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The purpose of this paper is to propose the materials structure-wetting behaviour relationships and to show their peculiarities for some types of surgical woven fabrics and applications of liquids.

To show the effects of fabrics structure on wetting behaviour of surgical textile materials, the special structural indices in terms of yarns and filaments lateral area were used.

It was shown good correlation between total lateral area of filaments in unit area of woven fabrics and wetting contact angle of liquid drops on the tested samples. Probably due to different structure of woven fabrics at a level of fibres, another index, i.e. total lateral area of yarns in unit area of fabrics, is not suitable to show clear effect on wetting behaviour of the samples. The possibilities of applications of relationships for several types of textile materials and liquids were indicated.

To date there are no investigations concerning relationships between special structural properties of the surgical woven fabrics and their wetting behaviour. On a basis of the proposed approach into fabrics structure evaluation, this study developed analysis and some types of new equations for prediction of wetting contact angle of the materials.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors effecting ultrasonic seam tensile properties.

In this study, 100 percent polypropylene and 100 percent polyester spunbond and meltblown nonwoven fabrics were sewn by using ultrasonic sewing machine with different rollers which have two, three and four rows. Seam tensile properties of the sewn nonwoven fabrics were investigated. Four-Level Nested Anova Design was applied to the data by using Minitab 15 software program.

Higher seam strength values were obtained by using four rows roller, PP fiber, spunbond fabric and 50 g/m2 fabric area density for all nonwoven fabrics. Statistical significance was found between fabric area density, roller rows and seam tensile strength properties and between fabric type, roller rows and seam elongation at break values.

When the authors look at the studies related to ultrasonic sewing, several researchers studied on welding parameters of ultrasonic sewing but very limited studies were performed on assembling of nonwoven fabrics with ultrasonic sewing. Therefore effect of production methods of nonwoven fabrics on the properties of ultrasonic sewing such as seam strength and elongation at break should be investigated.

Surgical gown fabrics are categorized for liquid penetration resistance by standard tests under specified laboratory conditions, which can be different from the conditions encountered in the surgical environment. The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of temperature and challenge liquid (CL) type on the effectiveness of liquid penetration resistance of surgical gown fabrics.

One disposable and one reusable surgical gown fabric were tested for liquid penetration using standard methods required in American Society for Testing Materials F2407 for classifying the materials used in Levels 1‐3 surgical gowns. Standard test conditions were compared to varied conditions of ambient/fabric temperature (AFT), CL type and challenge liquid temperature (CLT). Analysis of variance was used to determine the effects of variables on liquid penetration.

AFT, CL type and CLT were significant (p<0.05) variables for liquid penetration for at least one of the test fabrics. Higher ambient temperature, fabric and liquid temperature conditions resulted in greater liquid penetration. Use of synthetic blood as the CL resulted in higher liquid penetration than observed with distilled water.

Results suggest that temperatures within the range of body heat or ambient surgical environments are sufficient to affect liquid penetration of surgical gown fabrics. Also, the use of CLs other than distilled water and the use of CLs warmed to body temperature may be needed to accurately assess the liquid penetration resistance of surgical gown fabrics. Level of protection afforded by surgical gowns may be compromised by variability in these conditions.

Conventional wisdom has held that differences between standard testing temperatures and body temperature or ambient temperature in the surgical theatre were insufficient to influence liquid penetration. This study has shown otherwise. No previous studies were found that addressed these variables but our study illustrates their effect on selected materials.

Surgical gowns should be designed and produced using special techniques to provide barrier properties against potential risks during surgery and healthcare procedures. Ultrasonic welding is one of these methods used to produce surgical gowns with determined barrier properties. The purpose of this paper is to analyse bond strength and permeability properties of ultrasonically welded nonwoven fabrics and compare them with traditional sewing techniques.

