Table of Content - JFBI 5.2

Body temperature is maintained by effective thermoregulation, which depends on heat balance that includes heat production and heat loss. Skin moisture and water evaporation from the body play an important role in heat transfer, especially during exercising or in hot conditions. The regional skin evaporation can significantly affect the heat release of the each body part, the pattern of skin temperature distribution and the thermoregulation. Indeed, the distribution of sweat evaporation and skin temperature can also be applied as a means of managing the body thermoregulation. This study reviews the thermoregulation of human body, local skin evaporation and the skin temperature distribution. It also highlights the implication of local skin evaporation and skin temperature in the development of sportswear and the prevention of heat disorder in hot conditions.

The protein composition of the silk gland of caddisfly larva, Stenopsyche marmorata was investigated. Dissected silk glands of the larvae were treated in a Tris buffer (pH 8.0) containing 8 M urea, and the proteins in the lumen of the silk gland were solubilized by freeze and thaw. The major proteins of the silk gland were precipitated upon dialysis against diluted acetic acid. The precipitate was dissolved in a basic Tris buffer containing high concentrations of urea and dithiothreitol. Trypsin-like proteinase activity was detected in the silk gland extract. Therefore, all extraction procedures were re-visited in the presence of Leupeptin, which is a special inhibitor of the trypsin-like proteinase in the silk gland. The improved preparation of the silk gland extract contains a high molecular weight protein, namely S. marmorata silk protein-1 (Smsp-1), of which the molecular weight was estimated as 310-320 kDa on the basis of electrophoretic mobility on cetyltrimethylammonium bromide-poly (acryl amide) gel electrophoresis. Subsequent gel filtration exhibited a chromatogram, where the Smsp-1 bands were found from void (ca. 2000 kDa) toward the 300 kDa region, latter of which corresponds to the estimated molecular weight of monomeric Smsp-1. The Smsp-1 eluted near void region was found to be electrophoretically homogenous, suggesting that Smsp-1 molecules associate in a multimeric form. Sodium dodecylsulfate- PAGE indicated that the fractions eluted at the 650{280 kDa region also contain Smsp-1, together with three kinds of low molecular weight proteins, which were designated as Smsp-2 (26 kDa), -3 (21 kDa), and -4 (16 kDa). These results suggest that the Smsps-1, -2, -3, and -4 can form a larger complex to be spun into net threads.

This paper applies a new Breast Coordinate System to measure three-dimensional breast movements, relative to the thorax by eliminating the effects of body rotation, translation, bending and tilting during activities. Two-dimensional and three-dimensional breast movement trajectories of pert breasts and ptotic breasts are presented and compared from four diffrent perspectives in both the global and local coordinate systems. The scatter plot of breast displacements against time in x, y and z coordinates were fitted by polynomial functions. The movement amplitude of the ptotic breast is larger than that of the pert breast in all directions. In a vertical direction, the ptotic breast velocity is greater than that of the pert breast one.

The effects of adhesive agent on shear stiffness of laminated fabrics bonded with adhesive interlining were investigated. The shear stiffness of face fabrics made of different weave density and adhesive interlinings made of diffrent adhesive condition for mass, number and diameter were measured. As adhesive agent mass increases, shear stiffness values of adhesive interlining and laminated fabric is increased. Furthermore, as weave density of face fabric increases, shear stiffess of face fabrics is increased. The increasing rate (I.R.) of shear stiffness for face fabric by bonding adhesive interlining was obtained from the diffrence between shear stiffness of laminated fabric and pressed adhesive interlining. The relationship between fixed crossing points of warp and weft by adhesive agents per all crossing points of warp and weft (F.C.(%)), and adhesive agent mass and number was investigated. A prediction method was proposed using the increasing rate (I.R.) and F.C. (%). The predicted shear stiffness of laminated fabric showed good agreements with experimental ones.

