Hand Warmer Research Articles

Hand warmer types, silica and zeolite 4A as potential hand warmers

Hand warmer types, silica and zeolite 4A as potential hand warmers

Electric hand warmer versus observation to avoid discomfort during scalp cooling for chemotherapy-induced alopecia prevention: a randomized study

Chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) is a challenge in the management of cancer patients. Scalp cooling (SC) leads to reduction in CIA, however it is associated with significant adverse events, leading to 3–13% discontinuation rates. This pilot study evaluated the role of Electric Hand Warmers (EHW) on thermal (TC), sensorial (SCo) and general comfort (GC) in patients with breast cancer (BC) undergoing chemotherapy and SC to reduce CIA. Patients were randomly assigned to EHW use or observation. TC, SCo and GC were evaluated after each chemotherapy infusion. Favorable outcomes in both TC and SCo defined a positive result on GC. We analysed the impact of age, alopecia, chemotherapy regimen and EHW use in the different comfort scales using a Logistic Regression (LR) model. Forty women with early breast cancer were randomly assigned to EHW (n = 20) or observation (n = 20) during neo(adjuvant) chemotherapy. Median age was 53 years. In the EHW arm, favorable thermal response was reported by 79% versus 50% in the control arm (odds ratio [OR] 3.79, p < 0.001). SCo was satisfactory in 82% in the EHW arm versus 74% in the control arm (OR 1.62, p = 0.1). Overall, 73% in the EHW arm had favorable GC versus 44% in the control arm (OR 3.4, p < 0.001). Age, alopecia, and chemotherapy regimen did not impact on comfort measures. Conclusion: Our study suggests that the use of an EHW has a consistent favorable impact on TC and GC of BC patients under SC technology to prevent CIA.

Efficient Degradation of Rhodamine B Dye through Hand Warmer Heterogeneous Activation of Persulfate

In this study, an innovative method for RhB (Rhodamine B) degradation in a persulfate (PS) and hand warmer heterogeneous activation system was investigated. The hand warmer showed better catalytic performance and excellent reusability in terms of PS activation. The reaction rate constants of RhB removal in the hand warmer/PS process (0.354 min−1) were much faster than those in other PS- and Fe-related processes (0.010–0.233 min−1) at pH 7. The iron in the hand warmer is the main active ingredient to catalyze PS, and activated carbon, salt, and H+/OH− accelerate the activated reaction due to the formation of micro-batteries in the solution. Moreover, the catalyst of the hand warmer showed excellent stability and reusability with a low level of iron leaching. This new, effective, inexpensive, repeatable, and environmentally friendly catalyst combined with PS has promising prospects for the removal of dyes from industrial wastewater.

Rapid detection of live bacteria in water using nylon filter membrane-integrated centrifugal microfluidics

Water is one of the most indispensable elements for human beings. People can live without food for a couple of weeks but cannot live without water for a couple of days. Unfortunately, drinking water is not always safe around the world; in many areas, the water for drinking could be contaminated with various microbes. However, the total viable microbe count in water still relies on culture-based methods in laboratories. Therefore, in this work, we report a novel, simple, and highly efficient strategy to detect live bacteria in water via a nylon membrane-integrated centrifugal microfluidic device. A handheld fan and a rechargeable hand warmer were utilized as the centrifugal rotor and the heat resource for reactions, respectively. The bacteria in water can be rapidly concentrated >500-fold by our centrifugation system. After incubation with water-soluble tetrazolium-8 (WST-8), the color change of the nylon membranes can be visually interpreted directly by the naked eye or recorded with a smartphone camera. The whole process can be finished in 3 h, and the detection limit can reach 102 CFU/mL. The detection range ranges from 102 CFU/mL to 105 CFU/mL. The cell counting results of our platform are highly positively correlated with the results of cell counting by the conventional lysogeny broth (LB) agar plate approach or the commercial 3 M Petrifilm™ cell counting plate. Our platform provides a convenient and sensitive strategy for rapid monitoring. We highly anticipate that this platform can improve water quality monitoring in resource-poor countries in the near future.

