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• Utilizing MDF residue as a fuel and evaluating the effect of the updraft gasifier. • Determination of ultimate and proximate analysis of MDF residue for gasification. • Measuring of syngas compositions formed depending on different fuel feed amounts. • Calculation of mass and energy balances for the gasification unit. • Gasifier integration with ORC turbine. Biomass, which is a renewable resource, is regarded as an essential energy source due to its accessibility and abundance. In this study, the gasification of wood-based biomass wastes from the medium density fiberboard (MDF) facility was carried out and investigated utilizing an updraft fixed bed gasifier. The feeding capacity of the upstream gasifier is 2100 kg/h. MDF wastes are loaded into the system with feeding capacities of 1500, 1750 and 2100 kg/h. As a reference, the system has also been tested with oak wood chips at a maximum rate of 2100 kg/h. Produced syngas production rate to biomass waste is approximately 2.5 Nm3/kg. The measured gas compositions are CO, CO 2 , CH 4 , H 2 , O 2 and N 2. Test results with 2100 kg/h MDF wastes have similar gas composition compared to the test results with oak wood chips. The quality of the syngas produced by gasification is directly related to the fuel. It has been observed that the efficiency of the gasification process can be directly or indirectly impacted by the properties of the fuel, such as the moisture content, chemical compositions, and size. The temperature of the produced gas is approximately 430 °C, and it is directly combusted with tars and soot it contains to ensure that no chemical energy is lost. The thermal gasification system converts approximately 88% by weight of MDF residue to syngas. The calorific value of produced syngas is obtained between 6.0 and 7.0 MJ/Nm3. The hot syngas containing tars produced from the gasifier was directly burned in the thermal oil heater retrofitted to vortex syngas burner to recover thermal energy, which was then utilized in the production of energy via an ORC turbine. The thermal oil heater has a thermal capacity of 7MWh and the power generation capacity of the ORC turbine is 955 kW of electricity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gut microbiota (GM) in the healthy state is significantly different from that in the disease state, and diet is one of vital factors affecting gut microbiota. The concept of microbiota-directed foods (MDFs) has promoted the importance of GM as a target for disease treatment. In this review, studies related to MDFs in recent years were sorted out, and the logic and significance of MDFs research were expounded based on the discovery of key GM under diseases, the mechanism of key GM, the analysis of main components in MDFs, and their possible mechanism of action. Under MDFs intervention, significant improvement on disease phenotypes and disordered GM has been observed, and its clinical efficacy and feasibility are better than those of the recommended diet. MDFs preferentially contain macromolecular polysaccharide compounds as carbohydrate sources that can be used by GM. Screening of key GM and the targeted regulation of the GM can offer additional insights into the macroscopic regulation of gut health. • The research strategy of MDFs was analyzed and summarized for the first time. • Global dietary guidelines highly consistent but without considering the bioavailability of GM. • MDF is superior to ordinary dietary patterns in alleviating metabolic diseases due to its individualized regulation of GM. • Potential components of the MDF were summarized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With changing times, the need for security increases in all fields, whether we talk about cloud networks or vehicular networks. In every place, it has its importance, but in vehicular networks where the lives of human beings are involved, security becomes the topmost priority. Therefore, this article aims to shed light on Misbehavior Detection Framework (MDF) used in the Cooperative Intelligent Transport Systems community. Here, MDF keeps an eye on malicious entities on the roads. It is done by regularly evaluating two main checks: consistency and local plausibility. These checks are done by Intelligent Transport System Stations. All the messages received through Vehicle-to-Everything are scrutinized through this model. After that, all the messages are evaluated by local detection mechanisms to decide the holistic message's plausibility. This article mainly focuses on the logic behind the proposed Misbehavior Detection Framework providing more security, evaluating various Machine Learning-based models to ensure one best out of all based on quality and computation latency of all models along with the results of various parameters, such as Recall, Precision, F1 Score, Accuracy, Bookmaker Informedness, Markedness, Mathews Correlation Coefficient, Kappa, and achieved the best results. • The work introduces a general architecture of the Cooperative Intelligent Transport System and its misbehavior detection framework. • Various detection mechanisms, such as threshold-based, non-cooperated trust-based, cooperated trust-based, and ML-based, are presented. • Results are evaluated based on several parameters, such as F1 Score, Markedness, Precision, Recall, Accuracy, Mathews Correlation Coefficient, Bookmaker Informedness, and Kappa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To save rare-earth (RE) resource and develop creep-resistant Mg alloys in a low-cost way, RE-free Mg alloys are strongly recommended recently. However, serious creep anisotropy and poor creep resistance are still the main problems of safely using RE-free Mg alloys. In the present research, one binary Mg-2wt%Sn hot-rolled plate was employed for studying the compressive creep performance at 393 K. It was found that different activities of basal slip, twinning and pyramidal slip weakened the creep performance along the rolling direction and caused the inevitable creep anisotropy. To weaken the creep anisotropy between the rolling direction and normal direction, multi-directional forging (MDF) with three passes was performed at 393 K. Through inducing high-density twins before creep loading, detwinning was frequently activated during creep loading instead of inducing new twins. As a result, the creep anisotropy was successfully weakened in the MDF processed alloy. Moreover, the creep performance was synchronously enhanced along both loading directions rather than deteriorating the creep performance along the normal direction. It is thus expected that this RE-free way of preparing creep-resistant Mg alloys can be widely accepted in the relative application fields. • Serious compressive creep anisotropy exists along the RD and ND of Mg-2wt%Sn alloy. • Creep anisotropy is drastically weakened by multi-directional forging with 3 passes. • Creep resistance is strengthened along both directions without any deterioration. • Incomplete detwinning assisted by dislocation slip avoids long dislocation slip path. • Dislocations have short slip path and decelerate the creep rate of MDFed samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "Great Acceleration" beginning in the mid-20th century provides the causal mechanism of the Anthropocene, which has been proposed as a new epoch of geological time beginning in 1952 CE. Here we identify key parameters and their diagnostic palaeontological signals of the Anthropocene, including the rapid breakdown of discrete biogeographical ranges for marine and terrestrial species, rapid changes to ecologies resulting from climate change and ecological degradation, the spread of exotic foodstuffs beyond their ecological range, and the accumulation of reconfigured forest materials such as medium density fibreboard (MDF) all being symptoms of the Great Acceleration. We show: 1) how Anthropocene successions in North America, South America, Africa, Oceania, Europe, and Asia can be correlated using palaeontological signatures of highly invasive species and changes to ecologies that demonstrate the growing interconnectivity of human systems; 2) how the unique depositional settings of landfills may concentrate the remains of organisms far beyond their geographical range of environmental tolerance; and 3) how a range of settings may preserve a long-lived, unique palaeontological record within post-mid-20th century deposits. Collectively these changes provide a global palaeontological signature that is distinct from all past records of deep-time biotic change, including those of the Holocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface decorated wood-based panels with melamine formaldehyde resin (MF) impregnated paper is highly favored by consumers due to its outstanding appearance and durable performance. However, the laminated composites would encounter hygroscopic expansion and damage that affect its service and aesthetics in long-term humid environments. This study aims to construct highly durable superhydrophobic surface to address this issue. Firstly, a controlled micro rough structure on stainless steel plates which were built with sandblasting was