Characteristics of Different Systems for the Solar Drying of Crops

Solar dryers are used to enable the preservation of agricultural crops, food processing industries for dehydration of fruits and vegetables, fish and meat drying, dairy industries for production of milk powder, seasoning of wood and timber, textile industries for drying of textile materials. The fundamental concepts and contexts of their use to dry crops is discussed in the chapter. It is shown that solar drying is the outcome of complex interactions particular between the intensity and duration of solar energy, the prevailing ambient relative humidity and temperature, the characteristics of the particular crop and its pre-preparation and the design and operation of the solar dryer

The Translation and Psychometric Evaluation of the Persian Version of Brief Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale for Iranian Patients with Cancer

Background: Due to the growing prevalence of cancer globally, the disease is considered one of the most important sources of stress, disability, and reduced life satisfaction. Although life satisfaction is supposed to be a relatively stable psychological construct, it may change in response to life events. Life-satisfaction is the assessment of the quality of life according to one's chosen criteria. Objectives: The purpose of this research is the psychometric evaluation of the Persian version of "Brief Multidimensional Life Satisfaction Scale" (BMLSS) in Iranian patients with cancer. Methods: The present study was a methodological research, during which the BMLSS was translated and the Farsi version was validated for patients with cancer. Results: The fit indices of confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the dual dimension of the BMLSS. Regarding the convergent validity of the BMLSS, the total score of the instrument had a positive and significant relationship with age and the sense of religiosity. Cronbach's alpha and Intraclass Correlation were calculated. Conclusions: The findings indicated that this Persian version has good validity and reliability and can be used as a comprehensive instrument in Iran

Theoretical and experimental drying of a cylindrical sample by applying hot air and infrared radiation in an inert medium fluidized bed

Drying of a cylindrical sample in a fluidized bed dryer containing inert particles was studied. For this purpose, a pilot-scaled fluidized bed dryer was constructed in which two different heat sources, hot air and infrared radiation were applied, and pieces of carrot were chosen as test samples. The heat transfer coefficient for cylindrical objects in a fluidized bed was also measured. The heat absorption coefficient for carrot was studied. The absorption coefficient can be computed by dividing the absorbed heat by the carrot to the heat absorbed for the water and black ink. In this regard, absorbed heat values by the carrot, water and black ink were used A mathematical model was proposed based on the mass and heat transfer phenomena within the drying sample. The results obtained by the proposed model were in favorable agreement with the experimental data