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In this article, a unique concept for a device that conducts photochromic measurement in the reflectance mode together with the methodology described has been patented in the Czech Republic in the author's name. This unique device allows measurements of colorimetric and spectral characteristics of photochromic textiles as photochromic sensors and also as a fatigue tester for the control of color change stability. The measurement of colorimetric and spectral parameters in comparison together with the intensity of UV irradiation allows the dependence of color change on intensity of irradiation to determined, and a scale for individual visual observation to be developed, as well as the risks of UV irradiation to be evaluated.

This experiment was carried out to test color difference formulae by method of adjustment. 6 different color centers (Red, Yellow, Green, Blue-Green, Blue and Violet) were chosen for this psychophysical experiment. 336 virtual sample pairs were prepared. The mean color difference was three CIELAB units. Each pair was assessed by a panel of 15 observers using psychophysical methods called Method of Adjustment. These visual data were used to test color-difference formulae: CIELAB, CMC, CIE94, DIN99d and CIE2000 with the help of simple statistical measures i.e., PF/3 and Stress. It was found that the visual results obtained from psychophysical method of adjustment show that CIE94 as well as DIN99d still perform well for small color differences.

This review deals with the pros and cons of ultraviolet (UV) radiation on human beings and the role of textile clothing and the chemicals used for textiles to protect from their harmful effects.

UV radiation (UVR) which has further divided into UVA, UVB, and UVC. Almost 100% of UVC and major portion of UVB are bounced back to stratosphere by ozone layer while UVA enters the earth atmosphere. Excessive exposure of solar or artificial UVR exhibit potential risks to human health. UVR is a major carcinogen and excessive exposure of solar radiation in sunlight can cause cancer in the lip, skin squamous cell, basal cell and cutaneous melanoma, particularly in people with the fair skin.

This article aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the harmful effects of UVR on human skin, factors affecting UV irradiance and factors affecting UV protection offered by textile clothing.

Effect of fiber properties, yarn properties, fabric construction, fabric treatments and laundering has been reviewed along with the identification of gaps in the reported research. A comparison of inorganic and organic UV absorbers has also been given along with different testing and evaluation methods for UV protective clothing.

The textile sector is one of the sectors where competition is intense and requires the production of high-value-added products. This study aims to conduct patent analysis to find the technology status, recent trends, applications and technological evaluations of protective textile technologies in practice.

More than 36,840 patent documents related to protective textile technologies are available for researchers, patent examiners and patent researchers. Patent analysis is conducted to report the technology status, recent trends and applications of protective textile technologies. This analysis provides insights into the possible future directions of protective textile technologies in practice. Additionally, association rule mining (ARM) is performed to find the hidden patterns among protective textile technologies.

The development of protective textile technologies is revealed by the technology evaluation in this study. In addition, the sub-technology classes affecting protective textile technologies are examined using the cooperative patent classification (CPC) codes of the patent documents. Technology status and recent trends of protective textile technologies are provided in detail. The results of this study show that (1) protective textile technologies are constantly being developed, (2) the working areas of medical protective textiles are increasing, (3) there are frequent studies on fabric structures for saving lives within the framework of human needs and (4) there are four technology classes, namely A41D, Y10T, B32B and A62B impacting the other technology classes related to textile technologies such as D10B, Y10T, F41H, A62D, D04H, Y10S and D10B.

To have a competitive advantage in the marketplace, evaluation of textile technologies is critical in developing “functionalized” and “technologized” textile products. In particular, evaluating technologies in developing protective textile products is extremely important to meet customer demands and present competitive products in the market. Examining these patents for technology developers, decision-makers and policymakers is an urgent and necessary job. However, studies examining the development of protective textile technologies with patent analysis are very limited in the literature. To fill this gap, technology status, recent trends and applications of protective textile technologies are reported based on patent analysis and ARM in this study.

