Preface

Because of the travel restrictions between China and other countries of our keynote speaker, the 9th annual 2021 International Conference on Material Science and Environmental Engineering [MSEE2021] was held on November 27th, 2021 (Virtual Conference). The conference was held via Tencent Meeting Application. MSEE2021 aims to bring researchers, engineers, and students to the areas of Material Science and Environmental Engineering. MSEE2021 features unique mixed topics of Material Science and Advanced Materials, Material Engineering and Application, Environmental Science and Engineering and Mechanical Design and Technology. We received over 197 submissions from various parts of the world. The Technical Program Committee worked very hard to have all manuscripts reviewed before the review deadline. All the accepted papers have been submitted to strict peer-review, and selected based on originality, significance and clarity for the purpose of the conference. The conference program is extremely profound and featuring high-impact presentations of selected papers and additional late-breaking contributions. We sincerely hope that the conference would not only show the participants a broad overview of the latest research results on related fields, but also provide them with a significant platform for academic connection and exchange. There are two keynote speakers and four invited sessions. The keynote speakers are internationally recognized leading experts in their research fields, who have demonstrated outstanding proficiency and have achieved distinction in their profession. The proceedings would be published by IOP Journal of Physics Conference Series. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to all the members of Technical Program Committee and organizers for their enthusiasm, time, and expertise. Our deep thanks also go to many volunteers and staffs for the long hours and hard work they have generously given to MSEE2021. Last but not least, we would like to thank all the authors, speaker and participants for their great contributions to the success of MSEE2021. MSEE2021 Organizing Committee List of Committee of MSEE2021 are available in this pdf.</jats:p

Body-monitoring and health supervision by means of optical fiber-based sensing systems in medical textiles

Long-term monitoring with optical fibers has moved into the focus of attention due to the applicability for medical measurements. Within this Review, setups of flexible, unobtrusive body-monitoring systems based on optical fibers and the respective measured vital parameters are in focus. Optical principles are discussed as well as the interaction of light with tissue. Optical fiber-based sensors that are already used in first trials are primarily selected for the section on possible applications. These medical textiles include the supervision of respiration, cardiac output, blood pressure, blood flow and its saturation with hemoglobin as well as oxygen, pressure, shear stress, mobility, gait, temperature, and electrolyte balance. The implementation of these sensor concepts prompts the development of wearable smart textiles. Thus, current sensing techniques and possibilities within photonic textiles are reviewed leading to multiparameter designs. Evaluation of these designs should show the great potential of optical fibers for the introduction into textiles especially due to the benefit of immunity to electromagnetic radiation. Still, further improvement of the signal-to-noise ratio is often necessary to develop a commercial monitoring system

Cationic Antimicrobial Polymers and Their Assemblies

Cationic compounds are promising candidates for development of antimicrobial agents. Positive charges attached to surfaces, particles, polymers, peptides or bilayers have been used as antimicrobial agents by themselves or in sophisticated formulations. The main positively charged moieties in these natural or synthetic structures are quaternary ammonium groups, resulting in quaternary ammonium compounds (QACs). The advantage of amphiphilic cationic polymers when compared to small amphiphilic molecules is their enhanced microbicidal activity. Besides, many of these polymeric structures also show low toxicity to human cells; a major requirement for biomedical applications. Determination of the specific elements in polymers, which affect their antimicrobial activity, has been previously difficult due to broad molecular weight distributions and random sequences characteristic of radical polymerization. With the advances in polymerization control, selection of well defined polymers and structures are allowing greater insight into their structure-antimicrobial activity relationship. On the other hand, antimicrobial polymers grafted or self-assembled to inert or non inert vehicles can yield hybrid antimicrobial nanostructures or films, which can act as antimicrobials by themselves or deliver bioactive molecules for a variety of applications, such as wound dressing, photodynamic antimicrobial therapy, food packing and preservation and antifouling applications