Journal of the International Academy of Wood Science
ISSN: 0043-7719 (Print) 1432-5225 (Online)
Description
Wood Science and Technology publishes original scientific research results and review papers covering the entire field of wood material science, wood components and wood based products. Subjects are wood biology and wood quality, wood physics and physical technologies, wood chemistry and chemical technologies. Latest advances in areas such as cell wall and wood formation; structural and chemical composition of wood and wood composites and their property relations; physical, mechanical and chemical characterization and relevant methodological developments, and microbiological degradation of wood and wood based products are reported. Topics related to wood technology include machining, gluing, and finishing, composite technology, wood modification, wood mechanics, creep and rheology, and the conversion of wood into pulp and biorefinery products.
The Editor-in-Chief is Klaus Richter, Holzforschung München, Technische Universität München, Germany; The Co-Editor-in-Chief is Robert Evans, Silvi Scan Pty. Ltd., Australia
An international forum for the exchange of knowledge of wood and its uses
Publishes original articles on basic and applied research dealing with the science, technology, and engineering of wood
Official journal of the Japan Wood Research Society
The Journal of Wood Science provides an international forum for the exchange of knowledge and the discussion of current issues in wood and wood utilization.
It publishes original articles on basic and applied research dealing with the science, technology, and engineering of wood, wood components, wood and wood-based products, and wood constructions. Articles concerned with pulp and paper, fiber resources from non-woody plants, wood-inhabiting insects and fungi, wood biomass, and environmental and ecological issues in forest products are also included. The journal publishes review articles on selected topics concerning wood science and related fields.
This is the official journal of the Japan Wood Research Society.
Related subjects »Characterization & Evaluation of Materials- Forestry- Materials
A bowl of sweet potato and squash soup.Photo Credit fotogal/iStock/Getty Images
With a hectic work schedule, it can sometimes be difficult to maintain a healthy diet. Many people resort to unhealthy fast food options because they don’t think they have enough time to eat well. But with a little preparation and all natural ingredients, you can prepare and store several healthy lunches at home, ready to take to work.
Nori and Vegetable Slaw Wrap
Nori is an iodine-rich sea vegetable like kelp that is sold in sheets. For the vegetable slaw you will need cabbage, cucumber and bok choy and carrots. Prepare the slaw by tossing the vegetables in rice vinegar, honey and soy sauce. Line a piece of whole grain flatbread with nori and slaw and then roll. For a little kick, add wasabi or grated ginger.
Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Couscous Salad
Couscous is a grain, easily blended with many fresh ingredients. Begin this salad by cooking couscous and chilling it in the refrigerator. Prepare a selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, such as strawberries, baby spinach and yellow bell pepper. Once the couscous has chilled and the fruits and vegetables are chopped, toss and bind together with honey, basil and olive oil.
Lime Chicken and Avocado Salad Wrap
Mix up a quick chicken marinade using lime, minced garlic and olive oil and add it to skinless chicken breasts, trimming away fat. Chop fresh avocado, bell pepper, cilantro and onion. Shred the chicken and add it to the chopped vegetables, binding it with low-fat sour cream. Roll the mixture into a wrap, using flatbread or a tortilla.
Sweet Potato and Squash Soup
Both sweet potatoes and squash are sources of fiber and nutrients. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes and squash and drizzle with olive oil, pepper and sea salt. Bake the vegetables until they are soft and then puree them, adding vegetable or chicken stock, honey and cinnamon. You can eat this soup cold like a gazpacho or warm it up.
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
Using whole grain pasta, vegetables, olives and feta cheese, you can make a Mediterranean-inspired pasta salad. Chop cucumber, red bell pepper, baby spinach and onion, and then toss them with the pasta, olive oil, fresh cracked pepper, olives and feta. Because olives and feta are high in sodium, measure the portions carefully.
Red Beans and Rice Soup
A takeoff of a classic southern dish, prepare red beans and rice soup using dry or low-sodium canned kidney beans, rice and low-sodium cajun seasoning. Begin by dicing onion, bell pepper and celery, and then saute in olive oil and cajun seasoning. Add vegetable stock, kidney beans and rice and simmer.