CRISPR-Cas12a coupled with universal gold nanoparticle strand-displacement probe for rapid and sensitive visual SARS-CoV-2 detection

Point of care (POC) diagnosis of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are particularly significant for preventing transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) by any user at any given time and place. CRISPR/Cas-assisted SARS-CoV-2 assays are viewed as supplemental to RT-PCR due to simple operation, convenient use and low cost. However, most current CRISPR molecular diagnostics based on fluorescence measurement increased the difficulty of POC test with need of the additional light sources. Some instrument-free visual detection with the naked eye has limitations in probe universality. Herein, we developed a universal, rapid, sensitive and specific SARS-CoV-2 POC test that combines the outstanding DNase activity of Cas12a with universal AuNPs strand-displacement probe. The oligo trigger, which is the switch the AuNPs of the strand-displacement probe, is declined as a result of Cas12a recognition and digestion. The amount of released AuNPs produced color change which can be visual with the naked eye and assessed by UV–Vis spectrometer for quantitative detection. Furthermore, a low-cost hand warmer is used as an incubator for the visual assay, enabling an instrument-free, visual SARS-CoV-2 detection within 20 min. A real coronavirus GX/P2V instead of SARS-CoV-2 were chosen for practical application validation. After rapid virus RNA extraction and RT-PCR amplification, a minimum of 2.7 × 102 copies/mL was obtained successfully. The modular design can be applied to many nucleic acid detection applications, such as viruses, bacteria, species, etc., by simply modifying the crRNA, showing great potential in POC diagnosis.

Lab activities on temperature and thermodynamics

In this article I introduce three lab activities, appropriate for a high school physics course, that are related to temperature and thermodynamics. The first of these is a graphing lab where a dual Fahrenheit-Celsius thermometer is used to create a best-fit trend line that serves to introduce this graphing skill. The second is an experiment to find the melting point of coconut oil, which is a convenient and widely available substance, with a phase change in a safe temperature range. The third is a safer alternative or follow-up to the classic “Burn a Peanut” lab, where I have students investigate how many calories are in a “heat pack” hand warmer. The labs are designed to be affordable, easy to set up, and work well as inquiry investigations.

Rapid Visual CRISPR Assay: A Naked-Eye Colorimetric Detection Method for Nucleic Acids Based on CRISPR/Cas12a and a Convolutional Neural Network.

Rapid diagnosis based on naked-eye colorimetric detection remains challenging, but it could build new capacities for molecular point-of-care testing (POCT). In this study, we evaluated the performance of 16 types of single-stranded DNA-fluorophore-quencher (ssDNA-FQ) reporters for use with clusters of regularly spaced short palindrome repeats (CRISPR)/Cas12a-based visual colorimetric assays. Among them, nine ssDNA-FQ reporters were found to be suitable for direct visual colorimetric detection, with especially very strong performance using ROX-labeled reporters. We optimized the reaction concentrations of these ssDNA-FQ reporters for a naked-eye read-out of assay results (no transducing component required for visualization). In particular, we developed a convolutional neural network algorithm to standardize and automate the analytical colorimetric assessment of images and integrated this into the MagicEye mobile phone software. A field-deployable assay platform named RApid VIsual CRISPR (RAVI-CRISPR) based on a ROX-labeled reporter with isothermal amplification and CRISPR/Cas12a targeting was established. We deployed RAVI-CRISPR in a single tube toward an instrument-less colorimetric POCT format that required only a portable rechargeable hand warmer for incubation. The RAVI-CRISPR was successfully used for the high-sensitivity detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and African swine fever virus (ASFV). Our study demonstrates this RAVI-CRISPR/MagicEye system to be suitable for distinguishing different pathogenic nucleic acid targets with high specificity and sensitivity as the simplest-to-date platform for rapid pen- or bed-side testing.

