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PubMedDate not supplied

[Bronchial asthma caused by exposure to ash wood dust].

A 42-year-old man reported attacks of dyspnoea on non-professional exposure to ash wood dust. The skin prick tests with common allergens and ash pollen were positive. Inhalation of ash wood dust (challenge test) elicited a very strong, immediate bronchospastic reaction, associated with profuse watery rhinorrhea, conjunctival congestion and lacrimation. The symptoms did not occurred after inhalation of pine wood dust. A positive skin (prick test) reaction to ash wood extract was documented. When the patient remained unexposed to ash wood dust the dyspnoea subsided and 4-fold decrease in bronchial reactivity to histamine-PC20 increase from 0.53 mg/ml to 2.1 mg/ml (according to Cockroft) was observed. The authors conclude that the immediate bronchial reaction to inhaled ash wood dust and the immediate skin positive response to ash wood extract were due to IgE-allergen reaction. This is the second case of hypersensitivity to ash wood dust reported in the literature.

Adult↗

PubMed1998

Evaluation of the Structure and Acid-Base Properties of Bulk Wood by FT-Raman Spectroscopy.

The structure of pine wood (Pinus silvestris L.) has been analyzed by FT-Raman spectroscopy, taking birch wood and the wood components cellulose, hemicellulose (xylan), and lignin as well as previously characterized wood resins as references. The acid-base properties of bulk pine wood were evaluated by comparing the spectra recorded before and after the treatment with various solvents. After the treatment with the probe liquids having only a Lifshitz-van der Waals (LW) component, it was found that the LW interactions in pine wood take place without changing the main structure. After treatment with Lewis acid-base active probe liquids, the spectra indicate that, e.g., the intense peak located at approximately 2936 cm-1 (CH2 stretch) seems to disappear, suggesting that this peak may be related to Lewis acidity. In addition, after treatment with a Lewis acid, it was found that the intense peak located at approximately 1657 cm-1 (C&dbond;C) is shifted, relating to Lewis basicity. With the ratio approximately 2936/ approximately 1657 cm-1 as a measure of the acid-base properties of bulk wood, a value of about 2.00 indicates that the bulk pine wood is largely acidic. The pH determined supports the evaluation made by FT-Raman spectroscopy. Copyright 1998 Academic Press.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2001

Glutoxylon Chowdhury (Anacardiaceae): the first record of fossil wood from Bangladesh.

This paper documents the first record of silicified fossil wood from a previously undescribed wood-rich horizon in the Sitakund Anticline, Eastern Bangladesh. The outcrop is composed of cross-stratified, fine-medium grained sandstones with bidirectional cross stratification indicative of a tidal environment, deposited ca. 5-5.2 million years before present (Miocene/Pliocene). The wood is characterised by large solitary vessels with alternate intervascular pits, banded parenchyma, uniseriate rays, and multiseriate rays with one radial canal per ray. This character combination closely resembles the wood of extant Gluta L. of the Anacardiaceae. This specimen has been assigned to the organ genus Glutoxylon Chowdhury erected for fossil woods with anatomical similarity to Gluta (including Melanorrhoea Wall.). The excellent preservation of this mature wood specimen illustrates the potential for using fossil wood from the Sitakund locality for palaeoecological studies in terms of biodiversity and adaptational response to climate change. Moreover such investigations of fossil woods from Bangladesh will compliment studies undertaken on fossil plants in other parts of Central and Southeastern Asia which will further the understanding of plant migration routes between India and Southeast Asia during the Tertiary.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2001

Variations of wood delta(13)C for the past 50 years in declining Siebold's beech (Fagus crenata) forests.

