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Mitigation of global warming, energy security and industrial competitiveness urge the energy-intensive pulp and paper industry (PPI) to transform energy use practices. This study investigates how the PPI has responded to the need for the energy transition in the 2000s. Finland and Sweden as forerunners of energy-efficient operation and decarbonization of the PPI are used as target countries. Understanding of changes in energy consumption is complemented using decomposition analysis (Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index Method) and the energy efficiency index approach. Analysis of companies’ investments in energy technologies is used for explaining changes in energy production. Evidence of significant development towards the more sustainable operation of the PPI was found. Energy consumption per produced unit has decreased, i.e., energy efficiency has improved. Fossil fuels have been partially replaced with bio-based alternatives. Thus, the CO2 intensity has decreased substantially. The generation of renewable electricity has increased in both countries. Examples of Finland and Sweden indicate that the PPI has great potential to contribute to CO2 emission reduction worldwide in the future as energy efficiency can be further improved, and the share of fossil fuels can be decreased increasing the use of biofuels and self-generated green electricity at least in kraft pulp mills.

With the increased awareness of reusing solid wastes for higher sustainability and the concern of water pollution associated with phosphorus over-emission, there are strong interests in developing solid waste based adsorbents for purifying phosphorus-containing wastewater. As a rich calcium resource, paper mill sludge (i.e., a major solid waste from pulping industry) can be used as phosphorus removal adsorbent after calcination. Thus, in this work, a simple and clean thermally treating route has been proposed for preparing calcium-containing biochar from paper mill sludge. The effect of the physicochemical properties of paper mill sludge and its carbonization condition on phosphorus adsorption has been analyzed. Moreover, the influence of some key adsorption parameters, e.g., biochar dosage, initial pH of solution, co-existing anions, initial phosphorus concentration and contact time has also been investigated. The results showed that the phosphorus adsorption data could be fitted well with pseudo-second-order kinetic and Langmuir isothermal models. The calculated maximum adsorption capacity of the as-prepared optimal calcium-containing biochar could reach to 68.49 mg·g−1 at 25 °C. Combined with the characterization results, it can be reasonably inferred that the adsorption process was chemisorption-dominated. Lastly, the application of this spent adsorbent in agriculture field has also been discussed. In brief, this work provided a feasible strategy for converting paper mill solid waste to an environmental functional material (i.e., calcium-rich biochar) for remediation of eutrophic water.

Nitrogen-fixing bacteria (NFB) can reduce nitrogen at ambient pressure and temperature. In this study, we treated effluent from a paper mill in sequencing batch reactors (SBRs) and monitored the abundance and activity of NFB with a view to producing a sludge that could work as a biofertilizer. Four reactors were inoculated with activated sludge enriched with NFB and fed with a high C/N waste (100:0.5) from a paper mill. Though the reactors were able to reduce the organic load of the wastewater by up to 89%, they did not have any nitrogen-fixing activity and showed a decrease in the putative number of NFB (quantified with qPCR). The most abundant species in the reactors treating high C/N paper mill wastewater was identified by Illumina MiSeq 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing as Methyloversatilis sp. (relative abundance of 4.4%). Nitrogen fixation was observed when the C/N ratio was increased by adding sucrose. We suspect that real-world biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) will only occur where there is a C/N ratio ≤100:0.07. Consequently, operators should actively avoid adding or allowing nitrogen in the waste streams if they wish to valorize their sludge and reduce running costs. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Efficient biological wastewater treatment of low nitrogen paper mill effluent was achieved without nutrient supplementation. The sludge was still capable of fixing nitrogen although this process was not observed in the wastewater treatment system. This high C/N wastewater treatment technology could be used with effluents from cassava flour, olive oil, wine and dairy industries.

This study optimizes a novel surfactant-assisted green liquor dregs (GLD) pretreatment of paper mill sludge (PMS), both of which are wastes from the kraft pulping industry, using a combined Response Surface Methodology (RSM) design. Optimized conditions give a maximal reducing sugar release of 16.38 g/L. A substantial reduction in heavy metals aluminum, chromium, cobalt, arsenic, lead, and copper after pretreatment illustrates the enhancement of substrate digestibility by reducing toxic elements. Separate hydrolysis and fermentation (SHF) and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF) for hydrogen production are assessed. SSF produced a hydrogen yield of 3.72 mL/g, displaying a 36.26% increase from pretreated PMS compared to SHF. These findings provide insights into possible methods of reducing process duration, energy input, and costs incurred with waste disposal within the paper industry. Furthermore, improved hydrogen yield using an SSF process demonstrates the potential beneficiation of pulp and paper GLD and PMS wastes.

We report a paper-based photodetector made from mixed cation organic perovskite halide MA1–xFAxPbI3 (MA = methylammonium (CH3NH3); FA = formamidium CH(NH2)2). The detector shows a substantial photo...

Around 60% of the paper worldwide is made from recovered paper. Especially adhesive contaminants, so called stickies, reduce paper quality. To remove stickies but at the same time keep as many valuable fibers as possible, multi-stage screening systems with several interconnected pressure screens are used. When planning such systems, suitable screens have to be selected and their interconnection as well as operational parameters have to be defined considering multiple conflicting objectives. In this contribution, we present a Mixed-Integer Nonlinear Program to optimize system layout, component selection and operation to find a suitable trade-off between output quality and yield.

Waste-to-energy or value-added products have been increasingly considered in many pulp and paper mills (PPMs) worldwide. However, developing appropriate conversion technologies is a major challenge in transforming PPMs wastes into biofuels or value-added biomaterials. In the present study, a long-term (320 d) anaerobic digestion of primary sludge of a thermomechanical pulp mill (TMP) was carried out for the first time in a thermophilic anaerobic membrane bioreactor (ThAnMBR). Effect of organic loading rate (OLR) in the range of 2.5–6.8 kg-COD/m3 d and hydraulic retention times (HRT) of 3–8 d on the process performance was investigated. Under various OLRs, stable biogas productions were obtained, and the best results were achieved with lower OLR (2.5 kg-COD/m3 d) and higher HRT (8 d), at biogas yields of 189 L biogas/kg MLSS fed. However, it was found that biogas production and sludge biomass degradation decrease when the organic loading rate increases. The proportion of sludge reduction ranged from 28.9 to 46.7% depending on the applied OLRs. Despite varying OLRs, stable membrane performance was obtained, where the required membrane flux was easily maintained during the reactor operation. In this study, also the properties of digestate and membrane permeates were studied under different operating conditions, and they fluctuated to some extent with OLR. ThAnMBR is a promising new technology for pulp and paper mill primary sludge treatment.

