Fabric

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Distribution within Polymers and Materials Science

Kinds of Fabric

  • coated fabric
  • cotton fabric
  • glass fabric
  • non-woven fabric
  • polyester fabric
  • rock fabric
  • sedimentary fabric
  • social fabric
  • textile fabric
  • treated fabric
  • urban fabric
  • wool fabric
  • woven fabric

  • Terms modified by Fabric

  • fabric analysis
  • fabric composite

  • Selected Abstracts


    DEVELOPMENT OF A NEW EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUE FOR MECHANICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF FABRIC

    EXPERIMENTAL TECHNIQUES, Issue 6 2008
    M. Issa
    First page of article [source]


    FROM IDEAS TO CONCEPTS TO METAPHORS: THE GERMAN TRADITION OF INTELLECTUAL HISTORY AND THE COMPLEX FABRIC OF LANGUAGE

    HISTORY AND THEORY, Issue 2 2010
    ELÍAS JOSÉ PALTI
    ABSTRACT Recently, the diffusion of the so-called "new intellectual history" led to the dismissal of the old school of the "history of ideas" on the basis of its ahistorical nature (the view of ideas as eternal entities). This formulation is actually misleading, missing the core of the transformation produced in the field. It is not true that the history of ideas simply ignored the fact that the meaning of ideas changes over time. The issue at stake here is really not how ideas changed (the mere description of the semantic transformation they underwent historically), but rather why they do. The study of the German tradition of intellectual history serves in this essay as a basis to illustrate the meaning and significance of the recent turn from ideas as its object. In the process of trying to account for the source of contingency of conceptual formations, it will open our horizon to the complex nature of the ways by which we invest the world with meaning. That is, it will disclose the presence of different layers of symbolic reality lying beneath the surface level of "ideas," and analyze their differential nature and functions. It will also show the reasons for the ultimate failure of the "history of ideas" approach, why discourses can never achieve their vocation to constitute themselves as self-enclosed, rationally integrated systems, thereby expelling contingency from their realm. In sum, it will show why historicity is not merely something that comes to intellectual history from without (as a by-product of social history or as the result of the action of an external agent), as the history of ideas assumed, but is a constitutive dimension of it. [source]


    THE TACTILE SENSORY EVALUATION OF KNITTED FABRICS: EFFECT OF SOME FINISHING TREATMENTS

    JOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 2 2010
    SELSABIL EL-GHEZAL JEGUIRIM
    ABSTRACT Good textile sensory characteristics required by the consumers incites textile industrialists to improve the sensory properties of fabrics. Therefore, several textile finishing processes have been proposed to improve the feel of fabrics. This work investigates the effects of some finishing treatments on the tactile properties using sensory analysis. The studied finishing treatments, namely bleaching, dyeing in different conditions, bio-polishing, softening, emerizing and calendaring, were applied on 100% cotton knitted fabrics. The obtained sensory properties of treated fabrics are in accordance with each finishing treatment aim. Hence, the bio-polishing treatment confers to fabrics a less hairy feeling, softening procures to fabrics a more soft, hairy and elastic feeling and emerizing leads to a more hairy and soft feeling. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS The practical use of the research presented in this paper is in the sensory evaluation of textile products. The tactile quality of fabrics is an important selling argument. Thus, the textile industrialists try to optimize the production, and especially finishing processes to improve the fabrics tactile feeling. Therefore, it seems necessary to develop tools describing and grading the sensory quality of the produced fabrics for similar consumers' evaluation. [source]


    DETERMINATION OF COOLNESS AND DAMPNESS SENSATIONS CREATED BY FABRICS BY FOREARM TEST AND FABRIC MEASUREMENTS

    JOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 4 2009
    SIBEL KAPLAN
    ABSTRACT Clothing is continuously in an interaction with the body both thermally and mechanically. Different sensations constituting the comfort status of a person arise as a result of this interaction. Coolness sensation perceived during skin-fabric contact is one of these sensations arising from the transient heat flow from skin to the fabric as skin is usually warmer than clothing. In this study, coolness to touch and dampness sensations created by knitted fabrics having different compositions and physical surface characteristics were investigated by forearm test conducted on seven males. Besides physical properties (weight, yarn count, thickness, density), surface roughness and friction properties of the inner surfaces of the fabrics touching the skin were also determined. Microscopic photographs were taken to have an idea about hairiness properties of the inner surfaces and optical porosity values were calculated by analysis of the microscopic images by using MATLAB software. It was found out that coolness and dampness sensations arise during skin,fabric contact are mostly related to the permeability and surface roughness characteristics of fabrics, and the effect of fabric material is more on dampness sensation than coolness sensation. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS In the recent years, consumers pay attention more to the mechanical, thermal and visual sensations stimulated by the dynamic body,clothing interactions besides the aesthetic properties of their clothing. They take into consideration feelings they have during first touch with the clothing into their purchase decisions. Coolness to touch sensation perceived during first contact with the fabric and dampness sensation , which is very important during wear conditions including sweating , are two of them and they are related to the thermophysiological aspect of clothing comfort. For producing garments giving desirable feelings, it is very important to determine fabric properties influencing these sensations. A subjective evaluation method , the forearm test , was used to find out the relationships between coolness and dampness sensations and fabric properties. Results of this study are thought to be beneficial data for fabric manufacturers aiming to produce clothing for specific end users. [source]


