drying is a high energy consuming process. solar drying is one of the most popular methods for dehydration of agricultural products. in the present study, the performance of a forced convection solar dryer equipped with recycling air system and desiccant chamber was investigated. the solar dryer is comprised of solar collector, drying chamber, silica jell desiccant chamber, air ducts, fan and m...

In this study, a lumped parameter model, developed and extensively validated by the authors, is used to simulate impact of three different dehumidification technologies (mechanical refrigeration dehumidifier, liquid desiccant heat recovery ventilation unit), at commercial greenhouse growing potted roses in southwestern Ontario, Canada. Typical meteorological year (TMY) data from nearby Vineland...

BACKGROUND Dried blood spots (DBSs) are an attractive alternative to plasma for HIV-1 drug resistance testing in resource-limited settings. We recently showed that HIV-1 can be efficiently genotyped from DBSs stored at -20 degrees C for prolonged periods (0.5-4 years). Here, we evaluated the efficiency of genotyping from DBSs stored at 4 degrees C for 1 year. METHODS A total of 40 DBSs were p...

The substitution of the oxyanion Q114 with Met and Leu was carried out to investigate the role of Q114 in imparting enantioselectivity on T1 lipase. The mutation improved enantioselectivity in Q114M over the wild-type, while enantioselectivity in Q114L was reduced. The enantioselectivity of the thermophilic lipases, T1, Q114L and Q114M correlated better with log p as compared to the dielectric ...

Electricity production in Lebanon stands at around 1.5 GW while the demand exceeds 2.5 GW at peak times and peak cooling demands, resulting in rationing cuts from between 3 to 20 hours a day which is the worst performance in the Middle East. Due to the country energy shortfall, a large number of small-scale backup generators is installed to address the electric and cooling needs. The proliferat...