Homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine fuelled with ethanol, iso -octane and products of in -cylinder reformation in an IDI-type engine

The major focus of this research is to analyze the individual parameters, such as, fuel chemistry, EGR, intake air temperature and engine speed that affect the HCCI combustion on-set and to utilize in-cylinder reformation as means of controlling the HCCI combustion on-set. A new in-cylinder reformation system to control the on-set of combustion has been designed and fabricated with direct injection capabilities to examine the proposed in-cylinder reformation process. The proposed reformation strategy has the advantage of temporarily varying the compression ratio during the compression stroke and controlling the HCCI combustion on-set, in addition to the effects of fuel reformation products. The methodology adopted in this thesis to identify these parameters is mostly experimental. However, there is a smaller computational component which involves HCCI cycle calculations with fuel reformation using a single-zone model. The computational part is primarily used to analyze the advantages of a proposed in-cylinder reformation strategy on HCCI combustion before implementation in the experimental set-up. The experimental engine used for the study is a four-stroke, three cylinder In-Direct Injection (IDI) type compression ignition engine which was converted to single cylinder operation for HCCI combustion. The HCCI engine was fuelled with a lean mixture of air and fuel (ethanol, iso-octane, mixture of ethanol/iso-octane or ethanol with products of in-cylinder reformation). Based on cycle-resolved in-cylinder pressure measurements, the experimental results demonstrate that the addition of iso-octane to ethanol retards the onset of combustion and subsequently leads to a reduction of the IMEP and thermal efficiency. The addition of EGR retards the on-set of HCCI combustion and the study indicates that ethanol allows for the use of higher percentage of EGR when compared to iso-octane. The proposed in-cylinder reformation strategy is an effective method for controlling HCCI combustion on-set (SOC) and reduces the regulated engine-out emissions. The temporary change in compression ratio that results from utilizing the proposed pre-chamber methodology has a stronger influence in controlling the HCCI combustion on-set (SOC) compared to the effects of fuel reformation products alone

Profiling Of Volatiles In Tissues Of Salacia Reticulata Wight. With Anti-Diabetic Potential Using GC-MS And Molecular Docking

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a global pandemic, it is a chronic, progressive and an incompletely understood metabolic condition. The disease is characterized by higher levels of sugar in blood caused either due to insufficient production of insulin or because of insulin resistance. Major drugs used for the treatment of the condition are fraught with side effects. Hence, it is becoming an obligation to gaze at alternative agents showing marginal adverse effects. An important source of such agents are the medicinal plants. Several plants have been positively identified to show anti-diabetic effects. The species Salacia reticulata Wight., belonging to the family Celastraceae which is found in the forests of Southern India is one such promising plant to tackle type 2 diabetics. In this study, numerous volatile compounds were identified from various tissues through GC-MS analysis. Among these the compounds possessed suitable ADMET properties, and high binding affinities were compared with two approved {\alpha}-glucosidase inhibitors, Acarbose and Miglitol. The analysis indicated that the compounds with PubChem IDs, CID-240051 and CID-533471 exhibited potential as inhibitors of Human Maltase-Glucoamylase enzyme

An Exploration of Violence in the Self-Governance of Gang and/or Drug Trade Involved Male Youth: A Secondary Analysis of Interview Data

This thesis is based on a secondary analysis of 21 interviews conducted as part of a larger study on youth violence and youth violence interventions in Ontario under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, in which 84 youth recruited in youth correctional sites and high schools shared their experiences and views on youth violence and efforts by various authorities to prevent its occurrence and reoccurrence (Mann, Senn, Girard & Ackbar, 2007). For the thesis I deductively analyzed 21 transcripts of interviews with male youth who self-identified as having participated in youth gang or drug trade activities. Focusing on themes salient to self-governance as advanced in the work of Alan Hunt and Gary Wickham (1994), the thesis addresses questions on how these youth think about, and on how efforts by child protection and criminal justice authorities contribute to their persistent involvement in violence

Regeneration potential of different explants during micropropagation of neem tree (Azadirachta indica A. Juss.)

