New Methods for the Objective Measurement of Bra Fit

The fit of a bra is critical, not only from a comfort and support perspective but it can significantly impact on the health and well-being of the wearer (Chan et al. 2001). Bra fitting is particularly important for adolescent females as it can affect the size, shape, and composition of their bones and breasts during this growth period (Strasburger 2006). Wood et al. (2008) found that 80% of young women, aged 18-26, that they investigated, wore the wrong sized bras. Bra fitting is still an inherently subjective process. It relies on the experience of a professional bra fitter to assess the fit against a checklist of fitting criteria. More accurate fitting could be achieved if the process was made more objective. This paper presents the results of a study to objectively measure the fit of crop-top bras. Crop top bras are currently very popular because they are highly extensible, body hugging garments that are comfortable to wear, imperceptible under clothing and protective. Furthermore they have no supporting wires to cause excessive skin pressure which may inhibit body growth (Ashby 2005). However a critical feature of these bras is that they can cause breast deformation which detracts from their other beneficial features. This study specifically addresses these effects of breast deformation and defines new, objectively measurable parameters to quantify it, through a series of wearer trials and the analysis of 3D body scans conducted for a range of commercial crop top bras and newly developed bras with increased cup volumes designed to reduce the effects of breast deformation

Insulation of traditional Indian clothing: estimation of climate change impact on productivity from PHS (predicted heat strain) model

Major databases on western clothing and their thermal properties are available, but information on non-western clothing is lacking. A recent ASHRAE project 1504 TRP, Extension of the Clothing Insulation Database for Standard 55 and ISO 7730 dealt with the issue. Simultaneously, a co-operation study at Indian workplaces allowed us to acquire some sets of the traditional clothes used at construction sites in Chennai area. The work was related to mapping of present work conditions in order to allow predictions and measures to be taken if the mean temperature of the work environment would rise. We selected ISO 7933 on predicted heat strain (PHS) as a tool to estimate productivity loss in physical work. PHS criteria are related to reaching safe body core temperature limit of 38 °C or excess water loss. 3 sets of clothing were investigated: 2 female sets of traditional clothes (churidar and saree) modified as used at construction site (added shirt and towel to protect traditional clothes and hair), and a male set commonly used at the construction sites. The clothing insulation and evaporative resistance were measured on thermal manikins. The climatic conditions were based on weather statistics, and metabolic heat production was based on field observations at work places and the ISO 8996:2004 tables (Ergonomics of the thermal environment — Determination of metabolic rate). For the future scenarios all basic parameters were left the same except the air temperature was increased by 2 °C. Adding the protective layer on female clothing did increase clothing insulation by 25-31 % and evaporative resistance by 10-18 % respectively. This affected the performance showing lower capacity to maintain work pace already under present climatic conditions. Further increase in mean air temperature may decrease the productivity by 30-80 % depending on the parameter that is observed (limited exposure time or lower work load), and on the earlier capacity to carry out the tasks. The present evaluation may have several limitations related to the PHS model's boundaries, and validation of the presented method application is needed

Effectiveness of Electrical Heating for Improved Thermal Insulation of a Multi-layered Winter Clothing System

This paper investigated the impact of the distance of the heating unit from the body in a multi-layered winter clothing system on effective thermal insulation and heating efficiency. To identify changes in the thermal insulation and heating efficiency of electrical heating in different layers inside a winter clothing ensemble, a series of thermal manikin tests was conducted. A multi-layered winter ensemble with and without activation of a heating unit was tested on the thermal manikin under two different ambient temperature conditions (10°C and 5°C). Results show that the effective thermal insulation of test ensembles increased by 5-7 percent with the activation of the heating unit compared to that without the activation. The closer the heating unit to the body, the higher the effective thermal insulation was in both ambient temperature conditions. This trend was more significant at lower ambient temperature

The comparison of thermal properties of protective clothing using dry and sweating manikins

