Studying bath exhaustion as a method to apply microcapsules on fabrics

[EN] Textile industry is one of the fields that have increased their consumption of microcapsules. They can be applied to textiles using different methods, such as, padding, bath exhaustion, spraying and foaming. Although the most extended industrial application is by padding, commercial brands also suggest bath exhaustion as a possible procedure. In the research reported herein, bath exhaustion treatments are compared to padding. X-ray photoelectronic spectroscopy (XPS) technique showed that it was a suitable method to detect microcapsules¿presence on fabric surface. Results reported that high concentrations were required to obtain similar behaviours to those of padding. Moreover, we suggested reusing bath exhaustion baths, in order to minimise the loss of so much product in wastewater. We concluded that it was not possible because microcapsules de flate following contact with water for a per- iod of time, and what is more interesting, microcapsule preparation must be done immediately before use, so as to avoid microcapsule de flation due to contact with water.Authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support received by this research project from the Spanish government in the programme "Plan Nacional 2008-2011" reference Mat 2009-14210-C02-01.Bonet Aracil, MA.; Capablanca Francés, L.; Monllor Pérez, P.; Díaz García, P.; Montava Seguí, IJ. (2012). Studying bath exhaustion as a method to apply microcapsules on fabrics. Journal of the Textile Institute. 103(6):629-635. doi:10.1080/00405000.2011.596665S6296351036Chang, C. P., Yamamoto, T., Kimura, M., Sato, T., Ichikawa, K., & Dobashi, T. (2003). Release characteristics of an azo dye from poly(ureaurethane) microcapsules. Journal of Controlled Release, 86(2-3), 207-211. doi:10.1016/s0168-3659(02)00366-8Fan, Y. 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Occurrence and risk assessment of pesticides in a Mediterranean Basin with strong agricultural pressure (Guadiana Basin: Southern of Portugal)

The study aimed to assess the occurrence and the environmental risk of a group of 51 selected pesticides in the Guadiana Basin (a biodiversity hotspot, in the Mediterranean). The most abundant pesticides were bentazone and 2,4-D, while terbuthylazine together with terbutryn constituted the most ubiquitous pesticides. Eighteen out of the 38 pesticides detected are no longer approved in Europe, and 5 of them are included in the list of priority substances. The risk assessment showed that azinphos ethyl, diflufenican, irganol, imidacloprid, and oxadiazon occurred occasionally, but always in concentrations above their respective ecotoxicological threshold value. Contrary, bentazone, terbuthylazine, and terbutryn presented a high risk in most of the sampled locations and periods. The site-specific risk assessment showed a spatial and temporal pattern, with a higher risk occurring mainly in intermittent streams, in the drought period. The presence of pesticides banned from the EU market since 2009 showed the importance of improving the monitoring process, to identify the main sources of pollution and the fate of these emerging compounds. The results showed the need of implementing actions to improve the sustainable use of pesticides in agricultural areas,workingwith farmers and management entities to reduce the contamination of aquatic ecosystems. Transboundarywater governance is also required to solve potential transboundary contamination problems

Going it alone won’t work! The relational imperative for social innovation in social enterprises

Shifts in the philosophy of the “state” and a growing emphasis on the “Big Society” have placed an increasing onus on a newly emerging organizational form, social enterprises, to deliver innovative solutions to ease societal issues. However, the question of how social enterprises manage the process of social innovation remains largely unexplored. Based on insights from both in-depth interviews and a quantitative empirical study of social enterprises, this research examines the role of stakeholder relationships in supporting the process of social innovation within social enterprises. We find that social enterprises are adept at working with their stakeholders in the ideation stage of social innovation. In contrast, they often fail to harness knowledge and expertise from their partners during the social innovation implementation phase. Consequently, we propose a social innovation–stakeholder relationship matrix that provides social enterprises in particular with insight for developing stakeholder relationships to achieve their social innovation missions

Manufacture Techniques of Chitosan-Based Microcapsules to Enhance Functional Properties of Textiles

In recent years, the textile industry has been moving to novel concepts of products, which could deliver to the user, improved performances. Such smart textiles have been proven to have the potential to integrate within a commodity garment advanced feature and functional properties of different kinds. Among those functionalities, considerable interest has been played in functionalizing commodity garments in order to make them positively interact with the human body and therefore being beneficial to the user health. This kind of functionalization generally exploits biopolymers, a class of materials that possess peculiar properties such as biocompatibility and biodegradability that make them suitable for bio-functional textile production. In the context of biopolymer chitosan has been proved to be an excellent potential candidate for this kind of application given its abundant availability and its chemical properties that it positively interacts with biological tissue. Notwithstanding the high potential of chitosan-based technologies in the textile sectors, several issues limit the large-scale production of such innovative garments. In facts the morphologies of chitosan structures should be optimized in order to make them better exploit the biological activity; moreover a suitable process for the application of chitosan structures to the textile must be designed. The application process should indeed not only allow an effective and durable fixation of chitosan to textile but also comply with environmental rules concerning pollution emission and utilization of harmful substances. This chapter reviews the use of microencapsulation technique as an approach to effectively apply chitosan to the textile material while overcoming the significant limitations of finishing processes. The assembly of chitosan macromolecules into microcapsules was proved to boost the biological properties of the polymer thanks to a considerable increase in the surface area available for interactions with the living tissues. Moreover, the incorporation of different active substances into chitosan shells allows the design of multifunctional materials that effectively combine core and shell properties. Based on the kind of substances to be incorporated, several encapsulation processes have been developed. The literature evidences how the proper choices concerning encapsulation technology, chemical formulations, and process parameter allow tuning the properties and the performances of the obtained microcapsules. Furthermore, the microcapsules based finishing process have been reviewed evidencing how the microcapsules morphology can positively interact with textile substrate allowing an improvement in the durability of the treatment. The application of the chitosan shelled microcapsules was proved to be capable of imparting different functionalities to textile substrates opening possibilities for a new generation of garments with improved performances and with the potential of protecting the user from multiple harms. Lastly, a continuous interest was observed in improving the process and formulation design in order to avoid the usage of toxic substances, therefore, complying with an environmentally friendly approach