Azadirachta indica A. Juss., (Neem), a prodigious multipurpose tree, has immense potential to benefit mankind and to protect the environment. In order to investigate the effects of three different explants for its regeneration potential, de embryonated cotyledon, immature zygotic embryo and nodal segments from a 30 year old neem plus tree were used. Half strength MS medium with benzyl amino purine (3 mg/L) and naphthalene acetic acid (0.5 mg/L) and casein hydrolysate (1 g/L) was effective in shoot bud sprouting from both nodes and cotyledons. Half strength MS medium fortified with TDZ (0.2 mg/L) was effective for induction of somatic embryogenesis from zygotic embryos. Shoot buds initiated from the cotyledons produced a maximum number of shoots per explants (4.33) which on further sub culturing induced maximum multiple shoots (15) on half strength MS medium fortified with BAP (1.5 mg/L), NAA (0.5 mg/L) and CH (400 g /L) and the nodal explants induced only 4-5 axillary shoots on further sub culturing. Even though immature zygotic embryos produced more number of somatic embryos per explant (24.97) within a short time (30-45 days), the plantlet conversion was poor (25.52 %). In vitro rooting was observed in half strength MS medium supplemented with IBA (2 mg/L). The regeneration potential of de embryonated cotyledons through a simple regeneration system may be beneficial for efficient mass propagation of selected plus trees of neem

The role of non-formal skills development programmes in improving livelihoods of marginalised learners: a case study of three FET colleges in the Durban area.

Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.The study examined the role of non-formal skills programmes at Further Education and Training (FET) colleges in assisting marginalized learners in their livelihoods. The high rate of unemployment and poverty in South Africa, and in Kwazulu-Natal in particular, highlights the need for non-formal programmes to be more responsive to the developmental needs of marginalized learners, and to the economy. There is a need to move away from programmes that are run in isolation, towards programmes that are more responsive, creative and holistic. A case-study of three different non-formal skills programmes from each of the FET colleges in the Durban area were used in the study. These included Coastal, Sivananda and Thekwini FETI's. The reason for choosing different programmes, was to get a broader picture of skills programmes offered at FET colleges. One of the programmes was a Welding one offered at the Swinton Road Campus of Coastal College. The second programme was the Organic Farming one offered at the Mpumalanga campus of Sivananda College, and the third programme was the Cooperatives one offered at the Asherville campus of Thekwini College. Interviews with learners comprised the primary data, while documents, observation and interviews with personnel comprised secondary data. The three different programmes provided an interesting contrast. While the Organic Farming programme and the Cooperatives were fairly new, the Welding programme had been in operation for some time. There were also differences in the design and implementation which impacted on the learners' ability to improve their livelihoods. Learners in the Organic Farming programmes for example, were technically unemployed. Yet they were producing organically grown vegetables to sustain themselves and their families. In contrast, learner in the welding programme were unable to find employment on completion of the programme. Using the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach used by international Aid agencies in developing countries as a bench mark, the programmes were examined to establish whether they were assisting their learners in developing sustainable livelihoods. What emerged was that there was a strong correlation between the design and implementation of the programme and the learners' ability to transfer skills to improve their lives. Programmes that provided support to learners aside from the actual training content tended to be more successful than programmes that focused only on training. The more a programmes incorporated the principles of SLA (responsive and participatory; learner-centred; conducted in partnerships; linking micro and macro-level activities, holistic and sustainable), the more they were able to assist learners in developing their livelihoods

Performance Comparison of Particle Filter in Small Satellite Attitude Estimation

The drive towards miniaturization, coupled with the latest advances in onboard processing, has given rise to small satellite missions’ ability to use more complex attitude estimation algorithms to fit their progressive mission requirements. Earth observation missions typically require higher satellite attitude pointing accuracies to precisely control the satellite orientation. Hence, to provide greater confidence in the attitude estimation accuracies, new advanced algorithms are continuously being developed. Satellite attitude estimation must be performed autonomously in real-time whilst optimizing computational resources such as time and memory. Small satellite missions with higher complexities tend to demand more sophisticated requirements, which push the limits of classical attitude estimation methods. The Particle Filter is an advanced Bayesian estimation technique that has shown significant improvements in satellite attitude estimation. This work describes the Particle Filter and its implementation to the attitude and angular rate estimation for a 3U CubeSat in Low Earth Orbit, whilst comparing attitude estimation performance in two different settings: with three-axis magnetometer measurements; and with combined measurements from a three-axis magnetometer and sun sensors. This work further reports that for attitude determination in small satellites, the Particle Filter is a more accurate attitude estimator than the widely used Extended Kalman Filter. The Particle Filter yields attitude estimation accuracy of ±0.01°, while the Extended Kalman Filter attitude estimation accuracy is ±1°. Moreover, the results indicate that the use of an additional sensor improves the attitude estimation accuracy of the Particle Filter by 17%. It is essential to consider different sensor combinations as it helps select the most suitable sensor suite and attitude estimator for an individual small satellite mission

Effect of harmones on callus induction in Maize (Zea mays L.)

