009990   Grover N; (Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi-110 016) : Growth of 3T3 fibroblast on collagen immobilized polyethylene terephthalate fabric. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2010, 35(3), 228-36.

Radiation induced grafting of acrylic acid (AA) and binary mixture of acrylic acid/JV-vinyl pyrrolidone (NVP) has been earned out on polyethylene terephthalate) (PET) fabric. The grafted fabrics are immobilized with collagen via carbodiimide coupling to make the fabric bioreceptive and biocompatible for cell seeding and grafts. Atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy observations suggest that the collagen has a very similar structure on PET-g-AA/NVP and PET-g-AA. After immobilizing collagen, PET induces growth and proliferation of 3T3 mouse fibroblasts as compared to virgin PET. The results indicate that collagen immobilized PET-g-AA fabric shows better adhesion and proliferation than PET-g-AA/NVP fabric.

7 illus, 48 ref

009989   Elshemy N S;Haggag K;El-Molla M M (Textile Research Div, National Research Center, El-Boohoos St, Dokki, Cairo-12622, Egypt, Email: melmolla@yahoo.com) : Deodorant properties of cotton and cotton/wool blend byed with reactive dye using microwave irradiation or conventional technique. J Text Ass 2010, 70(5), 223-8.

Three deodorants namely, Mum 21, Alum, and Enchanter were applied to 100%cotton and (70/30) cotton/ wool blend fabrics. The samples were dyed with reactive dye using either microwave or heating. Assessment of color and measurement of Tensile strength were investigated after different periods of time (24 - 240 hrs). The results obtained indicated that there is a change in color from original values of 5 to 2 and 4 irrespective of the substrate, deodorants; and the type of dyeing used. The losses in tensile strength ranging from 14% to 40% and from 13% to 30% for the cotton and cotton/wool blend fabric respectively, depending upon the technique of dying used and its mode of association with the substrate as well as upon the type and concentration of ingredients in the deodorant.

2 illus, 6 table, 13 ref

009988   Dogan Y;Nedelcheva A M;Baslar S (Buca Faculty of Education, Dokuz Eylul Univ, 35160 Buca, Izmir, Turkey, Email: yunus.dogan@deu.edu.tr) : Plant patterns of silk based needlework, a traditional handicraft in Turkey. Indian J Tradl Knowledge 2010, 9(4), 640-3.

Plant based motifs have been used extensively in Turkish culture for centuries. One of the most intricate and delicate uses can be seen in traditional handicrafts crocheting, shuttle and needlework. Among these crafts, needlework has a special place. Needlework is interesting in many ways. For instance, only silk is used to make these fine patterns. For hundreds of years, needlework has been attached to the corners and sides of covers. The study aims to record and pass the knowledge of the use of plant based motifs in the needlework of Western Anatolia-Turkey. A total of 29 women, especially chosen by age, over 50 yrs old, from the cities Odemis, Beydag, Kiraz, and Tire in the of Izmir Province in Western Anatolia were interviewed. 24 taxa were identified. Among the identified patterns, the flower was the most common. Fruits and leaves were the other motifs identified. The use of different colours on the same pattern is interesting. Four different colours are used in the pattern of the pepper plant; green for the leaves, white for the petals, orange for the reproductive organs, and red for the fruits. In all identified patterns; orange, yellow and white are used for the reproductive organs with orange being the most preferred colour.

2 illus, 1 table, 22 ref

009987   Chaudhary H;Bhagat S;Gulrajani M L (Fabric and Apparel Science, Lady Irwin College, Delhi, Email: hchaudhary15@gmail.com) : Carbon footprints of a garment manfacturing unit. J Text Ass 2010, 70(4), 175-82.

Climate change is increasingly recognized as a major challenge. It is widely accepted that the greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans are having a negative impact on the environment. The most important greenhouse gas, arising from human activity is carbon dioxide (CO₂). Carbon footprint is a measure of the impact human activities have on the environment in terms of the amount of carbon dioxide and greenhouse gases produced, expressed as CO₂ equivalent, measured in kilograms (kg) or tonnes. Environmental impacts occur at every stage of the life cycle of a product. The garment industry has contributed to the global warming from the stage of growing of the fibres, yarn fabrication, fabric manufacture, wet processing and manufacturing of the garment, its distribution and transportation to stores and customers, its use by the consumers and finally the disposal of the product after use. Thus, one of the important aspect of the life cycle of the product that is garment manufacturing is being considered in this study. In the present study, the assessment of carbon footprints of the selected garment manufacturing unit was carried out by identifying their processes and personnel contributing to GHG emissions and calculating the carbon footprints generated by them. The personnel of the selected unit were also made aware of the factors contributing to carbon footprints during garment manufacture and methods were recommended to reduce them. During the study it was found that the maximum contribution to carbon footprints is at the finishing level followed by production department. It was observed that carbon footprint per garment ranges from 1.0 kg -1.5 kg of CO equivalent.

4 table 23 ref

009986   Baradari M G;Semnani D;Sheikhzadeh M (Textile Engineering Dep, Isfahan Univ of Technology, Isfahan-84156-83111, Iran) : Hybrid yarns integrity through image processing and arificial intelligence techniques. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2010, 35(3), 206-12.

The commingled hybrid yarns of different structures have been used to investigate the variation in their abrasion resistance over those of simple yarns by calculating the abrasion destruction index. The cotton yarns of the counts 20Ne and 30Ne and cotton-polyester yarns of the same counts (20Ne and 30Ne) at 20, 40 and 60 bar pressure, have been commingled using flat and textured polyester yarns of 150 den. The produced samples are then abraded by a standard metallic object at four different stages including 150 abrasion cycles in each stage. Through image analyzing technique, the abrasive damage of the samples has been investigated and the abrasidji indexes are calculated. The Kohonen neural network is used to cluster the samples in 5 classes as per their abrasion resistance. The cotton-polyester yam (30Ne), hybrid samples from cotton (30Ne) and textured polyester at 20, 40 and 60 bar; and the hybrid yarn made from cotton-polyester (30Ne) and flat polyester at 60 bar are found to be the best. Furthermore, the abrasion resistance of samples improves on increasing the pressure of commingling process. Generally, cotton yarn and textured polyester yarn show the better abrasion resistance in comparison with the other samples.

