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Kuklane K, Eggeling J, Kemmeren M, Heus R. A Database of Static Thermal Insulation and Evaporative Resistance Values of Dutch Firefighter Clothing Items and Ensembles. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11121813. [PMID: 36552322 PMCID: PMC9775573 DOI: 10.3390/biology11121813] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/15/2022]
Abstract
The rescue operations' environment can impair firefighters' performance and increase the risk of injuries, e.g., burns and hyperthermia. The bulk and carried weight of heavy protection contributes to lower physical performance, higher metabolic load and internal body heat production. For recommending optimal protection for the tasks and incident scenarios, knowledge of clothing thermal properties is needed. However, detailed data on firefighter protective clothing systems are not available. The aim of the study was to provide scientific background and a dataset that would allow for validation of thermo-physiological models for task-specific conditions of rescue work. Thermal insulation of 37 single items and their variations and 25 realistic protective clothing ensembles were measured on a thermal manikin. Twelve (12) ensembles that evenly covered the whole insulation range were selected for evaporative resistance testing. The equations for summing up individual item's insulation to ensemble insulation and calculating clothing area factor were derived from the dataset. The database of a firefighter clothing system was created. In addition, the local and regional thermal properties of the clothing ensembles were provided for use in future validation of advanced thermo-physiological models for rescue worker exposure predictions and for designing decision aid tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kalev Kuklane
- Team Fire Service Science, Netherlands Academy of Crisis Management and Fire Service Science, Netherlands Institute for Public Safety, Zilverstraat 91, 2718 RP Zoetermeer, The Netherlands
| | - Jakob Eggeling
- Division of Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology, Department of Design Sciences, Lund University, Box 118, 22100 Lund, Sweden
| | - Maurice Kemmeren
- Team COLS, Netherlands Institute for Public Safety, Zilverstraat 91, 2718 RP Zoetermeer, The Netherlands
| | - Ronald Heus
- Team Fire Service Science, Netherlands Academy of Crisis Management and Fire Service Science, Netherlands Institute for Public Safety, Zilverstraat 91, 2718 RP Zoetermeer, The Netherlands
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Del Ferraro S, Falcone T, Morabito M, Messeri A, Bonafede M, Marinaccio A, Gao C, Molinaro V. A potential wearable solution for preventing heat strain in workplaces: The cooling effect and the total evaporative resistance of a ventilation jacket. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 212:113475. [PMID: 35588774 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113475] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2022] [Revised: 05/04/2022] [Accepted: 05/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
The increase in average seasonal temperatures has an impact in the occupational field, especially for those sectors whose work activities are performed outdoors (agricultural, road and construction sectors). Among the adaptation measures and solutions developed to counteract occupational heat strain, personal cooling garments represent a wearable technology designed to remove heat from the human body, enhancing human performance. This study aims to investigate the effectiveness and the cooling power of a specific cooling garment, i.e. a ventilation jacket, by quantifying the evaporative heat losses and the total evaporative resistance both when worn alone and in combination with a work ensemble, at three adjustments of air ventilation speed. Standardised "wet" tests in a climatic chamber were performed on a sweating manikin in isothermal conditions considering three clothing ensembles (single jacket, work ensemble and a combination of both) and three adjustments of fan velocity. Results showed a significant increase (p < 0.001) in evaporative heat loss values when the fan velocity increased, particularly within the trunk zones for all the considered clothing ensembles, showing that fans enhanced the dissipation by evaporation. The cooling power, quantified in terms of percent changes of evaporative heat loss, showed values exceeding 100% when fans were on, in respect to the condition of fans-off, for the trunk zones except for the Chest. A significant (p < 0.01) decrease (up to 42.3%) in the total evaporative resistance values of the jacket, coupled with the work ensemble, was found compared to the fans-off condition. Results confirmed and quantified the cooling effect of the ventilation jacket which enhanced the evaporative heat losses of the trunk zones, helping the body to dissipate heat and showing the potential for a heat adaptation measure to be developed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simona Del Ferraro
- INAIL, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Laboratory of Ergonomics and Physiology, Via Fontana Candida 1, 00078, Monte Porzio Catone, Rome, Italy.
| | - Tiziana Falcone
- INAIL, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Laboratory of Ergonomics and Physiology, Via Fontana Candida 1, 00078, Monte Porzio Catone, Rome, Italy; Unit of Advanced Robotics and Human-Centred Technologies, Campus Bio-Medico University of Rome, Rome, Italy.
