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SEM investigation of the production of extracellular mucilaginous material (ECM) by some wood inhabiting and wood decay fungi when grown on inert surfaces
1997 - IRG/WP 97-10194
A range of wood inhabiting and wood decay fungi have been studied for their production of extracellular mucilage when grown on inert surfaces, for comparison with their growth on wood. The species tested were: Coniophora puteana, Coriolus versicolor, Chaetomium globosum, Trichoderma harzianum, Ceratocystis coerulescens, Ophiostoma piceae, Mucor sp. and Penicillium sp. They were grown on plastic me...
A R Abu, R J Murphy, D J Dickinson


Effect of microfibril orientation of bamboo cell wall on soft rot penetration hyphae
1994 - IRG/WP 94-10087
The effect of microfibrillar orientation of bamboo (Phyllostachys virideglaucescence) cell wall on the development of soft rot (Chaetomium globosum) penetration hyphae was investigated. It was found that the soft rot penetration hyphae normally followed the microfibril angle of the cell wall. Bamboo cell walls have alternating broad and narrow lamellae with different microfibrillar angles. The mic...
O Sulaiman, R J Murphy


Enhanced biodegradation of cocopeat by soft rot fungi
1998 - IRG/WP 98-10276
Biodegradation of cocopeat (coir dust) was enhanced by the addition of nitrogen (N) fertilizer and inoculation with the soft rot fungus Chaetomium globosum. The N and fungally treated cocopeats had a greater percentage weight loss (27%) after 3 months compared with 7% weight loss without the added fungi and N fertilizer. In addition, their hemicellulose, cellulose and lignin contents were greatly ...
P Y Yau, R J Murphy


New perspectives on the biology of the tropical powderpost beetle, Minthea rugicollis (Walk.)
1994 - IRG/WP 94-10085
Minthea rugicollis (Walk.) is one of the most important pests of seasoned hardwoods in the tropics. The species owes its ubiquity largely to its insidious development within a nutrient-filled environment and also to a strong coevolutionary specialization with its natural habitat, wood. Such an environment provides a buffer to extrinsic fluctuations and accounts for a wider range of tolerance by im...
F Abood, R J Murphy, R W Berry


Influence of CCA and TnBTO on wood decay, under different oxygen levels and various initial moisture content
2001 - IRG/WP 01-10415
Fagus sylvatica (beech) and Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine) were impregnated by TnBTO (tributyl-tin oxide) and CCA (chromated copper arsenate). In wood blocks two levels of moisture content (50% and 100% of saturation point) were used. Three levels of oxygen concentrations (10, 21, and 50%) were chosen. Treated and untreated wood were exposed to three fungi (C. versicolor a white rot, C. puteana, a ...
S M Kazemi, R J Murphy, D J Dickinson


Invasion and colonisation of bamboo culm material by stain and decay fungi
2002 - IRG/WP 02-10453
Two distinct stages of the fungal infection of bamboo culms can be identified: entry into the culm itself (invasion) and further colonisation by spread within the culm wall tissue. This laboratory study aimed to characterise different invasion strategies of a variety of fungi. Well-known isolates of white- (Coriolus versicolor, Schizophyllum commune), brown- (Coniophora puteana, Gloeophyllum tra...
G Kleist, I Morris, R J Murphy


Treatment application method and CCA efficacy in Corsican pine - Assessment by serial exposure and soil burial tests
1993 - IRG/WP 93-40006
A previous report on this research (Newman and Murphy, 1992) identified possible variation in the efficacy of a CCA preservative applied to Corsican pine (Pinus nigra var. maritima) dependant upon the treatment application method (Bethel, Lowry or Steam/Bethel). This paper presents further data from biological testing of CCA treated Corsican pine using serial exposure and unsterile soil techniques...
P R Newman, R J Murphy


Losses of CCA components and creosote from treated timber to soil
1997 - IRG/WP 97-50098
Components of creosote and CCA preservatives can migrate within the wood and move into surrounding soil. However, at present, the ecological significance of such losses is uncertain. This paper examines the distribution of four target polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs ) and of copper, chromium and arsenic in treated stakes and surrounding soil after long term exposure in field trials. Concentrations...
N J Hudson, R J Murphy