5 illus, 3 table, 14 ref

009985   Aggarwal S A;Vasavada D A (Textile Engineering Dep, Faulty of Tech & Engg, The M S Univ of Baroda, Vadodara-390 001, Email: devalvasavda2yahoo.co.in) : Three dimensional measurement of drape. J Text Ass 2010, 70(4), 155-62.

Drape is an important property of fabric which results due to complex deformation when fabric hangs down in folds. It is a three dimensional phenomenon, but in the traditional method of testing it is measured as two dimensional projected area. This paper describes how drape can be measured three dimensionally on the conventional drape meter. 3-Dimensional drape coefficient is more effective measure of fabric drape. Drape similarity ratio is also another measure of fabric drape, which represents similarity in drape along warp and weft directions. Washing leads to increase and ironing leads to decrease in 3-Dimensional drape coefficient of grey fabric sample, drape coefficient is time dependent quantity.

5 illus, 2 table, 9 ref

024527   Utracki L A (NO, Natn Res Coun Canada Industrial Mater Inst, 75 de Mortagne, Boucherville, QC, Canada J4B 6Y4, Email: leszek.utracki@crnr-nrc.gc.ca) : Fibers from polymeric nanocomposites. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 15-28.

Clay-containing polymeric nanocomposites (CPNC) comprise a polymeric matrix and dispersed in it mineral or synthetic clay platelets. The key condition for success is the thermodynamic miscibility of the ingredients at the processing temperature. Toward this goal, the clay is usually pre-intercalated and/or compatibilized with the matrix. The role of melt compounding is to accelerate the dispersion process. Adding an extensional flow mixer to the compounding line accelerates the dispersion. At the organoclay loading of 1-5 wt%, the CPNC show increased (in respect to matrix polymer) rigidity, strength, dimensional stability, barrier properties, flame resistance, etc. The main use of CPNC is in the transport and packaging industries. Fiber spinning of CPNC started about five years ago. The preliminary work demonstrated several benefits: aspects of the technology e.g. improved spinnability, dyeabiliiy, mechanical properties, reduced shrinkage, flameresistance, and others. This review provides a brief outline of the fundamental aspects of CPNC production followed by a summary of publications on the electrospinning, solvent spinning, and melt spinning of CPNC. An effort has been made to focus on the relative effects brought about by incorporation of organoclay.

6 illus, 4 tables, 68 ref

024526   Selvisabhanavakam;Mathivanan V;Rajathi V; Chenthil Nayaki N (Dep of Zool, Annamalai Univ, Annamalainagr-608 002) : Impact of mercury on lipid metabolism in Sphaerodema rusticum (Heteroptera). J expl Zool 2006, 9(1), 221-4.

Rapid industrialization and urbanization have led to the utilization of heavy metals including mercury on the longer scale. These metals ultimately enetr into the aquatic ecosystem directly as effluent or indirectly by precipitaion resulting in an alarming situation in these levels causing deleterious effects to aquatic life. The effects of median lethal concentration of heavy metal, mercury (14.30 ppm for 48 h) exhibited a significant decline in the contents of lipid in the fat body, haemolymph, testis and seminal vesicles. The toxicity impact of mercury on S. rusticum was comparatively higher than in any other insects. The lipid contents of selected tissues of control insects were comparatively more than the treated insects. From this result, it may be inferred that the less amount of lipid contents in the treated target tissues attributed due to utilization of lipid.

1 illus, 1 table, 19 ref

024525   Saravanan D (Text Technol, Bannari Amman Inst of Technol, Satyamangalam, Tamil Nadu-638 401) : Spinning the rocks - basalt fibres. J Instn Engrs-Pt TE 2006, 86(Feb), 39-45.

Nature is constantly providing various resources for making textile materials for variety of applications. Though many textile fibres in the nature are available in the fibrous form itself, nature also offers raw materials that can be modified and formed into a filament in a way similar to the melt and solution spinning of other textile fibres. More than 60 sample representing 25 different types of metallic and industrial minerals, aggregates and the three main rock groups namely igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic. Basalt is a natural material belonging to the family of igneous rocks, which has the capability of melting at certain temperature in a way similar to thermoplastic materials. Also basalt material is capable of withstanding high temperature and pressures, which can be used for high performance applications. Deals with the manufacturing of basalt fibres, their properties and the applications.

5 illus, 7 tables, 26 ref

024524   Samanta K;Jassal M;Agrawal A K (Dep of Text Technol, Indian Inst of Technol, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110 016, Email: ashwini_agrawal@yahoo.com) : Atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma and its applications in textile. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 83-98.

Plasma, a partially-ionized gas generated by an electrical discharge or high temperature, is of different types and can be classified based on pressure, temperature, source of energy and type of gases. Cold plasma is generated by electric discharge at near-ambient temperatures and can be used for surface modification of textile substrates. Brief review of the various plasma and their applications for textile modification has been provided. For textile modifications, atmospheric pressure glow discharge cold plasma is more suitable because it can be designed for continuous treatment of textile. However, the main challenge in atmospheric plasma is to obtain a stable glow (filament-free) discharge over a large surface area suitable for the safe treatment of textile. At IIT-Delhi, uniform glow Discharge plasma at the atmospheric pressure over large surface area has been developed by optimizing reactor design and process parameters. Using this plasma, polyester (PET) and nylon fabrics were treated for 10-60 s under different gasses. The treatment significantly enhanced the water absorbency and surface energy of both the nylon and PET fabrics. In nylon-6, the properties imparted by plasma treatment did not change even after 25 days. However, in PET, the absorbency and surface energy were found to reduce slowly with time of storage. The samples did not degrade during plasma treatment and showed insignificant change in mechanical properties. The atmospheric pressure glow discharge plasma can effectively and safely be used to modify surfaces of textile substrates at reduced process and environment cost.

^iia18 illus, 4 tables, 44 ref

024523   Samanta A K;Mitra S;Mahalanabis K K (Inst of Jute Technol, 35 Ballygunge Circ Rd, Kolkata-700 019) : Effect of selective chemical and bio-chemical softening treatment of jute fabric. J Instn Engrs-Pt TE 2006, 86(Feb), 21-33.

