Humid Heat Research Articles

Superior Bioinert Capability of Zwitterionic Poly(4-vinylpyridine propylsulfobetaine) Withstanding Clinical Sterilization for Extended Medical Applications.

The field of bioinert materials is relatively mature, as unique molecular designs for antifouling have been regularly presented over the past 30 years. However, the effect of steam sterilization, a common procedure in hospitals for sterilizing biomedical devices in clinical uses, on the stability of antifouling and hemocompatible biomaterials remains unexplored. The only available set of data indicates that poly(sulfobetaine methacrylate) (SBMA) is unstable and loses its antifouling properties when exposed to hot humid air, depriving it of its attractiveness. Here, we present zwitterionic biomaterial gels of poly(4-vinylpyridine propylsulfobetaine) (4VPPS) and explore their propensity to biofouling before and after a 1 h steam sterilization at 121 °C. After incubation with erythrocytes, leukocytes, thrombocytes, whole blood, or various bacteria ( Escherichia coli, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia), the antifouling properties of unsterilized 4VPPS gels are comparable to those of SBMA gels. Importantly, they are maintained after steam sterilization, unlike those of SBMA gels, which shows that the structure of 4VPPS and the interactions with water remain unaffected by the humid heat treatment. The antifouling properties of gels coated on materials mimicking surfaces used in biomedical devices including stainless steel (surgical knife), silicon (biochips), or titanium (electrocautery pen) are also maintained after similar sterilization. In addition, repeated sterilizations do not affect the antifouling properties of 4VPPS. Therefore, these results provide a substantial advance over the current knowledge on antifouling materials for repeated usage in actual conditions that often involve, in a biomedical environment, steam sterilization.

Process-Oriented Diagnosis of Tropical Cyclones in High-Resolution GCMs

This study proposes a set of process-oriented diagnostics with the aim of understanding how model physics and numerics control the representation of tropical cyclones (TCs), especially their intensity distribution, in GCMs. Three simulations are made using two 50-km GCMs developed at NOAA’s Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory. The two models are forced with the observed sea surface temperature [Atmospheric Model version 2.5 (AM2.5) and High Resolution Atmospheric Model (HiRAM)], and in the third simulation, the AM2.5 model is coupled to an ocean GCM [Forecast-Oriented Low Ocean Resolution (FLOR)]. The frequency distributions of maximum near-surface wind near TC centers show that HiRAM tends to develop stronger TCs than the other models do. Large-scale environmental parameters, such as potential intensity, do not explain the differences between HiRAM and the other models. It is found that HiRAM produces a greater amount of precipitation near the TC center, suggesting that associated greater diabatic heating enables TCs to become stronger in HiRAM. HiRAM also shows a greater contrast in relative humidity and surface latent heat flux between the inner and outer regions of TCs. Various fields are composited on precipitation percentiles to reveal the essential character of the interaction among convection, moisture, and surface heat flux. Results show that the moisture sensitivity of convection is higher in HiRAM than in the other model simulations. HiRAM also exhibits a stronger feedback from surface latent heat flux to convection via near-surface wind speed in heavy rain-rate regimes. The results emphasize that the moisture–convection coupling and the surface heat flux feedback are critical processes that affect the intensity of TCs in GCMs.

Aging Impairs Whole-Body Heat Loss in Women under Both Dry and Humid Heat Stress.

This study was designed to determine whether age-related impairments in whole-body heat loss, which are known to exist in dry heat, also occur in humid heat in women. To evaluate this possibility, 10 young (25 ± 4 yr) and 10 older (51 ± 7 yr) women matched for body surface area (young, 1.69 ± 0.11; older, 1.76 ± 0.14 m, P = 0.21) and peak oxygen consumption (V˙O2peak) (young, 38.6 ± 4.6; older, 34.8 ± 6.6 mL·kg·min, P = 0.15) performed four 15-min bouts of cycling at a fixed metabolic heat production rate (300 W; equivalent to ~45% V˙O2peak), each separated by a 15-min recovery, in dry (35°C, 20% relative humidity) and humid heat (35°C, 60% relative humidity). Total heat loss (evaporative ± dry heat exchange) and metabolic heat production were measured using direct and indirect calorimetry, respectively. Body heat storage was measured as the temporal summation of heat production and loss. Total heat loss was lower in humid conditions compared with dry conditions during all exercise bouts in both groups (all P < 0.05), resulting in 49% and 39% greater body heat storage in young and older women, respectively (both P < 0.01). Total heat loss was also lower in older women compared with young women during exercise bouts 1, 2 and 3 in dry heat (all P < 0.05) and bouts 1 and 2 in humid heat (both P < 0.05). Consequently, body heat storage was 29% and 16% greater in older women compared with young women in dry and humid conditions, respectively (both P < 0.05). Increasing ambient humidity reduces heat loss capacity in young and older women. However, older women display impaired heat loss relative to young women in both dry and humid heat, and may therefore be at greater risk of heat-related injury during light-to-moderate activity.

