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Hand hygiene is essential for preventing healthcare-associated infections. However, hand hygiene compliance is often hin-dered by a number of factors, one of which is irritant contact dermatitis. Illustrating the benefits of skin friendly hand disin-fectants and their effect on skin condition could positively influence hand hygiene compliance. The aim of this study was to analyse the skin hydrating effect of a hand disinfectant with a comprehensive skin care complex using Capacitive Contact Imaging (CCI) as a method to assess and visualise skin hydration in comparison to conventional cor-neometry. In addition to established parameters, including pH value, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), and dermatological assessments, the study investigated the dermatological effects of a two-week application of a hand disinfectant foam. Frequent daily application of the product led to an improvement in skin hydration without causing intolerability. The results from CCI and corneometry were consistently comparable and showed significantly elevated skin hydration after the two-week application period. CCI illustrated the increased skin hydration and it’s potential to be used as an additional method to evaluate and demonstrate the effect of hand hygiene products on skin health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Händehygiene ist im Gesundheitswesen entscheidend für die Infektionsprävention. Allerdings wird die indikationsgerechte Einhaltung der Händehygiene (Compliance) oft durch eine Reihe von Faktoren behindert, einschließlich Unverträglichkeiten wie irritativer Kontaktdermatitis. Eine Visualisierung der Vorteile hautfreundlicher Hände-Desinfektionsmittel für den Hautzustand könnte die Händehygiene-Compliance positiv beeinflussen. Ziel dieser Studie war es, die Haut befeuchtende Wirkung eines Hände-Desinfektionsmittels mit umfassendem Hautpflegekomplex zu untersuchen. Dabei wurde ein kapazitives Bildgebungsverfahren (Capacitive Contact Imaging [CCI]) als Methode zur Messung und Visualisierung der Hautfeuchtigkeit im Vergleich zur herkömmlichen Corneometrie eingesetzt. Zusätzlich zu etablierten Parametern wie pH-Wert, transepidermaler Wasserverlust (TEWL) und dermatologische Bewertungen wurden die Auswirkungen einer zweiwöchigen Anwendung eines Hände-Desinfektionsschaums auf den Hautzustand untersucht. Die regelmäßige tägliche Anwendung des Produktes führte zu einer Verbesserung der Hautfeuchtigkeit, ohne dass Unverträglichkeiten auftraten. Die mittels CCI und Corneometrie erzielten Ergebnisse waren durchweg vergleichbar und zeigten eine signifikant erhöhte Hautfeuchtigkeit nach dem zweiwöchigen Anwendungszeitraum. CCI visualisierte die erhöhte Hautfeuchtigkeit und zeigt damit das Potenzial für den Einsatz als zusätzliche Methode zur Bewertung und zum Nachweis der Auswirkungen von Hände-Hygieneprodukten auf die Hautgesundheit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The composites made of continuous fibers in the form of unidirectional and fabric prepregs are widely used in many fields of engineering for the production of lightweight and durable parts or whole structures. To achieve this, we not only need to possess knowledge of the composite mechanics, but also have to master the technology. In most cases, particularly for parts with advanced geometric shapes, autoclaving technique is used. The success of the carried out process occurs when the prepreg reaches the proper temperature throughout its volume in the specified time, where there are no overheated or unheated zones as well as when the prepreg is correctly pressed against the mold. In order to ensure adequate stiffness, the mold has much greater thickness than formed composite and the stiffening ribs. The result is that the time required for prepreg heating is greatly extended. To prevent this, the appropriate electric heaters embedded in the silicone grips are used.

The contemporary demands in different branches of engineering require application of new multi-component materials and structural systems. Appropriately chosen joining technology can offer significant enhancement of structural system performance in terms of effectiveness, reliability, safety and other design criteria. The modern applications of complex joints are of great technological interest as they permit to combine and to enhance the individual effects of each kind of joint. This is of great importance for modern applications in different branches of engineering: aerospace, mechanical and civil. Therefore in this paper we will focus on the analysis of mechanical response of adhesive joint of aluminium strips reinforced by rivets. The aim of the paper is to investigate experimentally the mechanical behaviour of adhesive joint of aluminium strips reinforced by rivets for industrial applications in aerospace. The considered joint was subjected to uniaxial loading. The tests in this paper were performed for: • classical adhesive joint in order to investigate material parameters for numerical modelling of the hybrid joint • hybrid joining of the structural elements in order to investigate the reinforcement effect. The experiments with application of digital image ARAMIS system allowed for on-line monitoring of the deformation process of the considered joining elements. The particular distributions of displacement fields at the joint surface were estimated for any stage of loading process. Numerical modelling was performed for experimentally investigated specimens. The materials parameters, necessary for calculation, were estimated from experiments. FEA modelling was done with the help of ABAQUS code.

Artificial neural networks [ANNs] are an effective method for predicting and classifying variables. This article presents the application of an integrated system based on artificial neural networks and calculations by the finite element method [FEM] for the optimization of geometry of a thin-walled element of an air structure. To ensure optimal structure, the structure’s geometry was modified by creating side holes and ribs, also with holes. The main criterion of optimization was to reduce the structure’s weight at the lowest possible deformation of the tested object. The numerical tests concerned a fragment of an elevator used in the “Bryza” aircraft. The tests were conducted for networks with radial basis functions [RBF] and multilayer perceptrons [MLP]. The calculations described in the paper are an attempt at testing the FEM - ANN system with respect to design optimization.

The paper presents an analysis of the influence of a number of technological aspects of both the socket and the pin on the value of the force required for joint disconnection. A number of numerical simulations were made in Abaqus program to examine effects of such parameters as: presence of an interference fit, use of spherical latches, application of different rigidity of the pin by making cuts with variable width and length, use of different angles of inclination of the working part of the connection. Models of different simple joints presented in this work, can also operate in large structures forming panels of aircraft structures. For this purpose one of the analyzed geometry of the connection was applied to create a 3-D panel model of the structural element in CAD - SolidWorks program. All analysed models with different geometries were subjected to simulation of opening process. The corresponding critical forces were estimated for the beginning of the failure process. The detailed discussion of all model parameters was included to specify their influence on the whole disconnection of joints. It should be noted that aerospace structures work under complex loading states and further numerical studies are required to extend the presented results.

A section of fuselage skin with dimension 30 x 200 mm was subjected to numerical study and loaded by skew bending (Fig. 3). The thickness of the skin was 0,6 mm, the length of a leg of an angle “L” profile stringer was 12 mm with 1mm thickness. The angle of inclination α of the load plane to the skin plane varies in the range from 10° to 90° with 10° increment. The elastic - plastic material model of D16T aluminum alloy was used in simulations of the fuselage skin as well as for “L” and “C” profile stringers. In the material model description damage of aluminum alloy was taken into account. An adhesive layer with thickness of 0,1mm was modeled using cohesive elements with the failure mode depending on the shear strength and the tensile strength.