By: Aamarpali Puri

Termites are also known as white ants. Termite proofing is the treatment given to a building, to control or prevent the termite growth in the building. The termites enter into buildings through cracks, walls, pipes and floor joints etc. Once termites developed in the building area, it is very difficult and costly to finish.

Termite control in buildings is very important as the damage likely to be caused by the termites is huge. Wood is one of the cellulosic materials which termites damage, cellulose forming their basic nutrient. They also damage materials of organic origin with a cellulosic base, household articles like furniture, furnishings, clothings, stationery, etc. Termites are also known to darnage non-cellulosic substances in their search for food. Rubber, leather, plastics, neoprene as well as lead coating used for covering of underground cables are damaged by termites. The widespread damage by termites, high constructional cost of buildings have necessitated evolving suitable measures for preventing access of termites to buildings.

On the basis of their habitat, termites are divided into two types, namely (a) Subterranean or ground nesting termites, and (b) Non-subterranean or wood nesting termites having no contact with soil. The subterranean termites are most destructive and are mainly responsible for the damage caused in buildings. Typically, they form nests or colonies underground in the soil, near ground level in a stump or in other suitable piece of timber, and some species may construct a conical or dome shaped mound. These colonies may persist for many years and, as they mature, contain a population running into millions.

Preventions:

(i)   To prevent the growth of termites, it is essential to use superior quality of material and good workmanship.

(ii) The building site should be cleared off all old tree stumps and dead wood etc.

(iii) The wooden material like door frames etc. should properly be treated.

Methods of Termite Treatments:

1. Pre-construction treatments
2. Post-construction treatment

1. Pre-construction treatment:

Site preparation: All the waste wood, grass, strumps, roots etc. lying buried or on the surface are to be removed.

      Treatment of excavated foundation trenches:

      The bottom and sides of trenches up to a height of about 300 mm should be treated by applying insecticide solution (i.e. 4 litres of water with .25% to .5% of aldrin by weight or 0.25% to .5% of Heptachlor by weight) at the rate 5 litres/m² of the surface area.

      Treatment of back-fill soil:

      The back-fill used to fill the trenches after the masonry walls are constructed, should be treated with .5% of aldrin or .5% of Heptachlor by might. Solution should be applied on the vertical surface of the foundation masonry at the rate of 7.5% lit/m². If the foundation is made of R.C.C., the treatment should be started at a depth about 0.5 m below ground level and the solution in the back fill at the rate of 7.5% lit/m² of vertical surface to be given.

      Treatment of filling at plinth level:

      Prior to laying of sub-grade for ground floor, the top surface often consolidated earth filling should be sprinkled with .5% of Aldrin/ Heptachlor at the rate of 5 lit/m².

      Treatment of soil along the external periphery:

      The solution of .5% Aldring/Heptachlor can be injected @ 2.25 lit per metre by 12 mm diameter of 300 mm deep holes at 150 mm c/c distances.

If there is apron all along the external wall, then the chemical solution laid on consolidated earth under the apron @ 5 lit/m².

2. Post construction Treatment:

Soil treatment of foundation: – For this dig a trench about .5 m deep all along the wall drives 15 mm diameter holes in the trench at 150 mm c/c. The holes are to be filled with chemical solution. (.5% of aldrin/.5% of Heptachlor) at the rate 7.5 lit/m² of vertical surface of the wall.

Soil treatment under floor:

All the joints/cracks of floor with walls, can be treated by drilling 12 mm dia. Holes @ 300 mm c/c all along joints and filled with the chemical solution and then the face of the holes to be sealed.

Treatment of voids in masonry:

Drill 12 mm f holes at 300 mm c/c and fill with the solution.

References:

1. Basic environmental Technology: water supply waste management and pollution control. By: Nathanson.
2. Waste water treatment: Concepts and design Approach. By Karia & Christian.
3. https://law.resource.org/pub/in/bis/S03/is.6313.2.2001.pdf.

Compiled By: Aamarpali Puri

Seven Levels of Listening

1 Not listening: Not paying attention to or ignoring the other person’s communications.

2 Pretend listening: Acting like or giving the impression that you are paying attention to another person’s communications, but in actuality not really paying attention to that individual.

