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Abstract: A experiment was performed at the Experim ntal Farm, Department of Genetics and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agriculture, Annamalai University, Chidambaram, during the period from 06 January 2010 to 08 January 2011 to observe the response of eight parents viz., LGG 450, VRMGG Local, LGG 460, EC 30072, VRMGG 1, LGG 410, PMB 27 and VBN 1 and five hybrids namely LGG450/LGG410, VRMGG Local/PMB27, LGG460/PMB27, EC30072/PMB27 and VRMGG1/VBN1 under different salt stress (control, 4 ds m-1 (deci-Siemen per meter) and 8 ds m-1). The experiment was laid out following randomized block design where each treatment was replicated three times.All biometric characters such as number of branches plant-1, number of clusters plant-1, Number of pods plant-1, 100 seed weight, seed yield plant-1 and leaf area index; biochemical characters and biophysical characters namely total chlorophyll content, nitrate reductase activity, photosynthetic rate, transpiration rate and stomatal conductance were reduced with the increase of salinity levels as compared to control. All the hybrids recorded higher levels of salinity tolerance for all the characters compared to their respective parents except for transpiration rate and stomatal conductance. Interaction effect between the genotypes and salinity levels appeared significant for most of the studied characters. From the study it can be opined that salt stress reduced all the parameters under different salinity levels. Again among the parents and hybrids, VRMGG1/VBN1 was found as relatively salt tolerant. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• Masonry products made using LPC and low-molar alkaline solution are easily produced by adobe process and solar curing. • Usage of locally available materials, industrial by-products as pozzolanas and low-concentrated alkaline solution. • Potential to produce lime-pozzolana cement in small scale and use it as an alternate to Portland cement. • High compressive strength and shear strength for masonry products. • Masonry prism strength and efficiency are satisfactory for low-rise load bearing masonry buildings. Soil-based blocks and binders have emerged as sustainable alternatives to masonry units, and alkali-activated polymers (geopolymers) are being studied as alternatives to cement. This study attempts to stabilise soil using a combination of geopolymerisation and hydration. Strength gain and applicability of soil-based lime-pozzolana cement (LPC)-industrial by-products-geopolymer mortar have been studied. In order to optimise usage of alkaline materials, a series of parametric studies were carried out. A combination of LPC and flyash led to wet compressive strength of around 7.0 MPa, while a combination of LPC and ultra-fine slag resulted in strength of nearly 18.0 MPa. One of these mixes was used to develop bricks in order to investigate its masonry properties. Besides obtaining masonry strength parameters such as shear strength, bond strength and tensile strength for mortars, an attempt has additionally been made to obtain masonry prism strength and modulus of elasticity of prism assemblage. The masonry properties were found to be satisfactory for construction of low-rise, load-bearing masonry buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A simple and convenient procedure for the synthesis of aryl-14H-dibenzo[a.j]xanthenes is described through a one-pot condensation of β-naphthol with aryl aldehydes in the presence of sulfamic acid as the catalyst in a solvent-free media using both conventional heating and microwave irradiation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present paper describes three failure cases of metallic components handling wet-process phosphoric acid at ambient temperatures in a phosphate fertilizer plant. All the three cases of failure were related not directly to the corrosive environment rather to wrong selection or inferior quality of materials. In the first case, pipeline of stainless steel 316L failed due to inferior quality of material used in the elbow region. The elbow material was not a low carbon grade stainless steel and was also in heavily sensitized condition which led to intergranular corrosion and intergranular cracking. The other two cases were related to failures of pump sleeves made up of cast alloys equivalent to stainless steel 316 and Hastelloy C-276 respectively. SS 316 showed through-wall pitting and cracking while Hastelloy C-276 had undergone extensive corrosion along the interdendritic boundaries. Both the materials contained high carbon content which led to heavy precipitation of carbides (Cr-rich carbides in SS 316 and Mo-rich carbides in C-276) along inter-dendritic boundaries during solidification of the casting reducing their corrosion resistance. Recommendations to avoid such failures are also suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]