Climate-induced thermoregulatory responses in a non-linear thermal environment: investigating the inter-dependencies using a facile artificial neural network-based predictive strategy.

Objectives. Given the burgeoning impacts of climatic variability on human health, suitable computational paradigms are used to explore the subsequent ergonomic repercussions. The artificial neural network (ANN), in particular, exhibits near-accurate input-output mapping. However, employment of the ANN to trace the inter-dependencies between the climatic and human thermoregulatory parameters in real-world fuzzy problem landscapes is relatively inadequate. In the present study, the ANN models examined the relationships between climatic, behavioral and intrinsic input factors and the thermoregulatory outputs, namely, sweating and the evaporative heat transfer at the skin surface (Esk). Methods. The data were obtained from nearly 1800 subjects who were exposed to a hot and humid climate outdoors. The ANN models were trained using the Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm combined with Bayesian regularization. Results. The predictability of the ANN models was statistically substantiated. The clothing insulation factor was not included as an input parameter, given its similar values. Intriguingly, the ANN results indicated that fabrics with similar thermal resistances could still affect Esk, plausibly owing to the temporal variation in the evaporative resistance of fabrics among individuals. Conclusion. The reasonably accurate results affirmed the suitability of ANN as a pragmatic technique that could elucidate heat-induced ergonomic challenges.

Reactive red 120 retention through ultrafiltration enhanced by synthetic and natural polyelectrolytes.

Two cationic chelating polymers, namely synthetic polyethylenimine (PEI), and biopolymer chitosan were employed in the present study to bring about the retention of anionic reactive red 120 (RR 120) from its aqueous solutions by way of polymer enhanced ultrafiltration (PEUF). The effects of process parameters, namely, cross-flow rate, transmembrane pressure, time, polyelectrolyte loading, and ionic strength on dye retention and permeation flux were examined. PEI enhanced ultrafiltration achieved dye retentions as high as 99.9%, and significant permeation fluxes around 148 L/m(2)h. However, in case of chitosan, relatively low retention (88%), and flux (120 L/m(2)h) levels were observed. A careful comparison of the changes induced in the UV-vis spectra of RR 120 by PEI and chitosan indicated a predominant electrostatic interaction between PEI and RR 120, as opposed to the relatively weak and sterically as well as chemically hindered interaction between chitosan and the dye ion. The respective binding constants of PEI-RR 120, and PEI-chitosan complexes, in addition to the relatively more pronounced permeation flux decline witnessed in the presence of chitosan, clearly advocated the use of PEI, rather than chitosan, as the most appropriate complexing agent in the present context.

Remediation of textile effluents by membrane based treatment techniques: a state of the art review.

The textile industries hold an important position in the global industrial arena because of their undeniable contributions to basic human needs satisfaction and to the world economy. These industries are however major consumers of water, dyes and other toxic chemicals. The effluents generated from each processing step comprise substantial quantities of unutilized resources. The effluents if discharged without prior treatment become potential sources of pollution due to their several deleterious effects on the environment. The treatment of heterogeneous textile effluents therefore demands the application of environmentally benign technology with appreciable quality water reclamation potential. These features can be observed in various innovative membrane based techniques. The present review paper thus elucidates the contributions of membrane technology towards textile effluent treatment and unexhausted raw materials recovery. The reuse possibilities of water recovered through membrane based techniques, such as ultrafiltration and nanofiltration in primary dye houses or auxiliary rinse vats have also been explored. Advantages and bottlenecks, such as membrane fouling associated with each of these techniques have also been highlighted. Additionally, several pragmatic models simulating transport mechanism across membranes have been documented. Finally, various accounts dealing with techno-economic evaluation of these membrane based textile wastewater treatment processes have been provided.