    A comparative electron microprobe study of "Aeginetan" wares with potential raw material sources from Aegina, Methana, and Poros, Greece

    GEOARCHAEOLOGY: AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL, Issue 6 2002
    Michael J. Dorais
    Qualitative stylistic evidence from ceramic vessels and limited petrographic analysis suggested that a distinctive group of ceramics with visible inclusions of biotite (Gold Mica Fabric) was produced on the island of Aegina, Greece, during the Middle Helladic and Late Helladic I periods. To quantitatively evaluate this provenance, we sampled all potential source rocks on Aegina, Methana, and Poros. Electron microprobe analysis of amphibole in these samples revealed that each of these volcanic centers has its own unique mineralogical signature. Comparative analyses of amphibole in Zerner's original stylistic "Gold Mica Fabric" type sample with the reference samples reveal that two sherds are Aeginetan. Three additional sherds from this sample may have a non-Aeginetan provenance, probably from a back-arc setting outside the Saronic Gulf. These results suggest that the hypothesis of a single source production site for Aeginetan Ware should be reexamined. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source]


    Flexible Electronics: Ultrathin Silicon Circuits With Strain-Isolation Layers and Mesh Layouts for High-Performance Electronics on Fabric, Vinyl, Leather, and Paper (Adv. Mater.

    ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 36 2009
    36/2009)
    The cover shows a silicon integrated circuit on a paper substrate. The system consists of ultrathin devices electrically and mechanically interconnected with stretchable, serpentine ribbons. A low modulus elastomeric adhesive isolates the circuit from strains associated with bending and folding the paper. This strategy provides a route to high quality electronics on paper, vinyl, leather and other unusual substrates, as reported by John Rogers and co-workers on p. 3703. [source]


    Ultrathin Silicon Circuits With Strain-Isolation Layers and Mesh Layouts for High-Performance Electronics on Fabric, Vinyl, Leather, and Paper

    ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 36 2009
    Dae-Hyeong Kim
    We present various stretchable high-performance CMOS circuit demonstrations on unconventional substrates, such as fabric, vinyl, leather, and paper. Electronics on such substrates, especially paper, open up new and important application possibilities for electronics. Theoretical analysis reveals the underlying mechanics of these systems; electrical tests under mechanical cycling demonstrate the robustness of the designs. [source]


    Invisible Time Lines in the Fabric of Events: Temporal Coherence in Yucatec Narratives

    JOURNAL OF LINGUISTIC ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 2 2003
    Jürgen Bohnemeyer
    This article examines how narratives are structured in a language in which event order is largely not coded. Yucatec Maya lacks both tense inflections and temporal connectives corresponding to English after and before. It is shown that the coding of events in Yucatec narratives is subject to a strict iconicity constraint within paragraph boundaries. Aspectual viewpoint shifting is used to reconcile iconicity preservation with the requirements of a more flexible narrative structure. [source]


    Unraveling the Ivory Fabric: Institutional Obstacles to the Handling of Sexual Harassment Complaints

    LAW & SOCIAL INQUIRY, Issue 1 2000
    Jennie Kihnley
    Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972 make universities liable for sexual harassment that occurs within both the employment and academic contexts. This article examines how universities implement and enforce the mandates of both Title VII and Title IX through exploratory research about sexual harassment complaint procedures at a public university system on the West Coast. In-depth interviews with personnel at each campus shed light on problems with inserting a complaint resolution process into an institution that simultaneously strives to eliminate sexual harassment, while wanting to protect itself from liability. This inherent conflict of goals is reflected in the differing roles of the Title IX office and the Women's Resource Center, in creation of a user friendly policy, and in the two branches of dispute resolution. [source]


    Evaluation of a Non-Woven Fabric Coated with a Chitosan Bi-Layer Composite for Wound Dressing

