Good Comfort Research Articles

PRELIMINARY STUDY ON THE ERGONOMIC DESIGN OF MOTORCYCLE SEAT FOR COMFORT USAGE

Motorcycle seats undeniably provides good comfort to motorcyclists but there are some that offers less affirmation on ushering comfort, whilst some even results in harm to users, resulting in back pains, neck, shoulders, and other parts of the body over prolonged riding periods. This research aims to investigate the discomforts faced by motorcyclist and the best seat concept based on an ergonomic design, fit for the masses through a subjective evaluation. A study that includes a survey was conducted to study the subjective assessment against the motorcycle seat comfort. The study is divided into two parts, where in part 1, the anthropometric data were collected from a total of 100 respondents, representing 88 males and 12 females. Mean from the anthropometric data was used for two new seat redesigns, designated Seat A and Seat B. For part 2, sets of questionnaire were distributed to 130 respondents to measure their perception of seat design A and design B. Based on the results produced, 86.2% respondents suffered discomforts while riding a motorcycle. Most suffered discomforts at particular body areas: lower back, buttock and shoulder, while no discomfort reported around leg, feet and thigh. Results also proved that current seat designs needed an improvement with a majority of respondents opting an added backrest and to increase surface around buttock area. Based on the evaluation of designs, Seat B was selected as a better option as compared to seat A in terms of comfort usage.

Development of Chemical Protective Clothing Using Multilayer Fabric for Hazardous Chemicals Handling

ABSTRACT Protection against the safety of people is enforced for the certain occupations when they might be exposed to hazardous chemicals during handling. This research provides an importance of chemical protective clothing, along with its necessity during various industrial applications. The aim of the research is to develop more comfortable and efficient protective cloth for the chemical industry workers. Developed multilayer fabric is to protect them from harmful chemical hazards with five layers, the outer shell made of polyester as it has low absorption and carbon fabric for its higher support. It provides a good strength to the fabric and polyester has a good resistance to lab grade chemicals. The middle layer comprises spun-bonded non-woven sandwiched with carbon fiber. The inner layer is made up of cotton fabric as it gives good absorbency and comfort. In this research, 100% polyester fabric, polyester/cotton fabric and 100% knitted polyester fabric have been used as a comparison in chemical protective clothing. Scanning electronic microscope (SEM) was used to observe the morphology of coated surfaces of protective for process versatility and the highly specific surface area. In this paper, the thermal properties of developed multilayered structures were statistically investigated. The chemical protection, good air permeability, abrasion resistance, fabric stiffness and tearing strength have been performed. The results provide new insights into the development of functional garments/materials and better methods for evaluating the performance of these materials under hazardous work environments.

Evaluation on the Air Permeability Properties of the Mainstream Sportswear Brands

The present study investigated the air permeability of three representative sportswear brands products (OUDIKE, NIKE and an unknown brand bought from the boutique) in Hong Kong marketplace. It was found that NIKE sportswear had the highest air permeability (0.23kPa*s/m) among the samples, which indicates that it allows more air flow passing through the textile and provides good comfort property to wearer, while OUDIKE samples showed the lowest air permeability in capacity (0.08kPa*s/m). The fiber content and fabric structure may be the reason that affects the air permeability. This study would provide a comparative information about air permeability property of the mainstream sportswear brands product in Hong Kong market.

The performance of a closed cavity radiation system with built-in heat exchanger

Radiant ceiling systems have good comfort levels and energy savings. However, traditional radiant air conditioning systems have many problems, such as condensation forming on the cooling surface, insufficient cooling capacity, and complex structure and control. In this paper, a closed cavity radiation system with a built-in finned heat exchanger is proposed and the heat transfer mechanism, heat transfer performance, and operation characteristics of the system are analysed. The results show that the direct-expansion large-temperature-difference heat transfer method, with refrigerant as the working medium, realises the required cold supply through the low-temperature working medium and the required heat supply through the high-temperature working medium. Heat is transferred to or from the ceiling through a multi-stage strength buffer and direction conversion so that the ceiling respectively forms a hot or cold radiant plate with uniform temperature for indoor heat exchange. The heat transfer efficiency is more than 90%, which greatly improves the cooling or heating potential of the heat exchanger, reduces the required heat exchanger area, and simplifies the installation structure. In this study, the installation area of the finned heat exchanger only accounted for 14% of the ceiling. In practical application, the number of finned heat exchanger plates can be determined according to the cooling and heating load demand, providing a reference for new radiant air conditioning system design.

