• Title/Summary/Keyword: clothing weight

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Validity of a Simulated Practical Performance Test to Evaluate the Mobility and Physiological Burden of COVID-19 Healthcare Workers Wearing Personal Protective Equipment (COVID-19 감염병 대응 의료진용 개인보호복의 동작성 및 생리적 부담 평가를 위해 개발된 모의 작업 프로토콜의 타당도)

  • Kwon, JuYoun;Cho, Ye-Sung;Lee, Beom Hui;Kim, Min-Seo;Jun, Youngmin;Lee, Joo-Young
    • Fashion & Textile Research Journal
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    • v.24 no.5
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    • pp.655-665
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    • 2022
  • This study evaluated the validity of a newly developed mobility protocol examining the comfort functions and requirements of personal protective equipment (PPE) for COVID-19 healthcare workers. Eight males (age: 24.7 ± 3.0 y, height: 173.4 ± 2.3 cm, and body weight 69.9 ± 3.7 kg) participated in the following three PPE conditions: (1) Plastic gown ensemble, (2) Level D ensemble, and (3) Powered air purifying respirator (PAPR) ensemble. The mobility protocol consisted of 10 different tasks in addition to donning and doffing. The 10 tasks were repeated twice at an air temperature of 25oC with 74% RH. The results showed significant differences among the three PPE conditions in mean skin temperature, local skin temperatures (the forehead, thigh, calf, and foot), clothing microclimate (the chest and back), thermal sensation, thermal comfort, and humidity sensation, while there were no significant differences in heart rate or total sweat rate. At rest, the subjects felt less warm and more comfortable in the PAPR than in the Level D condition (P<0.05). However, subjective perceptions in the PAPR and Level D conditions became similar as the tasks progressed and mean skin and leg temperature became greater for the PAPR than the Level D condition (P<0.05). An interview was conducted just after completing the mobility test protocol, and suggestions for improving each PPE item were obtained. To sum up, the mobility test protocol was valid for evaluating the comfort functions of PPE for healthcare workers and obtaining requirements for improving the mobility of each PPE item.

A Study on the Possibility of Using Fire-Retardant Working Cloth Made from Silicon Carbide (SiC) Composite Spun Yarns (Silicon Carbide (SiC) 복합방적사로부터 제조된 원단의 방화복 활용 가능성에 관한 연구)

  • Kang, Hyun-Ju;Kang, Gun-Woong;Kwon, Oh-Hoon;Kwon, Hyeon-Myoung;Hwang, Ye-Eun;Jeon, Hye-Ji;Joo, Jong-Hyun;Park, Yong-Wan
    • Science of Emotion and Sensibility
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    • v.24 no.4
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    • pp.149-156
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    • 2021
  • The mechanical properties of a woven fabric made of SiC (silicon carbide) fibers were determined in this study using the KES-FB system. The woven fabric is used in high heat settings above 1500℃. Composite spun yarns were used to create SiC fibers. By analyzing the wearing properties, we studied the prospect of using the textiles as fire-retardant work clothes. Mechanical properties determine the wearing attributes. Therefore, the tensile linearity (LT), tensile resilience (RT), and shear stiffness (G) values of the fabric varied according to the yarn type (filament or spun yarn). The thickness, weight per square meter, and density of the fabric were found to have an effect on the shear hysteresis (2HG) and compression resilience (RC) values. In terms of wearable clothing qualities, the fabric qualities of the SiC composite yarn demonstrated the highest ratio of compressive energy to thickness (WC/T), which indicates bulkiness. The fabric manufactured from SiC composite yarns passed the KFI criteria for carbonation length and cumulative flame time in the flame-retardant test. Therefore, we discovered that the material can be used as a fire-resistant work cloth.

Water-blocking Asphyxia of N95 Medical Respirator During Hot Environment Work Tasks With Whole-body Enclosed Anti-bioaerosol Suit