Numerical Simulations of the Impacts of Mountain on Oasis Effects in Arid Central Asia

The oases in the mountain-basin systems of Central Asia are extremely fragile. Investigating oasis effects and oasis-desert interactions is important for understanding the ecological stability of oases. However, previous studies have been performed only in oasis-desert environments and have not considered the impacts of mountains. In this study, oasis effects were explored in the context of mountain effects in the northern Tianshan Mountains (NTM) using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model. Four numerical simulations are performed. The def simulation uses the default terrestrial datasets provided by the WRF model. The mod simulation uses actual terrestrial datasets from satellite products. The non-oasis simulation is a scenario simulation in which oasis areas are replaced by desert conditions, while all other conditions are the same as the mod simulation. Finally, the non-mountain simulation is a scenario simulation in which the elevation values of all grids are set to a constant value of 300 m, while all other conditions are the same as in the mod simulation. The mod simulation agrees well with near-surface measurements of temperature, relative humidity and latent heat flux. The Tianshan Mountains exert a cooling and wetting effects in the NTM region. The oasis breeze circulation (OBC) between oases and the deserts is counteracted by the stronger background circulation. Thus, the self-supporting mechanism of oases originating from the OBC plays a limited role in maintaining the ecological stability of oases in this mountain-basin system. However, the mountain wind causes the “cold-wet’’ island effects of the oases to extend into the oasis-desert transition zone at night, which is beneficial for plants in the transition region.

Determining tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase in decalcified bone samples pig Sus domesticus

Introduction: Nowadays, Immunohistochemistry are one of the most important techniques in the histopathological diagnosis. Despite of handling and processing cautions, both of them may generate changes in the protein structure, masking antigens, preventing antibody identification. Among different antigen retrieval methods proposed by the literature, the humid heat with Steamer has been widely accepted for its simplicity, control and low cost.&#x0D; Objective: In this paper a protocol for humid heat antigen retrieval use in bone tissue samples that had been previously fixed in formaldehyde, decalcified with ethylenediaminetetraacetic (EDTA ), and embedded in paraffin is proposed.&#x0D; Materials and methods: Samples of pig’s bone that had been prepared with conventional techniques, from the collection of the pathology laboratory of the University of Valle were used. New fixed process was performed in glutaraldehyde and a steamer was used to enhance antigen exposure. The anti-TRAP DEKOs ®, mouse monoclonal antibody was used as primary antibody, and the KIT UltraVision LP Large Volume Detection System HRP Polymer ® was used as a secondary antibody.&#x0D; Results: In all samples exposed to primary antibody in 1:20 and 1:40 dilutions immunostaining mononuclear cells compatible with preosteoclasts were observed; immunostaining multinucleated giant cells consistent with osteoclasts were described.&#x0D; Conclusions: Humid heat for antigenic recovery is a reliable method for the recovery of bone antigen samples fixed with formaldehyde.

Humid heat waves at different warming levels

The co-occurrence of consecutive hot and humid days during a heat wave can strongly affect human health. Here, we quantify humid heat wave hazard in the recent past and at different levels of global warming. We find that the magnitude and apparent temperature peak of heat waves, such as the ones observed in Chicago in 1995 and China in 2003, have been strongly amplified by humidity. Climate model projections suggest that the percentage of area where heat wave magnitude and peak are amplified by humidity increases with increasing warming levels. Considering the effect of humidity at 1.5° and 2° global warming, highly populated regions, such as the Eastern US and China, could experience heat waves with magnitude greater than the one in Russia in 2010 (the most severe of the present era). The apparent temperature peak during such humid-heat waves can be greater than 55 °C. According to the US Weather Service, at this temperature humans are very likely to suffer from heat strokes. Humid-heat waves with these conditions were never exceeded in the present climate, but are expected to occur every other year at 4° global warming. This calls for respective adaptation measures in some key regions of the world along with international climate change mitigation efforts.

