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The production of micro- and nano-fibrillated cellulose (MNFC) from paper mill sludge (PS) using simple enzymatic and mechanical treatments has been evaluated for their performance as value-added materials in packaging and other applications. Sludge from a US paper mill was analyzed for the viability of this conversion process. The enzymatic treatment was conducted at variable concentrations using an enzyme cocktail of exoglucanase and endoglucanase, followed by mechanical dual asymmetric centrifugation (DAC) treatment. The presence of inorganics and lignin facilitated the mechanical defibrillation of the fibers, making the MNFC production more energy-efficient. The prepared MNFC was characterized for fibrillation, charge, crystallinity, and surface morphology. Scanning electron microscopic (SEM) images show the highly fibrillated MNFC and the distribution of inorganic nanoparticles on the fiber surface. The X-ray diffractometric (XRD) analysis shows 44-65 % crystallinity. Furthermore, MNFC-based films derived from PS demonstrated excellent strength and flexibility, making them suitable for packaging and other applications. Overall, this conversion approach can save the paper industry millions of dollars in disposal costs while upcycling waste and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with waste streams., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Proper management of wastewater treatment plant side streams in pulp and paper mills is a matter of great interest. This study evaluates the environmental impact of different strategies in the management of biosludge from pulp and paper mills in Finland through a Life Cycle Assessment methodology. The base industrial standard practice, biosludge incineration for energy recovery and ash landfill disposal (Scenario 1), was compared to the alternative process of hydrothermal carbonization. The hydrochar generated from hydrothermal carbonization was evaluated for energy recovery through incineration (Scenario 2), or for use in composting for nutrient recovery (Scenario 3). The results showed that the hydrothermal process improved the overall environmental performance of the sludge management, particularly in terms of energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The use of hydrochar as a soil amendment in composting also resulted in a significant reduction on the environmental impact compared to the other two scenarios. Overall, this study highlights the potential of hydrothermal carbonization and hydrochar utilization as sustainable options for managing biosludge from pulp mills., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

It has been ten years since the Editors of Micron contributed an editorial offering tips and tricks to help potential contributors navigate the editorial process and improve their chances of manuscript acceptance. In this contribution, we report how the updated guidelines have positively impacted the journal's content and performance over time, and provide new recommendations and insights to ensure your submission receives the attention it deserves from our editorial team., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Globally, the nursing profession constitutes the largest proportion of the health workforce; however, it is challenged by widespread workforce shortages relative to need. Strategies to promote recruitment of the nursing workforce are well-established, with a lesser focus on strategies to alleviate the burden on the existing workforce. This burden may be exacerbated by the impact of low-value health care, characterised as health care that provides little or no benefit for patients, or has the potential to cause harm. Low-value health care is a global problem, a major contributor to the waste of healthcare resources, and a key focus of health system reform. Evidence of variation in low-value health care has been identified across countries and system levels. Research on low-value health care has largely focused on the medical profession, with a paucity of research examining either low-value health care or the de-implementation of low-value health care from a nursing perspective. The objective of this paper is to provide a scholarly discussion of the literature around low-value health care and de-implementation, with the purpose of identifying implications for nursing research. With increasing pressures on the global nursing workforce, research identifying low-value health care and developing approaches to de-implement this care, is crucial., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Assessments of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in managed areas are facing various challenges. A non-flow-through, non-steady-state (NFT-NSS) chamber coupled to a frame permanently inserted into the landfilled substrates is a standard method for quantifying GHG emissions in managed areas, such as pulp and paper mill sludge (PPMS) landfill sites. Frequent measurements are needed to minimize uncertainties on GHG emission factors at the landfill site scale. However, maintaining a frame inserted into the substrates for a long time period is often impossible due to landfilling management operations. Therefore, GHG measurements using NFT-NSS chambers placed directly on substrates' surface could be an interesting option. Our objectives were to determine the relationships between CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O fluxes measured with (F + ) and without (F-) a frame inserted in the substrates' surface and to develop correction factors for fluxes measured without a frame. Measurements were made at different PPMS landfill sites in the province of Québec, Canada. Stronger GHG flux relationships were observed at the provincial (across sites) than the specific site scale: the variance in GHG fluxes from F- chambers explained up to 80 % of variance in fluxes from F + chambers. The measured CO 2 , CH 4 , and N 2 O fluxes in F- chambers were on average 53, 78, and 63 % lower, respectively, than those estimated by the models at provincial scale. The correction factors developed with this approach could greatly extend the number of sites where in situ GHG measurements can be done and would help refining GHG inventories at the provincial and national levels., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

A paper scintillator, which is composed of an organic scintillator encapsulated in silica nanoparticles adsorbed on three types of micrometer-size silica fine powder (scintillator-silica FP), was prepared by a paper making method. The scintillator-silica FP was found to be distributed throughout the paper scintillator, as shown in its emission images. Surface photoluminescence spectra depended on the amount of scintillator-silica FP and were assigned to the radioluminescence excited upon irradiation with β-particles of 45 Ca. The onset channels of the pulse height spectra of 3 H, 63 Ni, 14 C, 45 Ca, 204 Tl, and 32 P indicated their dependence on linear energy from 18.6 to 1711 keV using the H mode in LSC-7400 for the paper scintillator to detect their maximum β-particles energies. The paper scintillator could also detect α-particles from 211 At, and its pulse height spectrum was wider than that of a liquid scintillator (LS). Radon gas in air was collected using a gas sampler with the paper scintillator, and radiation from daughter nuclides was detected for 10 days. The adsorption/absorption of tritiated water onto/into the paper scintillator after dipping, dropping, and immersing the paper scintillator into tritiated water led to the detection of β-particles under different conditions of tritiated water for determining whether the radioactivity in the solution, is high or low. The paper scintillator smeared with tritiated contaminants detected tritium without requiring an LS, which is used in a smear paper., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper. Hirokazu Miyoshi reports financial support was provided by Japan Science and Technology Agency. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In insects, different pigments, such as melanins and pterins, are involved in thermoregulation. The degree of melanisation often varies along geographical gradients, according to the so-called thermal melanism hypothesis, i.e. darker forms are found in colder places because they can warm up more quickly. Similarly, pterins work as heat sinks and thus are expected to be more abundant in colder sites. Cities, which are warmer than surrounding areas (Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect), might also be expected to influence pigmentation, although studies are lacking. Here, we sampled workers of the social paper wasp Polistes dominula (Christ, 1791) (Vespidae) across an urbanisation gradient in an Italian metropolis and used iNaturalist pictures of this species across Italy to study pigmentation patterns at both urban and larger geographical scales. We found a lower yellow intensity of abdominal spots at warmer locations. Scanning Electron Microscopy strongly suggested that yellow colouration is due xanthopterin, known to be the heat sink molecule in other social vespids. Thus, wasps from warmer (i.e., urban) environments are likely to have fewer xanthopterin granules, in line with the lack of need for heat storage due to the local thermal gradient (UHI effect). At the country level, we found that wasps at higher latitudes had smaller yellow spots on the thorax and only two spots instead of four at higher altitudes, in full accordance with the thermal melanism hypothesis. In conclusion, climatic conditions seem to affect insect colour patterns both along urban and wider geographical gradients, although colour changes may affect different body parts and pigments likely according to different needs., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no competing interests., (Copyright © 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.)

