Leaks represent a very important hazard for the buildings and they can affect all sorts of building materials and specially wood due to its hygroscopic properties. Excessive moisture content can affect in a negative way building processes such as the installation of wooden floors or the use of wood as a structural material. Moisture meters can provide prompt and non-destructive determination of...

Moisture diffusion and carbonation influence the behavior of multiple-leaf ancient masonry walls, producing during centuries a redistribution of stresses from the core of lime mortar concrete to the external cladding of stiff masonry. This is likely one of the causes of long-time damage of some ancient masonry towers. With these motivations, coupled processes of moisture diffusion, carbon dioxi...

Raw runner type peanuts were dried to moisture levels of 4.24 or 6.62 %. Each batch was oil roasted at 160°C in pure peanut oil for the amount of time determined to produce a surface color of 48 on the Hunter L scale. The surfaces of the cotyledons were examined by scanning electron microscopy. Escaping steam caused ruptures in the surfaces during the roasting process. The higher moisture sampl...

BACKGROUND Quantitative measurements of mould enrichment of indoor air or house dust might be suitable surrogates to evaluate present but hidden moisture damage. Our intent was to develop a house-dust monitoring method to detect hidden moisture damage excluding the influence of outdoor air, accumulated old dust, and dust swirled up from room surfaces. METHODS Based on standardized measurement...

the presented study shows a simple way for optimization of extrusion process, which was used for deterioration of cyanogenic glycosides – antinutritive components of linseed, with minimum damage of essential alpha-linolenic acid (ala) at the same time. extrusion of the material was done on a laboratory single screw extruder. content of hydrogen cyanide (hcn) as a measurement of cyanogenic glyco...

The evolution of discontinuous gas exchange (DGE) in insects is highly controversial. Adaptive hypotheses which have obtained experimental support include a water savings mechanism for living in dry environments (hygric hypothesis), a reduction in oxidative damage due to a high-performance oxygen delivery system (oxidative damage hypothesis), and the need for steep intratracheal partial pressur...

Seven composite models of meta-aramid fibers with different moisture contents were studied using molecular dynamics simulation. The effects of moisture on the thermal stability and mechanical properties of the fibers and their mechanisms were analyzed, considering characteristics such as hydrogen bonding, free volume, mean square displacement, and mechanical parameters. The simulation results s...