The home testing boom began in the 1970s with pregnancy tests. Now there are quick and simple tests for ovulation, too. You can also monitor your blood pressure as well as test for HIV, colon cancer, hepatitis C, deteriorating vision, and urinary tract infections. Some Test Products provide results right away, while others are sample collection devices that need to be mailed to a laboratory for processing.

The Attraction of Home Testing
Consumers like home testing because it is convenient. A simple quick test at home avoids a trip to the doctor's office, which can take a large chunk of time. Home testing is also anonymous. You may get fast results, or have to set up a private personal identification number (PIN). Either way, the results are for you alone.
Critics say some kits promote undue fear and are a waste of time and money because they are unreliable or give false results if not done correctly. However, the increasing desire of consumers to detect potential health problems early is making the home testing trend more desirable.
If you are looking into home testing, here is some information about what tests are available and how they work.
Hepatitis C
A home Test Kit is available to test for the hepatitis C virus. The over-the-counter blood collection kit tests for antibodies to the virus. With this home collection kit, you can collect a blood sample and mail it to a lab for testing. Results take about a week. Each test comes with a PIN, a lancet, sample card, and a prepaid envelope to mail the sample to the lab. You must first register your kit by calling the toll-free number and entering the kit's PIN, providing anonymous and confidential testing. Counselors are available 24 hours a day to talk with you before and after using the kit. Studies done by Home Access Health Corporation (the distributor) show that test results with the kit are similar to the results for blood drawn by a healthcare professional.

A Vacuumm Blood Collection Tube is a sterile glass or plastic test tube with a colored rubber stopper creating a vacuum seal inside of the tube, facilitating the drawing of a predetermined volume of liquid. Tubes are available with a safety-engineered stopper, with a variety of labeling options and draw volumes.
Vacutainer tubes may contain additional substances that preserve blood for processing in a medical laboratory. Using the wrong tube may make the blood sample unusable for the intended purpose. These additives are typically thin film coatings applied using an ultrasonic nozzle.
The additives may include anticoagulants (EDTA, sodium citrate, heparin) or a gel with density between those of blood cells and blood plasma. Additionally, some tubes contain additives that preserve certain components of or substances within the blood, such as glucose. When a tube is centrifuged, the materials within are separated by density, with the blood cells sinking to the bottom and the plasma or serum accumulating at the top. Tubes containing gel can be easily handled and transported after centrifugation without the blood cells and serum mixing.

The UQ-developed process uses copies of fragments from the viral genetic material to assemble the functional viral genome in a Virus Sampling Tube.
The team hopes that this should allow scientists to rapidly generate virus variants and assess their potential to evade antiviral treatments and vaccine-induced immunity.
QIMR Berghofer helped to evaluate infection and disease caused by the ‘test tube’-made virus in pre-clinical models to ensure the technology was able to generate authentic viruses.
Professor Andreas Suhrbier from QIMR Berghofer said the research was essential, as viruses were changing all the time.
“We can now monitor changes in viruses like SARS-CoV-2 and can see which variants may not respond to certain vaccines and anti-viral treatments.
“We can also investigate whether potential variants are more or less virulent in mice, and find out which drugs and vaccines will be effective.
“It’s great to finally have this vital tool and start tackling these challenging questions.”

Bottle feeding is an alternative to breastfeeding. Many news moms who are unable to breastfeed or want to feed formula milk along with breastfeeding, choose to bottle-feed their babies. Some moms even feed breast milk through Milk Bottle. If you’re a new mom, considering bottle feeding your little one, we suggest that you first read the advantages and disadvantages of bottle-feeding a baby and make an informed decision.
One of the benefits of bottle feeding is that either parent can feed the baby. Feeding is an important bonding moment; breastfeeding doesn’t give the daddy an opportunity to bond with the baby. Bottle feeding allows the siblings, father and other family members to spend some time with the newborn baby. Some moms are not comfortable with breastfeeding their babies in public. If you don’t want to expose your breasts or go to a private area for breastfeeding, bottle feeding is the way to go!

