Search Results (211)

Dermatophytosis remains one of the most prevalent superficial fungal infections worldwide and is increasingly encountered as a persistent or difficult-to-treat syndrome. A major clinical problem is that apparent treatment failure is often attributed to antifungal resistance, although many cases are instead driven by diagnostic uncertainty, corticosteroid-modified disease, reinfection, inadequate exposure, poor adherence, and limited drug delivery within keratinized tissues. This narrative review was developed to clarify the distinction between true antifungal resistance and clinical recalcitrance, with particular attention to terbinafine-resistant Trichophyton species, Trichophyton indotineae, tinea incognito, onychomycosis, dermatophytoma, and high-barrier skin and nail infections. We synthesized peer-reviewed literature and guideline-level evidence addressing epidemiology, molecular mechanisms of resistance, clinical phenotypes of recalcitrance, diagnostic escalation, therapeutic decision-making, and antifungal delivery in keratinized tissues. The review contributes a dermatology-centered conceptual framework in which persistent dermatophytosis is interpreted through both microbiological resistance and modifiable recalcitrance drivers. This approach emphasizes confirmation of fungal disease when indicated, phenotypic and anatomic classification, avoidance of inappropriate corticosteroid combinations, optimization of dose, duration, vehicle, and adherence, measures to improve drug access and reduce protected fungal burden in high-barrier disease, and prevention of reinfection from reservoirs. The proposed framework may support more rational antifungal use and reduce unnecessary escalation; however, it is based on narrative synthesis rather than a systematic review or prospective validation. Additional studies are needed to determine how such structured clinical approaches affect clinical outcomes, relapse rates, antifungal exposure, and resistance emergence in real-world dermatology practice. Full article

Background: Hemodynamic depression, characterized by bradycardia and hypotension, is a common complication of carotid artery stenting (CAS) and is primarily attributed to carotid sinus baroreceptor stimulation. While prophylactic atropine is often used in high-risk patients, predictors of unexpected hemodynamic depression among patients initially deemed low-risk remain incompletely defined. Objective: To identify clinical, anatomical, and procedural predictors of hemodynamic depression in patients undergoing CAS without prophylactic atropine. Methods: We performed a retrospective, single-center observational study of consecutive patients undergoing CAS between January 2015 and May 2024. Patients who received prophylactic atropine for low baseline heart rate (HR) were excluded. Hemodynamic depression was defined as a >20% reduction in HR from baseline. Absolute bradycardia (HR <50 bpm) and hypotension (>40% reduction in systolic blood pressure) were recorded descriptively. Results: A total of 158 patients underwent CAS, of whom 33 (20.9%) were excluded due to prophylactic atropine administration for low pre-procedural heart rates (<60 bpm). Among 125 included patients, 62 (49.6%) experienced significant HR reduction during CAS. In multivariable analysis, a shorter distance between the stenotic lesion and the carotid bifurcation was independently associated with hemodynamic depression (OR 0.90 per mm increase; 95% CI 0.82–0.99; p = 0.023). Greater intraprocedural reductions in systolic and mean arterial pressure were also associated with HR depression. Traditional clinical risk factors, including age, sex, comorbidities, degree of stenosis, calcification severity, anesthesia type, and procedure urgency, were not independently predictive. Conclusions: Hemodynamic depression remains frequent during CAS even among patients classified as low risk. Lesion proximity to the carotid bifurcation is a key anatomical predictor of autonomic instability, highlighting the limitations of standard risk stratification and supporting a lesion-specific approach to periprocedural hemodynamic management. Full article

The Draw-a-Person (DAP) test has been a widely used practical instrument in psychological and developmental assessments to measure children’s cognitive development via human-figure drawings. Unfortunately, its traditional scoring process relies on manual inspections conducted by professionals, which is highly subjective and difficult to scale. In order to resolve these problems, this paper presents a hybrid approach that leverages deep-learning-based visual recognition and rule-based structural reasoning for automated evaluation of children’s DAP drawings. Specifically, the model assesses drawings based on 40 features, including anatomical parts, appearance-derived attributes, and high-level structural-drawing relations. A multi-label CNN built upon the ResNet-50 model predicts the visibles, and rule-based geometrical reasoning is adopted to infer structures, including attachments, proportions, symmetries, and placements. These two aspects are combined into a single hybrid representation yielding interpretable feature scoring consistent with developmental-evaluation standards. The proposed framework performs very well across multiple feature analyses, achieving a Micro-F1 of 95.32% and Macro-F1 of 91.72% on the test dataset, and demonstrating robust multi-label classification ability even on rare features. It provides a promising method for evaluating Draw-a-Person drawings, while offering reliable capabilities for feature analysis and scoring with accurate anatomical feature detection and reasonable structural and higher-level feature detection despite the challenging diversity of children’s drawing styles. The enforced rule-based structural reasoning improves interpretability and objectivity. Our future work includes extending the framework to cover further detailed DAP features. Full article