Untreated and H₂O₂ bleached jute fabrics have been subjected to softening treatment with selective chemical and bio-chemical agents like NaOH, HCl, K₂S₂O₈, cellulase enzyme/mixed enzyme(mixture of cellulase, xylanase and pectinase), cationic softener, amino-silicone softener and poly-oxo-ethylene emulsion softener under specified treatment conditions. Important textile related properties and surface morphological features have been evaluated for untreated and differently treated jute fabrics. It has been observed that 18% NaOH treatment at mom temperature (30°C) for 30min renders untreated jute fabric appreciable reduction in overall bending modulus but is associated with high weight loss and surface darkening effect. Treatment with 1% HCl at 30°C for 120 min also renders jute fabric a lower bending length and low but measurable loss of tenacity and crease recovery angle with positive improvement in surface brightness. Conventional scoured and H₂,O₂ bleached jute fabric treated with specific mixed enzyme (105 unit/ ml of cellulase, 96 unit/ml of xylanase and 136 unit/ml of pectinase makes the fabric brighter and smoother in surface appearance as well as softer in feel but the softness is far away than that developed by 18% NaOH treatment at 30°C for 30min. Among different chemical softeners, 2% - 4% poly-oxo-ethylene softener or 2%- 4% catasoftener treatment evidently offers some softening action to the bleached jute fabric, but the softening action is much less than that obtained by said acid, alkali or specific mixed enzyme treatment. Application of catasoftener impairs the whiteness and increases yellowness index of the bleached jute fabric. Application of even 2% - 6% amino-silicone emulsion on bleached/K₂S₂0₈ treated jute produce lesser softening action than expected. Initial oxidative pre-treatment with 1-2% K₂S₂O₈ at 30°C for 30min though makes jute fabric noticeably soft but is associated with relatively higher strength reduction causing some surface yellowing of the bleached jute fabric. Sequential pre-treatment of raw jute fabric with 2% K₂S₂O₈ at 30°C for 30min and 3% H₂O₂ bleaching followed by application of 2% poly-oxo-ethylene softener by pad dry technique offers maximum softness with relatively better balance of property parameters of jute fabric. Changes in dyeability of alkali and enzyme treated jute fabric for acid and reactive dye and dyeability of acid treated jute fabric for basic dye have been evaluated and reported.

6 illus, 5 tables, 42 ref

024522   Rajendran S;Anand S C (NO, Cent for Mater Res and Innovation The Univ of Bolton, Deane Road, Bolton BL3 SAB, UK, Email: sr2bolton.ac.uk) : Contribution of textiles to medical and healthcare products and developing innovative medical devices. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 215-29.

Application of medical textiles used in woundcare nursing, implants, and healthcare and hygiene products has been discussed. The production and properties of biodegradable polysaccharide fibres obtained from natural sourcer, such as alginate, chitin/chitosun, collagen, catgut and branan ferulate, have been highlighted. Speciality medical polymeric fibres used for producing wound dressings, bandages and textile scaffoldst for tissue culture have been presented. In addition, the difficulties encountered by elderly people due to vcnous leg ulcers and a specific research and development programme carried out at the University of Bolton in developing novel padding and compression bandages for the treatment of venous leg ulcers have also been critically discussed. It is observed that the development padding band~ages meet most of the criteria required for ideal bandages and have excellent pressure distribution property around the limb over the existing commercial padding bandages. The pressure profiling of the novel padding bandages in two-layer, three-layer and four-layer systems has been studied.

10 illus, 2 tables, 76 ref

024521   Oxenham W (NO, Coll of Texts North Carolina St Univ, Raleigh, NC 27695-8301, USA, Email: William_oxenham@ncsu.edu) : Innovations in spun yarn technologies - present and future. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 116-24.

Globalization has profound effects on the textile industry, including yarn production. These effects are not only evident in shifts in the geographical bases of production but also in the 'drivers' for manufacturing. This means that yarn producers are expected not only to produce higher quality yarns on much shorter lead times, but must also be competitive on prices in order to survive. A modern yarn producer must therefore be technologically aware, efficient, flexible, and cost conscious. The majority of recent developments in yarn production have been refinements of existing techniques plus improvements in process and product quality. While there are potentially many techniques that could be used to produce yarns, many have met with limited commercial success. Automation in an obvious way to reduce labor costs and improve quality; however this often carries the penalty of reduced flexibility. Competing on pricing is a prerequisite to survival and the major component of yarn price in a modern spinning mill is the cost of the fiber. Thus, any saving made in raw material directly impacts possible profits.

10 illus, 1 table, 29 ref

024520   Mondal S;Hu J L (Inst of Texts & Clothing, The Hong Kong Polytechnic Univ, Hung Hom, Kowloon, Hong Kong, Email: subratamondal@yahoo.com) : Temperature stimulating shape memory polyurethane for smart clothing. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 66-71.

Attempt has been made to investigate the application of temperature stimulating shape memory polyurethane for smart breathable clothing and the principle of temperature stimulating polymer described. Shape memory behaviour of shape memory polyurethane (SMPU) and its relationship with temperature sensitive water vapour permeability for smart clothing applications have been investigated. The water vapour permeability of SMPU has been compared with that of the ordinary polyurethane (PU). The result shows temperature sensitive water vapour permeability at the phase transition temperature (soft segment crystal melting point) of shape memory PU. However, no such abrupt change in water vapour permeability through the ordinary PU is observed. Finally, some applications of temperature stimulating SMPU for smart breathable textiles have been proposed.

5 illus, 26 ref

024519   Matsuo T (NO, SCI-TEX, Shiga, Japan, Email: tamatsuo@nifty.com) : Principle for the development of textile specialty products using material design. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 142-9.

Many kinds of specialty textile products have been commercialized and their importance in textile industry is growing. In the development of textile specialty products, material designing of the products is one of the most important working components. But there has been almost no literature in which principle of development using material design for textile specialty products is systematically discussed. This paper reports a method of material design for the development of apparel specialty fabrics, which is a knowledge-based total system by differential way. Selective examples of knowledge data for meterial designing in terms of attributive items are presented with some examples of related specialty technologies.

2 illus, 1 table, 5 ref

024518   Mandavgane S A;Paradkar G D;Subramanian D (NO, Priyadarshini Inst of Engng and Technol, Nagpur-440 019, Email: mandavgane@rediffmail.com) : Desilication of agro based black liquor using bubble column reactor. J scient ind Res 2006, 65(7), 603-7.

