Personal Clothing Research Articles

Triclosan Promotes Staphylococcus aureus Nasal Colonization

ABSTRACTThe biocide triclosan is used in many personal care products, including toothpastes, soaps, clothing, and medical equipment. Consequently, it is present as a contaminant in the environment and has been detected in some human fluids, including serum, urine, and milk. Staphylococcus aureus is an opportunistic pathogen that colonizes the noses and throats of approximately 30% of the population. Colonization with S. aureus is known to be a risk factor for several types of infection. Here we demonstrate that triclosan is commonly found in the nasal secretions of healthy adults and the presence of triclosan trends positively with nasal colonization by S. aureus. We demonstrate that triclosan can promote the binding of S. aureus to host proteins such as collagen, fibronectin, and keratin, as well as inanimate surfaces such as plastic and glass. Lastly, triclosan-exposed rats are more susceptible to nasal colonization with S. aureus. These data reveal a novel factor that influences the ability of S. aureus to bind surfaces and alters S. aureus nasal colonization.

Stained Evidence: Blood, Semen and Matter on the Clothes of Kennedy, Lewinsky, and Margiela

Accidental stains offer unique, material evidence of love, life, decay, and death. Traditionally, we have admired cloth and clothing for its new, pristine qualities and have celebrated those features in our personal clothing, alongside collections, displays, catwalks, and advertising. This paper explores the underside of this known realm by drawing on the case studies of Jackie Kennedy's blood-stained suit, Monica Lewinsky's infamous blue dress, a controversial reading of the Shroud of Turin, and the living fabrics of Martin Margiela. In suggesting that the accidental stain exemplifies Kristeva's abjection in two twentieth-century American presidential settings, we find stained garments powerfully symbolising dishonour and tragedy. The unintended mark may also deface an otherwise unblemished garment, and make the original fabric sacred. In a final twist, we see fashion deliberately applying stains for aesthetic purpose but the accidental stain continues to retain the power of defacement.

Emergency OSL dosimetry with commonplace materials

Several commonplace materials were studied as possible emergency optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosimeters. The materials included: paper currency (banknotes) and coins of different denomination and from different countries; plastic cards of different types (credit and debit cards, driver's license cards, membership cards, etc.), parts and details of clothing and shoes as well as samples of different fabrics.The samples displayed significant variability in their OSL properties. They differed in the intensity of the initial ‘native’ signal; the bleaching time of the OSL signal; the sensitivity to light of different wavelengths; the fading rate of OSL signals, etc. Procedures of OSL analysis were proposed to account for this variety.Values of the minimum measurable dose (MMD) were below 2 Gy for most tested samples if OSL measurements were conducted within one week of exposure and the samples were kept in dark since exposure (except samples of shoes that were kept under environmental light).The OSL signals in banknotes appear to originate from compounds containing aluminum, silicon, calcium and titanium – these elements were detected using X-ray microanalysis. For coins, the source of the OSL signals is speculated to be small particles of quartz, which were detected on the coins' surfaces. The X-ray microanalysis spectra from fabrics and shoes revealed sodium, aluminum, titanium, iron and nickel as elements that appeared to be responsible for the radiation sensitivity of those samples.It was concluded that, under certain constrained circumstances, paper and metallic money, personal plastic cards, clothing and shoes could be used as emergency OSL dosimeters in triage applications.

Personal Clothing Retrieval on Photo Collections by Color and Attributes

Automatic personal clothing retrieval on photo collections, i.e., searching the same clothes worn by the same person, is not a trivial problem as photos are usually taken under completely uncontrolled realistic imaging conditions. Typically, the captured clothing images have large variations due to geometric deformation, occlusion, cluttered background, and photometric variability from illumination and viewpoint, which pose significant challenges to text-based or reranking-based visual search methods. In this paper, a novel framework is presented to tackle these issues by leveraging low-level features (e.g., color) and high-level features (attributes) of clothing. First, a content-based image retrieval (CBIR) approach based on the bag-of-visual-words (BOW) model is developed as our baseline system, in which a codebook is constructed from extracted dominant color patches. A reranking approach is then proposed to improve search quality by exploiting clothing attributes, including the type of clothing, sleeves, patterns, etc. Compared to low-level features, the attributes have better robustness to clothing variations, and carry semantic meanings as high-level image representations. Different visual attribute detectors are learned from large amounts of training data to extract the corresponding attributes. The construction of codebook and building of attribute classifiers are conducted offline, which leads to fast online search performance. Extensive experiments on photo collections show that the reranking algorithm based on attribute learning significantly improves retrieval performance in combination with the proposed baseline. Even our color-based baseline alone outperforms the previous CBIR-based search approaches. The experiments also demonstrate that our approach is robust to large variations of images taken in unconstrained environment.