Early Integration of Temperature and Humidity Stimuli in the Drosophila Brain

The Drosophila antenna contains receptor neurons for mechanical, olfactory, thermal, and humidity stimuli. Neurons expressing the ionotropic receptor IR40a have been implicated in the selection of an appropriate humidity range [1, 2], but although previous work indicates that insect hygroreceptors may be made up by a "triad" of neurons (with a dry-, a cold-, and a humid-air-responding cell [3]), IR40a expression included only cold- and dry-air cells. Here, we report the identification of the humid-responding neuron that completes the hygrosensory triad in the Drosophila antenna. This cell type expresses the Ir68a gene, and Ir68a mutation perturbs humidity preference. Next, we follow the projections of Ir68a neurons to the brain and show that they forma distinct glomerulus in the posterior antennal lobe (PAL). In the PAL, a simple sensory map represents related features of the external environment with adjacent "hot," "cold," "dry," and "humid" glomeruli-an organization that allows for both unique and combinatorial sampling by central relay neurons. Indeed, flies avoided dry heat more robustly than humid heat, and this modulation was abolished by silencing of dry-air receptors. Consistently, at least one projection neuron type received direct synaptic input from both temperature and dry-air glomeruli. Our results further our understanding of humidity sensing in the Drosophila antenna, uncover a neuronal substrate for early sensory integration of temperature and humidity in the brain, and illustrate the logic of how ethologically relevant combinations of sensory cues can be processed together to produce adaptive behavioral responses.

AVALIAÇÃO DOS EFEITOS DO PROCESSAMENTO SOBRE O POTENCIAL ANTIOXIDANTE DE NOVOS PRODUTOS

Sabe-se da importância do consumo de alimentos com propriedades antioxidantes, pela constante exposição da população aos fatores que contribuem para o desenvolvimento de radicais livres e que consequentemente levam ao aumento no desenvolvimento de doenças crônicas no mundo moderno. Sendo assim, os produtos aqui descritos foram criados com a finalidade de terem alto teor antioxidante, mantendo suas características sensoriais. Este estudo objetivou analisar quais os tipos de processamento em que um alimento é submetido que preservarão o teor antioxidante do alimento pronto para consumo, foram analisados produtos desenvolvidos à base de pequi, açaí e cogumelo. Foi realizada revisão bibliográfica sobre o efeito dos métodos de cocção nos produtos desenvolvidos no Laboratório de Técnica Dietética da PUC – Minas Gerais. Observou-se que o método de cocção (sendo o maior interferente, os que empregam calor úmido) e tempo em que os alimentos ficam expostos a elevadas temperaturas influenciam consideravelmente o teor de compostos antioxidantes nos mesmos. Sendo assim, métodos em que não há o emprego de calor úmido e/ou que são menos expostos ao binômio tempo/temperatura, são os mais viáveis e recomendados para preservar os compostos antioxidantes. Podendo ainda citar como o melhor método de conservação das propriedades nutricionais, a liofilização.

Double-layer nanoparticle-based coatings for efficient terrestrial radiative cooling

One passive cooling approach is pumping energy to outer space through thermal radiation. Such a radiative cooling mechanism widely exists in nature and is important to maintain the temperature of the earth. However, natural materials generally have poor radiative cooling efficiency. To better utilize the radiative cooling for thermal management applications, the surface should be designed to have a high reflectivity in the solar spectrum and high emissivity in the "sky window" region (8–13µm in wavelength). In this work, we propose and demonstrate a highly scalable nanoparticle-based double-layer coating to achieve such selective radiative properties. Double-layer coatings consisting of a top reflective layer with high solar albedo and a bottom emissive layer are achieved by properly designed TiO2, SiO2, and SiC nanoparticles. These coatings were fabricated on both low- and high-emissivity substrates and their spectral radiative properties were characterized. The coating composed of TiO2 and SiO2 on a reflective substrate has excellent selective emission property for radiative cooling purpose. Under dry air conditions and assuming non-radiative heat transfer coefficient hc=4W/m2K, TiO2+SiO2 and TiO2+SiC can theoretically achieve about 17°C below ambient at night and 5°C below ambient under direct solar radiation (AM1.5). On-site measurements have also been conducted. Under direct solar irradiation, significant temperature reduction was observed for both aluminum and black substrate after the coating was applied. At nighttime, radiative cooling effect can cool the surface to a few degrees below ambient temperature. Although the theoretical cooling under dry weather condition is not observed, the experiment results can be well explained by theoretical calculations with the consideration of high humidity and non-radiative heat transfer. This nanoparticle-based approach can be easily applied to large area, which is a significant step of achieving large scale application of the radiative cooling technology.

