Leveraging Spruce Bark Particle Morphology for Enhanced Internal Bonding in Particleboard Production.

The continuous rise in global demand for wood products has led to an increase in prices and a surge in research into alternative resources. As a byproduct of the timber industry, bark has emerged as a promising supplement in particleboard (PB) production. However, its anatomical structure, the presence of extractives, and its inferior mechanical properties complicate the production process, which have not yet been fully overcome at a commercial scale.

ANN Prediction of Laser Power, Cutting Speed, and Number of Cut Annual Rings and Their Influence on Selected Cutting Characteristics of Spruce Wood for CO Laser Processing.

In this work, we focus on the prediction of the influence of CO laser parameters on the kerf properties of cut spruce wood. Laser kerf cutting is mainly characterized by the width of kerf and the width of the heat-affected zone, which depend on the laser power, cutting speed, and structure of the cut wood, represented by the number of cut annual rings. According to the measurement results and ANN prediction results, for lower values of the laser power () and cutting speed (), the effect of annual rings (ARs) is non-negligible.

Multiplex Assays in Allergy Diagnosis: Allergy Explorer 2 versus ImmunoCAP ISAC E112i.

ImmunoCAP ISAC E112i (ISAC) and Allergy Explorer 2 (ALEX) detect specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) reactivity. Both multiplex assays contain molecular allergens and ALEX additionally includes allergen extracts and inhibitors that block the binding of IgE to cross-reacting carbohydrate determinants (CCDs). This study aimed to compare the performance of ISAC and ALEX by determining the IgE reactivity against allergen extracts and/or allergen components and by using qualitative, semiquantitative, and quantitative analyses of all comparable allergen components in sera from 216 participants recruited in South Tyrol/Italy.

Multiple instance learning for digital pathology: A review of the state-of-the-art, limitations & future potential.

Digital whole slides images contain an enormous amount of information providing a strong motivation for the development of automated image analysis tools. Particularly deep neural networks show high potential with respect to various tasks in the field of digital pathology. However, a limitation is given by the fact that typical deep learning algorithms require (manual) annotations in addition to the large amounts of image data, to enable effective training.

Factors Affecting SARS-CoV-2 IgG Production after Vaccination and/or Disease: A Large-Scale Seroprevalence Study.

This study aimed at identifying factors influencing SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibody levels after vaccination and/or infection. Between January 2022 and March 2023, 2000 adults (≥18 years, Salzburg, Austria) participated in this population-based seroprevalence study by providing 3 mL of blood to detect SARS-CoV-2-specific IgG antibodies using an anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG quantitative assay and by completing a self-designed questionnaire including anthropometric factors, vaccination information, and medical history. For 77 of the participants, a time-course study up to 24 weeks post vaccination or quarantine end was performed.

Association of quantitative measures of medial meniscal extrusion with structural and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis progression - Data from the OAI FNIH biomarker study.

Objective: To study the association of quantitative medial meniscal position measures with radiographic and symptomatic knee osteoarthritis (OA) progression over 2-4 years.

Methods: The FNIH OAI Biomarkers study comprised 600 participants in four subgroups: 194 case knees with combined structural (medial minimum joint space width (minJSW) loss ≥0.7 mm) and symptomatic (persistent Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) pain subscale increase ≥9 [0-100 scale]) progression; 200 knees with neither structural nor symptomatic progression; 103 knees with isolated structural and 103 with isolated symptomatic progression.

Placebo effect after visual restitution training: no eye-tracking controlled perimetric improvement after visual border stimulation in late subacute and chronic visual field defects after stroke.

Introduction: A significant number of (RT) paradigms claim to ameliorate visual field loss after stroke by re-activating neuronal connections in the residual visual cortex due to repeated bright light-stimulation at the border of the blind and intact fields. However, the effectiveness of RT has been considered controversial both in science and clinical practice for years. The main points of the controversy are (1) the reliability of perimetric results which may be affected by compensatory eye movements and (2) heterogeneous samples consisting of patients with visual field defects and/or visuospatial neglect.

Emotion-aware music tower blocks (EmoMTB ): an intelligent audiovisual interface for music discovery and recommendation.

Music listening has experienced a sharp increase during the last decade thanks to music streaming and recommendation services. While they offer text-based search functionality and provide recommendation lists of remarkable utility, their typical mode of interaction is unidimensional, i.e.

Subjective experience, self-efficacy, and motivation of professional football referees during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The present multi-study article investigates the subjective experience of professional football (a.k.a.

Holistic Digitalization of the Nursing Internship Process in the Federal State of Salzburg with Strong User Involvement.

Background: In the federal state of Salzburg, the harmonization of nursing internship took place from 2014-2019 as a joint effort of educational and internship providers. Currently the handling of these mostly paper pencil-based documents involves a manual process through different institutions and people.

Objectives: The project provides the basis for the implementation of the "internship platform".

Comparing Condensed and Hydrolysable Tannins for Mechanical Foaming of Furanic Foams: Synthesis and Characterization.

This study examined the potential of hydrolysable tannin in comparison to condensed tannins for the production of furanic foams. The results indicate that chestnut tannin presents lower reactivity and requires a stronger acid for the polymerization. Additionally, foamability and density were found to be dependent on both surfactant concentration and tannin type, allowing lower densities for mimosa tannin and lower thermal conductivities for chestnut-based foams.

Antioxidative and Antimicrobial Evaluation of Bark Extracts from Common European Trees in Light of Dermal Applications.

Plant species have developed effective defense strategies for colonizing diverse habitats and protecting themselves from numerous attacks from a wide range of organisms, including insects, vertebrates, fungi, and bacteria. The bark of trees in particular constitutes a number of components that protect against unwanted intruders. This review focuses on the antioxidative, dermal immunomodulatory, and antimicrobial properties of bark extracts from European common temperate trees in light of various skin pathogens, wound healing, and the maintenance of skin health.