    MACROMOLECULAR BIOSCIENCE, Issue 5 2008
    Bai-Shuan Liu
    Abstract This study presents a novel design of an easily stripped bi-layer composite that consists of an upper layer of a soybean protein non-woven fabric coated with a lower layer, a genipin-crosslinked chitosan film, as a wound dressing material. This study examines the in vitro properties of the genipin-crosslinked chitosan film and the bi-layer composite. Furthermore, in vivo experiments are conducted to study wounds treated with the composite in a rat model. Experimental results show that the degree of crosslinking and the in vitro degradation rate of the genipin-crosslinked chitosan films can be controlled by varying the genipin contents. In addition, the genipin contents should exceed 0.025 wt.-% of the chitosan-based material if complete crosslinking reactions between genipin and chitosan molecules are required. Water contact angle analysis shows that the genipin-crosslinked chitosan film is not highly hydrophilic; therefore, the genipin-crosslinked chitosan layer is not entangled with the soybean protein non-woven fabric, which forms an easily stripped interface layer between them. Furthermore, this new wound dressing material provides adequate moisture, thereby minimizing the risk of wound dehydration, and exhibits good mechanical properties. The in vivo histological assessment results reveal that epithelialization and reconstruction of the wound are achieved by covering the wound with the composite, and the composite is easily stripped from the wound surface without damaging newly regenerated tissue. [source]


    Responsible Business: Weaving the Fabric of a Stable Marketplace

    AMERICAN BUSINESS LAW JOURNAL, Issue 2 2007
    Igor Abramov
    First page of article [source]


    Silver-Loaded Cotton/Polyester Fabric Modified by Dielectric Barrier Discharge Treatment

    PLASMA PROCESSES AND POLYMERS, Issue 1 2009
    Mirjana Kosti
    Abstract The preparation of antimicrobial silver-loaded cotton/polyester fabrics has been carried out by DBD surface activation followed by silver sorption from aqueous silver nitrate solution. A series of DBD fabric treatments was performed in order to determine the most suitable experimental conditions for the fabric surface activation. The capillarity, silver ion uptake, and copper number were used to assess the surface changes on the fabrics. An effective process has been developed to obtain antimicrobial silver-loaded Co/PES fabrics. The antimicrobial activity of the silver-loaded fabrics against different pathogens was evaluated in vitro. The quantity of bonded silver ions is enough to develop desirable antimicrobial activity in the Co/PES fabrics. [source]


    Timberfabric: Applying Textile Principles on a Building Scale

    ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Issue 4 2010
    Yves Weinand
    Abstract Timber is coming to the fore as a contemporary construction material. Not only sustainable, its suppleness, adaptability and strength make it highly attractive for experimental designers. Yves Weinand founded the interdisciplinary timberfabric research project at IBOIS, the Laboratory for Timber Fabric, at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), in order to fully explore innovative timber construction techniques. Here Yves Weinand and Markus Hudert describe the Textile Module, which Hudert developed, in order to investigate timber's ability for ,social behaviour', or greater structural strength, once woven into a textile-like form. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Auswirkungen der Matrixzusammensetzung auf die Dauerhaftigkeit von Betonen mit textilen Bewehrungen aus AR-Glas