Poly (lactic acid) (PLA) and Poly(butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) are two of biodegradable plastics with the highest production capacities in 2021. Bioplastic waste management can be easily integrated with organic waste management, especially when bioplastics are used as food packaging material, since they are potentially biodegradable. The aim of this study was to assess the biodegradability of biodegradable polymer-coated paper (BPCP) and bioplastic bags made from PBAT/PLA blend during mesophilic and thermophilic anaerobic digestion (AD) and to reveal the changes in the physicochemical properties of the bioplastics. BPCP obtained 155 NmL-CH 4 /g VS and 307.3 NmL-CH 4 /g VS under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions, respectively, but left bioplastic film residues. The bioplastic bags did not exhibit significant biodegradation during the AD processes. 1 H NMR results indicated that the ratio of PLA to PBAT decreased significantly after AD of the BPCP film and that PLA monomers were formed from the bioplastic bags, leading to a decrease in the hydrophobicity on the surfaces of the materials. Methanoculleus was found to be enriched on the bioplastic surface after mesophilic AD. From the perspective of coupling bioplastic waste management with the food waste management, the incorporation of BPCP into the AD reactor not only enhances system stability and methane production to a greater extent than biodegradable plastic bags but also raises concerns regarding the residual biofilm when utilizing the digestate for direct land applications., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The study was focused on assessment of potential health risks of paper-based food contact materials (FCMs) in a step-wise approach using three toxicological bioassays in vitro and chemical analyses of migrating contaminants. 3T3 NRU cytotoxicity test showed high sensitivity to detect basal toxicity of FCMs extracts and served as a first-line test for selection of samples for further testing. The reconstructed human intestine model EpiIntestinal showed more realistic tissue response than cell culture monolayer and higher resistance despite prolonged exposure to the selected 6 samples, i.e. negligible decrease of viability and intestinal penetration, nevertheless an increase of IL-8 after exposure to black printed sample extract. Yeast based assays identified weak agonistic/antagonostic activity to human androgen receptor of the black printed sample. In accordance with the biological effects, the targeted LC and GC analytical methods confirmed the presence of high amounts of phthalates, photoinitiators and PAHs that could justify the hazard of the black printed sample. Heavily printed uncoated FCMs are recognized not to be suitable for direct contact with food. The selected bioassays and chemical analyses might be useful tools to detect targeted biological effects of xenobiotics suspected to contribute to human exposure from food., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

It is of great significance to reduce the secondary risk of heavy metals during the pyrolysis of paper sludge. This study used kaolin and alumina-silica-based xerogels to control heavy metals released during sludge pyrolysis. Pyrolyzing a mixture of sludge and 7% kaolin at 400 °C achieved high retention rates for Cu (95.85%), Zn (95.97%), Pb (97.15%), Cd (84.23%), and Cr (84.05%) when the pyrolysis tail gas was treated with 9 g of xerogel. The addition of kaolin facilitated the transformation of Cu, Zn, Pb, and Cr from the unstable fraction to the stable fraction in pyrolysis biochar, reducing their leachability. The xerogels also played a crucial role in adsorbing and stabilizing the heavy metals. The results of thermodynamic equilibrium calculations showed that Pb(g), PbS(g), PbCl 2 (g), PbCl(g), Zn(g), ZnCl 2 (g), and Cd(g) were the main gaseous products of Zn, Pb, and Cd during paper sludge pyrolysis. The Pb atoms in PbCl 2 and PbS, and the Zn atoms in ZnCl 2 bond with the oxygen atoms on the kaolin surface by covalent bonds, while the Cl atoms in PbCl and the Pb atoms of elemental lead form ionic bonds with H and O atoms on the kaolinite surface, respectively. These experimental and simulation results offer new ideas for controlling heavy metals during sludge pyrolysis., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Primary paper mill sludge (PPMS) is the major waste expelled from the pulp and paper industries contributing soil and water pollution through the recalcitrant organic and inorganic constituents. These pollutants can, however, be transformed into a high-value soil ameliorating material with nominal investment and time. Current study therefore evaluated the potential of rotary drum composting PPMS for 20 days to delineate an environmentally sustainable option. Five trials with proportions of PPMS, cow dung and saw dust: Trial 1 (10:0:0), Trial 2 (8:1:1), Trial 3 (7:2:1), Trial 4 (6:3:1) and Trial 5 (5:4:1) were performed for evaluation of degrading and nutritive ability along with the fate of pollutants for total mass of 150 kg. Trial 4 exhibited highest metabolic activity contributing higher temperature evolution and longer thermophilic phase (10 days) owing to optimum addition of innoculum and nitrogen through the cattle manure. Moreover, degradation of 16.8% organic matter was also best achieved in Trial 4 following up first-order kinetics. Furthermore, BOD, COD and C/N ratio also explains degradation to be maximum in trial 4 (6:3:1) with reduction of 59.3%, 60.1% and C/N ratio from 55.1 to 18 respectively, proving to be the essential determining factors. Phosphorus availability increased by around 67% in trial 4. PPMS can be thus transformed into a potential valued added product and safe for subsequent land application., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Pulp and paper mill effluent can cause changes in the morphology and energy metabolism in the zebrafish (Danio rerio) testis. Betulin, a naturally occurring triterpene is commonly present in this type of effluent and is suspected of being involved in these effects. The aim of this study was to compare the effects pulp and paper mill effluent and betulin on various aspects of testicular physiology in the zebrafish. This included the in vitro effects of effluent and betulin on testicular lactate content and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity. In addition, the effects of betulin on glucose uptake, glycogen, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), reactive oxygen and nitrogen species formation and oxidative damage in the testes were determined. Furthermore, we compared the effects and mechanism of action of betulin and effluent on calcium homeostasis in testes. In vitro exposure to both effluent and betulin decreased lactate and calcium influx, possibly due to the activation of the sodium‑calcium exchanger (NCX) pump. Additionally, betulin-treated testes had higher reactive oxygen species (ROS) and reduced glutathione (GSH) content, as well as increased glutathione transferase (GST) activity and a tendency towards decreased catalase (CAT) activity. Thus, this study shows that alterations in testis physiology caused by the pulp and paper mill effluent