Light therapy potential probed in disease fight

Scientists at the University of St Andrews have begun a project to develop new light technology that could improve the diagnosis and treatment of disease.

The team will work to overcome current obstacles that limit how light penetrates a cell to assess its health.

Researchers believe the work could eventually have implications for the detection and treatment of conditions such as Alzheimer's and epilepsy.

They have been given a grant of 5.6m for the project.

Their research focuses on the science of photonics - the generation and application of light - and explores how to shape or structure light at a micro and nano scale.

The team at the university's school of physics and astronomy, led by Professor Kishan Dholakia, say the benefits of the research would not be restricted to biomedicine, but could be used in other industries.

Professor Dholakia said: "Our new understanding and applications of light can also impact in other areas of biology and medicine such as the emergent field of optogenetics.

"Optogenetics is the science of controlling events in targeted cells using light alone, which has immense promise in relation to neuroscience, eg to understand conditions such as epilepsy and control Alzheimer's disease."

One of the key targets of the project will be imaging through scattering media, especially biological tissue and skin.

Another will be to achieve imaging with extremely high resolution, even at a distance.

Professor Dholakia added: "This grant is a testament to the excellent advances made by our team in the photonics area at St Andrews in the last decade.

"We are very excited about making ground-breaking advances both in fundamental photonics and light sources but also notably with colleagues in biology and medicine with real impact upon emerging healthcare challenges."

Carmanah Technologies Corporation, Aviation division, is pleased to announce the release of the A704-H solar LED airfield runway light. The A704-H is the first solar-powered High Intensity Runway Light (HIRL) with directional output. It can provide over 500 candela visible light in white or be switched to infrared mode for night vision goggle (NVG) operations.

Built on Carmanah's proven 700 series platform, the A704-H features wireless control and integrates solar panels, battery, electronics, and LED light source into a compact, stand-alone unit requiring minimal maintenance. The replaceable battery extends service life well beyond five years.

Already in service with the US military in one of the most austere environments on the planet, the A704-H is ideal for airfields where the operational profile requires high intensity lighting or where a cabled/solar hybrid solution is beneficial to operations.

Free dump day returns to Merritt

Nicola Valley residents will be able to dispose of their household hazardous waste at the Merritt Civic Centre, as well as take various dump items to the Lower Nicola Landfill for free on Saturday.

Residents can bring up to $20 worth of waste for free to the dump. Tipping fees will apply to any waste that exceeds that amount. Regular tipping fees apply to all business and municipal waste. The Lower Nicola Landfill is located on Highway 8 approximately 10 kilometres from Merritt.

A hazardous waste roundup is also slated to arrive in Merritt in the Civic Centre Parking Lot from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the same day.

"Now is the time to check under your sink, in your basement or closet or shed, and round up all the household hazardous materials you're no longer using," said Jaime Vieira, TNRD environmental services technologist. "These are items that are toxic, corrosive, reactive or ignitable."

Hazardous materials could include adhesives, aerosols, antifreeze, batteries, corrosive/toxic liquids, gasoline, kerosene, mercury and mercury containing items such as old thermostats. Others include paint, paint thinner, PCB ballasts, pesticide/herbicides, pool chemicals, propane tanks, oil, oil filters and plastic oil containers less than 30 litres, cleaners, compact fluorescent light bulbs, fluorescent light tubes, fertilizer, expired fire extinguishers, grease and tar.

"This type of waste would not be disposed of with your regular garbage because it is dangerous and harmful to the environment when buried in a landfill," Vieira added. "This is why we're offering the free service, allowing residents to get rid of these difficult-to-dispose-of hazardous materials."

But it has yet to become the industry standard. Since LEED-ND was launched, 125 projects have registered but only four or five have gone all the way through the certification process, said USGBC's Jeff Lovshin. Many of these projects require a long time frame, but Lovshin also said there is an "education and knowledge barrier."

So when will we see a new "Lakes of Orange" or ‘The Bridgelands" in a sustainable location with multiple transportation options and a LEED-ND seal? And when will that become the norm, not the exception? It's going to take a rethinking of the financial and regulatory incentives that favor sprawl, as well as increased awareness of what makes development truly sustainable ― and that includes location efficiency, not just green roofs and compact fluorescent lightbulbs.

CAG faults Himachal Electricity Board balance sheet

Comptroller & Auditor General of India (CAG) has disputed the HP State Electricity Board (HPSEB) balance sheet and pointed out that several irregularities and accounting errors that has understated accumulated deficits by as much as Rs 308.74 crores as on 13 June, 2010.

While the board’s balance sheet with an asset value of Rs 8569.28 crore showed the deficit at Rs 505.13 crore, the CAG scrutiny of accounts has pegged it at Rs 803.57 crore for the period.

Commenting on the accounts and balance sheet report that was laid in Vidhan Sabha recently, the auditor observes, considering the size and nature of business of the board, the internal audit coverage was not adequate.

CAG pointed that Rs 32.19 crore shown as costs for CFL bulbs purchased that had completed their life of 6000 hours and placed under deferred cost head actually understates the deficit by that much amount.

An amount of Rs 49.70 crore shown as upfront subsidy receivable from the government, which the state did not approve had resulted in overstatement of the head, the auditor comments.

Power purchased worth Rs 49.50 Crore from Power Trading Corp, NTPC and others as well as captive power worth Rs 37.34 Cr purchased from 5 industrial consumers to meet supply shortfalls had not been shown under power purchase head.

Toward employees cost, provision for an amount of Rs 20.53 Cr as pay arrear based on 6th Pay Commission for the period of 1.1.2006 to 30.11.2009 had not been made, which only added to the accumulated deficit.

