Volume 20 Issue 4

The study explores the significance of wood as a surrogate of nature in Chinese traditional dance, emphasizing its dual role as both a medium for cultural transmission and an element of artistic expression. Through the analysis of wooden props such as fans and drums, the study reveals the symbolic meanings conveyed by wood in dance and its deep connection to nature and life. Through their biophilic interaction with wood, dancers articulate a reverence for nature and reflections on life, creating a unique cultural resonance with the audience. Case studies of the Han ethnic group’s Jiaozhou Yangge Fan Dance and the Tibetan Reba Dance illustrate the important role of wood in emotional expression and cultural identity. Future research can focus on the innovative incorporation of wood in contemporary dance to promote the integration of traditional and modern dance arts.

The article examines the main and interactive effects of thermal modification (TM), relative humidity (RH), and direction of vibration on the density, modulus of elasticity (MOE) and shear modulus of spruce wood. Samples were thermally modified at 180, 200, and 230 °C and then equilibrated at 20%, 44%, 76%, and 88% RH. The MOE in the longitudinal direction and the shear moduli G_LR and G_LT were calculated from the natural frequencies of the first three lateral vibration modes of free-free specimen. E_L-R and G_LR were determined from the vibration frequencies when the specimens vibrated laterally in the longitudinal-radial plane, while E_L-T and G_LT were determined from vibration frequencies when the specimens vibrated in longitudinal-tangential plane. Density, MOE, and shear moduli decreased at the highest TM level by averages of 16%, 9.8% and 9.7%, respectively. Acoustic coefficients such as the sound velocity (c), the sound radiation coefficient (R) and the characteristic acoustic impedance (ACE) were determined. On average, c and R increased as a function of RH from 1% to 3% and from 10% to 15%, respectively, while ACE decreased from 7% to 13%. The test material was classified for making soundboards for musical instruments.

Wooden covered bridges attract attention due to their architectural appearance and manufacturing technique. In this study, an ancient wooden covered bridge in Taoyuan, China, has been investigated, mainly with respect to its construction form and mechanical behavior. First, the same type of raw material used for the bridge, namely, beech, was tested to obtain its mechanical properties. Then, the material experimental values were used in a finite element model to study the mechanical behavior of the bridge, and the stress state and internal forces of the bridge were obtained. The numerical results indicate that the maximum deflection of the bridge of 10.73 mm under gravity load meets the requirements of not exceeding L/600 in the specification while it reaches 15.62 mm under both the gravity load and crowd load, exceeding the limit by 1.3%. The maximum and minimum normal stress of 1.13 MPa and -2.03 are much less than the ultimate tensile and compression strength of the wood, respectively. This means that the structural safety performance of the ancient wooden covered bridge is acceptable if the pedestrian number be controlled effectively. Finally, some tiny damage of the bridge was apparent. Some suggestions were provided according to the numerical results and the complex actions of long-term loads and a severe environment on the bridge to preserve this old historical bridge.

Xylanase has been used for bioconversion processes and has been applied in several industrial processes. The increased production cost of enzymes remains the bottleneck for commercial production of lignocellulosic enzymes. The application of agricultural waste as a culture medium is a major strategy to improve xylanase production and reduce production costs. In this study, date seed powder was pretreated with sulfuric acid, and the cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin contents were 24.4±0.12%, 43.1±1.3%, and 23.5±0.3%, respectively. The moisture content of the date seed powder was 7.49±0.12%. The pretreated date seed powder was used as the substrate for xylanase production by Penicillium citrinum solid-state fermentation. The moisture content, pH, and inoculum were optimized for xylan production, and the optimum conditions were 45% moisture content, pH 5.5, and 3% inoculum concentration. The maximum xylanase production was found to be 605.3 U/g.

Urban parks have increasingly become pivotal settings for strengthening parent–child relationships; however, most on-site facilities remain predominantly adult-oriented. Accordingly, this study developed an operational, replicable, and iterative research framework for parent–child interactive seating in children’s parks, placing parent–child needs and sustainable design at its core. Anchored in the Double-Diamond process, a GT–Kano–AHP–QFD integrated innovation model was proposed to extract, classify, weight, and translate user requirements for such seating. By integrating these four methods, user needs were captured and addressed more precisely, thereby deepening understanding of design requirements for parent–child interactive seating. A rapid ideation workflow was subsequently implemented, combining large language models with diffusion models to generate concepts. The scheme was evaluated with fuzzy comprehensive evaluation (FCE), which indicated that the embedded, multifunctional interaction concept achieved the highest performance in functional adaptability, emotional interactivity, and life-cycle sustainability (composite score = 0.840). The findings demonstrated that the integrated innovation model simultaneously enhances user satisfaction and reduces carbon impact, providing a transferable procedural paradigm and empirical evidence for the sustainable design of parent–child seating and other micro-scale public amenities.

Wood-based furniture, which is valued for its durability and timeless elegance, remains popular among the elderly. Intelligent wooden sofas now transform traditional usage patterns through technological integration. This study explores elderly users’ needs and challenges in intelligent wooden sofa interaction. It examines user experience (UX) and user interface design (UI) trends for seniors in Intelligent furniture systems, followed by market analyses of existing wooden sofa designs and control apps. Quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews were used to assess elderly preferences toward intelligent wooden furniture. Survey results were used to inform user personas based on wooden furniture habits, with affinity diagrams identifying material perception mental models. The study involved 116 elderly participants, and questionnaire data for 16 indicators were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics 27, confirming a four-dimensional structure through factor analysis (KMO=0.869, p<0.01). Based on the results, key areas for software improvement were identified, including ‘discoverability’, ‘usefulness of content’, and ‘aesthetics of the interface’. These findings are crucial for addressing user experience problems, correcting the product development direction, establishing a user-centric iterative path, and providing foundational insights for developing elderly-friendly intelligent wooden sofa designs.