in the testis may be due in part to the actions of betulin., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This study compares the impact of the calcium-based additives and the pyrolyzer on the recovery and the halide content of the oil produced from the pyrolysis of paper-laminated phenolic resin printed circuit boards (FR2-PCB). The preliminary experiments showed that the maximum liquid recovery (40.6%) was achieved in a fluidized bed pyrolyzer containing a 50:50 mixture of CaO and Ca(OH) 2 operating at T = 620 °C and PCB-to-additive ratio (FR2/A) = 5.4 g/g for 22 min. Extra tests were then carried out under these conditions in fixed and fluidized bed pyrolyzers to separately explore the impact of CaO, Ca(OH) 2 , and CaO + Ca(OH) 2 on the liquid recovery (L R ) and the halogen content of the non-solid products. In the fluidized bed, L R in the presence of CaO, Ca(OH) 2 , and CaO + Ca(OH) 2 was 34.5%, 41.2%, and 38.9 wt%, respectively. The fraction of phenolic compounds in the pyrolysis oil ranged from 86% to 93%, about 1-3% higher than the corresponding values in the fixed bed. Using additives led to lower halide content in the pyrolysis oil of the fluidized bed than that of the fixed bed. However, the opposite trend was observed in the absence of additives. Regardless of the type of pyrolyzer, Ca(OH) 2 was more successful than CaO in increasing L R , whereas CaO was more effective than Ca(OH) 2 in pyrolysis oil dechlorination. Co-pyrolysis of FR2-PCB and CaO + Ca(OH) 2 in a fluidized bed reactor was identified as a practical approach to enhance the recovery of pyrolysis oil comprising only 5% of the original halogen content of the feedstock., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Efficient ethanol production from waste paper requires the addition of expensive nutrients. To reduce the production cost of ethanol from waste paper, a study on how to produce ethanol efficiently by adding kitchen waste (potentially as a carbon source, nutrient source, and acidity regulator) to waste paper was performed and a process of successive liquefaction, presaccharification, and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (L+PSSF) was developed. The individual saccharification performances of waste paper and kitchen waste were not influenced by their mixture. Liquefaction of kitchen waste at 90°C prior to presaccharification and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (PSSF) was essential for efficient ethanol fermentation. Ethanol at concentrations of 46.6 or 43.6g/l was obtained at the laboratory scale after fermentation for 96h, even without pH adjustment and/or the addition of extra nutrients. Similarly, ethanol at a concentration of 45.5g/l was obtained at the pilot scale after fermentation for 48h. The ethanol concentration of L+PSSF of the mixture of waste paper and kitchen waste was comparable to that of PSSF of waste paper with added nutrients (yeast extract and peptone) and pH adjustment using H 2 SO 4 , indicating that kitchen waste is not only a carbon source but also an excellent nutrient source and acidity regulator for fermentation of the mixture of waste paper and kitchen waste., (Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Pulp and paper mills are indispensable for any nation as far as the growth of the nation is concerned. Due to fast growth in population, urbanization and industrialization, the demand and consumption of paper has increased tremendously. These put high load on our natural resources and force the industry to look for alternative raw material. Rice straw is a lignocellulosic material abundantly available in wood short countries like China, India, Bangladesh, etc. and can be used as raw material for this industry. Open burning of rice straw releases noxious green house gases to the air and poses serious threats to global air chemistry and human health. So, it is a dual benefit option (for farmers and industries) to use rice straw as a raw material in pulp and paper industry. Organosolv pulping using acids are the prominent choices of researchers to convert this residue into valuable pulp but in developed countries only. Developing world favours the soda and soda-AQ processes as these are economical. As a virtue of less lignin content in comparison to wood, rice straw requires less harsh conditions for cooking and can be easily pulped. Bleaching is a crucial step of paper making but also responsible for causing water pollution. Many studies revealed that during the process more than 500 chlorinated compounds are released that are highly toxic, bioaccumulative and carcinogenic in nature. Most of the industries over the globe switch on to the elemental chlorine free short sequence bleaching methods using chlorine dioxide, hypochlorite and hydrogen peroxide. This paper presented the effective need of ecofriendly, economically reliable pulping and bleaching sequences in case of rice straw to eliminate the problems of chlorinated compounds in wastewater of paper mills. Such approach of using waste as a raw material with its environmentally safe processing for making paper can prove to be valuable towards sustainable growth., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

For paper and paperboard packaging, recyclability plays an important role in conserving the resources and reducing the environmental impacts. Therefore, when it comes to the nano-enabled paper packaging material, the recyclability issue should be properly addressed. This study represents our first report on the fate of nanomaterials in paper recycling process. The packaging material of concern is a PLA (Polylactic Acid) coated paper incorporating zinc oxide nanoparticles in the coating layer. The material was characterised and assessed in a lab-scale paper recycling line. The recyclability test was based on a method adapted from ATICELCA MC501-13, which enabled to recover over 99% of the solids material. The mass balance result indicates that 86-91% zinc oxide nanoparticles ended up in the rejected material stream, mostly embedded within the polymer coating; whereas 7-16% nanoparticles ended up in the accepted material stream. Besides, the tensile strength of the recycled handsheets suggests that the nano-enabled coating had no negative impacts on the recovered fibre quality., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

A global, comprehensive review of terms and definitions related to paper recycling was conducted in this article. Terms and definitions related to paper recycling have varied in the course of time. Different terms and different definitions for the same thing are being used in different geographical regions and by different organizations. Definitions are different based on varying conceptions of waste paper as a raw material. Definitions of how to make various calculations related to paper recycling activity are inconsistent. Even such fundamental basic definitions like how to calculate recycling rate and paper consumption are not uniform. It could be concluded that there is no uniform system of terms and definitions related to paper recycling and the implications of this deficiency are profound. For example, it is difficult to reliably compare with each other statistics from different times and from different geographical regions. It is not possible to measure if targets for recycling activities are met if the terms describing the targets are not uniformly defined. In cases of reporting data for recycling targets, the lack of uniform terminology can, for example, impede the necessary transparency between different stakeholders and may allow for deception. The authors conclude there is a pressing need to develop a uniform system of terms and definition for terms related to paper recycling., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

