Assistive Devices and Clothing: Exploring Adaptive Clothing Needs for Women with Lower Limb Prostheses Using the FEA Model

This study aimed to comprehensively investigate the essential considerations in designing adaptive clothing for women with lower limb prostheses in Saudi Arabia. Employing a qualitative methodology, the research entailed semi-structured, in-depth interviews with women utilizing lower limb prostheses and prosthetic specialists. This approach was selected to unearth pivotal design prerequisites and comprehend the specific challenges these women encounter within the realm of clothing. The utilization of selective sampling facilitated the collection of intricate and valuable insights. A Functional, Expressive, and Aesthetic (FEA) User Needs model was utilized to scrutinize participant feedback. Functional requisites encompass ease of dressing and undressing, accessibility to the prosthetic limb, comfort, mobility with the prosthesis, and appropriate fit. Additionally, participants highlighted various expressive needs, including privacy preservation, modesty, camouflaging disability appearances, maintaining alignment with non-disabled women’s fashion, and considerations about the aesthetic aspects of garments.

Clothing Sales Forecast Considering Weather Information: An Empirical Study in Brick-and-Mortar Stores by Machine-Learning

Reliable sales forecasts are important to the garment industry. In recent years, the global climate is warming, the weather changes frequently, and clothing sales are affected by weather fluctuations. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether weather data can improve the accuracy of product sales and to establish a corresponding clothing sales forecasting model. This model uses the basic attributes of clothing product data, historical sales data, and weather data. It is based on a random forest, XGB, and GBDT adopting a stacking strategy. We found that weather information is not useful for basic clothing sales forecasts, but it did improve the accuracy of seasonal clothing sales forecasts. The MSE of the dresses, down jackets, and shirts are reduced by 86.03%, 80.14%, and 41.49% on average. In addition, we found that the stacking strategy model outperformed the voting strategy model, with an average MSE reduction of 49.28%. Clothing managers can use this model to forecast their sales when they make sales plans based on weather information.

Core Competitiveness Construction of Clothing Brands in Low-Carbon Economy

The climate issue has become an environmental concern for all sectors of the world and the low-carbon economy has thus become a new economic development model to combat climate change.With the development of low-carbon economy era,the textile and clothing industry plays an important role in stabilizing the development of low-carbon economy and society,and China has put forward the development requirements of low-carbon transformation for the textile and clothing industry,and also it has an important strategic value to promote the high-quality development of low-carbon economy and society,and the construction of brands’ core competitiveness is an inevitable choice for clothing brands in the face of the new form of international competition.As a result,the evaluation indicator of clothing brands’ core competitiveness in the low-carbon economy is used to measure the core competitiveness of clothing brands.Based on the corresponding verification results obtained by analytic hierarchy process(AHP) analysis,it can guide the low-carbon development of the clothing industry,thus proposing a more reasonable way to build the core competitiveness of clothing brands.It can promote the low-carbon transformation and upgrading of the clothing industry,effectively increase the market share of clothing brands,and promote the high-quality development of clothing brands.

The development of anti-fall functional clothing for elderly

Objective:The consequences of falls in the elderly are severe,ranging from skin abrasion to hip fracture,which is very easy to cause death.Using advanced technology to develop anti-fall clothing that meets the needs of the elderly can play a significant role in protecting the elderly.By reviewing and analyzing the existing literature on the importance of fall protection clothing in reducing falls and protecting the body of the elderly,it is hoped to explore further research that needs improvement.Methods:Guided by the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses,eight related studies were identified through Web of Science,Scopus and Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure.The research objects,approaches,material and equipment,protection principle,and survey results are extracted.Results:Two articles verified the fall detection algorithm adopted in the research through experiments,which significantly improved fall detection accuracy.Six papers found that selecting appropriate cushioning materials can effectively reduce the consequences of falls of the elderly through experimental comparative analysis.Finally,three attributes for significant design value are drawn:(1)size and fit;(2)cushioning materials;(3)wearable sensing elements.

2023 National Textile and Clothing Standards Innovation Conference held

The 2023 National Textile and Clothing Standards Innovation Conference convened in Tai’an city,Shandong province on August 18-20,where national experts in this field gathered to discuss the innovative development of the standards system for China’s textile and clothing.