successfully duplicated onto the surface of MF impregnated paper laminated medium density fiberboard (MDF) using the embossing method. Following that, a spray treatment with hydrophobic nanoparticles was employed to the laminated composite surface, ultimately resulting in a superhydrophobic coating with a contact angle up to 163°. To confirm the durability of the fabricated superhydrophobic layer, linear abrasion test, water droplet impact test, sand impact test, and tape peeling test were carried out. The results demonstrated that even after severe processed conditions, the contact angle of the decorated surface remained above 150°. And the decorated laminate successfully passed both self-cleaning and dirt resistance challenge, clearly indicating the outstanding durability of superhydrophobic structure. Furthermore, water absorption thickness expansion measurement was done to verify the dimensional stability of the laminate in humid conditions. This research presented a straightforward and cost-effective approach to fabricate highly durable superhydrophobic MF impregnated paper decorated laminates, offering a dependable strategy for research and applications in related domains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mg-5Li-1Zn-0.5Ag-0.5Zr-xGd (x = 2.4, 6) alloys were subjected to multi-directional forging (MDF). The β 1 coherent phase and β incoherent phase precipitated during the MDF process significantly improve the properties of the alloy. The results show that the orientation relationship between the β 1 phase and the matrix is 022 β 1 ∥ 0002 α and 111 β 1 ∥ 1 2 ¯ 10 α.When the dislocations cut through the β 1 phase, the {111} 〈110〉 slip system of the β 1 phases is activated, forming anti-phase boundaries (APBs) by directional motion in the <110> direction, which provides strengthening effects. The APB structure leads to the increase of system energy, deformation resistance, and yield strength. Besides, the activation of the β 1 phases slip system makes the alloys exhibit satisfactory plasticity and toughness. After MDF at 350 °C, Mg-5Li-1Zn-0.5Ag-0.5Zr-2.4Gd alloy has a yield strength of 270 MPa, a tensile strength of 295 MPa, and an elongation of 12.7%, respectively. The results are beneficial for the design and manufacture of high-performance Mg Li alloys. • After multidirectional forging (MDF) at 350 °C, the mechanical properties of the alloys are improved. • When the coherent β1 interacts with defects leads to increasing strength and also promotes satisfactory plasticity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and styrene released from furniture and interior decoration materials are important chemicals affecting indoor air quality and have been shown to be harmful to human health. However, little attention is paid for VVOC and their health risks. To close this gap, in April 2022, a 15-L environmental chamber, combined with multibed tube, was used for gas sampling at the Northeast Forestry University laboratory. Emissions of VOC and VVOC from MDF coated with different lacquers were investigated using thermal desorption coupled with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results showed that the total concentrations of VOC and VVOC increased by 37.33%, 96.88%, and 86.45%, respectively, after MDF was coated with water-based (WB), polyurethane (PU), and nitrocellulose (NC) lacquers. The total VVOC concentration from MDF was higher than the total VOC concentration. Alcohols were the most abundant chemicals in MDF, followed by aromatics and alkanes, together accounting for more than 70% of the total. Aromatics and alkanes were the most important VOC after painting. These three lacquers inhibited some VVOC but promoted other chemicals, like benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and tetrahydrofuran. For health impacts, the cancer risk and noncancer risk of benzene from lacquered MDF were estimated to be 4.46 × 10−5 to 6.42 × 10−5 and 0.19 to 0.27 respectively, indicating a probable cancer risk and no obvious noncancer risk. WB-MDF is recommended for indoor applications. This research points the need for exploring environmentally friendly solvents to replace benzene, toluene and ethylbenzene in order to reduce emissions of volatile pollutants. • VVOC and VOC emitted from different lacquered MDF were measured simultaneously. • The multi-bed tube had an excellent capture capacity for VVOC. • Emission of VVOC and VOC was affected by different lacquer paintings. • Benzene presented a probable cancer risk and no obvious noncancer risk. • Water-based lacquer painting was recommended for indoor applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Thermo-enviroeconmic performance of tubular solar still was enhanced via new heat localizers. • Medium-density fiberboard wood and carbon black nanocoating were selected. • Optimal wood thickness (4 mm) and nanocoating concentration (80 g/m2) were investigated. • Maximum production, energetic, and exergetic performance augmentations were 6.1, 63.5, and 5.2%, respectively. • Modifications were feasible (47.82% cost saving) and eco-friendly (5.804 ton/year carbon mitigation). This paper presented the enhanced thermo-exergoenviroeconomic performance of tubular solar still (TSS) by integrating an eco-friendly, cost-effective, and available material combination. The combination was proposed to obtain thermally enhanced thin-film evaporation. On the one hand, medium-density fiberboard (MDF) carbonized wood was proposed due to its floatability and good capillarity. In addition, carbon black (CB) nanoparticles (NPs) were utilized to enhance the surface thermal characteristic: absorptivity and conductivity. Three experimental cases were investigated to determine the best specifications of the combination: wood thickness and NPs concentration. First, three different standard wood thicknesses (4, 6, and 9 mm) were tested to state the best one, which was 4 mm that achieved a productivity increase of 30.8%. Then, the 4 mm-thick wood was carbonized, drilled, and experimented, which attained 41.9% production augmentation. Finally, the efficacy of six different CB NPs' concentrations (from 20 to 120 g/m2 with a step of 20 g/m2) on the TSS yield was determined. Among them, the best concentration was 80 g/m2, achieving a 67.1 % yield improvement. Analytically, the thermo-exergoeviroeconomic performance was assessed. The results showed maximum improvement ratios of 49.62 and 89.78% for daily energy and exergy efficiencies, respectively. Besides, the economic analysis showed that using the proposed combination could achieve saving in the freshwater price by 32.36% w.r.t conventional TSS. Moreover, from the environmental point of view, the modified TSS can be considered as more eco-friendly than the conventional one as more CO 2 could be mitigated. To sum up, from thermo-economic performance, all the resulting data proved that the proposed improvements were very effective and feasible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• MAG-only inference does not consider thermodynamic infeasibilities. • " Ca. Accumulibacter" species exhibit distinct potential in central carbon metabolism. • Anaerobic classical TCA cycle is thermodynamically infeasible. • PHA accumulation balances thermodynamic feasibility and yield. With the rapid growing availability of metagenome assembled genomes (MAGs) and associated metabolic models, the identification of metabolic potential in individual community members has become possible. However, the field still lacks an unbiassed systematic evaluation of the generated metagenomic information to uncover not only metabolic potential, but also feasibilities of these models under specific environmental conditions. In this study, we present a systematic analysis of the metabolic potential in species of " Candidatus Accumulibacter", a group of polyphosphate-accumulating organisms (PAOs). We constructed a metabolic model of the central carbon metabolism and compared the metabolic potential among available MAGs for " Ca. Accumulibacter" species. By combining Elementary Flux Modes Analysis (EFMA) with max-min driving force (MDF) optimization, we obtained all possible flux distributions of the metabolic network and calculated their individual thermodynamic feasibility. Our findings reveal significant variations in the metabolic potential among " Ca. Accumulibacter" MAGs, particularly in the presence of anaplerotic reactions. EFMA revealed 700 unique flux distributions in the complete metabolic model that enable the anaerobic uptake of acetate and its conversion into polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), a well-known phenotype of " Ca. Accumulibacter". However, thermodynamic constraints narrowed down this solution space to 146 models that were stoichiometrically and thermodynamically feasible (MDF > 0 kJ/mol), of which only 8 were strongly feasible (MDF > 7 kJ/mol). Notably, several novel flux distributions for the metabolic model were identified, suggesting putative, yet unreported, functions within the PAO communities. Overall, this work provides valuable insights into the metabolic variability among " Ca. Accumulibacter" species and redefines the anaerobic metabolic potential in the context of phosphate removal. More generally, the integrated workflow presented in this paper can be applied to any metabolic model obtained from a MAG generated from microbial communities to objectively narrow the expected phenotypes from community members. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional wood-based panels composed of wood and petroleum based adhesives is widely used in furniture manufacturing and construction industries. However, these adhesives are not biodegradable, inhibiting the recycling of artificial board. More seriously, the emission of carcinogenic formaldehyde will lead to severe pollution and environmental issues. This study presents a method for preparing self-bonding composites. Waste poplar powder is used as raw material in the biocomposite, in which exogenous lignin is added, and lignin is extracted from the waste of the paper industry - black liquor, which is beneficial to the environment and the recycling of resources. The resulting biocomposites are characterized by aldehyde-free, better strength, and water stability. The dimensional stability and mechanical strength, bending strength (84.40 MPa), and tensile strength (35.40 MPa) of the biocomposite are 2.0 and 1.6 times that of composites obtained by hot pressing without pretreatment and are 2.7 and 2.4 times that of medium density fiberboard (MDF), lignin plays an important role as an adhesive, which is the key to improving mechanical properties. Moreover, the biocomposite features higher water stability and fire resistance than the traditional wood fiberboard. In conclusion, the developed black liquor-wood biocomposites are potential alternatives used to replace the formaldehyde wood-based fiberboard. [Display omitted] • An aldehyde-free wood-based panel was prepared by a resource-saving method. • The flexural and tensile strengths are 84.40 MPa and 35.40 MPa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study investigates the effects of two different severe plastic deformation (SPD) processes on an annealed AZ80/SiC nanocomposite. Specifically, the microstructure, texture, shear behavior, and hardness of the material were analyzed after being subjected to dual equal channel lateral extrusion (DECLE) for up to 5 passes, and multidirectional forging (MDF) for up to 8 passes, both carried out at a constant temperature of 300 °C. The effective strain was 1.44 and 0.5 in each DECLE and MDF pass. The annealed AZ80/SiC nanocomposite showed a reduction in average grain size from 68.4 μm to 2.7, 4.2, and 4.4 μm during 1, 3, and 5 passes of DECLE process, and to 8, 4.3, 2.3, and 5.4 μm during 2, 4, 6, and 8 passes of MDF process. Examination of the shear properties revealed that the ultimate shear strength (USS) of the nanocomposite increased after conducting both the DECLE and MDF processes. Specifically, the USS of the annealed nanocomposite increased by 23.1 MPa after 5 passes of the DECLE process and by 8.1 MPa after 8 passes of the MDF process. These results indicate that the DECLE process had a greater effect on the shear strength increase compared to the MDF process. The results of the hardness testing on the AZ80/SiC nanocomposite showed that the fifth pass of the DECLE process increased the hardness from 86.6 to 96.2 Hv, while the eighth pass of the MDF process increased this value to 90.1 Hv. The DECLE process was found to be more effective than the MDF process due to the simultaneous application of three types of shear deformation, pressing, and extrusion in each pass, as well as the higher effective strain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • The aqueous seed extract of Cannabis Sativa seed has the potential to AgNO 3 into AgNPs. • Green synthesized AgNPs characterized and confirmed by UV–vis, SEM, EDS, and XRD. • MDF (Medium-Density Fiberboard) surfaces were modified with green synthesized AgNP to provide an antibacterial activity against E. coli and S.Aures. • Curing time was shortened by AgNPs modification to the melamine-containing surface coating solution. The study involves modifying green nano silver particles (AgNP) synthesized from the extracts of Cannabis Sativa seeds onto Medium-Density Fiberboard (MDF) surfaces. Microstructural examinations and chemical analyses of the produced surfaces were performed with Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS). A peak at 415 nm was found in the UV–Vis spectrophotometer analysis range of the aqueous media containing green synthesized silver nanoparticles. The average size of AgNPs was found to be 45 nm by particle size distribution analysis. Performance tests of the modified surfaces revealed that the abrasion and scratch resistance of the coating containing 1 % AgNP increased twice and that all modified surfaces were resistant to staining. With nano silver modification, energy efficiency was achieved by shortening the gelation (drying) time of the surfaces coming out of the bath by one and a half minutes during coating production. Nano silver-modified MDF surfaces have shown antibacterial properties that are at least 1000 times more effective. MDF surface coatings modified with new-generation plant-based nanoparticles can prevent and reduce bacterial diseases that can be contaminated by the environment. The production of MDF surfaces that provide low energy consumption and antibacterial properties with green production will be possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Owing to the similarities in raw materials, technology, and application fields between fiberboard and particleboard, it is crucial to perform a comparative life cycle assessment (LCA) on these two types of panels. This comparison can greatly contribute to a comprehensive understanding of the environmental impact of these panels. However, there is a limited number of studies available regarding the comparative LCA study of these panels. Therefore, in this study, the environmental effects of manufacturing process of dry-process fiberboard (medium-density fiberboard, MDF) and particleboard (PB) were compared. A cradle-to-gate LCA model was developed using eFootprint software. The results showed that PB exhibited better environmental performance than MDF because of the lower power consumption and the amount of urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin required in the manufacturing process. The total environmental impact of PB from cradle to gate was 27.5% lower than that of MDF, and the eco-efficiency of PB was 18.8% higher than that of MDF. Regardless of the panel type, the greatest environmental effect occurred in the raw and auxiliary materials production phase, followed by the board production phase. The environmental effect of the transportation phase was minimal. The production of UF resin and the consumption of electricity were identified as the main environmental hotspots. Finally, two approaches to enhance environmental performance were proposed and applied: first, replacing UF resin with a soy-based adhesive, and second, switching from thermal power to hydropower. In addition, the environmental impacts before and after implementing these approaches were compared. [Display omitted] • Particleboard has better environmental performance than medium density fiberboard. • Urea-formaldehyde resin and electricity are the key environmental hotspots. • Soy-based adhesive doesn't outperform urea-formaldehyde resin in all impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2195 Al-Cu-Li alloy is widely utilized in the aerospace industry due to its lightweight nature and high strength. Consequently, gaining a comprehensive understanding of techniques to enhance its microstructural and mechanical properties is crucial for the consistent production of reliable and high-strength aerospace components. In this investigation, a pristine 2195 industrial ingot was subject to three distinct forging pretreatments: PT1, which involved a direct three upsetting and three stretching (3U3S) process; PT2, which combined double stage homogenization (DH) with 3U3S; and PT3, which involved DH along with six upsetting and six stretching (6U6S). Subsequent warm deformation and T8 aging treatment were applied to the pretreated forgings. The microstructure evolution during the processes and the final mechanical properties in three orthogonal dimensions were examined. The findings revealed that the combination of DH and multi-dimensional forging (MDF) facilitated the dissolution of non-equilibrium phases to a greater extent. Consequently, the main strengthening phase transformed from the T 1 + δ' phase observed in PT1 to the denser T1 + little θ' phase observed in PT2 and PT3 after T8 aging treatment. Notably, the tensile strength and yield strength of PT2 and PT3 specimens increased by 20–30 MPa in all three directions. Moreover, the MDF process accelerated the recrystallization behavior from PT1 to PT3, resulting in a gradual reduction in the average grain size of the pretreated samples from 356 µm to 186 µm. Following warm forging and T8 aging, the grains exhibited a finer and equiaxed structure. Additionally, the coarse phase was identified as the primary source of transgranular cracking. The coarse phases