This paper investigates the drying and wetting water retention curves (WRCs) of municipal solid wastes (MSWs) with different paper contents, dry unit weights and degrees of biodegradation (DOBs). Fresh synthetic samples were prepared based on the field composition of the MSWs at Mugga Lane Landfill, the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), Australia. The degraded samples were prepared in simulators with MSWs of different initial dry unit weights and decomposition periods with leachate recirculation. The water retention curves (WRCs) of the MSWs were determined using pressure plate tests, in both drying and wetting phases. The outflow from MSWs was analysed using Gardner's method to obtain the unsaturated hydraulic conductivity. The results indicate that the WRCs of the MSWs are greatly affected by the DOB, paper content and dry unit weight. When DOB < 30 %, as DOB increases, the air-entry pressure of MSWs with paper increases, and the residual moisture content decreases regardless of paper content. With DOB > 30 %, the air entry pressure and residual water content depend on the balance between organic matter and highly decomposed organic constituents. The paper content affects the WRCs of MSWs due to its water retention capacity and change in the particle size distribution with decomposition. The increase in the dry unit weight of MSWs significantly increases the air entry pressure and residual moisture content, similar to the borehole samples with combined effects of biodegradation and increase in stress level from literature. Hysteresis effects have been observed during the drying and wetting of MSWs. The hysteresis of WRCs increases with the paper content and DOB., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Modifying natural polymers with silicones gives new possibilities for packaging products and waste management. In this study, the innovative papers produced were altered following the reaction of polysaccharides and organosilicon compounds. The susceptibility of the studied material to biodegradation caused by a brown-rot fungus was assessed. Strength properties by tensile strength and dynamic mechanical analysis and hydrophobic properties by water uptake test and water contact angle analysis were evaluated. Moreover, elemental analysis by ICP method was controlled. The durability against fungi and the hydrophobic properties were increased by the modification. The fungal decay resistance of the silanized paper was reduced by water storage, which allows for managing paper waste. Cellulose-based paper treated with starch-modified methyltrimethoxysilane showed potential as a packaging material due to its reduced water uptake. Possible application areas could be corrugated boxes, cellulose thermoformed products for electronics, and food packaging. However, the water-repellent effect is limited to short-term exposure in humid conditions., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Mechanical-biological treatment plants treat municipal solid waste to recover recyclable materials, nutrients and energy. Waste paper and cardboard (WP), the second main compound in municipal solid waste (∼30% in weight basis), is typically used for biogas generation. However, its recovery is gaining attention as it can be used to produce add-value products like bioethanol and residual derived fuel. Nevertheless, WP suppression or replacement will impact anaerobic digestion in terms of biogas production, process stability and digestate management. Two lab-scale reactors were used to assess the impact of WP in anaerobic digestion performance. A control reactor was only fed with biowaste (BioW), while a second reactor was fed with two different mixtures of BioW and WP, i.e. 85/15% and 70/30% (weight basis). Results indicate that either replacing half of the WP by BioW or removing half of the WP has little impact on the methane production. When removing half of the WP, methane production could be sustained by a larger waste biodegradability. The replacement of all WP by BioW increased the reactor methane production (∼37%), while removing all WP would have reduced the methane production about 15%. Finally, replacing WP loading rate by BioW led to a system less tolerant to instability periods and with poorer digestate quality., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Sewage fine sieved fraction (FSF) is a heterogeneous substrate consisting of mainly toilet paper fibers sequestered from municipal raw sewage by a fine screen. In earlier studies, a maximum biodegradation of 62% and 57% of the sewage FSF was found under thermophilic (55°C) and mesophilic (35°C) conditions, respectively. In order to research this limited biodegradability of sewage FSF, this study investigates the biodegradation of different types of cellulosic fibers-based hygiene papers including virgin fibers based toilet paper (VTP), recycled fiber based toilet paper (RTP), virgin pulp for paper production (VPPP) as a raw material, as well as microcrystalline cellulose (MCC) as a kind of fiberless reference material. The anaerobic biodegradation or digestibility tests were conducted under thermophilic and mesophilic conditions. Results of the experiments showed different biomethane potential (BMP) values for each tested cellulose fiber-based substrate, which might be associated with the physical characteristics of the fibers, type of pulping, presence of lignin encrusted fibers, and/or the presence of additive chemicals and refractory compounds. Higher hydrolysis rates (Kh), higher specific methane production rates (SMPR) and shorter required incubation times to achieve 90% of the BMP (t90%CH4), were achieved under thermophilic conditions for all examined substrates compared to the mesophilic ones. Furthermore, the biodegradability of all employed cellulose fiber-based substrates was in the same range, 38-45%, under both conditions and less than the observed FSF biodegradability, i.e. 57-62%. MCC achieved the highest BMP and biodegradability, 86-91%, among all cellulosic substrates., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Chemicals are used in materials as additives in order to improve the performance of the material or the production process itself. The presence of these chemicals in recyclable waste materials may potentially affect the recyclability of the materials. The addition of chemicals may vary depending on the production technology or the potential end-use of the material. Paper has been previously shown to potentially contain a large variety of chemicals. Quantitative data on the presence of chemicals in paper are necessary for appropriate waste paper management, including the recycling and re-processing of paper. However, a lack of quantitative data