Beeswax is a substance made by honeybees. It has many useful properties, not only for the success of the hive but also as a natural ingredient for consumer products. It can be used for household items, but there are also biological benefits.
Bees play an important role in keeping our world functioning. With the amount of pollination that they do, they contribute to various animal and plant species' survival, including our own. Not only that, bee products are now an integral part of consumer products. These products are growing in popularity, and help bring attention to all the work honeybees do for nature and people.

What Is Beeswax?
Besides growing in demand as a natural alternative to plastics and synthetic chemicals, beeswax is an important material used for building the beehive. It is made to store food and house the young bee larvae. Beeswax is made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, which are formed into long carbon chains. This structure makes beeswax easy to sculpt once it’s been harvested and cleaned.‌
Worker bees make beeswax by turning their nectar and honey stores into compounds. They work together and use their small bodies to make the product. Those compounds are secreted from special glands on the bee's abdomen.

Chinese wax, also called Chinese Insect-wax, or insect wax, white or yellow-white crystalline wax, is similar to cetacean, but is harder, more brittle, and has a higher melting point. It is deposited on the branches of some trees by the scale insect Ceroplastes ceriferus (common in China and India) or a related scale insect, Ericerus pe-la (in China and Japan). Both of these scale insects belong to the order Homoptera, the order Trematodes. Insects and their secretions are collected, boiled with water, and raw wax is extracted. The bodies of the insects sink to the bottom of the water and are used as food for the pigs. Waxes in China are mainly used to make candles and polishes, and to sizing paper. In China, waxes are used in medicine. Taken internally, it is used to treat hoarseness, pain, worms, nervous tension, and to aid in the repair of broken bones. Externally, it is used as an ointment to treat wounds.

Arabic Gum is the gum that is exuded from certain trees, such as the Acacia senegal tree. It's a source of dietary fiber that can dissolve in water. Gum arabic tends to make people feel full, so they might stop eating earlier than they otherwise would. This might lead to weight loss and reduced cholesterol levels. Gum arabic is used for high cholesterol, diabetes, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and other conditions, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses.

Microcrystalline Wax, any petroleum-derived plastic material that differs from paraffin wax by having finer and less pronounced crystals and a higher melting point and viscosity. Microcrystalline waxes are primarily used in laminated paper products, coatings and liners, as well as in adhesives, sealing compositions and various types of polishes.
Compared to paraffin wax, the properties of microcrystalline wax can vary depending on the source of crude oil and the method and degree of refining. Some are malleable, like beeswax; others are hard and brittle; and still others crumble easily during handling. The melting point range is higher than that of paraffin, and the commercial grade range is 63° to 93° C (145° to 200° F). Microcrystalline waxes vary in color from creamy white to dark brown. Decolorization is difficult, and the odor and taste of these waxes may be undesirable in some applications.
Microcrystalline waxes can be made from crude oil residue refining; or they can be made from petrolatum by removing the oil with a solvent. Their physical properties can be controlled by the temperature of the solvent. Separation methods include solvent dilution, cooling, centrifugation, filtration, and various combinations of these.

What is paraffin wax?
Fully Refined Paraffin Wax is a white or colorless soft, solid wax. It’s made from saturated hydrocarbons. It’s often used in skin-softening salon and spa treatments on the hands, cuticles, and feet because it’s colorless, tasteless, and odorless. It can also be used to provide pain relief to sore joints and muscles. Paraffin wax has many other uses, too. It’s often used as lubrication, electrical insulation, and to make candles and crayons.
Paraffin has cosmetic and therapeutic benefits.

• Cosmetic benefits
  

• Therapeutic benefits
  

1. osteoarthritisTrusted Source
   
   
2. rheumatoid arthritis
   
   
3. fibromyalgiaTrusted Source
   
   
4. other joint mobility issues
   
   

Chlorine dioxide (ClO2) is a chemical compound consisting of one chlorine atom and two oxygen atoms. It is a reddish to yellowish-green gas at room temperature that dissolves in water. It is used for a variety of antimicrobial uses, including the disinfection of drinking water. Chlorine dioxide gas is usually produced onsite from sodium chlorate or sodium chlorite.

Uses & Benefits
Powerful Disinfection in Water Treatment
Chlorine dioxide is a disinfectant. When added to drinking water, it helps destroy bacteria, viruses and some types of parasites that can make people sick, such as Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia lamblia. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulates the maximum concentration of Chlorine Dioxide Tablets in drinking water to be no greater than 0.8 parts per million (ppm).

