Biomedical subjects

G Havenith

Publications and source records attributed to G Havenith.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

PubMed1995

Physiological criteria for functioning of hands in the cold: a review.

Hands are important instruments in daily life. Without hands man is hardly able to function independently. Proper functioning of the hands is determined by several physiological parameters. These physiological parameters in turn are influenced by environmental factors. In this view of the literature, physiological processes in manual dexterity are described and the influence of a cold environment on separate physiological processes is studied. In general, cold means loss of dexterity. For reasons of safety and performance, it is important to restrict the loss of manual dexterity. For this purpose, in this study minimum criteria are given for all separate physiological components. Most important minimum criteria are: a local skin temperature of 15 degrees C, a nerve temperature of 20 degrees C and a muscle temperature of 28 degrees C. Only during maximum dynamic work is a muscle temperature of 38 degrees C recommended. These temperatures are average values, and of course individual differences are evident.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1995

Effects of moisture absorption in clothing on the human heat balance.

A theory of moisture absorption in clothing, with the associated effects of heat transfer, was developed and applied in a computer model. The model considers the body, underclothing, an outer layer, and the adjacent air layer. The theory was checked with an experiment involving four subjects. They wore heavy woollen clothing, which was either initially dry or humid, in both a warm and a cool environment. Model calculations and experimental results agree approximately upon the timing and magnitude of the effect of absorbing clothing on heat flows, temperatures and physiological reactions. Contrary to expectations the observed vapour resistance is lower in the heat than in the cold, probably due to differences in sweat distribution. It is pointed out that the usual way to determine the clothing characteristics by means of partitional calorimetry leads to considerable errors when the steady state has not been reached. In clothing that has high absorption properties the transient effects may be sustained for hours. Tests using the model show few beneficial effects of absorbing clothing on thermal sensation.

Absorption↗

PubMed1995

Effects of condensation in clothing on heat transfer.

A condensation theory is presented that enables the calculation of the rate of vapour transfer with its associated effects on temperature and total heat transfer inside a clothing ensemble consisting of underclothing, enclosed air, and outer garment. The model is experimentally tested by three experiments: (1) impermeable garments worn by subjects with and without plastic wrap around the skin, blocking sweat evaporation underneath the clothing; (2) comparison of heat loss in impermeable and semi-permeable garments and the associated discomfort and strain; (3) subjects working in impermeable garments in cool and warm environments at two work rates, until tolerance. The measured heat exchange and temperatures are calculated with satisfying accuracy by the model (mean error = 11, SD = 10 Wm-2 for heat flows and 0.3 and 0.9 degree C for temperatures, respectively). A numerical analysis shows that for total heat loss the major determinants are vapour permeability of the outer garment, skin vapour concentration and air temperature. In the cold the condensation mechanism may completely compensate for the lack of permeability of the clothing as far as heat dissipation is concerned, but in the heat impermeable clothing is more stressful.

Body Temperature Regulation↗

PubMed1995

The hand in the cold, performance and risk.

When a person is exposed to cold and his metabolic rate is insufficient to maintain a positive or neutral heat balance, the body will cool down. For the extremities this will result in a drastic reduction of blood flow, resulting in a so called "physiological amputation" with extremity cooling towards ambient temperature. The dexterity decrease observed with cold extremities is most likely caused by cooling of muscles and joints, and not by effects on receptors, nerve conduction or central effects. It is shown, that dexterity decreases can be described in terms of wind chill equivalent temperature and exposure time for a certain clothing and work configuration. Further, the risk of skin freezing and reduced dexterity due to touching cold objects can be described using the contact coefficient of the respective material and the contact time. This risk is modulated by metabolic rate and hand protection (gloves). Gloves drastically reduce cooling speed and freezing risk, but they also cause increased risks due to reduced dexterity due to glove thickness. For a general description of performance and risk of hand cold exposure in relation to climate and exposure time more data are needed.

Cold Temperature↗

PubMed1993

Simultaneous derivation of clothing-specific heat exchange coefficients.

Clothing adds resistance to heat exchange between the wearer and the environment. If clothing-specific heat exchange coefficients are known, a combined rational/empirical approach can be used to describe thermal exchange between clothed humans and the environment. However, during exercise these coefficients--typically calculated using thermal manikins--change, primarily due to wetting of the fabric during intense sweating and body movement. A procedure is described that allows for the simultaneous determination of both total insulation (IT) and resistance to water vapor permeation (Re) on exercising clothed subjects without the need to directly measure skin water vapor pressure or continuously weigh the subjects. Two tests are performed by each subject in each clothing ensemble. In one test, ambient water vapor pressure (Pa) is systematically increased in stepwise fashion while dry-bulb temperature (Tdb) is held constant; in the second test protocol Pa is held constant while Tdb is increased. Heat exchange data are collected at the time at which core temperature is forced out of equilibrium by the environment (according to the assumption that heat production is balanced by heat loss immediately prior to this critical environmental limit). Previous studies using similar approaches have typically estimated IT a priori and used this value in the subsequent derivation of Re for each clothing ensemble or condition tested. In the proposed method, IT and Re are derived from the solution of two simultaneous equations based on heat balance data from both tests. This paper describes and critiques this methodology via an error analysis, and compares the coefficients obtained with those from similar trials using other physiological and nonphysiological approaches.