Writing and presenting results is important for any research work. Publishing is not enough; it should be written clearly and consistently for others to read and cite. We present a review of different techniques, for improving the writing in research papers intended for publishing. These include how to write the title, whether to use active or passive voice, how long sentences should be, how to present the uncertainty, understanding the International System of Units (SI) writing conventions, how to assign authorship, how to effectively use references, how to present the work, and how to publish it in a journal. This paper is a summary of the main and most recent recommendations in the scientific field on how to write a research paper to increase its impact.

Supercapacitors are favored by researchers because of their high power density, especially with the acceleration of people's life rhythm. However, their energy density, especially from the point of view of the whole energy storage device, is far lower than that of commercial batteries. In this work, a kind of customizable full paper-based supercapacitor device with excellent self-healing ability is fabricated by simple and low-cost screen printing, electropolymerization and dip coating methods. The resultant separator-free supercapacitor device exhibits both ultrahigh gravimetric and areal specific energy (power) densities of 39 Wh kg−1 (69 kW kg−1) and 692 μWh cm−2 (236 mW cm−2), achieving excellent supercapacitor performance. Notably, the addition of vitrimers endows the whole device with outstanding self-healing properties, which is helpful for enhancing the adaptability of the device to the environment. In addition, this kind of paper-based device also displays good photothermal and electromagnetic shielding performances. These striking features make paper matrix composites attractive in the fields of supercapacitors, medical photothermal treatment and electromagnetic shielding.

Photonic crystals film that possesses periodic dielectric structure have shown great prospect in developing environmentally friendly paper alternatives due to the unique properties of dye free and non-photobleaching, but their practical application is limited by the weak interaction between colloidal particles. Although some progress has been obtained, it is still a challenge to develop photonic paper with the desired mechanical and optical properties. Herein, multifunctional hard core/soft shell nanoparticles with controlled size are fabricated by semi-continuous seed emulsion polymerization method. Compared with convention colloidal particles, these core/shell nanoparticles can facile self-assemble into large-scale dense ordered structure film via dried at room temperature due to the relatively low glass transition temperature (Tg) of the shell layers. The facile fabrication route enables the continuous high-through put production of the photonic papers. The as-formed papers not only possess the capacity to solvent (water/ethanol) rewritable and multicolor painting, but also can rapidly reversible mechanochromic. Moreover, due to the good compatibility of core/shell interface, these photonic films possess excellent mechanical properties, demonstrating that this multifunctional film makes the fabrication of novel robust rewritable papers possible and enables visual monitoring of deformation degree.

In recent times, it has been witnessed that wireless systems based on IoT-based have developed rapidly in various sectors. The IoT (Internet of Things) is the network in which physical devices, equipment, sensors and other objects can communicate among themselves without human involvement. The WSN (Wireless Sensor Network) is a central component of the IoT, which has proliferated into several different applications in real-time. The IoT and WSNs now have various critical and non-critical applications impacting nearly every area of our everyday life. WSN nodes are usually small and battery-driven machines. Thus, the energy effective data aggregation techniques that increase the lifespan of the network are highly significant. Various approaches and algorithms for energy-efficient data aggregation in IoT-WSN systems were presented. This paper reviews the literature with specific attention to aspects of wireless networking for the preservation of energy and aggregation of data.

This paper introduces the background, concept and definition of the Industry Commons. It initiates a discussion on the positioning of the Industry Commons Ecosystem (ICE) with respect to current research directions in advanced manufacturing and production systems that shape advances in engineering and technology, novel business models and innovation breakthroughs. The potential value of data sharing across industrial domains is estimated at over $100 billion, particularly in view of optimising manufacturing processes. Data sharing across domains however faces a series of well-documented challenges associated with the lack of semantic interoperability and related standards, management of trust and sustainability. Solving bottlenecks in data sharing requires a systemic approach to data management, which can account for all aspects of data use, levels of application, attribution and dynamic exchanges. In this paper we propose a high-level ecosystem approach that integrates societal values with digital affordances of industry's cognitive-assisted processes, remote interfacing, hybrid applications and large-scale value networks. Early development of an Ontology Commons EcoSystem (OCES) is presented as the key enabling framework for Industry Commons interoperability and a series of enabling frameworks form the basis of future research directions in Trusted Data Sharing and Closed-Loop Lifecycle Management for greater sustainability.

Activating flux is made up of inorganic material mixed with a volatile medium. The objective of this study is to identify and review the literature in activating flux, and different type of welding techniques. For that purpose, a structured review method is adopted and the Scopus database is used as a primary source for the selection of papers. The papers were identified using the string term of “Activating flux” OR “Activated flux” in the title of papers. And a total of 238 papers were identified for the study. Besides the above few other papers were also reviewed and the materials used, the type of flux used, and the findings of different combinations were highlighted in the form of tables. The findings of the study provide a comprehensive understanding of the different type of welding techniques focusing on TIG welding, and the different combination of flux used and their impact was summarized.

The aim of the study was to use black liquor produced during the soda pulping process in a pulp and paper mill to increase methane production during pulp and paper industry sludge treatment and decrease the treatment cost. The effects of black liquor on sludge solubilization and methane production were assessed and the economic feasibility of the process was evaluated. Black liquor and NaOH were found to be equivalent in the thermochemical pretreatment process to solubilize sludge and disintegrate flocs. However, adding black liquor increased the background chemical oxygen demand and volatile fatty acid concentration and increased the amount of methane produced by approximately 7-30%. A start-up delay was emphasized by first-order kinetics model due to black liquor addition while methane production remained stable. Economic assessments of five scenarios were performed. It was found to be economically feasible to use black liquor to replace NaOH for the thermal pretreatment process. The surplus methane generated suggested that co-digestion of sludge and black liquor allows surplus bioenergy to be produced during the thermochemical pretreatment anaerobic digestion process.