on the presence of chemicals in paper is evident in the literature. The aim of the present work is to quantify the presence of selected chemicals in waste paper derived from households. Samples of paper and board were collected from Danish households, including both residual and source-segregated materials, which were disposed of (e.g., through incineration) and recycled, respectively. The concentration of selected chemicals was quantified for all of the samples. The quantified chemicals included mineral oil hydrocarbons, phthalates, phenols, polychlorinated biphenyls, and selected toxic metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, and Pb). The results suggest large variations in the concentration of chemicals depending on the waste paper fraction analysed. Research on the fate of chemicals in waste recycling and potential problem mitigation measures should be focused on in further studies., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Waste paper can serve as a feedstock for ethanol production due to being rich in cellulose and not requiring energy-intensive thermophysical pretreatment. In this study, an efficient process was developed to convert waste paper to ethanol. To accelerate enzymatic saccharification, pH of waste paper slurry was adjusted to 4.5-5.0 with H2SO4. Presaccharification and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (PSSF) with enzyme loading of 40 FPU/g waste paper achieved an ethanol yield of 91.8% and productivity of 0.53g/(Lh) with an ethanol concentration of 32g/L. Fed-batch PSSF was used to decrease enzyme loading to 13 FPU/g waste paper by feeding two separate batches of waste paper slurry. Feeding with 20% w/w waste paper slurry increased ethanol concentration to 41.8g/L while ethanol yield decreased to 83.8%. To improve the ethanol yield, presaccharification was done prior to feeding and resulted in a higher ethanol concentration of 45.3g/L, a yield of 90.8%, and productivity of 0.54g/(Lh). Ethanol fermentation recovered 33.2% of the energy in waste paper as ethanol. The biochemical methane potential of the stillage eluted from ethanol fermentation was 270.5mL/g VTS and 73.0% of the energy in the stillage was recovered as methane. Integrating ethanol fermentation with methane fermentation, recovered a total of 80.4% of the energy in waste paper as ethanol and methane., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The interactions between earthworms and microorganisms activity has prompted several researchers to evaluate the potential of artificially inoculating vermicomposts with additional specific microbes, with the intention of enhancing the vermicomposting process. This study evaluated the potential of inoculating fly ash (F)-cow dung-paper waste (CP) mixture (F-CP) with a specialized microbial cocktail called Effective micro-organisms (EM) during vermicomposting using Eisenia fetida earthworms. Inoculation with EM alone did not result in significantly (P>0.05) different changes in C/N ratio and dissolved organic matter (DOC) compared to the control with no EM and E. fetida. A significant interaction between EM and E. fetida presence resulted in greater changes in C/N ratio and DOC, which were not statistically different from the E. fetida alone treatment. It was also noteworthy that the activity of ß-Glucosidase was not influenced by the presence of EM, but was significantly influenced (P=0.0014) by the presence of E. fetida. However, the EM+E. fetida treatment resulted in a rate of weekly Olsen P release of 54.32mgkg(-1) which was 12.3%, 89.2% and 228.0% more that the E. fetida alone, EM alone and control treatments, respectively. Similarly, though higher in the E. fetida plus EM treatment, the phosphate solubilizing bacteria counts were not significantly different (P>0.05) from the E. fetida alone treatment. It is concluded that inoculation of F-CP composts with EM alone may not be beneficial, while combining EM with E. fetida results in faster compost maturity and significantly greater Olsen P release. It would be interesting to evaluate higher optimized rates of EM inoculation and fortifying EM cocktails with phosphate solubilizing bacteria (PSB) on F-CP vermicompost degradation and phosphorus mineralization., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Paper product manufacturing involves a variety of chemicals used either directly in paper and pulp production or in the conversion processes (i.e. printing, gluing) that follow. Due to economic and environmental initiatives, paper recycling rates continue to rise. In Europe, recycling has increased by nearly 20% within the last decade or so, reaching a level of almost 72% in 2012. With increasing recycling rates, lower quality paper fractions may be included. This may potentially lead to accumulation or un-intended spreading of chemical substances contained in paper, e.g. by introducing chemicals contained in waste paper into the recycling loop. This study provides an overview of chemicals potentially present in paper and applies a sequential hazard screening procedure based on the intrinsic hazard, physical-chemical and biodegradability characteristics of the substances. Based on the results, 51 substances were identified as potentially critical (selected mineral oils, phthalates, phenols, parabens, as well as other groups of chemicals) in relation to paper recycling. It is recommended that these substances receive more attention in waste paper., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The aim of this paper is to analyse the effects of the presence of printed electronics on the paper waste streams and specifically on paper recyclability. The analysis is based on a case study focussed on envelopes for postal and courier services provided with these intelligent systems. The smart printed envelope of the study includes a combination of both conventional (thin flexible batteries and resistors) and printed electronic components (conductive track layout based on nanosilver ink). For this purpose, a comparison between envelopes with and without these components (batteries, resistors and conductive track layouts) was carried out through pilot scale paper recycling tests. The generation of rejects during the recycling process as well as the final quality of the recycled paper (mechanical and optical properties) were tested and quantitatively evaluated. The results show that resistors are retained during the screening process in the sieves and consequently they cannot end up in the final screened pulp. Therefore, mechanical and optical properties of the recycled paper are not affected. Nevertheless, inks from the conductive track layouts and batteries were partially dissolved in the process water. These substances were not totally retained in the sieving systems resulting in slight changes in the optical properties of the final recycled paper (variations are 7.2-7.5% in brightness, 8.5-10.7% in whiteness, 1.2-2.2% in L(∗) values, 3.3-3.5% in opacity and 16.1-27% in yellowness). These variations are not in ranges able to cause problems in current paper recycling processes and restrict the use of recycled paper in current applications. Moreover, real impacts on industrial recycling are expected to be even significantly lower since the proportion of