    BETON- UND STAHLBETONBAU, Issue 8 2009
    Marko Butler Dipl.-Ing.
    Baustoffe; Bewehrung; Versuche Abstract Verbundmaterialien aus Feinbetonen mit textiler Bewehrung aus alkaliresistentem Glas (AR-Glas) können ausgeprägten zeitabhängigen Veränderungen hinsichtlich des mechanischen Leistungsvermögens unterliegen. Für eine zielsichere Anwendung solcher Werkstoffe im Bauwesen sind genaue Kenntnisse über die Höhe und die Ursachen dieser Leistungsverluste unabdingbar. In diesem Artikel werden anhand von Ergebnissen aktueller Untersuchungen entscheidende Mechanismen für die Alterungsprozesse dargestellt, die aus der Zusammensetzung der Feinbetone resultieren. Dazu wurden aus verschiedenen Betonzusammensetzungen, die sich maßgeblich in ihrer Hydratationskinetik und Alkalität unterschieden, textilbewehrte Dehnkörper hergestellt und nach beschleunigter Alterung geprüft. Dehnkörper aus Feinbeton mit hoher Alkalität (das Bindemittel bestand nur aus CEM I) zeigten dramatische Einbußen bei Zugfestigkeit und Bruchdehnung. Das Leistungsvermögen von Proben aus Feinbetonen mit puzzolanisch abgepufferter Bindemittelzusammensetzung und gleichzeitig reduziertem Portlandzementklinkeranteil zeigte sich dagegen weitgehend unbeeinflusst von Alterungsprozessen. Mit Hilfe von beidseitigen Garnauszugversuchen an beschleunigt gealterten Feinbetonproben wurden die für das unterschiedliche Materialverhalten verantwortlichen Degradationsmechanismen aufgeklärt. Neben der mechanischen Prüfung wurde dazu auch die Interphase zwischen Fasern und umgebendem Feinbeton mit bildgebenden und analytischen Verfahren charakterisiert. Die festgestellten Einbußen im Leistungsvermögen des Garn-Matrix-Verbundes konnten überwiegend auf die Neubildung von ungünstig strukturierten Hydratationsprodukten in der Interphase Filament-Matrix bzw. in Filamentzwischenräumen zurückgeführt werden. Die Morphologie dieser Phase wird maßgeblich von der Bindemittelzusammensetzung bestimmt. Korrosion des AR-Glases als Schadensursache kann unter ungünstigen Umständen auch eine große Rolle spielen, ist aber bei geeigneter Matrixformulierung von untergeordneter Bedeutung. Effect of Matrix Composition on the Durability of Concretes Reinforced with Glass Fibre Fabric The mechanical performance of composites made of finegrained concrete and textile reinforcement can worsen markedly with increasing age if alkali-resistant glass (AR-glass) is used as the reinforcing material. For reliable practical applications of textile-reinforced concrete, precise knowledge as to the extent and causes of such degradation is indispensable. This paper discusses important aging mechanisms resulting from the composition of fine-grained concrete. Tensile tests on composites made of different concrete compositions distinguished from one another by their hydration kinetics and alkalinity were performed before and after accelerated aging. Composites made of concrete with high alkalinity showed dramatic losses of tensile strength and strain capacity. In contrast the mechanical performance of composites whose binders had reduced Portland cement clinker content plus added puzzolana was hardly affected by the accelerated aging. To clarify the mechanisms of degradation, yarn pullout tests were performed on specimens of equal matrix composition and age. Additionally, the morphology of the interphase between matrix and fibre was characterised using direct microscopic examination and analytical methods. The new formation of unfavourably structured products of hydration in the filament-matrix interphase and/or in the empty spaces between filaments was found to be the main reason for the performance losses observed. The morphology of these hydration products is determined to a great extent by the binder composition. Under unfavourable conditions corrosion of AR-glass can occur as well and lead to distinct composite damage. However, if the formulation of the binder is proper, bulk glass corrosion is of minor importance. [source]


    General Strategy for a Large-Scale Fabric with Branched Nanofiber,Nanorod Hierarchical Heterostructure: Controllable Synthesis and Applications

    CHEMISTRY - A EUROPEAN JOURNAL, Issue 37 2010
    Meng Shang
    Abstract The preparation and characterization of a branched nanofiber,nanorod hierarchical heterostructure fabric (TiO2/NiO, TiO2/ZnO, and TiO2/SnO2) are described. The nanomaterial was synthesized on a large scale by an inexpensive, generalizable, facile, and controllable approach by combining the electrospinning technique with a hydrothermal method. The controllable formation process and factors (assistance by hexamethylenetetramine and metal oxide nuclei) influencing the morphology of the branched hierarchical heterostructure are discussed. In addition, photocurrent and photocatalytic studies suggest that the branched hierarchical heterostructure fabric shows higher mobility of charge carriers and enhanced photocatalytic activity relative to a bare TiO2 nanofibrous mat and other heterostructures under irradiation by light. This work demonstrates the possibility of growing branched heterostructure fabrics of various uniform, one-dimensional, functional metal oxide nanorods on a TiO2 nanofibrous mat, which has a tunable morphology by changing the precursor. The study may open a new channel for building hierarchical heterostructure device fabrics with optical and catalytic properties, and allow the realization of a new class of nano-heterostructure devices. [source]


    Texas Trooper Uniforms: Assessment of Fabrics, Comfort, and Wear

    FAMILY & CONSUMER SCIENCES RESEARCH JOURNAL, Issue 3 2002
    Patricia E. Horridge
    Using the physical dimension triad of Branson and Sweeney's Model for Clothing Comfort as a conceptual framework, the purpose of the study was to examine the effects of cotton/wool fabrics on comfort and wear of trooper uniforms. Participants were 10 troopers recruited for wear- testing uniforms developed in accordance to Texas Department of Public Safety specifications. Trooper shirt and pants fabrics were developed in two fiber contents (80/20 and 70/30 cotton/wool) and tested before and after dry-cleaning. Twenty constructed uniforms and 10 issued uniforms were worn through four wear-refurbishing-dry-cleaning cycles. Surveys and scales were used to gather data during and after wear testing; data were analyzed by t-test and ANOVAs. Branson and Sweeney's comfort model was supported, in part, with person attributes (body weight, hours uniform worn) affecting uniform comfort. Implications are given for fabric producers and garment manufacturers. [source]