3 Partially listening: Only focusing on part of the other person’s communication or only giving it your divided attention.

4 Focused listening: Giving the other person your undivided attention to his or her communication.

5 Interpretive listening: Going beyond just paying attention but really trying to understand what the other person is communicating.

6 Interactive listening: Being involved in the communications by asking clarifying questions or acknowledging understanding of the communication.

7 Engaged listening: Being fully engaged in communications involves listening to the other person’s views, feelings, interpretations, values, etc., concerning the communication and sharing yours as well with the other person(s). In engaged listening, both parties are given the opportunity to fully express their views, feelings, and ideas.

Listening Bad Habits

Following is a list of ten bad habits of listening. Check those listening bad habits that you are sometimes guilty of committing when communicating with others. Be honest with yourself!

􀂅 I interrupt often or try to finish the other person’s sentences.

􀂅 I jump to conclusions.

􀂅 I am often overly parental and answer with advice, even when not requested.

􀂅 I make up my mind before I have all the information.

􀂅 I am a compulsive note taker.

􀂅 I don’t give any response afterward, even if I say I will.

􀂅 I am impatient.

􀂅 I lose my temper when hearing things I don’t agree with.

􀂅 I try to change the subject to something that relates to my own experiences.

􀂅 I think more about my reply while the other person is speaking than what he or she is saying.

By: Prapanna Lahiri

Economic Background: Independent India saw its government embarking on an approach of planned economic development for the country. Economic planning started in 1951 envisaged social ownership of the means of production. The government by early 1960s realised that a significant share of bank deposits coming from the general masses of India was with 14 commercial banks directly or indirectly owned and controlled by big business houses which were utilising these deposits as captive funds to cater to their own business needs. The first Green Revolution in India began in the 1960s when Indian farmers started adopting improved agronomic technology that significantly increased agricultural yields. There was an urgent need to ensure release of huge amount of funds held as deposits from the masses by these Private Banks for an equitable and inclusive growth of the various sectors of the country’s economy including a rejuvenated agricultural sector. Banks were shy of extending finance to the neglected yet productive sectors of the economy forcing majority of the people in these sectors knock at the doors of usurious local money lenders for their genuine financial needs.

Political Background: After the debacle in the general elections of 1967, Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi began espousing ‘social control’ of banks. She believed that the private owners of banks were in cahoots with the rightist Swatantra Party which advocated introduction of market economy after dismantling of ‘Licence Raj.’ Her leadership also faced challenge from the right wing of the congress party led by Morarji Desai, whom she had to accept as Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister in her cabinet. In 1969, Mrs. Gandhi took the finance portfolio from Desai and promulgated an ordinance to nationalise all 14 Indian banks having a deposit base of over Rupees 50 crores each, with effect from the midnight of 19 July 1969. These actions forced Morarji Desai to resign from her cabinet. By neutralising Morarji Desai Mrs Gandhi felt she could upstage her opponents within and outside the Congress and reinforce her slogan of garibi hatao (remove poverty) to gain votes of the nation’s poor. She achieved significant political victory when the President gave his assent to a bill that replaced the ordinance within a month.

Being re-elected Prime Minister In 1980, Mrs. Gandhi nationalised six more banks with deposits over Rupees 200 crores bringing total number of nationalised banks to 20 which in 1993 dropped down to 19 with merger of New Bank of India with Punjab National Bank. With the second phase of nationalisation the Government of India controlled around 91% of the banking business of India. ₍₁₎

Post Nationalisation:  

Bank nationalisation became a significant move for Indian economy in view of the following:

1. Banking facilities were extended to remote unbanked areas of the country eliminating metropolitan, urban and regional bias of existing branch network of banks
2. Number of bank branches in rural areas rose from 8,261 in 1969 to a whopping 65,521 in 2000. ₍₂₎
3. It instilled confidence of the masses in the banking system encouraging them to save and invest
4. Savings was redefined from money being tucked under the mattress to sweeping money from small individuals into the financial system.
5. It helped form banking habit in the relatively poorer strata of society.
6. Savings rate rose steeply from 12% in 1969 to 20% in 1980 that paved the way for economic growth of 5.5-6 % in the eighties. ₍₃₎
7. The vulnerable sectors of the economy which included agriculture and small scale industries were categorised as Priority Sector by the government for directing 40% of credit outflow of banks. A sub-sector for weaker sections like Scheduled castes and tribes was further curved out to provide credit at a rate as low as 4% per annum under Differential Rates of Interest scheme.

