Treesearch

The repair, remodeling, and renovation of existing residential structures and properties has been, and continues to be, a vital market for the use of wood products in the United States. This market is either the first or second largest market (alternating with new residential construction) for a number of wood products including softwood lumber, engineered wood products, and wood-based sheathing. In 2014, an estimated 13.5 billion board feet of softwood lumber, 4.2 billion board feet of hardwood lumber, 0.1 billion board feet of engineered lumber, 3.8 billion ft2 (3/8-in. basis) of...

This report summarizes inspection of corrosion and salt damage on the National Historical Landmark ferryboat Eureka, built in 1890 and displayed at the San Francisco Maritime National Historic Park of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS). The USDA Forest Service, Forest Products Laboratory (FPL) was contacted by the NPS because of concerns about white “corrosion products” that were forming on metal bolts in the bilge of the Eureka. Photographs shared by NPS showed signs of salt damage on the wood in addition to corroded bolts. As a result of conversations between FPL and NPS, an inspection...

November’s new single-family (SF) sales and SF housing starts were remarkable. Other housing data appear to have stalled on a monthly basis. Regionally, data were mixed across all sectors. New SF construction and remodeling spending remain relatively strong. Existing house sales improved on a month-over-month and year-over-year basis.

Heterotermes indicola (Wasmann) (Blattodea: Rhinotermitidae) is a species of subterranean termite that is a destructive pest of wood and wood products in Pakistan. This study evaluated the antioxidant and antienzyme potential of heartwood extractives against H. indicola. Heartwood extractives of four durable wood species, Tectona grandis (L.f), Dalbergia sissoo (Roxb.), Cedrus deodara (Roxb.), and Pinus roxburghii (Sarg.) were removed from wood shavings via soxhlet extraction with an ethanol:toluene solvent system. The antioxidant potential of the extractive compounds was determined using...

Copper-tolerant brown-rot fungi are able todegrade wood treated with copper or copper-based wood preservatives. This research used quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction to explore what genes of the brown-rot fungus, Fibroporia radiculosa, were expressed when the fungus was overcoming the wood preservatives and decaying the wood. Aryl alcohol oxidase, catalase, oxalate decarboxylase 2, and copper resistance P-type ATPase pump had higher expression on alkaline copper quat type D treated wood compared with week I. In addition, two genes had high expression at week 5;...

BACKGROUND: Chitosan is a derivative form of chitin, which is the major component of exoskeletons of arthropods and the cell walls of fungi. The antimicrobial activity of chitosan against lepidopterans, aphids, fungi and bacteria has been extensively investigated, but only one report on the termiticidal effect of chitosan on termites has been published. In this study, we examined the termiticidal activity of chitosan by exposing single colonies of Reticulitermes flavipes (Kollar) and Reticulitermes virginicus Banks to wood treated with six different concentrations of chitosan solutions....

High lignin-containing cellulose nanocrystals (HLCNCs) were successfully isolated from hydrothermally treated aspen fibers and freeze-dried and compounded with poly (lactic acid) (PLA) by extrusion and injection molding. As a comparison, PLA composites containing commercial lignin-coated CNCs (BLCNCs) were also produced. HLCNCs showed higher crystallinity, larger surface area, lower degree of agglomeration, and more hydrophobic surfaces compared to BLCNCs, as characterized by electron microscopy, surface area measurements, thermal analysis, spectroscopy and water contact angle measurements....

Many projects have identified candidate genes for resistance to aflatoxin accumulation or Aspergillus flavus infection and growth in maize using genetic mapping, genomics, transcriptomics and/or proteomics studies. However, only a small percentage of these candidates have been validated in field conditions, and their relative contribution to resistance, if any, is unknown. This study presents a consolidated list of candidate genes identified in past studies or in-house studies, with descriptive data including genetic location, gene annotation, known protein identifiers, and associated...

The use of raw boron minerals (i.e. tincalconite, colemanite, and ulexite) was evaluated to increase the fire performance of wood plastic composites (WPCs) in comparison with commercially available fire retardants (FRs). Cone calorimetry and limited oxygen index tests were performed to evaluate the fire properties of WPC specimens. Artificial weathering and 3-point bending tests were also performed on the test specimens loadedwith the highest loading level of FRs. The most important decrease in theheat release rate values was 42% and 40% in the magnesium hydroxide- and colemanite-added...

Although the aggregate U.S. housing market was mixed in December, both new single-family (SF) sales and starts were revised substantially downward. Other housing data appear to have flat-lined on a month-over-month basis. Regionally, data were mixed across all sectors. New SF construction and remodeling spending remain positive, increasing at an incremental pace.