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Abstract: Aims: We evaluated the effects of Bacillus anthracis surrogates, low surface concentrations, surface materials and assay methods on false‐negative rate (FNR) and limit of detection (LOD95) for recovering Bacillus spores using a macrofoam‐swab sampling procedure. Methods and Results: Bacillus anthracis Sterne or Bacillus atrophaeus Nakamura spores were deposited over a range of low target concentrations (2–500 per coupon) onto glass, stainless steel, vinyl tile and plastic. Samples were assayed using a modified Rapid Viability‐PCR (mRV‐PCR) method and the traditional plate culture method to obtain FNR and LOD95 results. Conclusions: Mean FNRs tended to be lower for mRV‐PCR compared to culturing, and increased as spore concentration decreased for all surface materials. Surface material, but not B. anthracis surrogate, influenced FNRs with the mRV‐PCR method. The mRV‐PCR LOD95 was lowest for glass and highest for vinyl tile. LOD95 values overall were lower for mRV‐PCR than for the culture method. Significance and Impact of Study: This study adds to the limited data on FNR and LOD95 for mRV‐PCR and culturing methods with low concentrations of B. anthracis sampled from various surface materials by the CDC macrofoam‐swab method. These are key inputs for planning characterization and clearance studies for low contamination levels of B. anthracis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Discusses the application of routine techniques of diffuse reflectance spectroscopy to establish a systematic procedure for global analysis of the in situ reflectance from coastal water. Estimation of volume scattering and absorption coefficients; General optical properties of coastal water; Infrared properties of bulk reflectance.

This research on human body dimensions offers data for creating comfortable and efficient workplaces. Focusing on Slovak university students (2003-2023) as a representation of the adult population, the study measured 25 key anthropometric dimensions. 11355 respondents (5219 women and 6136 men) were selected for the analysis. This data, analyzed through descriptive statistics, empowers designers to tailor work environments and their elements to individual needs, minimizing worker fatigue and maximizing productivity. The findings are applicable across various design fields: Informing dimensions and functionalities of tools, workspaces, and controls in industrial design and guiding short- and long-term product development in consumer product design. By analyzing future workforce trends through university students, this research helps ensure workplace designs remain relevant and ergonomically sound., (© 2024 The Author(s).)

Mycelium-based composites (MBCs) are biomaterials with scientifically proven potential to improve sustainability in construction. Although mycelium-based products are not entirely new, their use in engineering presents challenges due to the inherent properties of this fungal material. This study investigated professional architects' and interior designers' perceptions of MBCs, focusing on familiarity, aesthetic appeal, and willingness to use. The first phase of the survey explored respondents' views on material-related ecological design principles. In the second phase, respondents evaluated ten small architectural objects crafted from MBCs, focusing on form, detail, and visual appeal. The last phase of the survey measured their interest in using mycelium in their design work. The results revealed that MBCs were relatively unknown among the surveyed professionals; only every second respondent knew this material. Despite this, 90% found MBCs visually appealing after seeing the examples. Interestingly, the natural, unprocessed appearance of the material was assessed as less aesthetically pleasing, with thermal treatment improving its perceived value. Architects were more receptive to using MBCs in their professional projects for customers than for personal use. This observation points to a 'double standard': professional architects are more open to using MBCs in projects not intended for their own use., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Using a wheelchair over uneven terrain generates vibrations of the human body. These vibrations result from mechanical energy impulses transferred from the ground through the wheelchair components to the user's body, which may negatively affect the quality of the wheelchair use and the user's health. This energy can be dissipated through the structure of the wheelchair frame, such as polymer and carbon fiber composites. This article aims to compare a wheelchair with an aluminum alloy frame and a carbon fiber frame in terms of reducing kinematic excitation acting on the user's body. Three wheelchairs were used in the study, one with an aluminum alloy frame (reference) and two innovative ones with composite frames. The user was sitting in the tested wheelchairs and had an accelerometer attached to their forehead. The vibrations were generated by applying impulses to the rear wheels of the wheelchair. The obtained results were analyzed and compared, especially regarding differences in the damping decrement. The research shows that using modern materials in the wheelchair frame has a beneficial effect on vibration damping. Although the frame structure and material did not significantly impact the reduction in the acceleration vector, the material and geometry had a beneficial effect on the short dissipation time of the mechanical energy generated by the kinematic excitation. Research has shown that modern construction materials, especially carbon fiber-reinforced composites, may be an alternative to traditional wheelchair suspension modules, effectively damping vibrations.

