A method and device for controlling the fixation of a treatment material being applied to a thread during a thread treatment process are disclosed. The method comprises performing a thread treatment process, forming part of the thread consuming process, by: i) applying a treatment material to the thread; and ii) applying an amount of energy to the thread to at least partly fix the applied treatment material to the thread; wherein the method further comprises controlling the amount of energy being applied to the thread as a response to a detected operational status of the in-line thread consuming process.

Apparatuses for manipulating a color displayed by an article of wear comprising iron oxide colloidal nanocrystals arranged within chains are described. The apparatus includes (a) a magnetic field source, wherein a strength of a magnetic field generated by the magnetic field source is tunable to control the color displayed by the article of wear, and (b) an energy source, wherein energy generated by the energy source is applied to at least some of the chains of nanocrystals to soften materials within the article of wear immediately surrounding the chains of nanocrystals to which the energy is applied.

This document describes self-cleaning devices. In one aspect, a self-cleaning device includes a fabric having a surface covered with a photocatalyst, one or more light sources embedded in the fabric, and a triggering mechanism that activates a cleaning cycle by activating the one or more light sources. The triggering mechanism can include a pressure sensor. The triggering mechanism can be configured to activate the cleaning cycle in response to detecting a decrease in pressure being applied to the pressure sensor.

The purpose of the present invention is to provide a method whereby deposits which have occurred on the surfaces of a fiber bundle during flameproofing treatment of a carbon fiber-precursor acrylic fiber bundle can be efficiently removed prior to carbonization treatment at high temperature. The method for production of carbon fiber bundle includes a step in which, after a carbon fiber-precursor acrylic fiber bundle has been heated and undergone flameproofing treatment, the fiber bundle is subjected to a plasma treatment involving contact with a plasma gas in gas phase, or to an ultraviolet treatment involving irradiation with ultraviolet in gas phase; and a step in which the fiber bundle having undergone the plasma treatment or the ultraviolet treatment is subjected to a carbonization treatment.

Apparatuses for manipulating a color displayed by an article of wear comprising iron oxide colloidal nanocrystals arranged within chains are described. The apparatus includes (a) a magnetic field source, wherein a strength of a magnetic field generated by the magnetic field source is tunable to control the color displayed by the article of wear, and (b) an energy source, wherein energy generated by the energy source is applied to at least some of the chains of nanocrystals to soften materials within the article of wear immediately surrounding the chains of nanocrystals to which the energy is applied.

Diazirine-containing polymers (also referred to as polymeric diazirines or polydiazirines) are useful in the adhesion of a broad range of substrates, including low-surface energy polymers such as polyethylene. In addition to being employed as single-component adhesives, such agents can be used as surface-activating primers, which can enable traditional adhesive reagents to bond previously challenging substrates. The presence of the diazirine group within or along the polymer chain allows the reagents to covalently bond directly to substrate surfaces via CH, OH, or NH insertion, while also leading to crosslinking and aggregation within the polymeric reagent itself.

Cardiac tissue-on-a-chip platforms aimed at mimicking human cardiac tissue structures, are valuable tools to model, and serve as preclinical platforms for drug testing or therapies for cardiac repair. We have developed three types of electrospun scaffolds including furfuryl gelatin (f-gelatin) alone, with polycaprolactone (PCL) in the ratio of f-gelatin and PCL (1:1), and coaxial scaffolds with PCL (core) and f-gelatin (sheath). Scaffolds were developed through single nozzle electrospinning and coaxial electrospinning, respectively, to serve as scaffolds for cardiac tissue-on-a-chip platforms.

A high-power bidirectional-driven bionic muscle fiber as well as a preparation method and use thereof are provided. The bionic muscle fiber includes a matrix fiber and an object material layer coating the matrix fiber, where the matrix material is capable of emitting heat after electrification, and the object material layer includes a liquid crystal elastomer (LCE); the bionic muscle fiber is excessively twisted to form a helical barrel-like structure. The bionic muscle fiber provided by the present application improves the mechanical property of the LCE, shows large work capability and drive quantity, and has an realize rapid response and work at high frequency. The contraction of the fiber can be controlled by changing voltage. Furthermore, the bionic muscle fiber exhibits a bidirectional driving feature that can recover without stress. In addition, the cyclic work of the fiber is greater than zero.

A method of making an antimicrobial textile comprising TiO.sub.2 nanoparticles is described. The TiO.sub.2 nanoparticles are immobilized by first treating a textile with a base, and then contacting with TiO.sub.2 nanoparticles in a solution of an alcohol and acid. The textile may be subsequently irradiated with UV light prior to use. The antimicrobial textile shows high effectiveness against the growth and proliferation of microorganisms transmitted within indoor environments.

The present invention discloses a method and corresponding apparatus utilizing UV-A and UV-C for treatment of textile materials. The method comprises the steps of (a) exposing incoming textile materials to UV-A radiation for detection of optically brightened textile materials and/or synthetic fiber materials; (b) separating detected optically brightened textile materials and/or synthetic fiber materials from the incoming textile materials; (c) exposing the separated incoming textile materials to UV-C radiation for sterilization and surface modification of the textile materials to increase wettability and absorbability and reduce pilling. The apparatus comprises an enclosed segregation chamber disposed with a cascading conveying means, a UV-A radiation source and an optically brightened textile materials and/or synthetic fiber materials separating means therewithin, and an enclosed segregation chamber disposed with a UV-C radiation source therewithin.