Research Articles

The clonal materials of Tectona grandis L. f. in fast-growing plantations exhibit faster growth than the seminal materials. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the differences in wood drying to ensure the quality and yield of the final product. This study evaluated the outdoor drying behavior of three genotypes of teak lumber. Two clonal genotypes (G1 and G2) and one of seminal origin (G3) were assessed. Boards measuring 30 × 150 × 1000 mm (thickness × width × length) were produced from the basal logs. The average moisture content (79.3, 64.9, and 60,1%), final moisture content (10.8, 9.8, and 11.6%), and mean drying rate (1.2, 0.97, and 0.85%.day^-1) were observed in the wood from genotypes G1, G2 and G3, respectively. The clonal material crooked and bowed below 5 mm.m^-1, which is considered the tolerance limit for both warpings. The seminal material had a greater incidence of splitting. The clonal genotypes G1 and G2 had similar qualities and presented higher drying rates, final moisture contents below 11% and a lower incidence of defects, especially splitting, compared to the naturally seeded material.

With the change in consumption environment and habits, the active feedback from users on online shopping platforms serves as a valuable source of information for analyzing user demand. Color design is an important factor in shaping product style and influencing user’s purchase decisions. This study combines the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) and an interactive genetic algorithm (IGA) to investigate the usability of the interactive genetic color selection method for wardrobe color design. Firstly, the LDA model was employed to cluster online review data to identify customer requirements (CRs), then summarize the perceptual evaluation factors (EFs) of color selection. Subsequently, the color selection information from market examples was used as reference to establish the initial population, and the interactive genetic color design process was completed with CorelDraw. Then, the fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method was employed to evaluate the color scheme generated from IGA. The empirical analysis demonstrated that the interactive genetic color selection method can effectively enhance both efficiency and satisfaction in wardrobe design. This study has substantial implications for both theory and practice in the field of wardrobe design and offers designers novel design concepts and methodologies.

In order to efficiently utilize straw biomass resources, the mixed microbes were used to pretreat corn straw and anaerobic fermentation was carried out. The effects of the straw particle size, the solid-liquid ratio, and the initial pH value on both the pretreatment process and the anaerobic digestion were investigated. On the basis of single factor experiments, the pretreatment conditions were optimized using the response surface method. The pretreatment was conducted at a temperature of 30 °C for a duration of 15 days. The results indicated that the optimal parameters in pretreatment process were as follows: a straw particle size of 20 mesh, a solid-liquid ratio of 1:17, and an initial pH value of 6.5. The predicted cumulative methane production under these conditions was 3740 mL, while the experimental result obtained was (3805 ± 67) mL. With a relative deviation of 1.68% between the predicted and experimental values, the model optimized the pretreatment conditions and improved the prediction of cumulative methane production. The methane yield of corn straw achieved 243 mL/(g-VS_added).

Nitrogen in digested swine wastewater is currently difficult to directly degrade by an activated sludge process in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR), with resulting failure of the effluent to meet emission standards. In this study, rice husk biochar was optionally added into SBR to enhance biochemical properties for digested swine wastewater, especially for nitrogen degradation. The relative nitrogen removal mechanism for microbial community was probed by means of high-throughput sequencing. The results indicated that chemical oxygen demand (COD), ammonia (NH₄⁺-N), and total nitrogen (TN) removal efficiency of digested swine wastewater was separately at 85.3%, 81.3%, and 65.2% using rice husk biochar with biofilm, which was 3.5%, 24.4%, and 14.7% higher than that of activated sludge, under influent of 2609 mg·L^-1 COD, 337.0 mg·L^-1 NH₄⁺-N, 344 mg/L TN, and 7.77 C/N. High-throughput sequencing revealed that rice husk biochar with biofilm contained Proteobacteria, Thauera, Comamonas, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Flavobacterium, and Corynebacterium to enhance nitrogen removal of digested swine wastewater. The results not only provide theoretical support for biochar with biofilm to improve digested piggery wastewater treatment, but also have great significance in resource utilization of agricultural waste and eco-environmental protection.

The aim of this study was to measure consequences of the arsenic pollution released from a sewage treatment plant into the seawater in Jazan province in the southwest of Saudi Arabia. The impact of the release of arsenic on the ecosystem is the adsorption of arsenic by sea plants. To do so, samples were collected alongside a distance of seven kilometers from the treatment plant. The algae samples: Sargassum sp., Cladophora sp., and seagrasses: Halodule uninervis and Cymodocea rotunda were digested in nitric acid, and the assays of arsenic levels were taken by ICP-AES according to EPA methods. The results showed that algae are more efficient than seagrass with absorbing arsenic. Also, the treatment plant was not the only source of arsenic contamination, as ships and boats were adding more arsenic to the ecosystem.