Background/Objectives: Intraoperative fluorescence imaging (FI) with tumor-targeted tracers offers a promising approach to improve surgical precision in cancer surgery. cRGD-ZW800-1, an integrin-targeted fluorescent tracer, has previously demonstrated safety, tumor specificity, and utility in detecting inadequate margins in oral cancer. During this study, we observed variability in background fluorescence between different subsites of the oral cavity. Therefore, this study aimed to systematically evaluate intraoperative in vivo and ex vivo mucosal contrast ratios across various oral cavity subsites using FI with cRGD-ZW800-1. Methods: Thirty-one patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma underwent intraoperative FI following intravenous injection of cRGD-ZW800-1 at least 18 h preoperatively. In vivo imaging was performed using the Quest Spectrum platform. In addition, ex vivo FI of the resected specimen was performed using the Pearl Trilogy Small Animal Imaging System. As these ex vivo images were obtained under uniform and controlled acquisition conditions, they allow for direct comparison with the intraoperative fluorescence signals. Fluorescence intensities and tumor-to-background ratios (TBRs) were assessed per oral subsite using manually drawn regions of interest (ROIs) on the tumor and adjacent healthy mucosa using Quest’s Spectrum Software, version 4.8.2, (in vivo images) and the Pearl’s integrated software ImageStudio version 6.2 (ex vivo images). A TBR ≥ 1.5 was considered sufficient. Results: Under uniform imaging settings, all samples exhibited adequate contrast (TBR ≥ 2.3), allowing clear tumor visualization and precise evaluation of mucosal margins on final histopathology. Notably, intraoperative in vivo contrast in the posterior located maxillary alveolar process was comparatively lower, which was attributable to suboptimal imaging conditions and subsite-specific background fluorescence. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that, although contrast varies across different oral subsites, all specimens exhibited sufficient ex vivo mucosal contrast to allow reliable tumor delineation. As in vivo imaging may be affected by subsite-specific background fluorescence and inherent limitations of intraoperative imaging geometry, fluorescence signals should be interpreted in conjunction with standard visual and tactile assessment. Due to anatomical constraints, different oral subsites may appear within the same field of view, which can influence perceived signal intensity. Therefore, intraoperative ex vivo fluorescence evaluation is recommended for signal interpretation. Full article

Background: Paranasal sinuses and mastoid air cells have been attributed to multiple functions—such as voice resonance, cranial lightening, and pressure regulation—yet their potential role in local thermal homeostasis remains underappreciated. The thermoregulatory hypothesis, first proposed in the mid-twentieth century, was largely abandoned after the mid-century, when anthropological findings of climate-correlated variation seemed contradictory. Hypothesis: We propose that pneumatized skull regions form a three-component craniofacial biothermal system that maintains thermal stability in the ocular vitreous and vestibular endolymph, two avascular, temperature-sensitive structures that lack intrinsic thermoregulatory capacity. This represents a novel integration that explicitly links paranasal and mastoid pneumatization into a coordinated system that protects sensory organs, distinct from previous brain-cooling hypotheses. Mechanism: The system comprises: (1) passive thermal insulation via air spaces, providing ~15-fold greater thermal resistance than bone; (2) active cold protection via mucosal heat delivery (estimated 2–5 W capacity); and (3) active heat dissipation via evaporative cooling (estimated 0.3–0.5 W capacity). This architecture provides asymmetric protection, with cold buffering exceeding heat dissipation by approximately 5- to 15-fold, consistent with thermodynamic constraints and putative evolutionary priorities. Evidence: Preliminary observations consistent with this hypothesis include the anatomical proximity of pneumatized regions to the vitreous and labyrinth, intranasal selective brain cooling studies, and clinical observations after mastoidectomy showing preserved pressure buffering but reduced vestibular thermal insulation under extreme stimulation. Climate-correlated pneumatization patterns are consistent with bidirectional thermal adaptation. Implications: We present five falsifiable predictions that can be tested with thermographic imaging, pharmacological manipulation, and computational modeling. Validation could inform surgical planning, explain postoperative thermal-sensitivity symptoms, and provide evolutionary insights into craniofacial adaptation. Full article

