Research Articles

Research into paper-based devices and ionic liquids has increased considerably in the past few years. Thus, the combination of paper-based devices with ionic liquids is also becoming an increasingly frequent research subject. However, the influence of the ionic liquid on the paper properties has been hardly considered. In this paper, the influence of a hydrophobic ionic liquid (1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethyl-sulfonyl)imide) on the mechanical properties of laboratory paper, isotropic and oriented, made from eucalyptus sulfate and cotton linters, is investigated. The tensile strength, elastic modulus, and breaking strain of papers saturated with ionic liquid were about 60 to 90% of the dry paper characteristics. In contrast to water, the breaking strain did not increase in the presence of the ionic liquid. This is because the ionic liquid only slightly swelled the fibers.

With the continuous development of the Internet economy, online furniture sales are increasingly becoming an important channel for consumers to purchase furniture. In order to investigate the influencing factors of consumers’ preference for purchasing furniture online, this paper aims to find out the influencing factors of online furniture consumption and their weight relations by using the literature research method and Delphi method to clarify the influencing factors of online furniture consumption, followed by the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP), from the Target Level, Criterion Level, and Sub-criterion Level. Weight analysis was carried out on the influencing factors of online furniture consumption. The three primary indicators included Personal Factor, Product Factor, and Service Factor. The 16 secondary indicators included Personality Traits, Revenue, Occupation, etc. An index system model was established for online furniture consumption based on the above factors. It was concluded that consumers are most influenced by the price of furniture among Product factors when choosing online furniture. The findings were consistent with the AHP model data when tested using a grey prediction model. The data from this study can therefore provide an important reference for online furniture product development and marketing promotion.

Hemicellulose was pre-extracted from poplar by the KOH extraction method. A series of activated carbons with high VOCs adsorption capacity were prepared using hemicellulose pre-extraction residue (HPR) as carbon precursor and KOH as the activator. The results showed that the pre-extraction using organic solvent (benzene-ethanol mixture) had no significant effect on the hemicellulose removal efficiency and the microporous structure of activated carbons. After the selective pre-extraction of 38.2 to 65.7 wt% hemicellulose from poplar, the final yield of activated carbons only decreased by 1.1 to 2.0%, but the pore structure of activated carbons was greatly improved. A total of 40.7 wt% hemicellulose in poplar was removed under 4 wt% alkali concentration and 3 h KOH treatment. The activated carbons prepared from HPR of poplar gave the highest BET surface area (3066 m²·g^-1) and pore volume (1.32 cm³·g^-1). The pore structures of activated carbons can be controlled to some extent by changing the removal degree of hemicellulose. The activated carbon obtained under the optimized conditions showed excellent adsorption capacity for toluene (733 mg·g^-1) and dichloromethane (184 mg·g^-1). The correlation between adsorption properties and pore structure shows that the adsorption capacities of toluene and dichloromethane were closely related to micropores (＜ 2 nm) and ultramicropores (＜ 0.6 nm) of activated carbon, respectively. The pre-extraction of hemicellulose greatly improved the volatile organic compound (VOC) adsorption capacity of activated carbons by increasing the percentage of micropores.

Inhibitory effects were evaluated for the extract from edible brown algae Ascophyllum nodosum vs. Pseudomonas fluorescens and Shewanella putrefaciens, which are tilapia spoilage organisms. Modified Gompertz and Logistic models were used to describe the inhibition effect of the extract, and both models indicated that the extract could inhibit bacteria growth by extending lag time and reducing maximum growth rate. The Lambert-Pearson model was applied to calculate the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and non-inhibitory concentration (NIC) of the extract. The best-fit MIC and NIC values for P. fluorescens were 1.145 and 0.036 mg/mL, and 0.947 and 0.106 mg/mL for S. putrefaciens, respectively. Bacteriostatic assays on agar plates showed that the extract applied at concentrations higher than the MIC caused significant bacteriostatic effects, especially in S. putrefaciens. Algae extract (42 μg/disc) had inhibition zones against both P. fluorescens (1.72 cm) and S. putrefaciens (1.58 cm) in a disc diffusion assay. Treating tilapia fillets with the extract significantly reduced the total viable counts of both bacterial strains and postponed spoilage odor occurrence time (day 2 for the control group vs. day 9 for the extract treated group) during storage at 4 °C.  These findings suggest that the extract could be used as a natural anti-bacterial and preservation agent to extend the shelf life of cold storage tilapia.

A chair is a piece of furniture whose elements are loaded with relatively high forces. The strength of these elements is vital for the safety of using this type of furniture. The research aims to test the chair material system made of beech wood. The authors analyzed laminated elements with 9, 11, and 13 layers of veneers. The veneers were 1.23 mm thick, with perpendicular fiber directions in adjacent layers, and bonded with 220 g/m² of PVAc adhesive. The moisture content of the elements was 6 ± 1%. A three-point bending flexural test was performed to determine the stress-strain response of the tested three variants. A complementary numerical analysis allowed a more precise comparison of the three analyzed laminated elements variants. It was confirmed that all variants exceed the desired minimal values in chair support design. Moreover, the average strength values for tested laminated elements, differing in the number of veneers, were sufficient even with a reduced number of veneer layers. The experiments and numerical analysis results confirmed the usability of the three tested types of beech laminated elements to be used as highly loaded chair elements.