Effect of vapour boron treatment on mechanical properties of wood based board materials
1992 - IRG/WP 92-3727
The mechanical properties of Medium density fibre board, Chipboard and Oriented strand board were investigated after treatment to two retention levels of boric acid applied as a vapour phase system. A range of mechanical properties were investigated. The vapour boron treatment does not have any significant effect on most of the mechanical properties of the boards. The exception is a reduction in i...
R Hashim, D J Dickinson, R J Murphy, J Dinwoodie


A methodology for the life-cycle assessment of treated timber products
1993 - IRG/WP 93-50001-01
Using case studies of CCA-treated motorway fenceposts and creosote-treated electricity transmission poles, the paper suggests an approach to evaluation of the overall environmental impact of treated timber products, utilising the emerging systems analysis method of life-cycle assessment (LCA). The development and application of LCA methodologies to date is reviewed and the key features identified....
S R Smith, R J Murphy, D J Dickinson


Effects of cyproconazole and copper sulphate on the length of the hyphal growth unit (HGU) of the white-rot fungus Coriolus versicolor
2003 - IRG/WP 03-10473
Wood decay basidiomycetes have been shown to produce appreciable quantities of extracellular mucilaginous materials (ECMM). The relationship between ECMM and total biomass production has been investigated in the white-rot fungus Coriolus versicolor (CTB 863 A). Differences in the amount of ECMM produced by the fungus proportionally to the total biomass, were observed under a range of physiological...
D Vesentini, D J Dickinson, R J Murphy


Observations on preservative penetration in poplar
1991 - IRG/WP 3662
In the course of studies on the CCA treatment and durability of poplar timber a zone of refractory wood at the sapwood/heartwood boundary was observed. Further studies were conducted to investigate the causes of this refractory behaviour. The initial results have suggested that the presence of lipid storage products in the ray tissue may lead to impermeability, either by directly blocking pits or ...
R J Murphy, S U Din, M J Stone


The effect of alternative pre-conditioning procedures on the durability of wood based board materials to decay fungi
1997 - IRG/WP 97-20105
In the biological testing of wood based board materials it has been shown that exposure of boards in a closed vessel system may lead to inaccurate results due to the build up of volatile substances that inhibit the test fungi. It is thought that this is a transitory effect of freshly manufactured boards. In the European standard for testing fungal durability of board materials which is currently u...
S F Curling, R J Murphy, J K Carey


Micromorphology of decay in Keruing heartwood by the basidiomycetes Phellinus contiguus and Dacrymyces stillatus
2002 - IRG/WP 02-10454
This study aimed to characterise the micromorphology of fungal decay in a wooden handrailing in an above ground exposure at the Thames embankment in London. Keruing heartwood (Dipterocarpus spp.) was determined as the construction timber and the two basidiomycetes Phellinus contiguus and Dacrymyces stillatus identified as main decay organisms. Their decay patterns within Keruing heartwood were...
G Kleist, M Ray, R J Murphy


Accelerated diffusion treatment of sawn Sitka spruce grown in the UK
1986 - IRG/WP 3395
The treatment of 'green' sapwood and heartwood of Sitka spruce by diffusion methods was investigated. Steam/dip treatment processes gave increased solution uptakes and depths of penetration of copper in comparison with a simple dip treatment. Further investigation is required to reduce diffusion gradients with copper based formulations and to improve the penetration of '...
R J Murphy, D J Dickinson


Investigation of extracellular mucilaginous material in some wood decay fungi
1996 - IRG/WP 96-10188
The external morphology of the extracellular mucilagenous material (ECM) produced by Coriolus versicolor and Coniophora puteana during colonization of Scots pine and beech was studies using SEM. Specimens were examined in the frozen hydrated, freeze-dried and critical point dried state. All technics produced artefacts but the ECM was best preserved when examined the frozen hydated state. Critical ...
A R Abu, D J Dickinson, R J Murphy


Distribution of fire retardant chemicals in kempas (Koompassia malaccensis)
1994 - IRG/WP 94-40037
Samples of Kempas (Koompassia malaccensis) heartwood were treated by vacuumpressure impregnation with solutions of monammonium phosphate, diammonium phosphate, ammonium sulphate or a borax-boric acid mixture. A commercial saltbased fire retardant formulation was also used. After slow air drying, the treated wood samples were sub-divided and zonal analysis carried out in order to determine the grad...
A R A Malek, R J Murphy