Sciatic neuropathy is most commonly attributed to spinal or muscular causes, whereas vascular-related compression remains underrecognized. We report a case of sciatic nerve entrapment caused by an anomalous inferior gluteal artery in the deep gluteal region, who presented with persistent right gluteal and posterior thigh pain for more than two years, refractory to multiple conservative treatments. Physical examination demonstrated marked allodynia and a well-defined Tinel-like sign, with radiating symptoms extending to the lower limb, suggesting a peripheral etiology. High-resolution ultrasonography identified an aberrant inferior gluteal artery, which crossed over and compressed the sciatic nerve, forming an accompanying artery of the sciatic nerve. Doppler imaging confirmed the vascular nature of the structure, while long-axis views demonstrated focal nerve compression with segmental swelling. Magnetic resonance imaging further corroborated the diagnosis. Ultrasound-guided hydrodissection using 5% dextrose and lidocaine was performed, resulting in significant symptom relief. Pain scores improved from 7 to 3 after treatment, with resolution of symptoms at two-month follow-up. This case highlights a rare neurovascular cause of sciatic nerve entrapment and underscores the importance of ultrasonography in identifying anatomical variations. Recognition of vascular contributions to deep gluteal syndrome may improve diagnostic accuracy and guide targeted interventions. Full article

The identification of liver tumors on computed tomography (CT) scans is hindered by myriad factors, including tumor heterogeneity, anatomical variability, and the limited interpretability of deep learning models in clinical settings. The present research introduces a deep learning-based framework, referred to as the ‘form of the Transformer’, in combination with Global Context (GC) fused with Transformer (Tf) and the Quantitative Attribution (QA) module, for a first reliable, explainable liver tumor detection framework. Moving away from traditional opaque classification systems, this framework uses gradient-based attribution with a localization module and evaluates its spatial alignment with tumor annotations without requiring segmentation supervision during model training. The framework accounts for long-range spacing and leverages Tf-Encoders, which substantially improve the system’s tumor-detection performance. Integrating the Attribution, this framework significantly enhances Qualitative Evidence (QE) in clinical settings. The experimental study has shown strong classification performance with the following metrics: accuracy 96.9%, precision 96.2%, recall 95.8%, F1-score 96.0%, area under the receiver operating characteristic curve 97.6%, and Matthews correlation coefficient 0.93. The classification-based localization of the system achieves an Intersection over Union (IoU) of 71.6% and a Dice coefficient of 83.5%, underscoring the alignment of tumor regions with their attributions. The results indicated significant improvements over existing CNN- and TF-based systems. Full article

Background: Effective topical anesthesia is essential to patient comfort and adherence during minimally invasive esthetic procedures. We retrospectively reviewed pain scores recorded after microneedling in a single private clinic where two topical anesthetic formulations—lidocaine 7%/tetracaine 7% (Pliaglis) and lidocaine 2.5%/prilocaine 2.5% (Anesderm)—were used as part of standard clinical practice on different anatomical sites and under different application protocols. Methods: Records were reviewed from 26 healthy female patients (mean age 42 ± 4 years; range 34–48) who underwent microneedling on the face and neck during 2024 in a single private clinic. According to the established clinic protocol, which was not modified for research purposes, Pliaglis was applied to the face without additional occlusion (self-occlusive peel-off film, in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendation) and Anesderm was applied to the neck under plastic-film occlusion (also in accordance with the manufacturer’s recommendation), both for 45 min prior to microneedling at a fixed depth of 1.25 mm. Treatment allocation was determined by clinic workflow; patients and the operator were not blinded, and the order of the two products within each session was not randomized. Post-procedural pain was recorded using a Visual Analog Scale (VAS, 0–10), with one decimal precision, separately for each anatomical site. Within-patient differences were analyzed using a paired-sample t-test, with a Wilcoxon signed-rank test as a non-parametric sensitivity analysis. Results: Pain scores were lower at the facial site (Pliaglis, no occlusion) than at the cervical site (Anesderm, occlusion): mean VAS 3.00 ± 0.63 vs. 5.38 ± 0.75; mean within-patient difference 2.38 points, 95% CI 1.97–2.80; paired t(25) = 11.87, p < 0.0001; Cohen’s d = 2.33. The Wilcoxon signed-rank test produced a concordant result (p < 0.0001). A within-patient pain reduction of at least 30% on the facial site relative to the cervical site was observed in 81% of patients (21/26). Both products were well tolerated, with only mild transient erythema reported. Conclusions: In this retrospective, non-randomized, non-blinded single-center analysis, lower pain scores were observed at the facial site (treated with lidocaine-tetracaine 7%/7% without additional occlusion, per manufacturer instructions) than at the cervical site (treated with lidocaine-prilocaine 2.5%/2.5% under occlusion, per manufacturer instructions) within the same patients. Because formulation, active-drug concentration, anatomical site, and the manufacturer-mandated occlusion technique co-varied between the two conditions, the observed difference cannot be attributed to formulation alone. These findings should be regarded as hypothesis-generating and require confirmation in prospective, randomized, split-region or split-face studies that disentangle formulation effects from site- and protocol-related factors. Full article