Industrial/Manufacturing Uses
Chlorine dioxide chemistry is used in a wide variety of industrial, oil and gas, food and municipal applications:

• Food and Beverage Production
  Chlorine Dioxide Powder can be used as an antimicrobial agent in water used in poultry processing and to wash fruits and vegetables.
  
  
• Paper Processing
  Chlorine dioxide is used to chemically process wood pulp for paper manufacturing.
  
  
• Medical Applications
  In hospitals and other healthcare environments, chlorine dioxide gas helps to sterilize medical and laboratory equipment, surfaces, rooms and tools. Researchers have found that at appropriate concentrations, chlorine dioxide is both safe and effective at helping to eliminate Legionella bacteria in hospital environments. Legionella pneumophila bacteria can cause Legionnaires’ disease, a potentially deadly type of pneumonia.
  

Airless spray application shall be in accordance with the following procedure:
as per steel structure paint Manual Vol.1 & Vol.2 by SSPC, USA, Air less spray relies on hydraulic pressure rather than air atomization to produce the desired spray. An air compressor or electric motor is used to operate a pump to produce pressures of 1000 to 6000 psi.
Paint is delivered to the spray gun at this pressure through a single hose within the gun. A single paint stream is divided into separate streams, which are forced through a small orifice resulting in atomization of paint without the use of air. This results in more rapid coverage with less over spray.
Airless spray usually is faster, cleaner, more economical and easier to use than conventional air spray.
Pipe Spray Painting Machine is mounted on wheels, and paint is aspirated in a hose that sucks paint from any container, including drums. The unit shall have inbuilt agitator that keep the paint uniformly mixed during the spraying. The unit shall consist of inbuilt strainer. Usually very small quantities of thinning are required before spray. In case of High Build Epoxy coating (two pack). 30:1 pump ratio and 0.020-0.023” tip size will provide a good spray pattern. Ideally fluid hoses should not be less than 3/8” ID and not longer than 50 ft to obtain optimum results. In case of gun choking, de-choking steps shall be followed immediately.

What Are Spray Painting and Powder Coating?
Spray Steel Pipe Painting Production Line is the process of applying liquid paint using pressure. This can be done in one of three ways:

• Conventional high-pressure spraying
  
  
• Airless spraying
  
  
• High-volume low-pressure (HVLP) spraying
  

Lapping Machines are a type of precision finishing machine. Lapping is a loose abrasive machining process that differs from honing or grinding because the abrasive action comes not from a solid abrasive (like a grinding wheel) but from a slurry--abrasive particles mixed with oil or water. The slurry forms an abrasive film between the underlying lapping plate and the parts to be lapped. The part stock is gradually removed through the rolling and sliding action of the abrasive grains between the lapping wheel and the workpiece. The slurry, along with the removed stock, drains away from the table.
Lapping machines create truly flat surfaces--normally up to 0.001mm, with surface finishes of better than Ra.01. Overall, lapping produces extreme dimensional accuracy, corrects minor imperfections of shape, refines surface finish, and produces close fit between mating surfaces.
Lapping machines may be beneficial whenever absolute flatness, parallelism, or surface finish is essential. Since it is a loose abrasive process, irregularly-shaped or non-magnetic parts can be easily accommodated. Lapping removes stock quickly, with no clamping or heat distortion, no expensive tooling required, and virtually no maintenance. Inspection and production costs are also lower, since the machine can be run by semi-skilled operators. Parts can be run as easily in small batches as in production processes.

How does it work?
Flat Lapping Machines consist of 5 parts: the rotating table (called a lapping plate), several conditioning rings, the topweight, the slurry, and the machine itself.
The machine houses the controls, engine, coolant, filter, and other subsidiary components for proper operation of the mechanism.
The lapping plate is the only thing that is turned by the motor--the conditioning rings turn automatically as the plate itself turns. The plate is usually made of high-quality soft cast iron, though copper and other soft metals may also be used. It may be anywhere from 12 to 144 inches in diameter and feature spirals, cross-hatches, rings, or other shapes.
The conditioning rings function as the workholding device. These rings distribute the wear evenly across the lapping plate increasing its life, while also holding the workpiece in place. Special rings may be fitted for cylindrical or especially long pieces.
A top plate presses the pieces down in order to ensure abrasion occurs. These may be simple lids or mechanically operated piston-like covers.
A slurry made by combining various abrasive materials such as diamond or carbon with a liquid base like oil or water is fed between the lapping plate and the top plate, and distributed evenly across the surface by the plate's rotation. The tiny abrasives suspended in the liquid drag and tumble across the surface of the held pieces, grinding away at any micro-irregularities in the part's surface.

