The earliest studies in the late 19th century on Streptococcus pneumoniae (S. pneumoniae) carriage used saliva as the primary specimen. However, interest in saliva declined after the sensitive mouse inoculation method was replaced by conventional culture, which made isolation of pneumococci from the highly polymicrobial oral cavity virtually impossible. Here, we tested the feasibility of using ...

Low-cost drying technologies suitable for rural farming areas are presented. Some of the important considerations with regard to their suitability include: 1. Low initial capital; 2. easy-to-operate with no complicated electronic/ mechanical protocol, and 3. effective in promoting better drying kinetics. The drying technologies that were selected include fluidized bed, spouted bed, infrared, so...

As the freshwater crisis looms, metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) with stepped isotherms lie at forefront of desiccant development for atmospheric water harvesting (AWH). Despite numerous studies on sorption kinetics in MOF desiccants, AWH sorbents are a challenge to quantify. Here, we report that seven known MOFs and industry-standard Syloid limited by diffusion sorbent bed surface. A quantitati...

BACKGROUND Retinol-binding protein (RBP) is accepted as a surrogate biochemical marker for retinol to determine vitamin A (VA) status. A recently developed enzyme immunoassay for RBP uses serum or whole blood stored as dried blood spots (DBS). However, the stability of RBP in DBS has not been examined. METHODS RBP stability was studied in a laboratory and in field conditions in northern Kenya...