Volume 18 Issue 3

The relationship between the functional dimensions of the furniture and a user’s anthropometric dimensions is crucial for safety and functionality. The weight and dimensions of the user’s body significantly affect the functional dimensions of the furniture, especially for overweight users. This paper is focused on the concept of chair structural design, which is suitable for bariatric users, including the application of additional reinforcing structural components. Such components are expected to improve the stiffness and strength properties of the chair structure, and it provides the possibilities to a chair design with improved ergonomic parameters. To increase rigidity and reinforce the frame structure of a chair for obese users, the side stretchers, middle braces inserted under seat and armrests are used. The main goal of the different structural designs of chair frames is to minimize internal forces acting in the structural components of the chair. The finite element method (FEM) was used to determine the internal forces and stress-strain state in the structural elements of the chair, starting with the standard design of the chair frame and comparing different design variants. A synergistic effect is obtained, making the bariatric chair durable and ergonomic, without stigmatizing its users.

Sapele, pine, limba, iroko, beech, and oak wood species are important species used indoors and outdoors, as supplied by furniture companies. It is known that the color changes in wood material when exposed to the external environment. This is an important factor for the outdoor use of wood material. In this study, the color parameters of Scotch pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), oriental beech (Fagus orientalis L.), limba (Terminalia superba Engl. et Diels), sapele (Entandrophragma cylindricum), sessile oak (Quercus petraea L.), and iroko (Milicia excelsa) wood species, which are used in both indoor and outdoor woodworking industries in Van city, Turkey were investigated after exposing them to natural weather conditions for 9 months in outdoor conditions. Each type of wood exhibited a different color behavior in outdoor conditions. In sapele and limba wood species, b* and a* values increased and L* values decreased with increasing weathering time. It was observed that ∆E* increased with increasing time of exposure in all tree species. At the end of 9 months of weathering, the highest ∆E* value was determined in pine wood, followed by beech, sapele, limba, iroko, and oak wood species, respectively.

The study assessed CNC routing quality on maple and oak samples, using 90º V-Grooving router bits at various milling angles as function of grain orientation: 0°, 15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 75°, 90°, and feed speeds of 3 and 6 m/min at spindle speed of 15,000 rpm. The routing quality was evaluated by roughness parameters for the V flank surfaces and by visual examination for the flanks’ edges. The change in the feed speed had no significant effect for the flanks surface quality of both species, but roughness values were considerable higher for maple samples at 90º and u=3 m/min (R_k = 23.7 µm compared to along the grain, R_k=9.83 µm for u=6 m/min) due to possible processing vibrations. The milling angle as function of grain orientation was significant in the case of oak, as the processing roughness increased with the cutting angle from 0° (R_k=11 to 13 µm) to 60°(R_k =28 to 30 µm). Fuzziness around the earlywood pores of oak was higher for the 6 m/min feed speed. A substantial increase in waviness coinciding with the annual growth areas was measured for crosscut oak samples (W_a = 34.0 µm, compared with W_a =7 .39 µm along the grain). The surface waviness of maple was not sensitive to the variation in the cutting angle or feed speed (W_a was around 3 to 4 µm). For the flank edges, the best visual option was found for cutting along the wood grain and the worst was for 60º, which caused biggest ruptures and especially for the 3 m/min feed speed, for both species.

Surface roughness and discoloration of thermally modified Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.), Kazdağı fir (Abies equi-trojani Asch. et Sint.), and Eastern beech (Fagus orientalis Lipsky) were evaluated. The surface roughness and discoloration of the samples sanded with 60, 80, and 120-grit grades were evaluated at temperature levels of 160, 180, 200, and 220 °C. Findings were subjected to multiple analysis of variance and Duncan’s homogeneity tests; using the SPSS package program, single, double, triple, and quadruple interactions were analyzed. The highest surface roughness values were found in Eastern beech samples with radial cross-section (12.4 µm) finished with 60-grit sandpaper. The lowest roughness value was found in Kazdagi fir samples that were heat-treated in 200 °C and processed with 120-grit sandpaper (2.03 µm). The lowest discoloration evaluation (∆E) value was found eastern beech samples 32.43, and highest ∆E values 46.86 found at Scots pine.

Antrodia cinnamomea is a valuable fungus. The 4-acetylantroquinonol B (4-AAQB) contained in it has strong anticancer activity. In this study, five kinds of herbs, burdock, wolfberry, coix seed, hawthorn, and tangerine peel were selected and processed into powders, aqueous extracts, and ethanolic extracts to investigate the effects on the production of 4-AAQB by A. cinnamomea. A combination strategy was conducted by adding burdock and tangerine peel aqueous extract. By this means, the production of 4-AAQB was improved to 54.5 mg/L, which was approximately 33-fold higher than the control. After analysis of components of the tangerine peel aqueous extract and the addition of the major components, vanillic acid, protocatechuic acid, and their analogs played an important role in the synthesis of 4-AAQB. It was demonstrated that the addition of Chinese herbs facilitated both cell growth of A. cinnamomea and 4-AAQB production, providing a feasible way to increase the yield of 4-AAQB.