The Polishing Machine (also called the Buffing Machine) is used to polish soft metals including copper and brass as well as plastics such as perspex. The two ‘mops’ spin at high speed when the ‘on’ switch is pressed. If the material is carefully pressed against the mop and moved backwards and forwards it will be polished. The material must be filed to removed scratches and then wet and dry paper or emery cloth is used to further smooth the surfaces. Only then can it be polished on the buffing machine.


There are many types of involved equipment in the wire drawing machine industry, the common Wire Drawing Machine has a water tank type drawing machine, straight wiredrawing machine, the pulley type drawing machine, inverted vertical drawing machine, and so on. Drawing machine is mainly used in the processing of copper wire, stainless steel wire and other metal wire and cable materials, belonging to the important processing equipment in the cable manufacturing industry. Drawing: drawing process is the most important work segment for wire drawing machine. Different metal material, silk varieties and different requirements, will have different drawing process, the end of the article will detail the water tank draw machine and straight wire-drawing machine specific operation process; Wire: the take-up links work speed determines the whole drawing machinery production efficiency, is the most difficult control portion during the whole system. In the coiling part, the control technology are commonly used the synchronous control and tension control for realization of metal winding; Line: line of metal wire, for the whole wire drawing machine, the control has no high accuracy requirements, to the majority of wire drawing machine, the line operation is through the inverter to drive line frame to achieve, but there are also drawing mechanical parts of dual frequency conversion control, or even directly through the drawing wire tension wire link to drawing machine, to realize the free line.

Lapping is the removal of material to produce a smooth, flat, unpolished surface. Lapping processes are used to produce dimensionally accurate specimens to high tolerances (generally less than 2.5 µm uniformity). The lapping plate will rotate at a low speed (<80 rpm) and a mid-range abrasive particle (5-20µm) is typically used. Lapping Disc removes subsurface damage caused by sawing or grinding and produces the required thickness and flatness. Although the lapping process is less damaging than grinding, there are two regimes of lapping: free abrasive lapping and fixed abrasive lapping. Free Abrasive Lapping is when abrasive slurry is applied directly to a lapping plate (e.g. cast iron). This is perhaps the most accurate method for producing specimens and causes the least amount of damage. Free abrasive lapping is accurate because of the rigid lapping surface which can be tailored to suit a particular material. Fixed Abrasive Lapping is when an abrasive particle in bonded to a substrate as with abrasive lapping films and SiC papers. Abrasive lapping films have various particles bonded to a thin, uniform polyester substrate and are also capable of producing a very flat surface. SiC papers are much thicker than the film and create the potential for rounded edges on the sample.　　With the continuous development of inverter technology, frequency converter has been widely used in the industry of wire drawing machine, bear the drawing speed, tension coiler, multistage synchronous control etc, the application of frequency converter, have greatly improved the automation level and processing ability, effectively reduces the energy consumption per unit of equipment and maintenance costs, widely recognized by the industry.

Sanding sponges are sponge-like sanding tools used for sanding wood, drywall, and plastic. Sanding sponges are like sandpaper, but the abrasive material is attached directly to the foam of the sponge instead of a piece of paper.
What’s a Sanding Sponge?
Sponge Sands have been around for some time. We’ve all sanded with the traditional sheet of sandpaper. Sometimes, our hands get tired trying to apply the proper pressure to the paper.
This lead people to use something called a sanding block. Basically, the sanding block is used as a base, and the sandpaper is secured around the block, giving you an even pressure.
The sanding sponge is a combination between the sanding block and sandpaper. However, the two are not entirely interchangeable, as I will explain in later sections.

