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In the 21st century, the clothing and textile industry has been developing visually and audibly appealing products. In particular, as fabric sound is known to have a positive or negative effect on consumers' emotions, the industry wanted Abstract The purpose of this study is to analyze the characteristic fast Fourier transform (FFT) spectra of weft-knitted fabrics, to investigate the relationship between sound parameters and the mechanical properties of the weft knits, and to determine the effects of fiber type and stitch type on the frictional sound and mechanical properties. The specimens included 12 weft-knitted fabrics made from a combination of 3 fiber types (100% wool, 100% cotton and 49%/51% wool/ cotton) and 4 stitch types (plain, rib, half cardigan and half milano stitch). The rustling sounds of each specimen were recorded and analyzed using FFT analysis including sound parameters such as LPT (level pressure of total sound), ∆L (level difference) and ∆f (frequency difference). We also used Zwicker's psychoacoustic model to calculate the loudness (Z), sharpness (Z), roughness (Z) and fluctuation strength (Z). In addition, the mechanical properties of the specimens were measured using the Kawabata Evaluation System (KES). The FFT spectra for the weft-knitted fabrics showed different shapes according to the fiber and stitch types. Mechanical properties such as the thickness and weight were correlated with several sound parameters. Fiber type was affected by ∆f and stitch type was affected by ∆L, roughness (Z), fluctuation strength (Z) and weight. Both fiber type and stitch type were affected by tensile properties. It is possible, by changing fiber and stitch types of weft-knitted fabrics, to obtain various kinds of knitted fabrics with different frictional sounds.

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Inflammatory responses involve the action of inflammatory mediators that are necessary for the clearance of invading bacterial pathogens. However, excessive production of inflammatory mediators can damage tissues, thereby impairing bacterial clearance. Here, we examined the effects of Weigela florida on the expression of inflammatory cytokines induced by Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus infection in macrophages. The results showed that pre-treatment with W. florida markedly downregulated the bacterial infection-mediated expression of cytokines. Additionally, post-treatment also triggered anti-inflammatory effects in cells infected with S. aureus to a greater extent than in those infected with P. aeruginosa. Bacterial infection activated inflammation-associated AKT (Thr308 and Ser473)/NF-κB and MAPK (p38, JNK, and ERK) signaling pathways, whereas W. florida treatment typically inhibited the phosphorylation of AKT/NF-κB and p38/JNK, supporting the anti-inflammatory effects of W. florida. The present results suggest that W. florida decreases the infection-mediated expression of inflammatory mediators by inhibiting the AKT/NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways, implying that it may have potential use as an inhibitory agent of excessive inflammatory responses.