conductivity for the longevity of the devices. CNT when incorporated at specific proportions, and with special methods contributes quite positively to this end.The increasing demand for energy and depleting fossil fuel reserves has broadened the scope for research into alternative energy sources. A unique and efficient method for harnessing energy is thermoelectric energy conversion method. Here, heat is converted directly into electricity using a class of materials known as thermoelectric materials. Though polymers have low electrical conductivity and thermo power, their low thermal conductivity favours use as a thermoelectric material. The thermally disconnected, but electrically connected carrier pathways in CNT/Polymer composites can satisfy the so-called “phonon-glass/electron-crystal” property required for thermoelectric materials. Strain sensing is commonly used for monitoring in engineering, medicine, space or ocean research. Polymeric composites are ideal candidates for the manufacture of strain sensors. Conducting elastomeric composites containing CNT are widely used for this application. These CNT/Polymer composites offer resistance change over a large strain range due to the low Young‟s modulus and higher elasticity. They are also capable of covering surfaces with arbitrary curvatures.Due to the high operating frequency and bandwidth of electronic equipments electromagnetic interference (EMI) has attained the tag of an „environmental pollutant‟, affecting other electronic devices as well as living organisms. Among the EMI shielding materials, polymer composites based on carbon nanotubes show great promise. High strength and stiffness, extremely high aspect ratio, and good electrical conductivity of CNT make it a filler of choice for shielding applications. A method for better dispersion, orientation and connectivity of the CNT in polymer matrix is required to enhance conductivity and EMI shielding. This thesis presents a detailed study on the synthesis of functionalised multiwalled carbon nanotube/polyaniline composites and their application in electronic devices. The major areas focused include DC conductivity retention at high temperature, thermoelectric, strain sensing and electromagnetic interference shielding properties, thermogravimetric, dynamic mechanical and tensile analysis in addition to structural and morphological studies.