What is a Level Switch?
A Level Switch is an electrical or mechanical method for measuring the level of a liquid, powder, or granule material. It is designed to activate an alarm if the material level in a container passes a predetermined height or depth. When a level switch detects that a tank is full, it is referred to as full or upper limit detection. If the level of the material drops, indicating that the tank is nearly empty, the switch will also provide an alert, which is referred to as empty or low level detection.
Level switches are an essential part of production operations and are used in harsh conditions where there are extremes in temperature, pressure, and vibrations. The diversity of level switches makes them applicable to any conditions for measuring a wide array of products. Their accuracy, reliability, and durability are a necessity for the efficiency of industrial applications.


What is a Liquid Level Gauge?
A liquid Level Gauge, also known as a level indicator or sight glass, is a meter that is used to determine liquid level in a process tank, vessel or drum. A level gauge is simply a glass tube that gives a visual representation of the level of liquid that is in the vessel. While simple in their design, they are a very effective technology for a direct visual indication of process fluid level. There are many applications across the industry that require the monitoring of the liquid level and there are many different types of level indicators to fulfill these varying needs. In many situations the fluid is dangerous or the place in which the liquid is stored is of such a nature that it is manually impossible to find the level, making some sort of level indicator imperative.

Liquid Level Transmitters are used to monitor and regulate levels of a particular free-flowing substance within a contained space. These substances are usually liquid, however liquid level sensors can also be used to monitor solids, such as powders. There are many different types of liquid level sensors, and they have several uses, both industrial and in the household for example.
Liquid level sensors are widely used industrially. Cars use liquid level sensors to monitor a variety of liquids, including fuel, oil and occasionally also specialist fluids such as power steering fluid. Liquid level sensors can also be found in industrial storage tanks, for slurries, and water level sensors can even be found in household appliances such as coffee machines. Basic liquid level sensors can be used to identify the point at which a liquid falls below a minimum or rises above a maximum level. Many liquid level sensors can detail the specific amount of liquid in a container relative to the minimum/maximum levels, to provide a continuous measurement of volume.

A Flow Meter (or flow sensor) is an instrument used to measure linear, nonlinear, mass or volumetric flow rate of a liquid or a gas. When choosing flowmeters, one should consider such intangible factors as familiarity of plant personnel, their experience with calibration and maintenance, spare parts availability, and mean time between failure history, etc., at the particular plant site. It is also recommended that the cost of the installation be computed only after taking these steps. One of the most common flow measurement mistakes is the reversal of this sequence: instead of selecting a sensor which will perform properly, an attempt is made to justify the use of a device because it is less expensive. Those "inexpensive" purchases can be the most costly installations. This page will help you better understand flow meters, but you can also speak to our application engineers at anytime if you have any special flow measurement challenges.

When left unmonitored, several of the gases emitted in research and industry can pose significant explosion, asphyxiation, or poisoning risks. The first line of defense against these invisible threats are Gas Detectors, but it can be challenging to understand which type of detector to employ for a specific application.
A wide range of gas detection hardware is available on the market, from portable single-gas detectors to fixed sensor arrays that can precisely monitor huge quantities of different gases at the same time (known as multi-gas or multi-component detectors).
Gas hazards can be generally categorized as either toxic, combustible, or asphyxiating (where the body is deprived of oxygen). Researching the possible gas hazards in a specific application is an integral part of ensuring the safety of personnel in wastewater treatment plants, petrochemical processing facilities, and a range of additional industries. After specific gas hazards have been determined in a particular environment and all potential measures have been put in place to reduce the risk of dangerous gas accumulation or gas leaks, companies must remain vigilant.
Both fixed and portable gas detectors are important life-saving devices that should be correctly used in any environment that may pose a gas risk.

A Pressure Transmitter is a mechanical device that measures the expansive force of a liquid or gaseous sample.
Also known as a pressure transducer, this type of sensor is typically composed of a pressure sensitive surface area made of steel, silicon, or other materials depending upon the analyte’s composition. Behind these surfaces are electronic components capable of converting the applied force of the sample upon the pressure sensor into an electrical signal.
Pressure is generally measured as a quantity of force per unit of surface area, and is expressed as the value required to stop a liquid, gas, or vapor from expanding. Various derived units are used to quantify pressure, including:

• As a proportion of / relation to a pascal (Pa), or a single newton per square meter (1 N/m2);
  
• A value of pounds per square inch (psi).
  