within the matrix became more homogeneous and finer from PT1 to PT3, with a gradual decrease in their area fraction. On the fracture surfaces, the aggregation of coarse phases diminished. Consequently, the elongation in the z-direction improved, and the elongation anisotropy and standard deviation decreased in all three directions for PT3 specimens. The findings presented in this study provide valuable insights into the high-performance manufacturing of Al-Cu-Li alloys. • The DH and doubling the strain of MDF both promoted the dissolution of non-equilibrium phases. • Combine DH treatment with MDF enhanced the precipitation kinetics of the T 1 phase, increasing the strength by 20–30 MPa. • The coarse phase was the main transgranular cracking sources, which was diminished gradually by the improved process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Establishment of intelligent chemical profiling of Chinese herbal medicine. • Full scan-preferred parent ions capture-exclusion for data acquisition. • Deep-learning reinforced mass defect filter process applied in data processing. • 276 compounds with different chemical category in naoxintong identified. A comprehensive strategy for effective identification of total constituents in Chinese patent medicine has been advanced applying full scan-preferred parent ions capture-static and active exclusion (FS-PIC-SAE) acquisition coupled with intelligent deep-learning supported mass defect filter (MDF) process, with Naoxintong capsule (NXT) as a case. Online comprehensive two-dimensional liquid chromatography (2DLC) coupled with Q-TOF-MS/MS system was established for obtaining the excellent separation and detection performance of total components, which could exhibit excellent peak capacity with 1052 and orthogonality with 0.69. In addition, a total of 901 unknown compounds could be classified into nine chemical classes rapidly and effectively, based on the intelligent deep-learning algorithm supported MDF model with 96.4% accuracy. Consequently, 276 compounds were successfully identified from NXT, especially including 44 flavonoids, 27 phenolic acids, 25 fatty acids, 17 saponins, 21 phthalocyanines, 20 triterpenes, 10 monoterpenes, 13 diterpenoid ketones, 14 amino acids, and others. It is concluded that the proposed program is an effective and practical strategy enabling the in-depth chemical profiling of complex herbal and biological samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from decorative building materials are the main source of indoor air pollution, which endangers human health. Source control is the most direct method to reduce the amount of harmful substances emitted from a material. In view of the excellent adsorption performance and effective fixation of the adsorbent on VOC molecules, small amounts of adsorbents can be blended into the raw materials used in the production of building materials, which results in the manufacture of modified building materials with low VOC emissions. According to the type and ratio of additional adsorbents, the VOC emission characteristics of the modified building materials vary. Based on the analysis of the multi-component and multi-scale mass transfer mechanism, a prediction system for the VOC emission characteristics of modified building materials was proposed. Four types of adsorbents, namely, wood-based activated carbon (WAC), shell activated carbon (SAC), coconut shell activated carbon (CSAC), and potassium permanganate impregnated alumina (PIA) were used to manufacture the modified medium density fiberboards. Moreover, pore structure characterization tests and environmental chamber tests were conducted to verify the accuracy of the theoretical prediction system. The results revealed that an absorbent with a high partition coefficient has a more significant source suppression effect. The proposed VOC emission characteristic prediction system for modified building materials can optimize the type and ratio of adsorbents for engineering applications and therefore, provide a basis for the selection of effective VOC source control strategies. • Modelling VOC emission characteristic parameters of modified building materials. • Manufacture of modified MDFs blended with four types of adsorbents, respectively. • The reliability of the prediction models is well verified by experiments. • It is significant for the guidance on designing low-emission building materials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • Synthesis of UF resins in the wood-based composites. • Effects of catalysts (NH 4) 2 SO 4 , NH 4 Cl, H 2 SO 4 and HCl during UF resins synthesis. • Investigated by 13C NMR and DSC. • (NH 4) 2 SO 4 catalyzed UF adhesive with the best overall mechanical properties. • The HCl catalyst was considered to be chemically least active. Abstract Recently, there has been a rapid growth in research and innovation in the synthesis of UF resins in the wood-based composites area. Much effort has gone into increasing their mechanical performance to extend the capabilities and application of this group of materials. This paper, for the first time, defines the research on the use of ammonium salts not as hardeners but in the synthesis of UF resins. The objective of this study was to investigated the effects of various types of catalysts (ammonium sulfate, ammonium chloride, sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid) during UF resins synthesis on formaldehyde emission and characteristics of urea–formaldehyde (UF) adhesives for the manufacture of medium density fiberboard. These were investigated by 13C Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (13C NMR) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), and as a result some of the physical and mechanical properties of medium density fiberboard (MDF) panels bonded with different UF resins were evaluated. The resins structure examined by 13C NMR spectroscopy showed that a resin catalyzed by (NH 4) 2 SO 4 had a higher proportion of hydroxymethyl groups (mostly HN C H 2 OH) resulting in a higher level of formaldehyde emission. A resin catalyzed by NH 4 Cl gave the highest proportion of methylene groups. A resin catalyzed by H 2 SO 4 yielded the highest proportion of methylene groups in di- or tri-substituted ureas but the lowest proportion of mono-substituted urea. It was of interest that (NH 4) 2 SO 4 catalyzed UF adhesive yielded the best overall mechanical properties for the medium density fiber board (MDF) bonded with it. Conversely, it also presented the shortest shelf life and gelled in about 15 days, which could be related to its high reactivity and shortest gel time. Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) panels bonded with UF adhesives without any ammonium salt (thus with either H 2 SO 4 or HCl) had lower IB strength, MOR and MOE. The HCl catalyst was considered to be chemically least active, yielding the lowest cohesive energy, and resulted in panels presenting a poor performance as shown by their lowest IB (internal bond) strength, modulus of elasticity (MOE), and modulus of rupture (MOR) and highest thickness swelling, with the exception of the free formaldehyde content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Thermal compression – alternative method of the preparation of the wood substrate. • Adhesion strength of compressed and varnished samples is higher than of control samples. • The lacquer performed well on thermally compressed wood surfaces. Abstract The objectives of this work was to evaluate the adhesion strength of thermally compressed and varnished veneer used as overlay on medium density fibreboard (MDF) panels. Rotary cut birch veneer sheets were compressed at temperature levels of 150 °C, 180 °C and 210 °C before they were bonded MDF substrate. The varnish was applied to the surface of the samples at various layers and spread rates. Based on the findings of this study compression temperature significantly influences overall adhesion strength of the samples. Since thermal compression process resulted in uniform surface quality of both loose and tight sides no significant difference between them regarding their adhesion strength characteristics was determined. It was also determined that adhesion strength values of compressed and varnished samples had higher values than those of control samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • A highly hydrophobic MDF was produced by one-step spray coating of SiO 2 nanoparticles. • A stable highly hydrophobic coating on MDF exhibits contact angles higher than 140°. • The highly hydrophobic MDF shows great resistance to dust and water drop impacting. Abstract We proposed a simple and useful one-step spray coating method to protect MDF panels against physical and mechanical damages commonly presented in indoor real-life conditions. Highly hydrophobic surfaces were designed by TMCS (trimethylchlorosilane)-SiO 2 nanoparticles deposition on MDF panels as a function of concentration of solution (0.1 and 0.3%) and number of cycles (10, 20 and 30 times). The formation of TMCS-SiO 2 coating on MDF surface was investigated by scanning electron microscopy with energy dispersive spectroscopy (SEM/EDS), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), attenuated