In this study, ultrasonic welding of nonwovens was performed to demonstrate its use as an assembly method. Performance requirements in the design of surgical gowns were determined. Fabric strengths and bond strengths of ultrasonic-welded and traditionally sewn fabrics were analysed. The performance properties, i.e., bond strength, air and water resistance of the fabrics and the joints obtained by ultrasonic and classical sewing methods were studied.

As a result, it was found that ultrasonic welding technique is a suitable method for joining layers in surgical gown production bringing the advantages of high water resistance together with acceptable bond strength.

The current study focuses on the use of ultrasonic welding of nonwovens used for disposable protective surgical gowns. Ultrasound welding technique was presented as an alternative to classic assembly methods and ultrasonic welding technology was applied to different fabric combinations simulating different layers in different joining sections of a surgical gown.

Present study aimed to nanosilver-treat some commercially dyed denim fabric using an eco-friendly cross-linker of citric acid for possible application in the fabrication of sustainable antibacterial and nontoxic surgical gowns.

The conventional untreated surgical gowns are prone to bacterial attack making them unprotective and infection carriers. Thereby, nanosilver finishing of the surgical-grade dyed denim fabric was achieved via citrate cross-linking under the pad-dry-cure method. The hence treated denim fabrics were characterized for surface chemical, crystalline, textile, color and antibacterial attributes using both conventional and advanced analytical approaches.

The results expressed that the prepared denim specimens contained surface roughness at the nanoscale besides some alterations in their textile and color parameters. Both textile and comfort properties of the finished fabric remained in the acceptable range with effective antibacterial activity.

The silver nano-finished dyed denim expressed broad-spectrum antibacterial activity and qualified as a potential substrate in the fabrication of surgical gowns. Such sustainable application of nanosilver finishing could be perused for industrial implications.

This study presents citric acid as a crosslinking agent to impregnate the commercially dyed denim fabric for potential application in the fabrication of surgical gowns. The application of nanosilver on prior citrated dyed-grown fabrics could be a novel approach. This study used approximately all the reagents and auxiliaries as bio-based to ensure the nontoxicity and sustainability of the resultant fabric.

This study aims to present a sustainable approach in the natural dyeing of cellulose fabric followed by nanosilver finishing through a green crosslinker of citric acid for potential antibacterial surgical gown fabrication.

The nanosilver finish was reproduced using the chemical reduction method. The fabric dyeing was performed on a lab-scale dyeing machine, whereas silver nano-finishing through a pad-dry-cure approach. Citric acid was used as an eco-friendly crosslinker. The specimens were characterized for antibacterial activity, surface chemical, textile, color properties and finish release trend.

The results demonstrated the successful application of curcumin dye followed by silver nano-finishing. The resultant fabric exhibited appropriate textile, dyeing performance indicators, hydrophobic behavior and sustainable broad-spectrum antibacterial activity.

The prepared nanosilver-finished/curcumin-treated fabric expressed desirable properties for potential applications in the fabrication of surgical gowns.

The authors found no reports on an extensive examination of nanosilver finishing on the color parameters of curcumin-dyed cellulose fabric while retaining its textile and comfort properties for possible surgical gown fabrication.

Given the COVID-19 Pandemic outbreak and the role of medical textiles for protection, this study aims to identify the leading research foci on using textile materials for personal protection in pandemic situations.

A systematic review and systemic analysis of the literature on the subject were performed using the process knowledge development – constructivist (ProKnow-C) methodology.

A bibliographic portfolio with 16 relevant studies was obtained. This portfolio represents the main focus of this research field, including the main filtration mechanisms, ways of disinfecting N95 respirators and proposed methods to evaluate the filtration efficiency of different materials with potential for mask development.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this is the first time the ProKnow-C methodology was used in the textile field. Thus, future studies can benefit from using the Proknow-C for selecting and analyzing relevant textile studies following a systematic approach.

COVID-19 pandemic has exposed that even the best of the developed nations have surrendered to the devastations imposed on the global supply chains. The purpose of this study is to explore how COVID-19 has exaggerated the supply chain of production and distribution of Taiwan-based face masks and also investigate the conscientious factors and subfactors for it.