  • Jintuo Zhu;Qijun Jiang;Yuxuan Ye;Xinjian He;Jiang Shao;Xinyu Li;Xijie Zhao; Huan Xu;Qi Hu
    • Safety and Health at Work
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    • v.14 no.4
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    • pp.457-466
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    • 2023
  • Background: During hot environment work tasks with whole-body enclosed anti-bioaerosol suit, the combined effect of heavy sweating and exhaled hot humid air may cause the N95 medical respirator to saturate with water/sweat (i.e., water-blocking). Methods: 32 young male subjects with different body mass indexes (BMI) in whole-body protection (N95 medical respirator + one-piece protective suit + head covering + protective face screen + gloves + shoe covers) were asked to simulate waste collecting from each isolated room in a seven-story building at 27-28℃, and the weight, inhalation resistance (Rf), and aerosol penetration of the respirator before worn and after water-blocking were analyzed. Results: All subjects reported water-blocking asphyxia of the N95 respirators within 36-67 min of the task. When water-blocking occurred, the Rf and 10-200 nm total aerosol penetration (Pt) of the respirators reached up to 1270-1810 Pa and 17.3-23.3%, respectively, which were 10 and 8 times of that before wearing. The most penetration particle size of the respirators increased from 49-65 nm before worn to 115-154 nm under water-blocking condition, and the corresponding maximum size-dependent aerosol penetration increased from 2.5-3.5% to 20-27%. With the increase of BMI, the water-blocking occurrence time firstly increased then reduced, while the Rf, Pt, and absorbed water all increased significantly. Conclusions: This study reveals respirator water-blocking and its serious negative impacts on respiratory protection. When performing moderate-to-high-load tasks with whole-body protection in a hot environment, it is recommended that respirator be replaced with a new one at least every hour to avoid water-blocking asphyxia.

Reliability Verification of FLUKA Transport Code for Double Layered X-ray Protective Sheet Design (이중 구조의 X선 차폐시트 설계를 위한 FLUKA 수송코드의 신뢰성 검증)

  • Kang, Sang Sik;Heo, Seung Wook;Choi, Il Hong;Jun, Jae Hoon;Yang, Sung Woo;Kim, Kyo Tae;Heo, Ye Ji;Park, Ji Koon
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Radiology
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    • v.11 no.7
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    • pp.547-553
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    • 2017
  • In the current medical field, lead is widely used as a radiation shield. However, the lead weight is very heavy, so wearing protective clothing such as apron is difficult to wear for long periods of time and there is a problem with the danger of lethal toxicity in humans. Recently, many studies have been conducted to develop substitute materials of lead to resolve these problems. As a substitute materials for lead, barium(Ba) and iodine(I) have excellent shielding ability. But, It has characteristics emitting characteristic X-rays from the energy area near 30 keV. For patients or radiation workers, shielding materials is often made into contact with the human body. Therefore, the characteristic X-rays generated by the shielding material are directly exposured in the human body, which increases the risk of increasing radiation absorbed dose. In this study, we have developed the FLUKA transport code, one of the most suitable elements of radiation transport codes, to remove the characteristic X-rays generated by barium or iodine. We have verified the reliability of the shielding fraction of the structure of the structure shielding by comparing with the MCPDX simulations conducted as a prior study. Using the MCNPX and FLUKA, the double layer shielding structures with the various thickness combination consisting of barium sulphate ($BaSO_4$) and bismuth oxide($Bi_2O_3$) are designed. The accuracy of the type shown in IEC 61331-1 was geometrically identical to the simulation. In addition, the transmission spectrum and absorbed dose of the shielding material for the successive x-rays of 120 kVp spectra were compared with lead. In results, $0.3mm-BaSO_4/0.3mm-Bi_2O_3$ and $0.1mm-BaSO_4/0.5mm-Bi_2O_3$ structures have been absorbed in both 33 keV and 37 keV characteristic X-rays. In addition, for high-energy X-rays greater than 90 keV, the shielding efficiency was shown close to lead. Also, the transport code of the FLUKA's photon transport code was showed cut-off on low-energy X-rays(below 33keV) and is limited to computerized X-rays of the low-energy X-rays. But, In high-energy areas above 40 keV, the relative error with MCNPX was found to be highly reliable within 6 %.

Changes of pH, Meat Color, Cooking Loss, Shear Force and Sensory Evaluation on Hanwoo Meat Fed with Supplemental Fig Fermentation during Storage Period (무화과 발효물을 급여한 한우고기의 저장기간 중 pH, 육색, 가열감량, 전단력 및 관능평가의 변화)

  • Kook, Kil;Kim, Kwang-Hyun
    • Food Science of Animal Resources
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    • v.22 no.4
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    • pp.289-293
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    • 2002
  • This study was conducted to investigate changes of pH, meat color, cooking loss, shear force and sensory evaluation on Hanwoo meat fed with supplemental fig fermentation(SFF) during storage period. A total of 10 Hanwoo bulls were subjected to one of two treatment diets (control and 10% SFF) from live weight of 400kg far 6 months. After slaughter, longissimus muscles were removed, zipper-wrapped and stored at 4$\^{C}$ for 21 days. The pH, meat color, cooking loss, shear force and sensory evaluation of the samples were measured at 1, 3, 9, 15, 21 days of storage. There were no differences in pH, meat objective color(Hunter L, a and b) and cooking loss (%) of longissimus muscles between control and SFF treatment during storage. Shear force values of longissimus muscle from SFF treatment showed lower level in 1, 3 and 9 days and tended to decrease during storage. No differences in odor and appearance of sensory evaluation were observed between control and SFF treatment during storage. The taste induced by SFF was increased(f<0.05) at 1, 3 and 9 days of storage. These results indicate that the SFF may improve meat quality of Hanwoo during storage.

