Hygroscopically exothermic fibers have certain related issues: an excessive exothermic effect when the body is becoming hot and sweaty, and a low exothermic effect when it is cooling and perspiration is suppressed. The purpose of this study was to improve the properties of hygroscopically exothermic fibers by adhering microcapsules of a latent heat storage material as a core material to hygroscopically exothermic nonwoven fabrics.

  The results revealed that the duration of the exothermic peak caused by exposure to high-humidity air was lengthened by increasing the adhesion rate of the microcapsules. The duration of a temperature increase of 2℃ or more was only 1 min 20 s in the nonwoven fabrics without adhesion, whereas it was 8 min 20 s in those with microcapsule adhesion (adhesion rate: 167%). This relatively long duration of the temperature rise was maintained even after switching back from high-humidity air to low-humidity air. In addition, this tendency became clearer when the melting point of the core materials of the microcapsules was lowered: the high-temperature state was maintained longer when materials with a melting point of 18.1℃ or lower were used.

  Regenerated cellulose fibers are extremely sensitive to water. In order to solve this problem, the planar structure of regenerated cellulose inferred by intermolecular cross-linking and the molecular motion was clarified. Dynamic viscoelasticity measurement during the drying process at 25℃ indicated that the size of moving units was reduced with an increase in the degree of cross-linking, and the change in the interval of microfibrils could be induced by this molecular motion caused by water. This high hydrophilicity of regenerated cellulose was suggested by the formation of molecular sheets formed at the early stages of structure formation. Abrasion of fabrics showed a decrease in crystallinity of (110) plane, whereas that of (110) and (020) hardly changed, and this decrease was suppressed by cross-linking. This suggests that the cross-linking prevents the anisotropic cleavage of the (110) crystal plane. This is supported by dyeability and the internal swelling caused by water determined from small-angle X-ray scattering before and after cross-linking.

  This paper examines the domestic attire of housewives during the 1960s.

  Around that time, the phenomenon of dual-income housewives emerged as a significant point of discussion, leading to notable shifts in the traditional housewife lifestyle. We examined the domestic attire that was required of housewives during that period. The primary research sources include instructional articles on domestic dressmaking published in the Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun newspapers from the 1950s to the 1970s, and the women's magazine Shufu to Seikatsu. Household clothes are classified into clothes for domestic work, clothes for lounging, and clothes for maintaining face-to-face interactions with others. They also played a role in making the home bright and cheerful, or creating a calm and relaxing atmosphere. Housewives' portrayed themselves through their attire as intimate presences dedicated solely to their families, with the aim of making family members feel more at home than the housewives themselves.