Black liquor, obtained from paper production using agricultural residues, contains additional silica, removal of which or desilication is complex process. Carbonation involves accurate control of pH, as lignin also co-precipitates around the same pH of desiccation. The work used high mass transfer efficient, Bubble Column Reactor (BCR) for desilication. Carbotvation BCR (5.1) at higher temperature was observed more efficient than at room temperature.

6 illus, 13 ref

024517   Kumar R;Ray A K (Dep of Paper Technol, Indian Inst of Technol Roorkee, Saharanpur Campus, Saharanpur-247 001, Email: rajtisotra@yahoo.com) : Artificial neural network for solving paper industry problems. J scient ind Res 2006, 65(7), 565-73.

Focuses on applications of artificial neural networks (ANNs) in various subsystems of pulp and paper making processes. Some applications are pertinent to modeling of pulping, bleaching and energy conservation process while others are related to control of refining, washing of brown stock, combustion of black liquor, lime kiln operation, grade changes and quality control. A general algorithm is also developed to demonstrate how to solve the complex problem using ANN for paper mill subsystems.

^iia8 illus, 1 table, 9 ref

024516   Kothari V K (Dep of Text Technol, Indian Inst of Technol, New Delhi-110 016, Email: kotharivk@gmail.com) : Thermo-physiological comfort characteristics and blended yarn woven fabrics. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 177-86.

Clothing protects from cold or heat to maintain body thermal comfort throughout the full range of human activities. Various types of tactile, moisture and thermal interactions between the clothing material and the human skin determine the comfort level of a person at a given environmental condition while engaged in a specific level of activity. The fabric type and its blend composition, the tactile and thermal insulation behaviour of the fabric assembly and the moisture management capabilities of the clothing can affect the comfort. This paper discusses the role of fibre properties on comfort characteristics of fabrics and why the blending of fibres at yarn manufacturing stage can lead to fabrics having the desired characteristics from comfort point of view. The details about the properties of different fibres and their relationship to different comfort attributes have also been provided. The results of experimental study of water vapour permeability conduct of polyster/viscose (P/V) and polyester/cotton (P/C) blended yarn fabrics show that the higher polyester content in P/V and P/C fabrics is detrimental to water vapour transmission. The water, vapour transmission rate also increases with the air flow rate above the fabric.

9 illus, 5 tables, 7 ref

024515   Kanagaraj J;Velappan K C;Chandra Babu N K; Sadulla S (NO, Cent Leath Res Inst, Adyar, Chenna-600 020, Email: kevelappan@hotmail.com) : Solid wastes generation in the leather industry and its utilization for cleaner environment. J scient ind Res 2006, 65(7), 541-8.

Leather industry, one of the polluting industries because of generation of huge amount of liquid and solid wastes, also emits obnoxious smell because of degradation of proteinous material of skin and generation of gases such as NH₃, H₂S and CO₂. Solid wastes are raw trimmings, fleshings, chrome shavings, buffing dusts and keratin wastes. Accumulation of these wastes lead to sludge problem and choking of treatment pipes and finally results in reduction in efficiency of treatment plant. Treatment of solid wastes also is not cost effective, posing economic burden to the tanners. Leather industry in the developing countries is facing lot of solid wastes problem and many tanneries closed for not meeting bio-chemical oxygen (BOD) demand and total dissolved solids (TDS) norms. The objective is to review the kinds of solid wastes generated in leather industry and the useful technologies developed to overcome the solid wastes problem.

^iia2 illus, 1 table, 60 ref

024514   Joshi M;Banerjee K;Prasanth R (Dep of Text Technol, Indian Inst of Technol, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110 016, Email: mangala@taxtile.iitd.ernet.in) : Polymer/clay nanocomposite based coatings for enhanced gas barrier property. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 202-14.

Explored the revolutionary field of nanotechnology and some of its promising aspects in the innovative field of polymeric nanocomposites because they show substantially improved physical properties as compared to neat polymers. The polymer layered silicate nanocomposites are an important class of hybrid organic-inorganic materials with improved mechanical, thermal and thermomechanical properties. They also show superior UV and chemical resistance-and are widely being investigated for improving the gas barrier and flame retardant properties. The common synthesis techniques to produce polymeric layered silicate nanocomposites and their feasibility as coatings for textiles to improve the property mix have been discussed along with the improved properties of these materials. Polymer nanocomposite based coatings for enhanced gas barrier properties have also been reviewed. A feasibility study on polyurethane /clay nanocomposite based coating for inflatable has been done and it is found that the polyurethane /clay nanocomposite based coated fabric shows an encouraging result on improving the gas barrier property for inflatables.

12 illus, 1 table, 38 ref

024513   Hussain M M;Ramkumar S S R (NO, The Inst of Envir and Hum Hlth Texas Tech Univ, Lubbock, TX 79409-1163, USA, Email: s.ramkumar@ttu.edu) : Functionalized nanofibers for advanced applications. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 41-51.

Electrospinning process is a fairly well established experimental method to produce submicron fibers. Fiber diameters are usually in the range of 100-500 nm that enable them to find out applications as filters, protective fabric liners, face masks, etc. More recently, adding functionality to nanofibers has gained increased attention from the research community. This review paper reports the state-of-the-art research on functionalized nanofibers and their fabrication, characteristics and high-end applications in chemical process industries, chemical protective clothing, biomaterials, drug delivery and tissue engineering.

3 illus, 4 tables, 67 ref

024512   Gulrajani M L (Dep of Text Technol, Indian Inst of Technol, New Delhi-110 016, Email: mlg54@hotmail.com) : Nano finishes. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 187-201.

Techno-science of some recently introduced nano finishes for textile substrates has been reviewed. The logic of using low molecular weight fibre-reactive fluorocarbons that form the basis of Nano-Care^™ finish to impart durable hydrophobic-oleophobic characteristics to fabrics, as described in a patented literature, has been discussed. Super hydrophobicity as exhibited by lotus leaves and the finishes to get self-cleaning textile fabrics based on the Lotus Effect™ have been covered giving some typical recipes. Mechanisms proposed to explain the pholo-catalytic self-cleaning effect of TiO₂ have been described. Developments in the production and evaluation of nano silver and wound care device- based on antimicrobial activity of silver have been covered in detail.