Fresh Mozzarella and Tomato Wrap
Fresh mozzarella is light and spongy and is also high in calcium and vitamin D. Using flatbread to wrap, layer fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes and fresh or dried basil. Drizzle olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette lightly onto the layers and roll.
Fruit and Nut Trail Mix Salad
For a sweet and crunchy salad rich in fiber, antioxidants and protein, mix nutrient-dense couscous with a variety of fruits and nuts. Add raisins, figs and dried cranberries to a combination of chopped almonds, cashews or walnuts. Add this mixture to chilled couscous and bind with orange juice, honey and olive oil.
Salmon Salad Tea Sandwiches
Rich in omega-3 fatty acids, one of the building blocks of neural cell membranes, salmon can help the body prevent oxidation damage of heart and brain cells. Combine cooked, flaked salmon with fresh, diced cucumber and parsley, and bind with either low-fat cream cheese or plain low-fat yogurt. Spread the salmon mixture on dense, whole grain bread.
Southwest Black Bean and Vegetable Salad
Another salad rich in protein and flavor is a Southwest Black Bean and Vegetable Salad. Begin by cooking dry black beans, and chop vegetables and herbs, such as corn, tomato, green and red peppers, cilantro and onion. Chill the black beans and then mix in the chopped vegetables. Bind the ingredients together with a mixture of lime juice, sea salt, cracked pepper and olive oil.
Département des sciences du bois et de la forêt, Université Laval, Québec, QC, G1V 0A6, Canada, alireza.kaboorani.1@ulaval.ca
Karl R. Englund
Composite Materials and Engineering Center, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-1806, USA
Abstract
Wood samples heat treated at 175°C, 190°C, and 205°C with different amounts of high density polyethylene and coupling agent were used for the production of wood/plastic composites. Measuring water sorption, thickness swelling, and diffusion coefficients of composites for a 40-week period immersion in water showed that composites with wood treatment at 190°C and 205°C had considerably higher water resistance. Adding a coupling agent reduced water sorption, thickness swelling, and diffusion coefficients, more pronounced in composites with untreated wood. Measurements of flexural properties in a control state and after 4 and 12 weeks immersion periods in water proved that heat treatment is an effective way to ease detrimental effects of water on mechanical properties. Modulus of elasticity showed more sensitivity to water exposure than modulus of rupture. Strain at maximum load increased after water exposure. Treating wood at 190°C resulted in good flexural properties and excellent water resistance.
School of Materials & Mineral Resources Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia; razaina@eng.usm.my
Z. A. Mohd Ishak
School of Materials & Mineral Resources Engineering, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 14300 Nibong Tebal, Penang, Malaysia
H. D. Rozman
School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia 11800 Minden, Penang, Malaysia
W. G. Glasser
Biobased materials/Recycling Center, Department of Wood Science and Forest Products, Virginia Tech Blacksburg Virginia 24061, USA
Abstract
Polypropylene-filled alkali-extracted steam-exploded Acacia mangium fiber (AEF–PP) composites are immersed in water at room temperature for three months. All composites, including those with maleated polypropylene (MAPP) are found to absorb water considerably. The results of tensile properties indicate that the properties deteriorate following water absorption. The addition of MAPP to the composite systems (AEF–PP–MAPP) does not help in retaining the tensile properties. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) examinations of the fracture surfaces of AEF–PP–MAPP composites reveal degradation of interfacial interaction. The composites, however, recover more than 90% of the tensile properties after oven treatment probably due to recovery of interfacial interaction as evident in scanning electron micrographs. The tensile properties recoveries for AEF–PP composites are fewer than for those with MAPP. Permanent damages in composite structures due to water absorption might account for this result.
