The study of performance and emission characteristics of a spark ignition (SI) engine fueled with diferent blends of pomegranate ethanol

This work focuses on exctracting ethanol from waste pomegranate (Punica granatum) and the experimental investigation of impact of various mixtures on emissions and engine performance. Ethanol is produced through the fermentation process of waste pomegranate fruits. Four combinations, namely E10, E15, E20, and E25, were prepared and tested for various speeds with a wide open throttle at 10:1 compression ratio. As a result, it was found that the ethanol enrichment increased the fuel consumption and power for braking while the thermal efciency decreased. CO-produced HC has decreased, but ethanol concentrations have increased the NOx and CO2 content emitted from the exhaust gas. The 1500RPM engine speed and the E15 combination revealed the optimal values of performance parameters among all the fuel combinations studied

Cell Type-Specific Manipulation with GFP-Dependent Cre Recombinase

Summary There are many transgenic GFP reporter lines that allow visualization of specific populations of cells. Using such lines for functional studies requires a method that transforms GFP into a molecule that enables genetic manipulation. Here we report the creation of a method that exploits GFP for gene manipulation, Cre Recombinase Dependent on GFP (CRE-DOG), a split component system that uses GFP and its derivatives to directly induce Cre/loxP recombination. Using plasmid electroporation and AAV viral vectors, we delivered CRE-DOG to multiple GFP mouse lines, leading to effective recombination selectively in GFP-labeled cells. Further, CRE-DOG enabled optogenetic control of these neurons. Beyond providing a new set of tools for manipulation of gene expression selectively in GFP+ cells, we demonstrate that GFP can be used to reconstitute the activity of a protein not known to have a modular structure, suggesting that this strategy might be applicable to a wide range of proteins

Understanding the retinal basis of vision across species

The vertebrate retina first evolved some 500 million years ago in ancestral marine chordates. Since then, the eyes of different species have been tuned to best support their unique visuoecological lifestyles. Visual specializations in eye designs, large-scale inhomogeneities across the retinal surface and local circuit motifs mean that all species' retinas are unique. Computational theories, such as the efficient coding hypothesis, have come a long way towards an explanation of the basic features of retinal organization and function; however, they cannot explain the full extent of retinal diversity within and across species. To build a truly general understanding of vertebrate vision and the retina's computational purpose, it is therefore important to more quantitatively relate different species' retinal functions to their specific natural environments and behavioural requirements. Ultimately, the goal of such efforts should be to build up to a more general theory of vision