This paper aims to study the combination of photochromic microcapsules, which use the ultraviolet (UV) rays for colour changing phenomena, and titanium oxide (TiO₂) nanoparticles (NPs), which block the UV rays by their photocatalytic activity in the sunlight on the cotton fabric.

The TiO₂ NPs mixed with photochromic printing paste are used for coating on cotton fabric and further curing is performed in a one-step process. The photochromic pigment printed fabric impregnated in a liquid solution is processed in a two-step process with two variables such as 1% TiO₂ and 2% TiO₂. The characterization of samples was done with a UV transmittance analyser, surface contact angle, antimicrobial test and fabric physical properties.

The UV protection of TiO₂-treated photochromic printed fabric was high and gives the ultraviolet protection factor rating of 2,000 which denotes almost maximum blocking of UV rays. The antibacterial activity of the one-step samples shows the highest 36 mm zone of inhibition (ZOI) against S. aureus (gram-positive) and 32 mm ZOI against E. coli (gram-negative) bacteria. The one-step sample shows the highest static water contact angle of 118.6° representing more hydrophobicity, whereas the untreated fabric is fully wetted (0.4°). In two-step processes, as the concentration of TiO₂ increased, the antibacterial activity, UV blocking and hydrophobicity became better.

This work achieves the multifunctional finishes by using photochromic microcapsules and NPs in a single process as a first attempt. The results inferred that one-step sample has achieved higher values in most of the tests conducted when compared to all other sample.

The present study aims to focus on the feasibility of using an aqueous extract from the fruit shell of Camellia oleifera Abel as a source of natural colourant in printing-paste preparation for pigment printing of cotton fabric. The effects of pre- and post-mordanting with three common metallic mordants, that is AlK(SO₄)₂, CuSO₄ and FeSO₄ on colour yield and colour fastness properties are also investigated.

The printing paste was prepared by mixing the concentrated Camellia oleifera Abel fruit shell extract solution with commercially available synthetic thickener and binder. The fabric sample was printed with the prepared printing paste using a flat-screen printing technique. To determine the effects of pre- and post-mordanting, AlK(SO₄)₂, CuSO₄ and FeSO₄ mordant aqueous solutions with various concentrations were applied using the pad-dry technique. Comparisons between printing with and without mordants were evaluated in terms of colour strength (K/S values) and colour fastness to washing, light, crocking and perspiration.

Without the mordants, the printed fabric had a yellowish brown shade with acceptable colour fastness properties, that is fair to good wash fastness, moderate light fastness, good to very good crocking fastness and fair to good perspiration fastness. The use of mordants, especially CuSO₄ and FeSO₄, not only enhanced colour strength but also imparted different colours to the fabric. Compared to the unmordanted fabrics, colour fastness properties were mostly comparable or improved in the mordanted fabrics depending on the type and concentration of mordants.

Although in the case of CuSO₄ the light fastness was increased to a good to very good level, it is recommended that the final print be produced with a concentration of less than 0.125 gL⁻¹ to yield the print with the residual amount of Cu metal under the limit, that is less than 50 ppm as regulated by the Oeko-Tex^® standard.

The obtained prints from Camellia oleifera Abel fruit shell extract provided shades with satisfactory colour fastness to washing, light, crocking and perspiration. The extract from Camellia oleifera Abel fruit shell has the potential to be used as an alternative to synthetic dye in the textile industry.

The use of Camellia oleifera Abel fruit shells, which are considered as abundant byproducts of tea seed oil production, as natural colouring agents for pigment printing of cotton fabric has been reported for the first time. It will minimise the environmental impact of this waste and create more valuable textile products.

This study aims to dye silk with natural pigments extract of Coreopsis tinctoria, by treating the fabrics with appropriate mordant under suitable dyeing conditions, to achieve good dyeing depth, fastness and ultraviolet (UV) protection.

