Article history: Received 28 January 2015 Accepted 25 February 2015 Available online 6 March 2015

Existing bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) models are capable of capturing the distinctive highlights produced by the fibrous nature of wood. However, capturing parameter textures for even a single specimen remains a laborious process requiring specialized equipment. In this paper we take a procedural approach to generating parameters for the wood BSDF. We characterize the ...

BACKGROUND Four sawmills, a wood chipping mill, and five joineries in New South Wales, Australia, were studied for the effects of personal exposure to wood dust, endotoxins. (1-->3)-beta-D-glucans, Gram-negative bacteria, and fungi on lung function among woodworkers. METHODS Personal inhalable and respirable dust sampling was carried out. The lung function tests of workers were conducted befo...

The thermal properties of wood in the green state have been determined by the transient plane source (TPS) technique. Data are presented on thermal conductivity ( λ ), heat capacity ( C ), and thermal diffusivity ( κ ) at moisture contents (MCs) above the fiber saturation point, which are based on measurements using the HotDisk ® apparatus. Four wood species (Douglas fir, beech, birch, and spru...

Wood represents the defining feature of forest systems, and often the carbon in woody debris has a long residence time. Globally, coarse dead wood contains 36–72 Pg C, and understanding what controls the fate of this C is important for predicting C cycle responses to global change. The fate of a piece of wood may include one or more of the following: microbial decomposition, combustion, consump...

Wood deposited in streams provides a wide variety of ecosystem functions, including enhancing habitat for key species in stream food webs, increasing geomorphic and hydraulic heterogeneity and retaining organic matter. Given the strong role that wood plays in streams, factors that influence wood inputs, retention and transport are critical to stream ecology. Wood entrapment, the process of wood...

The recruitment of wood from the riparian zone to rivers and streams provides a complex habitat for aquatic organisms and can influence both aquatic biodiversity and ecosystem function. The Daly River in the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia is a highly seasonal, perennially-flowing sand-bed river where surveys of river wood aggregations at the reach scale (~2 km) in 2008 and 2009 recorded ...

Coating performance is greatly influenced by the properties of the wood substrate. This study was focused on evaluating the performance of coatings on both preservative- and thermally-treated wood. A number of commercially formulated semi-transparent stains Alkyd, Alkyd-Acrylic and PU were applied on four different types of preservative treated and heat-treated wood and their performances were ...

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between change in lung function and cumulative exposure to wood dust. In total, 1,112 woodworkers (927 males, 185 females) and 235 reference workers (104 males, 185 females) participated in a 6-yr longitudinal study. Forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV(1)), forced vital capacity (FVC), height and weight were measured, and ...

Epidemiological studies have implicated wood smoke as a risk factor for exacerbating asthma. However, comparisons of findings in animal models with those in humans are currently not possible, because detailed clinically relevant measurements of pulmonary function are not available in animal studies. Brown Norway rats were immunized with ovalbumin and exposed to either filtered air or wood smoke...