Markedly damaged stands have been observed in Siebold's beech (Fagus crenata) forests on the Tanzawa Mountains, Japan, which are located close to densely populated and heavily industrial areas. We measured the delta(13)C records for the past 50 years (1944-1997) in wood cellulose sampled from relatively healthy trees in declining forests on Mt. Hinokiboramaru (1600 m). This may provide information on the history of stresses related to environmental changes, which have caused the decline symptoms. The results showed that, for all of the trees studied, wood delta(13)C has decreased with time. Also, the difference in delta(13)C among trees grew abruptly after the mid-1960s, which almost coincides with the time when the decline symptoms were markedly observed. Some trees with large reduction of wood delta(13)C exhibited the strong decreases in radial growth. This suggests that the reduction of tree growth may have been more greatly influenced by decreasing carboxylation rate than by stomatal limitation. It is unlikely that water stress and SO(2) and O(3) stresses have induced the growth reduction, because those stresses cause increasing wood delta(13)C. This is supported by the facts that wet conditions and relatively low SO(2) and O(3) levels have been observed near Mt. Hinokiboramaru. In addition, analyses of wood Ca showed no evidence that acid fog and soil acidification have affected the wood delta(13)C and growth through effects on the nutrient uptake of trees. However, what type of stresses have induced the large reduction of wood delta(13)C and growth for some of the trees studied remains unknown because of the lack of sufficient data for evaluation. In contrast, lesser reduction of wood delta(13)C from the other trees may be related to an increase in the plant water-use efficiency with increasing atmospheric CO(2) concentration.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2001

Time course of fungal removal of lipophilic extractives from Eucalyptus globulus wood.

Free and esterified sitosterol, the main lipophilic constituents of eucalypt wood extractives, have been associated with the formation of pitch deposits during manufacturing of environmentally-sound paper pulp from Eucalyptus globulus wood. These, and other lipophilic compounds, were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in the course of wood treatments (up to 7 weeks) with four extractive-degrading fungi in order to optimize biotechnological control of pitch deposition in eucalypt pulp (with moderate loss of wood weight). In contrast to commercialized fungi used in pitch control, which are not able to degrade sitosterol, the fungi investigated in this paper produced a rapid decline of both free and esterified sterols in wood. The degradation rate of steroid hydrocarbons and squalene was moderate, and the amount of steroid ketones (probably formed during oxidative degradation of steroids) and triglycerides increased at different stages of wood treatment. Up to 95% removal of total steroids (including free and esterified sterols, steroid ketones and steroid hydrocarbons) by fungi was obtained at the end of wood treatment under the solid-state fermentation conditions used. The most promising results from the point of view of industrial applicability, however, were obtained after 1-2 weeks of treatment with either Phlebia radiata or Poria subvermispora, which enabled 70% steroid removal with a moderate wood weight loss of 1-4%.

Eucalyptus↗

PubMed1993

A Cytochemical Study of Extracellular Sheaths Associated with Rigidoporus lignosus during Wood Decay.

An ultrastructural and cytochemical investigation of the development of Rigidoporus lignosus, a white-rot fungus inoculated into wood blocks, was carried out to gain better insight into the structure and role of the extracellular sheaths produced by this fungus during wood degradation. Fungal sheaths had a dense or loose fibrillar appearance and were differentiated from the fungal cell wall early after wood inoculation. Close association between extracellular fibrils and wood cell walls was observed at both early and advanced stages of wood alteration. Fungal sheaths were often seen deep in host cell walls, sometimes enclosing residual wood fragments. Specific gold probes were used to investigate the chemical nature of R. lignosus sheaths. While labeling of chitin, pectin, beta-1,4- and beta-1,3-glucans, beta-glucosides, galactosamine, mannose, sialic acid, RNA, fucose, and fimbrial proteins over fungal sheaths did not succeed, galactose residues and laccase (a fungal phenoloxidase) were found to be present. The positive reaction of sheaths with the PATAg test indicates that polysaccharides such as beta-1,6-glucans are important components. Our data suggest that extracellular sheaths produced by R. lignosus during host cell colonization play an important role in wood degradation. Transportation of lignin-degrading enzymes by extracellular fibrils indicates that alteration of plant polymers may occur within fungal sheaths. It is also proposed that R. lignosus sheaths may be involved in recognition mechanisms in fungal cell-wood surface interactions.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2004

Wood creosote inhibits calcium mobilization in Guinea pig colonic smooth muscle.