Critics call bank nationalisation a mistake as they allege interference in administration of the banks, erosion of efficiency in the banking system, dilution of commercial character of the banks, and creation of a culture of financial indiscipline among the intended beneficiaries.

On balance, positives of Nationalisation of Banks in India outweighed the negatives and made the Indian Banking system one of the safest in the world preserving its competiveness.

Reference:

₍₁₎https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banking_in_India

₍₂₎http://ga2091.blogspot.in/2015/01/nationalization-of-banks.html

₍₃₎http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2010-01-21/news/27573021_1_nationalisation-bank-performance-savings-rate

Compiled by : Aamarpali Puri

General points:

• Try to make your research paper an integrated synthesis of the literature, rather than a jumbled regurgitation of facts.
• Give yourself enough time! For a 10-20 page paper it ideally takes a month to carry out the library searches and to collect the necessary materials (inter library loans etc).
• Start out with a clear idea of the question you are trying to answer in the paper.

Write it somewhere and show it to an advisor to see if it makes sense, is “do-able” etc. In general a simple, specific idea is easier to research and to write about.

Equally it must be interesting and inclusive enough to ensure there’s enough material available to review.

• Get to know the library as soon as possible! Make sure you are familiar with all the resources available to help you locate references. Using the library well will save you hours of work and days of frustration!
• Take notes, including full citations (authors’ names, journal, date and page number) from each paper as you read it. Use index cards or a word processor.

Index cards are nice in that you can shuffle them around, color code ideas on them, highlight etc. The advantage of using a word processor is that you will later be able to use your notes to cut and paste together the first draft, plus you’ll have all your citations there already which saves time when building your citation list.

Organize your notes. “Where did I read that?” is the plague of all writers. The better organized your notes, the less this is a problem.

• Outline your paper before setting pen to paper for anything else! This will help you to organize your thoughts and will markedly improve the overall quality of your final product.
• Don’t be afraid to write your ideas down before they are perfectly formed. If you can get them down on paper, you can place them in a logical sequence and develop them into a flowing presentation later.
• Use the draft system: Write a first draft. Leave it for a day or two. Come back to it and revise it as much as you can, then let someone read it. Once they have read it, revise the paper again. Respond to your reviewer’s comments and also clarify any passages that seemed to confuse them. Expect that your paper will need revisions and don’t feel bad when that turns out to be true.
• Don’t write in the first person (I think). This reduces your credibility. Write with authority (It is, they do)

What goes into a review paper?

When writing a review paper your job is to present what is known about a specific topic and to synthesize all the unconnected threads of the individual studies into an integrated “State of the Science” type of review. In your paper you will outline the overall picture of your topic area it is currently understood by scientists in that field. Your paper should clearly outline any problems that are currently being addressed, and explain the basis of any conflicts that exist between experts in the field. If there are important conflicts as a reviewer you are in a position to suggest which side of the conflict has the weight of evidence supporting it and why. For conflicts which, in your opinion, do not yet have a clear resolution, you are also in a position to make suggestions as to the types of experiments need to be done to resolve those arguments.

Your review paper should have the following sections:

