Clothing

Clothing (also called clothes) is fiber and textile material worn on the body. The wearing of clothing is mostly restricted to human beings and is a feature of nearly all human societies. The amount and type of clothing worn depends on physical, social and geographic considerations. Some clothing types can be gender specific.

Physically, clothing serves many purposes: it can serve as protection from the elements, and can enhance safety during hazardous activities such as hiking and cooking. It protects the wearer from rough surfaces, rash-causing plants, insect bites, splinters, thorns and prickles by providing a barrier between the skin and the environment. Clothes can insulate against cold or hot conditions. Further, they can provide a hygienic barrier, keeping infectious and toxic materials away from the body. Clothing also provides protection from harmful UV radiation.

Origin of clothing

There is no easy way to determine when clothing was first developed, but some information has been inferred by studying lice. The body louse specifically lives in clothing, and diverge from head lice about 107,000 years ago, suggesting that clothing existed at that time. Another theory is that modern humans are the only survivors of several species of primates who may have worn clothes and that clothing may have been used as long ago as 650 thousand years ago. Other louse-based estimates put the introduction of clothing at around 42,000–72,000 BP.

Outfit (retailer)

Outfit is a UK company which forms part of the Arcadia Group and began life in the 1990s. It sells a range of clothing, footwear and accessories for both men and women.

The company began life in the 1990s when Sears plc saw a gap in the market. The 1990s saw a big growth in out of town retail parks which seemed to be the new alternative to town centre shopping. Sears saw this as an opportunity to house all their fashion brands under one roof.

The first Outfit store opened in 1995 at Riverside Retail Park in Nottingham. The Nottingham store proved such a success that more stores soon opened.

In 1999 Outfit became part of Arcadia Group Ltd and is continually growing.

About Outfit

Outfit currently have over 70 stores in the UK. Each store has a range of well-known brands including Arcadias own high street stores Burton, Dorothy Perkins, Evans, Miss Selfridge, Topman, Topshop, and Wallis. Also Outfit is home to a number of concessions including formally Arcadia owned Warehouse and others including Oasis, Quiz, Little Mistress, Jack & Jones and Fuse.

The Outfit

The Outfit or Outfit may refer to:

Art, entertainment, and media

Fictional entities

Film

Games

Literature

Enterprises and organizations

Serum

Serum may refer to:

Biology

People

See also

Serum (blood)

In blood, the serum (/ˈsɪərəm/ or /ˈsɪrəm/) is the component that is neither a blood cell (serum does not contain white or red blood cells) nor a clotting factor; it is the blood plasma not including the fibrinogens. Serum includes all proteins not used in blood clotting (coagulation) and all the electrolytes, antibodies, antigens, hormones, and any exogenous substances (e.g., drugs and microorganisms).

A study of serum is serology, and may also include proteomics. Serum is used in numerous diagnostic tests, as well as blood typing.

Blood is centrifuged to remove cellular components. Anti-coagulated blood yields plasma containing fibrinogen and clotting factors. Coagulated blood (clotted blood) yields serum without fibrinogen, although some clotting factors remain.

Serum is an essential factor for the self-renewal of embryonic stem cells in combination with the cytokine leukemia inhibitory factor.

The serum of convalescent patients successfully recovering (or already recovered) from an infectious disease can be used as a biopharmaceutical in the treatment of other people with that disease, because the antibodies generated by the successful recovery are potent fighters of the pathogen. Such convalescent serum (antiserum) is a form of immunotherapy.