Clothing Parsing Based on Multi-Scale Fusion and Improved Self-Attention Mechanism

Due to the lack of long-range association and spatial location information,fine details and accurate boundaries of complex clothing images cannot always be obtained by using the existing deep learning-based methods.This paper presents a convolutional structure with multi-scale fusion to optimize the step of clothing feature extraction and a self-attention module to capture long-range association information.The structure enables the self-attention mechanism to directly participate in the process of information exchange through the down-scaling projection operation of the multi-scale framework.In addition,the improved self-attention module introduces the extraction of 2-dimensional relative position information to make up for its lack of ability to extract spatial position features from clothing images.The experimental results based on the colorful fashion parsing dataset(CFPD)show that the proposed network structure achieves 53.68%mean intersection over union(mIoU)and has better performance on the clothing parsing task.

Analysis of the Influence of Clothing on Characterization from Symbolism: Taking The Scarlet Letter, Daisy Miller, and Dry September as Examples

In the novels, the clothing worn by the characters are symbols made and used by the authors to express the characters’ personality and deepen the theme, and grasping their symbolism helps to enter into the interior of the novels and understand their essence. This paper will analyze and interpret the clothing of typical female characters in The Scarlet Letter, Daisy Miller and Dry September from the perspective of symbolism, so as to illustrate how the symbolism of clothing, as a kind of symbols, shapes the image of the main characters.

Business Clothing For Females: Suitability For Effective Workplace Job Performance in Nigeria

The study investigated business clothing for females that are suitable for effective workplace job performance in Nigeria.It identified fabric characteristics of females’business clothing already used;fabric characteristics needed and deign style preference suitable for females’business clothing for workplace job performance.The study was guided by four research questions and two hypotheses.Population was 4,806 female civil servants in Delta state,Nigeria.Multi-stage sampling technique was utilized to select 136 females.Structured questionnaire was employed to collect data and descriptive statistics and t-test were used for data analysis.Finding showed that cotton,nylon,lacra fabrics,light and medium fabric weight,blue,black,gray,colors,cool texture,rough,smooth surface plain,stripe and flowered design among others were fabric characteristics of business clothing are being used in workplace.But prefer and need cotton,nylon,lacra,light weight,black,blue,gray,brown colours,cool,plain,surface fabrics.Net,organza,heavy weight,white,yellow,toweling fabrics were not preferred.Findings further showed that straight gown,waist flared and gathered gowns,skirt,blouse and suit/jacket,straight,shirt,long sleeves,garment with or without collar,below knee length,peter and convertible collars,among others were highly preferred design styles of clothes.In conclusion,office workers determine what they wear to perform workplace daily jobs promotes self-confidence,comfort,professional worth and productivity.It was recommended that female employees should not downplay appropriate work attires for comfort and organizational productivity to satisfy fashion trends.

CoS Nanosheets Coated with Dopamine-Derived Carbon Standing on Carbon Fiber Cloth as Binder-Free Anode for Li-ion Batteries

Cobalt sulphides attract much attention as anode materials for Li-ion batteries(LIBs).However,its poor conductivity,low initial column efficiency and large volume changes during cycling have hindered its further development.Herein,novel interlaced CoS nanosheets were firstly prepared on Carbon Fiber Cloth(CFC)by two hydrothermal reactions followed with carbon coating via carbonizing dopamine(CoS NS@C/CFC).As a freestanding anode,the nanosheet structure of CoS not only accommodates the volume variation,but also provides a large interface area to proceed the charge transfer reaction.In addition,CFC works as both a three-dimensional skeleton and an active substance which can further improve the areal capacity of the resulting electrode.Furthermore,the coated carbon combined with the CFC work as a 3D conductive network to facilitate the electron conduction.The obtained CoS NS@C/CFC,and the contrast sample prepared with the same procedure but without carbon coating(CoS NS/CFC),are characterized with XRD,SEM,TEM,XPS and electrochemical measurements.The results show that the CoS NS@C/CFC possesses much improved electrochemical performance due to the synergistic effect of nanosheet CoS,the coated carbon and the CFC substrate,exhibiting high initial columbic efficiency(~87%),high areal capacity(2.5 at 0.15 mA cm−2),excellent rate performance(1.6 at 2.73 mA cm−2)and improved cycle stability(87.5%capacity retention after 300 cycles).This work may provide a new route to explore freestanding anodes with high areal specific capacity for LIBs.

