Search

This study investigated converting abundant paper mill waste, de‐inked paper sludge (DPS), into value‐added medium‐density fiberboard (MDF) panels. The objective was to repurpose this solid waste into a valuable material that aligns with the principles of a circular economy. Previous research has examined the addition of paper sludge to wood composites, but there is limited information on the specific incorporation of DPS into MDF production. This investigation offers new insights into this application. MDF panels were manufactured using hardwood fibers, with varying levels of urea‐formaldehyde resin (10% and 12% by weight) and different loadings of DPS (ranging from 0% to 50% by weight). X‐ray diffraction analysis revealed the presence of defective DPS fiber crystals. Contact angle measurements confirmed that DPS had poor wettability, corresponding to increased water absorption. As more DPS was incorporated, the mechanical properties of the panels progressively weakened due to defective fibers and poor adhesion between the fibers and the matrix. This was evident in scanning electron microscopy micrographs, which showed an escalation in interfacial flaws. Increasing the resin dosage noticeably improved the internal bond strength and reduced moisture uptake across all levels of DPS. However, at a DPS loading of 50%, the properties of the panels deteriorated by 36%–57% compared to the control MDF. Additionally, thickness swelling and water absorption increased significantly with higher DPS content, primarily due to the hydrophilic nature of the fibers. Based on optimization, it was determined that a DPS loading of 20% with a resin content of 12% provided the best balance between performance, waste utilization, cost, and moisture resistance. The reuse of abundant paper sludge supports the goals of a circular economy. However, strategies are required to tailor the processing methods and enable higher levels of recycled material without excessively compromising the key attributes of the product. Further research should focus on enhancing the quality of DPS and its compatibility with wood fibers and resin to enhance the performance of the composite material. Highlights: DPS from recycled paper mill assessed for MDF production with wood fibers and resinIncreasing DPS loading caused reductions in strength and adhesion of panelsWater absorption and thickness swelling markedly rose with more DPS additionIt was attributed to hydrophilic fibers and disrupted fiber‐matrix bondingOptimal formulation was 20% DPS loading and 12% resin content, balancing performance, waste utilization, and cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon paper is commonly used for catalytic electrode preparation because of its high conductivity, corrosion resistance, and stability. However, traditional electrode preparation methods are inappropriate for highly hydrophobic carbon paper. In this paper, a high‐activity carbon paper catalytic electrode was prepared using multistrategies cold plasma modification to create atomic structural defects, dope N and Cu elements, and introduce oxygen‐containing functional groups. Analyses show that the bombardment of high‐energy particles caused atomic structural defects. Nitrogen and copper entered the carbon paper through plasma‐induced chemical recombination and physical adsorption, reaching 5.26% and 3.83%, respectively. Ethanol‐based plasma introduced oxygen‐containing functional groups to improve hydrophilicity. Finally, the plasma‐prepared electrode exhibited a reduction efficiency of 87.69% in an electrocatalytic nitrate reduction reaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex polymers represent a challenge for remediating environmental pollution and an opportunity for microbial‐catalysed conversion to generate valorized chemicals. Members of the genus Streptomyces are of interest because of their potential use in biotechnological applications. Their versatility makes them excellent sources of biocatalysts for environmentally responsible bioconversion, as they have a broad substrate range and are active over a wide range of pH and temperature. Most Streptomyces studies have focused on the isolation of strains, recombinant work and enzyme characterization for evaluating their potential for biotechnological application. This review discusses reports of Streptomyces‐based technologies for use in the textile and pulp‐milling industry and describes the challenges and recent advances aimed at achieving better biodegradation methods featuring these microbial catalysts. The principal points to be discussed are (1) Streptomyces' enzymes for use in dye decolorization and lignocellulosic biodegradation, (2) biotechnological processes for textile and pulp and paper waste treatment and (3) challenges and advances for textile and pulp and paper effluent treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Information on breastfeeding and safety of biologics in infants is lacking due to difficulties in case collection. We evaluated methods for determining the concentration of biologics in breast milk using a dry filter method that can simplify the collection, storage and transport of breast milk. Methods: To generate dried