Enhancing the management and control of perioperative infection in small incision lenticule extraction

Small incision lenticule extraction (SMILE) has been widely used in the treatment of myopia and astigmatism due to its small incision (2 mm), without open corneal flap, rapid recovery of the ocular surface function and good comfort. However, it is the microincision and the potential cavity under the corneal cap that provide a suitable environment for microbial nourishment. In this article, the characteristics of SMILE and the particularity of postoperative infection are stated, and the key points of risk management and control during the period of operation as well as the principles of identification and treatment of infection after SMILE surgery are put forward, so as to enhance the perioperative preparation in SMILE and make sure of the safety and high quality for myopic eyes. (Chin J Ophthalmol, 2020, 56: 86-88).

Helical core-sheath elastic yarn-based dual strain/humidity sensors with MXene sensing layer

Flexible, stretchable and sensitive textile-based sensors play important roles in a wide variety of artificial intelligence because of its seamless integration with clothing and good comfort. Herein, MXene sensing layer is deposited on the surface of springlike helical core-sheath polyester yarns thanks to the capillarity effect and its intrinsic hydrophilic ability, and the resultant strain sensor and humidity sensor exhibit wide detection range from 0.3 to 120% strain and 30–100% relative humidity (RH) detection, owing to elastic core-sheath structures. The strain sensor shows excellent reproducibility (over 10000 cycles) and fast response time (120 ms). The core-sheath yarn sensor can detect various human motions such as walking, bending and twisting as well as physiological signal (pulse), which have great potential in real-time precise medicine and health care. The yarn sensor could also be an excellent humidity sensor because of the high specific area structure of yarn and intrinsic hydrophilic properties of MXene sensing layer.

Hydrocolloid Use in the Treatment of Thermal Injury in a Dog

Background: Thermal injury is one of the most common type of skin damage found in clinical care, which results in a chronic wound. The treatment of chronic wounds should be specific, because it has a greater vulnerability of the organism to the external agents input. So, the treatment can be performed with covers to keep the lesion clean and free of contamination and also promote healing. Considering the amount of products available for the treatment, as well as the scarcity of studies in the literature proving the effectiveness of hydrocolloid in dogs, the aim of this case report was to describe a third degree burn wound in the sternal region of a dog treated with this material.Case: A 2-year-old non-castraded German Spitz dog, was attended in a private veterinary clinic located in Ribeirão Preto city, São Paulo state. The animal was submitted to general anesthesia for microneedling session to treat alopecia "X", and after the procedure, it showed a burn focus due to the resting time on the thermal mattress, affecting the entire sternal region. The choice treatment was a surgical debridement followed by second intention healing. The superficial crust of the wound was removed and the debridement of almost all the tissue that was not fit for healing was continued, resulting in a wide wound, with healthy tissue and only a small portion of devitalized musculature. On the same day, the daily dressing phase with crystal sugar was started, in order to promote the debridement of the remaining devitalized tissue and enable the appearance of granulation tissue, together with the asepsis provided by the chlorhexidine ointment (0.7 g/100mL). After five days, the wound presented with ascending granulation, with no signs of contamination and minimal residue of devitalized tissue. Then, the treatment with the hydrocolloid plate was chosen, which was cut and molded to the wound to allow the debridement with crystal sugar to continue in the devitalized muscle region. At this stage of treatment, the wound region where crystal sugar was used was cleaned and given a new dressing to be changed the next day, while the rest of the wound that had the hydrocolloid plate remained unmanaged for an average of five days, in order to improve animal welfare. After six days of dressing, the wound showed significant contraction, however the growth of the granulation tissue was exuberant. Four days after the first dressing change, the contraction of the wound proceeded at an accelerated rate, as well as the proliferation of granulation tissue, and on the 15th day of treatment with the hydrocolloid plaque, the wound was already quite reduced, with the maintenance of the tissue with healthy granulation, without contamination and with signs of good evolution. On the 27th day, the wound was practically healed, leaving a small central portion of the lesion. The scar tissue that involved the burn contributed to its retraction and accelerated the reepithelialization process. Finally, after 42 days, when the treatment finished, it was possible to notice hair growth and poor visibility of scar tissue.Discussion: The application of this type of dressing in the micro-needling burn injury suggested a better healing due the increase of keratinocyte proliferation and cell proliferation, since when used in the inflammation process, it accelerated the cleaning of purulent and necrotic tissues, stimulating the repair of clean wounds leading to good results and greater patient comfort. This study demonstrated that good healing could be achieved in alternative treatment using hydrocolloid dressing. In this method, healing proved to be more effective than conventional treatment, considering wound resolution and wound healing time.