total reflectance with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and time-dependent apparent contact angle (WCA). Water drop impacting, dust impacting, and tape-peeling tests were conducted to simulate real-condition damages on MDF surfaces and to investigate the durability of highly hydrophobic coating. The coated MDF panels showed apparent water contact angle exceeding 140° with an interesting time-dependent stability and ability to roll-off, especially because the hydrophobicity of TMCS and hierarchical structure self-organized by spherical SiO 2 nanoparticles. This rougher surface and presence of alkyl groups provide physical and mechanical durability of MDF panels even after water drop and dust impact tests, and tape-peeling up to five cycles. Therefore, this facile one-step MDF coating can be an effective, stable and mechanically durable alternative to protect MDF in undesirable real-life conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This paper addresses a circular economy strategy for the medium density fiberboard (MDF) industry by effectively recycling fibers from MDF residues as raw materials, additionally reducing waste discharge, preserving the ecological environment, saving the wooden resources, and relieving the shortage of raw materials. The work specifically discussed the characteristics and bonding properties of the recycled fibers from the MDF offcuts by the cooking and beating method. The morphology of the recycled fibers was compared with that of the virgin fibers, and then the chemical characteristics of the recycled fibers were analyzed with XPS. Finally, the bonding properties between the recycled fibers and some virgin fibers were compared. The results showed that the fiber length of the recycled fibers is about 12% shorter than that of the virgin fibers and the percentage of shorter fibers (≤0.68 mm) is higher for the former than the latter, in addition, the broken ends ratio of the recycled fibers is 17% higher than that of the virgin fibers, while there is no significant difference in the fiber width and its distribution. SEM and XPS characterizations confirmed that there are some cured UF resin on the surface of the recycled fibers. The MOE, MOR, and IB of the recycled MDF is 5, 10 and 11% respectively lower than those of the fresh MDF manufactured with the virgin fiber, but its TS is 12% lower than that of the fresh MDF, this means that the recycled fiber MDF is more dimensionally stable and water resistant. Highlights • Fibers were recycled from medium density fiberboard offcuts by cooking and beating. • Morphology and chemical characteristics of recycled fibers were thoroughly examined. • Recycled fibers were more dimensionally stable and water resistant than new fibers. • Economic benefit of implementing the proposed fiber recycling process was analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a confidence set-based computational method of minimal detectable fault (MDF) based on the confidence set-separation condition between the healthy and faulty residual sets for discrete linear time-invariant systems. The state-estimation-error dynamics for the analysis of MDF under hybrid random and bounded uncertainties is divided into two sub-dynamics. The first sub-dynamics is only affected by the bounded uncertainties. Under the precondition of Schur stability, an outer-approximation of minimal robust positively invariant set with any given precision is obtained. While the second sub-dynamics is only affected by the random uncertainties following the Gaussian distributions. It is proved that the behavior of the second sub-dynamics at steady stage also follows a certain Gaussian distribution, which can be bounded by confidence zonotopes given a proper confidence level. MDF for actuator and sensor faults can be obtained by solving a non-convex optimization problem to minimize the magnitude of fault subjected to the residual set-separation constraints, which is equivalent to compute a distance from the origin to hyperplane along a fixed direction by exploiting the geometric property. At the end of this paper, a two-link manipulator model and a vehicle model are used to verify the effectiveness of our proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, graphene oxide (GO) and ethylenediamine-functionalized graphene oxide (EDA-GO) materials were used as a multifunction additive in a UF resin to test the relevant effects on the release of formaldehyde from medium density fiberboard (MDF). The GO was synthesized from graphite using the modified hummers method. Then, the as-synthesized GO was functionalized with ethylenediamine (EDA). The as-synthesized and modified nanomaterials were characterized by XRD, Raman Spectroscopy, AFM, and SEM-EDS techniques. These tests confirmed that the nanomaterials were of the required quality, and they were added to the resin to make the relevant panels. After making the boards, they were tested to determine their physical and mechanical properties, as well as formaldehyde emission based on relevant standards. Modulus of elasticity and formaldehyde emission reduction of the EDA-GO 3 -treated MDF panel were with the highest values. On the contrary, the higher performance of GO than that of EDA-GO was observed in a thermal property (t 100°C). Microstructure and polar increase in the graphite planes network, due to oxidation, may be considered for its GO effects. Amino-functionalization of graphene oxide planes is suggested as the cause of the minimum formaldehyde emission and the maximum modulus of elasticity in the EDA-GO-incorporated MDF board since resin reaction sites with formaldehyde were enhanced by increasing the amine group content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The dynamic stability of the circular saw blade determines whether the sawing process can smoothly proceed. The sawing heat significantly affects the dynamic stability of the circular saw blade. This study proposes a sawing heat simulation method which allows to analyze the temperature, stress, and natural frequency of a blade sawing medium density fiberboard (MDF). The edge temperature of the saw blade in high-speed cutting is higher than that in low-speed cutting, which leads to the formation of a large temperature gradient and reduces the natural frequency of the saw blade. However, the centrifugal stress more significantly increases the natural frequency during high-speed cutting, the saw blade still has better dynamic stability than during low-speed cutting. The simulated saw blade temperature field and static natural frequency are consistent with the experimental results, which validates the proposed method. The proposed model allows to predict the saw blade temperature distributions and to effectively set the sawing parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a way of reducing the formaldehyde emission and improving the properties of medium density fiberboard (MDF), this study investigated the effects of nanoclay and modified nanoclay with 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APTES) and l -Lysine (Lys) on the MDF. The XRD, FTIR, and CHN anaLyses showed that nanoclay was successfully modified with APTES and Lys. 1.5, 2, and 2.5% of nanoclay and modified nanoclay were added into UF resin (based on the dry weight), and the mixtures were used to produce MDF. Changes in formaldehyde emissions were determined by the desiccator method. In addition, the modulus of rupture (MOR), modulus of elasticity (MOE), internal bonding (IB), thickness swelling (TS), and water absorption (WA) of the boards were measured. The results showed that adding nanoclay (5–25%) and modified nanoclay with APTES (42–61%) and Lys (38–50%) reduced formaldehyde emission. Meanwhile, the mechanical and physical properties of the boards also improved by adding nanoclay and modified nanoclay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, smoke suppression of Si-Al mesoporous structure on medium density fiberboard (MDF) was investigated by cone calorimeter test (CCT), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and fourier transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR). The CCT results show that the Si-Al mesoporous structure can effectively decrease heat release rate (HRR), total heat release (THR), smoke production rate (SPR), total smoke production (TSP), smoke rate (SR), CO and CO 2 concentration, etc. Particularly, the SR curves of MDF present that Si-Al mesoporous structure are considered to be a filter, which can net the solid particles and volatile flammable components in the smoke and fix onto wood fiber. Remarkably, the CO and CO 2 concentration curves of MDF indicate that the Si-Al mesoporous structure has an excellent adsorption property, which can rapidly absorb CO and CO 2 that generated in wood combustion process. On the other hand, the FTIR and TGA results reveal that the Si-Al mesoporous structure can significantly improve the structure of char residue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the pyrolysis of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) as a potential waste management solution. Thermal behaviour of MDF was