The use of online learning and subsequent online testing has expanded rapidly in pharmacy programs across the United States. Numerous published studies have compared online learning with traditional methods in pharmacy. However, no such studies have been published in pharmacy. This study's objective is to compare first-professional year student preferences for computer-based vs. traditional paper-and-pencil testing for a required social and administrative pharmacy class.All students enrolled in the class were invited to complete one brief survey at the end of the semester to determine their testing preference.Of the 138 first-professional year students completing the survey, 79% (109 of 138) preferred computer-based testing, 9% had no preference, 6% (8 of 138) preferred paper-and-pencil testing, and the remainder (8 of 138) stated it depended on what was being tested. Ninety-one percent of students did not perceive the testing method to impact their grades. Students preferred computer-based testing over traditional paper-and-pencil as a convenient testing method (mean 4.73 vs. 3.4, P.001), providing immediate feedback (mean 4.87 vs. 1.91, P.001), and as a more effective testing method (mean 4.57 vs. 3.96, P.001).First-professional year students preferred computer-based over traditional paper-and-pencil testing for a social and administrative science class, with the method of testing not perceived to impact grade. This finding is timely, given the recent required transitioning of all pharmacy classes and subsequent testing to an online format due to the coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic.

The authors of the title paper (Journal of Optics 49:181–186, 2020) claim to have grown a so-called urea potassium dichromate (UPDC) by slow evaporation of an aqueous solution containing equimolar amounts of urea and potassium dichromate and characterized it based on a unit cell study. A critical analysis reveals that the claims in the title paper are erroneous. Hence, we reinvestigated the crystal growth reaction and determined the structure of the product crystal. Based on these studies, we prove that due to no chemical reaction between the reagents fractional crystallization of potassium dichromate (K2Cr2O7) occurs and not formation of any so-called UPDC crystal. Taking the title crystal as an example we show the importance of reporting single-crystal structure for new compound characterization.

Thermal papers are replacing the conventional form of printing and are being extensively used across the globe. This study encompasses a non-destructive approach to examine thermal papers by using ATR-FTIR spectroscopy and Video Spectral Comparator (VSC), where the former technique helps in characterizing and discriminating different samples and the latter helps in deciphering the faded prints on thermal paper. The qualitative analysis of the spectroscopic data based on peak to peak comparison and quantitative analysis using chemometrics has been done to obtain high discriminating power. Multivariate analysis using HCA gave a discriminating power of 83.82% and PCA showed a variance of 95.64%. The strength of the study is portrayed through the decipherment of artificially and naturally faded thermal papers using VSC and analyzing the effect of different storing conditions on their rate of fading.

Flexible paper-based surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate has attracted great attention in the sensitive detection of analytes in recent years. However, due to its inherent hydrophilic surface, the nanoparticles will not be concentrated very well on the surface of the paper. This reduces the reproducibility and sensitivity of the paper-based substrate. Herein, we demonstrate flexible hydrophobic paper-based substrate using silver nanocubes loaded on polymethylhydrosiloxane modified filter paper (AgNCs@SiO2/PMHS modified filter paper) to realize high sensitivity and reproducibility. The hydrophobic filter paper was obtained by dip-soaking the filter paper into PMHS solution, resulting in increased contact angle to ~112.5°. The AgNCs@SiO2/PMHS modified paper substrate shows high analytical enhancement factor (AEF) of 6.55 × 106, which is 2.2-fold enhancement compared to AgNCs@SiO2/normal paper substrate, and a low detection limit of 0.1 nM rhodamine 6G and 0.89 nM adenine. The high SERS enhancement factor and sensitivity is attributed to the high hotspots density created in the hydrophobic surface as a result of the excellent uniformity and superior sample collection efficiency compared to the normal filter paper-based substrate. Besides, the substrate shows excellent spot-to-spot and substrate-to-substrate reproducibility, with relative standard deviation (RSD) of 6.05% and 9.22%, respectively. Moreover, the AgNCs@SiO2/PMHS modified filter paper substrate achieved good stability; the Raman signal intensity only drops by 25.88% after 3 months of exposure to air. Therefore, this flexible hydrophobic AgNCs@SiO2/PMHS modified filter paper substrate with low cost fabrication and label-free SERS detection is a promising SERS platform for analytical and biological sensing applications.

Graphene-based papers have recently triggered considerable interests in developing the application as thermal interface materials (TIMs) for addressing the interfacial heat transfer issue, but their low through-plane thermal conductivity (κ⊥), resulting from the layer-by-layer stacked architecture, limits the direct use as TIMs. Although various hybrid graphene papers prepared by combining the graphene sheets and the thermally conductive insertions have been proposed to solve this problem, achieving a satisfactory κ⊥ higher than that of commercial TIMs (>5 W m−1 K−1) remains challenging. Here, a strategy aimed at the construction of heat pathways along the through-plane direction inside the graphene paper for achieving a high κ⊥ was demonstrated through the simultaneous filtration of graphene sheets with two different lateral sizes. The as-prepared graphene paper presented a hierarchical structure composed of loosely stacked horizontal layers formed by large graphene sheets, intercalated by a random arrangement of small graphene sheets. Due to the heat pathways formed by small graphene sheets along the through-plane direction, the hierarchically structured graphene paper exhibited an improved κ⊥ as high as 12.6 W m−1 K−1 after a common graphitization post-treatment. In the practical test, our proposed paper as an all-graphene TIM achieved an enhancement in cooling efficiency of ≈ 2.2 times compared to that of the state-of-the-art TIM, demonstrating its superior performance to meet the ever-increasing heat dissipation requirement.

Membrane heat exchangers were used for moisture and heat recovery from a hot and humid natural gas stream in indirect contact with an air stream. A plate membrane module with spiral channels on each side was designed to configure gas and air streams in co-current and counter-current flow. Two types of membranes, a commercial kraft paper, and a laboratory-made thin-film composite membrane, were used as the module core. The thermal efficiency and the water recovery from the humid gas were calculated and compared under different operating conditions. At a unit flow ratio of air/gas, the greatest effectiveness was achieved at a methane flow of 100 cm3/min, but water recovery increased at higher gas flows. For the counterflow configuration, an air/methane flow ratio of 2 was sufficient to achieve the highest total effectiveness and water recovery; however, larger air/gas ratios were beneficial to improve heat and moisture transfer for the co-current configuration. The highest water recovery by the kraft paper and composite membrane was achieved (approximately 15 mgH2O/cm2.h) for the input gas with the highest humidity. The dehumidification performance of kraft paper as a porous and hydrophilic membrane was slightly better than that of the composite membrane containing a dense hydrophilic polymer thin film in most cases. A relatively low heat transfer coefficient was found for the module, which was increased by using higher gas flow rates at higher humidity conditions.