    Fabrics, facies control and diagenesis of lacustrine ooids and associated grains from the Upper Triassic, southwest England

    GEOLOGICAL JOURNAL, Issue 1 2002
    P. G. Milroy
    Abstract Petrographic analysis of ooids from the Upper Triassic (Mercia Mudstone Group) of southwest England provides an opportunity to assess in detail the origins, transport pathways and diagenesis of an ancient oolite. The Clevedon Oolite is dolomitized and contains a variety of dissolved ooids (oomoulds) and associated grains. The oomoulds occur in well-sorted, planar and cross-stratified grainstones, packstones, sandstones and conglomerates associated with shoreface, intershoal, foreshore, beachrock and littoral strandplain deposits. The ooids grew in suspension in the shoreface zone and developed a radial aragonite microstructure. The ooids grew to 0.80 mm in diameter, after which they fractured or ceased growing. Broken grains deposited on or near mobile shoals were rapidly recoated, while other grains, deposited in less agitated, intershoal and lower foreshore areas, were micritized or microbially bound into grapestone aggregates. Locally peloids, intraclasts, quartz grains and micritized grains from intershoal areas supplied nuclei for ooids on nearby shoals. Grains deposited in foreshore areas were rapidly cemented into beachrock and reworked into conglomerates. Soon after deposition, the ooids were subjected to widespread aragonite dissolution followed by dolomitization. The lack of pre-dolomitization calcite, together with the abundance of early (pre-compaction) dolospar cements and fabric-selective dolomitization of micritic fabrics, suggest aragonite dissolution by dolomitizing fluids. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Fabrics with Tunable Oleophobicity

    ADVANCED MATERIALS, Issue 21 2009
    Wonjae Choi
    A simple "dip-coating" process that imbues oleophobicity to various surfaces that inherently possess re-entrant texture, such as commercially available fabrics, is reported. These dip-coated fabric surfaces exhibit reversible, deformation-dependent, tunable wettability, including the capacity to switch their surface wetting properties (between super-repellent and super-wetting) against a wide range of polar and nonpolar liquids. [source]


    Experimental Investigation of Eclogite Rheology and Its Fabrics at High Temperature and Pressure

    JOURNAL OF METAMORPHIC GEOLOGY, Issue 2 2007
    J. ZHANG
    Abstract Eclogite plays an important role in mantle convection and geodynamics in subduction zones. An improved understanding of processes in the deeper levels of subduction zones and collision belts requires information on eclogite rheology. However, the deformation processes and associated fabrics in eclogite are not well understood. Incompatible views of deformation mechanism have been proposed for both garnet and omphacite. We present here deformation behaviour of eclogite at temperatures of 1027,1427 °C, confining pressures of 2.5,3.5 GPa, and strain rates of 1 × 10,5 s,1 to 5 × 10,4 s,1. We obtained a power-law creep for the high temperature and pressure deformation of a ,dry' eclogite (50 vol.% garnet, 40% omphacite and 10% quartz) with A = 103.3 ± 1.0, n = 3.5 ± 0.4, ,E =403 ± 30 KJ mol,1 and ,V = 27.2 cm3 mol,1. The two principal minerals of eclogite have greatly different strengths. Progressive increase of garnet results in a smooth increase in strength. Analysis by electron back-scattered diffraction shows that: (1) garnet displays pole figures with near random distributions of misorientation angle under both dry and wet conditions; (2) omphacite shows pronounced lattice preferred orientations (LPOs), suggesting a dominant dislocation creep mechanism. Further investigation into the water effects on eclogite show: (3) water content does not influence the style of omphacite fabric but increases slightly the fabric strength; (4) grain boundary processes dominate the deformation of garnet under high water fugacity or high shear-strain conditions, yielding a random LPO similar to that of non-deforming garnet, despite the strong shape preferred orientation (SPO) observed. {110} [001] slip may dominate the deformation of rutile. Quartz displays complicated and inconsistent LPOs in eclogite. These results are remarkably similar to observations from deformed eclogites in nature. [source]


    Patterns, Fabrics, Prototypes, Tessellations

    ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN, Issue 6 2009
    Alejandro Zaera-Polo
    Abstract New technologies have enabled architects to develop sophisticated patterning techniques. This is epitomised by the expressive possibilities now available to the building envelope: smooth geometries, tessellation, material textures and layers, such as solar shading. For Alejandro Zaera-Polo of Foreign Office Architects, though, patterns have cultural and political possibilities far beyond mere decoration, enabling new practices to address in the urban context some of the crucial problems posed by globalisation: bridging the dichotomy between tabula rasa and contextualism, and the articulation between the local and global. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Using Chitin-coated Fabrics in a Rabbit Model

