Moisture management finish on woven fabrics

Moisture management behaviour of four different woven fabrics, such as cotton, polyester/cotton blend, microdenierpolyester and nylon, has been studied. A wetting agent of ethoxylated alcohol blend and moisture management finishingagents, such as amino silicone polyether copolymer and hydrophilic polymer, have been prepared and used. Moisturemanagement finishes with wetting agent and without wetting agent are imparted onto woven fabrics. The effect of moisturemanagement finishing process parameters on the comfort properties of woven fabrics has been studied. The optimization ofcomfort level by varying the moisture management finishing process parameters in order to achieve suitability for makingsports wear is done. It is found that the type of fibre and linear density of yarn affect the comfort properties of woven fabricswhich include wicking, wetting, water absorbency and moisture vapour transmission characteristics. Based on the testresults, microdenier polyester fabrics and cotton fabrics exhibit good wicking, wetting and water absorbency characteristicsthan the polyester/cotton blend and nylon. It is found that the combination of ethoxylated alcohol (wetting agent) and therecipe containing amino silicone polyether copolymer and hydrophilic polymer in the ratio of 1:2 with pH of 5.5 at 600-700 Ctemperature is the optimum finishing process than the other two combinations so as to attain better comfort propertiesfor sportswear

Moisture management finish on woven fabrics

486-491Moisture management behaviour of four different woven fabrics, such as cotton, polyester/cotton blend, microdenier polyester and nylon, has been studied. A wetting agent of ethoxylated alcohol blend and moisture management finishing agents, such as amino silicone polyether copolymer and hydrophilic polymer, have been prepared and used. Moisture management finishes with wetting agent and without wetting agent are imparted onto woven fabrics. The effect of moisture management finishing process parameters on the comfort properties of woven fabrics has been studied. The optimization of comfort level by varying the moisture management finishing process parameters in order to achieve suitability for making sports wear is done. It is found that the type of fibre and linear density of yarn affect the comfort properties of woven fabrics which include wicking, wetting, water absorbency and moisture vapour transmission characteristics. Based on the test results, microdenier polyester fabrics and cotton fabrics exhibit good wicking, wetting and water absorbency characteristics than the polyester/cotton blend and nylon. It is found that the combination of ethoxylated alcohol (wetting agent) and the recipe containing amino silicone polyether copolymer and hydrophilic polymer in the ratio of 1:2 with pH of 5.5 at 600-700 C temperature is the optimum finishing process than the other two combinations so as to attain better comfort properties for sportswear

Stabilization of β-hairpin structures via inter-strand ∏-∏ and hydrogen bond interactions in α-, β-, γ-hybrid peptides

Synthesis and conformational studies of α-, β-, γ-hybrid peptides containing a pyrrole amino acid (Paa, 1) and a furan amino acid (Faa, 2), namely Boc-β-Phe-Faa-D-Pro-Gly-Paa-β-HGly-Faa-OMe (3) and Boc-Paa-β-Phe-Faa-D-Pro-Gly-Paa-β-HGly-Faa-OMe (4), were carried out and they adopt β-hairpin structures stabilized via inter-strand ∏-∏ and hydrogen bonding interactions

cuneate spiking neural network learning to classify naturalistic texture stimuli under varying sensing conditions

Abstract We implemented a functional neuronal network that was able to learn and discriminate haptic features from biomimetic tactile sensor inputs using a two-layer spiking neuron model and homeostatic synaptic learning mechanism. The first order neuron model was used to emulate biological tactile afferents and the second order neuron model was used to emulate biological cuneate neurons. We have evaluated 10 naturalistic textures using a passive touch protocol, under varying sensing conditions. Tactile sensor data acquired with five textures under five sensing conditions were used for a synaptic learning process, to tune the synaptic weights between tactile afferents and cuneate neurons. Using post-learning synaptic weights, we evaluated the individual and population cuneate neuron responses by decoding across 10 stimuli, under varying sensing conditions. This resulted in a high decoding performance. We further validated the decoding performance across stimuli, irrespective of sensing velocities using a set of 25 cuneate neuron responses. This resulted in a median decoding performance of 96% across the set of cuneate neurons. Being able to learn and perform generalized discrimination across tactile stimuli, makes this functional spiking tactile system effective and suitable for further robotic applications

Tissue culture-independent in planta transformation strategy: an Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated gene transfer method to overcome recalcitrance in cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.)