The mechanical and acoustic performances of five-layer eucalyptus plywood reinforced with copper and stainless steel meshes were studied, focusing on the effects of mesh type, layer count, and mesh size. Experimental results demonstrated that incorporating metal mesh significantly enhanced both mechanical properties and acoustic vibration characteristics. The mechanical performance peaked at two-layer reinforcement configurations, with static elastic modulus values reaching 8,570 MPa (copper) and 9,100 MPa (steel), while mesh size exhibited negligible influence. Acoustic metrics, including acoustic conversion efficiency (ACE) and specific dynamic elastic modulus (Esp), also achieved optimal values in two-layer composites, with copper outperforming steel (e.g., ACE: 248 vs. 213). Notably, copper composites exhibited superior vibrational energy retention, with a minimum loss tangent of 0.0259, compared to 0.0246 for steel. The findings highlight that layer count, rather than mesh size or type, dominated performance optimization. Two-layer configurations balanced interfacial stress distribution and bonding efficiency, yielding the highest mechanical and acoustic outputs. These metal-reinforced composites offer sustainable alternatives to traditional tonewoods reducing reliance on endangered species while enabling cost-effective utilization of low-grade timber. Their enhanced acoustic-mechanical synergy positions them as promising materials for musical instruments, home audio systems. This work provides actionable insights for eco-friendly material design in industrial and musical applications.

Sustainable animal feed options must balance nutritional, environmental, and ethical considerations. Maize (Zea mays) and yellow lupine (Lupinus luteus) biomass offer promising substrates for producing silage, due to their high nutritional value and potential to support controlled fermentation. Maize is widely used in animal feed, due to its content of digestible carbohydrates and protein. Lupine is a viable alternative to soy, with advantages including high protein and low environmental impact due to its nitrogen-fixing abilities. This study investigated the possible use of selected lactic acid bacteria (LAB) strains—L. buchneri 1, P. acidilactici 4, L. buchneri 2.1, and P. acidilactici 2.2—to optimize fermentation of maize and lupine biomass for improved silage quality. Controlled fermentations using these strains resulted in silages with favorable parameters: pH values ranging from 3.8 to 4.4, dry matter content between 35 and 45%, and total acidity in the range of 6.0 to 8.0%. The best results were achieved in a 1:1 maize–lupine mixture, which showed stable LAB counts and optimal fermentation conditions. The results showed the potential of microbial inoculation in improving silage quality. However, the conclusions are based on lab-scale studies and do not address practical factors such as scalability, cost-effectiveness, or long-term storage stability.

Anabasis setifera shoot extract was utilized in this study as a stabilizing agent to synthesize Se and CuO nanoparticles (NPs), as well as CuO/Se agglomerates of NPs in a biologically safe manner, and these nanoparticles were then employed as antibacterial, antioxidant, antibiofilm, and anticancer agents. Transmission electron microscopy confirmed the irregular, spherical, and agglomerate shapes of Cu, Se, and CuO/Se, respectively. The EDS mapping of the CuO/Se agglomerates of NPs showed that all elements were uniformly distributed. Among all examined treatments, the CuO/Se agglomerates of NPs showed the strongest antimicrobial action, with inhibition zones ranging from 19 mm for Klebsiella pneumoniae to 26.1 mm for Bacillus cereus, so further testing was done only with  CuO/Se agglomerates of NPs. The findings demonstrated that the antioxidant activity of CuO/Se agglomerates of NPs was 150 μg/mL for the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) method, compared to 8.9 μg/mL for ascorbic acid, and 135 μg/mL for the 2,2′-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzo-thiazoline-6-sulfonic acid (ABTS) method, compared to 7.61 μg/mL for ascorbic acid. Se/Cu repressed the proliferation of Mcf7 and HepG2 cells, but CuO/Se showed more activity against HepG2 cells with an IC50 of 322.5 µg/mL. CuO/Se agglomerates of NPs based on Anabasis setifera extract serve as a stabilizing agent, exhibiting a biological activity profile that makes them appealing choices for various biomedical applications.

The experiment was conducted during the winter season of 2022–2023 at the Horticultural Research Centre, SVPUA&T, Meerut, to evaluate the impact of Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) on Dahlia variabilis L. cv. Zail Singh using a Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with 19 treatments and three replications. Significant differences (P < 0.05) were observed among treatments for vegetative growth, flowering, and soil parameters. Treatment T₁₂ (50% RDF + poultry manure + Azotobacter + VAM) recorded the maximum number of primary branches (9.75), leaf area (97.75 cm²), leaf area index (0.048), chlorophyll index 55.45 mg/m²), and nitrogen index (26.62 mg/m²), showing approximately 81% improvement over the control (100% RDF). T₁₇ (25% RDF + vermicompost + Azospirillium + VAM) produced the largest stem diameter (14.30 mm), stalk diameter (10.30 mm), and flower diameter (18.00 cm). T₅ enabled early color break (6.58 days), T10 extended vase life (7.10 days), while T₆ and T₇ significantly enhanced soil nutrient availability, and T₁₄–T₁₅ improved soil organic carbon, EC, and pH. In contrast, the control (T₁) consistently recorded the lowest values across traits. These findings demonstrated that integrating organic manures and bio-inoculants with reduced levels of chemical fertilizers significantly enhanced crop performance and soil health, offering a sustainable strategy for ornamental horticulture.