Whereas the boards balance sheet showed Rs 11.73 crore as transmission and distribution (T&D) losses incurred on sale of the royalty free power made available to it by the state government, CAG has pointed out that rate of free power royalty was calculated after adjusting T&D losses.

An amount of Rs 12.74 Cr incurred on survey and investigation of three abandoned hydel projects recorded as expenditure should have been written off, the auditor comments.

Assets worth Rs 3.89 crore that have been either been damaged or washed away due to floods or have been stolen, were still being shown in the board books since July 2005.

An Rs 25.87 lakh amount shown recoverable for 4 to 20 years from ex-employees, whose whereabouts were not known, has been pointed out. An asset worth Rs 9.74 Crore was created by the board on a land piece that does not belong to it.

'Green' a major theme in home construction

Local interest in green building matches developments nationally. A nationwide survey conducted by McGraw Hill Construction found green residential projects made up 17 percent of new construction last year. By 2016, the value of the residential green building market is expected to grow fivefold, the survey found. The survey also showed the Upper Midwest is the seeing the second highest rate of green construction in the U.S., behind the leading West Coast.

A green building was defined in the survey as one built to LEED standards in energy and water efficiency and other factors including the site on which the building sits.

According to McGraw Hill, 46 percent of responding conventional builders say incorporating green designs has helped them secure new contracts.

For Dietz, working with the Integra Spec design sets his company apart from others. The McGraw Hill survey echoes that strategy, showing 71 percent of companies that exclusively design and build green spaces say their offerings give them a competitive advantage in the industry.

The green trend isn't confined to new construction. Many homeowners are looking for ways to save on their energy bills in the home they are already in. The show offered dozens of energy saving tactics including ranging from efficient lighting and appliances to foam insulation and even residential energy production.

In the wake of announced plans for a rate increase from MidAmerican Energy, those products attracted some shoppers.

"I'm always looking for ideas to save money," said Ryan Fischer, of New Hartford.

Fischer browsed a booth displaying LED light bulbs and looked over a solar powered attic fan. Fischer said he isn't too concerned about utility prices, which he said have been relatively stable compared to gasoline prices, but was curious about the energy savings some products at the show offered.

The LED bulbs, which have dropped in price by about 50 percent in recent years would need to come down lower in price before he would switch.

Curt Wobeter, of LED Source, said that decline is likely to come but someone buying a bulb now would likely save enough money in energy use to make up for that price difference.

What you can save in the next couple of years will far outweigh the cost (of the bulbs)," Wobeter said.

For a larger investment, Mike Miller, of Natural Solutions LLC in Cedar Falls, had a display of solar panels for homeowners who are considering generating their own energy.

Solar water heating systems are a popular improvement, Miller said, adding that interest in such systems has gone up while the cost has gone down.

"Every time energy costs go up, it shortens the time on your return on your investment," he said.

Both Miller and Wobeter were quick to mention savings such improvements can bring won't take years to materialize. Qualifying energy-efficient investments carry a 30 percent federal tax credit.

LED Controller allows simultaneous dimming and color selection.

Designed to fit into any standard light switch wall outlet, Reignbow LED Color Selector provides dual-slide dimmer and color picker. Slider on left allows user to dim RGB LED lights, while slider on right lets user choose one color of light to display. Color picker moves through all colors in spectrum, and PWM dimmer enables simultaneous 0-100% dimming. Reignbow is suited for customers who want colorful LED lighting, instead of color-changing LED lighting.

The new Reignbow LED Color Selector by Elemental LED allows for simultaneous dimming and color selection of RGB LED lights.

San Francisco, CA - Elemental LED, a San Francisco Bay Area-based LED lighting company, introduced a new product that expands the uses for color-changing LED lights. The Reignbow LED Color Selector, designed and engineered by Elemental LED, is a dual-slide dimmer and color picker. The slider on the left allows the user to dim RGB LED lights; the dimmer on the right allows the user to choose one color of light to display.

The Reignbow fits into any standard light switch wall outlet. It is different from other LED color controllers in that instead of allowing the user to choose a color-changing pattern for RGB LED lights, it allows the user to select one static color at a time. The Reignbow is perfect for customers who want colorful LED lighting, instead of color-changing LED lighting. The color picker moves through all colors in the spectrum, and the PWM dimmer allows for simultaneous 0-100% dimming.

"The Reignbow is an innovation on our White Balance LED Color Controller. We took that dual-slide wall dimmer and added the capability to choose from the full color spectrum, from green to purple to even white," says Elemental LED Lead Engineer Joseph Martin.

Elemental LED has been a leader in LED dimming innovation. In 2010 the company released the Reign LED Dimmer Switch, a wall-mount PWM LED dimmer in three styles: full slide, button slide and touch. This was followed last year with the release of the White Balance LED Color Controller, a dual-slide wall-mount LED dimmer that allows users to simultaneously dim and change the color of their LED strip light from cool white to warm white. Recently, the company upgraded the Reign Dimmer so that it can support both 12V and 24V LED lights and voltage up to 100 watts.

"At Elemental LED we make products that go above and beyond the capabilities of traditional lighting while matching the aesthetic of contemporary design," says Elemental LED CEO Max Darling. "The Reignbow is a great example of this."

Elemental LED is where style and affordability meet sustainable lighting. Elemental LED offers a wide selection of LED lighting products for home and business owners, including LED strip lights, light bars, puck lights, wall washers, light bulbs, controllers, power supplies and more.

Products include color-changing, dimming and waterproof functionality. Elemental LED offers in house engineering and comprehensive customer service and education, from live phone support to online tutorials. LED lighting technology is the safest, hippest, and most energy efficient way to light up the world.