Mycelium-based composites (MBCs) are alternative biopolymers for designing sustainable furniture and other interior elements. These innovative biocomposites have many ecological advantages but present a new challenge in aesthetics and human product acceptance. Grown products, made using living mycelium and lignocellulosic substrates, are porous, have irregular surfaces and have irregular coloring. The natural origin of these types of materials and the fear of fungus can be a challenge. This research investigated the level of human acceptance of the new material. Respondents were students of architecture who can be considered as people involved in interior design and competent in the design field. Research has been performed on the authors' prototype products made from MBCs. Three complementary consumer tests were performed. The obtained results measured the human reactions and demonstrated to which extents products made of MBCs were "likeable" and their nonobvious aesthetics were acceptable to the public. The results showed that MBC materials generally had a positive or not-negative assessment. The responses after the pairwise comparison of the MBC with wall cladding samples pointed out the advantage of ceramic reference material above the MBC based on an overall assessment. The respondents also believed that the chamotte clay cladding would be easier to fit into the aesthetics of a modern interior and would in better accordance with its style. Although the MBC was less visually appealing, the respondents nevertheless found it more interesting, original, and environmentally friendly. The experiments suggested that the respondents had double standards regarding MBCs. MBCs were generally accepted as ecological, but not in their own homes. All of these results support current and future applications of MBCs for manufacturing items where enhanced aesthetics are required.

Swelling and shrinkage anisotropy affect the susceptibility to an assembly of wooden elements by changing designed clearances or interference fits. This work described the new method to measure mounting holes' moisture-induced shape instability and its verification using three sets of twin samples made of Scots pinewood. Each set of samples contained a pair with different grain patterns. All samples were conditioned under reference conditions (relative air humidity-RH = 60% and temperature 20 °C), and their moisture content (MC) reached equilibrium (10.7 ± 0.1%). On the side of each sample, the seven mounting holes of 12 mm in diameter were drilled. Immediately after drilling, Set 1 was used to measure the effective hole diameter with 15 cylindrical plug-gauges with diameters of 0.05 mm step, while Set 2 and Set 3 were separately re-seasoned by six months in two extreme conditions. Set 2 was conditioned with air at 85% RH (reached an equilibrium MC of 16.6 ± 0.5%), while Set 3 was exposed to air at 35% RH (reached an equilibrium MC of 7.6 ± 0.1%). Results of the plug gauge tests highlighted that holes in the samples subjected to swelling (Set 2) increased an effective diameter in the range of 12.2-12.3 mm (1.7-2.5%), while samples subjected to shrinking (Set 3) reduced the effective diameter to 11.9-11.95 mm (0.8-0.4%). To accurately reproduce the complex shape of the deformation, gypsum casts of holes were made. The 3D optical scanning method was used to read the gypsum casts' shape and dimensions. The 3D surface map of deviations analysis provided more detailed information than the plug-gauge test results. Both the shrinking and swelling of the samples changed the shapes and sizes of the holes, but shrinking reduced the effective diameter of the hole more than swelling increased it. The moisture-induced changes in the shape of holes are complex: the holes ovalized with a different range, depending on the wood grain pattern and hole depth, and were slightly extended in diameter at the bottom. Our study provides a new way to measure 3D hole initial shape changes in wooden elements during desorption and absorption.