English

The integrated crop-livestock-forestry system has been an option in tropics to mitigate the effects of heat stress on pasture-based system for dairy cows. We evaluate the effects of shade arrangements in integrated crop-livestock-forestry systems on physiological and behavioral responses of crossbred dairy heifers. Twenty-four crossbred European-Zebu heifers with 330.0&plusmn;36.7 kg of body weight were assigned in three treatments: no shade, partial shade or total shade. Air temperature (34.4&deg;C), black globe temperature (41.6&deg;C), temperature humidity index (84) and heat load index (98) were higher (P&lt;0.05) for the No shade treatment. Higher values of respiratory rate (99 mov.min-1) and skin temperature (38.1&deg;C) were also found for the no shade treatment. Shade availability affected the grazing time (U = 246.5, P&lt;0.05). Heifers spent 10% more time in pasture on shade treatments. No difference was found on time spent in rumination, drinking or walking on shade treatments. Shade provision was an efficient strategy to reduce respiratory rate and skin temperature as well as to increase grazing time in integrated crop-livestock-forestry system. &nbsp; Key words: Cattle, Eucalyptus, heat stress, integrated farming, pasture, shade.

Investigation on the waste heat air drying system with a bottom organic Rankine cycle

A waste heat air drying system, including a top closed air drying cycle and a bottom organic Rankine cycle (ORC), is proposed, considering the temperature matches during the humid air sensible heat and latent heat recovery processes. In the top air cycle, the waste heat is used as heat source. In the bottom ORC, the sensible heat and latent heat in the humid air of the top cycle are recovered to generate power and get rid of the moisture. The results showed two key parameters, including the working composition and the evaporating pressure of the bottom ORC, influence thermal matching of the humid air waste heat recovering process, and then on overall energy saving performance of the proposed system significantly. Using the zeotropic mixtures as working fluids of the bottom ORC is a better way with the air relative moisture content lower than 0.2, compared to that of using pure working fluids. While, using the pure working fluid is better with the air relative moisture content over 0.2. The optimal evaporating pressure of the bottom ORC is obtained, to achieve the maximal specific net power output and total thermal efficiency of the drying system.

Influence of menstrual phase and arid vs. humid heat stress on autonomic and behavioural thermoregulation during exercise in trained but unacclimated women.

Despite an attenuated fluctuation in ovarian hormone concentrations in well-trained women, one in two of such women believe their menstrual cycle negatively impacts training and performance. Forthcoming large international events will expose female athletes to hot environments, and studies evaluating aerobic exercise performance in such environments across the menstrual cycle are sparse, with mixed findings. We have identified that autonomic heat loss responses at rest and during fixed-intensity exercise in well-trained women are not affected by menstrual cycle phase, but differ between dry and humid heat. Furthermore, exercise performance is not different across the menstrual cycle, yet is lower in humid heat, in conjunction with reduced evaporative cooling. Menstrual cycle phase does not appear to affect exercise performance in the heat in well-trained women, but humidity impairs performance, probably due to reduced evaporative power. We studied thermoregulatory responses of ten well-trained [V̇O2 max , 57 (7) ml min-1 kg-1 ] eumenorrheic women exercising in dry and humid heat, across their menstrual cycle. They completed four trials, each of resting and cycling at fixed intensities (125 and 150W), to assess autonomic regulation, then self-paced intensity (30min work trial), to assess behavioural regulation. Trials were in early-follicular (EF) and mid-luteal (ML) phases in dry (DRY) and humid (HUM) heat matched for wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT, 27°C). During rest and fixed-intensity exercise, rectal temperature was ∼0.2°C higher in ML than EF (P<0.01) independent of environment (P = 0.66). Mean skin temperature did not differ between menstrual phases (P ≥ 0.13) but was higher in DRY than HUM (P<0.01). Local sweat rate and/or forearm blood flow differed as a function of menstrual phase and environment (interaction: P≤0.01). Exercise performance did not differ between phases [EF: 257 (37), ML: 255 (43)kJ, P = 0.62], but was 7 (9)% higher in DRY than HUM [263 (39), 248 (40)kJ; P<0.01] in conjunction with equivalent autonomic regulation and thermal strain but higher evaporative cooling [16 (6)Wm2 ; P<0.01]. In well-trained women exercising in the heat: (1) menstrual phase did not affect performance, (2) humidity impaired performance due to reduced evaporative cooling despite matched WBGT and (3) behavioural responses nullified thermodynamic and autonomic differences associated with menstrual phase and dry vs. humid heat.