analysed via TG/DSC. The primary decomposition step occurred between 190 °C and 425 °C. Evolved gaseous products over this step were evaluated by a FTIR spectrometer coupled with TGA. Peaks for phenolic, alcohols and aldehydes were detected at the maximum decomposition temperature. Py-GC/MS analysis revealed phenols, ketones and cyclic compounds as the primary non-condensable pyrolysis products. The kinetics of pyrolysis were investigated by the widely applied Distributed Activation Energy Model, resulting in an average activation energy and pre-exponential factor of 127.40 kJ mol −1 and 8.4E+11. The results of this study suggest that pyrolyzing MDF could potentially provide renewable fuels and prevent environmental problems related with MDF disposal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A highly efficient method was developed for preparing chitosan-lignin wood adhesives with high performance using chitosan and ammonium lignosulfonate as main raw material and performance of the resulting adhesives was evaluated by manufacturing medium density fiberboard (MDF). The effects of chitosan-lignin adhesive content and lignin/chitosan weight ratio on the physical and mechanical properties of MDF and the optimal method to prepare and utilize chitosan-lignin wood adhesives were investigated. The results indicated that chitosan had important effects on bonding strength and water resistance and the performance of chitosan-lignin adhesive improved significantly with the optimal method: chitosan-lignin adhesive content of 6% and lignin/chitosan weight ratio of 1:2. The fractures in the bonded joints and the chitosan-lignin adhesive were analyzed via scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The SEM image analysis verified the high performance of the chitosan-lignin adhesive. The FTIR analysis indicated that interactions due to hydrogen bonding between chitosan and lignin occurred. The results of thermal stability analysis validated this and showed that the thermal stability of the interactions was not high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corner fires are known to spread more intensely in comparison with single wall fires. In view of the challenges associated with prediction of such fire behavior, the fire growth in a corner configuration of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) panels is investigated to provide a set of experimental data, performing Single Burning Item (SBI) tests. First, though, test results with inert calcium silicate panels are discussed for three values of HRR (10, 30 and 55 kW), allowing to address the main physics involved. The experimental data for 30 kW, the default SBI HRR, is used for detailed discussion of the observations. The SBI testing methodology, materials, and set-up are described. The results of total Heat Release Rates (HRR) and Smoke Production Rates (SPR), as well as the panel temperatures and total heat fluxes at several characteristic locations are analyzed. Moreover, the puffing frequency of the corner fire is characterized thanks to Video Fire Analysis (VFA) of the experimental footage. Additionally, flame heights are discussed, including the concept of mirroring. A new correlation for mean flame height is introduced, using the hypotenuse of the triangle as characteristic length for entrainment of air into the fire plume, and expressing that the flame height increases proportional to the square root of the fire heat release rate. The 30 kW propane burner of the standard SBI test is shown to feature a mean flame height of nearly 0.9 m and a puffing frequency of 2  ±  0.3 Hz, and an average total heat flux exceeding 44 kW/m 2 near the burner early on in the test. The completeness of the dataset is expected to be useful for testing and development of CFD codes for corner fire scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Having explained the characteristics of a corner fire in the configuration of Single Burning Item (SBI) test in Part I [1], the results of three flame spread experiments conducted with Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) panels are discussed. The fire growth, in terms of flame heights and spread, is examined from two different angles visually and through Video Fire Analysis (VFA) with a flame detection algorithm. Total Heat Release Rates (HRR) and Smoke Production Rates (SPR), as well as total heat fluxes at several characteristic locations, are presented. Moreover, temperature evolutions are discussed for multiple locations and through the thickness of the panels. Also the backside temperatures, important as boundary condition for numerical simulations, are reported. The corner fire tests with MDF panels yield an average peak HRR of 151 kW and an average total heat flux exceeding 60 kW/m 2 close to the burner, with average flame heights surpassing 1.5 m in about 60 s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A series of 1:20 small-scale tunnel experiments have been carried out as a scaled down representation of a previously undertaken large-scale heavy goods vehicle (HGV) cargo load tunnel fire experiment. The small-scale tunnel has dimensions of 0.365 m (W) × 0.260 m (H) × 11.9 m (L) and a maximum forced ventilation velocity of 0.68 m/s is adopted corresponding to the velocity of 3 m/s used at large-scale. A gas burner and cribs constructed of medium density fireboard (MDF) have been used as the fuel sources with temperatures, heat release rate (HRR) and velocity data recorded in the small-scale tunnel experiments. A scaled down HRR curve derived from the large-scale experiment was reproduced by the gas burner. Temperatures in the small-scale gas burner experiment can effectively represent those at large-scale during the fire growth and decay stages although measurements at the fully developed stage are lower than the results from the large-scale tunnel experiment. In the small-scale tunnel experiments using the cribs time delays are applied to correct the recorded data in order to obtain the instantaneous HRR. Temperature profile comparisons between the small-scale crib and large-scale HGV cargo load experiments are not applicable since the HRR curves from the crib experiments only approximately reproduce the large-scale HRR profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) torch has been designed for the treatment of several wood species and composites. This paper presents some results obtained onto Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) samples. The aim of the treatments was to improve their wetting properties. Tests made before and after treatments showed improvements of surface wetting and have been correlated with surface chemical composition. It also has been shown that the treatment effect is ephemeral. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High levels of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and extremes of Relative Humidity (RH) commonly reduce indoor air quality with associated negative effects on human health and wellbeing. Interior materials are known to be one of the main contributors to poor indoor air quality. Notwithstanding, they can also act as a sink for airborne pollutants and excess moisture through adsorption. In this paper, we evaluate the ability of Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) modified with walnut shell to regulate RH, toluene, limonene, dodecane and formaldehyde. The physicochemical properties, including molecular size/shape, vapour pressure, polarity and boiling point of VOCs allowed them to represent a range of pollutants. Adsorption and desorption behaviour of MDF containing up to 15% walnut shell was evaluated in 2-L environmental chambers under dynamic conditions at 23 °C and 50% RH. The porous microstructure of the MDF and walnut shell and their chemical composition were analysed using SEM, XRD and FTIR. Compared to a control panel, walnut shell additions showed an improved ability to remove VOCs and formaldehyde from the indoor air and buffer humidity. Of particular significance was the irreversible sink effect of formaldehyde and dodecane. This was attributed to the porous surface of walnut shell increasing the specific surface area of the panel and thus its adsorption capacity. The improved capacity of buffer humidity also increased the ability to adsorb water soluble VOCs such as formaldehyde. This research provides for the first time significant evidence that walnut shell modified MDF can improve indoor air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing methods for accurate brain tumor (BT) segmentation based on homogeneous datasets show significant performance degradation in actual clinical applications and lacked heterogeneous data analysis. To address these issues, we designed a deep learning-based multiscale dilated features up-sampling network (MDFU-Net) for accurate BT segmentation from heterogeneous brain data. Our method primarily uses the strength of multiscale dilated features (MDF) inside the encoder module to improve the segmentation performance. For the final segmentation, a simple yet effective decoder module is designed to process the dense spatial MDF. For experiments, our MDFU-Net is trained on one