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Detecting sputum pyocyanin (PYO) with a competitive immunoassay is a promising approach for diagnosing Pseudomonas aeruginosa respiratory infections. However, it is not possible to perform a negative control to evaluate matrix-effects in competitive immunoassays, and the highly complex sputum matrix often interferes with target detection. Here, we show that these issues are alleviated by performing competitive immunoassays with a paper biosensor. The biosensing platform consists of a paper reservoir, which contains antibody-coated gold nanoparticles, and a substrate containing a competing recognition element, which is a piece of paper modified with an albumin-antigen conjugate. Detection of PYO with a limit of detection of 4.7·10-3 µM and a dynamic range between 4.7·10-1 µM and 47.6 µM is accomplished by adding the sample to the substrate with the competing element and pressing the reservoir against it for 5 min. When tested with patient samples, the biosensor was able to qualitatively differentiate spiked from non-spiked samples, whereas ELISA did not show a clear cut-off between them. Furthermore, the relative standard deviation was lower when determining sputum with the paper-based biosensor. These features, along with a mild liquefaction step that circumvents the use of harsh chemicals or instruments, make our biosensor a good candidate for diagnosing Pseudomonas infections at the bedside through the detection of sputum PYO.

Polymers are often combined with magnetostrictive materials to enhance their toughness. This study reports a cellulose nanofibril (CNF)-based composite paper containing dispersed CoFe2O4 particles (CNF-CoFe2O4). Besides imparting magnetization and magnetostriction, the incorporation of CoFe2O4 particles decreased the ultimate tensile strength and increased the fracture elongation of the CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper. CNF was responsible for the tensile properties of CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper. Consequently, the magnetic and magnetostrictive properties and tensile properties of CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper can be controlled by changing the mixture ratio of CNF and CoFe2O4 particles.

Polymers are often combined with magnetostrictive materials to enhance their toughness. This study reports a cellulose nanofibril (CNF)-based composite paper containing dispersed CoFe2O4 particles (CNF-CoFe2O4). Besides imparting magnetization and magnetostriction, the incorporation of CoFe2O4 particles decreased the ultimate tensile strength and increased the fracture elongation of the CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper. CNF was responsible for the tensile properties of CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper. Consequently, the magnetic and magnetostrictive properties and tensile properties of CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper can be controlled by changing the mixture ratio of CNF and CoFe2O4 particles.

Polymers are often combined with magnetostrictive materials to enhance their toughness. This study reports a cellulose nanofibril (CNF)-based composite paper containing dispersed CoFe2O4 particles (CNF-CoFe2O4). Besides imparting magnetization and magnetostriction, the incorporation of CoFe2O4 particles decreased the ultimate tensile strength and increased the fracture elongation of the CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper. CNF was responsible for the tensile properties of CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper. Consequently, the magnetic and magnetostrictive properties and tensile properties of CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper can be controlled by changing the mixture ratio of CNF and CoFe2O4 particles.

Polymers are often combined with magnetostrictive materials to enhance their toughness. This study reports a cellulose nanofibril (CNF)-based composite paper containing dispersed CoFe2O4 particles (CNF-CoFe2O4). Besides imparting magnetization and magnetostriction, the incorporation of CoFe2O4 particles decreased the ultimate tensile strength and increased the fracture elongation of the CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper. CNF was responsible for the tensile properties of CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper. Consequently, the magnetic and magnetostrictive properties and tensile properties of CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper can be controlled by changing the mixture ratio of CNF and CoFe2O4 particles.

Polymers are often combined with magnetostrictive materials to enhance their toughness. This study reports a cellulose nanofibril (CNF)-based composite paper containing dispersed CoFe2O4 particles (CNF-CoFe2O4). Besides imparting magnetization and magnetostriction, the incorporation of CoFe2O4 particles decreased the ultimate tensile strength and increased the fracture elongation of the CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper. CNF was responsible for the tensile properties of CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper. Consequently, the magnetic and magnetostrictive properties and tensile properties of CNF-CoFe2O4 composite paper can be controlled by changing the mixture ratio of CNF and CoFe2O4 particles.