Firstly, single factor experiments were used to determine the basic dyeing conditions of Coreopsis tinctoria. The optimal process conditions for direct dyeing were determined through orthogonal experiments. After that, the dyeing with mordant was used. Based on the previously determined optimal process conditions, silk fabrics were dyed with different mordanting methods, with different mordants and mordant dosages. The dyeing results were compared, in terms of the K/S values of the dyed fabrics, to determine the most appropriate dyeing conditions with mordant.

The extract of Coreopsis tinctoria can dye silk fabrics satisfactorily. Good dyeing depth and fastness can be obtained by using suitable dyeing methods and dyeing conditions, especially when using the natural mordant pomegranate rind and the rare earth mordant neodymium oxide. The silk fabrics dyed with Coreopsis tinctoria have good UV resistance, which allows a desirable finishing effect to be achieved while dyeing, using a safe and environmentally friendly method.

The composition of Coreopsis tinctoria is complex, and the specific composition of colouring the silk fibre has not been determined. There are many factors that affect the dyeing experiment, which have an impact on the experimental results.

The results of this study may help expand the application of Coreopsis tinctoria beyond medicine.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first report on dyeing silk with the extract of Coreopsis tinctoria achieving good dyeing results. Its depth of staining and staining fastness were satisfactory. Optimum dyeing method and dyeing conditions have been identified. The fabric dyed with Coreopsis tinctoria has good UV protection effect, which is conducive to improving the application value of the dyeing fabric. The findings help offer a new direction for the application of medicinal plants in the eco-friendly dyeing of silk.

Extreme hot environments are prevalent in many occupational settings, and facilities management workers are no exception. Wearing suitable cooling garment is a useful means to alleviate heat strain and improving performance at heat exposure. This paper aims to evaluate the effectiveness and applicability of the cooling vest across four selected fields (i.e. construction, outdoor cleaning and horticulture, kitchen work and work involved manual handling at the airport) and identify the shortcomings of the cooling vest used by the participating workers.

This study adopted a two-phase design: a quantitative questionnaire survey followed by qualitative in-depth interviews.

A remarkable physical strain alleviation (PSA) of 21.1 per cent (14.8 per cent in construction, 18.8 per cent in horticulture and cleaning, 27.4 per cent in kitchen and catering and 26.5 per cent in airport apron service) is achieved by the use of cooling vest in four industries. Despite the success of PSA, several shortcomings of the cooling vest were identified: easily stained color, heavy weight, short cooling time, inflexibility that presents a hazard around moving equipment, lack of industry-specific design, nondurable and thick fabric with poor permeability.

The findings of the current study do not only confirm the effectiveness of the cooling vest in alleviating heat strain and physical strain but also identify the major shortcomings upon which further improvements can be made.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of materials, three dimensional (3D) structure and number of fabric layers on ultraviolet protection factor (UPF), air permeability and thickness of fabrics.

Total 24 fabrics samples were developed using two 3D structures and two weft materials. In warp direction cotton (CT) yarn and in weft direction polypropylene (PP) and polyester (PET) were used. Air permeability, thickness and UPF testings were performed and relationship among fabric layers, air permeability, thickness and UPF was developed.

UPF and thickness of fabrics increases with number of fabric layers, whereas air permeability decreases with the increase in number of fabric layers. Furthermore, change of multilayer structure from angle interlock to orthogonal interlock having same base weave does not give significant effect on UPF. However, change of material from polyester (PET) to polypropylene (PP) has a dominant effect on UPF. Minimum of three layers of cotton/polyester fabric, without any aid of ultraviolet radiation (UV) resistant coating, are required to achieve good. Cotton/polyester fabrics are more appropriate for outdoor application due to their long-term resistance with sunlight exposure.

Long-term exposure to UV is detrimental. So, there is need of proper selection of material and fabric to achieve ultraviolet protection. 3D fabrics have yarns in X, Y as well as in Z directions which provide better ultraviolet protection as compared to two dimensional (2D) fabrics. In literature, mostly work was done on ultraviolet protection of 2D fabrics and surface coating of fabrics. There is limited work found on UPF of 3D woven fabrics.