paper product with printed circuits in the current paper waste streams are much lower than the ones tested in this work. However, it should be underlined the fact that this situation may change over the next years due to the future developments in printed electronics and the gradual penetration of these types of devices in the market., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In the present study, functionalization of mixed office waste (MOW) paper has been carried out to synthesize carboxymethyl cellulose, a most widely used product for various applications. MOW was pulped and deinked prior to carboxymethylation. The deinked pulp yield was 80.62 ± 2.0% with 72.30 ± 1.50% deinkability factor. The deinked pulp was converted to CMC by alkalization followed by etherification using NaOH and ClCH2COONa respectively, in an alcoholic medium. Maximum degree of substitution (DS) (1.07) of prepared CMC was achieved at 50 °C with 0.094 M and 0.108 M concentrations of NaOH and ClCH2COONa respectively for 3h reaction time. The rheological characteristics of 1-3% aqueous solution of optimized CMC product showed the non-Newtonian pseudoplastic behavior. Fourier transform infra red (FTIR), nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) study were used to characterize the CMC product., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this paper we describe a combination of paper-based sensors and a novel smart-phone application for on-site quantification of colorimetric readouts as an ultra-low cost solution to monitoring water quality. The system utilizes a paper-based analytical device (μPAD) that produces a colorimetric signal that is dependent on the concentration of a specific target; a cell phone equipped with a camera for capturing images of two μPADs - one tested with a water sample and the other tested with clean water that is used as a control; and an on-site image processing app that uses a novel algorithm for quantifying color intensity and relating this to contaminant concentration. The cell phone app utilizes a pixel counting algorithm that performs with less bias and user subjectivity than the typically used lab-based software, ImageJ. The use of a test and control strip reduces bias from variations in ambient lighting, making it possible to acquire and process images on-site. The cell phone is also able to GPS tag the location of the test, and transmit results to a newly developed website, WaterMap.ca, that displays the quantitative results from the water samples on a map. We demonstrate our approach using a previously developed μPAD that detects the presence of organophosphate pesticides based on the inhibition of immobilized acetylcholinesterase by these contaminants. The objective of this paper is to highlight the importance and potential of developing and integrated monitoring system consisting of μPADs, cell-phones and a centralized web portal for low-cost monitoring environmental contaminants at a large-scale., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an industrial chemical produced in large volumes. Its main use is associated with polycarbonate plastic, epoxy resins and thermal paper. In contrast to other applications, thermal paper contains BPA in its un-reacted form as an additive, which is subjected to migration. Receiving a significant amount of attention from the scientific community and beyond, due to its controversial endocrine-disrupting effects, the industry is attempting to substitute BPA in variety of applications. Alternative phenolic compounds have been proposed for use in thermal paper; however, information to what extent BPA alternatives have been used in paper is sparse. The aim of the present work was to quantify BPA and its alternatives (bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol E (BPE), bisphenol B (BPB), 4-cumylphenol (HPP) and bisphenol F (BPF)) in waste paper and board from Danish households, thermal paper receipts, non-carbon copy paper and conventional printer paper. BPA was found in all waste paper samples analysed, while BPS was identified in 73% of them. Only BPB was not identified in any of the samples. BPA and BPS were found in the majority of the receipts, which contained no measurable concentrations of the remaining alternatives. Although receipts showed the highest concentrations of BPA and BPS, office paper, flyers and corrugated boxes, together with receipts, represented the major flux of the two compounds in waste paper streams., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

There have been limited studies on the potential use of enzymes for enhancing the dewaterability of biosludge. The mechanisms for such enhancement have not been investigated despite the environmental advantages of using enzymes over synthetic polymers for biosludge conditioning. In order to find enzymes with this potential, a screening of commercially available enzymes was carried out using capillary suction time to assess biosludge dewaterability. The only enzyme that showed dewatering improvements in the screening tests was a lysozyme which reduced the capillary suction time by 36% and increased the cake solids content from 5.6 to 8.9 DS%. Lysozyme aided in the flocculation of particles reducing the polymer demand from 11% to 6%. Active and inactive lysozyme exhibited a similar ability for enhancing sludge dewatering, indicating that the conditioning mechanism of lysozyme is similar to that of a flocculant.

Pulp and paper wastewater (PPW) contains significant concentrations of phytosterols, suspected of inducing endocrine disruption in aquatic species. Aerated stabilization basins (ASBs) are commonly used for the treatment of PPW, but phytosterol removal varies among treatment systems. The objective of this study was to better understand the removal processes and biotransformation of phytosterols within an ASB treatment system fed with untreated PPW. PPW settled solids and supernatant fractions showed that phytosterols are primarily associated with settleable solids, which carry phytosterols to ASB sediment where anoxic/anaerobic conditions prevail. Bioassays with supernatant and settled PPW fractions of the raw wastewater conducted under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, respectively, showed that solids disintegration and hydrolysis results in phytosterol release in ASBs. A simulated ASB, fed with PPW and operated for 2.4 years at three hydraulic retention times (HRTs; 22.2, 11.1 and 5.6 d) with total phytosterol and solids loading rates from 10 to 42 μg/L-d and 44-178 mg/L-d, respectively, was used to determine the steady-state effluent quality and sediment characteristics. Although effluent COD and phytosterol concentrations were relatively low and stable (84-88% total COD removal; 82-94% total phytosterol removal) across the range of HRTs tested, sediment COD and phytosterol concentrations increased with increasing loading rate. On average, 51% of the phytosterols entering the ASB were removed via biotransformation, 40% were retained in the sediment, and the remaining 9% exited with the effluent. This study demonstrates the role of sediment as a source of phytosterol release in ASBs and highlights the importance of HRT and the PPW characteristics for predicting phytosterol fate in ASBs.