Instrument-free, CRISPR-based diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2 using self-contained microfluidic system

Rapid and sensitive detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is critical for early diagnostics and timely medical treatment of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, current detection methods typically rely on expensive and bulky instrumentation. Here, we developed a simple, sensitive, instrument-free, CRISPR-based diagnostics of SARS-CoV-2 using a self-contained microfluidic system. The microfluidic chip integrates isothermal amplification, CRISPR cleavage, and lateral flow detection in a single, closed microfluidic platform, enabling contamination-free, visual detection. To simplify the operation and transportation of the device, we lyophilized the CRISPR reagents in the reaction chamber and pre-stored the liquid solutions in blisters. We employed a low-cost, portable hand warmer to incubate the microfluidic chip without the need for electricity. The self-contained microfluidic system can detect down to 100 copies of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Further, we clinically validated our method by detecting 24 COVID-19 clinical nasopharyngeal swab samples, achieving excellent sensitivity (94.1%), specificity (100%), and accuracy (95.8%). This simple, sensitive, and affordable microfluidic system represents a promising tool for point-of-care diagnostics of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases.

Randomized study of electric hand warmer (EHW) versus observation to avoid discomfort during scalp cooling for chemotherapy-induced alopecia (CIA) prevention.

12108 Background: CIA has been reported as the most disturbing adverse event of cancer treatment by most women receiving chemotherapy. Many strategies have been tested to minimize CIA, among which scalp cooling has proven high effectiveness. However, discontinuation rates of this technology vary from 3% to 13%, mostly due to headache, cold sensation and pain. EHW could be used to mitigate these side effects, produce heat on demand and a warming sensation. The primary objective of this study is to evaluated the impact of EHW device on the general comfort of breast cancer patients while on scalp cooling during chemotherapy treatment. Methods: Patients were randomly assigned to EHW use or observation. Thermal, sensory and general comfort were measured with pragmatic questionnaires after each chemotherapy infusion: neutral or hot as favorable thermal responses; comfortable and very comfortable as favorable sensory responses; finally, favorable outcomes in both thermal and sensory comfort questionnaires defined a positive result on the general comfort. We evaluated the impact of age (≤ or &gt; 50 years), alopecia (grade 0 or 1/2), chemotherapy regimen (with or without taxanes) and EHW use (yes or no) in the different comfort scales using Logistic Regression (LR) models. Results: Forty women with early or locally advanced breast cancer were assigned to EHW (n = 20) or observation (n = 20) during neo(adjuvant) chemotherapy. Median age was 53 years, 67.5% concluded university education, 52.5% had comorbidities. Most patients had stage II disease (55%), largely ER/PR+ HER2- disease (67.5%), followed by triple negative (22.5%), and HER2+ (10%). Most frequent regimen was ACdd-Tdd (42.5%). Thirty-one patients (77.5%) continued scalp cooling during entire chemotherapy regimen (alopecia &lt; grade 3). A favorable thermal response was seen in 79% of EHW applications as compared to 50% in control arm (odds ratio [OR] 3.79, P &lt;.001). Sensory comfort was satisfactory in 82% of EHW applications as compared to 74% with control (OR 1.62, P =.1). General comfort was favorable in 73% of EHW applications as compared to 44% in control arm (OR 3.4, P &lt;.001). Age, alopecia grade and taxane use did not significantly impact on comfort measures. Conclusions: Our study suggests that an EHW has a consistent favorable impact on thermal and general comfort of breast cancer patients under scalp cooling technology to prevent CIA. This simple device can improve patient´s quality of life and eventually avoid scalp cooling discontinuation due to discomfort.

Chemical Hand Warmers in Protective Gloves: Design and Usage

Abstract Heated gloves have been gaining popularity due to increasing work safety demands. The objective of the present work was to evaluate the effects of the presence of chemical hand warmers in protective gloves. The study involved three types of gloves appropriate for work activities performed in cold environments. Several hand warmer variants were designed, differing in terms of shape and location within the glove, which are of great relevance to the comfort of use. Manual dexterity tests were designed to approximate real conditions of the work environment, allow for simulation of occupational activities, and involve various aspects of manipulation.