dataset and tested with another dataset in a heterogeneous environment, showing quantitative results of the Dice similarity coefficient (DC) of 62.66%, intersection over union (IoU) of 56.96%, specificity (Spe) of 99.29%, and sensitivity (Sen) of 51.98%, which were higher than those of the state-of-the-art methods. There are several reasons for the lower values of the evaluation metrics of the heterogeneous dataset, including the change in characteristics of different MRI modalities, the presence of minor lesions, and a highly imbalanced dataset. Moreover, the experimental results for a homogeneous dataset showed that our MDFU-Net achieved a DC of 82.96%, IoU of 74.94%, Spe of 99.89%, and Sen of 68.05%, which were also higher than those of the state-of-the-art methods. Our system, which is based on heterogeneous brain data as well as homogeneous brain data, can be advantageous to radiologists and medical experts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective of this study is to determine the parameters such as spindle speed, feed rate and wood material on surface quality. Medium density fiberboard (MDF), Beech ( Fagus orientalis L.) and Ayous ( Triplochiton scleroxylon ) were selected for the study. Wood specimens were prepared using different values of spindle speed and feed rate. Surface roughness ( R a ) values of specimens were measured by employing stylus type of equipment and laser based robotic measurement system. Laser based robotic measurements were obtained by Matlab software. The objective of the techniques were to (1) determine the significant parameters on wood surface quality (2) analyze the main and interaction effects in the CNC cutting process (3) compare the data from the robotic system with the stylus type of equipment. As the result of this study, spindle speed of 18,000 rpm and feed rate of 2 m/min resulted with minimum surface roughness values of MDF, Ayous and Beech wood for laser and stylus techniques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulose fibers have been successfully isolated from medium density fiberboards (MDFs) by sodium chlorite oxidation-potassium hydroxide (NaClO 2 -KOH) leaching process, at 37.6% yield, comparable to the 39.3% and 37.3% cellulose fibers from eucalyptus and eucalyptus with 12% cured urea-formaldehyde (UF) resin, respectively. At the same sulfuric acid hydrolysis conditions (65% H 2 SO 4 , 60 °C and 30 min), MDF cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) were produced at 27.5% yield, similar to 27.4% of CNC yield from eucalyptus with UF resin, but less than 31.2% yield from eucalyptus. MDF CNCs were slightly thicker in lateral dimension (16.8 ± 8.6 nm), less crystalline (59% CrI), and surface esterificated (0.045 mmol/g sulfate/CNC) than eucalyptus CNCs (11.6 ± 3.9 nm, 75% CrI, 0.060 mmol/g) and CNCs from eucalyptus with UF resin (14.9 ± 9.1 nm, 65% CrI, 0.046 mmol/g). All CNCs were free of UF resin and thermal stable. The residual resin in cellulose pulps hydrolyzed completely during the sulfuric acid treatment and contributed to the unique properties of CNCs. Therefore, CNCs derived from MDF are comparable to CNC from wood and promising for expanded applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research identified suitable conditions to fabricate pulp fibers for paperboards and medium density fiberboards (MDF) from the bagasse of sugarcane ( Saccharum officinarum ) and the empty fruit bunch (EFB) of oil palm ( Elaeis guineensis ). First, the effects of chemical pretreatments at 121 °C and pressurized refining under steaming conditions were studied in regards to the thermomechanical pulps. The optimal conditions to achieve the highest paper strength properties of the EFB pulp involved pretreatment with 2% NaOH for 2 h and refining at 0.7 MPa of pressure at 165 °C. The sugarcane bagasse (SB) pulp properties could not be improved by chemical pretreatment, while the EFB pulp properties clearly benefited from such pretreatment. Second, the effects of dry and wet blowing methods after pressurized refining on the fiber properties were examined. The strength properties of the half-dried SB and EFB pulps with 55% solid content were slightly higher than those of their wet counterparts. These results clearly suggest that SB and EFB can be promising refined fibers for paperboard and MDF preparation. Third, MDF was made from dried EFB refined fibers with 92% solid content by dry processing, and suitable properties for actual use were obtained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brazil is one of the largest producers of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) in the world, and also the MDF has the highest domestic consumption and production rate in the country. MDF applications are highlighted into residential and commercial furniture design and also a wide participation in the building sector. This study aimed to propose ways of improving the environmental cradle-to-gate life-cycle of one cubic meter MDF panel by means of a life-cycle assessment (LCA) study. Complying with requirements of ISO 14040 and 14,044 standards, different MDF manufacturing scenarios were modelled using Umberto® v.5.6 software and the Ecoinvent v.2.2 life-cycle inventory (LCI) database for the Brazilian context. Environmental and human health impacts were assessed by using the CML (2001) and USEtox (2008) methods. The evaluated impact categories were: acidification, global warming, ozone layer depletion, abiotic resource depletion, photochemical formation of tropospheric ozone, ecotoxicity, eutrophication and human toxicity. Results identified the following hotspots: gas consumption at the thermal plant, urea-formaldehyde resin, power consumption, wood chip consumption and wood chip transportation to the plant. The improvement scenario proposals comprised the following actions: eliminate natural gas consumption at the thermal plant, reduce electrical power consumption, reduce or replace urea-formaldehyde resin consumption, reduce wood consumption and minimize the distance to wood chip suppliers. The proposed actions were analysed to verify the influence of each action on the set of impact categories. Among the results, it can be noted that a joint action of the proposed improvements can result in a total reduction of up to 38.5% of impacts to OD, 34.4% to AD, 31.2% to ET, and 30.4% to HT. Finally, MDF was compared with particleboard production in Brazil, and additional opportunities to improve the MDF environmental profile were identified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LC–MS has been a widely used analytical technique for identification of natural compounds. However, sophisticated and laborious data analysis is required to identify chemical components, especially new compounds, from a large LC–MS dataset. The aim of this study is to develop an integrated data-mining strategy that combines molecular networking (MN), in-house polygonal mass defect filtering (MDF), and diagnostic fragment ion filtering (DFIF) to identify phytochemicals in Stephania tetrandra based on LC–MS data. S. tetrandra samples were prepared by matrix solid-phase dispersion extraction methods and then raw MS spectra were acquired using LC–QTOF–MS/MS. MN and in-house polygonal MDF classified the compounds roughly. Modified DFIF were then used in succession to place each spectrum into a specific class. Finally, the exact structures were deduced by fragmentation pathways and related botanical biogenesis, with the help of the narrowed classification from MN and MDF. The total workflow was a combination of data filtering and identification methods for rapid characterization of known compounds (dereplication) and discovery of new compounds. Consequently, 144 compounds were identified or tentatively identified in the aerial parts and roots of S. tetrandra , including 11 potentially new compounds and 63 compounds first identified in this species. Among 144 compounds, 61 were from the aerial parts exclusively, 8 were from the roots exclusively, and 75 were found in both parts. Furthermore, two new biflavonoids were isolated with the guide of LC–MS analysis and structurally elucidated by spectroscopic methods. In conclusion, the proposed data-mining strategy based on LC–MS can be used to profile chemical constituents with high efficiency and guide the isolation of new compounds from medicinal plants. The comparison of the components of the aerial parts and roots of S. tetrandra would be helpful for the rational utilization of the medicinal plant. [Display omitted] • An integrated strategy based on LC–MS was developed to identify the phytochemicals. • The integrated strategy was used to profile the chemicals in Stephania tetrandra. • A total of 144 compounds were identified or tentatively identified in S. tetrandra. • Eleven potentially new compounds were tentatively identified in this species. • Two new biflavonoids were isolated and structurally elucidated by NMR analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Rehabilitation motion data of 8 healthy subjects were acquired. • Multiple decomposition feature preserved more complete information of sEMG. • Bidirectional mechanism of BiLSTM alleviated the