Polypyrrole was chemically synthesized by in situ polymerization in the presence of surfactant dopant on cotton denim fabric. Shape and size of the particles are characterized by SEM micrographs. Electrical and thermal conductivity of fabric samples were measured and it was found that electrical conductivity can be increased by increasing the concentration of polypyrrole, but there is no significant relation between electrical and thermal conductivities.

In this paper, novel nano-yarn reinforced scaffolds were fabricated and further biomineralized by submerging in 10 simulated Body Fluid (SBF). The compressive strength of P(LLA-CL)/Silk Fibroin (SF) nano-yarns reinforced scaffold was 1.72+-0.50 MPa and its porosity is 82.8%. Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrum (FTIR) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD) data confirmed the mineral phase was made of Hydroxyapatite (HA). MC3T3-E1 cell proliferation and differentiation on the scaffolds were evaluated. In vitro biological evaluation showed that HA coated scaffolds provided higher cell proliferation efficiency (t-test, P < 0.05) than uncoated scaffolds.

The hollow microspheres containing monoclinic scheelite BiVO4 and anatase TiO2 nanocrystals were easily prepared through a simple one-step template-free method. Bi(NO3)3H2O and NH4VO3 were used as BiVO4 precursor and (NH4)2TiF6 as TiO2 precursor to produce the target products in the presence of glucose under the high temperature pyrolysis. The products were characterized with SEM, XRD, TEM and UV-vis DRS. The as-prepared hollow microspheres showed high photocatalytic activity, which was demonstrated by degradation of acetic acid solution under visible-light irradiation ( >420 nm).

Because of its wide solubility range, Hydroxypropyl Cellulose (HPC) is suitable for fabricating fine-fiber materials via electrospinning. The resulting electrospun non-woven fabric (HPC-ESNW) requires an appropriate post-spinning treatment for applications in aqueous environments. In the present study, we examined the insolubilization of HPC-ESNW via cross-linking using bifunctional isocyanates. Modification of the fine-fiber surfaces with NCO groups enables introduction of cationic functionalities; we found that cationic Diethylaminoethyl (DEAE) groups are suitable for immobilization of aminoacylase- I onto these fine-fiber surfaces under mild conditions. The NCO groups can be also converted to amino groups, followed by activation with bifunctional N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) esters. The NHS-ESNW can chemically bind the aminoacylase-I. Two kinds of immobilized enzyme were tested for stereospecial recognition of a substrate and for immobilized activity yields. The results suggest that NCO-ESNW is a multi-purpose intermediate for chemical modification of ESNW and that the hydrophilic HPC-ESNW is a promising material for use as a matrix for enzyme immobilization.

A series of self-reinforced, biocomposite fibers were successfully fabricated using Cellulose Nanowhiskers (CNWs) and cellulose matrix isolated from mulberry branch bark by wet spinning. The obtained CNWs have a diameter of about 20 nm and a length of 300-400 nm. The hybrid solutions containing less than 9 wt% CNWs were miscible according to the rheological curves. Specially, the synergistic interactions between fillers and matrix play a key role in reinforcing the composite fibers. The tensile strength and Young's modulus of composite fibers at 65% relative humidity increased from 172 to 571 MPa and 2.06 to 4.15 GPa with increasing CNWs content from 0 to 9 wt%.

The process of incorporating water-soluble Eggshell Membrane (S-ESM) into Polycaprolactone (PCL) electrospun nanofiber webs was investigated, utilizing the hydrogen bonding interaction between S- ESM and catechin. PCL was first electrospun with catechin, and S-ESM was introduced into the resulting PCL/catechin nanofibers by immersing the fibers in S-ESM solution. Morphological observation suggested that S-ESM was incorporated with catechin and formed S-ESM/catechin nanoparticles, distributed in the PCL nanofiber webs. Analysis of FTIR spectra indicated that hydrogen bonding interactions were generated between PCL and catechin as well as between S-ESM and catechin. The bulk compression property of electrospun nanofiber webs was measured and the results showed S-ESM and catechin had effect on modifying the mechanical property of PCL nanofiber webs.