Knowledge pattern assessment of potential safety threats of compact fluorescent lamps in Kuwait

Globally, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are increasing consistently, and Kuwait is not an exception. However, these lamps contain mercury, which is highly injurious to human health and the environment. This study assessed Kuwaiti respondents' awareness using a large-scale national survey conducted on a random sample of 6210 individuals (response rate 84.3%). The questionnaire was comprised of four sections and utilized skip logic branching. The modes were paper-based, face-to-face interviews, and electronic structured questionnaires. Data were also analyzed through the Pearson chi-square test to know the significant differences in lamp type preferences and the reasons for the preferences. Almost half of the participants (51.4%) knew the difference between incandescent and fluorescent lamps. Only 11.1% were using incandescent lamps solely in their houses. The remaining 88.9% used fluorescent lamps (38.4%) or both types (50.5%). The results showed that 48.3% think fluorescent lamps save energy, whereas 81.3% of people were unaware of their mercury content. The knowledge patterns towards breakage showed that respondents who chose the proper response were 31.9% for evacuation, 14.6% for aeration, and 7.3% for turning off the AC. The awareness of populations to take appropriate actions towards proper disposal was very poor in case of fluorescent lamp accidental breakage or when it completes its life cycle because most of them did not know about the proper evacuation, aeration, and cleanup measures. These findings are beneficial for the government and policymakers to take essential steps to create relevant awareness channels among the country's communities for safety from expected health hazards.

IoT Smart Home Lighting System using Arduino UNO and ESP8266

Today, a wide variety of IoT applications and services have appeared and one of them is the Smart Home. The objective of this article is to present basic electrical wiring using Arduino UNO board and ESP8266, writing in C programming Language in Arduino software Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to develop and build a prototype Smart Home Lighting System that displays the lighting of two fluorescent lamps when the switch button was turned on by the user from ESP8266 Web Server. The system installation has a real-time synchronization that is necessary and safe for immersive IoT applications.<br>

IoT Smart Home Lighting System using Arduino UNO and ESP8266

Today, a wide variety of IoT applications and services have appeared and one of them is the Smart Home. The objective of this article is to present basic electrical wiring using Arduino UNO board and ESP8266, writing in C programming Language in Arduino software Integrated Development Environment (IDE) to develop and build a prototype Smart Home Lighting System that displays the lighting of two fluorescent lamps when the switch button was turned on by the user from ESP8266 Web Server. The system installation has a real-time synchronization that is necessary and safe for immersive IoT applications.<br>

Seed Germination of Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vell.) Morong. (Fabaceae) under Different Temperatures and Drying Method

Enterolobium contortisiliquum (Vell.) Morong a tree commonly known as anglerfish, monkey ear and timbaúva. Due to its wood quality, this tree species is widely used in naval and civil constructions, toys and furniture frames, and can also be used for urban afforestation and restoration of degraded areas. The objective of this work was to standardize the best temperature conditions for conducting the germination tests of E. contortisiliquum seeds under laboratory conditions, considering the fact that the seeds come from coastal tropical Brazil, and to evaluate the desiccation tolerance. The experiments were carried out at the Plant Propagation Laboratory of the Agricultural Engineering and Sciences Campus (CECA) of the Federal University of Alagoas (UFAL), located in the municipality of Rio Largo, Alagoas, Brazil. The design of the experiment was fully randomized, with four repetitions of 25 seeds per treatment. In test I: The newly harvested seeds were subjected to constant temperatures of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40ºC and alternating temperatures of 20-30ºC, with an eight-hour photoperiod, simulated by four fluorescent lamps 20W daylight type. In trial II: The seeds were divided into two lots. The first was the control (initial moisture content). The second was subjected to slow drying on silica gel. A constant temperature of 30ºC is recommended for the germination and vigor test of E. contortisiliquum seeds. The critical means water content for seeds of this species is below 5%.

Analysis of LLL System Properties for Different Excitation Parameters

Photoluminescent strips forming a Low Location Lighting (LLL) system are the primary method for marking escape routes on passenger ships. The LLL system can be built as a self-luminous system (powered by electricity) or made as a series of strips made of photoluminescent materials, which glow and indicate the escape route after the loss of basic and emergency lighting. To ensure correct visual guidance, these strips must be installed at specific locations in the passageways and achieve appropriate photometric parameters after a certain time from their activation. The properties of the LLL system depend on the type of luminescent material used, the excitation source, and the exposure parameters. This paper presents the results of laboratory tests on two types of photoluminescent materials used for the construction of LLL systems. We recorded the change in luminance after the loss of excitation and measured the luminance values obtained 10 and 60 min after the loss of excitation under exposure to light sources commonly used for interior lighting on passenger ships. It turns out that replacing fluorescent lamps with LED lamps can reduce the luminance of the LLL system.