The thermal treatment of wood can improve the appearance of the wood product's surface, its dimensional stability, and resistance to fungal attacks. However, the heat treatment changes the technological properties of wood, making it a new engineering material. This work investigates the effect of the low-thermal treatment of birch wood ( Betula pendula Roth.), European beech wood ( Fagus sylvatica L.), and alder wood ( Alnus glutinosa L.) on the fine dust particles creation during woodworking. The samples of thermally treated wood with temperatures commonly used for the change of wood colour (105, 125, and 135 °C) were compared with reference samples made of natural wood. All 12 variants of the tested woods were milled using the 5-axis CNC machining center (20 mm diamond cutter, rotational speed 18,000 rev·min -1 , the depth of cut 3 mm, feed rates of 2, 4 and 6 m∙min -1 ). A sieving analysis method allowed measuring the dust particle size distributions in all dust samples. The experiment's result analysis points out that wood type, thermal treatment, and feed rate meaningfully affect the size distribution of dust particles. Compared to birch wood and beech wood, the milling of alder wood samples created a much higher content of the finest dust particles, with particle sizes smaller than 0.032 mm. Increased temperatures in thermal treatment increase the share of fine dust particles with sizes smaller than 0.125 mm, compared to wood in its natural state. Milling with a lower feed rate (2 m·min -1 ) creates finer dust than processing with higher feed rates (4 and 6 m·min -1 ). Generally, the milling of alder in a natural or thermally treated state is a source of fine dust particles, particularly at low feed speed-rate milling, compared to birch and beech wood. In general, these results indicate that the low temperature thermal treatment parameters attribute new technological properties to all thermally modified types of wood tested.

General principles derived from anatomical studies of human body sizes should be applied to chair designs. Chairs can be designed for a specific user or a particular group of users. Universal chairs for public spaces should be comfortable for the largest possible group of users and should not be adjustable, such as office chairs. However, the fundamental problem is that the anthropometric data available in the literature either come from many years ago and are out of date or do not provide a complete set of all the dimensional parameters of a sitting human body position. This article proposes a way to design chair dimensions solely based on the height range of the intended chair users. For this purpose, based on literature data, the main structural dimensions of the chair were assigned to the appropriate anthropometric body measurements. Furthermore, calculated average body proportions for the adult population overcome the incompleteness, outdated and burdensome access to anthropometric data and link the main chair design dimensions to one easily accessible anthropometric parameter: human height. This is achieved by seven equations describing the dimensional relations between the chair's essential design dimensions and human height or even a height range. The result of the study is a method of determining the optimal functional dimensions of a chair for a chosen range of sizes of its future users based only on users' height range. Limitations of the presented method: the calculated body proportions are correct only for people with a standard body proportion characteristic of adults, i.e., they exclude children and adolescents up to 20 years of age, seniors, and people with a body mass index exceeding 30.

Domestic cradles are beds that are movable but non-mobile for babies up to five months of age. The "anthropo-mechanical" cradle simulates the physiological movement of the human body. The article reviews scientific literature discussing the impacts of swinging on infants, provides classifications of all currently used cradles due to how the child moves, and briefly describes modern technologies within cradle automation. This made it possible to calculate and propose safe motion parameters within mechatronic cradles. The main conclusions of the article are as follows: (1) the scientific literature reports the beneficial effects of harmonic movement on a child, (2) motion analyses substantiating the classifications of all cradles into six types (tilting, yawing, hammock, Sarong, swing, and surging cradle; the classification criterion included the nature of the cradle movement in relation to the planes and anatomical axes of the child's body), (3) modern technologies allowing for the use of movement with thoughtful parameters, thus, safer for a child, (4) movement within the parameters similar to the motion and speed passively performed by the child in the womb while a mother is walking was considered beneficial and safe, and (5) the use of advanced technology allows for the possibility to devise and create an automatic mechatronic cradle with a child-safe motion. Future innovative anthropo-mechanical cradles that follow physiological human motion parameters can be used safely, with a vertical amplitude ranging from -13 to + 15 mm and a frequency of up to 2 Hz.

Active tourism improves human health and well-being regardless of age or disabilities. The paper analyses and describes current issues concerning the tourism of people with disabilities. The starting point is the currently insufficient availability of tourist offers for individuals with considerable motor dysfunctions. One of the causes for these limitations stems from deficiencies in transport means for people with disabilities. It was found that for a disabled passenger using public transport, it is crucial to consider its accessibility in the context of the entire transport system. Another cause is the limited popularity of innovative, atypical assistive equipment for people with disabilities. Those insights point out that novel assistive technologies need to be developed, as it is necessary to more effectively support the activity of people with disabilities in all areas of life, including tourism, as this enhances their social rehabilitation. This paper indicates the needs and describes and analyses examples of own original, innovative devices supporting the areas mentioned above of activity for people with disabilities. These analyses resulted in developing an algorithm to design innovative equipment, considerably expanding the tourism potential of people with motor disabilities. This design process focuses on the needs of people with disabilities and facilitates the development of novel classes of assistive technologies, thus promoting new areas of activity for all.