How to build a solar dehydrator.

How to build a solar dehydrator. Solar power can be utilized to preserve fruits and vegetables to prolong shelf-life. Post harvest losses can be prevented if better preservation methods are used . Vegetables,tomatoes,herbs and fruits can be preserved by dehydration,likewise meat,fish and other sea foods can also be preserved by this method. In Malawi,a woman makes millions by using a solar dehydrator to dry fish and extend shelf-life. see INSTRUCTIONS PREP THE MATERIALS. Spray both sides of the sheet metal with 2 coats of the paint; let dry for 24 hours. Using the circular saw*, cut the cedar 2×2s into four 48″-long pieces and four 21″-long pieces, then cut the pressure-treated 2×4s into two 48″-long pieces, two 21″-long pieces, and two 5″-long pieces. Employ the tin snips to cut the sheet of corrugated metal roofing down to 48″× 24″. BUILD THE FRAMES FOR THE COVER, FOOD TRAY, AND BASE. Arrange two 48″-long and two 21″-long cedar pieces so they form a flat 48″× 24″ rectangular frame, with the shorter pieces sandwiched inside the longer ones; attach using a wood screw** at each corner (as shown). Repeat with the remaining cedar pieces to build a second, identical frame. Repeat once more, but with the 48″-long and 21″-long pressure-treated pieces and 2 wood screws at each corner, to build a third frame. more

Frozen Tuna Destined for Poke Restaurants Tests Positive for Hepatitis A.

Frozen Tuna Destined for Poke Restaurants Tests Positive for Hepatitis A. The Hilo Fish Company, a wholesaler based in Hawaii, issued a recall on some of its tuna after certain batches tested positive for hepatitis A. This is unusual. Hepatitis A is not nearly as common as bacterial contamination's like Listeria and salmonella. Hawaii has recently had some issues; a string of hepatitis A outbreaks caused the Hawaii Department of Health to seek new ways to fight the virus, which is typically passed through water or food contaminated with fecal matter. It’s especially common in farmed seafood, where lousy conditions can create large-scale petri dishes. If contracted, hepatitis A can cause serious problems: vomiting, jaundice, fever, and, in rare cases, liver failure. There are vaccines for it, but only about 30 percent of kids get them, according to a study. source.

Tree-Climbing Goats May Actually Be Helping to Produce This Luxury Oil.

Tree-Climbing Goats May Actually Be Helping to Produce This Luxury Oil. The world's most expensive oil comes from the seed of the argan tree, which grows exclusively in southern Morocco. And that tree might have made a new friend in the tree-climbing domesticated goat. The argan tree produces hard, green, olive-like fruits containing large seeds that can be crushed to produce a highly prized oil. If the seeds are first roasted, the result is used much like olive oil; oil from non-roasted seeds is also marketed and used as a cosmetic oil for skin. A new study from researchers of the Doñana Biological Station, a public research group in Spain, which suggests that the goats not only aren’t injuring the trees, but might actually be helping them. What the researchers found is something unusual: the goats are actually gnawing the fruit off the argan seeds and then spitting them out, pretty much the same way you’d eat an olive. But because goats, like cows, are ruminants, their whole eating procedure takes longer than ours: they take it into a special stomach, then bring it back up again (this is how cows chew their cud). At that point, the goats spit out the newly cleaned argan seed after a period of time that allows them to have moved farther away from the tree—exactly what the tree wants. So it turns out that the goats might not be hurting the trees at all! They might actually be helping to propagate them. more

Power plants could cut a third of their emissions by using solar energy

Power plants could cut a third of their emissions by using solar energy. The COMBO-CFB project has developed a new innovative concept to increase solar energy production in the energy system. According to this research, the concept can reduce fuel consumption and emissions stressing the climate by more than 33 per cent. The concept is based on the combination of concentrated solar power (CSP) technology and a traditional power plant process into a hybrid plant which produces electricity on the basis of consumption. If part of the fuel used by a power plant is replaced with solar energy, power plant emissions will be reduced. This is also required in order to meet the emission reduction targets. more

Saving Lives and Money: The Potential of Solar to Replace Coal.

Saving Lives and Money: The Potential of Solar to Replace Coal. In a new study published in Renewable & Sustainable Energy Reviews, a team from Michigan Technological University calculated the cost of combusting coal in terms of human lives along with the potential benefits of switching to solar. By swapping solar photovoltaics for coal, the US could prevent 51,999 premature deaths a year, potentially making as much as $2.5 million for each life saved. A team has calculated US deaths per kilowatt hour per year for coal related to air pollution-related diseases associated with burning coal. more

Scientists find way to surgically strike out weeds that impede crop growth.

Scientists find way to surgically strike out weeds that impede crop growth.Researchers with the UF Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences have shown that farmers can place fumigants in specific zones, rather than using a single treatment for every situation. By using a combination of fumigants, University of Florida scientists believe they can surgically strike out some weeds that otherwise get in the way of vegetable growth. fumigants applied to a specific area where weed seeds germinate can reduce the number of weeds that grow. Researchers say this will help growers as they try to manage pests in areas where they cause the most trouble. As a rule, growers manage pests by injecting fumigants into soil at the bottom of a raised bed to kill pests and pathogens in the bed of the soil. For the past several years, UF/IFAS researchers have worked to develop management zones. more

WHO issues new guidelines on use of antibiotics, HIV, cancer drugs.

WHO issues new guidelines on use of antibiotics, HIV, cancer drugs.The World Health Organization has released new advice on which antibiotics to use for common infections and which to preserve for the most serious circumstances. The advice is among the additions to the WHO Model list of essential medicines for 2017, which includes medicines for HIV, hepatitis C, tuberculosis and leukaemia. The updated list added 30 medicines for adults and 25 for children, and specifies new uses for nine already-listed products, bringing the total to 433 drugs deemed essential for addressing the most important public health needs. The WHO Essential Medicines List (EML) is used by many countries to increase access to medicines and guide decisions about which products they ensure are available for their populations.more