Light-weight paper products that contain less fibres, but with a maintained bulk and improved strength properties, are highly desirable due to the low cost of raw materials and improved logistics of packaged goods. In this respect, the adsorption capacity of dry strength additives onto fibres, which is affected by the surface charge of said fibres, is very important for the development of these mechanically robust paper products. The influence of the surface charge on the adsorption of strength additives was investigated for, dissolving grade fibres, kraft fibres and kraft fibres modified with carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) with different surface charge densities, but the same fibre dimensions. The strength additives investigated were cationic starch (CS), anionic polyacrylamide (APAM) and polyelectrolyte complexes (PECs), containing CS and APAM. A linear relationship was found between the surface charge of the fibres and the saturated adsorbed amount of CS. However, when either APAM or PECs adsorbed as secondary layers onto the CS, no correlation between cellulose charge and the saturation adsorption could be observed. The adsorption of APAM was dramatically affected by the pre-adsorbed amount of CS, whereas PECs were less influenced. Moreover, the additives improved the tensile strength (60%) and strain at break (> 100%) of handsheets formed with the kraft fibres and adsorbed APAM. It was also found that CS/APAM increased the sheet density while CS/PECs lowered it. In conclusion, the gained fundamental understanding of these adsorption of additives is of significant importance to facilitate the industrial development of sustainable low-cost high-end packaging products. Graphical abstract: [Figure not available: see fulltext.], QC 20221027

Pulp refining is an essential process step prior to paper production. The contribution of fines production during refining to the resulting paper strength so far has mostly been considered qualitatively. A quantitative and experimental evaluation regarding their effect has not yet been published. Unbleached softwood kraft pulp was refined using a PFI mill and a disc refiner at different refining intensities. Prior to handsheet forming, fines were removed in a lab scale pressure screen from one part of the refined and unrefined samples in order to investigate the difference in tensile strength between sheets with and without fines, which were furthermore produced with and without additional wet pressing. It was found, that fines formed in a disc refiner at 250 kWh/t are responsible for up to 25% of the breaking length increase, while the PFI mill at 10,000 revolutions fines only contribute to a maximum of 12%. In terms of fines efficiency, the disc refiner was able to achieve higher results compared to the PFI mill, which however might be attributed to the higher fibre flexibilization in the PFI mill. Thus fines formed in the refining process are of high importance for strength development especially for the disc refiner., QC 20230523

This paper aims to understand complex social events that arise when communicating general concepts in the digital space. Today, we get informed through many different channels, at different times of the day, in different contexts, and on many different devices. In addition to that, more complexity is added by the bidirectional nature of the communication itself. People today react very quickly to specific topics through various means such as rating, sharing, commenting, tagging, icons, tweeting, etc. Such activities generate additional metadata to the information itself which become part of the original message. When planning proper communication we should consider all this. In such a complicated environment, the likelihood of a message's real meaning being received in a distorted or confused way is very high. However, as we have seen recently during the Covid-19 pandemic, at times, there is the need to communicate something, somewhat complicated in nature, while we need to make sure citizens fully understand the actual terms and meaning of the communication. This was the case faced by many governments worldwide when informing their population on the rules of conduct during the various lockdown periods. We analyzed trends and structure of social network data generated as a reaction to those official communications in Italy. Our goal is to derive a model to estimate whether the communication intended by the government was properly understood by the large population. We discovered some regularities in social media generated data related to "poorly" communicated issues. We believe it is possible to derive a model to measure how well the recipients grasp a specific topic. And this can be used to trigger real-time alerts when the need for clarification arises., QC 20220408Part of proceedings: ISBN 978-3-030-95470-3; 978-3-030-95469-7

Double-roll compaction is a process to create extensible paper and paperboard suitable for replacing plastic in 3D forming applications. Understanding the macro- and micro-mechanisms governing the compaction process allows increasing the stretch potential while maintaining sufficient strength and bending stiffness. In this work, we approach the compaction process of paperboard with micro-mechanical methods featuring the unprecedented level of details otherwise inaccessible with currently available experimental tools. The loading scheme is based on experiments and continuum level simulations. The different levels of compaction and their continuous impact on the fibers’ geometry, void closures, and irreversible deformation of the fibers are thoroughly characterized. We find that the structural changes are concentrated in the fibers oriented within 30 degrees of the direction of compaction. The deformation accumulates primarily in the wall of the fibers in the form of irreversible strains. The spring-back effect beyond the compaction is negligible. For the first time, the role of normal and frictional fiber-to-fiber interactions in the compaction process is investigated and quantified. The frictional interaction between the fibers has a surprisingly low impact on the outcome of the compaction process, and the normal interaction between the fibers has a dominant response. The consequence of this finding is potentially limited impact of the surface modifications targeting the friction., QC 20220331