The efficacy of polymer/preservative treatments in soil-bed exposure
1992 - IRG/WP 92-3729
Southern pine was treated with CCA, CCB, sodium borax/boric acid, or disodiumoctaborate, alone or in combination with an acrylic polymer system containing a water repellent. Treated samples were subjected to an unsterile soil burial test. The addition of polymer reduced the weight loss in borontreated samples at the lower retentions but not at the higher retention. Results with borates indicate th...
R J Murphy, H M Barnes, S M Gray


The effect of of sorbitol on the decay of boric acid treated Scots pine
1991 - IRG/WP 1509
The tetra-hydroxy borate ion is known to undergo complexation with polyols of biological importance and probably protects treated timber by this action. The inhibitory effect of boric acid upon fungal growth and dehydrogenases has been shown to be prevented by the addition of certain polyols. This work was extended, with a study of the effects of a polyol on the performance of boric acid in treate...
J D Lloyd, D J Dickinson, R J Murphy


The effect of initial moisture content on wood decay at different levels of gaseous oxygen concentration
1999 - IRG/WP 99-10316
The influence of initial moisture content on wood decay at different levels of atmospheric oxygen concentration was studied. Three fungi, Coriolus versicolor a white rot, Coniophora puteana a brown rot, and Chaetomium globosum a soft rot, were chosen. The mycelia of the fungi were inoculated on mini blocks of Fagus sylvatica (beech) and Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine). Incubations were under four le...
S M Kazemi, D J Dickinson, R J Murphy


NMR T1 relaxation time as a non-destructive method for the study of decay in wood
1992 - IRG/WP 92-2406
The NMR spectroscopic technique of measuring the T1 spin-lattice relaxation times has been investigated for its potential in the detection of microbial decay in wood. The T1 NMR analyses were carried out on samples of Scots pine and European beech that had been exposed to decay and non-decay fungi representing each of the important groups colonising wood. Decay in the test material was also assess...
P W McCormack, A E G Cass, R J Murphy


Extracellular mucilage (ECM) in wood decay basidiomycetes
2002 - IRG/WP 02-10439
The ability of wood decay basidiomycetes to produce extracellular mucilage (ECM) and its relationship with total biomass production is being investigated. Growth and ECM production by the brown-rot fungus Gloeophyllum trabeum (FPRL 108 N) and the white-rot fungus Coriolus versicolor (CTB 863 A) was assessed in liquid culture under different conditions and in the presence of the fungicide cyprocona...
D Vesentini, D J Dickinson, R J Murphy


The effect of acid rain on CCA treated timber
1990 - IRG/WP 3579
The effect of acid precipitation on the leaching of copper, chromium and arsenic from timber treated with different CCA preservatives was studied in the presence of three types of soil under simulated field conditions. Pine sapwood, embedded in soil, was subjected to simulated rainfall at three different levels of acidity. The CCA preservative formulations tested were:- American Wood Preservers&am...
R J Murphy, D J Dickinson


Tool wear for vapor boron-treated composites
2001 - IRG/WP 01-40209
A series of composites, including oriented strandboard and medium density fiberboard, were treated via vapor boron technology. Treated samples were compared to untreated composites using a tool force measuring technique. Tool forces measured with a dynamometer indicated a positive effect of boron addition. Visual and SEM examination indicated a wider wear zone on the rake face of the tool for the ...
W A Jones, H M Barnes, H A Stewart, R J Murphy


Accelerated testing for out of ground contact using natural biological preconditioning
1996 - IRG/WP 96-20088
Small blocks made of Scots pine sapwood were treated, buried in vermiculite and exposed to natural microbial colonisation during outdoor exposure prior to laboratory decay testing. Periodic microbial isolations, moisture content, permeability and weight loss tests were also conducted. Bacteria and moulds colonised the vermiculite and miniblocks well. Aureobasidium pullulans was common on TnBTO tre...
S Molnar, D J Dickinson, R J Murphy


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