1. Title: As for a research paper, this should be short and inform your reader of the major ideas that will be discussed.
2. Abstract: Again this should be written last and should summarize the major points made within the body of your paper.
3. Introduction: Your introduction should be short and concise and is not given a separate heading from the body of the paper. The purpose of the introduction is to introduce your reader to the ideas that you will be addressing in the body of your paper. In your introduction you should be trying to bring readers from different backgrounds upto speed with the “thesis” or objective of your paper and explain to them why it is that this issue is important. It is not a review of the field… that is what the body of the paper is for! It is generally written after the body of the paper is completed (so that you know where you’ve “gone” intellectually in the paper and thus can effectively communicate to your reader what to expect).
4. Body: In this portion of your paper you will outline the background for your idea and begin to synthesize ideas from the papers you’ve read in order to build a coherent “thesis”. Before you write this section, figure out what your perspective is going to be (what are you trying to show?). Having done this, try to present your ideas in such a way that they build your discussion logically towards your goal. Outlines will be a big help to you at this stage. Frequently using headings (e.g. History of the idea, Specific conflicts etc.) can help you to systematically address each important point that you wish to make, as well as helping your reader to follow your arguments. Once you’ve developed your headings you can then go back and place topic sentences for each paragraphs of information you wish to convey under the appropriate heading. Each paragraph should have clear, well thought out points, and should contain only the information needed to make or support that point. Fill in each paragraph with more details until you have a coherent argument building towards your final, concluding statement.
5. Conclusion: Like the introduction, the conclusion section is not usually separated from the body of the paper, although it can be if it is really long. In this section you should restate the objective(s) of your paper and point out how you have satisfied these goals. It should also reiterate what the major conclusions (ideas) of your study are.
6. Acknowledgements: Again this should include only people who made considerable impact on your research… people with whom you had fruitful discussions, a librarian who spent hours with you trying to track down an elusive publication that was key to your research etc.
7. Literature Cited. Should follow the standard format outlined by the journal in which you will publish.

By Aamarpali and Sneh Lata

Abstract:

Using Near Infrared Spectrophotometer of Elico (India) in the spectral range of 600-2500nm, online method of estimation of various impurities (polysaccharides, inorganic compounds and amino acids) in cane juice has been developed. Standard error of calibration and standard error of prediction was evaluated for each impurity using Partial Least Square Regression Analysis and Multi Linear Regression Analysis. Multi Linear Regression Analysis was also done and the wavelengths were identified at which the absorbance correlated well with the concentrations of particular impurity. Brookfield (HBDV-III) programmable Rheometer with small sample adapter that was double walled system of sample volume 8ml was used to study the effect of these impurities (polysaccharides, inorganic compounds and amino acids) at different temperatures (313, 318, 323, 328 and 333 K) on the rheology of final cane molasses.

Key words: near infrared spectrophotometer, rheometer, calibration, transmittance, molasses

Introduction:

The scientists are able to give their best research and that to in time is due to the usage of electronic equipment in their research laboratories. An electronic laboratory is always first choice of any researcher because the results are derived in shortest time span, there is no doubt about the result if instrument is properly calibrated, wastage of chemicals is less and apart from this the samples which can’t be kept for long time are analyzed best. Physical properties of substances are exactly measured by electronic equipment rather then glass made objects.

