Conventional flame retardant (FR) application processes for textiles involve aqueous processing which is resource-intensive in terms of energy and water usage. Recent research using sol-gel and layer-by-layer chemistries, while claimed to be based on more environmentally sustainable chemistry, still require aqueous media with the continuing problem of water management and drying processes being required. This paper outlines the initial forensic work to characterise commercially produced viscose/flax, cellulosic furnishing fabrics which have had conferred upon them durable flame retardant (FR) treatments using a novel, patented atmospheric plasma/Ultraviolet (UV) excimer laser facility for processing textiles with the formal name Multiplexed Laser Surface Enhancement (MLSE) system. This system (MTIX Ltd., Huddersfield, UK) is claimed to offer the means of directly bonding of flame retardant precursor species to the component fibres introduced either before plasma/UV exposure or into the plasma/UV reaction zone itself; thereby eliminating a number of wet processing cycles. Nine commercial fabrics, pre-impregnated with a semi-durable, proprietary FR finish and subjected to the MLSE process have been analysed for their flame retardant properties before and after a 40 • C 30 min water soak. For one fabric, the pre-impregnated fabric was subjected to a normal heat cure treatment which conferred the same level of durability as the plasma/UV-treated analogue. Thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and limiting oxygen index (LOI) were used to further characterise their burning behaviour and the effect of the treatment on surface fibre morphologies were assessed. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that negligible changes had occurred to surface topography of the viscose fibres occurred during plasma/UV excimer processing.

Conventional flame retardant (FR) application processes for textiles involve aqueous processing which is resource intensive in terms of energy and water usage. Recent research using sol-gel and layer-by-layer chemistries, while claimed to be based on more environmentally-sustainable chemistry, still require aqueous media with the continuing problem of water management and drying processes being required. This paper outlines the initial forensic work to characterise commercially produced viscose/flax, cellulosic furnishing fabrics which have had conferred upon them durable flame retardant (FR) treatments using a novel, patented atmospheric plasma/UV excimer laser facility for processing textiles with the formal name - Multiplexed Laser Surface Enhancement (MLSE) system. This system (MTIX Ltd., UK), is claimed to offer the means of directly bonding of flame retardant precursor species to the component fibres introduced either before plasma/UV exposure or into the plasma/UV reaction zone itself, thereby eliminating a number of wet processing cycles. Nine commercial fabrics, pre-impregnated with a semi-durable, proprietary FR finish and subjected to the MLSE process have been analysed for their flame retardant properties before and after a 40 °C 30 min water soak. For one fabric, the pre-impregnated fabric was subjected to a normal heat cure treatment which conferred the same level of durability as the plasma/UV-treated analogue. TGA and LOI were used to further characterise their burning behaviour and the effect of the treatment on surface fibre morphologies were assessed. Scanning electron microscopy indicated that negligible changes had occurred to surface topography of the viscose fibres occurred during plasma/UV excimer processing.

Background: Dysfunctional attitudes are biased assumptions and beliefs that the subject has toward himself, his surroundings, and the future world. Objectives: The present study aimed to predict COVID-19 preventive healthy behaviors based on dysfunctional attitudes in five countries. Methods: This was a descriptive, correlational study, and the statistical population of the study included all individuals over the age of 18 years residing in Iran, Australia, England, Sweden, and Canada. Subjects were selected by the voluntary sampling method in the Spring of 2020. In total, 498 electronic questionnaires encompassing three sections of demographic characteristics, dysfunctional attitude scale (1987), and COVID-19 preventive health behaviors questionnaire (2020) were completed online. In addition, data analysis was performed in SPSS version 21 using Pearson’s correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple regression. Results: In this study, there was a significant negative relationship between dysfunctional attitudes and COVID-19 preventive healthy behaviors (P < 0.001). In addition, perfectionism, gender, and age predicted healthy behaviors (P < 0/001). The results of the comparison of Iran with other countries also demonstrated a significant reverse correlation between dysfunctional attitudes and healthy behaviors (P < 0.001). Moreover, there was a significant association between marital status, age, level of education, gender (P < 0.001), and economic status (P < 0.05) with healthy behaviors in Iran while no significant relationship was observed in other countries studied in this regard. Conclusions: It is suggested that workshops on changing dysfunctional attitudes and strengthening positive attitudes in community members be held in-person or via cyberspace before or during the occurrence of crises such as the COVID-19 outbreak.