The major constraint in cotton improvement has been the recalcitrance of cotton varieties to tissue culture. Alternate methods that avoid/ minimize tissue culture would be beneficial for the improvement of cotton. In this report, transgenic cotton plants have been produced by a tissue-culture independent Agrobacterium tumefaciens - mediated transformation procedure. Agrobacterium strain LBA4404 harboring the binary vector pKIWI105 that carries the genes for β-glucuronidase (GUS) and neomycin phosphotransferase (npt II) was used for transformation. Apical meristem of the differentiated embryo of the germinating seedling is infected with Agrobacterium. Since the transgene is integrated into the cells of already differentiated tissues, the T0 plants will be chimeric and stable integration can be seen only in the T1 generation. The first proof of transformability in the T0 generation was indicated by the GUS histochemical analysis of the seedlings, five days after co-cultivation and subsequently in the pollen and lint. T1 transformants were identified by PCR analysis and subsequently confirmed by Southern. Three plants (T1) with single copy insertions were selected for continuing into the next generations. Molecular characterization and GUS expression analysis (histochemical and fluorimetric) of the T1, T2 and T3 generation suggested the feasibility of the method to generate transgenic plants in cotton

Comfort properties of moisture management finished bi-layer knitted fabrics: Part II - Moisture Management

Moisture management properties of six samples of bi-layer fabrics have been determined after optimised finish and their statistical analysis is done. It is found that the finished fabrics show better properties than those of unfinished fabrics. The bi-layer fabric structure along with the application of optimized moisture management finish makes the fabric more suitable for sportswear, exhibiting excellent moisture management properties in terms of wetting radius, absorption rate, wetting time and spreading speed of sweat. The results indicate that, the inner and outer microdenier polyester fabrics show better moisture management property, offering high levels of comfort, and hence are preferred during summer for active and sportswear due to the appreciable wetting radius, as well as good absorption rate, wetting time and well spreading speed of sweat.

Review on grain size effects on thermal conductivity in ZnO thermoelectric materials

Thermoelectric materials have recently attracted a lot of attention due to their ability to convert waste heat into electricity. Based on the extensive research in this area, the nanostructuring approach has been viewed as an effective strategy for increasing thermoelectric performance. This approach focuses on the formation and growth of the superfine, pure and uniform grain size. Since the grain size has a strong influence on the thermal conductivity, this can be reduced by increasing the phonon scattering at grain boundaries and refining the grain sizes. Therefore, this review aims to discuss the mechanism of reduction in thermal conductivity in small-grain zinc oxide (ZnO) and the optimization techniques for obtaining ZnO nanoparticles with desirably low thermal conductivity and excellent thermoelectric performance

A Case for Renewed Activity in the Giant Radio Galaxy J0116-473

We present ATCA radio observations of the giant radio galaxy J0116-473 at 12 and 22 cm wavelengths in total intensity and polarization. The images clearly reveal a bright inner-double structure within more extended edge-brightened lobe emission. The lack of hotspots at the ends of the outer lobes, the strong core and the inner-double structure with its edge-brightened morphology lead us to suggest that this giant radio galaxy is undergoing a renewed nuclear activity: J0116-473 appears to be a striking example of a radio galaxy where a young double source is evolving within older lobe material. We also report the detection of a Mpc-long linear feature which is oriented perpendicular to the radio axis and has a high fractional polarization.Comment: 25 pages, 10 figures, appeared in 2002 ApJ, 565, 25