Search

Premature birth is considered to be a substantial problem in perinatal medicine, which in the vast majority of cases (>60%), concerns African and South Asian countries. Nevertheless, prematurity is a global problem and is faced by both less-developed (where 12% of babies are prematurely born) and well-developed countries (with 9% prematurity rate) [1, 2]. The percentage of children born prematurely, i.e., before the 37th week of pregnancy, was 8.7% in Europe, while, in Poland, it was 7.34% [3]. Care of prematurely born babies is a huge challenge for parents and medical staff in the neonatal intensive care unit. Preterm infants, because of their low weight and gestational age, are prone to health problems and even death. For this reason, continuous monitoring of health parameters plays an important role. It is achieved by the use of various sensors that are inserted in infants’ garments. Sensor systems monitor an infant’s health condition, and then the data are transmitted to doctors or parents. This article is for illustrative purposes, aimed at presenting solutions such as the use of sensors for monitoring infants’ physiological parameters.

In this paper, we present a new methodology of clothing engineering construction for the medical application. Project “BIOAKOD” intends to propose clothing solutions for elderly people with dermatological defects. This purpose requires a particular concept of clothing because of the additional functionality expected in the clothing. It means that the proposed clothing needs to cover a human body in an aesthetic way and gives comfort of use it, and it should also bring an adding value in health treatment of people with dermatosis (psoriasis)..

The objective of the work was to study the properties of functional insoles for protective footwear using an original methodology by simulating the dynamic real-life conditions. Two insole variants were examined; both are made from a three-layer composite with the middle layer being a polypropylene melt-blown nonwoven. The variants differed in terms of the presence or absence of a superabsorbent polymer (SAP) and a biocide in the middle layer. Insole samples were subjected to pressure and examined in terms of the adsorption and desorption of acidic and alkaline liquids, followed by tear strength experiments. In addition, the insoles were placed in protective footwear and the microclimate existing inside the resulting system was determined using T/RH sensors by means of three complementary methods: under controlled climatic conditions, on a thermal foot model, and on human subjects. The results clearly indicate that insoles containing SAP are more effective than those without SAP in terms of both hygienic and mechanical properties.

The article presents the results of an attempt to use high-resolution X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) to model the thermal insulation of clothing as one of the most important parameters affecting the heat balance between a human and his/her surroundings. Cotton knitted fabric applied in functional clothing for newborns and aramid woven fabric used in multilayer protective clothing for firefighters were the tested materials. The 3D models of real textiles based on micro-CT images were developed. Next, the models were applied to heat transfer simulations using the finite volume method. The usefulness of the models was experimentally verified using thermography with real textiles. The simulation results were consistent with the measurement results and confirmed the relationship between the thermal insulation and geometry of the textiles on the one hand and the physical parameters of the raw materials from which they were made on the other hand.

The results of studies assessing the influence of the addition of carbon nanofillers, such as multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and graphene oxide (GO) that differ in size and structure, on the molecular and supramolecular structure and properties of alginate fibers that might be prospective precursors for carbon fiber (PCF) industry are presented in this article. The investigation was carried out by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD), and tension testing. In the frame of the current study, two types of alginate fibers were examined and compared: alginic acid and calcium alginate fibers. Alginic acid fibers were formed by chemical treatment of calcium alginate fibers with hydrochloric acid due to the fact that Ca2+ ions presented in the fibers were expected to adversely affect the prospective carbonization process. This investigation brought important conclusions about the influence of nanofillers on the physical properties of the final material. Understanding the link between the incorporation of carbon nanostructures and a possible influence on the formation of ordered carbon structures in the precursor fibers brings an important opportunity to get insights into the application of alginate fibers as a prospective base material for obtaining cost-efficient carbon fibers.

In this study, the new tool for measuring thermal insulating power of garments for premature babies under coupled heat and moisture transport was developed. The thermal mannequin corresponds to the body weight and size of a premature baby born in the thirty fourth week of pregnancy. The mannequin surface temperature can be set at various levels, while the heat loss is measured in W/m2. The mannequin is divided into eleven independent heating zones and seven independent zones of moisture evolution. The study also presents the test results of heat insulating power obtained for the newly developed garment set with commercially available garment set for babies, conducted under different climatic conditions. The results exhibit the advantage of the new material construction of the garment over the commercially available one.