Gradient tantalum-doped hematite homojunction photoanode improves both photocurrents and turn-on voltage for solar water splitting

Hematite has a great potential as a photoanode for photoelectrochemical (PEC) water splitting by converting solar energy into hydrogen fuels, but the solar-to-hydrogen conversion efficiency of state-of-the-art hematite photoelectrodes are still far below the values required for practical hydrogen production. Here, we report a core-shell formation of gradient tantalum-doped hematite homojunction nanorods by combination of hydrothermal regrowth strategy and hybrid microwave annealing, which enhances the photocurrent density and reduces the turn-on voltage simultaneously. The unusual bi-functional effects originate from the passivation of the surface states and intrinsic built-in electric field by the homojunction formation. The additional driving force provided by the field can effectively suppress charge???carrier recombination both in the bulk and on the surface of hematite, especially at lower potentials. Moreover, the synthesized homojunction shows a remarkable synergy with NiFe(OH)x cocatalyst with significant additional improvements of photocurrent density and cathodic shift of turn-on voltage. The work has nicely demonstrated multiple collaborative strategies of gradient doping, homojunction formation, and cocatalyst modification, and the concept could shed light on designing and constructing the efficient nanostructures of semiconductor photoelectrodes in the field of solar energy conversion. ?? 2020, The Author(s)

Learning from Poverty: Why Business Schools Should Address Poverty, and How They Can Go About It.

In the past few years, business schools have begun to address poverty issues in their teaching, learning and curricula. While this is a positive development, the arguments for reconfiguring educational programs to address such matters remain undeveloped, with much of the impetus for such endeavors rooted in calls for social responsibility in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the Social Compact, the Principles for Responsible Management Education and benchmarks such as ISO 26000. This article seeks to clarify the pedagogical grounds for integrating poverty issues in management education by examining the intellectual and personal development benefits of doing so. By critically examining four modes of business involvement in poverty reduction, the article shows how such initiatives can be used as intellectual lenses through which to view the complex and often paradoxical interconnections between socioeconomic and environmental systems. It is thus concluded that a consideration of poverty issues is not a marginal matter, but is key to grasping the 21st century complexities of global business and management

Inductance, répartition des courants et champ magnétique pour un ensemble de lignes supraconductrices

We determine the free energy of a superconducting network and minimize it by a variational method. We calculate the current density distribution, the structure of the magnetic field and the inductance matrix. The results obtained for a superconducting microstrip line show the edge effects related to the geometry used (width of the strip : 2.5 μm). These effects produce « cross-talk » which must be taken into account in integrated Josephson circuit conception. We also show the influence of the London penetration depth on the distribution of the current density in superconductors and on the magnetic field structure in any point of the microstrip line.Nous déterminons l'énergie libre d'un ensemble de lignes supraconductrices et la minimisons par une méthode variationnelle. Nous calculons la distribution des courants, la structure du champ magnétique et la matrice inductance du système. Les résultats obtenus pour une ligne micro-ruban supraconductrice mettent en évidence les effets de bords liés à la géométrie utilisée (ruban de largeur 2,5 μm). Ces effets peuvent être à l'origine de couplages parasites dont le rôle doit être pris en compte dans la conception de circuits intégrés réalisés en technologie Josephson. Nous montrons également l'influence des profondeurs de London sur la distribution des courants dans les supraconducteurs et sur la structure du champ magnétique en tous points de la ligne

Inductance, répartition des courants et champ magnétique pour un ensemble de lignes supraconductrices

Nous déterminons l'énergie libre d'un ensemble de lignes supraconductrices et la minimisons par une méthode variationnelle. Nous calculons la distribution des courants, la structure du champ magnétique et la matrice inductance du système. Les résultats obtenus pour une ligne micro-ruban supraconductrice mettent en évidence les effets de bords liés à la géométrie utilisée (ruban de largeur 2,5 μm). Ces effets peuvent être à l'origine de couplages parasites dont le rôle doit être pris en compte dans la conception de circuits intégrés réalisés en technologie Josephson. Nous montrons également l'influence des profondeurs de London sur la distribution des courants dans les supraconducteurs et sur la structure du champ magnétique en tous points de la ligne