Clothing↗

PubMed1992

Pain, thermal sensation and cooling rates of hands while touching cold materials.

Hand cooling and resulting comfort and pain were studied in 12 subjects, while touching six different materials (polyurethane foam, wood, nylon, rustproof steel, aluminium, and temperature-controlled metal) which were initially at ambient temperature. This was done for three ambient temperatures (-10 degrees, 0 degree and 10 degrees C), after pre-exposure exercise or rest, with bare hands or while wearing gloves. The observed cooling curves were analysed as Newtonian cooling curves. The observed time constants appeared to be significantly related to the materials' contact coefficients, the presence of hand protection, the preceding activity, and the interaction between contact coefficient and the presence of hand protection. These parameters also allowed a good description of the time constant (r2 = 0.8) of the related cooling curves. Thermal and pain sensation could be described in terms of the local skin temperature, ambient temperature and hand protection. Equal pain and thermal levels were associated with lower temperatures of the back of the hand than of the contact side. The slightly painful condition was associated with a skin temperature of 16 degrees C for the back and 19 degrees C for the palm of the hand. The pain level appeared to be inversely related to cooling speed. Skin freezing occurred at higher skin temperatures when touching cold objects than when exposed to cold air as a result of reduced supercooling. The regression equations determined allowed calculations to be made of safety limits for hand cooling while in contact with a wide range of materials.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

The relative influence of physical fitness, acclimatization state, anthropometric measures and gender on individual reactions to heat stress.

An experiment was set up to quantify the relative influence of fitness, acclimatization, gender and anthropometric measures on physiological responses to heat stress. For this purpose, 12 male and 12 female subjects were exposed to a neutral [ambient temperature (Ta) 21 degrees C, relative humidity (r.h. 50%)], a warm, humid (Ta 34 degrees C, r.h. 80%) and a hot, dry (Ta 45 degrees C, r.h. 20%) climate at rest and at two exercise intensities [25%, and 45% maximal O2 intake (VO2max)], seated seminude in a net chair behind a cycle ergometer. Their physiological responses were recorded and the data submitted to a multiple regression analysis. It was shown that for the variance in heat storage, the percentage of body fat and the surface to mass ratio had relatively the largest influence of all the individual parameters, followed by VO2max and the sweat rate versus increase in core temperature (total r2 = 92%). For the skin temperature variation, the relative influence of individual parameters (sweat gain, VO2max) was small. For body core temperatures, individual parameters had a large influence. The largest effect was due to the percentage of fat and the surface to mass ratio, followed by the sweating setpoint and, finally, VO2max (total r2 = 54%-70%). For the variance in heart rate the VO2max was the most relevant parameter, followed by the setpoint of the sweat rate:rectal temperature relationship (total r2 = 88%). Blood pressure and skin blood flow predictions were also shown to improve by the addition of individual characteristics to the model.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acclimatization↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Relationship between clothing ventilation and thermal insulation.

Air layers trapped within a clothing microenvironment contribute to the thermal insulation afforded by the ensemble. Any exchange of air between the external environment and these trapped air layers results in a change in the ensemble's thermal insulation and water vapor resistance characteristics. These effects are seldom taken into account when considering the effects of clothing on human heat balance, the thermal characteristics usually being restricted to intrinsic insulation and intrinsic evaporative resistance measurements on static manikins. Environmental assessments based on these measurements alone may therefore lead to under-(or over-) estimation of thermal stress of the worker. The aim of this study was to quantify the relationship between clothing ventilation and thermal insulation properties. A one-layer, air-impermeable ensemble and a three-layer, air-permeable ensemble were tested using an articulated, thermal manikin in a controlled climate chamber (ta = tr = 10 degrees C, PaH2O = 0.73 kPa). The manikin, which was designed for thermal insulation measurements, was also equipped with a system to determine clothing ventilation. Baseline measurements of clothing ventilation (VT) and thermal insulation (total clothing insulation: I(T)--measured, intrinsic insulation: Icl--calculated) were made of the clothing with the manikin standing stationary in still air conditions. Increased clothing ventilation was induced when the manikin "walked" (walking speeds of 0.37 m/sec and 0.77 m/sec) and by increasing the environmental air speed (Va = 1.0 m/sec). These increases in VT reduced Icl, this being ascribed to the increased heat transfer from the manikin skin surface to the cooler external environment due to the exchange of air between the clothing microenvironment and the external environment. Measured air exchanges were shown to have a potential heat exchange capacity of up to 17 and 161 W/m2 for the one- and three-layer ensembles, respectively, emphasizing the need to take clothing ventilation characteristics into consideration during thermal audits and thermal risk assessments.

Body Temperature Regulation↗