In the present manuscript the use of various electronic equipment is given for research work done in sugar technology. The research given here was impossible without electronic equipment In sugar industry the testing of sugarcane for pol, brix, sucrose content, invert and other common constituents have traditionally been done by a series of ICUMSA (International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis) and AOAC (Association of Official Agricultural Chemists) test methods. As many of these methods are time consuming, operator dependent and involve the use of hazardous reagents so Near-Infrared analysis has gained rapid acceptance as an alternative method. The various applications (Edye and Clarke, 1996) of NIR in sugar industry are analysis of raw sugar, refinery liquors, run-off syrups, remelt streams, molasses and low purity streams. Near Infrared analysis of shredded (Schaffler and Meyer, 1996) cane is being used as potential replacement for direct analysis of cane. The increased demand for quality sugar at low cost is the main objective behind doing research in this field. Sugar cane juice, which is main source of sugar, can’t be kept for long time. It gets decayed with time and temperature. It develops various microorganisms if preserved at high or low temperatures. To move forward and to get some important clues, the decision was taken to study sugarcane impurities (polysaccharides, inorganic compounds and amino acids). These impurities are natural constituent of cane juice. Starch gets gelatinized by heating during juice clarification and is removed to an extent of 30-35 % but the rest gets concentrated in the process stream due to evaporation of the clear juice. The resulting harmful effects of it are the increase in viscosity and poor juice filterability. Mechanical harvesting has resulted in an increase in the quantity of bacterial polysaccharides like soluble dextran in the juice (Cuddihy and Donal, 1999). Dextran that enters the juice remains with it until crystallization of the sugar. Dextran formation causes sugar loss (Donal, 1994), processing problems (James and Cameron, 1971) and increases the viscosity manifold (Sikdar and Ore, 1979). Presence of phosphate in optimum concentration in cane juice is essential for good clarification and has beneficial effect on sugar crystallization. The (Mathur, 1986a) optimum requirement of P2O5 is 300-500mg per liter of juice in the form of soluble phosphate. When the phosphate content in the clear juice is less, the deficiency should be made up by the addition of P2O5 the form of soluble phosphate before clarification. Silica, during crystallization creates problem by forming calcium silicate scales in the inner surface of the boilers, which are too hard to be removed. So the removal of these deposits by mechanical and chemical means is a time consuming and costly experience. The main amino acids found in cane juice are alanine and glycine. Cane juice (Mathur, 1986b) contains nitrogenous bodies such as albuminoids, ammonia, amino acids (alanine and glycine) and amides varying from 0.5 to 1.0%. Amino acids are of importance as they along with other nitrogenous bodies react with reducing sugars and form colored compounds. So therein lays the need to study these impurities in sugarcane individually. In present study impurities are estimated in cane juice with the help of Near-Infrared (NIR) spectrophotometer. NIR spectroscopic technique is environment friendly as it avoids the usage of lead sub-acetate for clarification of cane juice. The individual effect of these impurities on the rheology of final molasses is also studied. Equipment by equipment role in sugar research is given below.

Near Infrared Spectrophotmeter:

Near-Infrared spectrophotometer of Elico (India): Spectral range 600-2500 nm, bandwidth 10 nm, accuracy +0.5 nm, repeatability + 0.2 nm and with advanced state of the art MS Windows® based software for data acquisition was used. In NIR spectroscopy, a spectrum is run over the Near-Infrared wavelength range (800-2500 nm), in a manner analogous to the spectrum run in the visible range in UV- visible spectrophotometers. In this NIR spectrophotometer processing, storage, retrieval and interpretation of complex spectra can be done. This spectrophotometer helps in quantitative estimation of impurities in cane juice using regression analysis. The instrumental set up is shown in the Fig.1. It is PC based user friendly and menu driven. It is having high performance concave grating monochromator and two color detector.

The basic principle of this instrument is, that Near-Infrared radiation when incident on a sample gets transmitted. In transmission mode, the incident radiations get transmitted through the sample with diminished energy. The amount of transmitted energy from the sample is a measure of concentration of the constituent molecules in the sample. A series of standards of known concentration is used to develop concentration absorption correlation, using regression technique. The concentration of the constituent molecule in the sample is determined based on the correlation.

In contrast to conventional methods it require no hazardous chemicals. The striking features of the Near-Infrared technology are as follows:

-Designed for all cane and beet juice, syrups and molasses;

-It is environment friendly since no chemical reagents are used for the tests.

– Easy to use, thus permitting analysis of clear to turbid liquids without clarification or filtration;

-Frequency of response is online and continuous;

-Single and multiple-constituents analysis possible.

One more advantage of using NIR technology is that it has no consumables and operational costs are low, after purchasing the information technology equipment and the package there are no other costs involved. However, in case of conventional laboratories costly consumables are used and thus the operational costs are high. In this method firstly initial concentration of particular impurity is determined in cane juice. As the accuracy of NIR analysis is wholly dependent on the quality of calibration set so utmost care was taken in gathering, selecting and preparing samples to be used for calibration. While collecting samples it was taken into consideration that the samples should cover wide range of constituent’s concentration. The cane juice samples undergo chemical and biological (microbial) degradation with time. So the samples were analyzed on the same day without any delay. Calibration models were prepared for impurities. using PLSR. Separate prediction files were also prepared. In NIR estimation the prediction value is obtained from software, which gives required value by comparing with the calibration file chosen. The SEC is found to be negligible for all impurities thus indicating the correctness of models set up for them.