This study investigated the material characterization with the fuzzy theory of particleboards bonded by urea formaldehyde with nanofillers including nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂). The density, water absorption, thickness swelling, and mechanical tests (which included flexure and internal bonding strength tests) were considered. The fuzzy sets theory addressed the ambiguity and subjectivity of language using triangular fuzzy numbers to assess the interests of decision maker’s (DMs). The addition of nanofillers slightly decreased water absorption values due to possible good interactions between nanofillers and urea formaldehyde. Thickness swelling ranged from 0.4 to 17.5%, and water absorption ranged from 0.4 to 10.7% compared to the control sample. The physical properties of the samples were generally improved by urea formaldehyde with NFC/TiO₂, and the densities of the test panels were found to be similar. The modulus of rupture of the panels with urea formaldehyde with nanofillers were under the EN 312 standard’s requirements, and the highest flexural strength and flexural modulus of elasticity were 11.1 and 1.3 GPa, respectively. Internal bond values were between 0.55 and 0.89 MPa. According to EDAS method rankings, 2C2T-8 was the best material, followed by 2C1T-8 and 2C-8. The samples coded with Control-4 and Control-8 were the lowest-performing materials.

Psychological and physiological cognitive measurements were combined with Kansei engineering theory to study the shape of the traditional Chinese official-hat chair, a kind of Ming-style chairs, while investigating people’s perceptual cognitive process. This work employed focus groups to obtain 5 groups of representative words and 22 typical samples for evaluation experiments. After data preprocessing, principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract three main components: “Concise-Ornate”, “Soft-Strong”, and “Elegant-Vulgar”. In terms of component weight calculation, the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) was initially used to calculate the subjective cognitive weight of different components, and then eye-tracking technology was used to assist in calculating the physiological cognitive weight. Finally, combining the subjective and objective weights, the weights of the components were determined as: backrest (41.02%) > stretcher (18.29%) > handrail (11.64%) > top rail (11.14%) > outside stick (8.64%) > inside stick (5.32%) > foot rail (3.95%). The four main components—backrest, stretcher, handrail, and top rail—along with perceptual image evaluations, were selected to establish a multivariate linear regression equation, thereby constructing a mathematical mapping relationship between perceptual image and main design elements. This provides theoretical support for designers in creating different perceptual images.

Ultrasound-assisted extraction for bioactive compound retrieval is a viable alternative to traditional extraction methods. Employing ultrasound-assisted extraction, this study aimed to enhance the scavenging capacity of 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), 2,2′-azino-bis(3-ethylbenzothia-zoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS), total polyphenol content (TPC), and flavonoid content in Ainsliaea acerifolia (A. acerifolia) through response surface methodology (RSM). Initially, the impact of extraction temperature, time, and ethanol concentration on DPPH scavenging capacity, ABTS, TPC, and flavonoid content was assessed. Optimal conditions for maximizing antioxidant activity and TPC were determined as 78% (v/v) ethanol, 60 °C extraction temperature, and 91 min of extraction time. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis of the optimized extract revealed dicaffeoylquinic acid as the primary polyphenol in A. acerifolia extracts, comprising the majority of phenolic compounds (102.06 mg/g DW). This model enabled the optimization of conditions for phenolic compound extraction with antioxidant properties from A. acerifolia, highlighting its potential as a source of antioxidant compounds for industrial, pharmaceutical, and food applications.

The traditional measurement method for viscoelastic creep strain and mechanical adsorption creep strain has relatively low accuracy, making it difficult to ensure the data accuracy of specimen strain measurements. In this study, 50-mm-thick Pinus sylvestris sawn timber was used as the research object. Along the thickness direction of the test material, the relationship between the free shrinkage coefficient and the moisture content of the test material was studied to optimize the measurement methods of viscoelastic creep strain and mechanical adsorption creep strain during drying process. The results showed that the optimized measurement method for viscoelastic creep strain, which compensates for dimensional change caused by moisture content changes during the creep recovery phase, was applied to different layers in the thickness direction of the test material. The average relative error at the end of the drying stage was reduced 20.1% compared to the traditional method. For the mechanical adsorption creep strain in different layers of the test material’s thickness, the optimized measurement method, based on the free shrinkage size calculated from the free shrinkage coefficient and moisture content, reduced the average relative error 59.1% compared to the traditional method.

The mineralization of inorganic components in paper sludge offers potential for their re-use in various fields. This study synthesized carbonates based on the minerals present in paper sludge and aimed to investigate the control of particle size distribution and particle shape of the synthesized carbonates. First, the physicochemical and thermal properties of paper mill sludge and ash were evaluated using a spectrophotometer, XRF, and TGA. Paper sludge ash was obtained by incinerating the paper sludge, followed by a carbonation reaction using CO₂ gas injection and pH neutralization to produce recycled fillers. The average particle size, crystal lattice structure, and morphology of the recycled fillers were analyzed using a particle size analyzer, XRD, and FE-SEM. The results indicate that the recycled filler produced from coating paper sludge exhibited similar brightness and morphology to conventional paper-based fillers, suggesting its potential to replace commercial PCC (Precipitated Calcium Carbonate). In contrast, the recycled filler manufactured using old corrugated container mill sludge was deemed unsuitable due to its low hydration activity.