This letter presented a pencil-on-paper-based ecofriendly capacitive touchpad fabricated through a low-cost lab- and solvent-free fabrication process. Economical, readily available, and biodegradable materials, such as pencil and paper, have been used for sensor fabrication. A touchpad based on five such sensors has been developed and evaluated by using it as a user control interface to on/off LEDs and displaying results on LCD and mobile app. The graphite sensors in the user interface have been shielded from the direct interaction of humans and the environment using changeable cling film to make the interface reliable and reusable. The interface can be used in different conditions and users by changing the shielding film. Simultaneously, the system's functionality will remain consistent and functioned similarly to the conventional touch sensors and buttons. These recyclable and easily arrayed touch sensor-based keypads can contribute to future developments in disposable and lightweight interfaces for human–machine interface, medical and healthcare applications, smart packaging, security monitoring, and consumer products.

Paper electronics have been fast developed in recent years due to their degradability and recyclability; however, most of them are barely equipped with logic functions, impeding them from becoming autonomous on-paper systems. To provide a working unit for logic implementations, a paper field-effect transistor (FET) with a clay-graphite channel that demonstrated negative differential resistance (NDR) is fabricated in this study. The device exhibited a p-type semiconductor characteristic with an optical bandgap of ∼1.97 eV according to photoluminescence analysis, resulting from considerable defective graphite mixed with clay in the channel. Considering that the NDR behavior is theoretically predicted to be tunable by the contact resistance, we fabricated FETs with different contact resistances and observed that the NDR behavior occurred in devices with relatively lower contact resistance. The NDR effect is also tunable by varying the gate voltage, which matches well with simulation results. The possible mechanism for the NDR behavior is the decrease in carrier drift velocity induced by band-to-band tunneling, associated with impurities-induced trapping states and gate-induced confined states. This work provides a promising and easy pathway to develop digital components using paper electronics in the near future.

Background Display signage is ubiquitous and essential in hospitals to serve several clerical, operational, and clinical functions, including displaying notices, providing directions, and presenting clinical information. These functions improve efficiency and patient engagement, reduce errors, and enhance the continuity of care. Over time, signage has evolved from analog approaches such as whiteboards and handwritten notices to digital displays such as liquid crystal displays, light emitting diodes, and, now, electronic ink displays. Electronic ink displays are paper-like displays that are not backlit and show content by aligning microencapsulated color beads in response to an applied electric current. Power is only required to generate content and not to retain it. These displays are very readable, with low eye strain; minimize the emission of blue light; require minimal power; and can be driven by several data sources, ranging from virtual servers to electronic health record systems. These attributes make adapting electronic ink displays to hospitals an ideal use case. Objective In this paper, we aimed to outline the use of signage and displays in hospitals with a focus on electronic ink displays. We aimed to assess the advantages and limitations of using these displays in hospitals and outline the various public-facing and patient-facing applications of electronic ink displays. Finally, we aimed to discuss the technological considerations and an implementation framework that must be followed when adopting and deploying electronic ink displays. Methods The public-facing applications of electronic ink displays include signage and way-finders, timetables for shared workspaces, and noticeboards and bulletin boards. The clinical display applications may be smaller form factors such as door signs or bedside cards. The larger, ≥40-inch form factors may be used within patient rooms or at clinical command centers as a digital whiteboard to display general information, patient and clinician information, and care plans. In all these applications, such displays could replace analog whiteboards, noticeboards, and even other digital screens. Results We are conducting pilot research projects to delineate best use cases and practices in adopting electronic ink displays in clinical settings. This will entail liaising with key stakeholders, gathering objective logistical and feasibility data, and, ultimately, quantifying and describing the effect on clinical care and patient satisfaction. Conclusions There are several use cases in a clinical setting that may lend themselves perfectly to electronic ink display use. The main considerations to be studied in this adoption are network connectivity, content management, privacy and security robustness, and detailed comparison with existing modalities. Electronic ink displays offer a superior opportunity to future-proof existing practices. There is a need for theoretical considerations and real-world testing to determine if the advantages outweigh the limitations of electronic ink displays.

Paper mill sludge biochar (PMSB) was produced via pyrolysis in a muffle furnace at 750 °C. Subsequently, PMSB was soaked in the HCl solution and washed by deionized water to obtain minerals and organic materials. The organics were named as demineralized paper mill sludge biochar (DPMSB). It was found that PMSB and minerals had larger pore diameters than DPMSB. Also, the removal efficiencies of Cu, Zn and As were above 95.00% by using PMSB and minerals because of the large pores, abundant carbonates and OH groups, while the removal efficiencies of Cu, Zn and As by using DPMSB were 40.92%, 87.93% and 94.99%, respectively, owing to the H + competition to Cu and Zn adsorption but more micropores to enhance As adsorption. The adsorption behavior of PMSB showed that the adsorption isotherms of Cu, Zn and As could be well simulated by the Freundlich model, and the pseudo-second-order model fitted the adsorption kinetics of Zn and As, and the Elovich model fitted the adsorption kinetics of Cu. Moreover, the optimal dosages of PMSB to adsorb Cu, Zn and As were 0.3, 0.3 and 0.1 g/L, respectively. And the pH values of the solution for the efficient adsorption of Cu, Zn and As were 4.00, 6.00 and 2.00, respectively. This work provided basic data for the potential commercial application of PMSB for heavy metals removal from wastewater.