The thermal insulation of clothing is commonly determined by dry thermal manikins either made of plastic or metal. For the determination of evaporative resistance of clothing ensemble, there exist three types of manikin methods: pre-wetted underwear or “skin” covered on dry manikins, the manikin with regulated constant water supply to the “skin” surface and the sweating fabric manikin based on a water filled body covered with waterproof but vapour permeable fabrics. The purpose of this study was to compare thermal insulation and moisture evaporative resistance of a set of protective clothing measured using different type of manikins. The total thermal insulation of seven EU project ensembles (Subzero A and B, Permeable (PERM), Impermeable (IMP), Nomex coverall (with two types of underwear) and Cotton coverall) were measured using the manikin Tore in Sweden, the sweating fabric manikin Walter in Hong Kong, and the manikin Newton in the UK. The results showed that total thermal insulation is reproducible for the seven clothing ensembles measured on the manikins Walter and Tore. The coefficient of variance is less than 8%. Nomex coverall with cotton underwear has 8-16% higher total insulation than that with polypropylene underwear. The apparent evaporative resistance of the impermeable coverall with cotton underwear measured on Newton was 44.5% lower than the evaporative resistance measured on Walter. The effect of condensation and conduction at room temperature environment and measuring time allowing full accumulation of moisture in clothing ensembles might be two important factors affecting the evaporative resistance

Optimizing the design of nanostructures for improved thermal conduction within confined spaces

Maintaining constant temperature is of particular importance to the normal operation of electronic devices. Aiming at the question, this paper proposes an optimum design of nanostructures made of high thermal conductive nanomaterials to provide outstanding heat dissipation from the confined interior (possibly nanosized) to the micro-spaces of electronic devices. The design incorporates a carbon nanocone for conducting heat from the interior to the exterior of a miniature electronic device, with the optimum diameter, D0, of the nanocone satisfying the relationship: D02(x) ∝ x1/2 where x is the position along the length direction of the carbon nanocone. Branched structure made of single-walled carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are shown to be particularly suitable for the purpose. It was found that the total thermal resistance of a branched structure reaches a minimum when the diameter ratio, β* satisfies the relationship: β* = γ-0.25bN-1/k*, where γ is ratio of length, b = 0.3 to approximately 0.4 on the single-walled CNTs, b = 0.6 to approximately 0.8 on the multiwalled CNTs, k* = 2 and N is the bifurcation number (N = 2, 3, 4 ...). The findings of this research provide a blueprint in designing miniaturized electronic devices with outstanding heat dissipation

The Climatology Effects on Outdoor Recreation Perception and Activity in Shah Alam

AbstractThe involvement in outdoor recreation is believed depending on the climate condition. This study discovers whether the climatology factors; temperature, humidity, sunshine, rainfall and wind affecting the perception of recreationist to be involved in outdoor activity in Shah Alam particularly. These microclimatic observations outlined the consequence of recreational activity and perception of user with regards to the pattern and trend of outdoor recreational activities. The result suggested that the climate condition affecting their perception towards outdoor recreation activities involvement and the technical assessment showed contradictory

Report on manikin measurements for ASHRAE 1504-TRP: Extension of the Clothing Insulation Database for Standard 55 and ISO 7730 to provide data for Non-Western Clothing Ensembles, including data on the effect of posture and air movement on that insulation. Results of Cooperative Research between the American Society of Heating Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers, Inc., and the Universities of Loughborough, Lund, Cornell and Hong Kong.

