In the current work, a comprehensive study on the possibility of using methanol as an alternative fuel for diesel engines was carried out. Methanol was mixed at different ratios with diesel fuel. The mixing ratios of methanol to diesel were 0:100, 10:90, 20:80 and 30:70. The effects of methanol fraction on engine power, torque, brake specific fuel consumption (BSFC), brake thermal efficiency and exhaust temperature were experimentally investigated at variant engine speeds. The engine used to carry out these experiments is a four-stroke four-cylinder diesel engine. The results showed that mixing methanol at different fractions with diesel fuel has a significant effect on the engine performance. The methanol to diesel ratio of 10:90 exhibited the lowest exhaust temperature and achieved an improvement in the output power of approximately 70% compared to the other ratios. Also, the brake thermal efficiency improved at all the mixing ratios used. Furthermore, the BSFC of pure diesel fuel registered a lower value than any other mixing ratio. It has been shown in this research that the addition of 10% methanol to the diesel fuel may have a great impact on the engine performance and the environment

Studies were conducted in commercial and research cabbage fields during 1979-1980 to determine the potential of pheromone trapping for monitoring Plutella xylostella (L.) and determining subsequent larval population trends. Adult catches within fields indicated that seasonal trends were similar between traps on the border and those in the center, despite variation between trap counts. Differences between nearby plantings indicated that each field should be evaluated and treated independently. Peak flights for both seasons, as determined by pheromone catches, corresponded with those predicted by daydegree accumulations. In 40% of the sampled fields for 1979-1980, adult catches correlated with subsequent larval populations which occurred II to 21 days later.

Cleaner air quality is becoming a global concern, thus to improve the fuel and combustion process is vital. In this paper, computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis software CFD-ACE is used to investigate the flow behavior of methane and air in a compressed natural gas (CNG)-air mixer to be implemented in a CNG-diesel dual-fuel stationary engine. The effect of the number of mixer holes on the mixture quality was evaluated. The results of the 3D CFD simulation showed that the 8-hole Venturi mixer gave superior performance compared to the 4-hole mixer. Further analysis was carried out on the 8-hole Venturi mixer to investigate the effect of engine speed on the mass flow rate of CNG and the equivalence air to fuel ratio (1/). The second half of the paper presents comparative performance results between a single cylinder research compression ignition (CI) engine fueled with a CNG-diesel system and a conventional CI engine fueled by conventional diesel. The engine was equipped with the simulated 8-hole Venturi mixer. The result showed a significant reduction in exhaust gas emission components (NO x , CO and CO 2 ) from the CNG-diesel engine compared to the conventional diesel engine, i.e. the reduction rates were on average of 54%, 59% and 31% respectively. The average power output developed by the dual-fuel engine was 10% higher than the diesel over the power curve.

Mark-capture dispersal studies were conducted to investigate the feasibility of marking the southwestern desert subterranean termite, Heterotermes aureus (Snyder) with rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG). In turn, short-range dispersal patterns of H. aureus were measured across a 20-m diameter desert landscape at three distinct field locations. Each location consisted of 51 termite feeding stations containing corrugated cardboard. The central feeding station (CFS) at each location was impregnated with rabbit IgG. A circular grid was then constructed around each CFS that consisted of 50 additional unmarked cardboard feeding stations strategically placed around the CFS at distances of 1.5, 2.0, 4.0, 7.0 or 10.0 m. Termites self-marked with rabbit IgG by feeding on the marked bait. The CFS and the 50 peripheral feeding stations were sampled for marked termites twice at each location 17-65 days after the marked bait was placed at the CFS to determine the spatial dispersal patterns of H. aureus within each research grid. Termites that self marked by feeding on rabbit IgG marked bait were detected by an anti-rabbit IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Generally, the CFSs contained the highest frequency of marked termites with 28.0% of the individuals assayed from the CFSs containing rabbit IgG. Over the course of the study, 39 of the unmarked peripheral feeding stations contained at least one marked termite. Of the termites assayed from the peripheral stations (n = 2,955), 124 or 4.2% of the individuals contained the mark. The average distance traveled by the marked termites collected at the peripheral feeding stations was 5.7 ± 3.3 m from the CFSs. We also examined single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from termites collected at each field site. Data indicated that each field site were genetically distinct and therefore non-related termites. We discuss the advantages and limitations of marking termites with rabbit IgG for dispersal studies.

Studies were conducted to investigate the feasibility of marking the southwestern desert subterranean termite, Heterotermes aureus (Snyder), with rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) protein for mark-release-recapture (MRR) and mark-capture type studies. Qualitative laboratory studies were conducted to determine how long reagentgrade rabbit IgG is retained on or in H. aureus that were marked either externally with a topical spray, internally by feeding them a rabbit IgG-marked food source, or both internally and externally (double marked). Marked termites were detected by an anti-rabbit IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Data indicated that the termites retained the mark for at least 35 days, regardless of the marking procedure. A second series of laboratory studies were conducted to determine how fast H. aureus acquire the mark after feeding on cardboard bait that was either sprayed or soaked in different formulations of rabbit IgG. The IgGs tested were a highly purified and costly reagent grade IgG at 5.0 mg/ml and a less pure and less costly technical grade rabbit IgG at 1.0 mg/ml. The results showed that termites acquired both marks equally well after exposure to the soaked cardboard treatment. The advantages and limitations of protein marking termites with rabbit IgG for MRR or mark-capture termite studies are discussed.