Truth be told, not everyone loves running. Yes, there are people who swear by it and even talk about the runners’ high. But there are also plenty of people who find the activity boring, and some might even tell you that their doctor told them to avoid running to reduce stress on their knees. You’ve probably heard from the two camps, but the point of this article is not to convince you avoid running, but rather to give you an alternative to achieve your fat loss goals if running is not your thing. So, let’s talk about the benefits of bodyweight training, which is vastly underprescribed and underrated.
You may know about bodyweight training from hearing about its use in the Navy Seals or the increase of its popularity due to CrossFit. Coaches worldwide prescribe bodyweight training for a variety of purposes including athletic development, mobility work, stabilization work, strength training and muscle gains. In fact, if you’re part of the legions that are easily turned off by running, you’ll be glad to discover that bodyweight training can also be used as a greater replacement for steady-state cardio when it comes to reaching your fat loss goals — and it will bring more benefits to your body along the way.
Men and women doing push-ups on kettlebells (bodyweight training) at a CrossFit box/gym.Photo Credit ferrantraite/Vetta/Getty Images.
If Running Is Not for You, It’s OK
If you dread running, it's OK. An increasing number of professionals in the industry have stopped prescribing steady-state running to their clients because they find it to be ineffective as a weight loss tool.Photo Credit Eugenio Marongiu/Cultura/Getty Images.
In recent years, finding a suitable replacement for steady-paced running has been a huge topic of discussion in the fitness realm. Numerous testimonials — from people of all shapes and sizes — across internet forums express the boredom, the knee and ankle pain, and the struggle to progress towards their fat loss goals through running, which in turn has lead coaches to reach for alternatives.
Sohee Lee, a personal trainer at Peak Performance in Manhattan, New York, and certified strength & conditioning specialist — with an extensive personal background in running — says that an increasing number of professionals in the industry have stopped prescribing steady-state running to their clients because they find it to be ineffective as a weight loss tool.
“I’ve seen more bad come out of it than good,” Lee said. “The boredom, knee pain, and dreaded hatred for it are the main reasons why none of my clients are currently on a program that includes running.”
When tackled aggressively, running puts the body under a great amount of stress, exposing the athlete to risk of injury. This fact has been known for a long time. In fact, a review of epidemiological literature on running injuries — from as early as 1992 —conducted at the University of Amsterdam in the Netherlands, found that 50 to 75 percent of running injuries are caused to the lower extremities by constant repetition of the same movement — with a predominance to the knee. However, the risk of injury and risk of burning out increases due to the trainees pushing distance when a plateau in results is observed.
“Running did absolutely nothing for me in the way I was leaning out,” Lee said. “It made me neurotic and tired, and I found myself looking at exercise as another source of stress.”
The human body rapidly adapts to running, causing it to slowly decrease the energy required to tackle distances. In return, most runners start increasing the frequency and distance of their workout so they can burn the same amount of energy that they had previously used in the lower frequency range. Sadly, for some like Lee, doing so only results in nervous system burn out, and causes people to spend their days feeling drained and fatigued.
These days, Lee has completely removed running from her programs, and she recommends incorporating a bodyweight training circuit that lasts at least 10 minutes, up to 40 minutes, as an alternative to running to reduce the risk of injury, avoiding weight loss plateaus, and burning out from training.
Why Consider Bodyweight Training as an Alternative
Tom Robertson and John Thomas Anillio, certified strength and conditioning specialists, and Co-Directors of Training For Warriors — with 65 locations spread out through 13 different countries — believe that bodyweight training is advantageous due to its ability to influence the hormones and overall body improvements.
“You get more bank for your buck,” said John. “You can burn just as much fat, speed up your metabolism, and build quality muscle without even stepping foot onto a treadmill, using your body’s resistance alone.”
Besides reducing the risk for many dysfunctions of the body such as osteoporosis, lower back pain, type 2 diabetes and many others, research has shown that bodyweight circuits — metabolic resistance training — increase the secretion of a number of specific hormones. The secretion of hormones such as testosterone, human growth hormone and insulin growth factor-1 (igf-1) is far better when using bodyweight circuits than when you execute your everyday jog.