Objectives: Tracheobronchial foreign-body aspiration is a clinically significant condition in adults. Although classical teaching attributes the right-sided predominance to the steeper, shorter, and wider morphology of the right main bronchus, this explanation has not been empirically validated in patients with confirmed foreign-body aspiration. Methods: This retrospective study included adult patients (≥18 years) who underwent bronchoscopic removal of foreign bodies from the right or left main bronchus between 2012 and 2025. Only individuals with available preoperative chest radiographs were analyzed. Measurements included tracheobronchial angles, bronchial and tracheal diameters, bronchial lengths, and estimated airway volumes calculated under cylindrical assumptions. Results: Of 35 included patients, 26 (74.3%) had right-sided and 9 (25.7%) had left-sided bronchial foreign bodies. At the population level, the right main bronchus was significantly steeper, wider, and shorter than the left; however, these anatomical differences did not distinguish patients with right- versus left-sided foreign bodies. Tracheobronchial angles, tracheal dimensions, bronchial diameters, and diameter ratios were all similar between the two groups (p > 0.05). In contrast, right bronchial length and volume were significantly greater in patients with right-sided foreign bodies (p = 0.004 for both). Exploratory ROC analysis further suggested that a right bronchial length exceeding 23.28 mm may be associated with an increased tendency toward right-sided migration within this cohort. Conclusions: Increased right bronchial length and volume may facilitate a preferential pathway for airflow continuity toward the right bronchial tree. These findings challenge long-standing anatomical assumptions and highlight the need to incorporate geometric and airflow-dynamic factors into future models of aspiration mechanics. Full article

Medical image segmentation is challenging due to subtle pathological patterns and the inherent ambiguity of clinical descriptions. Although vision–language models have shown promise, they frequently lack fine-grained perception of structural variability. To address these limitations, we propose the Symmetry- and Variability-Perceiving Conditional Variational Autoencoder (SVP-CVAE). The proposed method integrates a clinical attribute encoder with a morphology-aware enhancement module that incorporates a cross-bilateral symmetry mechanism to explicitly capture symmetry-related variations. By reformulating the segmentation task as a probabilistic prior-to-posterior inference process, SVP-CVAE models the one-to-many mapping between textual attributes and visual realizations. Furthermore, we introduce an attribute-latent contrastive objective to ensure that the latent space encodes discriminative morphological information. Extensive experiments demonstrate that the proposed framework achieves superior segmentation accuracy compared to state-of-the-art methods. Results indicate that SVP-CVAE effectively captures diverse yet anatomically plausible structural variations while maintaining high sensitivity to bilateral symmetry. Comprehensive ablation studies confirm that the performance gains are synergistically driven by the proposed symmetry-perceiving module and the contrastive semantic alignment objective, rather than relying solely on the probabilistic formulation. In conclusion, integrating explicit symmetry perception with probabilistic modeling significantly enhances the reliability and interpretability of multimodal medical image segmentation in complex clinical scenarios. Full article