Wood creosote, a mixture of simple phenolic compounds, has long been used as an herbal antidiarrheal medicine. Previous studies have shown that wood creosote has antimotility activity on the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, although its mechanism of action is not completely understood. The in vitro efficacy of wood creosote on calcium mobilization in guinea pig colonic smooth muscle was evaluated using a digital video camera system mounted on an inverted fluorescence microscope. The effects of wood creosote on spontaneous periodic increases in the free cytosolic calcium concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)), acetylcholine (ACh)-enhanced periodic increases in [Ca(2+)](i), and tetrodotoxin- or nifedipine-resistant spontaneous periodic increases in [Ca(2+)](i) were evaluated. Wood creosote decreased the amplitude of spontaneous (IC(50)=21 microg/ml) and ACh-enhanced (IC(50)=40 microg/ml) periodic increases in [Ca(2+)](i) in guinea pig colonic smooth muscle. Wood creosote also decreased the amplitude of both tetrodotoxin- and nifedipine-resistant spontaneous periodic increases in [Ca(2+)](i). These results suggest that antimotility activity through inhibition of Ca(2+) mobilization in the GI tract is at least partially responsible for the antidiarrheal activity of wood creosote. Wood creosote may exert its antimotility effect, at least in part, on network regions of interstitial cells of Cajal, which act as pacemaker cells and mediators of neurotransmission in the GI tract.

Animals↗

PubMed1982

The case of General Wood.

The first successful operation ever on a parasagittal meningioma was performed in 1910 by Harvey Cushing. The operation turned out to be critical event in his career as a neurosurgeon and made him confident about the possibilities of brain surgery. The patient was Leonard Wood, Major General and Chief of Staff of the United States Army, who was a military surgeon turned career officer. In the election campaign or the president to succeed Woodrow Wilson in 1920, Leonard Wood, the personification of competence, became the Republican favorite. General Wood was, however, eliminated from the presidential election campaign by complicated intrigues. From the next year on, General Wood experienced increasing warning signs of a recurrent tumor, which he unfortunately neglected. Not until 1927 did Wood again come under the care of Dr. Cushing, who had just returned from Britain, where in the course of a single month he had been awarded no less than seven distinctions from different medical societies. Deeply concerned at Wood's condition. Cushing decided to attempt extirpation of the recurrent tumor. General Wood died a few hours after the operation. No tragedy caused Cushing more distress than the death of General Wood, who 7 years earlier had been on the verge of being President of the United States.

History, 19th Century↗

PubMed1989

A New Zealand Cancer Registry-based study of cancer in wood workers.

Wood workers have been previously reported to be at higher risk for the development of cancers of certain sites, including the nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, lung, stomach, and lymphatic and hemopoietic tissues. Wood work involves exposure to a variety of potential carcinogens, including wood dust itself, chemicals applied to the wood, and other carcinogenic agents that are associated with wood work. We report a series of case-control studies based on the New Zealand Cancer Registry. These studies involved 19,904 male patients registered with cancer from 1980 to 1984 who were 20 years of age or older at the time of registration. For each cancer site studied, the registrants for all other sites (except lung cancer) formed the control group. The following four cancer sites were found to be associated with wood work: lip, nasopharynx, lung, and liver. There was little evidence of increased risks for other cancer sites. Among wood workers, sawmillers experienced the highest risks for lung cancer (odds ratio, 1.76; 95% confidence interval, 1.23 to 2.52) and liver cancer (odds ratio, 3.55; 95% confidence interval, 1.09 to 0.14). Carpenters showed increased risks for lip cancer (odds ratio, 2.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.23 to 4.14) and lung cancer (odds ratio, 1.27; 95% confidence interval, 1.05 to 1.54). The increased risk of nasopharyngeal cancer was strongest for foresters and loggers (odds ratio, 6.02; 95% confidence interval, 1.01 to 28.41).

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Preliminary 1H NMR study on archaeological waterlogged wood.