In this study, an analytical hierarchy processes (AHP)-based approach has been used to assign the criterion weights and to prioritize the responsible factors. Initially, based on 26 decision-makers, successful factors were categorized into five main categories, and then main categories and their subcategories factors were prioritized through individual and group decision-maker’s contexts by using the AHP approach.

The results of this AHP model suggest that “Safety” is the most important and top-ranked factor, followed by production, price, work environment and distribution. The key informers in this study are stakeholders which consist of managers, volunteers, associations and non-governmental organizations. The results showed that good behavior of the employees under the “Safety” category is the top positioned responsible factor for successful production and distribution of face masks to the other countries with the highest global percentage of 15.7% and using sanitizers to protect health is the second most successful factor with the global percentage of 11.7%.

The limitations faced in this study were limited to only Taiwan-based mask manufacturing companies, and it was dependent on the decisions of the limited company’s decision-makers.

The novelty of this study is that the empirical analysis of this study has been based on a successful Taiwan masks manufacturing company and evaluates the responsible factors for the production and distribution of Taiwan masks to other countries during COVID-19.

The outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic has tested the resilience of the construction industry, putting the safety of workers and overall businesses at risk. This study aims to explore the different strategies adopted by construction companies to protect the health and well-being of employees, security of the construction sites and projects, and keep the overall business operational amid the Covid-19 pandemic.

A preliminary study that involves field study and survey research was used to collect data for the study. The results from the preliminary analysis served as inputs for constructing the questionnaire, which was analyzed using descriptive statistics, exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis.

The results reveal that the key underlying measures put in place by construction businesses include restricted site access, support bubbling of office and site staff, enhanced hygiene and social distancing protocol, contract risk identification and mitigation, self-isolation measures and heightened construction site safety. Along with a further discussion of the underlying measures, the top-rated strategies that were adopted by construction firms are also discussed in the paper.

As many construction companies remained opened handling essential projects amid the pandemic, the study presents the effective and efficient strategies that were used in plowing through the trying times. This study provides the opportunity for construction companies that escaped the early impacts of Covid-19 due to site closure and policymakers to learn from the strategies adopted by construction companies that were operational amid the pandemic.

The textile sector is one of the sectors where competition is intense and requires the production of high-value-added products. This study aims to conduct patent analysis to find the technology status, recent trends, applications and technological evaluations of protective textile technologies in practice.

More than 36,840 patent documents related to protective textile technologies are available for researchers, patent examiners and patent researchers. Patent analysis is conducted to report the technology status, recent trends and applications of protective textile technologies. This analysis provides insights into the possible future directions of protective textile technologies in practice. Additionally, association rule mining (ARM) is performed to find the hidden patterns among protective textile technologies.

The development of protective textile technologies is revealed by the technology evaluation in this study. In addition, the sub-technology classes affecting protective textile technologies are examined using the cooperative patent classification (CPC) codes of the patent documents. Technology status and recent trends of protective textile technologies are provided in detail. The results of this study show that (1) protective textile technologies are constantly being developed, (2) the working areas of medical protective textiles are increasing, (3) there are frequent studies on fabric structures for saving lives within the framework of human needs and (4) there are four technology classes, namely A41D, Y10T, B32B and A62B impacting the other technology classes related to textile technologies such as D10B, Y10T, F41H, A62D, D04H, Y10S and D10B.

To have a competitive advantage in the marketplace, evaluation of textile technologies is critical in developing “functionalized” and “technologized” textile products. In particular, evaluating technologies in developing protective textile products is extremely important to meet customer demands and present competitive products in the market. Examining these patents for technology developers, decision-makers and policymakers is an urgent and necessary job. However, studies examining the development of protective textile technologies with patent analysis are very limited in the literature. To fill this gap, technology status, recent trends and applications of protective textile technologies are reported based on patent analysis and ARM in this study.