Development of interlock knitted seersucker fabric for better comfort properties

The need for innovative fabrics has rapidly increased in recent years, owing to their cost effective with good aesthetic and comfort properties. Seersucker fabrics are cost effective fabric structure with good aesthetic and comfort properties produced by modification in material or in fabric structures. The main purpose of this research work is to develop seersucker fabric on interlock machine through using different yarns and stripes height. Puckering effect on knitted fabric obtained using elastane covered yarn with simple cotton yarn and relaxation of elastane made the cotton yarn produce a puckering effect. Different seersucker fabrics were produced by changing tube size with the help of change in stripe height and using different yarn combinations on the back side (i.e. cotton covered elastane, spun polyester, and cotton) of the fabric. The seersucker knitted fabric were subjected to different tests such as mechanical testing that is fabric stretch, tactile comfort and thermophysiological comfort, that is, thermal resistance and air permeability test. The test results concluded that the seersucker interlock knitted fabric gives good comfort and aesthetic properties.

A Multi-Objective Coordinated Charging and Discharging Strategy for Electric Vehicles Based on Stackelberg Game

For the negative impact of large-scale electric vehicles (EVs) disorderly charging on the power grid, a multi-objective optimization strategy for coordinated charging and discharging of EVs based on Stackelberg game is proposed. As the leader, the grid company aims to stabilize load fluctuations and formulate a reasonable electricity price strategy to guide EVs to participate in vehicle-to-grid (V2G); As followers, EV users optimize their charging plans based on electricity price information with the objective of reducing costs and obtaining good comfort. This paper uses the MOPSO algorithm to solve the proposed multi-objective Stackelberg problem, and calculates the optimization results under various preferences, which proves the effectiveness of the proposed model and method.

Passive Cooling Application Inside Helmet to Improve Ergonomics

This paper depicts the system of cooling inner helmet portion using phase change material (PCM) to enhance the comfort of the rider. The helmet contains the encapsulated PCM and packed between the foam and helmet. For this cooling system, no power supply or any external and active supply is needed. The novel system is to reduce the temperature rise and to maintain human comfort temperature at inside the helmet which provides good comfort to the motorcycle rider. This work focuses on the comfort of riders who wears a helmet for a long time in a day because of their nature of work. A state in which one is relaxed and do not have any physically unpleasant feelings caused by heat upon inside till complete phase change. The study confirms that a minimum of continually less than 37oC for two hours inside the helmet. It is a simple system and provides comfort and cooling to the motorcyclist.

Fabrication and characterization of a novel facial mask substrates based on thermoplastic polyester elastomer fibers

Nonwovens are commonly used as substrates for facial masks. To develop a facial mask with good comfortability and high functional performances, a new facial mask substrates composed of thermoplastic polyester elastomer fiber (TPEE) and polyester fiber (PET) have been fabricated into nonwoven via spunlace technology. A series of properties, including mechanical, comfort and functional properties, were tested to estimate the suitability of applying the nonwoven as facial mask. The results suggest that, compared with the commercial facial mask substrates made of viscose and PET fibers, TPEE/PET nonwoven possesses excellent air permeability and water vapor transmission. Also, the mechanical properties and softness of TPEE/PET substrate are superior to those of viscose/PET substrate under both dry and wet conditions. Considering the easy processability and low manufacturing cost, the TPEE/PET nonwoven may provide a competitive alternative for facial mask substrates and other applications where mechanical properties and high water absorbencies are desired.

Finite element analysis of double-layer box type modular building

Box - type modular building with advantages of quick installation, good comfort, beautiful appearance and convenient turnover, is widely used in construction of temporary construction, business services, holiday villas and other projects. In this paper, a single span double - layer box - type modular building in Shenzhen was taken as an example, using modular building system with a special-shaped corner column and cold-formed thin-walled beam. The finite element software ANSYS was used to calculate the overall structural strength and stiffness, and the stress and displacement calculation results under the control of vertical load and horizontal wind load were respectively given. The results show that under the snow load, the maximum stress of the whole structure is 163.14MPa, which appears in the middle of the second layer top frame purlin. Under the horizontal wind load, the maximum stress of the whole structure appears at the beam-to-column connection panel, and the stress of the first story is more unfavourable than that of the second one. The maximum displacement in the horizontal direction is 10.37mm. The maximum displacement angle between layers is 1/278. The above calculation results all meet the requirements of “Standard for design of steel structures” (GB50017-2017), which can ensure the safety and reliability during normal use. Furthermore, it can provide reference for the design and optimization of multi-storey box buildings.