Uses of Battery Cell include providing backup power during a power outage. At home, the batteries are typically wired to electrical appliances. If the power goes down, these appliances still receive power. For example, many customers have energy rates that change based on the time of the day. Batteries can help these customers manage their energy by storing energy during low-cost times and discharging energy during high-cost times. Batteries can store energy from solar and wind and discharge it when it is needed the most. In this article, let us study the applications and uses of batteries.

Applications of Batteries
Batteries are small essential components to operate many devices. It is one of the key components in our day-to-day life. Wheels Battery is a rechargeable battery and is used in each and every sector. Below are some of the applications of batteries.

• House
  
• Health Instruments
  
• Medical
  
• Logistics and construction
  
• Firefighting and Emergency
  
• Military
  

• Battery Use in Home
  

• Battery Use in Health Instruments
  

• Battery Use in Medical Sector
  

• Battery Uses in Logistics and Construction
  

• Battery Use in Firefighting and Emergency Response
  

• Batteries Uses in Military Operations
  

• Batteries Use in Vehicle
  

Amidst all the hubbub about tackling global warming and cultivating green energy, one subject receives little coverage: streetlights. While an important public service, streetlights are expensive to maintain and taken together, suck down a lot of energy. So when a city like Los Angeles announces that it's converting 140,000 streetlights to light emitting diodes or LEDs, and Pittsburgh states that it's considering doing the same with 40,000 lights, it's time to take notice.
LEDs are gaining traction as a great alternative to traditional lighting because they are relatively environmentally friendly, don't consume much electricity and have long life spans. They last so long -- 14 years or more in some cases -- that they can be considered "semi-permanent"
In the past, LED lights had been seen in devices like indicator lights in appliances, calculators or in large sports scoreboards. But now, many large cities around the world -- Los Angeles, San Francisco, Toronto and Tianjin, China, to name a few -- are now switching to LED Street Light. Portugal is in the midst of a massive conversion program that is expected to encompass all of its streetlights.

Advantage of LED Streetlights
Chief among the advantages of LEDs is that they have extremely long lives -- they don't have filaments that can quickly burn out -- and they don't contain toxic chemicals like mercury, unlike traditional high-pressure sodium lamps or mercury-vapor lamps. An LED light can last 100,000 hours. These lights also have reduced maintenance costs because of their long lives, and they give off less heat than other bulbs. Because they last so long, LEDs are suitable for places where replacing light bulbs is expensive, inconvenient or otherwise difficult.
LEDs are highly energy efficient. While compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) recently have been touted as the standard in green lighting, LEDs actually have double their energy efficiency. They use 15 percent of the energy of an incandescent bulb while generating more light per watt. LEDs produce 80 lumens per watt; traditional streetlights can only muster 58 lumens per watt.
Because of their energy efficiency and long lifespan, LED Module Street Light is advocated as a means for reducing carbon emissions. According to one estimate, converting all American light fixtures to LEDs would halve the amount of energy used for lighting in the country. By integrating solar panels, the lights can become self-sufficient and even send excess energy back to the grid, with the adoption of so-called "smart" energy grids.

Solar Street Lights are powered by photovoltaic panels, meaning they produce clean and sustainable energy. When choosing to rely on solar energy for public lighting projects, local authorities can effectively reduce their energy consumption as well as their carbon footprint. By doing so, they limit their environmental impact and play an active part in the energy transition, in line with national and global energy policies.
But there’s more to it. Adopting solar lighting solutions helps preserve biodiversity in areas that are the most sensitive to light pollution. Solar street lighting systems adjust the intensity of the light over the course of the night through the use of dynamic lighting profiles, making street Lighting Pole more respectful of living ecosystems – especially birds, whose migratory behaviour is strongly affected by light pollution.
More generally, it’s important to consider the key role played by lighting in the creation and flourishing of communities. Quality solar lighting offers citizens a better experience of the city. It helps improve the readability of public space, thus making it more accessible and welcoming. It acts as a driver of social cohesion, strengthening the ties and interaction between individuals, while allowing them to carry on their social and recreational activities throughout the evening.
Installing All in One Solar Street Lights provides an opportunity to extend parks night-time opening hours or promote access to outdoor sports facilities. In addition to encouraging people to visit public places after dark, it also improves their safety. On rural roads or cycling paths, the presence of solar lighting solutions helps promote better traffic flow and reduces accidents.