Heating Intravenous Fluid Tubing in an Experimental Setting for Prehospital Hypothermia

ObjectiveHypothermia secondary to environmental exposure is a serious condition. Active external warming measures to treat it may prove challenging in the prehospital setting. We conducted an experimental study to measure the ability of commercially available heating elements to warm intravenous (IV) fluids during infusion. Methods250-milliliter bags of dextrose 10% solution were suspended inside a refrigerator. IV tubing was coiled, and the tubing output was placed inside a thermally insulated cup. The tubing was heated directly with a hand warmer, a meals ready-to-eat heater, or a heating blanket. Fluids were run through the IV line. The temperature of the fluid at the tubing output was measured. The initial and final infusion temperatures for the methods were compared. ResultsThe use of hand warmers, meals ready-to-eat heaters, and heating blankets to warm IV tubing did increase the temperature of the fluids but was ineffective at achieving the desired mean infusion temperature of 35°C to 42°C. ConclusionAlthough the mean temperature increase did not meet the established experimental threshold, further research is needed to determine whether the fluid warming effect of these commercial heating elements used in the prehospital environment is significant enough to limit heat loss while repleting the dextrose of a hypothermic, hypoglycemic patient.

Ultrasensitive and visual detection of SARS-CoV-2 using all-in-one dual CRISPR-Cas12a assay

The recent outbreak of novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) causing COVID-19 disease spreads rapidly in the world. Rapid and early detection of SARS-CoV-2 facilitates early intervention and prevents the disease spread. Here, we present an All-In-One Dual CRISPR-Cas12a (AIOD-CRISPR) assay for one-pot, ultrasensitive, and visual SARS-CoV-2 detection. By targeting SARS-CoV-2’s nucleoprotein gene, two CRISPR RNAs without protospacer adjacent motif (PAM) site limitation are introduced to develop the AIOD-CRISPR assay and detect the nucleic acids with a sensitivity of few copies. We validate the assay by using COVID-19 clinical swab samples and obtain consistent results with RT-PCR assay. Furthermore, a low-cost hand warmer (~$0.3) is used as an incubator of the AIOD-CRISPR assay to detect clinical samples within 20 min, enabling an instrument-free, visual SARS-CoV-2 detection at the point of care. Thus, our method has the significant potential to provide a rapid, sensitive, one-pot point-of-care assay for SARS-CoV-2.

Occupants’ Responses to Naturally Ventilated Buildings in Northern Guizhou, China

With the acceleration of urbanization, suggestions that are based on findings gathering from field studies on building refurbishment, new building design and building operation and maitenance are essential to achieve building energy saving and carbon emmision target. Therefore, a field investigation on thermal comfort and adaptive responses of occupants in naturally ventilated buildings were conducted during winer time in Zunyi. Without central heating system supply, the mean value of indoor air temperature is 14.86°C. But more than half of occupants (57.9%) who were satisfied with surrounding thermal environment. People are active to utilize various strategies to restore thermal comfort of their own. Adjusting clothing levels and using heating devices (e.g. fan heater, portable hand warmer, etc.) are the most popular adaptive behaviours helping them alleviate thermal discomfort caused by lower and humid thermal environment. The aPMV model is developed with adaptive coefficient of -0.33. The findings obtained from this investigation fill gaps in similar researches in northern Guizhou and provide guidelines on building indoor thermal environment improvement considering passive design strategies in this area.