Magnetic Resonance Relaxation (MRR) and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) are powerful tools to obtain detailed information on the pore space structure that one is unlikely to obtain in other ways. These techniques are particularly suitable for Cultural Heritage materials, because they use water 1H nuclei as a probe. Interaction with water is one of the main causes of deterioration of materials. Porous structure in wood, for example, favours the penetration of water, which can carry polluting substances and promote mould growth. A particular case is waterlogged wood from underwater discoveries and moist sites; in fact, these finds are very fragile because of chemical, physical and biological decay from the long contact with the water. When wood artefacts are brought to the surface and directly dried in air, there is the collapse of the cellular structures, and wood loses its original form and dimensions and cannot be used for study and museum exhibits. In this work we have undertaken the study of some wood finds coming from Ercolano's harbour by MRR and MRI under different conditions, and we have obtained a characterization of pore space in wood and images of the spatial distribution of the confined water in the wood.

Archaeology↗

PubMed1994

Acute effects on forced expiratory volume in one second and longitudinal change in pulmonary function among wood trimmers.

Wood trimmers are exposed to molds that periodically grow on timber, and may develop acute as well as chronic pulmonary function impairment. This study examined whether these acute changes in pulmonary function are predictors for a longitudinal deterioration in pulmonary function, beyond normal aging and exposure. Across-shift changes in pulmonary function, measured during a working week, were evaluated in 15 wood trimmers with a follow-up time of 27 months. Twenty-six sawmill workers, employed at the same plants as the wood trimmers, served as control subjects. The highest concentration of viable mold spores for the wood trimmers was 10(6) colony-forming units (cfu)/m3, i.e., several times higher than the corresponding value for the sawmill workers. At the follow-up, wood trimmers had a lower forced vital capacity (FVC) on average, after adjustment for age and height, compared to the sawmill workers. In addition, a correlation was found between the across-week change in forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and the decline in FEV1 between the first and the second occasion, after adjusting for normal aging in nonsmoking wood trimmers (r2 = 84%, p < 0.001). The results from the present study suggest that across-shift decrease in FEV1 (measured during a working week) might serve as a guide to identify subjects being at risk for a further decrement in pulmonary function over and above the effects of normal aging and exposure to mold spores in the wood trimming department.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

PubMed2002

Burning wood in the kitchen increases the risk of cervical neoplasia in HPV-infected women in Honduras.

There is suggestive evidence that the use of wood for cooking increases the risk of invasive cervical cancer. We investigated this association in women with cervical neoplasia in Honduras. Women aged 20-64 years with cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) grade I (n = 44), CIN II (n = 36) or CIN III (n = 45) were recruited from screening programs in Tegucigalpa City and each was matched by age and clinic to 2 controls (241 total) without cervical abnormalities. The clinics selected women of low socioeconomic status. Cervical scrapes were tested for the presence of human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA using a general primer set directed against the L1 open reading frame, and HPV genotyping was performed. Odds ratios (ORs) were computed through conditional logistic regression; p-values were from tests for linear trend of risk with increasing exposure. HPV DNA was detected in 48% of women with CIN I, 67% with CIN II and 89% with CIN III. The ORs were 1.5, 2.5 and 38.3 respectively. At univariate analysis, age at first intercourse was consistently lower among cases than controls. Risk was reduced by 50% or more in all 3 CIN classes when initiation of sexual activity at age 20 years or older was compared with initiation before age 16 years (p = 0.013 for CIN I). No effect was observed for smoking, oral contraceptives or previous cytologic screening. Effects for number of sexual partners, parity, age at first pregnancy and education were in the expected directions but never persisted after adjustment for HPV. Chronic exposure to wood smoke significantly increased the risk of CIN III (p = 0.022). However, women who said "No" when asked if they ever used wood in the kitchen had a higher risk than those with low or intermediate exposure. This was taken as evidence that the initial screening question had either been misunderstood or that answers were biased. Restricting the analysis to women who reported exposure yielded positive associations in all CIN classes with for CIN III ORs of 2.3 for 25-34 and 9.5 for 35+ years compared with women who had 1-14 years of exposure (p = 0.017). A multivariate analysis of the complete dataset (n = 366) allowed for separate ORs for HPV in each CIN class. Inclusion of age at first intercourse significantly improved this model (p = 0.021). Adding exposure to wood smoke further improved the model only if an interaction between woodsmoke and HPV was allowed for. If, as the data suggest, it was assumed that wood smoke had its effect among HPV-positives only, there was a significant linear dose-response relationship between exposure to woodsmoke and risk of CIN (p = 0.026). This association was independent of other risk factors including education, parity and number of sexual partners. ORs in the final model were 0.37 for age at first intercourse 20 years or higher and 5.69 for more than 35 years of exposure to wood burning in the kitchen. The present study suggests that the use of wood for cooking is a risk factor for cervical neoplasia that deserves further study, given its high prevalence in developing countries.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2003

