Photo Catalytic Degradation of Azo Dyes over Mn2+ Doped TiO2 Catalyst under UV/Solar Light: An Insight to the Route of Electron Transfer in the Mixed Phase of Anatase and Rutile

Mn2+ ion was doped into the TiO2 matrix and its photocatalytic activity was evaluated for the degradation of a mono azo dye methyl orange (MO) and a di-azo dye brilliant yellow (BY) under UV/solar light. X-ray diffraction results revealed the phase transformation from anatase to rutile due to the inclusion of Mn2+ ion into the TiO2 matrix. All the doped catalysts showed a red shift in the band gap to the visible region. The degradation reaction of the dyes was found to be dependent on its structure. It was found that mono azo dye degrades faster than di azo dye under UV/solar light. The rate constant under identical conditions calculated for the degradation of MO is 2.4 times (under UV light) and 4.5 times (under solar light) higher compared to BY. Among the photocatalysts studied, Mn2+(0.06 at.%)-TiO2 showed higher activity under both UV and solar light illumination. The synergestic effect in the bicrystalline framework of anatase and rutile effectively suppresses the charge carrier recombination and enhances the photocatalytic activity. The degradation reaction was followed by UV-visible spectroscopy and the photoproducts formed were analyzed by GC-MS techniques

Gibberellic acid (GA3) can shorten the grafting cycle through enhanced seedling growth and biomass in cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.)

Due to the slow growth of cashew seedlings, nurserymen and growers have to wait for more time for taking up softwood grafting operations to market or planting them. The use of growth regulators has resulted in a shortening of propagation time in many fruit crops. Therefore, the nursery experiment was conducted to study the effect of foliar spray of GA3 and NAA on the growth and biomass of cashew seedlings. Five treatments viz., control and foliar application of GA3 @ 50 ppm, GA3 @ 100 ppm, NAA @ 50 ppm and NAA 100 ppm were replicated four times in completely randomized design. Growth regulators were sprayed on 10 days old seedlings of cashew cultivar Vengurla-4. Cashew seedlings sprayed with GA3 @ 100 ppm recorded highest shoot length, seedling length and girth, leaf numbers, shoot fresh weight and shoot dry weight. However, spraying of NAA @ 100 ppm recorded maximum root length and highest root fresh weight and root dry weight. Irrespective of the treatments, most of the seedling growth parameters increased as days progressed. Post germination sprays with GA3 @ 100 ppm can be effectively employed for increasing the seedling growth of cashew which would help in producing healthy seedlings in a short period for advancing the grafting operations and in turn reduce the duration of propagation as well as the cost of seedling production. &nbsp

Effect of plant growth regulators on leaf area, chlorophyll content, carotenoids, stomatal count and yield of cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) var. Bhaskara

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of exogenous application of growth regulators at three important growth stages(flushing, flowering and fruiting) on leaf area, chlorophyll content, carotenoids, stomatal count and yield of cashew var. Bhaskara.Irrespective of growth stages, foliar application of GA3 @ 50 ppm and ethrel @ 50 ppm was found to be superior in all theparameters and on par with each other compared to other growth regulators. Out of nine treatments of different growth regulators;the highest leaf area was recorded in trees sprayed with GA3 @ 50 ppm and ethrel @ 50 ppm. At flushing stage, spraying with GA3@ 50 ppm resulted in highest stomatal number (21.9) and carotenoids (0.41) whereas unsprayed (control) trees recorded leaststomatal number (11.6) and carotenoids (0.19). Thus, leaf area, chlorophyll content, carotenoids and stomatal count increased intrees sprayed with growth regulators than unsprayed trees. Spraying of ethrel @ 50 ppm recorded highest nut yield(14.3 kg tree-1) followed by NAA @ 25 ppm + GA3 50 ppm (12.9 kg tree-1). This study demonstrated the potential of ethrel as wellas GA3 in improving various biochemical parameters viz., chlorophyll ‘a’, chlorophyll ‘b’, carotenoids and leaf area in cashewwhich are important determinants in increasing nut production

The Impact of Corporate Governance on Firm’s Performance: Evidence from Ethiopian Insurance Companies

The issue of corporate governance has long been ignored in developing economies like Ethiopia. This study examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on the performance of Ethiopian insurance Companies using a panel data model for the period covering from 2009 to 2013.Both descriptive and regression analyses were conducted on the selected samples of 10 insurance companies out of 15 operating in the market. The findings from the study indicated that board meeting and board compensation had statistically significant positive impact on return on equity (ROE) of the Ethiopian insurance Industry. But the results failed to show any significant impact of board size, audit committee, and gender diversity on the proxy of companies’ performance. Moreover, the Size of the companies had a significant positive impact on ROE. Hence, the study recommends that efforts to improve the corporate governance system of insurance companies in Ethiopia should focus on the number of meetings to be held by directors, the level of board compensation, as well as on the size of firms, and these in turn improve the performance of the insurance companies. Finally, the study also recommends the participation of all stakeholders in the industry at the time of developing the governance system of these companies. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Corporate Governance Mechanisms, Performance,

The Impact of Corporate Governance on Firm’s Performance: Evidence from Ethiopian Insurance Companies

The issue of corporate governance has long been ignored in developing economies like Ethiopia. To fill the gap, this study examines the impact of corporate governance mechanisms on the performance of Ethiopian insurance Companies using a panel data model for the period covering from 2009 to 2013.Both descriptive and regression analyses were conducted on the selected samples of 10 insurance companies out of 15 operating in the market. The findings from the study indicated that board meeting and board compensation had statistically significant positive impact on return on equity (ROE) of the Ethiopian insurance Industry. But the results failed to show any significant impact of board size, audit committee, and gender diversity on the proxy of companies’ performance. Moreover, the Size of the companies had a significant positive impact on ROE, but the Age of the firms did not reveal any significant impact on ROE. Hence, the study recommends that efforts to improve the corporate governance system of insurance companies in Ethiopia should focus on the number of meetings to be held by directors, the level of board compensation, as well as on the size of firms, and these in turn improve the performance of the insurance companies. Finally, the study also recommends the participation of all stakeholders in the industry at the time of developing the governance system of these companies. Keywords: Corporate Governance, Corporate Governance Mechanisms, Performance