“It is one of the most efficient ways to increase your natural levels of body reconstructive hormones,” said Robertson. “Using bodyweight training will increase your body’s hormonal inputs that are responsible for losing fat, increasing your strength, build muscle, and improving your cardiac capacity — over-running simply trashes those.”
For those unaware, this particular hormonal increase is advantageous towards your fat loss battle by increasing your metabolism long term, which in return, will burn calories up to forty-eight hours after you’ve completed the workout.
Bodyweight Training Outside the Gym
This innovative mom trains in her plank pose at home with her toddler as added weight.Photo Credit Jakob Helbig/Cultura/Getty Images.
Another advantage of bodyweight training comes from its accessibility and portability. It doesn't matter if you’re stuck at home, at a bus stop or in a hotel room while traveling, bodyweight training can be performed anywhere and under any conditions — weather is never a factor (or can be an extra training aid, if that's your thing to train under extreme conditions).
What’s more, you can use any piece of material, equipment or furniture you have access to to vary your exercises. For instance, you can use a chair for Bulgarian split squats and/or triceps dips, a kitchen counter for dips or a pipeline for pull-ups. With such endless possibilities, your creativity will be stimulated and take the boredom out of exercising with “just your body.”
“My dad hates gyms,” said Robertson. “At 62 years old, he bangs out sets of 10 chin-ups super-setted with 20 press-ups — and that was progressed from home training alone.”
Among the other invaluable advantages that bodyweight training provides, it greatly increases the quality of your life because of its functionality. Close-chain exercises such as push-ups, squats and pull-ups require the use of multiple joints in a natural pattern that result in greater motor unit activation and synchronization. Doing so, you will empower your day-to-day life through strength development, three-dimensional movement and greater kinetic awareness.
“Don’t skip the basics,” Anillio pointed out. “When the average person joins a gym, they either first go to the Treadmill or the Bench Press, but most can't even do a single push-up.”
Training For Warriors measures the client’s heart rate a couple of times during their sessions to calculate the intensity and recovery. According to Anillio, at Training For Warriors they have found that most of clients burn more calories during a dynamic bodyweight warm up than those people that simply jump on the treadmill.
Anillio and Robertson recommend the start-up of bodyweight trainings with simple basics — slowly progressed to advanced movements — in order to obtain the best of hormonal benefits, fat loss results, and overall life improvement.
Getting Started
In order to get you started with bodyweight training, below you will find a blueprint for designing your own bodyweight workout plus a workout sample you can freely use.
If you are to use the blueprint, select the exercises that are more taxing on your oxygen (e.g. the use of jump squats instead of traditional squats), perform them with proper form and then go at your own pace while keeping a challenging tempo. Execute the workout up to 3x a week to reap the maximal benefits. Keep in mind that it is advised to consult a physician before beginning any exercise plan.
METHODOLOGY
Perform A1-A8 with little to no rest in between exercises. Rest and sets depend on the level. Use 65-80 percent of your rep max for each exercise.
New molecular biologist perspective and insight: DNA topoisomerases production by recombinant DNA technology for medical laboratory application and pharmaceutical industry.
Electronic Journal of Biotechnology ISSN: 0717-3458
Received March 28, 2013 / Accepted August 28, 2013
DOI: 10.2225/vol16-issue6-fulltext-6
Abstract
DNA topoisomerases are essential enzymes that control the topological state of DNA replication during mitosis. These enzymes are classified based on their mechanisms and physical properties. During mitosis, superhelical DNA must be unwound or relaxed by DNA topoisomerases prior to a decoding step by DNA processing enzymes, such as DNA polymerase and RNA polymerase. By blocking the reaction of resealing the breaks in the DNA ultimately can result in cellular death. Compounds that inhibit the catalytic function of these enzymes can serve as potential anticancer agents. DNA topoisomerases are found in nature and used as high quality and well-validated targets for the screening of potential anticancer agents. Our current work focuses on determining potential anticancer agents from natural resources using DNA topoisomerases as the screening targets. Large scale production of these enzymes using recombinant DNA technology in our academic laboratory is utilised to avoid dependence on expensive commercially available enzymes. The in-house produced enzymes can also be used to enhance our research in the field of molecular medicine by providing an enzyme source that can be used to screen potential anticancer agents, and for other newly developed diagnostic and medical research projects in the near future as well as a step in moving our efforts into the industrial sector.