The co-combustion reactivity and kinetics of petroleum coke (PC) and paper sludge-derived hydrochar (PS) were investigated via thermogravimetric analysis. The physical and chemical structure features were also systematically tested. The results show that the combustion process of PS could be divided into three stages, while for PC only one stage could be clarified. Due to high volatile content, developed pore structure and low carbon-order degree, the combustion reactivity of PS was higher than that of PC. Although the ignition property of the blends could be significantly improved by addition of PS, it changed little for the burnout temperature and as a result the combustion intensity was deteriorated. For the samples with addition of PS from 20 % to 80 %, the comprehensive combustion index decreased from 3.69 × 10 -15 to 2.12 × 10 -15 . The Kissinger AkahiraSunose model-free method was used in the co-combustion reaction of PC and PS, and good fitting results were obtained. For different samples with varying addition of PS, the activation energies were in the range of 107.51-198.44 kJ/mol, with the lowest value obtained at 20 % of PS, which was also the optimum proportion for co-combustion of PC and PS., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: The devastating effects of COVID-19 sparked debates among professionals in the fields of health, law, and bioethics regarding policies on mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers. Suboptimal vaccine uptake among healthcare workers had been implicated in the increased risk of nosocomial spread of COVID infection and absenteeism among healthcare workers, impacting the quality of patient care. However, mandatory vaccine policies were also seen to encroach on the autonomy of healthcare workers., Aims and Objectives: To synthesise the arguments for and against mandatory vaccination for healthcare workers (HCWs) and its long-term impact on the healthcare workforce, through an analysis of texts and opinions of professionals from different fields of study., Methods: This is a systematic review of opinions published in peer-reviewed journals. After initial search in Cochrane and JBI systematic review databases to ensure no previous review had been done, five databases were searched (PsychInfo, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), Medline and Scopus). Inclusion criteria were: 1) focused on COVID-19; 2) healthcare workers specific; 3) specific to mandatory vaccination; 4) opinion piece with an identified author; and 5) in English., Exclusion: 1) focus on other vaccine preventable diseases, not COVID-19 and 2) discussion on mandatory vaccination not-specific to healthcare workers. The Joanna Briggs Critical Appraisal tool for Text and Opinions was used to assess quality. Data were synthesised in the summary table., Results: The review included 28 opinion and viewpoint articles. Of these, 12 (43 %) adopted a pro-mandatory vaccination stance, 13 (46 %) were neutral or had presented arguments from both sides of the debate and only three (11 %) were against. The overall arguments among those who were pro-, neutral and anti-mandatory COVID-19 vaccination were underpinned by ethical, moral and legal principles of such a mandate on a vulnerable healthcare workforce. This review highlighted the polarised opinions concerning choices, human rights, professional responsibilities and personal risks (i.e. health risks, losing a job) with the introduction of vaccination mandate. However, the articles found in this review discussed mandatory vaccination of healthcare workers in the USA, Europe and Australia only., Conclusion: The review underscores the need to balance the rights of the public to safe and quality care with the rights and moral obligations of healthcare workers during a public health emergency. This can be achieved when policies and mandates are guided by reliable scientific evidence which are flexible in considering legal and ethical dilemmas., Tweetable Abstract: To mandate or not to mandate COVID-19 vaccination for healthcare workers: A synthesis of published opinions in health, law, and bioethics., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest None., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Recycling is a commonly acknowledged strategy to reduce the environmental impacts linked to primary resource exploitation. Large regional variations can be observed in recycling processes' parameters, like efficiency, energy mix and treatment of rejects. Life-cycle assessment (LCA) is widely used to evaluate the environmental impacts of recycling processes, but existing studies are neither harmonized nor sufficient to provide a comprehensive geographical and technological coverage of recycling processes. The purpose of this research is to develop an efficient and iterative approach for the parametrized generation of semi-automated regionalized life-cycle inventories that take into account technological and geographical variabilities in the recycling sector. The regionalization framework is then applied to create a parametrized paper recycling regionalization tool. This tool is used in the results section to compare the national climate change impacts of recycling three paper grades. Results show a significant global warming impact variability between countries for recycled graphic paper (0.36 to 2.25 kg CO 2 -Eq/kg wastepaper recycled), newsprint (0.27 to 1.84 kg CO 2 -Eq/kg wastepaper recycled) and corrugated cardboard (0.28 to 1.68 kg CO 2 -Eq/kg wastepaper recycled) productions. A regionalized LCA of the international recycling of the mixed wastepaper exported from Quebec's (Canada) sorting centers is also performed with the tool and compared to the non-regionalized mixed wastepaper recycling process available in the ecoinvent database. Only nine midpoint ReCiPe impact categories remain environmentally advantageous compared to virgin paper production when applying the regionalization methodology, compared to sixteen when using the ecoinvent process, illustrating how regionalization can substantially influence LCA results., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB) is addressing the issue of incidental findings with a series of position papers to give advice on characterization and management. The biliary system (gallbladder and biliary tree) is the third most frequent site for incidental findings. This first part of the position paper on incidental findings of the biliary system is related to general aspects, gallbladder polyps and other incidental findings of the gallbladder wall. Available evidence on prevalence, diagnostic work-up, malignancy risk, follow-up and treatment is summarized with a special focus on ultrasound techniques. Multiparametric ultrasound features of gallbladder polyps and other incidentally detected gallbladder wall pathologies are described, and their inclusion in assessment of malignancy risk and decision- making on further management is suggested., Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest disclosure The authors and participating institutions have no conflicts of interest related to this article. No funding was received to support data acquisition or preparation of this position paper. All fugures were provided by the authors, and data was acquired according to protocols approved by the institutional review boards of the authors. According to these protocols, participants gave consent for the use of their fully anonymized data (ultrasound images) in this article., (Copyright © 2022 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Vermitechnology is gaining recognition as an environmental friendly waste management strategy. Its successful implementation requires that the key operational parameters like earthworm stocking density be established for each target waste/waste mixture. One target waste mixture in South Africa is waste paper mixed with cow dung and rock phosphate (RP) for P enrichment. This study sought to establish optimal Eisenia fetida stocking density for maximum P release and rapid bioconversion of RP enriched cow dung-paper waste mixtures. E. fetida stocking densities of 0, 7.5, 12.5, 17.5 and 22.5 g-worms kg(-1) dry weight of cow dung-waste paper mixtures were evaluated. The stocking density of 12.5 g-worms kg(-1) resulted in the highest earthworm growth rate and humification of the RP enriched waste mixture