scholarly journals A thermal foot manikin as a tool for footwear evaluation and development

Author(s):  
Anna Maria West ◽  
Florian Oberst ◽  
James Tarrier ◽  
Christian Heyde ◽  
Heiko Schlarb ◽  
...  

This study investigated the relationship between thermal perceptions during human wear trials and thermal foot manikin measurements of heat and vapour resistance for five running shoes varying in material and construction. Measurements of thermal/evaporative resistance were performed using a 12-zone sweating thermal-foot manikin. Eleven males performed running trials on five occasions, wearing shoes of same design, differing in materials and construction, to achieve a range of heat/vapour resistances and air permeabilities. Trials in 20°C/60% RH consisted of three phases: 15 min rest, 40 min running, 15 min recovery. In-shoe temperature/humidity were measured at two sites on the left foot. Thermal sensation/wetness perception/thermal comfort were provided for the left foot and four foot regions. Variations in shoe material and construction resulted in differences in thermal and evaporative resistance. These differences were reflected in in-shoe temperature and in-shoe absolute humidity assessed during wear trials. At the end of the rest period, thermal sensation was strongly related to thermal insulation ( r2 = 0.69, p<0.001). During exercise however, thermal sensation, wetness perception and thermal discomfort were related to both thermal insulation and evaporative resistance. Thermal foot manikins provide a sensitive, effective evaluation of footwear thermal properties, which are also reflective of changes to in-shoe parameters during actual use. This discriminate power may be enhanced using higher, more realistic air-speeds during testing, as well as simulating foot movement. While thermal foot manikins are highly sensitive to design features/attributes of footwear (e.g. ventilation openings, air-permeabilities and coatings), subjective evaluations of footwear do not seem to have the same sensitivity and discriminative power.

Author(s):  
Jenny J. W. Liu ◽  
Julia Gervasio ◽  
Kenneth Fung ◽  
Kristin Vickers

Abstract. This study examined whether the relationship between subjective and physiological outcomes of stress, and the responsivity to stressors, are affected by whether participants can see a visual display of their physiological output. Participants were randomly assigned to have a visible view of their physiological output readings, or to a condition in which physiological output readings were out of view. Participants individually completed a 30-min laboratory study including the modified Trier Social Stress Task. Both physiological markers of stress (heart rate and blood pressure) and subjective evaluations of stress (visual analog scale) were measured. Results found little congruency across subjective and physiological measures of stress. The visible visual display condition had elevated physiological arousal, while no group differences were observed in self-reported stress. Findings from the study provide insight into the use of visual physiological displays and hold practical implications for both the measurement of stress in research, and the development of wearable technologies without accompanying response strategies.


1935 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 138-138
Author(s):  
F. Каug

The authors studied the question of whether a highly sensitive and strictly specific reaction of blood serum flocculation can be an auxiliary tool in assessing positive reactions of cerebrospinal fluid. A study of 1400 cases has proven that a positive serum flocculation reaction invariably accompanies a special colloidal reaction (Goldsolreaktion).


2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 155892501801300
Author(s):  
Yunlong Shi ◽  
Liang Wang ◽  
Wenhuan Zhang ◽  
Xiaoming Qian

In this paper, thermal and wet comforts of silicone coated windbreaker shell jacket fabrics were studied. Both thermal insulation and evaporative resistance of fabric increased with an increase in coating area due to the barrier effect of the silicone coating layer. Moreover, the coated fabrics with self-similar structures showed different thermal insulation and evaporative resistance under the same total coating area. Fractal theory was used to explain this phenomenon. Optimal thermal-wet comfort properties were obtained when the fractal dimension (D=1.599) was close to the Golden Mean (1.618). When the fractal dimension of coating was lower than 1.599, fabric warmth retention was not high enough. In contrast, fabric evaporative resistance was beyond the value at which people would feel comfortable when the fractal dimension was greater than 1.599.


Author(s):  
Fawzi Ishtaiwa

This study investigated students' actual use of mobile technology (MT) as a learning tool and identified their perceptions towards the effects of using MT on the learning process. It also examined the impact of students' academic major on their use and perceived effects of MT. The relationship between MT use and its effect on learning was explored as well. To this end, a quantitative study of professional diploma students' perceptions of MT was carried out. The results revealed that students use MT in a variety of ways, and they perceive it as primary valuable tools to supplement their learning. However, the nature of MT use is unpretentious in scope. The results also indicated that students' academic major significantly impacted their use and perceived effects of MT. In addition, significant correlation was found between the use and effects of MT.


Author(s):  
Andreas Økland ◽  
Nils O. E. Olsson

Scope management in the form of reduction lists was integrated in the quality assurance scheme for Norwegian public projects in 2001. This article presents findings on the actual use of reduction lists for major public construction projects Project representatives were contacted to obtain information about the actual use of pre-defined potential scope reductions. Eight of the 14 studied projects did not implement any of the predefined reductions. Six projects implemented some of the reductions. The scope reductions on the reduction lists are very specific and detailed, unlike general theory on scope management and cost control. However, the findings from the study are in line with the general theory; it was the most general scope and cost reductions that where used in practice. The study subsequently looked into the relationship between scope reductions and sustainability. Although the most frequently observed reduction was of the category “reduced quality or functionality”, sustainability was rarely affected with the notable exception of the railway infrastructure projects.


