Energy saving controller for fluorescent lamps

Although fluorescent lamp is a very efficient lighting device in daily life, still the high harmonic distortion and low power factor cause unnecessary energy consumption. In today’s environment demanding energy efficiency, it is important to reduce this energy loss by integrating an energy saving controller in the electromagnetic ballast of fluorescent lamps. The research presented in this thesis investigates the design and implementation of a new energy saving controller for electromagnetic fluorescent lamp network. The newly developed controller attempts to reduce power losses in both the electromagnetic ballasts and fluorescent lamps by regulating the incoming supply voltage to an optimum level. In addition, the new controller is able to adjust the illuminance level of working environment lightings under either dark or bright condition. Moreover, the function of the new controller is extended with time scheduling control capability, where the switching of lighting systems can be controlled at predetermined times based on occupancy schedule. Both simulation and practical results show that the implemented controller reduces energy consumption by at least 37.5%, by reducing the incoming supply voltage by 15%. In addition, it is desirable to have variable illuminance level control to decrease the energy losses. The experimental results show that the illuminance output level of electromagnetic ballast fluorescent lamps can be decreased by 50% using the new controller while maintaining unity power factor. Integration of the new energy saving controller into electromagnetic ballast fluorescent lamps impressively outperforms the existing electronic dimmable ballast. This new controller brings great ideas for energy saving in the use of fluorescent lamps

Implementation of Energy Saving Controller for Electromagnetic Ballast Fluorescent Lamps

Fluorescent lamps have proven to be the most efficient lighting device. However, energy losses have been found in electromagnetic ballast due to high harmonic distortion and low power factor so energy is consumed unnecessarily. In today's energy demanding environment, energy efficiency of fluorescent lamps can be improved by introducing an energy saving controller in the electromagnetic ballast. The energy saving controller limits the supply voltage to an optimum level which tends to reduce the power losses in electromagnetic ballasts and fluorescent lamps. It is also anticipated that the energy saving controller has desirable characteristics of high power factor with dimmable illuminance level control. In comparison to electronic dimmable ballast, integration an energy saving controller with electromagnetic ballast fluorescent lamps results in less power consumption, dimmable illuminance control and longer life span at a much lower installation cost.Furthermore, there is no replacement cost for integrating the energy saving controller with existing electromagnetic fluorescent lamps system. In this paper, experimental works have been performed to investigate hardware implementation of the system which further supported by simulation on MATLAB Simulink. Experimental results based on the proposed energy saving controller showed that electromagnetic ballast fluorescent lamps can be dimmed without any problems down to 50% illuminance level output. In addition, experimental results show that 37.5% power consumption can be saved by reducing 15% of the supply voltage

Stem Cells for Cancer Therapy: Translating the Uncertainties and Possibilities of Stem Cell Properties into Opportunities for Effective Cancer Therapy

Cancer recurrence and drug resistance following treatment, as well as metastatic forms of cancer, are trends that are commonly encountered in cancer management. Amidst the growing popularity of personalized medicine and targeted therapy as effective cancer treatment, studies involving the use of stem cells in cancer therapy are gaining ground as promising translational treatment options that are actively pursued by researchers due to their unique tumor-homing activities and anti-cancer properties. Therefore, this review will highlight cancer interactions with commonly studied stem cell types, namely, mesenchymal stroma/stem cells (MSC), induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC), iPSC-derived MSC (iMSC), and cancer stem cells (CSC). A particular focus will be on the effects of paracrine signaling activities and exosomal miRNA interaction released by MSC and iMSCs within the tumor microenvironment (TME) along with their therapeutic potential as anti-cancer delivery agents. Similarly, the role of exosomal miRNA released by CSCs will be further discussed in the context of its role in cancer recurrence and metastatic spread, which leads to a better understanding of how such exosomal miRNA could be used as potential forms of non-cell-based cancer therapy