Modeling of dendrite growth in undercooled solution sodium acetate trihydrate

The sodium acetate trihydrate is commonly used as energy storage phase change material in heating pads for body or hand warmer in cold climates. The undercooled melt of sodium acetate trihydrate kept at room temperature results in an exothermic reaction when solidification seed is nucleated. In presentwork, modeling of denritic growth in an undercooled solution of sodium acetate trihydrate has been carried out. The enthalpy method has been used to compute solid-liquid interface growing in undercooled melt. The interface temperature, concentration and grain growth have been modeled considering curvatureeffect and solutal undercooling. A 2-D computational grid of square control volumes has been used and discreatized governing equations were solved explicitly. The crystal anisotropy was imposed explicitly. The results are validated using experimental data.

The heat is on: A device that reduces cold stress-induced tachycardia in laboratory mice

Mouse vivaria are typically maintained at an ambient temperature (Ta) of 20–26 °C which is comfortable for human researchers. However, as this Ta is well below the mouse thermoneutral zone (TNZ) of 30–32 °C, typical vivarium temperatures result in cold stress for mice. Recently, a cage has been developed that provides variable cage floor heating, allowing mice to behaviorally regulate body temperature through thermotaxis. A hand warmer provides supplemental heat, elevating cage floor surface temperature for 13 + hours up to 30 °C. This provides a heated surface for the entirety of the light phase. Here, we test the ability of these local heat sources to remove physiological signs of cold stress in mice housed at room temperature by analyzing heart rate (HR), activity, and body temperature in three experimental conditions: 23 °C, 23 °C + heated surface, or 30 °C. The location of C57Bl/6 J mice within the cage was recorded using an infrared camera. In the presence of supplemental heat at a Ta of 23 °C, mice resided atop of the area of the heated surface 85 ± 3% of the 12-h light phase, as compared to 7 ± 2% in the absence of supplemental heat. Further, addition of supplemental heat lowered light phase HR and activity to that seen at a Ta of 30 °C. These results indicate that provision of a local heat source is successful in reducing cold-induced tachycardia in mice housed at typical vivarium temperatures without increasing the ambient temperature of the entire laboratory and subjecting researchers to heat stress.

Iron waste as an effective depend on TiO2 for photocatalytic degradation of dye waste water

In this study, preparation of Fe–TiO2 was synthesized by sol–gel method using tetraisopropoxide and hand warmer waste as precursors. The manipulation parameters including different calcination temperatures (500°C, 600°C and 700°C), Fe:Ti molar ratios (0.05%, 0.1%, 0.25%, 0.5% and 1%), the pH value (3, 5.5, 9) were evaluated by photodegradation of acid red 27 (AR-27) under visible light. Reusability of the catalyst was investigated by the optimal operating parameters. Characterization of prepared catalysts by FE-SEM, HR-XRD, BET, ESCA, Zeta potential, UV–vis was investigated. Fe:Ti molar ratio 0.1mole% calcined at 500°C showed strip shape and high surface area. Crystal structure exhibited anatase phase and pHzpc was 5.6. There was the same trend between actual proportion of iron-doped and theoretical values. The band gap decreased as the amount of iron increased and shifted the absorbance edge to the visible light region. The results demonstrated that the best photodegradation efficiency was 0.1mole% Fe–TiO2 calcined at 500°C, 10mg/L AR-27 and at pH 3. The color removal efficiency kept 89% after catalyst used for 4 times.

