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The article presents information on the paper and textile artifacts of Frances Appleton Longfellow. It describes these artifacts as textile diaries which offer a unique mixed of textile manufacture, advertising and family memories of Longfellow. Among the topics discussed include France's collection and travel, his family life and views about clothing.

Abstract: A series of wood-fibre mats was investigated using high-resolution phase-contrast microtomography at the beamline ID 19 of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility in Grenoble, France. A method for data reduction to quantify the degree of fibre–fibre contact has been derived. The degree of fibre–fibre contact and bonding plays a fundamental role in the mechanical properties of cellulose-fibre mats, paper materials and cellulose-fibre composites. The proposed computerised automated method consists of two parts. First, fibre lumens are segmented using a watershed based method. This information is then used to identify fibre–fibre contacts in projections along the z-axis of the material. The method is tested on microtomographic images of mats made of wood pulp fibres, and is shown to successfully detect differences in the amount of fibre–fibre contact between samples. The degree of fibre–fibre contact correlates well with measured out-of-plane strength of the fibrous material. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Bisphenol A (BPA) is a high-production-volume chemical with endocrine disrupting properties commonly used as color developer in thermal paper. Concerns about the potential hazards of human BPA exposure have led to the increasing utilization of alternatives such as bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF). This study was designed to assess: (i) BPA, BPS, and BPF concentrations in 112 thermal paper receipts from Brazil, France, and Spain by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS); and (ii) hormone-like activities of these receipts using two receptor-specific bioassays, the E-Screen for (anti-)estrogenicity and PALM luciferase assay for (anti-)androgenicity. BPA was present in 95.3% of receipts from Spain, 90.9% of those from Brazil, and 51.1% of those from France at concentrations up to 20.27 mg/g of paper. Only two samples from Brazil, two from Spain, and ten from France had a BPS concentration ranging from 6.46 to 13.29 mg/g; no BPA or BPS was detected in 27.7% of French samples. No BPF was detected in any receipt. Estrogenic activity was observed in all samples from Brazil and Spain and in 74.5% of those from France. Anti-androgenic activity was observed in > 90% of samples from Brazil and Spain and in 53.2% of those from France. Only 25.5% of French samples were negative for both estrogenic and anti-androgenic activity. Estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities per gram of paper were up to 1.411 µM estradiol (E 2 ) equivalent units (E 2 eq) and up to 359.5 mM procymidone equivalent units (Proceq), respectively. BPA but not BPS concentrations were positively correlated with both estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities. BPA still dominates the thermal paper market in Brazil and Spain, and BPS appears to be one of the main alternatives in France. There is an urgent need to evaluate the safety of alternatives proposed to replace BPA as developer in thermal printing. The large proportion of samples with hormonal activity calls for the adoption of preventive measures., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Rivers used for drinking water production might be subject to anthropogenic pollution discharge upstream of the intake point. This problem was investigated in the case of the Moselle River, used for water production in Nancy (350,000 inhabitants) and which might be impacted by industrial activities 60 km upstream. The arsenic flux of a pulp and paper mill discharging in the Moselle River at this location has been more specifically investigated. The main sources of arsenic in that mill seemed to be the recovered papers and the gravel pit water used as feed water. The arsenic input related to wood and bark was limited. The main arsenic outputs from the plant were the paper produced on site and the deinking sludge. The arsenic concentration in the effluent of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) was not correlated to the one in the gravel pit water, but may depend on the operating conditions of the WWTP or the changes in processes of the mill. The impact of this anthropogenic source of arsenic on the Moselle River was slightly larger in summer, when the flowrate was lower. Globally the impact of the paper mill on the Moselle River water quality was limited in terms of arsenic.

High-pressure size-exclusion liquid chromatography and infrared microscopy were coupled to investigate the molecular weight and nature of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from various activated sludges. Six main families of compounds (proteins, polysaccharides, organic acids, lipids, mineral phases) were found either as a single molecule or as associations. The molecular weight of proteins varied from small (10 kDa) to large (600 kDa) sizes, while all polysaccharides were smaller than 1 kDa. Association of different molecules implied the presence of species large in size. The EPS chromatographic fingerprints of sludge from various origins remained stable in normal operating conditions, but were drastically modified during settling crises. In poor settling conditions, the EPS with smaller molecular sizes always prevailed and large polymers were underrepresented. The EPS identified in activated sludge were collected in a chemical database which provides the basis for comparison of municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants (WWTP).

The lipidic organic fraction of 48 sewage sludges that originated from food-processing, paper-mill and domestic (urban, small urban, and rural) wastewater-treatment plants of the Lorraine region (Northeast of France) was characterised by gas chromatography coupled with mass spectrometer (GC-MS). This study enables us to define an average organic composition typical of each group of sewage sludges. Linear alkyl benzenes (LABs) are only present in domestic sludges, sterols in food-processing and domestic sludges. Paper-mill sludges are characterised by the specific distribution of n-alkanes. Besides, all the domestic sludges, whatever the size of the wastewater catchment, are characterised by the same distribution of polar compounds. Differences can be evidenced in the distribution of the aliphatic compounds of some domestic sewage sludges and are attributed to the important contribution of petroleum products in their sewer system. Moreover, this study highlights the correlation between abundance of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the aromatic fraction of some sewage sludges and a distribution of n-alkanes characteristic of heavy petroleum products into the corresponding aliphatic fraction. This might be a clue for the determination of punctual sources of PAHs.

According to the new regulations on junk mail management to be adopted in France, both producers and distributors must participate in the recycling process. This case study was carried out in 2000 in four sectors in the Departement of Charente in the south west of France. This report presents the quantities of junk mail in residual waste and in separate collections. The conclusion is that the new regulations may reduce overall domestic waste production by 2-4%, with the impact on separately collected paper being some 20%.

The occurrence of filamentous bacteria was investigated in 15 French pulp and paper activated sludge wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Large filamentous populations were present in most of the plants. Identification carried out with conventional methods based on morphological features and staining techniques showed that the four main filamentous bacteria encountered in these industrial WWTP and responsible for bulking belong to the genera Thiothrix sp., Type 021 N, Haliscomenobacter hydrossis and Type 0092. During two years a specific survey was performed for three of these WWTP showing recurrent bulking phenomena. Data from WWTP performance, chemical data and filaments characterization were compared to correlate the presence of specific filaments with process operating conditions.