Interface Design of Personal Clothing Database Construction Support System

Interface Design of Personal Clothing Database Construction Support System

The Conflict-Laden Multi-Functionality of the Kapuas River in Kalimantan, Indonesia

the Kapuas river in west-Kalimantan, indonesia's longest river, is a prime example illustrating the conflict-laden multi-functionality of water in south-east asia. diverse utilisations of the river and adjacent land areas by local residents as well as corporate and state-led environmental transformations affect the river in various ways and bear conflicts at different scales. water as fluid medium connects the various actors and utilisations upstream and downstream. the river is used as a space for living, for personal hygiene and washing clothes, for fishing and aquaculture, as source of water for industrial, agricultural, and domestic purposes, for the discharge of partly toxic domestic and industrial waste water and rubbish, for gold and sand mining, and as a route of transport for people and goods. in the frame of a research project that aims at a spatial theoretical analysis of upstream-downstream and rural-urban interrelations with regard to water as a fluid resource, we undertook an exploratory research trip on the Kapuas river in March 2012 to gain a first overview of the various actors and utilisations positioned along the river, and of related transformations and conflicts. the material presented here provides visual illustrations of selected aspects of human-nature interactions and the conflict-laden multi-functionality of the river. the photographic journey begins in the upstream areas and ends in the coastal city of Pontianak. with its economic and political primacy the city affects human-nature relations upstream, which in turn affect the city via the flow of water.[Sidebar]Citation Lukas, M. C., Julia, radjawali, i., flitner, M., & Pye, o. (2012). the Conflict-Laden Multi-functionality of the Kapuas river in Kalimantan, indonesia. ASEAS - Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies, 5(2), 359-368.[Sidebar]1 Life on water - Especially the villages of the Melayu people who advanced to the interior of West Kalimantan from the coastline along the waterways and mainly live from fishing and small-scale trading, are concentrated along the Kapuas river and lake network.2 3 Fishing And Nutrition - The upper Kapuas Basin with the Danau Sentarum region contributes the main portion of freshwater fish caught in West-Kalimantan. The fishers - both women and men - use various fishing gears. The fishing gear shown in Picture 3 allows catching small sized fish in small amounts for everyday consumption.4 Conflicts over nature conservation - Danau Sentarum, a unique ecosystem comprising interconnected seasonal lakes and swamp forests, is valued by the local population for its fish abundance. It also plays a crucial role in regulating the water flows of the Kapuas River. As in other national parks in the upper reaches of the Kapuas and its tributaries, conflicts have arisen between state-led conservation strategies and local residents' resource uses.5 Politicised Water Fl ows - Politicised land-river and upstream-downstream interactions are marked by widely unknown or disputed cause-effect relationships: Local residents blame the operations of a logging company, with which they are in conflict over land, for altered stream flows resulting in river bank erosion that begins to threaten their dwellings.6 HE alth And Sanitation - Throughout the entire catchment area, residents use the river for their daily hygiene, for brushing teeth, and for doing their laundry. The floating wooden huts with their attached platforms along the shoreline serve as toilets and as washing and bathing spots. In some villages, river water had also been used for human consumption until recently but was then replaced by alternative water sources to reduce the incidence of water borne diseases, like cholera and typhoid.7 Mining and Poll ution - Thousands of gold miners, both locals and people from other parts of West-Kalimantan, dig up sediments in many parts of the Kapuas River and its tributaries, thereby polluting the river with mercury and increasing riverine sediment transport. …

Research on the Performance of the Germanium Fiber and Yarn

The main work of this paper is the test of morphological structure and Infrared spectrum of Germanium fiber , strength、humidity content、fineness uniformity、humidity content and resistance to acids and bases of Germanium yarns, to prove that the special properties of the Germanium fiber yarn suitable for the production of health next-to-skin apparel. Aimed at providing the relative theoretical guidance and preparation of personal clothing and fabrics when to use the Germanium fiber blended yarn for producing the next-to-skin apparel in the textile sector .