Cities face major challenges: demographic growth, urban concentration, mobility, the evolution of citizens’ needs... To meet these, public stakeholders need technological innovations they can trust and rely on to rethink and transform the existing public space, with the aim to make cities smart and sustainable.
At the heart of smart cities, street furniture is undergoing digital transformation to be able to generate information. This is the case for solar-powered Garden Lights, which are evolving to integrate and power various communication equipment and intelligent applications (billboards, interactive terminals, advertising displays, Wi-Fi hotspots…). An example of this is our RISE-On range, a smart solar engine that powers all outdoor electrical equipment in cities.
While access to electricity is growing globally, more than 11% of the world's population still lives off-grid, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). This figure rises to 46% in Africa, in particular in sub-Saharan Africa where nearly 600 million people live without access to electricity. Providing off-grid populations with access to energy plays a crucial role in accelerating their economic development, reducing inequalities and improving their security, in addition to having a positive impact on education and schooling.
Deploying solar Flood Lights on a city’s main roads, streets and in other public places makes them easier to access, supports businesses and improves social ties. Additionally, in more isolated areas, these lighting solutions help reduce insecurity, theft and assaults. They have a particularly strong impact in sensitive areas such as refugee camps, where the lack of lighting leads to serious crime. Replacing oil or kerosene lighting systems with solar-powered solutions also helps create a healthier environment that improves the health and well-being of the community.

Once installed mainly as a type of economy flooring, Laminate Flooring still firmly holds its place as inexpensive, functional flooring. But they have even moved into higher-end homes that once would have installed nothing but solid hardwood or engineered wood flooring. Laminate floors look better, perform better, and feel better underfoot than ever before. All of this popularity may beg the question: What are laminate floors in the first place?

Basics of Laminate Floors
Laminate floors are a hybrid floor covering consisting of a particleboard wood base topped by an image layer and a transparent wear layer. Laminate floors are a popular type of floor covering for homes' living areas, kitchens, dining areas, bedrooms, hallways, and other areas that are not subject to excessive moisture. HDF Laminate Flooring was invented in 1977 by the Swedish company Perstorp. This firm landed on the idea of using up waste wood projects by subjecting those products to intensely high pressure, heat, and binding chemicals, then turning the result into usable floor coverings. Since that time, many other manufacturers such as Dupont, Mannington, Armstrong, and Shaw now make laminate floors.

Laminate Floor Materials
Laminate floors are sometimes called laminate wood floors, though they are wood only in two respects. First, the laminate floor base consists of pressed chipped wood particles. Second, the top has the appearance of real wood due to the accurate image layer—essentially a well-rendered photograph of wood encased in a clear, durable wear layer.
Aggregated wood particles are subjected to high pressure to form sheets. These sheets have a photorealistic image of wood or stone added to the top, and this image is covered with a wear layer. The wear layer, a durable, thin, clear plastic sheet, is the linchpin between the delicate lower layers and exterior elements such as moisture, UV rays, and scratching.

• Wear Layer: MDF Laminate Flooring is a surface layer of two thin sheets of paper impregnated with melamine. This top-most surface layer is a hard transparent type of plastic sheet that is impervious to dogs, chairs, high heels, and other common damaging elements.
  
  
• Image Layer: Even when viewed close-up laminate flooring can look realistic. This is due to the laminate's photographic-quality image of real wood underneath the wear layer.
  
  
• Base Layer (Core): Under the wood-grain photograph is about a half-inch of wood-chip composite. Any type of wood chip product is inherently susceptible to water damage. Laminate flooring's base is considered to be dimensionally stable, but only to a certain degree. It will stand up against some water, but only if this water is quickly removed.
  