12 illus, 4 tables, 71 ref

024511   Ghosh T;Dhawan A (NO, Coll of Texts N C St Univ, Raleigh, North Carolina 27695, USA, Email: tghsoh@ncsu.edu) : Electronic textiles and their potential. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 170-6.

Textile materials are generally lightweight, flexible and unique in many ways compared to other materials. Most importantly, they are omnipresent in our lives. Textiles are necessary next to our skin as well as in our environment. They are used for comfort and protection as well as fashion. In the near future, almost all textile products including what we wear and walk on seem destined to be transformed from their present to multifunctional, adaptive and responsive systems. The functions may include communication, computation and entertainment, as well as health care and threat detection. Textiles used in non-apparel applications may perform surveillance and detection functions. Some of the concepts being explored currently may revolutionize our understanding and appreciation of fiber-textile products. This paper reports the developments in the field of electric textiles, focusing on the current state of the art of electrotextile products and the research being carried out in this field.

4 illus, 49 ref

024510   Debnath S;Nag D;De S S;Ganguly P K;Ghosh S K (NO, The Natn Inst of Res on Jute and All Fibre Technol (NIRJAFT), 12 Regent Park, Kolkata-700 040) : Mechanical and hydraulic properties of JGT for geo-technical applications. J Instn Engrs-Pt TE 2006, 86(Feb), 46-9.

With the objective of assessing the suitability of jute geo-textile (JGT) in geo technical application, pertinent mechanical and hydraulic properties of woven and non-woven jute geotextiles of various fabric area densities were investigated. Mechanical properties like tensile, extension, flexural and bending behaviour were studied. To examine the hydraulic behaviour, air permeability, sectional air permeability and water imbibation properties were investigated. Il is evident from the investigations that the non-woven fabrics have good water holding capacity coupled with lower bending and flexural characteristics. On the other hand, woven fabric shows high tensile, bending and flexural property compared to non-woven fabrics.

8 illus, 3 tables, 11 ref

024509   Chattopadhyay R (Dep of Text Technol, Indian Inst of Technol, New Delhi-110 016, Email: rchat@textile.iitd.ernet.in) : Application of neural network in yarn manufacture. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 160-9.

Brief outline of artificial neural network (ANN) and its application in yarn manufacturing process has been reported. The use of neural network in predicting process parameters from known and unknown combination of yarn properties has also been investigated. ANN has been found to be very efficient in predicting process parameters when property combinations are taken from actual observed data. However, when the property set is arbitrary, the prediction is poor. The importance of choosing a feasible combination of input parameters has been highlighted.

5 illus, 4 tables, 26 ref

024508   Chae H G;Satish Kumar (NO, Sch of Polym Text & Fiber Engng, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0295, USA, Email: satish.kumar@gatech.edu) : Polymer/carbon nanotube composites. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 29-40.

Carbon nanotubes can currently be obtained with a diameter from about <60>1 nm to <126>200 nm. Due to their exceptional mechanical, thermal, optical and electrical properties, the films, fibers and bulk composites are being processed from carbon nanotubes as well as from their composites in various matrix systems. Both pristine and functionalized nanotubes are being dispersed in various polymer matrices using melt processing, solution processing and in situ polymerization. Polymer/carbon nanotube composite with enhanced tensile strength, compressive strength, tensile modulus, glass transition temperature, solvent resistance, fatigue resistance, wear resistance, thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity and reduced thermal shrinkage can be processed using conventional polymer processing methods. Carbon nanotubes also act as a nucleating agent for polymer crystallization and have been incorporated in more than 40 polymer matrices. Their dispersion in polymer matrices is critical for achieving significant property improvements. Ultra high carbon nanotube orientation is critical for achieving high modulus carbon nanotube fiber or polymer/carbon nanotube composite fibers. In addition, maintaining long nanotube length is also important for achieving improvements in high strain properties. This paper reports the recent progress in the development of carbon nanotube and polymer/carbon nanotube composite films and fibers, focusing the work carried out at the Georgia Institute of Technology, USA.

11 illus, 12 tables, 112 ref

024507   Boh B;Knez E (Dep of Chem Educ and Informatics Fac of Nat Sci and Engng, Univ of Ljubljana, Vegova 4, 1001 Ljubljana, Slovenia, Email: bojana.boh@ntf.uni-lj.si) : Microencapsulation of essential oils and phase change materials for applications in textile products. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 72-82.

Development and testing of three types of microcapsules for applications in textile products, namely microencapsulation of antimicrobial essential oils of sage, lavender and rosemary for nonwoven textile shoe insoles: smell-based animal repellents for agricultural textiles, designed to protect plants against damage caused by deer and rabbits; and paraffmic phase change materials/(PCMs) for active thermal control garments. In situ polymerisation of melamine-formaldehyde prepolymers was used as the microencapsulation technology in all three cases, based on partly methylated tri-methylolmelamine and hexamethoxymethylolmelamine resin as wall materials and a styrene-maleic acid anhydride copoly-mer as a modifying agent. The microencapsulation process was modified to achieve the desired characteristics of microcap-sule walls (different permeability and sensitivity/resistance to pressure). Bibliometric trends in microencapsulation technol-ogy with special reference to textile industries have also been discussed with an overview of main application fields and uses of microencapsulated additives in textile products.

8 illus, 4 tables, 136 ref

024506   Bhattacharyya S;Chatterjee S M (NO, 'Akante', New Kazidanga, Bandel, Hooghly-712 123) : Spinning process control of a EOU through visual basic- a complete software package. J Instn Engrs-Pt TE 2006, 86(Feb), 34-8.

An export oriented mill can not go on producing same yam throughout the year in the present global scenario. It has to change its product quality according to requirements of the international and national customers and that has to be done very fast. Otherwise the customers will go to other suppliers. It is imperative to engineer the yarn quality as per the requirement of the customers and within a short period. Application of Information Technology in textiles will be a boon after 2005. The excepted situation in this millennium necessitated a spinner to engineer the yarn quality accurately by adopting the scientific methods and principles. Such a methodical yarn engineering system would enable a spinning mill to survive in the intensely competitive environment in global market. Attempt has been made to develop a software package (aided by visual basic 6 and data managed by office XP Access) to solve quickly and design a production plan mentioning change points for any count for production executives in a spinning EOU.