Callus induction from explants is a critical process in regeneration, micropropagation and transformation of maize (Zea mays L.) plants. Formation of callus from plant tissues on culture is affected by several factors. This study revealed to establish the effect of genotype, source of explants and auxin concentration on callus induction from five genotypes UMI 757 (G1), UMI 615 (G2), UMI 112 (G3), UMI 285 (G4) and CO 1 (G5) and one hybrid CO H (M) 5 (G6). Callus induction of the six maize varieties was investigated using immature embryos (E1), leaf bits (E2), root tips (E3), hypocotyls (E4) and seeds (E5) as explants with different concentrations of hormones. In this study, immature embryo was taken from 10 to 12 days after pollination (DAP) to get maximum response. The highest percentage of callus induction was observed (99.10) in immature embryo culture and seed culture gave the highest percentage of rhizogenic callus formation when compare to immature embryo. Among the genotypes tested, CO H (M) 5 recorded the highest callus induction percentage on (2D2K2) medium composition

Androgenesis in tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.)-Effect of genotypes, microspore development stage, pre-treatments and media composition on induction of haploids

Doubled haploid (DH) technology remarkably accelerates the crop breeding by obtaining homozygous lines in a single generation. The present study was targeted in generating haploid plants through androgenesis. Anthers from immature flower buds of six tomato genotypes viz., LE-1230, LE-1236, LE-1256 TLCV 2, PKM 1 and TNAU tomato hybrid CO 3 were used for induction of haploids. A preliminary study based on callus induction frequency (CIF), more than 5% was helpful in short listing flower bud size, pre-treatments and growth regulator combinations. Subsequently, anthers from two different sized flower buds (4 and 6 mm length), dissected either from fresh or pre-treated flower buds (2 and 5 days in dark at 4 °C or gamma irradiated) were inoculated in MS medium fortified with different growth regulators for callus induction. Among the genotypes, TLCV 2 had recorded the maximum CIF (38.80%) from anthers of 4 mm long flower buds followed by TNAU tomato hybrid CO 3 (34.70%). Throughout the study, anthers from 4 mm long flower buds responded the best for callus induction. Among the pre-treatments, anthers from gamma irradiated flower buds recorded the highest CIF (31.90%) when compared to others. Cold shock (4 °C) in dark to flower buds for 2 days had improved the CIF of anthers when compared to fresh in LE 1230, LE 1238, TLCV2 and TNAU tomato hybrid CO 3, but when the cold shock was increased to 5 days, invariably there was a reduction in CIF in all the six genotypes. TA 8 (MS + 2iP (0.5 mg L-1) + NAA (0.5 mg L-1)) medium was found to be the best for maximum CIF in LE 1230 and PKM1, TA1 (MS + 2iP (1.0 mg L-1) + IAA (2.0 mg L-1)) in LE 1238, LE 1256 and TNAU tomato hybrid CO 3 and TA7 (MS + 2iP (0.5 mg L-1) + Kinetin (1.5 mg L-1) + NAA (1.0 mg L-1)) for TLCV 2 genotypes. The callus induced was sub cultured at monthly intervals in the same medium for proliferation and later transferred to regeneration medium. A good number of shoots got regenerated only from anther calli of TNAU hybrid CO 3 that was sub cultured in MS medium fortified with Zeatin (0.5 mg L-1). The clumps of shoots induced were separated and inoculated in MS medium supplemented with GA3 (0.5 mg L-1) for shoot elongation. After 4-6 weeks, the elongated shoots were transferred to half strength MS medium enhanced with IBA (1 mg L-1). Profuse rooting from the base of the shoot was noticed in 4-5 weeks. The stomatal count with leaves from the diploid plants and in vitro plants observed were 3-4 and 1 respectively indicating the haploidy nature of in vitro plants

Impact of pollination strategies on fruit set and fruit growth attributes in jasmine

Jasmine occupies predominant position among the flower crops in India in terms of area, production and productivity. The demand for jasmine flowers is growing day by day owing to its wide range of uses and there is a pressing need for improving the crop by exploring strategies to evolve diverse genotypes. The present study focuses on the hybridization of Jasminum spp with the objective of introgression of desirable traits that would aid in creation of wider genetic variability. Pollination is the basis in any hybridization programme. The main aim of this research study was to determine the suitable pollination methods among self, open and cross pollination and to assess the effect of the pollination methods on the fruit set and fruit characteristics. The results of the study revealed that the overall response of J. auriculatum was found effective with maximum fruit set percentage. J. auriculatum cv Parimullai yielded the highest fruit set of 76.43% under open pollination and the least fruit set rate of 2.14% under self-pollination. Among the possible cross combination involving J. auriculatum and J. grandiflorum cultivars as seed parents with various pollen parents, J. flexile showed considerable results. Cross combination of J. auriculatum x J. flexile recorded maximum fruit set revealing best cross compatibility while crosses involving J. sambac resulted in no fruit set indicating the prevalence of fertilization barriers that hinder hybridization