The design of a cheap, simple, and handy sensing system for rapid quantitation of pharmaceuticals becomes mandatory to ease drug development procedures, quality control, health care, etc. This work describes a simple, innovative, and easily manufactured paper-based device using a correction pen as a plotter for hydrophobic/lipophobic barriers and graphene quantum dots for recognition and quantification of the hemostatic drug carbazochrome, via fluorescence turn-off mechanism mediated by the inner filter effect. A smartphone-based all-in-one device fitted with an inexpensive 365 nm flashlight as a UV light source and a free image processing software was developed for rapid and reliable interpretation of the fluorescence change from the paper-based device upon introduction of the drug. The simple and convenient steps permit the analysis of many samples in a very short time. The smartphone-based all-in-one device featured excellent sensitivity for carbazochrome with a limit of detection equals to 12 ng/detection zone and good %recovery (100.0 ± 0.4). The reliability of the device was ascertained by favorable statistical comparison with the analogous optimized conventional fluorimetry method and a reference HPLC method. The device has been successfully applied for versatile quantitation of carbazochrome in tablets and on manufacturing equipment surfaces with excellent recoveries. The device offers many green aspects that definitely assist the implementation of the sustainability concept to analytical laboratories. The cost-efficiency, reliability, and ease of fabrication as well as the greenness and user friendship qualify the device for wide application in low-income communities.

CdSe/ZnS quantum dots (QDs) and 3,3,5,5-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB) were incorporated into a filter paper to produce a paper-based colorimetric device for Hg2+ detection. Under visible light, the CdSe/ZnS QDs acted as a photocatalyst to oxidize TMB, resulting in blue colorization on the paper. Moreover, Hg2+ could enhance the photocatalytic activity of CdSe/ZnS QDs and consequently caused an increase in the color intensity of the paper. The color change of the paper-based device can be directly identified by naked-eye observation or captured by a smartphone and analyzed using image processing software for quantitative analysis. Under optimal conditions, a low detection limit of 0.09 µM was achieved. This device was applied for real samples, including tap water and cosmetics, and achieved satisfying results.

As a kind of industrial hazardous solid waste, paper mill sludge (PMS) was hard to treated by conventional process because of its high moisture, high organic content and and high environmental risk. The hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) shows excellent potential for the conversion to a wide variety of organic matter with high water contents including various kinds sludge into fuels or value-added chemicals. In this paper, the liquefaction potential for PMS under different reaction temperatures were investigated, and the products were classified into several main components based on the results of GC-MS. The results showed that the highest yield of bio-oil was 44 % (wt/wt dry PMS without ash) at 340 °C with simply compound composition. And the bio-oil product has above 26 % long chain hydrocarbon and 22 % cycloketones. It has potential for conversion to biomass platform compounds. It can be used as bio-fuel for heat recovery of alkali recovery system of paper mill. So, adjusting different reaction temperatures of HTL, the properties of products can meet the different requirements for platform chemical and/or bio-oil fuel.

With the arrival of the Internet and social media, at the same time as masses of humans have benefitted from the full-size reassets of records available, there was an full-size boom with inside the upward push of cyber-crimes, mainly targeted closer to women. According to a 2019 file with inside the Economics Times, India has witnessed a 457% upward push in cybercrime with inside the 5 years span among 2011 and 2016. Most speculate that that is because of effect of social media inclusive of Facebook, Instagram and Twitter on our day by day lives. While those simply assist in growing a legitimate social network, advent of consumer debts in those websites normally desires simply an email-id. A actual lifestyles man or woman can create more than one fake IDs and for this reason impostors can effortlessly be made. Unlike the actual international state of affairs in which more than one policies and guidelines are imposed to become aware of oneself in a completely unique manner (as an instance at the same time as issuing one’s passport or driver’s license), with inside the digital international of social media, admission does now no longer require this kind of checks. In this paper, we study the one-of-a-kind debts of Instagram, specifically and try and verify an account as fake or actual the use of Machine Learning strategies specifically Logistic Regression and Random Forest Algorithm.

The development of microfluidic devices for point-of-care (POC) testing has been widely applied for food quality control, environmental monitoring, and clinical diagnoses. Regarding the latter, microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (µPADs) have a great potential in developing portable and disposable platforms for fast disease-relevant biomarker detection in remote areas. In this work, k-nearest neighbors (k-NN) classifiers were applied to demonstrate the reliability of using chemical data obtained from µPADs for diagnosis of diseases like diabetes mellitus and hyperuricemia. Predictors based on glucose, lactate, and uric acid biomarkers were evaluated to reach this goal. Healthy adults were differentiated from the diagnosed patients with a perfect success rate. Metabolic disorders were suitably predicted with 95.0% overall accuracy. This model also showed sensitivities and specificities in the ranges 75–100% and 93–100%, respectively, indicating that the classification protocol is robust. The k-NN modeling proved the potential of the µPADs to be applied in telemedicine for reliable off-site diagnoses.

Flexible photodetectors functionalized by transition metal dichalcogenides have attracted great attention due to their excellent photo-harvesting efficiency. However, the field of optoelectronics still requires advancement in the production of large-area, broad band and flexible photodetectors. Here we report a flexible, stable, broad band and fast photodetector based on a MoS2/WSe2 heterostructure on ordinary photocopy paper with pencil-drawn graphite electrodes. Ultrathin MoS2/WSe2 nanohybrids have been synthesized by an ultrahigh yield liquid-phase exfoliation technique. The thin sheets of WSe2, and MoS2 contain two to four layers with a highly c-oriented crystalline structure. Subsequently, the photodetector was exploited under ultra-broad spectral range from 400 to 780 nm. The photodetector exhibits excellent figure of merit such as on/off ratio of the order of 103, photoresponsivity of 124 mA W−1 and external quantum efficiency of 23.1%. Encouragingly, rise/decay time of about 0.1/0.3 s was realized, which is better than in previous reports on paper-based devices.

Electrochemiluminescence (ECL) is a powerful technique with the advantages of high sensitivity and a wide dynamic range. However, most of previous strategies based on ECL could only detect one analyte so that it is inevitable to investigate the selectivity and influences of interferences. Herein ECL integrated with paper chromatography was showed to be a potential platform for separation and detection of two environmental hormones (bisphenol A, BPA, and dibutyl phthalate, DBP). In our approach, carbon conductive tape was attached to an ITO glass and then modified with multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) and CdSe quantum dot (CdSe QDs) to fabricate the working electrodes for ECL detection. The synthesis of CdSe QDs was optimized based on their photoluminescence spectra and the ECL intensities. The modified electrode was then coupled in the paper-based analytical devices consisting of the filter paper modified with chitosan. Based on their quenching effect on the ECL emission of CdSe QDs, excellent linear relationships could be obtained between decreased ECL intensities and both the concentrations of DBP and BPA. Besides, DBP and BPA could be separated based on their retention time by tilting the filter paper for 30° and then detected with ECL. This study suggested that paper-based analytical devices could be potentially applied for separation and detection of multiple targets due to their ease of fabrication and convenient operation.