ASHRAE standard 55, ISO 7730 and chapter 9 in ASHRAE Handbook-Fundamentals titled ‘thermal comfort’ provide guidance for the assessment of thermal comfort in buildings. As inputs, the method uses climate parameters, the users’ activity level and the clothing insulation of the garments worn by the occupants. The standard provides guidance on the determination of these parameters and provides examples of values for activity level and clothing insulation. However, for the latter, the emphasis is on western style clothing, while in large parts of the world other clothing styles are worn, e.g. shalwar kameez in Pakistan, African clothing in Nigeria or Sarees in India. In order to use the methodology of ASHRAE 55 in non-western regions, insulation data for such clothing is required. In the present project, ASHRAE 1504-RP, such data was collected for a range of non-western clothing types. Four different thermal manikins (male and female shapes) in three different laboratories (UK, Sweden and China), were used to determine the clothing insulation values of 52 clothing configurations. These fifty two configurations were also tested for the effects of air velocity on insulation and forty three were tested for the effects of posture (sitting) and walking. The observed reductions in insulation for both air velocity and walking are higher than those presented in the literature for western ensembles, emphasizing the need for these new data. This effect is most likely related to more open weave fabrics and loose fit designs. Similarly the relation of the clothing surface area factor to intrinsic clothing insulation was different from that published for western clothing. Prediction equations for the clothing surface area factor fcl, based on the new data only had limited predictive power, which however was also the case for those obtained in the past for western clothing. This issue seems to be commonly overlooked, as the use of these prediction equations is widespread. It has to be concluded that reliable fcl values can only be obtained when these are actually measured as in the present work. Having said this, the concept of the fcl factor for the non-western clothing may not work in the first place, as the wide falling robes and gowns do not match the cylindrical clothing and air layer model on which the fcl concept is based. The results provide an extensive database of insulation values of non-western clothing styles in different wear configurations, in different air velocities, postures and movement. As such this is expected to be a valuable addition to ASHRAE 55 and ISO 7730 and ISO 9920. In addition, data obtained on the insulation of individual body parts can be used by CFD modelers to incorporate realistic insulation data in their models

A database of static clothing thermal insulation and vapor permeability values of non-western ensembles for use in ASHRAE Standard 55, ISO 7730, and ISO 9920 CH-15-018 (RP-1504)

Four different thermal manikins (male and female shapes) in three different laboratories (UK, Sweden, and China) were used to determine the clothing thermal insulation values of 52 non-Western, mainly indoor clothing ensembles in order to expand the existing clothing database for use with ANSI/ ASHRAE Standard 55-2013, Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy (ASHRAE 2013a), ISO Standard 7730-2005, Ergonomics oftheThermal Environment—Analytical Determination and Interpretation of Thermal Comfort Using Calculation of the PMV and PPD Indices and Local Thermal Comfort Criteria (ISO 2005), and ISO Standard 9920-2009,Ergonomics of the Thermal Environment—Estimation of Thermal Insulation and Water Vapour Resistance of a Clothing Ensemble (ISO 2009). Insulation values varied over manikins, which is attributed to their different shapes and the different fit of the clothing. The mean value over three manikins is reported (with standard deviation) to include this potential real-life variation in the results. The relation of the clothing surface area factor to intrinsic clothing insulation was found to be different from that published for Western clothing. Prediction equations for the clothing surface area factor fcl based on the new data had only limited predictive power, which, however, was also the case for those obtained in the past for Western clothing. This issue seems to be commonly overlooked, as the use of these prediction equations is widespread. It has to be concluded that reliable fcl values can only be obtained when they are actually measured, as in the present work. However, we suggest that the concept of the fcl factor for the non-Western clothing may not be appropriate and may require further attention in research, as wide-falling-robes and gowns do not match the cylindrical clothing and air layer model on which the fcl concept is based. In summary, the results provide an extensive database of insulation values of non-Western clothing that is expected to be a valuable addition to ASHRAE Standard 55-2013 (ASHRAE 2013a), ISO Standard 7730-2005 (ISO 2005), and ISO Standard 9920-2009 (ISO 2009)

Mudskipper genomes provide insights into the terrestrial adaptation of amphibious fishes

Mudskippers are amphibious fishes that have developed morphological and physiological adaptations to match their unique lifestyles. Here we perform whole-genome sequencing of four representative mudskippers to elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying these adaptations. We discover an expansion of innate immune system genes in the mudskippers that may provide defence against terrestrial pathogens. Several genes of the ammonia excretion pathway in the gills have experienced positive selection, suggesting their important roles in mudskippers’ tolerance to environmental ammonia. Some vision-related genes are differentially lost or mutated, illustrating genomic changes associated with aerial vision. Transcriptomic analyses of mudskippers exposed to air highlight regulatory pathways that are up- or down-regulated in response to hypoxia. The present study provides a valuable resource for understanding the molecular mechanisms underlying water-to-land transition of vertebrates