Brookfield Rheometer:

The rheology of final molasses was studied using Brookfield (HBDV-III) programmable Rheometer with small sample adapter, which was double walled system of sample volume 8ml. The spindle of spindle code SC4-21/13R was used. Brookfield refrigerated temperature bath model TC 500 was used to maintain uniform and constant temperature. The water at a given temperature was circulated in water jacket.

The final molasses samples of local mill were firstly defoamed. In the final molasses sample the initial concentration of different impurities were determined. The brix and purity of final molasses samples were also noted. For each sample rheological characteristics (shear stress, shear rate and apparent viscosity) were recorded directly from the instrument at the temperatures 313, 318, 323, 328 and 333 K. The measurement was carried out at these five temperatures in the increasing order of concentration of impurity for all samples. The rpm was so selected that the torque maintained within 10-90 %. The shear stress and shear rate data obtained during experimentation was fitted to the Power law model (Heldman and Singh, 1981). This revealed the flow behaviour of molasses in the presence of various impurities. The consistency of final molasses increased with the increase in phosphate concentration but decreased with increase in alanine and glycine concentrations. With the increase in concentration of silica in final molasses up to 20 ppm the consistency increased prominently but as the concentration of silica was further increased steep fall in the consistency of final molasses was observed. However with increase in temperature the consistency decreased with increase in concentration of phosphate, silica, alanine and glycine in final molasses. The final molasses behavior was found to be non-Newtonian at low temperature in all the five samples analyzed for phosphate however pure molasses sample at high temperature showed Newtonian behavior.

For final molasses samples containing added silica the behavior was non-Newtonian in sample having 0 and 10 ppm silica (at all the five temperatures), Newtonian in molasses sample having 20 ppm silica (at 328 and 333 K) and again non Newtonian in final molasses sample having 30 and 40 ppm silica (at 313, 328 and 333 K).

For final molasses samples having added alanine the molasses was found to be non-Newtonian at low temperatures but with increase in concentration of alanine in molasses samples, at higher temperature the flow behavior was shifted to Newtonian. Also for final molasses samples containing glycine the behavior was found to be non-Newtonian at low temperature but shifted to Newtonian with rise in glycine concentration in final molasses at higher temperatures.

The Arrhenius equation is used to describe the influence of temperature on consistency index (µ). The energy of activation was calculated for pure final molasses samples and for samples having added impurities. The energy of activation was found to decrease with increase in concentration of phosphate in final molasses and increase with increase in concentrations of silica, alanine and glycine in final molasses.

With this I limit my manuscript that relates electronics and sugar technology research.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: Author Dr. Aamarpali Ratna Puri is very thankful to Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar for providing necessary instruments and infrastructure for the present research.

REFERENCES:

Cuddihy, J. A. and Donal, F.D., 1999. Process and financial impact of Dextran on a sugar factory. Sugar Journal 3: 27-50.

Donal, F.D., 1994. Dextran induced sugar loss to molasses. J of ASSCT 1: 53-57.

Edye, L.A and Clarke, M.A. (1996). “Near Infrared Spectroscopy in sugar refining: Five years down the road”. Proc. Annual. Meeting. Sug. Ind. Tech., 55, 1-8.

Heldman, D.R and Singh, R.P. (1981). “ Food Process Engineering, the AVI Publishing Co

Inc, West Port.

James, G. P. and Cameron, J .M., 1971. The influence of deteriorated cane on raw sugar filterabilityProceedings of the Queensland Soc. Of Sugarcane Technologists 38th Conf Wattson Ferguson & Co., Bribane, Queensland, Australia 247-250.

Mathur, R.L. (1986a). “Handbook of cane sugar technology”. IInd Edition, Oxford and IBH Publishing Co., India, 98.

Mathur, R.L. (1986b). “Handbook of cane sugar technology IInd Edition”. Oxford and IBH Publishing Co., India, 26.

Schaffler, K.J and Meyer, J.H. (1996). “Near Infrared analysis of shredded cane: A potential replacement for direct analysis of cane”, Proc. Sth. Afr. Sug. Tech. Assoc., 70 (5), 131-139.

Sikdar, S. K., and Ore, F., 1979. Viscosity measurement of non-Newtonian slurry suspension using rotating viscometer, I and EC Process Design and Dev. 18, 772.