| | - Marco Morabito
- Institute of BioEconomy (IBE), National Research Council, Via Madonna del Piano 10, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy; Centre of Bioclimatology, University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine 18, 50144, Florence, Italy.
| | - Alessandro Messeri
- Tuscany Region, LaMMA Consortium - Weather Forecaster and Researcher at Laboratory of Monitoring and Environmental Modelling for Sustainable Development, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, Florence, Italy; Fondazione per il Clima e la Sostenibilità, Via G.Caproni 8, 50145, Florence, Italy.
| | - Michela Bonafede
- INAIL, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Laboratory of Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology, Via Stefano Gradi 55, 00143, Rome, Italy.
| | - Alessandro Marinaccio
- INAIL, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Laboratory of Occupational and Environmental Epidemiology, Via Stefano Gradi 55, 00143, Rome, Italy.
| | - Chuansi Gao
- Thermal Environment Laboratory, Division of Ergonomics and Aerosol Technology, Department of Design Sciences, Faculty of Engineering, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
| | - Vincenzo Molinaro
- INAIL, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene, Laboratory of Ergonomics and Physiology, Via Fontana Candida 1, 00078, Monte Porzio Catone, Rome, Italy.
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Xu J, Li J, Huang Q, Li J. Improving the applicability of the thermo-physiological human simulator by correcting its local set point skin temperatures. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY 2022; 66:1639-1651. [PMID: 35751702 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-022-02307-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2021] [Revised: 04/09/2022] [Accepted: 05/17/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The thermo-physiological human simulator has been used in many regions for estimating thermal behavior of the locals. The applicability of the human simulator to populations from different regions is, however, questioned due to its lack of consideration for the ethnic diversities in thermoregulation. This study checked the potential of improving the applicability of the Newton human simulator, one of the most popular simulators, by correcting its local set point skin temperatures according to the target population (Chinese as an example). First, new set point skin temperatures were obtained by conducting tests with 101 Chinese under a thermal neutral condition. Then, simulator tests using the original and new set point skin temperatures were conducted separately for evaluating thermal responses of the Chinese under non-neutral conditions. The evaluated skin and core temperatures by the simulators were compared with those measured from the real human tests. It demonstrated that the evaluated skin temperatures are positively related with the set point skin temperatures of the simulator. Adjusting set point skin temperatures according to the Chinese improved the prediction performance of the local skin temperatures, with the root-mean-square-deviation being reduced for over 50% of the body segments. The proposed idea of correcting local set point skin temperatures would contribute to evaluating the thermal interaction between human body and its surroundings with a higher accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingxian Xu
- College of Fashion and Design, Donghua University, West Yan'an Road 1882, Shanghai, 200051, China
- College of Textile and Clothing Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215021, China
- Key Laboratory of Jiangsu Province for Silk Engineering, Soochow University, Suzhou, 215123, China
| | - Jiayi Li
- College of Fashion and Design, Donghua University, West Yan'an Road 1882, Shanghai, 200051, China
| | - Qianqian Huang
- College of Fashion and Design, Donghua University, West Yan'an Road 1882, Shanghai, 200051, China
| | - Jun Li
- College of Fashion and Design, Donghua University, West Yan'an Road 1882, Shanghai, 200051, China.
- Key Laboratory of Clothing Design and Technology (Donghua University), Ministry of Education, Shanghai, 200051, China.