filter paper (DFP) samples, approximately 30 μL of breast milk was placed onto a Whatman 903 card and punched out. After extraction, the supernatant was measured using an enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay. Three concentrations of each drug were prepared in liquid breast milk (LBM) and DFP samples to determine their stability up to 28 days after storage at 2–8°C or −20°C for LBM and 25 ± 5°C for DFP. LBM and DFP samples were also provided by nursing mothers using biologics during lactation, and drug concentrations in both samples were compared. The agreement between the two measurement methods was confirmed by Bland–Altman analysis. Results: Breast milk was provided by 12 mothers who used biologics (tocilizumab, abatacept, etanercept, golimumab, sarilumab and belimumab). The coefficients of variation for within‐run and between‐run precision for the six drugs were within 15% for both LBM and DFP, and accuracy was within 90%–110% of the quality controls. After 28 days, concentrations remained at more than 90%. The difference between the values obtained by each method was within the acceptable range of error (−12.1 to +16.6 ng/mL). Conclusions: A method for determining the concentration of biologics using DFP is expected to help improve pharmacotherapy for lactating women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Industrial waste locks are used as raw materials to reduce harmful effects on the environment and improve environmental performance. Marble clay powder can be used as a filling aid and can fill voids in concrete structures. This article will show you how to use a maximum natural sand alternative in concrete with marble powder and quarry dust. The challenge of the 21st century is to change to a new form that can support the natural system. This necessitates a radical rethinking of how to give the community infrastructure and housing. Making a concerted effort to develop novel, innovative, and alternative construction materials may be necessary. Jungles of concrete around cause's impact on the Environment and it would result in climate change. Mankind must avoid the use of things that are detrimental to the environment. So in this paper, it is decided to address the issue by adopting the use of the green concrete concept which is environmentally friendly. Green concrete is concrete made up using industrial wastes such as marble powder, quarry dust, wood ash, paper pulp, etc. Green concrete, which is capable of sustainable development, helps to reduce the consumption of natural resources, energy use, and environmental pollution. Green concrete is more cost‐effective than ordinary concrete and reduces the cost of resultant concrete by 14%–20%. It is also observed that the alkali‐aggregate reaction and sulfate attack resistance of concrete are both significantly improved. Green concrete is a useful tool for lowering environmental pollution and enhancing concrete's resistance to harsh conditions. All stages of infrastructure construction and rehabilitation will follow this trend of using new cement and techniques. Green concrete's adaptability and its performance derivatives will meet a variety of future needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Direct air capture (DAC) is a sustainable technology to alleviate the greenhouse effect and a reliable pathway to acquire inexhaustible CO2 for the production of costly chemicals and energy products. Current DAC technologies with amine‐related sorbents rely on chemisorption, while they consume intensive energy for CO2 release and sorbent regeneration by heating. Developing new DAC processes with weak, reversible adsorption can substantially reduce the regeneration energies. Herein, the design of CO2 breathing paper (CBP) is demonstrated toward spontaneous CO2 extraction from ambient air and solar‐driven regeneration. The CBP is fabricated by coupling 2‐ethyl‐4‐methylimidazole to carbon nanotube paper on the basis of density functional theory calculations. At ambient conditions, CBP spontaneously captures atmospheric CO2 with a capacity of 0.14–1.75 mmol g–1 at 0–35 °C through non‐covalent electrostatic interaction. Upon exposure to sunlight, all adsorbed CO2 can be released and converted to concentrated gas for storage. Attractively, the efficiency of solar‐driven CO2 release is much higher than the traditional temperature‐swing method owing to the IR sensitivity of CO2. Besides the reversibility, the mild conditions also ensure the durability of CBP. These findings suggest that the CBP is a promising candidate for cost‐effective DAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To compare the urine Congo‐red dot paper test (CRD) with dipstick urinalysis to screen preeclampsia (PE). A total of 409 paired spot urine samples were obtained prospectively from women with suspected pre‐eclampsia attending for routine hospital visits. Congo‐red dot paper test and dipstick urinalysis were examined and compared to screen pre‐eclampsia. The agreement between the two urinary test is modest (kappa coefficient = 0.28, 95% CI 0.14–0.42). The specificity of CRD was higher than urinalysis (97.4% vs. 90.4%, p <.001). Urinalysis performed better in sensitivity (77.3% vs. 