    ARTIFICIAL ORGANS, Issue 1 2010
    Tomoyuki Kawai
    Abstract Experimental anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction was carried out in a rabbit model, in which a chitin-coated polyester graft was used as the scaffold, and a noncoated graft was used as a control graft. After 8 weeks implantation, a mechanical test of the knee and histometric measurement of the graft and surrounding tissues were carried out. A tensile test of the femur-graft-tibia specimen showed that the knee treated with the coated graft had a peak resistance force of 42.2 ± 12.7 N, which was significantly greater than the 19.2 ± 15.3 N of the knee treated with the control graft. The histometric measurement revealed that the area of bone tissue within the section of the coated graft in the femoral bone tunnel was 3.43 ± 1.73 mm2, which was significantly greater than the area of 0.29 ± 0.37 mm2 of the control graft. Similarly, the area of soft tissue within and around the midsubstance of the coated graft located in the articular cavity was significantly greater than that of the control graft. The chitin coating enhanced the formation of bone tissue in the femoral bone tunnel and soft tissue in the articular cavity, and increased the attachment strength of the graft to the bone. Thus, the efficacy of the chitin coating for the ACL reconstruction scaffolds was demonstrated. [source]


    Innovative Catalysts for Oxidative Dehydrogenation in the Gas Phase , Metallic Short Fibers and Coated Glass Fabrics,

    CHEMICAL ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY (CET), Issue 9 2005
    R. Brüning
    Abstract The catalytic activity of metallic short fibers with chosen alloy components and textures was investigated in the oxidative dehydrogenation (ODH) of propane to yield propene, and of isopropanol to yield acetone. The short fibers were synthesized using a melt extraction process and the properties of the fibers were intensely characterized. A correlation between the structure and the catalytic activity of the material was established. Optical microscopic, DSC, XRD, REM and EDX methods were used to characterize the fibers. Selective results of the dependency of the temperature on the propane conversion are presented in this work. A yield of more than 35,% propene is obtained at a propane conversion of 50,%. The ODH of isopropanol to acetone occurred with attractive yields of over 80,%. The results demonstrate the high innovative potential of the metal fiber materials. The use of coated glass fabrics as catalysts for the ODH and total oxidation of propane were also part of this investigation. [source]


    Electromagnetic interference shielding by using conductive polypyrrole and metal compound coated on fabrics

    POLYMERS FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, Issue 8 2002
    C. Y. Lee
    Abstract Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials of complex type of conductive polypyrrole (PPy) as an intrinsically conducting polymer and silver-palladium (AgPd) metal compound coated on woven or non-woven fabrics are synthesized. From dc conductivity and SEM photographs of PPy/fabric complexes, we discuss charge transport mechanism and the homogeneity of coating on the fabrics. The EMI shielding efficiency of PPy/fabric and AgPd/fabric complexes is in the range of 8,,,80 dB depending on the conductivity and the additional Ag vacuum evaporation. The highest EMI shielding efficiency of PPy/fabric complexes vacuum-evaporated by Ag is ,80 dB, indicating potential materials for military uses. We propose that PPy/fabrics are excellent RF and microwave absorber because of the relatively high absorbance and low reflectance of the materials. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Biological Sustainability of Live Shearing of Vicuña in Peru