Glove and mitten protection in extreme cold weather: an Antarctic study

BackgroundMyths, misconceptions and a general lack of information surround the use of gloves and mittens in extreme cold environments.ObjectiveThis study assessed how well an assortment of gloves and mittens performed in a very cold environment.MethodsA convenience sample of gloves and mittens were tested in Antarctica during the winter of 2016 using a calibrated thermometer (range: −148°F to +158°F/−100°C to +70°C) three times over a 0.5-mile distance (~20 minutes). A small sensor on a 10-foot-long cable was taped to the radial surface of the distal small finger on the non-dominant hand. The tested clothing was donned over the probe, the maximum temperature inside the glove/mitten was established near a building exit (ambient temperature approximately 54°F/12°C), and the building was exited, initiating the test. The hand was kept immobile during the test. Some non-heated gloves were tested with chemical heat warmers placed over the volar or dorsal wrist.ResultsThe highest starting (96°F/36°C) and ending (82°F/28°C) temperatures were with electrically heated gloves. The lowest starting temperature was with electrically heated gloves with the power off (63°F/17°C). Non-heated gloves with an inserted chemical hand warmer had the lowest minimum temperature (33°F/1°C). Maximum temperatures for gloves/mittens did not correlate well with their minimum temperature.ConclusionsCoverings that maintained finger temperatures within a comfortable and safe range (at or above 59°F/15°C) included the heated gloves and mittens (including some with the power off) and mittens with liners. Mittens without liners (shell) generally performed better than unheated gloves. Better results generally paralleled the item's cost. Inserting chemical heat warmers at the wrist increased heat loss, possibly through the exposed area around the warmer.

Can physical warmth (or coldness) predict trait loneliness? A replication of Bargh and Shalev (2012).

In recent years, psychologists have become increasingly interested in the extent to which abstract concepts can be “embodied” in physical experiences. Bargh and Shalev (2012) demonstrated that individuals who experienced physical coldness (in the form of a cold pack) reported that they were lonelier than individuals who experienced physical warmth (in the form of a hand warmer) (Bargh & Shalev, 2012). Using procedures that were very similar to those in the original study and a sample size that was more than 5 times larger, we found that there was no difference between conditions, a finding that failed to replicate the original study. People who held a cold pack did not report that they were lonelier than people who held a warm pack. Holding a cold pack versus a warm pack also did not have an effect on people’s personality traits. Overall, we suggest that there needs to be further research to determine if there is a connection between physical warmth and interpersonal warmth. SCIENTIFIC A BSTRACT Bargh and Shalev (2012) hypothesized that experiencing physical coldness will lead individuals to report greater loneliness than if they experienced physical warmth. In their Study 2, they conducted an experiment in which they showed that participants who held a cold pack reported higher trait loneliness (as measured by a short form of the UCLA Loneliness Scale; Russell, 1996) than participants in the warm condition. We attempted to replicate this potentially practically important finding in a high-powered study (N 260). We also assessed the Big Five personality traits to determine if warmth or coldness might lead to changes in self-reported personality traits (particularly agreeableness). Our results showed that holding a hand warmer or cold pack for 1 min had no effect on trait loneliness in our study, with an effect size of essentially zero. The effect remained nonsignificant after excluding participants who reported any suspicion about the connection between the warmth-coldness manipulation and the measure of loneliness. There were also no effects of the cold (vs. warm) packs on personality traits. The question of the potential connection between physical warmth or coldness and loneliness warrants further research before it can be accepted.

Hand warmer related corrosive injury

Introduction. Corrosive injury of the esophagus and stomach is never been reported after intoxication of hand warmers. Herein we reported a case that had grade IIA corrosive injury found by endoscopic examination. Case report. An 84 year-old woman with a history of dementia ingested the contents of hand warmers. She had radiopaque patches in the stomach and duodenum. Upper endooscopic examination revealed corrosive injury of the esophagus and stomach. She recovered with the use of deferoxamine and proton pump inhibitor (PPI). Discussion. The hand warmer contains activated charcoal, salt, and vermiculite, and 50% of iron powder. In previous literature, ingestions of one hand warmer packet or less are considered less toxic. But in our case, corrosive injury of the esophagus and stomach is obvious. Conclusion. It appears that significant toxicity will occur after ingestion of one hand warmer packet. Appropriate gastrointestinal decontamination and aggressive management are needed for all patients who are hand warmers intoxicated.

Gas Property Demonstrations Using Plastic Water Bottles

Plastic water bottles are convenient containers for demonstrations of gas properties illustrating Boyle’s law, Charles’s law, and Avogadro’s law. The contents of iron-based disposable hand warmer packets can be used to remove oxygen gas from the air within an unfilled plastic water bottle.