Novel sandwich structured glass fiber Cloth/Poly(ethylene oxide)-MXene composite electrolyte

Recently,poly(ethylene oxide)(PEO)-based solid polymer electrolytes have been attracting great attention,and efforts are currently underway to develop PEO-based composite electrolytes for next generation high performance all-solid-state lithium metal batteries.In this article,a novel sandwich structured solid-state PEO composite electrolyte is developed for high performance all-solid-state lithium metal batteries.The PEO-based composite electrolyte is fabricated by hot-pressing PEO,LiTFSI and Ti_(3)C_(2)T_(x) MXene nanosheets into glass fiber cloth(GFC).The as-prepared GFC@PEO-MXene electrolyte shows high mechanical properties,good electrochemical stability,and high lithium-ion migration number,which indicates an obvious synergistic effect from the microscale GFC and the nanoscale MXene.Such as,the GFC@PEO-1 wt%MXene electrolyte shows a high tensile strength of 43.43 MPa and an impressive Young's modulus of 496 MPa,which are increased by 1205%and 6048%over those of PEO.Meanwhile,the ionic conductivity of GFC@PEO-1 wt%MXene at 60℃ reaches 5.01×10^(-2) S m^(-1),which is increased by around 200%compared with that of GFC@PEO electrolyte.In addition,the Li/Li symmetric battery based on GFC@PEO-1 wt%MXene electrolyte shows an excellent cycling stability over 800 h(0.3 mA cm^(-2),0.3 mAh cm^(-2)),which is obviously longer than that based on PEO and GFC@PEO electrolytes due to the better compatibility of GFC@PEO-1 wt%MXene electrolyte with Li anode.Furthermore,the solid-state Li/LiFePO_(4) battery with GFC@PEO-1 wt%MXene as electrolyte demonstrates a high capacity of 110.2–166.1 mAh g^(-1) in a wide temperature range of 25–60C,and an excellent capacity retention rate.The developed sandwich structured GFC@PEO-1 wt%MXene electrolyte with the excellent overall performance is promising for next generation high performance all-solid-state lithium metal batteries.

Cultural Differences between Chinese and Western Clothing

Clothing is a vital component of nonverbal communication.It carries rich cultural connotations.This paper is an attempt to compare Chinese and Western clothing culture from four perspectives so as to enhance people's awareness of the cultural differences.

A Comparison of Cultures between China and the West——Taking Chinese Clothing and British Clothing as an Example

This paper attempts to do study on the comparison of differences between Chinese and western cultures by taking the Chinese and British clothing as an example. This comparison is made form two aspects about clothing culture. One is the separate characteristics of the Chinese and British clothing. The other is the common features of the Chinese and British clothing.The paper aims at making the Chinese confidently promote the clothing culture of China to make efforts to realize the great rejuvenation of China and enrich the culture of all mankind.

An Application of Grey Clustering Method in the Sporting Clothing Style Evaluation

In this paper, a Grey clustering method is applied to the evaluation research of sporting clothing style, the result shows that the methods proposed in the paper is feasible and effective.

Skin Sensitive Difference of Human Body Sections under Clothing— Smirnov Test of Skin Surface Temperatures' Dynamic Changing

Skin sensitive difference of human body sections under clothing is the theoretic foundation of thermal insulation clothing design. By a new method of researching on clothing comfort perception, the skin temperature live changing procedure of human body sections affected by the same cold stimulation is inspected. Furthermore with the Smirnov test the skin temperatures dynamic changing patterns of main human body sections are obtained.

Study of Adaptive Clothing in Hong Kong: Demands, Analysis and Future Direction

Aging population is substantively increased over last decade and they have specific clothing needs especially for the elderly with disabilities. Their clothing needs to cover functional and aesthetic requirements in order to improve their quality of life. Adaptive clothing is specially designed for the elderly and the disabled. However, there is no public policy to support such the elderly with disabilities in their clothing needs. In this paper, we aim to study the adaptive clothing and its significance, the problems encountered by the elderly with disabilities in adaptive clothing, analysis of public policy in Hong Kong for the elderly with disabilities in adaptive clothing over last decade, and implications and future directions for adaptive clothing in Hong Kong. In our findings, the demand of adaptive clothing in Hong Kong was substantially increased over last decade and the predicted demand will be twice of current demand after 50 years. However, the Government policy in Hong Kong has not yet fully supported their clothing needs, and the non-profit clothing services centre is set up to provide tailoring services to meet their needs. As the capacity of the centre is very limited, it is necessary to expand its capacity through assistive technology and to encourage non-government organizations (NGOs) to establish more social enterprises with Government’s support. Such findings would be beneficial to the Government for strengthening such services for the elderly and the disabled as well as public awareness.