Analysis of the electronic circuits of 11 W and 15 W compact fluorescent lamps

The introduction of electronic ballast in lighting systems design has dramatically revolutionized the lighting space. This is orchestrated by the entrance of the Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) into the lighting market. The CFLs currently being used in domestic and industrial lighting systems provide highly competitive alternatives to conventional incandescent lamps. The electronic ballast incorporated into the CFLs helps eliminate the flickering and slow starting flaws prevalent in traditional fluorescent lamps. To properly evaluate the performance characteristics and limitations of the CFLs, a critical analysis of its electronic circuit becomes imperative. To this end, this paper presents experimental and simulation analyses of the CFL circuits. To achieve this, two Futina CFL bulbs of 11W and 15W model YPZ220/11-BMSP RR/RDD and YPZ220/15-BMSP RR/RDD, respectively, were analyzed and experimentally verified. A function-based programming paradigm was applied to develop a graphical user interface (GUI) used for the circuits analyses. The GUI is designed using MATLAB graphical user interface development environment (GUIDE). Experiments were conducted to obtain the performance characteristics of the CFLs, and measurements show that the 11W lamp has a higher amplitude than the 15W lamp. However, both lamps show similar waveforms after 300 seconds. The maximum voltage amplitudes for both CFLs are the same, with a peak value of 218V. The current waveforms in the spectral domain gave a maximum amplitude of 0.3 A for the 11W CFL and 0.2 A for the 15W. The voltage frequency (0.00196) of both CFLs are the same, whereas the current frequencies are different. This indicates that the wattage of a CFL does not affect the frequency of its voltage waveform. The frequency of the 11W CFL current (0.00157) is higher than that of the 15W CFL current (0.00784). This implies that the higher the CFL wattage, the lower the frequency of its current waveform. Additionally, simulation results revealed that the key difference between the CFLs is the current total harmonic distortion (THDI), which increases with an increasing rated power of the CFL or the aggregation of a number of the smaller rated CFLs.

Growth Quality and Development of Olive Plants Cultured In-Vitro under Different Illumination Regimes

Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are useful for the in-vitro micropropagation of plants, but little information is available on woody species. This work compares the effects of light quality and intensity on the growth and development of micropropagated olive plants from two different subspecies. Illumination was provided with fluorescent and LED lamps covering different red/blue ratios (90/10, 80/20, 70/30, 60/40) or red/blue/white combinations, as well as different light intensities (30, 34, 40, 52, 56, 84, 98 and 137 µmol m−2 s−1 of photosynthetic photon fluxes, PPF). Olive plants exhibited high sensitivity to light quality and intensity. Higher red/blue ratios or lower light intensities stimulated plant growth and biomass mainly as a consequence of a higher internodal elongation rate, not affecting either the total number of nodes or shoots. In comparison to fluorescent illumination, LED lighting improved leaf area and biomass, which additionally was positively correlated with light intensity. Stomatal frequency was positively, and pigments content negatively, correlated with light intensity, while no clear correlation was observed with light quality. In comparison with fluorescent lamps, LED illumination (particularly the 70/30 red/blue ratio with 34 µmol m−2 s−1 PPF intensity) allowed optimal manipulation and improved the quality of in-vitro micropropagated olive plants.

Impact of damaging and recovery on the temperature dependence of the work function of oxide electrodes in fluorescent lamps

In the present work the work function of electrons for oxide cathodes in operating fluorescent lamps is measured before and after damaging the cathodes by cold starting of the lamp. A strong increase of the absolute value and a decrease of the temperature dependence of the work function is observed. The values recover partly after operating the lamp for a certain time. The results are interpreted as the consequence of a thin metallic layer generated during cold starting at the surface of the oxide and its effect on the depletion of electrons of donor-like colour centres (appearing in the oxide due to oxygen vacancies) under the ultraviolet radiation present in an operating fluorescent lamp, and on the magnitude and temperature dependence of the work function in the plated regions, invoking the patch effect to generate an averaged value of the work function, which is then assumed to be observed experimentally. Moreover, barium surface states are considered, yielding reasonable values for the not plated regions, when calculating the work function, as well for the assumption of a depletion of also these states by ultraviolet radiation, as also when only regarding a thermal excitation of the surface states applying the Fowler equation. Finally, a model of a diffusion governed dynamical equilibrium yielding a T3∕2 dependence for the donor concentration is proposed.