Background and Clinical Significance: Osteoblastomas are rare, benign but locally aggressive bone tumors with a predilection for the posterior elements of the spine. Their clinical, radiological and histopathological presentation often overlaps with that of osteoid osteomas, leading to diagnostic and therapeutic challenges—particularly in atypical locations such as the anterior thoracic spine. Case Presentation: We report two cases of young female patients (aged 35 and 30 years) presenting with persistent thoracic back pain unresponsive to NSAIDs. In the first case, imaging revealed a lesion at the right T7 pedicle initially attributed to osteoid osteoma; CT-guided thermoablation was declined due to proximity to neural structures. At this stage, we chose percutaneous transpedicular ablation by drilling through the centrum of the lesion (Nidus) surgically. After this transpedicular resection with initial symptom improvement, the patient developed recurrence with lesion progression into both anterior and posterior columns, requiring a second, open, surgical intervention. In the second case, a lesion at the left T11 pedicle and transverse process was identified directly as osteoblastoma due to size and radiological morphology; initial biopsy was non-diagnostic due to specimen fragmentation. In both cases, histopathology was inconclusive or misleading, while clinical and radiological features—including NSAID unresponsiveness, lesion size, and anatomical extent—favored osteoblastoma. Both patients underwent surgical resection via posterior costotransversectomy, partial hemivertebrectomy, expandable cage placement, and posterior instrumentation (T5–T8 and T10–T12, respectively). The postoperative courses were complicated by thoracic events—hemothorax in the first case and pulmonary embolism in the second—both of which were managed successfully. At follow-up, both patients were neurologically intact and pain-free. Conclusions: These cases emphasize the diagnostic overlap between osteoid osteoma and osteoblastoma and highlight the importance of clinical and radiographic correlation when histopathology is inconclusive. A posterior-only approach with costotransversectomy may be a valid strategy in selected cases of thoracic spinal tumors, although specific complications such as hemothorax must be considered. Full article

Background and Objectives: Prognostic assessments in grade 4 diffuse astrocytic tumors primarily depend on clinical and molecular characteristics, with radiological attributes frequently assessed in isolation. In this study, we explored whether an integrated radiological approach combining tumor burden, anatomical spread, and mass effect could contribute to survival prediction. Materials and Methods: A total of 310 adult patients with histopathologically confirmed grade 4 diffuse astrocytic tumors, diagnosed between January 2022 and January 2025, were included in this retrospective single-center cohort. Preoperative MRI was used to assess contrast-enhancing tumor volume, edema volume, and brain volume, combined with anatomical spread and midline shift as a marker of mass effect. Tumor burden was defined as the ratio of enhancing tumor volume to brain volume (ETV/BV). Overall survival was analyzed using Kaplan–Meier and Cox regression methods. Model performance was evaluated with the C-index, bootstrap internal validation, and 12-month calibration. Results: Tumor burden was higher in IDH-wildtype tumors, which also showed higher midline shift and more frequent deep structure involvement and contralateral extension. In multivariable analysis, IDH status, age, tumor burden, midline shift, and deep structure involvement were independently associated with overall survival. A greater tumor burden was associated with reduced survival. The addition of molecular and imaging-derived variables improved discrimination, increasing the C-index from 0.69 to 0.76. Following bootstrap validation, the corrected value was 0.73. Calibration at 12 months demonstrated acceptable agreement between predicted and observed outcomes. Conclusions: An integrated radiological approach that combines tumor burden, anatomical spread, and mass effect may support prognostic assessment in addition to established clinical and molecular variables. Full article

Background: Deep gluteal syndrome (DGS) has traditionally been attributed to sciatic nerve entrapment within the deep gluteal space. However, increasing evidence suggests that enthesopathy and soft tissue pathology of the short external rotators may also contribute to its pathogenesis. Conventional ultrasound-guided interventions primarily target the sciatic nerve through perineural hydrodissection (HD), which may not address enthesis-related pathology. However, the anatomical feasibility of delivering injectate along the deep gluteal fascial plane has not yet been investigated in cadaveric studies. Methods: This cadaveric anatomical demonstration evaluated whether an ultrasound-guided fascial plane injection within the deep gluteal space could simultaneously reach the enthesis of the short external rotators and the region of the sciatic nerve. Ultrasound scanning protocols were first demonstrated in a healthy volunteer to establish anatomical orientation for the injection pathway. Injection experiments were then performed in a fresh-frozen cadaver (83-year-old male) using a cranial-to-caudal in-plane approach. Ten milliliters of methylene blue dye was injected along the fascial plane overlying the short external rotator enthesis, followed by layer-by-layer cadaveric dissection to assess dye distribution. Results: Cadaveric dissection demonstrated that methylene blue injected along the deep gluteal fascial plane extended to the enthesis of the short external rotators and spread toward the surface of the sciatic nerve. Comparable distribution patterns were observed in both hips. These findings suggest that a single ultrasound-guided fascial plane injection trajectory may anatomically access both the enthesis region and the adjacent sciatic nerve within the deep gluteal space. Conclusions: Ultrasound-guided fascial plane HD in the deep gluteal space provides an anatomical pathway that can simultaneously access the enthesis of the short external rotators and the region of the sciatic nerve. This approach may represent a potential anatomical basis for a fascial plane-based intervention strategy in DGS. Further studies are required to evaluate in vivo behavior and clinical effectiveness. Full article