Flying insect detection, identification, and counting are the key components of agricultural pest management. Insect identification is also one of the most challenging tasks in agricultural image processing. With the aid of machine vision and machine learning, traditional (manual) identification and counting can be automated. To achieve this goal, a particular data acquisition device and an accurate insect recognition algorithm (model) is necessary. In this work, we propose a new embedded system-based insect trap with an OpenMV Cam H7 microcontroller board, which can be used anywhere in the field without any restrictions (AC power supply, WIFI coverage, human interaction, etc.). In addition, we also propose a deep learning-based insect-counting method where we offer solutions for problems such as the “lack of data” and “false insect detection”. By means of the proposed trap and insect-counting method, spraying (pest swarming) could then be accurately scheduled.

Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) has raised a growing interest in how to "tame" serverless to enable domain-specific use cases such as data-intensive applications and machine learning (ML), to name a few. Recently, several systems have been implemented for training ML models. Certainly, these research articles are significant steps in the correct direction. However, they do not completely answer the nagging question of when serverless ML training can be more cost-effective compared to traditional "serverful" computing. To help in this task, we propose MLLess, a FaaS-based ML training prototype built atop IBM Cloud Functions. To boost cost-efficiency, MLLess implements two key optimizations: a significance filter and a scale-in auto-tuner, and leverages them to specialize model training to the FaaS model. Our results certify that MLLess can be 15X faster than serverful ML systems [24] at a lower cost for ML models (such as sparse logistic regression and matrix factorization) that exhibit fast convergence.

The study sought to examine the complexities involved in the implementation of public–private partnerships in the transport sector using the experience of Intercity STC Coaches Limited and private partners in Ghana. The study seeks to contribute to the literature on public–private partnership by examining the implementation challenges associated with the partnership between a public and private transport entities. An exploratory qualitative design through semi-structured interviews and document reviews is adopted for the study. The paper uses the complexity of joint action as the theoretical framework. The study contends that the presence of a challenge, the threat of a challenge or the quest to realize an untapped opportunity offers the basis for a PPP to kick-start. Despite the ideals, there are challenges which impede the effective operationalization of partnerships. These are discussed with clear policy suggestions to address them.

Despite the central importance of research papers to scientific progress, they can be difficult to read. Comprehension is often stymied when the information needed to understand a passage resides somewhere else: in another section, or in another paper. In this work, we envision how interfaces can bring definitions of technical terms and symbols to readers when and where they need them most. We introduce ScholarPhi, an augmented reading interface with four novel features: (1) tooltips that surface position-sensitive definitions from elsewhere in a paper, (2) a filter over the paper that "declutters" it to reveal how the term or symbol is used across the paper, (3) automatic equation diagrams that expose multiple definitions in parallel, and (4) an automatically generated glossary of important terms and symbols. A usability study showed that the tool helps researchers of all experience levels read papers. Furthermore, researchers were eager to have ScholarPhi's definitions available to support their everyday reading., 18 pages, 17 figures, 2 tables. To appear at the 2021 ACM CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. For associated video, see https://youtu.be/yYcQf-Yq8B0. v2 changes: expanded discussion of design process and implementation; improved figure design. v3 changes: fixed typo in cell of Table 2; updated HEDDEx and Schwarz-Hearst accuracy in Section 5.3

In modern academic social network, it is very difficult for scholars to find academic papers consistent with their research direction. Time is a critical factor in paper recommendation. As time goes on, the impact of an academic paper would gradually fade. Likewise, the research interests of users may also change. Therefore, we propose a temporal perceptual neural collaborative filtering model that integrates the multi-dimensional features of papers. We conducted our experiments on the dataset from CiteULike, comparing the recommended results by using four time-decay functions and evaluating our model with multiple evaluation indicators. The satisfactory results show that our model is effective in filtering out the expired papers by considering the characteristics of papers and the changes of scholars' interests.

Automatically detecting the positions of key-points (e.g., facial key-points or finger key-points) in an image is an essential problem in many applications, such as driver's gaze detection and drowsiness detection in automated driving systems. With the recent advances of Deep Neural Networks (DNNs), Key-Points detection DNNs (KP-DNNs) have been increasingly employed for that purpose. Nevertheless, KP-DNN testing and validation have remained a challenging problem because KP-DNNs predict many independent key-points at the same time -- where each individual key-point may be critical in the targeted application -- and images can vary a great deal according to many factors. In this paper, we present an approach to automatically generate test data for KP-DNNs using many-objective search. In our experiments, focused on facial key-points detection DNNs developed for an industrial automotive application, we show that our approach can generate test suites to severely mispredict, on average, more than 93% of all key-points. In comparison, random search-based test data generation can only severely mispredict 41% of them. Many of these mispredictions, however, are not avoidable and should not therefore be considered failures. We also empirically compare state-of-the-art, many-objective search algorithms and their variants, tailored for test suite generation. Furthermore, we investigate and demonstrate how to learn specific conditions, based on image characteristics (e.g., head posture and skin color), that lead to severe mispredictions. Such conditions serve as a basis for risk analysis or DNN retraining., to appear in ISSTA 2021

FT-Matrix is a typical vector-SIMD architecture that refines the cooperation between scalar and vector units. This approach is widely used in digital signal processing, high-performance computing, and artificial intelligence, among other fields. FT-Matrix currently adopts C vector extension as the main programming model, improving the utilization efficiency of SIMD by providing explicit vector extension API. Moreover, it is difficult to efficiently transplant parallel programs (OpenCL, CUDA) adopted by users. This paper proposes an automatic mapping and code optimization method for OpenCL kernels on FT-Matrix architecture. The proposed approach solves these challenges by means of work item coalescing, slicing and rotation, and instruction-level code optimization. Preliminary results show that our method can achieve high performance and good hardware utilization for OpenCL kernels, as well as decreasing the programming difficulty on FT-Matrix.