    CONSERVATION BIOLOGY, Issue 1 2007
    CATHERINE TERESA SAHLEY
    Andes; conservación basada en comunidades; Vicugna vicugna Abstract:,The vicuña's (Vicugna vicugna) fiber is highly valued as an export product that is made into luxury fabric and clothing. The price of fiber in 2004 was $566/kg, which makes the fiber a potentially important source of income for Andean agropastoral communities and serves as an incentive to allow vicuña grazing on high-elevation Andean landscapes. It is presumed that a shorn vicuña has little value for poachers, so shearing vicuñas could serve as a disincentive to poaching. Thus, the supply of vicuña fiber may be sustainable if it is procured through live shearing, which should serve as a powerful conservation tool. We evaluated the effects of capture and shearing on the demography of vicuña in one site located in the Salinas Aguada Blanca Reserve, Arequipa, Peru, where vicuñas were captured and shorn in spring and then returned to the wild. We conducted fixed-width line-transect censuses from 1997 to 2003 of this population. We compared the proportion of young born to females that were shorn versus females that were unshorn for the 3 years in which shearing occurred. We evaluated the effect of capture and shearing on proportion of young born to shorn and unshorn females at a second site, Picotani, Puno. The wild population in Arequipa that underwent capture and shearing showed a steady increase in total population and average density between 1997 and 2003. No significant difference was found between the proportion of young per female for shorn and unshorn females at either site. We conclude that in spring, capture and live shearing of vicuñas can be biologically sustainable. Further research is needed to determine whether shearing during winter months is biologically sustainable. Resumen:,La fibra de vicuña (Vicugna vicugna) tiene gran valor como un producto de exportación que es transformado en tela y ropa de lujo. El precio de la fibra en 2004 era de $566/kg, lo que hace que la fibra sea una fuente de ingreso potencialmente importante para comunidades agropastoriles Andinas y servir como un incentivo para permitir el pastoreo de vicuñas en paisajes Andinos elevados. Se presume que una vicuña trasquilada tiene poco valor para cazadores furtivos, por lo que el trasquilado de vicuñas pudiera servir como un desincentivo para la caza furtiva. Por lo tanto, el abastecimiento de fibra de vicuña puede ser sustentable si se obtiene del trasquilado de animales vivos, y el trasquilado de animales vivos debería ser una poderosa herramienta de conservación. Evaluamos los efectos de la captura y trasquilado sobre la demografía de vicuñas en un sitio localizado en la Reserva Salinas Aguada Blanca, Arequipa, Perú, donde las vicuñas fueron capturadas y trasquiladas en primavera y liberadas. Realizamos censos de esta población en transectos lineales de ancho fijo de 1997 a 2003. Comparamos la proporción de crías de hembras trasquiladas con las de hembras no trasquiladas durante los 3 años en que ocurrió el trasquilado. Evaluamos el efecto de la captura y trasquilado sobre la proporción de crías de hembras trasquiladas y no trasquiladas en un segundo sitio, Picotani, Puno. La población silvestre en Arequipa que fue capturada y trasquilada mostró un incremento constante en la población total y la densidad promedio entre 1997 y 2003. No se encontró diferencia significativa entre la proporción de crías por hembra para hembras trasquiladas y no trasquiladas en ningún sitio. Concluimos que en la primavera, la captura y trasquilado de vicuñas vivas puede ser biológicamente sostenible. Se requiere más investigación para determinar si el trasquilado durante el invierno es biológicamente sostenible. [source]


    A case study of shell at Sakhalin: having a whale of a time?

    CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, Issue 3 2008
    Subhasis Ray
    Abstract This is a case study on the world's largest oil and gas project, at the Sakhalin Islands, Russia. Shell is the key promoter of this project. The case highlights the sustainability challenges that Shell faced when working on the mega-project. By their very nature, all such projects involve disruptions in the environmental and social fabric of the project site. NGOs often take up these issues and create international headlines, bringing pressure on the management team. The Russian government also changed its stand over a period of time. While many of these issues are valid in their own way, they often create managerial dilemmas. Traditional management approaches to community development and environmental conservation fell short of stakeholder expectations at Sakhalin. The issue of saving around 100 endangered whales put a cloud of doubt over this $20 billion project. The case highlights strategic issues involved in crafting sustainability strategies at mega-projects, possible pitfalls and the challenge of balancing project execution and stakeholder commitments against an unstable political backdrop. As Shell plans to start many exploration projects in bio-diversity rich parts of the world, the Sakhalin project acts as a pilot to and reminder of social responsibility challenges to big multi-nationals. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]


    "THEY COME IN PEASANTS AND LEAVE CITIZENS": Urban Villages and the Making of Shenzhen, China

    CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY, Issue 3 2010
    JONATHAN BACH
    ABSTRACT This essay examines the ongoing process of postsocialist transformation at the intersection of cultural and economic forces in an urban environment through the example of the so-called "urban villages"(chengzhongcun) in Shenzhen, China, a booming southern Chinese city and former Special Economic Zone next to Hong Kong. This essay ethnographically examines the role of former rural collectives encircled by a city that has exploded from farmland to an export-driven city of over 14 million people in little over one generation. These villages form an internal other that is both the antithesis and the condition of possibility for Shenzhen city. By co-opting the market economy in ways that weave them into the fabric of the contemporary global city, the villages become as much an experiment as the Special Economic Zone itself. This essay analyzes the urban,rural divide as complicit in each other's continued production and effacement and explores how village and city exploit the ambiguities of their juxtaposition in the making of Shenzhen. [source]


