Thermal modification is an environmentally friendly method to increase the lifetime and improve the properties of timber. In this work, we investigate absorption of moisture in thermally modified pine wood (Pinus sylvestris) immersed in water using various nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) methods. Magnetic resonance images (MRI) visualize the spatial distribution of absorbed free water. Spin−echo spectra measured both below and above 0 °C reveal that thermal modification partially blocks the access of water to cell walls; even modification at 180 °C slightly reduces the amount of bound water, and the amount decreases about 80% in the case of the sample modified at 240 °C. The spectra and MRI show that, above the modification temperature of 200 °C, the amount of free water decreases, indicating that high modification temperature tends to close the pits connecting the wood cells. T 2 relaxation time distributions measured using the Carr−PurcellMeiboom−Gill sequence show four components, two associated with bound water and two with free water. NMR cryoporometry measurements indicate that the bound water sites are mostly below 2.5 nm in size. A unique combined NMR cryoporometry and relaxometry analysis showed that the size of cell wall micropores is between 1.5 and 4.5 nm, and thermal modification significantly hinders the access of water to the pores.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how modularity is used for enabling value creation in managing healthcare logistics services. Design/methodology/approach Material logistics of four different kinds of hospitals is examined through a qualitative case study. The theoretical framework builds on the literature on healthcare logistics, service modularity and value creation. Findings The case hospitals have developed their material logistics independently from others when looking at the modularity of offerings, processes and organisations. Services, such as assortment management, shelving and developing an information platform, have been performed in-house partly by the care personnel, but steps towards modularised and standardised solutions are now being taken in the case hospitals, including ideas about outsourcing some of the services. Research limitations/implications This paper proposes seven modularity components for healthcare logistics management: segmentation, categorisation and unitisation of offerings, differentiation and decoupling of processes, and centralisation and specialisation of organisations. Thus, this study clarifies the three-dimensional concept of modularity as a cognitive frame for managing logistics services with heterogeneous customer needs in a rapidly changing healthcare environment. Practical implications Modularity offers a tool for developing logistics services inside the hospital and increases possibilities to consider also external logistics service providers. Social implications Managing healthcare logistics services through modularity has potential social implications in developing healthcare processes and changing the usage of health services. On a wider scale, modularity is helping healthcare systems reaching their goals in terms of service quality and cost. Originality/value This paper shows the context-specific antecedents of service modularity and the usage of modular thinking in managing healthcare logistics.

The walls of solid matrix restrict the self-diffusion of a fluid absorbed in the matrix, and this is reflected in the echo amplitudes measured by PGSTE NMR. Hence, the pore size distribution of the matrix can be extracted from the echo amplitudes. We demonstrate that, when both liquids and gases (water and methane in this case) are used as probe fluids, the scale of the dimensions observable by PGSTE NMR may be over 4 orders of magnitude. This enables determining the dimensions of highly anisotropic pores. In the present case, the wood cell structures of Pinus sylvestris in three orthogonal directions were studied.

Thermal modification is an environmentally friendly process that enhances the lifetime and properties of timber. In this work, the absorption of water in pine wood ( Pinus sylvestris ) samples, which were modified by the ThermoWood process, was studied by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and gravimetric analysis. The modification temperatures were varied between 180 ° C and 240 ° C. The data shows that the modification at 240 ° C and at 230 ° C decreases the water absorption rate significantly and slightly, respectively, while lower temperatures do not have a noticeable effect. MR images reveal that free water absorption in latewood (LW) is faster than in earlywood (EW), but in the saturated sample, the amount of water is greater in EW. Individual resin channels can be resolved in the high-resolution images, especially in LW regions of the modified samples, and their density was estimated to be (2.7 ± 0.6) mm -2 . The T 2 relaxation time of water is longer in the modified wood than in the reference samples due to the removal of resin and extractives in the course of the modification process.

Thermal modification is an environment friendly method for increasing the lifetime and usability of timber products. In our previous work (J. Phys. Chem. B 2009, 113, 1080, we introduced a pulsed-field-gradient stimulated-echo (PGSTE) NMR based method that enables determining the highly anisotropic size distribution of voids (pores) inside wood cell structures in three orthogonal directions. Here, we demonstrate that the method can be used to quantify the effect of thermal modification on the pore dimensions in Pinus sylVestris pine wood. The results show that the modification decreases the dimensions of lumens inside tracheid cells both in the longitudinal and two transverse directions. However, the relative decrease becomes smaller at the highest modification temperature, implying partial destruction of the cell wall structure. The decrease is larger in the radial direction than in the tangential direction at all the modification temperatures.