Clinical Issues—February 2012

This MonthPatients wearing personal clothing into the ORKey words: patient attire, underwear.Tracking and documenting implantsKey words: implant, implant documentation, infection prevention.Returning explants to patientsKey words: implant, returning explanted devices.

Passive Flexible-Substrate Blast Sensor Array

We have developed a design for a wearable passive blast sensor array to detect the peak shock experienced by personnel exposed to high energy events. The sensor is fabricated on a flexible substrate using a MEMS process. The design includes an array of sensors, each element of which is triggered at a different pressure level and which records the peak pressure by means of a permanently deformed diaphragm. The elements can be integrated with a flexible electrophoretic display or can be interrogated externally with an electronic reader. A key application is in predicting the exent of traumatic brain injury for military peronnel exposed to explosions in a battlefield environment. Peak blast information can assist in prioritizing and determining the appropriate battlefield treatment. The flexible substrate allows integration into personal armor or clothing and the passive nature of the sensor ensures a very long shelf life and reduces cost and maintenance. Details of the sensor designs and process flows for their fabrication are described. Prototype sensors have been fabricated and the fabrication characterized. Also included are simulation results for the preforamnce of the arrays. Finally, preliminary pressure blast test data for indivdual sensor elements are presented.

청소년의 성격특성과 의복욕구에 따른 교복복장규제에 대한 반응

The response of the adolescents toward school uniform regulations according to personal character and clothing needs was studied. To carry out this experiment, questionnaires were administered to 514 students in middle and high schools in Seoul and Gyeonggi-do. The collected data were analyzed with Factor analysis(Varimax rotation), Cronbach's <TEX>${\alpha}$</TEX>, Frequencies Statistics, t-test, ANOVA, and multiple regression analysis using the SPSS WIN 15.0. By surveying on actual condition of uniform regulation in school, it was found that the existing uniform regulation was unnecessarily strict and caused stress leading a negative educational effect. Based on the relationship among the degree of regulation, stress, and student attitude toward school uniform regulation, stress and negative attitude to uniform regulation increased as the degree of regulation increased, resulting in an decrease in observance behavior of students. Since the stress from the school uniform regulation can be reduced by establishing rational law, which induced voluntary conduct of student to obey, it is important for student to participate in establishment of adoptable and reasonable school uniform regulation law.

A survey of paint flakes on the clothing of persons suspected of involvement in crime

A survey was undertaken to determine the background level of paint flakes on the clothing of persons suspected of involvement in crime. The debris from 100 garments submitted for casework examination was studied and paint flakes recovered where present. Seventy two percent of garments bore one or more flakes. A total of 703 flakes were recovered; size, topcoat colour, and number and colour of any under-layers were recorded for each. The distribution of paint flakes on clothing surfaces and in pockets was also noted. Results were compared with the previously published survey of Pearson, May and Dabbs (1971). This survey provides scientists with an updated data set for reference when considering the strength of paint evidence.

An Epidemiological Perspective of Ultraviolet Exposure—Public Health Concerns

Over the last 30 years, many countries have developed strong sun protection programs, spurred on by rapidly increasing skin cancer incidence and concerns about stratospheric ozone depletion. More recently, considerable concern has arisen about widespread vitamin D insufficiency, creating a "sun exposure dilemma," since in most regions vitamin D predominantly derives from endogenous synthesis in the skin initiated by exposure to ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Little attention has been paid to whether a similar dilemma exists for UV-related eye conditions.For the eyes, to our current knowledge, exposure to UV radiation has only adverse effects. There is strong evidence that acute high dose exposure to UV radiation causes photokeratitis and photoconjunctivitis, while even low dose chronic exposure to UV radiation is a risk factor for cataract, pterygium, and squamous cell carcinoma of the cornea and conjunctiva. There is weaker evidence in relation to other conditions, including ocular melanoma and age-related macular degeneration. Ultraviolet radiation-related eye diseases are common, disabling, and cause a considerable disease burden worldwide.The "correct" public health message for optimal sun exposure is not clear cut, with too many variables-ambient UV radiation, personal skin type, age, weight, clothing habits, medication, and others-for a blanket sun safety message. In addition, there remain many unknowns, including strong evidence supporting or refuting the very many proposed health benefits of vitamin D. More evidence is required to define disease burdens for UV-induced eye diseases, to evaluate the decrease in disease burden from sun protective measures and to elucidate any beneficial effects of exposure of the eye to UV radiation, to provide appropriate advice to the public.