Dealing with Bladder Injuries in Laparoscopy

Video Objective To highlight the precautions to be undertaken to avoid bladder injury in laparoscopy. To demonstrate techniques of managing intra-operative bladder injury and delayed vesico-vaginal fistula (VVF) repair Setting Tertiary Care University recognized Endoscopy Referral Unit. Case 1: Bladder injury in Total laparoscopic hysterectomy in an obese patient with surgical adhesions due to previous 3 caesarean sections with a large uterus of 32-34 weeks size 2600cc in volume. Case 2: VVF in a 52 yr old patient who had undergone Total abdominal hysterectomy with persistent urine leak vaginally since 1 year of the procedure. Interventions Case 1: Intra-operative detection of bladder injury and its layered closure with barbed suture. Case 2: Novel technique of ureteric stent used transurethral cystoscopically, drawn through the fistulous tract into the vaginal opening and principles of VVF repair highlighted. Conclusion Simple precautions can go a long way in preventing laparoscopic bladder injuries. Intra-operative injury or even delayed VVF can be tackled precisely laparoscopically with good outcomes and patient comfort.

Extraction of vibration behavior in conventional and electric drive two-wheeler using order analysis

Electrification of automobiles results in new and challenging characteristics of vehicle NVH (Noise, Vibration, and Harshness) and ride comfort. Optimized architecture of electric vehicles has been evolved for appropriate placement of electric power drives. This paper presents the experiments performed for order analysis technique to predict the vibrational behavior of conventional and electric scooters which was not used in 2-wheelers earlier and used for 4-wheeler noise predictions and for vibration analysis of rotating machinery. Vibrational analysis of source alone in conventional and electric two-wheelers carried out by order analysis and the result is presented through Campbell Diagrams to observe the critical orders along with the variation of the amplitude of vibration as a function of frequency. Target locations’ Vibration Dose Values (VDV) is calculated to assess rider comfort and is compared with the ISO 2631 standard. The higher amplitude of vibration has been observed at 23rd order for electric scooter while for conventional scooter it is noted at 8th and 16th order with reference to the wheel speed. Compared to the conventional scooter, electric scooter exhibits very low overall vibration level and range is away from human perception range resulting in good comfort.

Präperitoneale umbilikale Netzplastik (PUMP): Indikationen, Technik und Resultate

The principle of the preperitoneal umbilical mesh plasty (PUMP) technique is placement of the prosthesis in the extraperitoneal space, posterior to the rectus muscles, followed by ventral fascia closure. Difficulties can arise from preperitoneal dissection, mesh insertion, deployment, and positioning. 81 elective patients underwent preperitoneal repair of primary umbilical or epigastric hernias sized from 2 - 4 cm between January 2015 and March 2018 and were prospectively collected in the Herniamed database and retrospectively analysed. The same general technique was applied, but over time three different types of mesh devices were used. The experience from these cases and the gradual change between the implants during the observation period is described in this study. No intraoperative complications were recorded. Postoperative complications occurred in 6 of 81 patients (7.4%) with the need for unplanned re-operation in 3 cases. Seventy-six of 81 patients (93.8%) attended the one year follow-up evaluation. Three of 76 patients (3.9%) suffered recurrence and five patients (6.6%) requires treatment for chronic pain. Surgeons must work with the implant that best suits their patients' needs and that also provides good results and adequate working comfort. The PUMP technique performs well for ventral hernias sized between 2 and 4 cm without the need of midline reconstruction due to diastasis of the rectus muscles. It enables a local extraperitoneal mesh augmentation without the risk of intraperitoneal complications. PUMP repair lowers the risk of recurrence in comparison with suture repair without increasing the risk of complications.

Thermal Sensation Modeling and Experiments for Liquid-Cooled Garments

Liquid-cooled garment (LCG) is a promising personal thermal management (PTM) technique that satisfies the individual thermal comfort requirement by creating a microclimate around the human body. Thermal sensation, which is defined as “the wearer’s sense of temperature between hot and cold,” is a helpful target for designing an LCG with good thermal comfort. There are just a few methods to predict the thermal sensation of the LCGs. In addition, the previous prediction methods related to the conventional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems cannot be directly applied to the LCG, due to the lack of consideration of some dominating characteristics of the LCG and the human body. To solve this problem, a neural network model was proposed to predict the thermal sensation of wearers of LCGs, taking physiological parameters [heart rate (HR), skin temperatures, and tympanic temperature] and physical parameters [ambient temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH)] including water inlet temperature of LCGs into consideration. Experiments were carried out to obtain the model training data under various conditions. After optimization, the neural network model performs excellently, which shows the potential to predict the thermal sensation for LCGs. The correlation analysis indicates that water inlet temperature is the most correlated parameter to thermal sensation in LCGs.