Human papillomavirus (HPV)-driven oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) has emerged as a biologically distinct entity, typically affecting younger, non-smoking patients and showing improved survival compared to HPV-negative tumors. Accurate HPV status determination is essential for correct staging, prognostic assessment, and treatment de-escalation. Despite advances, substantial variability persists among diagnostic methods and clinical workflows. A narrative review of PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science databases was conducted up to July 2025. Studies addressing HPV detection techniques in OPSCC—including p16^INK4a^ immunohistochemistry (IHC), HPV DNA and RNA assays, liquid biopsy approaches, and computational surrogates—were critically analyzed regarding diagnostic accuracy, clinical applicability, and emerging innovations. Tissue-based assays remain the diagnostic reference standard. p16 IHC provides high sensitivity but limited specificity and should be confirmed with nucleic acid-based methods such as DNA PCR, in situ hybridization (ISH), or E6/E7 mRNA detection. Combined or “orthogonal” testing minimizes discordance and refines risk stratification. Liquid biopsy detection of circulating HPV DNA using droplet digital PCR or next-generation sequencing has shown high sensitivity and specificity in cohorts of patients with HPV-associated OPSCC, supporting its potential role as a complementary biomarker for treatment monitoring and surveillance. However, circulating HPV DNA alone does not unequivocally identify the anatomic source of HPV DNA and should be interpreted together with clinical, radiologic, and tissue-based findings. Oral rinse and saliva assays show moderate diagnostic performance, while artificial intelligence-based radiomic and histopathologic models are emerging as complementary tools. Reliable HPV attribution in OPSCC requires a multimodal diagnostic strategy integrating p16 IHC, molecular confirmation, and ctHPV-DNA monitoring. Methodological standardization and prospective validation are essential to implement precision-guided, cost-effective workflows in routine clinical practice. Full article

This study investigated the surface characteristics and wettability behaviour of grey poplar (Populus × canescens) compared with spruce (Picea abies) in order to evaluate its potential as an alternative raw material for bonded structural wood products. Surface roughness was analysed on freshly planed radial surfaces using amplitude and functional roughness parameters, complemented by multivariate factor analysis and dynamic contact angle measurements. The results showed that grey poplar sapwood exhibited roughness values comparable to spruce (R_a ≈ 6–7 μm; R_z ≈ 35–40 μm). Grey poplar heartwood showed slightly higher roughness and greater variability, which can be attributed to its heterogeneous anatomical structure characterised by larger vessel elements and higher extractive content. Hybrid roughness parameters indicated favourable bonding-related surface characteristics in sapwood due to lower R_pk values, suggesting fewer protruding fibres, while higher R_vk values reflected the diffuse-porous anatomical structure of poplar. Static contact angle measurements revealed higher initial values for grey poplar (37.9° for heartwood and 41.9° for sapwood) compared with spruce (31.7°), indicating lower initial wettability with polar liquids. However, dynamic measurements demonstrated faster early-stage spreading in grey poplar heartwood (Δθ = 26.1° within the first second) compared with sapwood (16.8°) and spruce (17.5°), suggesting that vessel-driven capillary uptake may facilitate liquid penetration once wetting begins. Overall, the results indicate that grey poplar—particularly its sapwood fraction—exhibits surface characteristics comparable to spruce after planing. Despite slightly lower initial wettability, its spreading behaviour and surface morphology indicate favourable conditions for adhesive interaction. These findings support the potential use of grey poplar as an alternative raw material for laminated structural products such as glulam or bonded panels, provided that adhesive application parameters are properly adjusted. Full article