Application of X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) for the Surface Characterization of Gunshot Residue (GSR)

Gunshot residue (GSR) is typically found on the hands or clothing of persons who have been in the environment of a discharging firearm, but it may also be found on objects in the vicinity of the discharge. Computer-controlled scanning electron microscopy (CCSEM) is the method preferred by the forensic community for the automated analysis of GSR. GSR samples are therefore typically collected from a crime suspect's hands and/or clothing using SEM sample stubs coated with a conductive adhesive. The three major components in modern firearm cartridge primers are lead styphanate (initiator), antimony sulfide (fuel), and barium nitrate (oxidizer). GSR consists of the products of combustion of these primer materials. Large populations of particles in the size range of ~1–10 μm are rapidly screened by energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) for the presence of combinations of Pb, Sb, and Ba. When combinations of these three elements are detected, the particles are flagged as potential GSR particulate. Flagged particles with significant Pb/Sb/Ba compositions are subsequently relocated for a live identification and a positive confirmation of GSR. Positive particles are classified as being either “characteristic of GSR” (that is, all three key elements are present) or “consistent with GSR” (that is, any two of the key elements are present) based on the particle composition and morphology. Classification is based on the presence of the constituent elements and is not dependant on the element amounts. If a particle does not meet the proper compositional or morphological criteria, it is rejected as GSR. However, CCSEM generally does not provide information regarding the population of particles much less than 1 μm or the surface chemistry of the GSR particles. This article examines the fine fraction of GSR particles with high-resolution electron microscopy and complements the microscopy data with surface chemistry information from X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS).

Thermal comfort in apartments in India: Adaptive use of environmental controls and hindrances

Energy used in buildings in India is ever-increasing. About 47% of total energy in Indian residential buildings is used for ventilation controls alone. Comfort temperatures defined in Indian codes are inappropriate (23–26 °C). There are no thermal comfort field studies in residences reported from India. The author conducted a field study in apartments in Hyderabad, in summer and monsoon seasons in 2008. The present paper discusses the occupants’ methods of environmental control, behavioural adaptation and impediments. Due to poor adaptive opportunities, about 60% of occupants were uncomfortable in summer. The comfort range obtained in this study (26.0–32.5 °C), was way above the standard. Fanger’s PMV always overestimated the actual sensation. The occupants adapted through the use of personal environmental controls, clothing, metabolism and many behavioural control actions. Use of fans, air coolers and A/c s increased with temperature, and was impeded by their poor efficacy and noise, occupant’s attitudes and economic affordability. Air-coolers and A/c s were mostly used in top- floors, as the available adaptive opportunities were insufficient. Behavioural adaptation was higher in summer and was limited in higher economic groups always. Subjects frequently exposed to A/c environments, tolerated thermal extremes little, and desired “ thermal indulgence”. This study calls for special adaptation methods for top-floor flats.

Income, Gender, and Consumption: A Study of Malawian Households

This paper uses 1998 household level data from urban Malawi to look at the impact on consumption patterns of the share of total household income accruing to different individuals within the household. Specifically, male and female income shares and other factors which may influence intra-household bargaining such as education are analyzed. The study finds that for some categories of good such as personal and household hygiene and clothing, unitary household models are unsuitable as intra-household relationships and differing preferences of individuals play a key role in consumption choices. Overall the results indicate that females favor household hygiene, vehicle repair and girls. clothing while males favor male clothing. Consumption choices are influenced by both the income and education of the main male and female members, and crucially, the impact of income shares on household consumption is non-linear.