Wearable Computers

  • Cho, Gil-Soo;Barfield, Woodrow;Baird, Kevin
    • Fiber Technology and Industry
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    • v.2 no.4
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    • pp.490-508
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    • 1998
  • One of the latest fields of research in the area of output devices is tactual display devices [13,31]. These tactual or haptic devices allow the user to receive haptic feedback output from a variety of sources. This allows the user to actually feel virtual objects and manipulate them by touch. This is an emerging technology and will be instrumental in enhancing the realism of wearable augmented environments for certain applications. Tactual displays have previously been used for scientific visualization in virtual environments by chemists and engineers to improve perception and understanding of force fields and of world models populated with the impenetrable. In addition to tactual displays, the use of wearable audio displays that allow sound to be spatialized are being developed. With wearable computers, designers will soon be able to pair spatialized sound to virtual representations of objects when appropriate to make the wearable computer experience even more realistic to the user. Furthermore, as the number and complexity of wearable computing applications continues to grow, there will be increasing needs for systems that are faster, lighter, and have higher resolution displays. Better networking technology will also need to be developed to allow all users of wearable computers to have high bandwidth connections for real time information gathering and collaboration. In addition to the technology advances that make users need to wear computers in everyday life, there is also the desire to have users want to wear their computers. In order to do this, wearable computing needs to be unobtrusive and socially acceptable. By making wearables smaller and lighter, or actually embedding them in clothing, users can conceal them easily and wear them comfortably. The military is currently working on the development of the Personal Information Carrier (PIC) or digital dog tag. The PIC is a small electronic storage device containing medical information about the wearer. While old military dog tags contained only 5 lines of information, the digital tags may contain volumes of multi-media information including medical history, X-rays, and cardiograms. Using hand held devices in the field, medics would be able to call this information up in real time for better treatment. A fully functional transmittable device is still years off, but this technology once developed in the military, could be adapted tp civilian users and provide ant information, medical or otherwise, in a portable, not obstructive, and fashionable way. Another future device that could increase safety and well being of its users is the nose on-a-chip developed by the Oak Ridge National Lab in Tennessee. This tiny digital silicon chip about the size of a dime, is capable of 'smelling' natural gas leaks in stoves, heaters, and other appliances. It can also detect dangerous levels of carbon monoxide. This device can also be configured to notify the fire department when a leak is detected. This nose chip should be commercially available within 2 years, and is inexpensive, requires low power, and is very sensitive. Along with gas detection capabilities, this device may someday also be configured to detect smoke and other harmful gases. By embedding this chip into workers uniforms, name tags, etc., this could be a lifesaving computational accessory. In addition to the future safety technology soon to be available as accessories are devices that are for entertainment and security. The LCI computer group is developing a Smartpen, that electronically verifies a user's signature. With the increase in credit card use and the rise in forgeries, is the need for commercial industries to constantly verify signatures. This Smartpen writes like a normal pen but uses sensors to detect the motion of the pen as the user signs their name to authenticate the signature. This computational accessory should be available in 1999, and would bring increased peace of mind to consumers and vendors alike. In the entertainment domain, Panasonic is creating the first portable hand-held DVD player. This device weight less than 3 pounds and has a screen about 6' across. The color LCD has the same 16:9 aspect ratio of a cinema screen and supports a high resolution of 280,000 pixels and stereo sound. The player can play standard DVD movies and has a hour battery life for mobile use. To summarize, in this paper we presented concepts related to the design and use of wearable computers with extensions to smart spaces. For some time, researchers in telerobotics have used computer graphics to enhance remote scenes. Recent advances in augmented reality displays make it possible to enhance the user's local environment with 'information'. As shown in this paper, there are many application areas for this technology such as medicine, manufacturing, training, and recreation. Wearable computers allow a much closer association of information with the user. By embedding sensors in the wearable to allow it to see what the user sees, hear what the user hears, sense the user's physical state, and analyze what the user is typing, an intelligent agent may be able to analyze what the user is doing and try to predict the resources he will need next or in the near future. Using this information, the agent may download files, reserve communications bandwidth, post reminders, or automatically send updates to colleagues to help facilitate the user's daily interactions. This intelligent wearable computer would be able to act as a personal assistant, who is always around, knows the user's personal preferences and tastes, and tries to streamline interactions with the rest of the world.

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