Energy and exergy analysis of fluidised bed citric acid dryers

Fluidised bed dryers are widely used for removing all or a portion of moisture in products in food, agricultural and chemical industries. In this work, a comprehensive first and second law analysis on fluidised bed dryers employed in acid citric production factories are accomplished. To have an accurate simulation, fluidised bed dryer of Jovein factory, as the biggest citric acid factory of Middle East, has been chosen as the case study of this work. In the end, the origins of exergy destruction and energy wastes are recognised and some proposals are presented for optimising the thermodynamic performance of the dryer. Taking the results of this study into account, it is finally found out that reducing drying air flow rate and temperature, decreasing the outlet product humidity and lower heat loss rates enhance both energy and exergy efficiencies.

Impacts of the total solar eclipse of 9 March 2016 on meteorological parameters in Ternate

The total solar eclipse on 9th March 2016 has given a unique opportunity to assess impacts of the eclipse on various meteorological parameters in Ternate. A weather transmitter, a net radiometer, and a heat flux plate for measuring soil heat flux in bare soil were deployed during this special observation in Madaha, Ternate (0°51'17.5" N, 127°20'56.8" E). The measured meteorological parameters presented here are net radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, and soil heat flux. The results show that those parameters are significantly affected by the eclipse. The percentage of the observed decrease of net radiation during the eclipse was proportional to the obscuration percentage. The air temperature measured at 1.5 m declined around 1.9 °C with approximately 11 minutes lag between the mid-eclipse and minimum temperature during eclipse. Influences from the surrounding environment in the measurement site minimize the temperature response. As a consequence of temperature decrease, relative humidity increased. A drop in soil heat flux was also detected but its response was slower.

Seasonal variation in body mass index, cardinal physiological variables and serum thyroid hormones profiles in relation to susceptibility to thermal stress in goat kids

The influence of seasonal changes and susceptibility to thermal stress on body mass index (BMI), cardinal physiological variables (respiratory rate; RR, pulse rate; PR and rectal temperature; RT) and circulating thyroid hormone profiles (T3 and T4) was studied in Red Sokoto (n=60) and Sahel (n=60) goats during the cold-dry (CDS), hot-dry (HDS) and rainy (RAS) seasons. Using the RR, goats were grouped into cold stress susceptible (CSS) and cold stress tolerant (CST) phenotypes in the season with lower temperature humidity index (CDS) or heat stress susceptible (HSS) and heat stress tolerant (HST) phenotypes in the seasons with higher THI (HDS and RAS). Results revealed that the PR and RT were lower (P<0.05), while circulating thyroid hormones and BMI were higher (P<0.05) in Red Sokoto compared with Sahel goats. The RR, PR, RT and T3:T4 were significantly lower, while circulating T3 was higher during the CDS as compared with the HDS. Higher population of the goats were susceptible to cold and heat stress. Discriminant analysis showed higher misclassification of goats into HSS and HST phenotypes as compared with classification into CSS and CST phenotypes. The CSS phenotypes had significantly lower RT, but higher PR than the CST phenotypes. The HSS phenotypes had lower (P<0.05)T3 than the HST phenotypes. Total variation in susceptibility to thermal stress was mainly explained by the RT, T3 and PR. In conclusion, unlike RT, PR and T3, BMI seems to have less influence on the susceptibility of kids to thermal stress. In addition, this study demonstrates the role of the thermogenic effect of T3 in the susceptibility and tolerance of kids to thermal stress.