Author(s):  
Ellen Swift

The relationship between design, function, and behaviour is explored in this chapter by assessing design features and their affordances against firstly, evidence of use drawn from wear studies of the artefacts that indicate the way they have been used; secondly, both experimental recreations, and the end-products the tools were used to create; and thirdly, archaeological context. In this way, we can examine both the potential of an approach focusing on design features, and also any limitations. I hope to show that affordances are an important source of evidence and provide insights that cannot be gained fromother sources, but that it is important not to take potential affordances at face value, and to interrogate their relationship to likely uses by comparison with other types of evidence. The first method through which possible affordances can be evaluated is through comparison with use-wear. In this way, it is possible to see how ‘proper function’ uses, suggested by practical affordances, compare to evidence of actual use as represented by use-wear. In a previous study, I investigated use-wear in relation to the functional features of Roman spoons (principally cochlear spoons with pointed handles), which I will briefly summarize here. Two principal affordances were evaluated: firstly, the shape of the spoon bowl, and secondly, the capacity of the bowl to hold varying amounts of liquid. I also investigated some other features such as the handle shape. The data, studied through personal inspection of museum objects, were drawn mainly from south-east Britain with some comparative material from the Roman site at Augst in Switzerland which has a very large collection of Roman spoons. Roman cochlear spoons occur in a wide range of well-dated forms, with different bowl shapes broadly succeeding one another chronologically (with some inevitable overlap). Round-bowled spoons are the earliest, found in the first and second centuries AD. Forms with a pear-shaped bowl are found from towards the end of the first century AD to the end of the second century, and forms with a fig-shaped bowl from the mid-second into the third century AD.


2015 ◽  
pp. 845-859
Author(s):  
Fawzi Ishtaiwa

This study investigated students' actual use of mobile technology (MT) as a learning tool and identified their perceptions towards the effects of using MT on the learning process. It also examined the impact of students' academic major on their use and perceived effects of MT. The relationship between MT use and its effect on learning was explored as well. To this end, a quantitative study of professional diploma students' perceptions of MT was carried out. The results revealed that students use MT in a variety of ways, and they perceive it as primary valuable tools to supplement their learning. However, the nature of MT use is unpretentious in scope. The results also indicated that students' academic major significantly impacted their use and perceived effects of MT. In addition, significant correlation was found between the use and effects of MT.


1999 ◽  
Vol 276 (5) ◽  
pp. E990-E994 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack F. Youngren ◽  
Ira D. Goldfine ◽  
Richard E. Pratley

In a previous study [Youngren, J. F., I. D. Goldfire, and R. E. Pratley. Am. J. Physiol. 273 ( Endocrinol. Metab. 36): E276–E283, 1997] of skeletal muscle biopsies from insulin-resistant, nondiabetic Pima Indians, we demonstrated that diminished insulin receptor (IR) autophosphorylation correlated with in vivo insulin resistance. In the present study, to determine whether decreased IR function is a primary trait of muscle, and not secondary to an altered in vivo environment, we cultured myoblasts from 17 nondiabetic Pima Indians in whom insulin-stimulated glucose disposal (M) was measured during hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic glucose clamps. Myoblast IR autophosphorylation was determined by a highly sensitive ELISA. IR autophosphorylation directly correlated with M ( r = 0.56, P = 0.02) and inversely correlated with the fasting plasma insulin ( r = −0.58, P < 0.05). The relationship between M and IR autophosphorylation remained significant after M was adjusted for the effects of percent body fat (partial r = 0.53, P < 0.04). The relationship between insulin resistance and the capacity for myoblast IR autophosphorylation in nondiabetic Pima Indians suggests that variations in IR-signaling capacity may be intrinsic characteristics of muscle that contribute to the genetic component determining insulin action in this population.


Animals ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 503 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate M.W. Loudon ◽  
Garth Tarr ◽  
David W. Pethick ◽  
Ian J. Lean ◽  
Rod Polkinghorne ◽  
...  

This study considered the relationship between pre-slaughter stressors and plasma biomarkers in 488 pasture-raised cattle across two experiments. The design aimed to test groups consisting of steer only, heifer only, and mixed sex cattle under direct kill versus rested (14 days in abattoir holding paddocks) protocols. In Experiment One, cattle were sourced from four farms, and transported by trucks and ships on the same day. In Experiment Two, cattle were sourced from four farms where a comparison was made between marketing via two commercial saleyards or direct farm gate consignment to abattoir. Blood samples were collected at exsanguination for subsequent analyses and relation to meat quality attributes. Muscle damage, as indicated by creatine kinase, is the biomarker most correlated to ultimate pH and muscle glycogen concentrations. A two-week rest period is effective for lowering this enzyme and improving muscle glycogen concentration. Although the cattle was subjected to a range of stress inducing treatments, we found that plasma biomarkers alone appeared insufficient for use as diagnostic stress indicators.


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