The depolymerization of natural biomass-based lignin is a definitive challenge, as it involves the integral breakdown of complex and well-constructed natural structures. A sustainable method called ‘ionoSolv pretreatment’ employs ionic liquids in biomass processing. In this study, Bronsted acidic IL (BAIL); 1-methyl-3-(3-sulfopropyl)-imidazolium chloride, [C₃SO₃HMIM]Cl was synthesized and commendably used to both assist the depolymerization of lignin under mild reaction conditions as well as to benefit from the commercially valuable vanillin. About 68% degree of depolymerization (DD) of lignin was achieved under optimized conditions (120 °C, 60 min), yielding ca. 43% of tetrahydrofuran (THF) soluble products. The influence of BAIL on the depolymerization was investigated using chromatographic (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, gel permeation chromatography, and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and spectroscopic techniques (Fourier transform infrared). The HPLC analysis of the depolymerized lignin detected the clear presence of 12% of vanillin was obtained from 2 wt.% of rice husk’s lignin.

Alfalfa hay plays a decisive role in the quality and safety of livestock products. Chemical analytical methods for alfalfa hays are laborious, time-consuming, and costly. Therefore, suitable methods are required for rapid and accurate detection of alfalfa hay. This study evaluated the feasibility of infrared spectroscopy (IR) in identifying different alfalfa hays. 105 alfalfa hay samples under three different drying methods were analysed. Results indicated that the full spectra model constructed through standard normal variable transformation (SNV), first-derivative (FD), and second-derivative (SD) preprocessing by BP and SVM had the best performance. The accuracies were all up to 100%. Under the same preprocessing method, the accuracy of BP neural networks was better than that of support vector machine models in most cases. The characteristic wavelength-based SNV-SD-SPA by BP exhibited better performance than the other pretreatment methods, such as: SNV-SPA, SNV-FD-SPA, and SNV-GA, etc. The classification accuracy of moldy-dried alfalfa, sun-dried alfalfa, and shade-dried alfalfa in the training set were 100%, 100%, and 99.5%, respectively, and the accuracy of the prediction set reached 100%, 97.6%, and 97.4%, respectively. Thus, a better theoretical basis was obtained for the grading and online monitoring of alfalfa hay.

Urea-formaldehyde (UF) resins, as the most common adhesives for wood-based composites, emit formaldehyde, which is forcing producers to find a solution to this problem. Using scavengers is a practical way of reducing formaldehyde emissions, but sometimes these materials change the properties of the adhesive. This study investigated the effect of adding nanoclay and nanoclay modified with aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES), as scavengers, on the formaldehyde emission and the properties of the urea-formaldehyde resin. Modification of nanoclay with APTES was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. After the addition of nanoclay and modified nanoclay to the urea-formaldehyde resin, the emission of formaldehyde decreased by 22% and 61%, and the physical and mechanical properties were improved. The FTIR, XRD, and differential scanning calorimetry results showed that the addition of nanoclay and modified nanoclay improved the characteristics of the adhesive, reduced the crystalline areas, and delayed the curing of the adhesive. Additionally, according to thermogravimetric analysis results, addition of nanoclay and modified nanoclay increased the thermal stability and reduced the weight loss of urea formaldehyde resin.

The dendrochronological potential of Juniperus foetidissima, growing in central Anatolia, was assessed. Raw, standard, and residual tree-ring chronologies were prepared for J. foetidissima trees in the Eskişehir region using classical dendrochronological methods for the period between 1875 and 2014. All the chronologies were statistically relevant, and the running correlation, expressed population signal, and mean sensitivity values in the residual tree-ring chronology were within the given limits. Therefore, the residual tree-ring chronologies were used to assess the climate-growth relationship. The relationships between tree-ring width growth and climate variables (mean temperature, monthly sum of precipitation) were investigated using response function analysis (moving windows correlations) in the R platform. Positive or negative relations were found between the residual tree-ring widths and the monthly precipitation and mean temperature, but with low coefficient values. The tree-ring width growth showed a significantly negative response to precipitation in August of the current year for the period in 1977-2001 and 1978-2002 and significantly positive to temperature in June of the current year for the period in 1971-1995, 1972-1996, and 1993-1996. In conclusion, despite some problems with cross-dating, J. foetidissima can generally be used for dendrochronological research and is suitable for developing long-term chronologies.

The Bromo Tengger Semeru National Park (or Taman Nasional Bromo Tengger Semeru/TNBTS) is a popular tourist destination in Indonesia, and the local authorities encourage the development of new local specialty products. One locally available commodity is coffee. This study investigated the best formula for Tengger herbal coffee. The randomized block design (RBD) consisted of two factors, including the coffee types (i.e., Arabica, Robusta, and Arabica:Robusta (50:50)) and the proportion of coffee:fennel seed powders (i.e., 92:8, 90:10, and 88:12). Physicochemical and organoleptic quality parameters were analyzed. In all coffee types, the addition of fennel seed powder at different concentrations significantly affects the sensory attribute (i.e., color, taste, and aroma) and the physicochemical characteristics of Tengger herbal coffee. The blending of coffee with fennel seed powder improved the taste and aroma of the herbal coffee. The best formulation was obtained from A3B3, a mixture of 44% Arabica coffee: 44% Robusta coffee: 12% fennel seed powder. This formula resulted in Tengger herbal coffee with pH 4.9, 16.6 color lightness, 0.64% total insoluble solids (TIS), 0.07% caffeine content, 47.2 mg GAE/g total phenol, 0.49 ppm antioxidant activity (IC₅₀), and 0.58% reducing sugar. The findings confirmed that Tengger herbal coffee offers health benefits from its antioxidant activity, alongside the potential as a traditional beverage product.