7 illus, 12 ref

024505   Banerjee P K (Dep of Text Technol, Indian Inst of Technol, Hauz Khas, New Delhi-110 016, Email: pkbt60@yahoo.com) : Technological innovations in woven fabric manufacturing process. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(1), 125-33.

Key to the gradual evolution of woven fabric manufacturing process has been traced to the introduction of the gripper shuttle, application of electronics and widespread use of composite materials in the modern looms. The cascading effect on the development of peripheral hardware and software as also on the yarn preparatory systems has been high-lighted. Further innovations in some core areas should make the 'Computer Integrated Manufacture' a distinct possibility.

6 ref

023514   Yao J;Chend R;Ye G (NO, Coll of Mech Engng Donghua Univ, 1882 Yan'an Western Road, Shanghai 200051; China, Email: yaojie@mail.dhu.edu.cn) : Modelling and simulating the floating fibres movement during drafting. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 256-61.

A mathematical model of floating fibre motion has been established through analyzing the forces acting on it, and then the fibre movement under various conditions is simulated by computer simulating calculation. The results show the speed change point distribution with different statistical characteristics under various processing conditions, which have been obtained before only through the experiments. In addition, the effects of frictional force distribution, fibre length, roller distance and drafting ratio on the speed change point distribution have also been studied respectively from the simulation results. It provides a new way for studying the movement of floating fibres in the drafting zone.

9 illus, 5 tables, 5 ref

023513   Viswarajasekaran V;Raghunathan K (Dep of Text Technol, Alagappa Coll of Technol Anna Univ, Chennai-600 025, Email: v_viswa@yahoo.com) : Physical properties of core yarns. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 298-301.

The effect of different process parameters on core-spun yarns made from a modified ring frame has been studied. It is observed that the properties of core-spun yarns vary with respect to the process parameters like type of fibres in core and sheath, different twist levels and different core: sheath ratio. Reduced sheath content in all types of core yarns increases the tensile strength and yarn regularity but decreases the breaking extension and yarn regularity. The optimum twist level for filament and spun core yarns has also been observed. The core-spun yarns have the better physical characteristics than cotton yarns.

1 illus, 3 tables, 10 ref

023512   Varshney R K;Singh R K;Sengupta A K;Kothari V K (Dep of Text Engng, Giani Zail Singh Coll of Engng & Technol, Bathinda-151 001, Email: rajeev_varshney2002@yahoo.co.in) : Varietal response of jute fibres with varying meshiness to alkali treatment: Part II-Properties of alkali-treated jute fibres. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 274-8.

Different varieties of jute fibres each with different levels of meshiness index have been treated under three different conditions of NaOH solution, namely 9% conc./2°C temp. (9/2), 18% conc./30°C temp. (18/30), and 18% conc./10°C temp. (18/10). Loss in weight and amount of shrinkage and their relationship with the change in tenacity and breaking extension of fibres have been studied. It is observed that the concentration and temperature of NaOH solution along with the degree of opening have considerable effect on the properties of fibres. Out of the three conditions, 18/10 is found to be more effective in developing desirable characteristics of breaking extension and tenacity with sufficient crimps for better spinning performance and better blend compatibility with other natural and man-made fibres.

1 illus, 1 table, 19 ref

023511   Varshney R K;Singh R K;Sengupta A K;Kothari V K (Dep of Text Engng, Giani Zail Singh Coll of Engng & Technol, Bathinda-151 001, Email: rajeev_varshney2002@yahoo.co.in) : Varietal response of jute fibres with varying meshiness to alkali treatment: Part I- Effect of alkali concentration and treatment temperature on crimp development in jute fibres. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 267-73.

Alkali treatment of four varieties of jute fibres, namely W-4, TD-3, Desi and Mesta, with different meshiness levels has been carried out at three different conditions of concentration and temperature, namely 9% conc./2°C temp (9/2), 18% conc./30°C temp. (18/30) and 18% conc./10°C temp. (18/10). Crimping behaviour in terms of decrimping extension, decrimping stress, decrimping energy and crimp stability has been studied. It is observed that under the condition 18/10, crimp development is maximum because of its inherent higher shrinkage potential. Decrimping energy is also found to be highest but the parameter crimp energy decay, having considerable practical importance and the indicator of crimp instability, comes out to be higher. However, for all practical purposes, considering other technical aspects, 18/10 condition gives satisfactory results in the crimp development.

5 illus, 2 tables, 11 ref

023510   Tyagi G K (NO, The Technol Inst of Text & Scfences, Bhiwani-127 021, Email: drgktyagi@rediffmail.com) : Quality aspects of two-for-one and ring-twisted OE rotor-spun plied yarns. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 293-7.

The influence of ply twist and plying technique on the properties of OE rotor yarns spun from acrylic and viscose fibres has Been studied. It is observed that the tenacity, abrasion resistance, unevenness and hairiness of OE rotor- spun yarns substantially improve after plying. The two-for-one plied yarns produced using the same processing conditions are weaker by 3-13%, more extensible by 6-22%, more even by 2-7%, less twist lively by 12-22%, more hairy by 9-26% and have 2-5% lower abrasion resistance than the ring plied yarns in both twisting techniques. Increasing the ply twist factor increases the tenacity, abrasion resistance and twist liveliness but decreases the hairiness of plied yarns. The properties of the fibrous material and draw-off nozzle also affect the quality of OE rotor-spun plied yarns.

5 tables, 13 ref

023509   Tamil Selvan M;Raghunathan K (Dep of Text Technol, A C Coll of Technol Anna Univ, Chennai-600 025, Email: tamilsudha@yahoo.com) : Effects of picking periods and average mass of seed on fibre properties of MCU-5 cotton. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 346-52.

The effects of picking periods and average mass of seed on fibre properties have been studied using MCU-5 Indian cotton variety, collected from three different locations at various picking periods. It is observed that there is a significant impact due to the average mass of seed in a particular picking period on fibre quality. In general, the mass of seed plays a vital role in deciding the quality of fibres.

^ssc1 illus, 7 tables, 6 ref

023508   Sinha S K;Chattopadhyay R (Dep of Text Technol, Natn Inst of Technol, Jalandhar-144 011, Email: sinhask@nitj.ac.in) : Influence of sheath structure on twist and diameter of dref-III polyester-wool blended friction-spun yarn. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 286-92.