The effect of masks on the recognition of facial expressions: A true-to-life study on the perception of basic emotions.

Mouth-to-nose face masks became ubiquitous due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This ignited studies on the perception of emotions in masked faces. Most of these studies presented still images of an emotional face with a face mask digitally superimposed upon the nose-mouth region.

Effect of Tannin Furanic Polymer in Comparison to Its Mimosa Tannin Extract on the Growth of Bacteria and White-Rot Fungi.

Tannins are well-known to protect plants from bacteria and fungi, but nothing is known about its effects on microorganisms once they are copolymerized. Therefore, a study was conducted to evaluate the effect of a tannin−furanic polymer in comparison with industrial mimosa tannin extract on the in vitro growth of two strains of bacteria, Bacillaceae and Pseudomanadaceae, and two white-rot fungi, Trametes versicolor and Agrocybe aegerita. Results have highlighted that the tannin polymer did not inhibit the growth of tested bacteria and even favored the growth of Bacillaceae without extra glucose.

Microwave-Assisted Lignin Extraction-Utilizing Deep Eutectic Solvents to Their Full Potential.

The current research intended to investigate the suitability of different choline-chloride-based deep eutectic solvents for their role in microwave lignin extraction. Lignin, a widely spread biopolymer in plants and woody structures, is a valuable replacement for fossil-fuel-based materials. While some promising applications have been trialled already, the extraction of this material from its matrix still causes problems.

Large-scale extraction of interpretable features provides new insights into kidney histopathology - A proof-of-concept study.

Whole slide images contain a magnitude of quantitative information that may not be fully explored in qualitative visual assessments. We propose: (1) a novel pipeline for extracting a comprehensive set of visual features, which are detectable by a pathologist, as well as sub-visual features, which are not discernible by human experts and (2) perform detailed analyses on renal images from mice with experimental unilateral ureteral obstruction. An important criterion for these features is that they are easy to interpret, as opposed to features obtained from neural networks.

Quebracho Tannin Bio-Based Adhesives for Plywood.

Wood-based products are traditionally bonded with synthetic adhesives. Resources availability and ecological concerns have drawn attention to bio-based sources. The use of tannin-based adhesives for engineered wood products has been known for decades, however, these formulations were hardly used for the gluing of solid wood because their rigidity involved low performance.

The Development of a Digital Tool for Planning Physical Exercise Training During Cardiac Rehabilitation.

In this work, we describe the conceptualization and development of a digital tool to support patients in adhering to prescription of physical exercise training during cardiac rehabilitation. To meet the need for an individual and trackable heart-healthy training plan - which became even more evident during the Coronavirus pandemic - the Activity Planning Tool was developed within a user-centered design process. Tackling the relationship between rehabilitation professional and patient, it allows to jointly set up, monitor, and regularly review a personalized physical activity plan.

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Toolkit for Digital Health.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) entered into force on May 25, 2018. Compliance with GDPR is especially relevant to the Digital Health (DH) domain, as it is common to process highly sensitive personal data regarding a person's health. However, GDPR compliance is a very challenging process since it requires implementing several technical and organizational measures to maintain compliance.

A Topic Modeling Comparison Between LDA, NMF, Top2Vec, and BERTopic to Demystify Twitter Posts.

The richness of social media data has opened a new avenue for social science research to gain insights into human behaviors and experiences. In particular, emerging data-driven approaches relying on topic models provide entirely new perspectives on interpreting social phenomena. However, the short, text-heavy, and unstructured nature of social media content often leads to methodological challenges in both data collection and analysis.

Physical-Mechanical Properties of Peat Moss (Sphagnum) Insulation Panels with Bio-Based Adhesives.

Rising energy and raw material prices, dwindling resources, increased recycling, and the need for sustainable management have led to growth in the smart materials sector. In recent years, the importance and diversity of bio-based adhesives for industrial applications has grown steadily. This article focuses on the production and characterization of insulation panels consisting of peat moss and two bio-based adhesives.

Antimicrobial Activity and Wound-Healing Capacity of Birch, Beech and Larch Bark Extracts.

Bark is a major by-product of woodworking industries. The contents of several wood species are known to harbor antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and wound-healing capacities. The aim of this work was to identify beneficial properties of Austrian larch, birch and beech bark extracts for their potential usage as additives or active ingredients in dermatological applications.

Fire Retardancy of Cementitious Panels with Larch and Spruce Bark as Bio-Admixtures.

The aim of this study is to investigate the production of fire-resistant panels made out of bark from spruce (), larch ( Mill.) and cement. This research included test panels produced from bark, cement, water and cement-bonded recycling material aiming for the target density of 750 kg/m.

Mechanical Properties of Cellulose and Flax Fiber Unidirectional Reinforced Plywood.

This research presents the influence of two different cellulose (hydrophobic pretreated/non-pretreated) and one flax-fiber unidirectional nonwoven low areal weight fiber reinforcements on the mechanical properties of urea-formaldehyde bonded five layered beech ( L.) plywood as an alternative to commonly used synthetic fiber reinforcements. The results display divergent trends regarding the improvement of the mechanical properties-modulus of elasticity, modulus of rupture, tensile strength, shear strength, and screw withdrawal resistance.

On the Acceptance of "Fake" Histopathology: A Study on Frozen Sections Optimized with Deep Learning.

Background: The fast acquisition process of frozen sections allows surgeons to wait for histological findings during the interventions to base intrasurgical decisions on the outcome of the histology. Compared with paraffin sections, however, the quality of frozen sections is often strongly reduced, leading to a lower diagnostic accuracy. Deep neural networks are capable of modifying specific characteristics of digital histological images.