Juniper wood as a possible implant material.

Natural materials, such as wood and bone, possess structures fulfilling the requirements of support and transport of nutrients. Similarity in function and properties provides inspiration for investigating the possible use of wood as an implant material. Juniperus communis wood is dense, durable, and strong and has naturally impregnated essential oils that display antiseptic properties. This study investigated the toxicity of the oil, the effect of sterilization on the mechanical properties of the wood, and bone attachment with animal studies. The possible toxicity of the oil was determined orally and by intravenous injection. At low concentrations, the dose that would be released by the wood in the body could be tolerated without any detrimental effects. Sterilization of the wood in boiling water lowered the elastic modulus and modulus of rupture to a level at which the elastic modulus could be better matched to bone. Wood shaped into the form of femoral implants were implanted into rabbits and displayed good acceptance by the body up to a period of 3 years, indicating bone apposition, abutment into pores, and growth into drilled cavities.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

13C-isotopic fingerprint of Pinus pinaster Ait. and Pinus sylvestris L. wood related to the quality of standing tree mass in forests from NW Spain.

Pine forest plantations of Pinus pinaster Ait. and P. sylvestris L. located in Galicia, NW Spain, were selected to study the 13C/12C-isotopic fingerprint in wood core samples in order to find possible relationships between the delta(13)C at natural abundance levels and the quality of the standing tree mass. For each pine species, 24 forests growing on acidic soils were studied: half developed over granite and half over schists. Two dominant trees from each plot, corresponding to all possible combinations of forest stands with high or low site index and with adults or young trees, were drilled at the basal part of trunks using a Pressler drill to obtain tree ring samples. The C-isotopic compositions of the litter and the soil organic matter from different soil depths were also determined and statistically significant correlations between these values and the 13C content of the wood were observed. Despite internal variations due to the influence of site index, tree age and parent material, the isotopic fingerprint of P. pinaster wood (mean value delta13C=-26.2+/-0.8 per thousand) significantly differed (P<0.001) from that of P. sylvestris (mean value delta13C=-24.6+/-0.7 per thousand). Relationships between the quality of the stand and the C-isotopic composition of the wood were observed, high quality stands having trees more 13C-depleted than low quality ones. A high correlation between wood delta13C and site index values for P. pinaster stands (r=-0.667, P<0.001) was found, this correlation being even clearer when only P. pinaster growing over schists (r=-0.833, P<0.001) are considered. Again, the correlation between the site index and the wood delta13C of young P. pinaster trees is higher when plots over granite or schists are separately considered. A similar fact occurs for adult P. sylvestris trees from schists stands, high quality specimens being 13C-depleted compared with low quality ones. On the other hand, 13C natural abundance of wood from P. sylvestris trees seems to be also strongly influenced by the underlying parent material, young trees from granite stands having a statistically higher 13C-isotopic composition (P<0.05) than young trees from schists stands.

Biomass↗

PubMed2005

The elemental content in the mycelium of the ectomycorrhizal fungus Piloderma sp. during the colonization of hardened wood ash.