The objective of this research is to analyze how YouTube has been studied in the field of Internet and politics. The focus is received on two axes: i) as specificities of temporal and regional distribution and ii) as objects of study and as theoretical approaches most used in 90 articles and articles located in the field and published in Brazil, between 2005 and 2019, indexed to Google Scholar. The methodology consists in the combination of Bibliometry and Content Analysis. The data pointed that the production on YouTube at I&P grew from 2011 and that the southeast, south and northeast regions are the production centers on the analyzed theme. Also, election campaigns are found as the main object. Finally, political strategy / identity and citizenship and sociability are the two most widely used theoretical approaches in the analyzed universe.

Strongly electric fish use gradients of ions within their bodies to generate stunning external electrical discharges; the most powerful of these organisms, the Atlantic torpedo ray, can produce pulses of over 1 kW from its electric organs. Despite extensive study of this phenomenon in nature, the development of artificial power generation schemes based on ion gradients for portable, wearable, or implantable human use has remained out of reach. Previously, an artificial electric organ inspired by the electric eel demonstrated that electricity generated from ion gradients within stacked hydrogels can exceed 100 V. The current of this power source, however, was too low to power standard electronics. Here, an artificial electric organ inspired by the unique morphologies of torpedo rays for maximal current output is introduced. This power source uses a hybrid material of hydrogel-infused paper to create, organize, and reconfigure stacks of thin, arbitrarily large gel films in series and in parallel. The resulting increase in electrical power by almost two orders of magnitude compared to the original eel-inspired design makes it possible to power electronic devices and establishes that biology's mechanism of generating significant electrical power can now be realized from benign and soft materials in a portable size.

This paper is review on image fusion for different technique i.e. Non-subsampled Contourlet Transform (NSCT) and Neural Network (NN). NSCT is the pyramid structure and gives the multiscale feature of the image. NSCT used to directional filtering structure and used to filter bank. Neural network is a progression of calculations that tries to perceive fundamental connections in a bunch of information through an interaction that impersonates the manner in which the human mind works. The implemented algorithm will applied to MRI image and with the help of NN to calculated accuracy. The previous algorithm was work of different technique i.e. principal component analysis, discrete wavelet transorm and curvelet transform. The implemented algorithm will implement MATLAB software and calculate mean square error and peak signal to noise ratio.

To develop functional honeycomb plates (HPs) with great thermal performance, This paper uses a heat flow meter to determine the equivalent thermal conductivity λ E of honeycomb plates (HPs) positioned horizontally under cold-above/hot-below conditions and combined with theoretical calculations, the influence mechanism of their geometric parameters on their heat transfer performance were investigated with different thicknesses h and cell wall lengths of 8 mm and 16 mm (HP8 and HP16, respectively). The results show that the thermal insulation performance of HPs with different cell side lengths varies with the plate thickness. HP8 presented a better thermal insulation performance when h = 40–60 mm. Based on this, the concepts of matching honeycomb structure and matching convection and the suggestions that according to the needs of a project, HP8 or HP16 can be reasonably selected, and the stacking of two kinds of plates can be optimized were first proposed. And it can be obtained that if the experimental λ E results of a HP are applied to a beetle elytron plate with the same thickness and honeycomb structure size, the heat insulation of the beetle elytron plate (BEP) would be superior to that of the HP. This paper lays a theoretical foundation for the research and development of multifunctional BEPs with heat insulation properties was verified. Finally, the internal influence mechanism of the difference in temperature distribution on the upper and lower surfaces and the three-dimensional size of the honeycomb cells on the matching honeycomb structure and matching convection.

This paper analyses over 89,000 documents between scientific journals and international patents in order to identify main technologies for material pyrolysis (i.e. fluidized bed, hot balls, microwave, plasma, and laser), compare them in terms of technical performances and discover future trends. The predictive model for future trends is based on the evolutionary model of the TRIZ theory, with particular attention to the evolutionary law, “from macro to micro”, which explains how technical systems evolve towards increasingly smaller, controlled, and resource-efficient interactions. In our case, we applied the focus to the interface between the heat source and the pyrolyzed raw material. The proposed evolutionary model showed a substantial alignment with chronological trends, and the model was consistent with both patent trends and those of the scientific literature. To make the analysis quantitatively more robust, a comparison of the different technologies has also been introduced in terms of percentage distribution and the number of patents/papers referring to the different classes of heating rates and reaction temperatures and types of flash/fast/intermediate/slow reaction. Finally, a quantitative metric based on the innovation index has been adopted, to take into account the number of citations normalized on the years of publication. The main outputs of this study identified that radiations-based pyrolysis, involving microscopic interaction, seem more interesting in term of technical performances (i.e. heating rate and reaction temperature), although their technological growth has yet to occur, unlike fluidized bed and hot balls, which typically work at a macroscopic level and seem to have already reached maturity. According to a bibliometric index, laser corpus resulted three time more innovative then fluidized bed reactors papers, especially for heating rates and reactions temperature.

Rational design of photoelectrode architectures is deemed as an effective solution to enhance efficiency of photoelectrochemical water splitting for conquering increasingly prominent environmental problems. Herein, a programmable flexible photoanode with built-in tandem Z-scheme configuration fabricated by in-situ growth of MoSe2-CdS-ZnO array with ultrathin nanosheet-interlaced-nanorod structure on the Au paper electrode, is firstly reported. By taking advantages of the interwoven nanonetwork structure, high conductivity as well as larger porosity of the as-fabricated Au paper electrode, a stable light-harvesting paper chip with fast transfer/separate mediators of the charge/carriers is thus integrated. By virtue of double internal electric fields (IEFs) and photothermal effect, the developed MoSe2-CdS-ZnO photoanode exhibits incident-photon-to-current efficiency of 52 % under 460 nm of light irradiation, and the current density reaches 2.4 mA cm−2 at 0.3 V versus normal hydrogen electrode, which is comparable with respect to current state-of-the-art “type-II-scheme”, “surface-scheme”, and cocatalyst-free photocatalysts (0.03–2.4 mA cm−2). Consequently, the paper-based photoanode achieves admirable photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen generation property (39.7 μmol cm−2 h-1). The synergistic effect of tailorable tandem Z-scheme configuration with double IEFs and delineating of 3D cross-linked network structure of the proposed photoanode in this work may open an avenue for constructing high-performance photoelectrochemical water splitting devices.