Introduction
DNA topoisomerases are essential enzymes that control the topological state of DNA during cellular processes in both prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells. The cellular processes include DNA replication, transcription, recombination and chromatin segregation, to control the synthesis of proteins and to facilitate DNA replication during mitosis (Champoux, 2001; Durand-Dubief et al. 2011). The types of organisms used in the studies of DNA topoisomerases include Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, yeasts, plants from the genus Arabidopsis, flies from the genus Drosophila and human. Several viruses, such as bacteriophage T4 and animal vaccinia viruses, can also encode DNA topoisomerases. All organisms contain at least two classes of DNA topoisomerases, namely type I and type II DNA topoisomerases in which the enzymes are classified based on their mechanisms and physical properties (Champoux, 2001; Salerno et al. 2010). For example, E. coli has two type I DNA topoisomerases (DNA topoisomerase I and DNA topoisomerase III) and two type II DNA topoisomerases (DNA topoisomerase II or gyrase and DNA topoisomerase IV) (Kato et al. 1992; Peng and Marians, 1993). The DNA topoisomerase subtypes (A, B or C) are differentiated by amino acid sequences or structures (Champoux, 2001,Vos et al. 2011). For example, enzymes that cleave only one strand of DNA are defined as type I with a further classification of type I-A subtypes for proteins linked to a 5’-phosphate and type I-B subtypes for proteins attached to a 3’-phosphate during the relaxation of the cleavable DNA. The enzymes are further divided into subfamilies based on the structural changes induced by gene duplication, such as DNA topoisomerase IIα and IIβ (Wang, 1996,Champoux, 2001).
Other applications of DNA topoisomerases
DNA topoisomerases can also be used for other molecular biology laboratory applications. The DNA topoisomerase I from the vaccinia virus has been widely used to produce the DNA topoisomerase-activated adapter for various modifications and cloning of PCR products by inserting a DNA fragment into a plasmid without DNA ligase. This cloning method rapidly incorporates the T7 promoter into a plasmid for a PCR product with 3’ deoxyadenosine (A) overhangs, using a plasmid that has been engineered to have a linearized strand with 3’ deoxythymidine (T) overhangs. The DNA topoisomerase I from vaccinia virus covalently binds to the linearized plasmid at a specific site, cleaving the phosphodiester backbone after the 5’-CCCTT in a single strand of the plasmid DNA (Figure3). The phosphotyrosyl bond between the DNA and enzyme can be subsequently replaced by the 5’-hydroxyl of the original strand, releasing the enzyme after a religation with the external DNA, such as PCR product or DNA fragment (Shuman,1994). The PCR product, complement of the 3’-T overhang of the plasmid, is then allowed to quickly ligate with the DNA topoisomerase I in salt and without requiring a DNA ligase. This application has been developed by different manufacturers, including Invitrogen, to produce a number of plasmids for the effective cloning of a PCR product, providing a powerful and convenient tool for the rapid modification of a PCR product.
The perspectives of our current research
Current cancer drugs and treatment strategies have been reported to cause many adverse side effects to cancer patients. The side effects include hair loss, weakened immune system, vomiting, sickness etc. Improvements in effective cancer treatments have been limited despite the advances made in cancer research in the medical laboratory. Moreover, drugs used for chemotherapy can be excessively expensive (more than RM 1,000 per dose), reducing affordability for some patients. This restriction in patient access makes the search for effective and affordable anticancer agents from natural products more urgent and critical as these resources may be more affordable to cancer patients with low living wages. Natural products, such as garlic, ginseng, grape, shallot, green tea and onion, contain a high level of flavonoids that have been proven in vitro to have anticancer properties, including inhibitory effect on cancer cell growth via induction of apoptosis and autophagy (Singletary and Milner, 2008). For example, chrysin, which has been found to be the most effective of all the flavonoids tested, has equal potency to the drugs used for chemotherapy, such as tamoxifen. Indeed, natural products may be ideal resources for anticancer agents. Indeed, many natural products have yet to be scientifically proven to have anticancer effects using the above mentioned mechanisms. Therefore, large amounts of DNA topoisomerases are required to perform preliminary screening of potential anticancer agents from natural products. Large quantity of in-house produced DNA topoisomerases are also needed to develop standard, robust, rapid and sensitive preliminary screening assays for cancer diagnoses and predictions of the responses to chemotherapy, as well as for other molecular biology applications in our laboratory.