Piloderma sp., a wood ash-colonizing ectomycorrhizal (EM) fungus, was grown symbiotically with Norway spruce in microcosms which contained granules of hardened wood ash. Mycelium close to the granules was sampled 3 times over a period of 11 weeks and the elemental content was investigated with particle induced X-ray emission. Mycelium from microcosms without wood ash was used as controls. The contents of P and K were similar in mycelium growing close to wood ash granules to those in control mycelium, while the Ca content increased from 23+/-21 mg g(-1) in controls to 63+/-8 mg g(-1) in mycelium growing close to wood ash granules. The Ca content was also increased in other parts of the mycelium more distant from the wood ash. Piloderma sp. may have a role in the short-term storage of Ca released from wood ash, rather than in releasing and storing P.

Basidiomycota↗

PubMed2005

Quantitative determination of benzalkonium chloride in treated wood by solid-phase extraction followed by liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection.

Ammoniacal copper quat (ACQ) compound wood preservative is comprised of copper and quaternary ammonium compounds with benzalkonium chloride (BAC) as the active ingredient. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (LC-UV) was developed for quantitative determination of BAC in treated wood. Five species of wood were used, Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), Japanese larch (Larix leptolepis), Yezo spruce (Picea jezoensis), Sakhalin fir (Abies sachalinensis), and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla). BAC used in the present study was composed of 66% C12, 33% C14 and less than 1% C16. BAC was added to each wood species (500 mg) then extracted with HCl-ethanol (20 ml) and quantitatively determined with LC-UV (262 nm). Wood extractives from the heartwood of each species, except western hemlock, interfered with quantitative determination of BAC, but SPE with an Oasis MCX cartridge was effective in preventing this. Using the present methods, BAC homologue peaks were clearly confirmed without interference. Recoveries from wood ranged from 92 to 101% and the limit of quantitation was approximately 240 microg/g wood for the C12 and C14 homologues.

Abies↗

PubMed2005

Fourier transform infrared microscopy and imaging: detection of fungi in wood.

FTIR microscopy was used to detect and discriminate the two wood decaying fungi Trametes versicolor and Schizophyllum commune in experimentally infected beech wood blocks. The distribution of fungal mycelium in wood was locally resolved and semiquantitatively recorded using FTIR microscopy combined with a focal plane array detector and image analysis. Cluster analysis revealed major differences between FTIR spectra recorded from wood fibers and empty vessel lumina and spectra from mycelium of both fungal species, irrespective of whether the fungi were grown on the surface of wood or inside vessel lumina. Species-specific clustering of spectra of fungal mycelium grown on the wood surface and inside vessel lumina demonstrated the potential of FTIR microscopy to discriminate among fungal species decaying wood.

Cluster Analysis↗

PubMed2006

Attenuation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from urban stormwater runoff by wood filters.

A significant amount of contamination enters water bodies via stormwater runoff and, to reduce the amount of pollution, retention ponds are installed at many locations. While effective for treating suspended solids, retention ponds do not effectively remove dissolved constituents, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH). Previous laboratory studies demonstrates that aspen wood cuttings can be utilized to enhance the removal of dissolved contaminants. The objective of this pilot-scale field test was to determine if wood filters could effectively remove dissolved PAH from the runoff under field conditions. Four wood filter tests were conducted, lasting from 1 to 9 weeks, to determine the degree of PAH attenuation from the aqueous phase as a function of wood mass, residence times, and seasonable changes. The prototype wood filters removed on average between 18.5% and 35.6% (up to 66.5%) of the dissolved PAH contaminants. The PAH removal effectiveness of the wood was not affected by changes in water temperature or pH. The filter effectiveness increased with filter size and was highest in continuously submerged parts of the filter system. Also, heavier molecular weight PAH compounds (e.g. chrysene) were more effectively removed than lighter molecular weight compounds. Disassociation of weakly particle-bound PAH from the filter was identified as the most likely cause for a temporary drop of the wood filter's PAH load during intense storms. Simple filter design changes are likely to double the filter effectiveness and alleviate the disassociation problem.

Cities↗