    THE CHANGING NATURE OF MUSEUMS

    CURATOR THE MUSEUM JOURNAL, Issue 4 2000
    Gordon Freedman
    The historical circumstances,scientific, social, and economic,that brought forth the great museums of the world no longer exist. In their place is a new public context that shifts attention from museums whose business is objects to organizations whose business is information. At the same time, the economic-survival mechanism of museums is shifting from grand philanthropy to innovative development programs and market-sensitive commercial endeavors. Meeting the needs of the next generations of visitors and cultivating the next generation of funders will not be simple. Massive changes in the social fabric of the nation will soon demand new kinds of institutions that play new roles in society. Museums that meet this challenge will not simply be competing with other sectors of society for public attention and funds. Future success will require the fundamental reinvention of museums so that their purpose is obvious and their mission is clearly aligned with the needs of future generations. [source]


    Geomorphology of the onset area of a paleo-ice stream, Marguerite Bay, Antarctic Peninsula

    EARTH SURFACE PROCESSES AND LANDFORMS, Issue 4 2008
    John B. Anderson
    Abstract Geomorphic features indicate that both glacial and melt-water erosion characterize the onset area of the ancestral Marguerite Ice Stream. The large size of these features indicates that they formed over repeated glacial cycles, most recently during the Last Glacial Maximum. Ice drainage within the bay and on the inner continental shelf was strongly influenced by tectonic fabric. Deep, isolated basins surrounded by rugged bedrock bathymetry characterize the innermost part of the bay. Drumlins and other streamlined features occur in the floors of these basins at depths of up to 900 m. The outer bay has three large interconnected basins. Drumlins and megaflutings within these basins indicate ice was grounded at water depths up to 1000 m. The orientations of these features show convergence of drainage from the northeast, east and south into the Marguerite paleo-ice stream. On the inner continental shelf, the ice converged into a single, wide trough dominated by mega-scale glacial lineations. This transition in geomorphic features from drumlins and megaflutings to mega-scale glacial lineations occurs at the location on the continental shelf where sedimentary strata blanket bedrock, and marks a zone of acceleration of the ice stream. The glacially sculptured geomorphic features within Marguerite Bay co-exist with anastomosing, radial and relatively straight channels, which become increasingly focused in a seaward direction. This implies that a well organized subglacial drainage system existed within the bay at some point in the past. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]


    Potential Applications of Oxidoreductases for the Re-oxidation of Leuco Vat or Sulfur Dyes in Textile Dyeing

    ENGINEERING IN LIFE SCIENCES (ELECTRONIC), Issue 3 2008
    F. Xu
    Abstract Conventional textile dyeing by vat and sulfur dyes includes reduction and re-oxidation steps (with chemical reductants and oxidants), so that the insoluble dyes can be solubilized in the dyeing solution, adsorbed by the fabric, and fixed onto the dyed fabric. The treatments often involve hazardous chemicals, expensive catalysts, or conditions that are suboptimally effective, energy-intensive, caustic, or polluting. Improving these steps with enzyme technology could be of significant interest in terms of better dyeing, handling of hazardous chemicals, disposal of waste, or production economy. The idea of an enzymatic re-oxidation step for vat and sulfur dyeings was tested under simplified laboratory conditions. Selected vat and sulfur dyes, including Vat Blue,43, Vat Orange,7, Vat Green,3, Vat Orange,2, Vat Red,13, Vat Yellow,2, and Sulfur Black,1, were first chemically reduced. The reduced (leuco) dyes were then re-oxidized by aerated buffer solutions or H2O2, in the presence or absence of an oxidoreductase, selected from seven laccases from Myceliophthora thermophila, Scytalidium thermophilum, Coprinus cinereus, Trametes villosa, Rhizoctonia solani, Pycnoporus cinnabarinus, Botrytis cinerea, a bilirubin oxidase from Myrothecium verrucaria, and a heme peroxidase from Coprinus cineresu. It was shown that the enzymes were able to catalyze and accelerate the re-oxidation of the reduced dyes, even when they were adsorbed on cotton fabric, by dissolved air (O2) or H2O2. Small redox-active mediators could facilitate the enzymatic re-oxidation. For Sulfur Black,1, a higher conversion of the leuco dye was achieved with laccase-catalyzed re-oxidation. The further development of this potential enzyme application is discussed. [source]


    An organizing framework for the implementation of environmental voluntary approaches

    ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY AND GOVERNANCE, Issue 1 2004
    James A. Cunningham
    There is a rich terminology associated with environmental voluntary approaches. The richness in terminology is matched by the pervasive nature of the implementation of voluntary approaches into the fabric of European environmental policy and regulation. The lack of a universal definition of what an environmental voluntary approach is has made the implementation task more difficult. The richness in terminology dealing with environmental voluntary approaches is categorized and the characteristics, context and implementation of environmental voluntary approaches are discussed. This paper proposes an organizing framework for the implementation of environmental voluntary approaches, which includes context assessment; instrument rationale; negotiation process; content; implementation; and post-implementation, enforcement and monitoring. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [source]