40.9%, p =.04) and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUC) (0.84 [95% CI 0.74–0.94] vs. 0.69 [95% CI 0.55–0.83], p =.04) than CRD, respectively. The sensitivity, specificity, AUC of the parallel test of them is 86.4% (64.0%–96.4%), 89.1% (85.5%–92.0%), and 0.88 (95% CI 0.79–0.96). And the serial test is 31.8% (14.7%–54.9%), 98.7% (96.8%–99.5%), 0.65 (95% CI 0.51–0.79), accordingly. The urinalysis is a better diagnosing test for preeclampsia. CRD could aid in the diagnosis of patients with preeclampsia. Combined the two tests in suspected patients may further improve the performance in the diagnosis of preeclampsia. Further study need to be made for its potential clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To determine the accuracy of high‐risk human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA samples on filter paper in comparison to specimen transport medium (STM). Methods: This was a cross‐sectional diagnostic study of 42 consecutive women who were prospectively recruited. Each had self‐collected vaginal samples on filter paper, physician‐collected cervical samples on filter paper, and physician‐collected cervical samples in STM. HPV DNA testing was performed with a Hybrid Capture 2 system (Qiagen). Sensitivity, specificity, negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV), and agreement of filter paper methods with the standard procedure were calculated. Results: The overall prevalence of HPV in STM was 67.5%. Detection of HPV DNA in the physician‐collected cervical samples on filter paper had a sensitivity of 77.8%, a specificity of 100%, a PPV of 100%, and an NPV of 68.4%. The patient's self‐sampling on filter paper had a sensitivity of 66.7%, a specificity of 100%, a PPV of 100%, and an NPV of 59.1%. The agreement between STM method and physician‐collected sample on filter paper was substantial, (κ = 0.695, P < 0.001), while the agreement between STM and self‐collected samples on filter paper was moderate (κ = 0.565, P < 0.001). Most patients reported that self‐collection was acceptable (100%), painless (95%), and not embarrassing (95%). Conclusion: Filter paper, with dried self‐collected vaginal samples, can be used to detect high‐risk HPV with acceptable accuracy. Synopsis: Self‐collected vaginal samples on filter paper, to detect high‐risk human papillomavirus, is better for women, easier to transport to central laboratories, and has acceptable accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study attempts to detect papers originating from the Russia‐based paper mill 'International Publisher' LLC. A total of 1,063 offers to purchase co‐authorship on a fraudulent papers published from 2019 to mid‐2022 on the 123mi.ru website were analysed. This study identifies at least 451 papers that are potentially linked to the paper mill, including one preprint, a duplication paper and 16 republications of papers erroneously published in hijacked journals. Evidence of suspicious provenance from the paper mill is provided: matches in title, number of co‐authorship slots, year of publication, country of the journal, country of a co‐authors and similarities of abstracts. These problematic papers are co‐authored by scholars from at least 39 countries and are submitted to both predatory and reputable journals. This study also demonstrates collaboration anomalies in questionable papers and examines indicators of the Russia‐based paper mill. The value of co‐authorship slots offered by 'International Publisher' LLC from 2019 to 2021 is estimated at $6.5 million. Since this study only analysed a single paper mill, it is likely that the number of papers with forged authorship is much higher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Regulatory aspects of transfusion medicine add complexity in blinded transfusion trials when considering various electronic record keeping software and blood administration processes. The aim of this study is to explore strategies when blinding transfusion components and products in paper and electronic medical records. Methods: Surveys were collected and interviews were conducted for 18 sites across various jurisdictions in North America to determine solutions applied in previous transfusion randomized control trials. Results: Sixteen responses were collected of which 11 had previously participated in a transfusion randomized control trial. Various solutions were reported which were specific to the laboratory information system (LIS) and electronic medical record (EMR) combinations although solutions could be grouped into four categories which included the creation of a study product code in the LIS, preventing the transmission of data from the LIS to the EMR, utilizing specialized stickers and labels to conceal product containers and documents in the paper records, and modified bedside procedures and documentation. Discussion: LIS and EMR combinations varied across sites, so it was not possible to determine combination‐specific solutions. The study was able to highlight solutions that may be emphasized in future iterations of LIS and EMR software as well as procedural changes that may minimize the risk of unblinding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]