Starting each day with a healthy breakfast can enhance your energy, ability to concentrate and help prevent food cravings and overeating later in the day. An ideal breakfast contains healthy foods from numerous food groups, including fruits and vegetables, complex carbohydrates, such as whole grain cereals, and lean protein sources, such as low-fat milk. To determine what foods and portion sizes best suit you, discuss your diet with a qualified professional.
Balanced, nutritious breakfasts can enhance your energy, wellness and brain function.Photo Credit ariwasabi/iStock/Getty Images.
Fruits and Vegetables
Incorporate fruits into your breakfast.Photo Credit adinaelena/iStock/Getty Images.Fresh and vegetables contribute significant amounts of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, which enhance your immune system; water, which supports your hydration needs; and fiber, which is vital for digestive wellness. Incorporating fruit or vegetables into your breakfast can give you a jump start toward meeting the Dietary Guidelines for Americans' recommendation of at least 2 cups of fruit and 2 1/2 cups of vegetables per day. Berries and sliced bananas provide nutritious topping for cold cereals. Adding dried fruit, such as raisins, apricots or cranberries, to your oatmeal adds flavor and substantial amounts of fiber. Frozen fruit provides a nutrient-rich alternative to ice in fruit smoothies. To increase your vegetable intake, incorporate vegetables into breakfast burritos, omelets or scrambled eggs. Leftovers, such as leftover vegetable pizza or soup, provide valuable options when you are crunched for time.
Whole Grain Breads and Cereal
Shredded wheat is a nutritious whole grain breakfast food.Photo Credit Rohit Seth/iStock/Getty Images.Whole grains are rich in fiber and nutrients, such as B-vitamins, selenium, magnesium and iron. Vitamin-fortified whole grain cereals, such as Total and Raisin Bran, supply your daily recommended allowance of most of your essential vitamins and minerals as well. Since whole grains are more satiating than refined grains, opting for whole grain breads and cereals at breakfast can help prevent excessive hunger and snacking between meals and keep your blood sugar and energy levels balanced. For best results, choose whole grain cereals that provide at least 3 grams of fiber and less than 13 grams of added sugar per serving. Examples of nutritious whole grain breakfast foods include 100 percent whole toast, bagels and English muffins, old fashioned and steel-cut oatmeal, whole grain cold cereals, such as Shredded Wheat and Bran Flakes and scrambled eggs or tofu with quinoa.
Low-Fat Dairy Products
Low fat milk provides many nutrients.Photo Credit Wavebreakmedia Ltd/Wavebreak Media/Getty Images.Incorporating protein-rich foods into your breakfast can enhance your ability to concentrate and learn, and ensure that your energy levels remains stable. In addition to providing protein, low-fat dairy products provide significant amounts of nutrients, such as calcium, vitamin D, potassium and zinc. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends at least three servings of low-fat dairy products daily as part of a 2,000 calorie diet. To incorporate dairy products into your breakfast meals, enjoy skim or low-fat milk with whole grain cereal or prepare a fruit smoothing using yogurt or low-fat milk. Low-fat cheese can enhance flavor and nutrient content of egg dishes and breakfast wraps. Kefir and yogurt provide probiotics—healthy bacteria that enhance digestion and help prevent infections. If you do not consume or tolerate dairy products, non-dairy equivalents, such as soy and lactose-free milk, provide similar benefits. www.livestrong.com