Mushroom products have been used as a biotechnological tool for many applications. Particularly, thermostable chitinase plays a vital role in biowaste management and biological control. In the present investigation, Amanita sp. was recorded in the subtropical region of Saudi Arabia, therefore, it was utilized for chitinase production using substrates chitin and dead fungal mycelia (DFM). Compared with the DFM, chitin was more suitable for chitinase activity at different temperatures and pH. Amanita sp. produced chitinase up to 70 °C, but the optimum was 50 °C. The chitinase activity was 4.98, 3.5, and 0.9 U.mg^-1 with the use of chitin, while it was 4.6, 3.1, and 0.6 U.mg^-1 with the use of DFM at 50, 60, and 70 °C, respectively. Chitinase activity was stable up to 60 °C, then it began to decrease at 70 °C. The chitinase activity was better at pH 4 and 5 than pH 8 and 9. The antifungal effect of the produced chitinase at 50 °C was more effective than at 60 °C. For instance, the Alternaria alternata colony radius was 3.50 cm and 2.26 cm at 50 °C while it was 4.35 cm and 4.13 cm at 60 °C when using DFM and chitin, respectively.

The physical and mechanical properties of thermally modified wood impregnated with linseed oil were investigated to find the relationship between the treatment and the acoustic properties. The samples were impregnated with linseed oil (LO). Heat treatment was performed in an oven at four different temperatures, namely 160, 180, 210, and 240 °C. Statistically, the physical, mechanical, and acoustic properties of the treated wood were significantly intensified as compared to the control samples. The physical properties (water absorption) of the treated wood decreased by 72% as compared to the control group. However, while the increase in both MOR and MOE at 240 °C was 13%, the increase in CS at 240 °C was 7%. As a result of the heat treatment, the porosity increased by 33% as compared to the control group. At 240 °C the maximum SAC value was observed to be 0.71 at 5000 Hz and at 4500 Hz 0.78 and 0.80, respectively. The highest STL value, which was 69.9 dB, was observed at 1540 Hz and 3600 Hz. As a result of improved heat transfer, impregnating samples with LO before thermal modifications was observed to increase the efficiency of thermal modification.

The competitiveness of the laminated flooring industry was assessed in Iran. The statistical population was 200 persons, calculated using the stratified random method and the Cochran formula. The sample size was 132. After reviewing the literature, a conceptual model derived from the theoretical framework was presented. A researcher-made questionnaire was used to collect data. Content validity and confirmatory factor analysis were used to determine the validity of the questionnaire. Its reliability was calculated and confirmed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficient. The results were processed using structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed a significant relationship between factors affecting perceived value, environmental and intra-organizational factors, and competitiveness in the laminated flooring industry. The evaluation of the quality of the model showed that the factors affecting the perceived value (strong effect = 0.632) and intra-organizational factors and environmental factors (moderate effect = 0.211 and 0.171) that were calculated, respectively, had the greatest effect on competitiveness. Moreover, these independent variables allocated 91.6% of competitiveness variations as the dependent variable.

The patterns and mechanisms underlying the effects of different types of biochar on crop dry matter accumulation and uptake of major soil minerals are uncertain. This study demonstrated the positive effects of adding pyrochar (PC) and hydrochar (HC) to calcareous soils on nutrient uptake by maize seedlings and revealed the important role of mycorrhizal colonization. The effects depended on the type of biochar added and the type of nutrient evaluated. The dry weights of maize seedlings were higher in the HC and PC groups than in the control group, and the P accumulation was 17% higher than that of the control. Adding PC significantly increased Zn accumulation and the concentration and accumulation of Cu in maize seedlings, whereas adding HC increased the Fe concentration. Applying PC and HC also promoted mycorrhizal colonization of maize roots, and P, Zn, and Cu accumulations in the plant were positively correlated with the mycorrhizal colonization rate. This study found that applying PC and HC to calcareous soil at the tested application rate promotes the uptake of some mineral nutrients by maize at the seedling stage, and this effect was at least partially influenced by an increased mycorrhizal colonization rate in the plant root system.

In order to contribute to the dissemination of lignocellulosic residues in the composite materials manufacturing, this study aimed to investigate the influence of a soaking in the presence of natural bacteria and fungi on the resistance to axial traction of açaí fibers (Euterpe oleracea Mart.). The stipulated factors and levels were the source of water, i.e., Rio Guamá, Pará Sanitation Company COSANPA and Cassava, as a catalyst and the mass concentration of water on the açaí cores, i.e., 2%, 4%, 6%. In this way, 9 different experimental conditions were performed, together with the reference condition, i.e., açaí fibers without the soaking. In all, 200 specimens were cast, with 10 of each composition. The analysis of variance results revealed that the individual factors were not significant in obtaining the axial tensile strength, providing equivalent results regardless of the concentration and type of water. However, the interaction between the factors was considered significant, showing that the best treatment for the fibers came from the use of 2% cassava scraps. The axial tensile strength was 47% greater than the axial tensile strength obtained from the reference sample. Furthermore, 59% surpassed the reference sample, showing the efficiency of the soaking in the presence of natural bacteria and fungi treatment.