Thermal humid treatment of walnuts as potential preventive measure against fungal contamination of chocolate confectionery fillings

Nuts are a common ingredient of confectionery fillings and a potential source of xerophilic fungal contamination. The present study investigated some preventive measures against fungal contaminants of chocolate confectionery fillings that are introduced by nuts. Microbiological analysis of the fungal load on a variety of nuts and their corresponding nut-based fillings indicated that walnuts, and the fillings in which they were used, were highly contaminated (>2.5 log10 CFU/g). The effect of dry and humid heating with various heating and drying cycle times was tested on walnuts. Humid heating for 3 min at 75–80 °C completely eliminated the initial fungal load, while dry heating did not induce any measurable change. According to sensorial analysis, humid heated and unprocessed walnuts tasted significantly different, with a slight indication of preference for the heated walnuts. These findings propose a thermal humid treatment as a possible solution to decontaminate walnuts. Moreover, hexanal analysis of walnuts demonstrated humid treatment to increase the oxidative stability of walnuts. This may result in a possible delayed onset of rancidity during storage, which is an additional advantage in terms of product shelf life.

The LAB-Net Soil Moisture Network: Application to Thermal Remote Sensing and Surface Energy Balance

A set of Essential Climate Variables (ECV) have been defined to be monitored by current and new remote sensing missions. The ECV retrieved at global scale need to be validated in order to provide reliable products to be used in remote sensing applications. For this, test sites are required to use in calibration and validation of the remote sensing approaches in order to improve the ECV retrievals at global scale. The southern hemisphere presents scarce test sites for calibration and validation field campaigns that focus on soil moisture and land surface temperature retrievals. In Chile, remote sensing applications related to soil moisture estimates have increased during the last decades because of the drought and water use conflicts that generate a strong interest on improved water demand estimates. This work describes the Laboratory for Analysis of the Biosphere (LAB)—NETwork, called herein after ‘LAB-net’, which was designed to be the first network in Chile for remote sensing applications. The test sites were placed in four sites with different cover types: vineyards and olive orchards located in the semi-arid region of Atacama, an irrigated raspberry crop in the Mediterranean climate zone of Chimbarongo, and a rainfed pasture in the south of Chile. Over each site, well implemented meteorological and radiative flux instrumentation was installed and continuously recorded the following parameters: soil moisture and temperature at two ground levels (10 and 20 cm), air temperature and relative humidity, net radiation, global radiation, radiometric temperature (8–14 µm), rainfall and soil heat flux. The LAB-net data base post-processing procedure is also described here. As an application, surface remote sensing products such as soil moisture data derived from the Soil Moisture Ocean Salinity (SMOS) and Land Surface Temperature (LST) extracted from the MODIS-MOD11A1 and GOES LST from Copernicus products were compared to in situ data in Oromo LAB-net site. Moreover, land surface energy flux estimation is also shown as an application of LAB-net data base. These applications revealed a good performance between in situ and remote sensing data. LAB-net data base also contributes to provide suitable information for land surface energy budget and therefore water resources management at cultivars scale. The data based generated by LAB-net is freely available for any research or scientific purpose related to current and future remote sensing applications.

Humid Heat Autoclaving of Hybrid Nanoparticles Achieved by Decreased Nanoparticle Concentration and Improved Nanoparticle Stability Using Medium Chain Triglycerides as a Modifier.

Humid heat autoclaving is a facile technique widely used in the sterilization of injections, but the high temperature employed would destroy nanoparticles composed of biodegradable polymers. The aim of this study was to investigate whether incorporation of medium chain triglycerides (MCT) could stabilize nanoparticles composed of poly (ethylene glycol)-b-polycaprolactone (PEG-b-PCL) during autoclaving (121°C, 10min). Polymeric nanoparticles with different MCT contents were prepared by dialysis. Block copolymer degradation was studied by GPC. The critical aggregation concentrations of nanoparticles at different temperatures were determined using pyrene fluorescence. The size, morphology and weight averaged molecular weight of pristine/autoclaved nanoparticles were studied using DLS, TEM and SLS, respectively. Drug loading content and release profile were determined using RP-HPLC. The protecting effect of MCT on nanoparticles was dependent on the amount of MCT incorporated. Nanoparticles with high MCT contents, which assumed an emulsion-like morphology, showed reduced block copolymer degradation and particle disassociation after incubation at 100°C for 24h. Nanoparticles with high MCT content showed the lowest critical aggregation concentration (CAC) under either room temperature or 60°C and the lowest particle concentration among all samples. And the particle size, drug loading content, physical stability and release profile of nanoparticles with high MCT contents remained nearly unchanged after autoclaving. Incorporation of high amount of MCT changed the morphology of PEG-b-PCL based nanoparticles to an emulsion-like structure and the nanoparticles prepared could withstand autoclaving due to improved particle stability and decreased particle concentration caused by MCT incorporation.