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Saidi A, Gauvin C, Ladhari S, Nguyen-Tri P. Advanced Functional Materials for Intelligent Thermoregulation in Personal Protective Equipment. Polymers (Basel) 2021; 13:3711. [PMID: 34771268 PMCID: PMC8587695 DOI: 10.3390/polym13213711] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 10/20/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The exposure to extreme temperatures in workplaces involves physical hazards for workers. A poorly acclimated worker may have lower performance and vigilance and therefore may be more exposed to accidents and injuries. Due to the incompatibility of the existing standards implemented in some workplaces and the lack of thermoregulation in many types of protective equipment that are commonly fabricated using various types of polymeric materials, thermal stress remains one of the most frequent physical hazards in many work sectors. However, many of these problems can be overcome with the use of smart textile technologies that enable intelligent thermoregulation in personal protective equipment. Being based on conductive and functional polymeric materials, smart textiles can detect many external stimuli and react to them. Interconnected sensors and actuators that interact and react to existing risks can provide the wearer with increased safety, protection, and comfort. Thus, the skills of smart protective equipment can contribute to the reduction of errors and the number and severity of accidents in the workplace and thus promote improved performance, efficiency, and productivity. This review provides an overview and opinions of authors on the current state of knowledge on these types of technologies by reviewing and discussing the state of the art of commercially available systems and the advances made in previous research works.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alireza Saidi
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada
- Laboratory of Advanced Materials for Energy and Environment, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada;
- Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et en Sécurité du Travail (IRSST), 505 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montréal, QC H3A 3C2, Canada;
| | - Chantal Gauvin
- Institut de Recherche Robert-Sauvé en Santé et en Sécurité du Travail (IRSST), 505 Boulevard de Maisonneuve Ouest, Montréal, QC H3A 3C2, Canada;
| | - Safa Ladhari
- Laboratory of Advanced Materials for Energy and Environment, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada;
| | - Phuong Nguyen-Tri
- Department of Chemistry, Biochemistry and Physics, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada
- Laboratory of Advanced Materials for Energy and Environment, Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières (UQTR), 3351 Boulevard des Forges, Trois-Rivières, QC G8Z 4M3, Canada;
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Yang J, Wang F, Song G, Li R, Raj U. Effects of clothing size and air ventilation rate on cooling performance of air ventilation clothing in a warm condition. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND ERGONOMICS 2020; 28:354-363. [PMID: 32345151 DOI: 10.1080/10803548.2020.1762316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Effects of clothing size and air ventilation rate on the cooling performance of three air ventilation jackets (size small, medium and large) were investigated. Two ventilation rates were chosen: low ventilation (12 L/s) and high ventilation (20 L/s). A significant difference in the dry heat loss at the upper body excluding the head and hands (UBody) was noted among the three sizes (p < 0.05). The ventilation rate significantly increased the total UBody heat loss and thereby reduced UBody's apparent evaporative resistance (p < 0.05). Clothing size showed varied impact on the UBody heat loss and the impact varied with air ventilation rates. Air ventilation could greatly reduce predicted core temperatures, mean skin and UBody temperatures in both sizes small and large . In contrast, clothing size had almost no impact on predicted thermophysiological responses in high ventilation. This work may be useful for designing and improving high-performance air ventilation clothing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jie Yang
- College of Safety Science and Engineering, Xi'an University of Science and Technology, China.,Events and Hospitality Management (AESHM), Iowa State University, USA
| | - Faming Wang
- School of Architecture and Art, Central South University, China
| | - Guowen Song
- Events and Hospitality Management (AESHM), Iowa State University, USA
| | - Rui Li
- Events and Hospitality Management (AESHM), Iowa State University, USA
| | - Uday Raj
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bhilai, India
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Varadaraju R, Srinivasan J. Design of sports clothing for hot environments. APPLIED ERGONOMICS 2019; 80:248-255. [PMID: 29478668 DOI: 10.1016/j.apergo.2018.02.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2016] [Revised: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
The clothing design based on sweat distribution pattern is called as body mapping clothing. Comparisons of three designs of body mapped and one conventional design of T-shirt was done in a wearer testing at a controlled chamber of 33 °C and 60% relativity humidity in a treadmill at 12 km/h for 40 min followed by 10 min resting. It is concluded that with the full body mapped T-shirt the increase in skin temperature is reduced in the chest area, shoulder, the body back by 47%,44% and 55% respectively; the increase in skin micro climate relative humidity is reduced in the chest area, shoulder, the body back by 54%,39.2% and 53% respectively; the increase in heart beat rate is reduced by 5.1%; the subjective perceptions of skin temperature, skin moisture and comfort are better; the wearer will be able to improve the running performance due better comfort level in terms lesser increase skin temperature, skin micro climate relative humidity and heart beat rate.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Varadaraju
- Department of Fashion Technology, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore, India.
| | - J Srinivasan
- Department of Fashion Technology, Kumaraguru College of Technology, Coimbatore, India
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Del Ferraro S, Falcone T, Tombolini F, Rondinone BM, Molinaro V. Thermophysiological simulations with Newton manikin equipped with a power assisted filtering device in cold environments. J Therm Biol 2018; 78:320-328. [PMID: 30509654 DOI: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2018.10.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/11/2018] [Revised: 10/24/2018] [Accepted: 10/27/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Simona Del Ferraro
- INAIL, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene - Laboratory of Ergonomics and Physiology, Via Fontana Candida 1, 00078 Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy.