This article concerns the widespread matter of biophysical comfort. In this work, 10 double-layer knitted fabrics with potential application in multilayer garments addressed to a specific group of users, such as newborns, were investigated. The materials were constructed with the following raw materials: cotton, polypropylene, polyester, polyamide, bamboo, and viscose. The textiles with a comparable geometrical structure and different composition were tested for their air permeability. In the experimental part, the materials were tested in specific constant ambient conditions using an air permeability tester. In the simulation part, 3D models of actual textiles were designed and air permeability based on the performed simulations using finite volume method was calculated. Both measurements and simulations yielded comparable results and showed that the air permeability of the knitted fabric strongly depends on the thickness and geometrical parameters of yarn.

Electrospinning is an experimental method of the polymer super thin fibres formation using the electrostatic field. The distribution of electrostatic field affects the effectiveness of the electrospinning. In order to analyse the electrostatic field for given technological parameters the 3-D computer model of an electrospinning device must be applied.

Head is the most sensitive body part of neonate. Head that is considerably uncovered causes the significant heat and moisture loss from the skin to the surrounding areas. The main goal is to optimise the thickness of a multilayer composite textile bonnet to secure the optimal skin parameters. Problem is solved using both sensitivity analysis and material derivative concept. An arbitrary objective functional is introduced, its first-order sensitivity is formulated by means of a direct approach. Numerical application is the thickness optimisation of a composite bonnet made of different textile materials.

This study presents the results of research concerning fabrication of nonwovens from biodegradable polymer blends using the melt-blown method. The experiments performed within the framework of the research confirmed the possibility of obtaining polymer composites based on polylactide (PLA) with poly(hydroxyalkanoates) (PHA) and another aliphatic-aromatic copolyester. The obtained products were subjected to the analyses of chemical structure using the Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy(FTIR) Attenuated Total Reflectance(ATR) method. The physical and mechanical properties of the fabricated nonwoven layers were also tested, which confirmed a wide spectrum of their applicability, depending on the polymer composition used in production.

The main goal of the current work is to analyse the three-dimensional approach for modelling knitted fabric structures for future analysis of physical properties and thermal phenomena. The introduced model assumes some simplification of morphology. First, fibres in knitted fabrics are described as monofilaments characterized by isotropic thermal properties. The current form of the considered knitted fabric is determined by morphological properties of the used monofilament and simplification of the stitch shape. This simplification was based on a particular technology for the knitting process that introduces both geometric parameters and physical material properties. Detailed descriptions of heat transfer phenomena can also be considered. A sensitivity analysis of the temperature field with respect to selected structural parameters was also performed.

The quest for sound-absorbing materials that are not only environmentally friendly, but also sustainable is the foremost reason for natural fibre-acoustic materials. Bark cloth is a natural non-woven fabric that is largely produced from Ficus trees. An exploratory investigation of bark cloth a non-woven material and its reinforcement in epoxy polymer composites has been fabricated and investigated for the sound absorption properties so as to find the most suitable applications and also to see whether bark cloth can be used in some applications in place of man-made fibres. Three types of material species were investigated with their respective composites. The fibre morphology showed bark cloth to be a porous fabric that showed promising sound absorption properties at higher frequencies. The sound absorption results of four-layer material selections of Ficus natalensis, Ficus brachypoda and Antiaris toxicaria bark cloth showed sound absorption coefficient of 0.7; 0.71 and 0.91 at f > 6400 Hz, respectively. The bark cloth reinforced laminar epoxy composites had reduced sound absorption coefficients, which ranged from 0.1 to 0.35, which was attributed to decreased porosity and vibration in the bark cloth fibre network.

The study presents the manufacturing of nanofibrous structures as osteoconductive, osteoinductive materials for osseous tissue regeneration. The fibrous structures were obtained by electrospinning of poly(l-lactide-coglicolide) (PLGA) with addition of hydroxyapatite (HAp) and of a blend of PLGA with polyhydroxybutyrate with HAp added. The polymers used in the experiment were synthesised by an innovative method with a zirconium catalyst. First, the optimal electrospinning process parameters were selected. For the characterisation of the obtained osseous tissue reconstruction materials, the physical, macroscopic, functional, mechanical and thermal properties as well as crystallinity index were studied. The study of the radiation sterilisation influence on average molar mass, thermal and mechanical properties was made in order to analyse the degradation effect.