Do tourists disperse weed seed? A global review of unintentional human-mediated terrestrial seed dispersal on clothing, vehicles and horses

Human-mediated seed dispersal is recognised as an important, but under-researched, issue. To assess the potential for tourists to act as unintentional seed dispersal agents, we reviewed published and unpublished data on seed dispersal via clothing, vehicles (cars) and in/on horses and donkeys, all of which can be used by tourists. Seeds from 754 species of terrestrial plants have been collected from these vectors, 15% of which are internationally recognised environmental weeds. Seeds were collected from personal clothing and equipment (228 species), the fur of donkeys and horses (42 species), horse dung (216 species) and vehicles (505 species). Most were herbs (429 species) or graminoids (237 species) and native to Europe. Annual Poa, White Clover, Kentucky Bluegrass and Yorkshire Fog were the most frequent species. There have been eight studies specifically on tourists, which identified 12 species on clothing, 26 on vehicles and 133 from horse dung. Methods that minimise the risk of tourists as human-mediated dispersal agents may therefore be appropriate for some tourism activities/destinations: suggestions are made. Further sampling using standardised experimental techniques is required to assess the relative risk associated with specific tourist activities and locations and determine which, and how much, seed is transported.

Environmental and occupational allergies

Airborne allergens are the major cause of allergic rhinitis and asthma. Daily exposure comes from indoor sources, chiefly at home but occasionally at schools or offices. Seasonal exposure to outdoor allergens, pollens, and molds is another important source. Exposure to unusual substances at work causes occupational asthma, accounting for about 5% of asthma in adults. Indoor and outdoor air pollutants trigger airway inflammation and increase the severity of asthma. Diesel exhaust particles increase the production of IgE antibodies. Identification and reduction of exposure to allergens is a very important part of the management of respiratory allergic diseases. The first section of this chapter discusses domestic allergens, arthropods (mites and cockroaches), molds, and mammals (pets and mice). Indoor humidity and water damage are important factors in the production of mite and mold allergens, and discarded human food items are important sources of proliferation of cockroaches and mice. Means of identifying and reducing exposure are presented. The second section discusses outdoor allergens: pollens and molds. The particular plants or molds and the amount of exposure to these allergens is determined by the local climate, and local pollen and mold counts are available to determine the time and amount of exposure. Climate change is already having an important effect on the distribution and amount of outdoor allergens. The third section discusses indoor and outdoor air pollution and methods that individuals can take to reduce indoor pollution in addition to eliminating cigarette smoking. The fourth section discusses the diagnosis and management of occupational asthma.

Blast Mines: Physics, Injury Mechanisms And Vehicle Protection

Since World War II, more vehicles have been lost to land mines than all other threats combined. Anti-vehicular (AV) mines are capable of disabling a heavy vehicle, or completely destroying...

여성 노년층 소비자의 라이프스타일 유형에 따른 판매원 속성 중요도와 의류 점포평가기준 -서울지역 거주 60-70대 여성을 중심으로-

This study classifies the lifestyle of elderly female consumers in their 60`s and 70`s and examines the influence of lifestyles on personal clothing purchase behavior. This paper classified the types of lifestyle and examined the influence of lifestyle types on the perceived importance of salesperson`s characteristics and store evaluation criteria. A survey was conducted on 194 elderly females in their 60`s and 70`s living in Seoul. The SPSS 14.0 program was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics, factor analysis, reliability analysis, K-means cluster analysis, and one-way ANOVA followed by Duncan post hoc comparisons were conducted. The research results are as follow. First, in order to identify the lifestyle factors of elderly female consumers a factor analysis was conducted that indicated 9 factors. Second, as a result of the cluster analysis of lifestyle types, the respondents were classified into `proactives`, `passive stagnants`, `independent misers`, and `conservative consumers`. Third, according to lifestyle, weight on `appearance and image`, `professionalism`, `ethics`, `similarity`, and `customer orientation` abilities of the salesperson were significantly different. Fourth, in relation to the store evaluation criteria by lifestyle, a significant difference was found in the attention to `physical service` by a salesperson.

Mise en œuvre de procédures d’hygiène et de contrôles physiques et microbiologiques d’environnement au sein d’une unité de radiopharmacie

Preparation of radiopharmaceuticals for injection involves compliance with the regulations for pharmaceutical drugs and radionuclides. The microbiological quality must be ensured, radiation exposure limited, and radioactive contamination of personnel and the environment prevented. Based on work concerning compliance and in accordance with changes in recent regulations, the facilities of the radiopharmacy department of the Louis Mourier Hospital have been optimized. Physical and microbiological controls of equipment and facilities have been implemented to monitor workstations and their environment with respect to microbiological quality. Three hygiene guidelines have also been implemented: improving hygiene practices, personal clothing, practical training on hygiene and its evaluation.