What’s the problem?
The sad reality is that 85% of hangers end their life in landfill. In the US, everyday over 15.5 million plastic, wood and wire hangers are thrown away, resulting in 8 billions every year. In the UK 100 million Plastic Hangers are discarded each year. So, what is the industry doing about it?
Brands are starting to get to grips with this challenge and are looking at ways of replacing hangers, particularly those pesky plastic ‘garments on hangers’ otherwise known as GOH (garments transported on hangers from factory to store) that are made from plastic and represent a huge part of the overall volume of hangers discarded each year.
Made predominantly from expanded polystyrene, or polycarbonate, plastic hangers not only depend on fossil fuels for their raw material and production but take an estimated 800-1,000 years to breakdown. They also leach nasty chemicals including carcinogenic benzene, found in polystyrene and Bisphenol-A, a hormone disrupter, into groundwater. They can also cause havoc for wildlife; with animals getting hangers caught around their necks, legs and wings.

Plastic waste is pants
Removing hangers should always be the first step. Does underwear need to come on Plastic Clothes Hangers? Customers don’t think so, going by some tweets that made the headlines in the UK. After receiving underwear in the post from British retailer Marks & Spencer, one customer exclaimed “What on earth is anyone supposed to do with these?” while another said “Just had some undies delivered and each one came on an unnecessary, plastic, individual hanger. Lovely items, but when will you stop this wasteful practice?”.

For a long time, most (if not all) cutting boards were made of wood. But at some point people began using plastic cutting boards. The idea was that they were easier to clean (and sanitize), and therefore were safer.
But in the late 1980s, a UC Davis researcher named Dean Cliver – the de facto godfather of cutting board food safety – decided to investigate whether plastic cutting boards really were safer. Answer: not really.
Plastic Chopping Boards, Cliver found, are easier to sanitize. But cutting on them also leaves lots of grooves where bacteria can hide. Wood is tougher to sanitize, but it’s also (often) tougher in general – you won’t find as many deep scratches in the surface.
In addition, researchers have discovered that the type of wood your cutting board is made from also makes a difference.
“Hardwoods, like maple, are fine-grained, and the capillary action of those grains pulls down fluid, trapping the bacteria – which are killed off as the board dries after cleaning,” says Ben Chapman, a food safety researcher at NC State. “Soft woods, like cypress, are less likely to dull the edge of your knife, but also pose a greater food safety risk,” Chapman explains. “That’s because they have larger grains, which allows the wood to split apart more easily, forming grooves where bacteria can thrive.”

Portable Plastic Drying Racks are a great option for small apartments and homes where there is no outdoor space to air-dry clothing items. As Air drying is one of the safest techniques for drying most clothes, a drying rack is a must in every home. These racks come in a variety of shapes and sizes along with folding and expanding mechanisms that make them truly versatile. Depending on personal preference, users also choose the materials of the rack as designs are available in wood, steel, aluminium, plastic and acrylic. For outdoor drying like a palcony, materials that can withstand the scorching sun for a long time are preferable. For drying clothing y oors, plastic and acrylic racks would work too. For burchasing the perfect drying rack for your home, consider the number of clothing you will be drying at once. For a heavy load, sturdy design is a must. Residents living in space crunched apartments can opt for a wall-mounted design that serves the ourpose without hogging floor space.

Plastic Preservation Boxes can be used for the storing of a wide array of different items, and storing clothing and other important items in plastic storage containers is a good way to prevent them from being exposed to mildew and moisture. If any moisture gets into a plastic storage container prior to sealing it closed, however, then mildew can grow and thrive without you being any the wiser. In this article we will outline a few simple steps that will help prevent mildew from growing in your plastic Food Storage boxes.
It is extremely important to make sure that your items are clean and dry before storing them away. Any dirt left on your belongings can easily cause scratches if left on for too long. Clothing and upholstery that get put in storage while damp can attract mould and moisture, and metals and woodwork can rust or rot. Properly cleaning and drying all of your items before storing them will prevent this from happening.

Melamine is a nitrogen-based compound used by many manufacturers to create a number of products, especially plastic dishware. While melamine is widely found in many items, some people have raised safety concerns that the compound could be toxic.
Is it safe? The short answer is yes, it’s safe. When manufacturers create plasticware with melamine, they use high heat to mold the substances. While the heat uses up most of the melamine compounds, a small amount does usually remain in the Plastic Dinner Plates, cup, utensils or more. If melamine gets too hot, it can start to melt and potentially leak into food and drink products.