Dref-III polyester-wool blended friction yarns having different sheath compositions and structures were spun successfully on a friction spinning machine keeping polyester in core. The sheath composition and structure were changed by varying core content and selectively placing polyester and wool in different layers of sheath. The location of the constituent fibres in sheath was found to affect both twist and yarn diameter. All wool sheath resulted in a bulky yarn with low twist.

3 illus, 3 tables, 17 ref

023507   Seema Rani;Bansal A;Sood A;Sharma A (Dep of Texts & Apparel Designing, Coll of Hom Sci CSK HPKV, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh) : Fastness properties of silk dyed with berberry roots using mordant combination. Himachal J agric Res 2005, 31(1), 123-7.

Berberry (Berberis lycium) is a tropical growing shrub in Himachal Pradesh. It is a thorny plant, which bears tiny light yellow flowers during blossom and blue berries afterwards. Berberry roots are good source of natural dye for obtaining excellent yellow colour for dyeing of silk and best extraction medium was alkaline with 1% alkali concentration with dyeing and extraction time of 45 min for each. The dyed samples showed excellent fastness to crocking. Poor to fair fastness grader were obtained after washing. Fair to very good fastness was obtained in case of alkaline and acidic perspiration and light fastness. Mordanted samples showed improved fastness to all the fading agencies as compared to control samples. Mordant combination and different mordanting methods prove to be good source to produce variation in shades enabling the artisans involved in the trade to encourage the use of this dye in textiles for better prospects

4 illus, 2 tables, 4 ref

023506   Samajpati S;Sengupta S (NO, Natn Inst of Res on Jute and All Fibre Technol, 12 Regent Park, Kolkata-700 040, Email: s_samajapati@yahoo.co.in) : Wetting characteristics of long vegetable fibres. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 262-6.

Wettability of long vegetable fibres like jute, ramie, sisal, flax and sunhemp with different binders, such as polyvinyl acetate (PVAc), phenol formaldehyde (PF) and polyester (PET) resin has been determined and compared. Contact angles of different fibre-binder systems have been determined by Sissilidrop method and the wetting parameters such as specific work of adhesion, specific wettability and spreading coefficient calculated. It is observed that the wettability depends on properties of binder and fibre. Polyester resin shows significantly lower wettability than PVAc and PF resins. Additive like diammonium phosphate or urea decreases wettability of PVAc. Among the different fibres studied, ramie shows the highest wettability and sisal the lowest.

1 illus, 4 tables, 6 ref

023505   Rawal A;Davies P J (Dep of Metal and Mater Engng (MTM), Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Kasteelpark Arenberg, 44 B-3001 Leuven (Heverlee) Belgium, Email: amitrawal77@hotmail.com) : Empirical modelling of filament area in melt extruded net structures. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 241-7.

A series of melt extruded net structures based upon Taguchi's experimental design methods has been produced from patented Netlon process using square and trapezoidal die slots and a methodology is developed to analyse the extruded samples such that the filament cross-sections could be obtained without inflicting damage. The empirical models for the cross-sectional area of the filaments have been formulated with the main process parameters, viz. extruder speed, take-up speed, die rotational speed, melt flow index (MFI) and temperature. It is observed that the cross-sectional area of the filament mainly depends upon the extruder speed and take-up speed. While MFI has a moderate effect, the temperature and die rotation have negligible effect on filament cross-sectional area. Furthermore, another set of filaments has been produced from laboratory melt extruder, excluding the effect of die rotation. The results show that the influence of process parameters on the filament area is similar to that observed for the net structures produced from the Netlon process. Effects of die swell on the filament cross-sectional area have also been observed and analysed.

9 illus, 3 tables, 13 ref

023504   RatnaPrasad A V;MuraliMohanRao K;AnilKumar M (Dep of Mechanical Engng, V R Siddhartha Engng Coll, Vijayawada-520 007, Email: rp_atluri@yahoo.co.in) : Flexural properties of rice straw reinforced polyester composites. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 335-8.

Rice straw fibres have been extracted and incorporated in polyester resin matrix to prepare rice straw reinforced polyester composites and the flexural properties of resultant composites studied. The composites with a mean flexural strength of 66.3 Mpa, which is greater than that of plain polyester (55.08 MPa), can be formulated with an optimum fibre volume of about 40%. The flexural modulus of composite is found to be 2630 MPa which is about 1.5 times greater than that of plain polyester. The specific flexural modulus is nearly 2 times greater than that of polyester resin. Straw-based composites are suitable as core material for structural board products.

5 illus, 1 table, 12 ref

023503   Ozcan G;Dayioglu H;Candan C (Text Engng Dep, Istanbul Tech Univ, Istanbul, Turkey, Email: ozcangul@itu.edu.tr) : Application of flame retardant products to knitted fabric. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 330-4.

The effect of durable flame retardant products on knitted fabric flammability has been studied. Firstly, the non-durable, semi-durable and durable flame retardants were applied to the bleached knitted cotton fabrics to observe their effects on fabric flammability and then phosphorus-based durable flame retardant products were applied to bleached fabrics at different concentrations, curing temperatures and curing times alternatively to evaluate the effect of their treatment parameters on fabric burning behaviour. The burning behaviour and weight loss values of all the fabrics were evaluated using the standard vertical flammability test method. The results evaluated using an SPSS statistical program show that the flame retardant concentration, curing temperature and curingtime are very important parameters to obtain FR fabrics having good flame resistance and acceptable handle and appearance.

5 illus, 2 tables, 15 ref

023502   Onal L (Dep of Text Engng, Erciyes Univ, 38039 Kayseri, Turkey, Email: lonal@erciyes.edu.tr) : Mechanical properties of ribbon parachute fabrics for cluster submunitions. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 309-12.

An attempt has been made to study the load extension behaviour of the fabric for cluster submunitions. The effect of warp density and fibre type on the ribbon fabric performance using strip tensile and tearing test data has been studied and important points for the design of submunition parachutes highlighted. Four different samples were manufactured using Spectra® and polyester fibres with three different weave types, two of which were derivatives of plain weave and the last one was regular plain weave. ANOVA was also performed for significance level of the test results. It is found that as the warp density increases at core-zone of the fabric, the breaking load and Young's modulus increase for strip tensile testing. However, the effect of weave type is found to be insignificant for tear test.