Heat strain in chemical protective clothing in hot-humid environment:Effects of clothing thermal properties

Heat strain experienced by individuals wearing chemical protective clothing(CPC)is severe and dangerous especially in hot-humid environment.The development of material science and interdisciplinary studies including ergonomics,physiology and heat transfer is urgently required for the reduction of heat strain.The aim of this paper was to study the relationship among clothing thermal properties,physiological responses and environmental conditions.Three kinds of CPC were selected.Eight participants wore CPC and walked(4 km/h,two slopes with 5%and 10%)on a treadmill in an environment with(35±0.5)℃ and RH of(60±5)%.Core temperature,mean skin temperature,heart rate,heat storage and tolerance time were recorded and analyzed.Physiological responses were significantly affected by the clothing thermal properties and activity intensity in hot-humid environment.The obtained results can help further development of heat strain model.New materials with lower evaporative resistance and less weight are necessary to release the heat strain in hot-humid environments.

Study on Protective Clothing against SARS Using PTFE/Poly(ether-ester) Membrane

By means of texturing with organic conductive fiber, and then being treated with JAM-Y1 anti-bacteria agent, in the end, treated with the XL-550 waterproof agent, the PET fabric has permanent antistatic, anti-bacteria and waterproof and anti-oil properties. The PET fabric was laminated with PTFE membrane by paste dot coating, and then coated by Poly(ether-ester) solution in a direct process. The filter efficiency of NaCl aerosol, penetration property of poliomyelitis virus in liquid and animalcule in air of PET fabric laminated with PTFE membrane are measured. The properties show that the PET fabric laminated with PTFE membrane can separate SARS virus in air and liquid. The protective mechanism is also discussed in the article.

Study on the Relation between the Air Gap Size under Clothing and the Comfort Sensations

Combining two non-contact testing instruments of a three-dimensional body measure system and an infrared camera, the entrapped air gap under clothing and the clothing surface temperature distribution were measured without interfering the air gap state. It was discussed the effect of different air gap size on subjective clothing sensation. At the same time, taken the subjective sensations of moisture, adhesiveness and mugginess from the lower back as example, the relationship among the subjective evaluation, the air gap size and the clothing surface temperature were analyzed.

The Characteristics,Structure and Trend of the Chinese Urban and Rural Residents' Clothing Consumption

As one of the necessities of life,clothing is on the important position in the daily life of urban and rural residents. Firstly,the paper carries out the descriptive statistical analysis about clothing consumption expenditures of urban and rural residents; secondly,based on questionnaires of 543 urban and rural residents in 16 provinces,this paper analyses structure and trend of urban and rural residents' clothing consumption. The results show that per capita clothing consumption expenditure of urban and rural residents present growth on the whole,but the gap between the two is gradually expanding; clothing consumption expenditure have differences in different regions; the differences of different income levels are also obvious; urban and rural residents' clothing consumption structure tends to be more diversified,cotton goods and chemical fiber goods is the main variety of clothing consumption,including down feather,cotton and chemical fiber is the main variety of coat,and cotton,chemical fiber and wool is the main variety of suit and knitwear; cotton goods,down goods and woolen goods will be the fiber goods that urban and rural residents buy more in the future; clothing consumption demand will pursue for band,comfort and personality; female residents will still be the main force of clothing consumption. Finally,the paper puts forward some recommendations on the basis of analysis results.

Evaluation of Relationship Between Clothing Pressure of Men's Suit and Comfort

An investigation on relationship between clothing pressure of men's suit and wearing comfort is conducted. With the pressure measurements at different parts of men's suit under normal standing posture and in motion, the objective assessment of the total comfort are related to the subjective ratings of clothing pressure. There is a common strong sensation of pressure on shoulder with normal standing posture, and a strong relationship between total comfort and clothing pressure in back armhole and the front of upper arm with posture in motion.