asynchrony of data. In human-robot interaction systems oriented to rehabilitation training, surface electromyogram (sEMG)-based human motion intention recognition has essential application value. Compared with discrete motion classification, continuous motion estimation is more natural, fast, and accurate. However, due to the non-stability, non-linearity, and strong randomness of sEMG, the effective motion information of sEMG is often lost when extracting the time-domain features of sEMG, and there are also cases where sEMG and joint angle data are not completely synchronized in practical applications, all of which affect the performance of continuous motion estimation. To solve the above problems, this paper firstly proposed a multiple decomposition feature (MDF) representation method based on variational mode decomposition (VMD) and wavelet packet transform (WPT), which can extract more hidden motion information of sEMG from multiple frequency scales; then introduced a bi-directional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) network to establish the regression model between sEMG and joint angle to deal with the incomplete synchronization problem between the input and output data. The experimental results showed that the multiple decomposition feature and the BiLSTM network regression model used in this paper could significantly improve the estimation performance in continuous motion estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work investigates the adhesion properties of medium density fiberboard (MDF) panel surfaces treated by an argon plasma at two power levels (50 and 150 W) and four glow discharge times (10, 40, 60 and 120 s) and then coated with an acrylic emulsion. Wettability parameters and film formation kinetics were investigated by water apparent contact angle and diffusing wave spectroscopy, respectively. Pull-off strength was used to determine coating/wood adhesion. The aging effect of 300-days in storage at ambient conditions was examined by apparent contact angle measurements. The wettability of the MDF surface was enhanced significantly - especially at the 150 W power level – that improves coating/wood adhesion. A film formation process occurred in shorter time for plasma treated samples due to the faster motion of particles. MDF panels partially recovered their natural hydrophobicity in the first ten days of storage. Nevertheless, higher levels of power and time of glow discharge were able to slow down the aging effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multi-layer Stream Mapping (MSM) comprehends a new framework for the performance assessment of complex systems. The MSM was developed for multi-domain analysis in an original manner to assess if resources, process and other domains are used to their full potential. The costs related with misuses/inefficiency situations are also quantified and integrated in a simplified manner. A real case study applying the MSM method is validated through application to a Medium Density Fibreboard (MDF) finishing line. For this study all the resources and materials consumed in each unit process where considered. The overall efficiency was assessed and improvements actions were evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

VVOCs with a retention range below C 6 have become one of the main indoor pollutants that negatively affect human health. Most studies have focused on the emission of VOCs from furniture and decorative materials, seldom consider VVOCs. To close this gap, a 15-L environmental chamber, combined with multi-absorbent tube, was used for gas sampling. Emissions of VVOCs and odors released from decorative medium density fiberboard (MDF) were measured using gas chromatography–mass spectrometry and olfactometry detection. The results demonstrated that multi-absorbent tubes had excellent capture capacity for low-molecular-weight VVOCs. Thickness and decorative materials had conspicuous effects on VVOCs and odor emissions. The total VVOCs (TVVOC) from 18-mm decorative MDF was consistently higher than that of 8-mm samples. The major VVOCs from these decorative MDF were alcohols, esters and ketones, which were the major odor contributors with high odor intensity values. VVOCs concentration generally increased as thickness increased, but it decreased after decorative treatment. Fruity and alcohol-like were the main odor impressions of 8-mm MDF, whereas sweet and fruity were the major odor impressions of 8-mm polyvinyl chloride decorative MDF (PVC-MDF) and melamine impregnated paper decorative MDF (MI-MDF). Fruity was the main odor impression of 18-mm decorative MDF. The overall odor intensity increased and the major odor impression may differ when thickness was changed. Both the MI and the PVC decorative materials blocked some odor emissions but did so to a greater extent with the former than with the latter. Identification and analysis of the composition of VVOCs can supplement a database structure network of volatile pollutants and establish a novel and feasible method to investigate low-molecular-weight substances from wooden materials and their products. [Display omitted] • The VVOCs and odors emitted from decorative MDF were first measured. • Multi-sorbent tubes had excellent adsorption and capture capacity for low-molecular-weight VVOCs. • Emission of VVOCs and odors was affected by thickness and decorative materials. • The powerful odor-contributing substances were alcohol, ketone, and ester VVOCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In view of semantic counterfeiting characteristics of phishing websites and their multi-scale composition, this paper fully considers the semantic information of different scales, and proposes three semantic-based phishing detection models at different depths using various deep learning methods. The proposed three models are Multi-scale Data-layer Fusion (MDF) model, Multi-scale Feature-layer Fusion (MFF) model and Multi-scale In-depth Fusion(MIF) model. Experimental results on a constructed complex dataset show that the three models all have good recognition capabilities and the MIF model achieves the best performance on a complex dataset, with an F1-Measure of 0.9830, AUC value of 0.9993 and a false positive rate of 0.0047. Then with further comparison with both visual and text methods and an active discovery experiment lasting for 6 months with 3016 phishing websites detected in the real network environment, it is found that the proposed model is both competitive and practical for real detection scenarios. • Semantic information at different scales is mined and fused at different depths. • Three semantic-based deep phishing detection models are proposed. • Various comparative experiments are carried out and prove the effectiveness. • A phishing discovery experiment in reality detected 3016 phishing websites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this work was to measure the impact of a Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) plasma treatment (DBD) on the adhesion properties of the most common wood-based materials used in industry, namely particle boards and medium density fiberboard (MDF). Samples made of particle board and MDF were finished with melamine foil or water-based painting. Before the finishing procedure, contact angles were measured and work of adhesion values calculated. Additionally, a dynamic wettability model was used to make comparison regards to liquid penetration and spreading during the contact angle measurement. The painted work samples were examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) combined with energy dispersive x-ray (EDS) analysis to assess the depth of paint penetration. With both kinds of material (MDF and particleboard), pull-off tests were also conducted. The results demonstrated significant improvements in the wettability properties of both particleboard and MDF. However, SEM analysis showed no increase in paint penetration. Simultaneously, pull-off tests turned out unsatisfactory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a method to automatically design bending-active structures, made of wood, whose silhouettes at equilibrium match desired target curves. Our approach is based on the use of a parametric pattern that is regularly laser-cut on the structure and that allows us to locally modulate the bending stiffness of the material. To make the problem tractable, we rely on a two-scale approach where we first compute the mapping between the average mechanical properties of periodically laser-cut samples of mdf wood, treated here as metamaterials , and the stiffness parameters of a reduced 2D model; then, given an input target shape, we automatically select the parameters of this reduced model that give us the desired silhouette profile. We validate our method both numerically and experimentally by fabricating a number of full scale structures of varied target shapes. [Display omitted] • Parametric family of laser-cut metamaterials with tunable bending capabilities. • Homogenization method for Bending properties of metamaterials. • Two-scale algorithm for the inverse design of bending-active structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]