4 illus, 6 tables, 8 ref

023501   Mohamadi V;Jeddi A A (Fac of Engng, Sci and Res Brch Islamic Azad Univ, Tehran, Iran, Email: ajeddi@aut.ac.ir) : Dimensional stabilisation of cotton plain knitted fabric by using ultrasonic waves. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 339-41.

Cotton knitted fabric with plain structure has been subjected to relaxation treatment using mechanical energy of ultrasonic waves to reach the maximum shrinkage. It is observed that this method of relaxation has more effectiveness on the fabric's dimensional parameter than the conventional relaxation method.

^ssc4 tables, 13 ref

023500   Mahish S S;Punj S K;Banwari B (NO, The Technol Inst of Text & Sci, Bhiwani-127 02l, Email: smahish@yahoo.com) : Effect of substituting modified polyester for cotton in ring-spun polyester/cotton blended yarn fabrics. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 313-9.

Effect of using a tetra channel cross-section polyester fibre with and without microslits on its surface in place of cotton in a polyester/cotton (P/C) blended yarn fabric has been studied. The results have been compared with P/C blended yarn fabrics. It is observed that the modified cross-section polyester generally shows better performance with respect to drapability, crease recovery, bending rigidity, air permeability, thermal insulation and wicking behaviour as compared to P/C blended fabrics in temperate weather.

3 illus, 7 tables, 8 ref

023499   Hebeish A;EL-Molla M M;EL-Hilw Z;EL-Sayad H S (Text Div, Natn Res Cent, Dokki, Cairo, Ggypt, Email: melmolla@yahoo.com) : Susceptibility of cationized and aminized cotton fabrics before and after crosslinking towards wet transfer printing. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 320-9.

The behaviour towards wet transfer printing of cationized and aminized cottons having different nitrogen contents before and after crosslinking was studied. Cationization was effected through reaction of cotton with (3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyl)trimethylammonium chloride whereas aminization was achieved by reacting cotton with 2-chloroethyl diethylamine hydrochloride. The modified cottons were crosslinked using polycarboxylic acids, namely citric acid and 1, 2, 3, 4 - butane tetracarboxylic acid, followed by wet transfer printing using alginate films containing either a reactive dye or a direct dye without using electrolytes. Prints on cationized and aminized cottons exhibited significantly higher colour strength than on the untreated cotton. Crosslinking of the cationized and aminized cottons prior to wet transfer printing detracted much from their greater amenability to such printing. The wash, rub and perspiration fastness values of the reactive dye on cationized and aminized cottons before and after crosslinking were found to be comparable or even slightly higher than those for the untreated cotton. However, in case of direct dye the colour fastness results disclose significant improvement in wash, rub and perspiration fastness over the untreated cotton.

8 illus, 45 ref, 4 schemes

023498   Gokarneshan N;Ghosh A;Anbumani N;Subramaniam V (Dep of Text Technol, Kumaraguru Coll of Technol, Coimbatore-641 006, Email: advaitcbe@rediffmail.com) : Influence of critical ring frame parameters on the minimum twist of cohesion in yarns. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 342-5.

An instrument has been designed to measure the minimum twist of cohesion (MTC) of ring-spun yarn. The influence of spindle speed, traveller mass, and twist multiplier on the MTC has been studied using three-factor Box and Behnken factorial design. A very high coefficient of determination between the experimental values and the calculated values is obtained from the response-surface equation. The selected factors have significant contribution in determining the fibre cohesion in yarn. The optimum value of MTC is observed at higher level of spindle speed, traveller mass, and twist multiplier within the experimental zone explored. Spindle speed has the greatest influence on MTC, followed by twist multiplier and the traveller mass with the current experimental set-up.

^ssc4 illus, 2 tables, 6 ref

023497   Bhattacharyya S;Chatterjee S M;Mazumder P K (NO, Govt Coll of Engng & Text Technol, Serampore-712 20l, Email: dr_Satyaki@rediffmail.com) : Improvement in tensile characteristics of dref-III yarn by enhancing structural integrity through modification in feed. Indian J Fibre Text Res 2006, 31(2), 302-8.

Efforts have been made to improve the structure of dref-III friction-spun yarn by incorporating some modifications in the feeding zone of drafting unit-I, so that the core structure gets more consolidated with less transverse pressure exerted by the surface structure. The structure and tensile characteristics of yarns obtained after modification have been thoroughly studied and compared with the yarns made without modifications. It is observed that the tensile characteristics, namely tenacity, breaking extension, initial modulus and work of rupture, improve significantly by incorporating modification in the feed regional.

5 illus, 3 tables, 7 ref

021470   Sudha S;Giri Dev V R;Neelakandan R (Dep of Text Technol, A.C.College of Technol Anna Univ, Chennai-600 025) : Plasma application in textiles. J Text Ass 2006, 67(1), 25-9.

Textile industry is growing at a fast pace in the recent few decades. Innovations in textiles have beocme the order of the day and newer technologies are cropping up paving the way for newer applications in textiles. Surface modification of textile substrates is being done to achieve desirable properties without affecting the bulk properties of the fabrics. Considerable amount of research efforts are being put-up using gamma rays and plasmas. The application of plsma on different fibre systems has been presented.

^iia1 table, 11 ref

021469   Sinha A;Nayar S (Natn Metall Lab, , Jamshedpur-831 007, Email: arvind@nmlindia.org) : Design and synthesis of nanosized bioceramic-particles, composites and coating. Trans Indian Inst Metals 2005, 58(6), 951-5.

Biopolymer mediated processes for the synthesis of third generation nanosized hydroxypatite powder; its 3-D- macroporous polymer-composites and coating on functionalized steel surfaces have been described. The manuscript briefly reviews activities in the area of biomimetics and bioceramics.

ia4 illus, 12 ref

021468   Sharma S K;Giri S;Mangala D (Mgmt Stud, TITS, Bhiwani) : Environmental scanning in Indian textile companies. J Text Ass 2006, 67(1), 7-11.

Environment scanning leads to the identification of many issues that affect the organization. These issues could be judged on the basis of the intensity of their impact on the business of the organization and the relative probability of such an impact. In this situation, it is a serious challenge to top business executives/strategists how to manage their business portfolios effectively in the changing and turbulent environment.

7 tables, 9 ref