Improve the Efficiency of Fabrics Performance to the Services Workers (Cleanliness) According to the Nature of Their Job

CLOTHES play an important role in healthy life, workers is concern on comfort, especially cleanliness workers, whose needs to efficiency in performance of their work. The main aim of this research is improving the efficiency of Fabric performance of cleanliness workers by produce fabrics with using natural fibers that will provide good comfort properties. The influence of fabric factors such as, kind of fibers, weft density and weaves structure on the fabrics properties as weight, thickness, air permeability, water absorbency, strength, abrasion resistance was determined. The results show that, the best sample achieved the best performance on use bamboo 100%, fabric structure twill 1/3, and set 40 weft / cm.

Sustainable Green Pavement Using Bio-Based Polyurethane Binder in Tunnel.

As a closed space, the functional requirements of the tunnel pavement are very different from ordinary pavements. In recent years, with the increase of requirements for tunnel pavement safety, comfort and environmental friendliness, asphalt pavement has become more and more widely used in long tunnels, due to its low noise, low dust, easy maintenance, and good comfort. However, conventional tunnel asphalt pavements cause significant safety and environmental concerns. The innovative polyurethane thin overlay (PTO) has been developed for the maintenance of existing roads and constructing new roads. Based on the previous study, the concept of PTO may be a feasible and effective way to enrich the innovative functions of tunnel pavement. In this paper, the research aims to evaluate the functional properties of PTO, such as noise reduction, solar reflection and especially combustion properties. Conventional asphalt (Open-graded Friction Course (OGFC) and Stone Mastic Asphalt (SMA)) and concrete pavement materials were used as control materials. Compared with conventional tunnel pavement materials, significant improvements were observed in functional properties and environmental performance. Therefore, this innovative wearing layer can potentially provide pavements with new eco-friendly functions. This study provides a comprehensive analysis of these environmentally friendly materials, paving the way for the possible application in tunnels, as well as some other fields, such as race tracks in stadiums.

The Effect of Linen and Linen Blends on the Comfort Properties of Bedding Fabrics

ABSTRACT In this study, the effect of linen and linen blends on the comfort properties of bedding fabrics was investigated. Therefore, 10 different fabric types were produced by using the same warp (100% cotton) and different weft yarns. Thermal and handle properties of fabrics, which were woven with 100% linen and two different ratios of cotton/linen, viscose/linen, and lyocell/linen blended weft yarn, were compared with 100% cotton and each other. The results showed that the thermal values of the fabric woven with linen weft were not different from other fabrics. In addition, the use of linen and man-made cellulosic fiber blend fabrics made no significant difference in terms of thermal absorptivity, but increased the air permeability, bending and shear ability. However, the fabric woven with 80% lyocell/20% linen weft showed the highest values in terms of heat and vapor passage, formability and elongation properties in accordance with the 100% cotton fabric. The results of this study proved that the fabric produced with 100% cotton warp and 80% lyocell/20% linen weft will provide a good thermal and handle comfort for bedding fabrics.

A comparative study of sub-tenons anaesthesia versus peribulbar anaesthesia- In manual small incision cataract surgery

Aim: To compare the efficiency of sub-Tenon`s versus peribulbar anaesthesia in Manual small incision cataract surgery with respect to Pain during administration of block, analgesia intraoperatively, akinesia, effect on intraocular pressure, volume of the anaesthetic agent, surgeon`s comfort during surgery and Complications of block. Materials and Methods: A prospective study of 100 cases who underwent manual small incision cataract surgery (MSICS) divided into two groups namely peribulbar group and sub-Tenon`s group. The two techniques were compared with respect to pain at administration, analgesia, akinesia, intraocular pressure (IOP), volume, surgeon`s comfort and complications. Results: Sub-Tenon`s anaesthesia was relatively less painful at administration, providing good analgesia with incomplete akinesia. It needed significantly lesser volume of anaesthetic agent, with minimal rise in IOP, good comfort to surgeon and had only minor complications in the form of subconjuctival haemorrhage, chemosis. Conclusion: Sub-tenon`s anaesthesia is relatively less painful to deliver, effective and safe technique for MSICS. Keywords: Akinesia, Anaesthesia, Analgesia, Cataract surgery, Lignocaine.