Communing with the Past

I Spent Muggy Chicago Summers Indoors, Tapping at my Keyboard, Churning Out Pages of My Book Manuscript, Following the paths of people's lives, obsessing over the right turn of phrase. When I grew lonely (which I always inevitably did), I'd head out to the Starbucks on Wilson and Magnolia, comforting myself with the sounds of people around me. I wrote better late at night, when night had descended and lulled everyone to sleep. I felt then a great sense of relief, tranquility, buoyed by nothing else but the swirl of ideas, because everyone around me in my world had settled down for the night. It was then that I was not distracted by the world of the living. Summer in Chicago, after all, was an exuberantly social season. The city exploded with life; throngs of runners would peel their shirts off in the humid heat as they sprinted along Lakefront Trail. But for me, invitations to barbecues, beach parties, and weekend getaways to Saugatuck were left unanswered: I had my book to write.

A Lower Heat Activated Sweat Gland Density in Larger Individuals Does Not Impair Local Sweat Rates During Hot and Humid Heat Stress

While the absolute number of sweat glands is primarily determined in utero, a larger body surface area (BSA) will naturally reduce the density of sweat glands per surface area which may compromise sweat rate per unit BSA, and consequently the maximal skin surface sweat coverage (i.e. skin wettedness: ωmax) during exercise in a hot/humid environment. The purpose of the present study was to compare the heat activated sweat gland density (HASGD), sweat gland output (SGO), local sweat rate (LSR) and ωmax between groups differing greatly in BSA during hot and humid active heat stress. Twelve participants separated into two groups based on body size (Small (SM): n=6, 65±6 kg, 1.8±0.1 m2; Large (LG): n=6, 102±13 kg, 2.3±0.1 m2) exercised on an upright cycle ergometer at an evaporative heat balance requirement (Ereq) of 240 W/m2 and 290 W/m2 for up to 75 min at 36°C, 70% RH. LSR of the upper back was measured throughout and expressed relative to surface area (mg/cm2/min). HASGD in number of sweat glands per cm2 (glands/cm2) was measured medially to LSR using the starch iodine technique every 15 minutes and averaged throughout the trial. Mean SGO was derived from the division of LSR and mean HASGD, and expressed as μg/gland/min. On a separate occasion ωmax was measured using a humidity‐ramp protocol (increase of 0.3 kPa from 2.3 kPa every 7.5‐min) during exercise at a fixed external workload of 100W at 36°C until an inflection of esophageal temperature was observed. LSR was similar at 240 W/m2 (SM: 1.24±0.24; LG: 1.40±0.47 mg/cm2/min, P=0.25) and 290 W/m2 (SM: 1.36±0.18; LG: 1.36±0.36 mg/cm2/min, P=0.48). HASGD was greater in SM compared to LG group at 240 W/m2 (SM: 67±12; LG: 55±6 glands/cm2, P=0.03) and 290 W/m2 (SM: 73±9; LG: 57±11 glands/cm2, P&lt;0.01). SGO was trending to be greater in the LG group at 240 W/m2 (SM: 18.6±5.0; LG: 25.2±10.2 μg/gland/min, P=0.10) while significantly greater in the LG group at 290 W/m2 (SM: 17.3±1.6; LG: 21.2±5.7 μg/gland/min, P=0.03). On the other hand, ωmax was not different between groups (SM: 0.82±0.16; LG: 0.72±0.07, P=0.13). In conclusion, a lower HASGD in people with a greater BSA is compensated by a greater SGO to yield a similar LSR up to an Ereq of 290 W/m2 and a similar ωmax. Future research should attempt to assess how even greater reductions in HASGD due to disproportionally larger differences in BSA (ie morbid obesity) compromise LSR, ωmax, and therefore the level of heat stress that can be physiologically compensated.Support or Funding InformationSupported by a NSERC Discovery Grant (P. Imbeault &amp; O. Jay)