We preliminarily examined whether it is possible to visualize synthetic materials applied to the surface of a base material by using near-infrared hyperspectral imaging at wavelengths of 1.0–2.35 µm. We focused on the applicability of this method for visualizing adhesives and varnishes, assessing the effect of underlying colorants on measurements, and selecting the optimal method for data analysis. Experimental samples were adhesive on a painted ceramic plate and varnish on printed paper. We performed correlation analysis, partial least squares regression analysis, linear discriminant analysis, decision tree, KNN and principal component scores 1 and 2 to evaluate the measurement data. The conventional method (visible/near-infrared spectroscopic/fluorescence photographs at wavelengths of 400–1000 nm.) could not visualize the adhesive on the painted ceramic plate or the varnish on the printed paper, whereas the new method could do so. Therefore, this method has the potential to be useful for inspecting the distribution of synthetic materials on the surface of a base material.

Bacteria identification has predominantly been conducted using specific bioreceptors such as antibodies or nucleic acid sequences. This approach may be inappropriate for environmental monitoring when the user does not know the target bacterial species and for screening complex water samples with many unknown bacterial species. In this work, we investigate the supervised machine learning of the bacteria-particle aggregation pattern induced by the peptide sets identified from the biofilm-bacteria interface. Each peptide is covalently conjugated to polystyrene particles and loaded together with bacterial suspensions onto paper microfluidic chips. Each peptide interacts with bacterial species to a different extent, leading to varying sizes of particle aggregation. This aggregation changes the surface tension and viscosity of the liquid flowing through the paper pores, altering the flow velocity at different extents. A smartphone camera captures this flow velocity without being affected by ambient and environmental conditions, towards a low-cost, rapid, and field-ready assay. A collection of such flow velocity data generates a unique fingerprinting profile for each bacterial species. Support vector machine is utilized to classify the species. At optimized conditions, the training model can predict the species at 93.3% accuracy out of five bacteria: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella Typhimurium, Enterococcus faecium, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Flow rates are monitored for less than 6 s and the sample-to-answer assay time is less than 10 min. The demonstrated method can open a new way of analyzing complex biological and environmental samples in a biomimetic manner with machine learning classification.

Exploring novel photoactive materials with high photoelectric conversion efficiency plays a crucial role in enhancing the analytical performance of paper-based photoelectrochemical (PEC) biosensor. SnO2, which possesses higher photostability and electron mobility, can be regarded as a promising photoactive material. Herein, paper-based one dimensional (1D) domed SnO2 nanotubes (NTs) have been developed with the template-consumption strategy. What’s more, their growth mechanism has also been proposed based on the controllable experiments. At first, the paper-based 1D ZnO nanorods (NRs) as the typical amphoteric oxide are prepared and serve as the sacrifice templates which can be etched by the generated alkaline environment during the formation of SnO2. At a certain stage, all the ZnO NRs can be completely etched by controlling the experimental conditions, resulting in the forming of vertically distributed hollow SnO2 NTs. Furthermore, the Sn self-doping strategy is also proposed to suppress the recombination of charge carriers and broaden the light response range by introducing the impurity energy levels. Profiting from such doping strategy, the prominent photocurrent signal is obtained compared with pure paper-based SnO2 NTs. Ultimately, an innovative visible light responsive paper-based Sn-doping SnO2-x NTs are developed and employed as the photoelectrode for the PEC biosensor using the alpha fetoprotein (AFP) as the model analyte. Under the optimal conditions, the ultrasensitive AFP sensing is realized with the linear range and detection limitation of 10 pg mL-1 to 200 ng mL-1 and 3.84 pg mL-1, respectively. This work provides a judiciously strategy for developing novel photoactive materials for paper-based PEC bioanalysis.

Nowadays, multi-functional systems driven by solar energy have been explored to alleviate the crisis of energy and freshwater scarcity. However, it remains a great challenge to integrate multi-functions into one hybrid system with a monolithic material, which can harvest, convert and store solar energy synergistically. Here, we firstly propose a multi-functional carbon nanotube paper, which starts from a material level to solve these problems. The carbon nanotube paper is fabricated by vacuum filtration. It exhibits high efficiency of solar-thermal conversion. Secondly, three types of energy conversion/storage systems (e.g., solar-thermal evaporation system, solar-thermoelectric generation system, and supercapacitor) are constructed based on the carbon nanotube paper, which extend the research to a device level. The solar-thermal evaporation system shows an evaporation rate of 1.28 kg m-2h−1 under simulated sunlight irradiation of 1 kW m−2. The solar-thermoelectric generation system demonstrates a stable electric power generation with an output voltage of 100 mV under light irradiation of 1 kW m−2. The supercapacitors perform the energy storage function with an areal specific capacitance of 19.6 mF cm−2. These devices and systems can be used in freshwater generation (0.84 kg m-2h−1, sunlight irradiation of 1 kW m−2), water purification/desalination (inorganic ions rejection larger than 99.9%) and portable solar charging system (maximum output voltage of 5 V). Finally, a hybrid energy system is innovatively proposed from the system level to simultaneously produce freshwater, generate and store electric power. Through the synergetic coupling of solar conversion and storage technologies, the hybrid energy system can supply sustainable freshwater and electricity for remote areas in daily life, highlighting the superiority of multi-energy (thermal energy, electrical energy, and electrochemical energy) complementary.

Creatinine is a clinically significant analyte used to diagnose kidney condition. However, the literature still lacks in creatinine sensors fulfilling point-of-care testing requirements. In this paper, we have developed colorimetric paper-based creatinine sensors adhering to point-of-care testing principles. The signal readout is accomplished with a smartphone modified with 3D-printed elements and processed with a self-written application compromising computer vision algorithm for automatic detection of the colored zone. Two colorimetric methods – routinely used Jaffe method and an alternative one with 3,5-dinitrobenzoic acid were both tested and compared. Hue channel intensity from HSV color space and green channel from RGB color space was used as the analytical signal in Jaffe and 3,5-dinitrobenzoate method, respectively. For both kinds of sensors the linear range of the response covered the range significant for urinary analysis, with precision, expressed as RSD, below 5%. Limit of quantification for Jaffe method was 1.05 mmol·L−1 whereas it was 0.82 mmol·L−1 for 3,5-dinitrobenzoate method. The utility of the developed sensors to selectively quantify creatinine in undiluted urine was proved using artificial urine samples and the obtained recoveries were in the range from 70 to 129 %.