| | - Tiziana Falcone
- INAIL, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene - Laboratory of Ergonomics and Physiology, Via Fontana Candida 1, 00078 Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy
| | - Francesca Tombolini
- INAIL - Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene -Carcinogenic and Mutagenic Risk Agents Laboratory, Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy
| | - Bruna Maria Rondinone
- INAIL - Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene -Laboratory of Psychosocial Risks and Vulnerable Workers, Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy
| | - Vincenzo Molinaro
- INAIL, Department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Epidemiology and Hygiene - Laboratory of Ergonomics and Physiology, Via Fontana Candida 1, 00078 Monte Porzio Catone (Rome), Italy
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Zhao Y, Yi W, Chan APC, Wong DP. Impacts of cooling intervention on the heat strain attenuation of construction workers. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOMETEOROLOGY 2018; 62:1625-1634. [PMID: 29802501 DOI: 10.1007/s00484-018-1562-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2017] [Revised: 03/23/2018] [Accepted: 05/10/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness and practicality of a cooling intervention with a newly designed cooling vest on heat strain attenuation in the construction industry. Fourteen construction workers volunteered to participate in the field study. Each participant took part in two trials, i.e., cooling and control. Construction work included morning and afternoon sessions. Cooling intervention was implemented for 15 and 30 min during the morning and afternoon rest periods, respectively, between repeated bouts of work. Micrometeorological (wet-bulb globe temperature [WBGT]), physiological (tympanic temperature and heart rate), and perceptual (ratings of perceived exertion [RPE] and thermal sensation) measurements were taken during the test. Heat strain indices, including physiological strain index (PSIHR) and perceptual strain index (PeSI), were estimated accordingly. During the study, construction workers were exposed to a hot environment with a mean WBGT of 31.56 ± 1.87 °C. Compared with the control, physiological and perceptual strain were significantly reduced in the cooling condition during rest and subsequent work periods (p < 0.05; d = 0.24-1.07, small to large cooling effect). Cooling intervention significantly alleviates heat strain in the construction industry. The effectiveness and practicality of a proposed cooling intervention were tested in a field study. Results provide a reference for setting guidelines and promoting application on a range of construction sites.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yijie Zhao
- Department of Building and Real Estate, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Wen Yi
- School of Engineering and Advanced Technology, Massey University, Auckland, New Zealand.
| | - Albert P C Chan
- Department of Building and Real Estate, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Del P Wong
- Department of Building and Real Estate, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
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PSIKUTA A, KOELBLEN B, MERT E, FONTANA P, ANNAHEIM S. An integrated approach to develop, validate and operate thermo-physiological human simulator for the development of protective clothing. INDUSTRIAL HEALTH 2017; 55:500-512. [PMID: 28966294 PMCID: PMC5718770 DOI: 10.2486/indhealth.2017-0089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
Following the growing interest in the further development of manikins to simulate human thermal behaviour more adequately, thermo-physiological human simulators have been developed by coupling a thermal sweating manikin with a thermo-physiology model. Despite their availability and obvious advantages, the number of studies involving these devices is only marginal, which plausibly results from the high complexity of the development and evaluation process and need of multi-disciplinary expertise. The aim of this paper is to present an integrated approach to develop, validate and operate such devices including technical challenges and limitations of thermo-physiological human simulators, their application and measurement protocol, strategy for setting test scenarios, and the comparison to standard methods and human studies including details which have not been published so far. A physical manikin controlled by a human thermoregulation model overcame the limitations of mathematical clothing models and provided a complementary method to investigate thermal interactions between the human body, protective clothing, and its environment. The opportunities of these devices include not only realistic assessment of protective clothing assemblies and equipment but also potential application in many research fields ranging from biometeorology, automotive industry, environmental engineering, and urban climate to clinical and safety applications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Agnes PSIKUTA
- Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles, Switzerland
- *To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail:
| | - Barbara KOELBLEN
- Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles, Switzerland
- Air-Conditioning and Heating Department, Warsaw University of Technology, Poland
| | - Emel MERT
- Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles, Switzerland
| | - Piero FONTANA
- Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles, Switzerland
- Highperformance Scientific GmbH, Switzerland
| | - Simon ANNAHEIM
- Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, Laboratory for Biomimetic Membranes and Textiles, Switzerland
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Evaluating the Effectiveness of Cooling Vest in a Hot and Humid Environment. Ann Work Expo Health 2017; 61:481-494. [DOI: 10.1093/annweh/wxx007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2016] [Accepted: 01/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
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