as reflected by a C:N ratio of <12 and a humic acid/fulvic acid ratio of >1.9 in final vermicomposts. A germination test revealed that the resultant vermicompost had no inhibitory effect on the germination of tomato, carrot, and radish. Extractable P increased with stocking density up to 22.5 g-worm kg(-1) feedstock suggesting that for maximum P release from RP enriched wastes a high stocking density should be considered., (Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Waste paper (WP) is rich in cellulose, which can be activated to produce porous carbon, bio-oil, and combustible gases. During chemical activation of WP, the use of varied chemical agents not only generates activated carbon of distinct pore structure but also bio-oil/gases of different property. In this study, the activation of WP with varied chemical agents was conducted. The distinct characteristics of activated carbon and also bio-oil/gases were correlated with the different nature of the used chemical agents. The results indicated that H 3 PO 4 and ZnCl 2 catalyzed polymerization reactions for producing more bio-oil while less gases owing to their Brønsted and Lewis acidic sites. K 2 C 2 O 4 showed high activity for cracking/gasification reactions, forming bio-oil with higher abundance of organics with smaller π-conjugated structures. In addition, ZnCl 2 could create a very coarse porous structure with abundant macropores via destroying fiber structure in WP and promoting the growth of graphitic crystals. In comparison, K 2 C 2 O 4 hindered the aromatization and facilitated the formation of amorphous activated carbon. K 2 C 2 O 4 and ZnCl 2 were much more effective than H 3 PO 4 for creating micropores and mesopores from WP, the derived activated carbon showed superior performances as the electrode of supercapacitor and adsorbent for adsorption of oxytetracycline from aqueous solution. In addition, K 2 C 2 O 4 as activating agent showed lower environmental impact than ZnCl 2 in terms of energy consumption, environmental pollution and the greenhouse effect., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

In this work, the feasibility of the anaerobic digestion of paper sludge as a co-substrate in anaerobic digestion mechanical-biological treatment (MBT) plants is investigated. In the first phase, the biochemical properties, biomethane potential (BMP), and pollutant contents of 20 different industrial paper sludges are determined. Following the general evaluation in the BMP tests, the second phase of the project involves the semi-continuous co-digestion of six paper sludges in continuous stirred reactors (CSTR). Paper sludges are categorized according to their origin within the pulp and paper mills: Deinking Sludge (DS), Primary Sludge (PS) and Biological Sludge (BS). The analysis of potentially inhibiting elements shows that the concentrations of chlororganic compounds, mineral oil and some heavy metals are highest in DS, while the mean heavy metal loads in all paper sludges are relatively low compared to other industrial sludges. Large differences in total solids (TS) and volatile solids (VS) contents are observed among the different paper sludges investigated, with DS having the highest TS due to the high inorganic contents. The BMP of the investigated sludges ranges from 90 to 355 NL CH 4 kg -1 VS. In subsequent semi-continuous co-digestion experiments simulating MBT conditions, three DS and two fiber sludges (a mixture of PS and BS) show good methane generation rates, while one fiber sludge causes inhibition and indicates an increase in viscosity. In general, co-digestion of paper sludge in anaerobic digestion MBT plants can be a viable option for energy production and also facilitates a safe disposal of the paper sludge digestates., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Co-pyrolyzing mixed wastes of the different physicochemical kinds is often a challenge. This study reports the co-pyrolysis of homogeneous polypropylene plastic and paper wastes, highlighting their characteristics, synergetic effects, and kinetic and thermodynamic parameters using robust thermal gravimetric analysis technique. Results show that 20% paper in the blend improved the bulky density, fuel ratio from 0.09 to 0.13, maximum degradation temperature from 369.55 to 447.88 °C and thermal stability from 381.60 to 393.82 °C. The average activation energies of the blend from Flynn-Wall-Ozawa, Friedman and Coats-Redfern were 148.73 ± 7.87, 133.98 ± 11.59 and 143.74 ± 13.83 kJ/mol, respectively, lower than at least one of the homogenous wastes. All the enthalpy and Gibbs free energy values were positive, thus, endothermic non-spontaneous pyrolysis. In addition, average enthalpies for the mixed sample were lower than homogeneous polypropylene (from 159.57 ± 11.86, 153.74 ± 16.07 and 181.27 ± 28.90 to 143.60 ± 24.42, 128.86 ± 34.61 and 138.61 ± 41.32 kJ/mol, respectively) in all models, respectively. The entropy values for all samples were negative. They decreased with increasing conversion rates for mixed waste samples, indicating ease to reach thermodynamic equilibrium during pyrolysis. There is an insignificant difference between the experimental and the calculated TGA/DTG curves, signifying meagre synergetic effects. In addition, the 3D surface response for the conversion rate against temperature and heating rate showed closeness in results between the homogeneous and mixed waste. The results of this study are vital in handling municipal solid waste without any need for isolation during the conversion process to valuable products., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Over 64 billion paper-plastic laminate (PPL) coffee cups are consumed between the United States and Canada annually, the majority accumulating in landfills due to a hydrophobic plastic inner-lining. Recycling can mitigate environmental damage and provide economic value from repurposed products. We found that standard repulping methods were insufficient to separate fiber from plastic due to the low intensity of treatment. To increase process intensity, we mechanically refined shredded PPL coffee cups and Kraft eucalyptus sheets (control) at 2%, 3%, and 4% consistencies with three passes to determine the energy required to separate fibers from plastic and the effects on fiber quality. 2% and 3% consistency PPL cups measured under 40 kWh/tonne of input material for one refiner pass and ∼ 80 kWh/tonne for 4% consistency PPL cups. Recovered fiber fraction totaled 87.7%, 85.3%, and 80.5% of input mass of Kraft eucalyptus and 72.3%, 72.6%, and 79.6% of input mass of PPL cups at 2%, 3%, and 4% consistency, respectively. Fines content of PPL cups jumped from 8% pre-refining to ∼ 30% post-refining while Kraft eucalyptus fibers were unaffected, suggesting that breaking the plastic-fiber bonds results in fines generation. Mean fiber length of PPL cups slightly decreased with consistency and tensile strength improved. Freeness decreased with consistency only in PPL cup samples. These results demonstrate a low energy requirement to effectively separate fiber and plastics in PPL cups as well as minimal impact on fiber quality using existing refining technology, and provides an estimate of the financial costs of local recycling efforts., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

In this survey, a refuse derived fuel (RDF) was produced from paper industry wastes through a mechanical treatment (MT). The two main wastes generated from a recovered paper mill were rejects and de-inking sludge, which were produced principally in the pulping and de-inking processes, respectively. This work presents raw wastes characterization, fuel preparation and gasification tests performed in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) gasifier pilot plant. The characterization was carried out by proximate and ultimate analysis. Several blends of pre-conditioned rejects and de-inking sludge were densified by means of pelletizing, studying the energy consumption and its quality properties. Besides, thermal degradation of blends was studied under thermogravimetric analysis (TGA). The experimental runs were made from 30 to 900°C in nitrogen atmosphere at three heating ranges, β=5, 10 and 20°C/min. Two thermal stages were identified during the thermal degradation, which are linked to cellulose and plastic degradation. In addition, kinetics parameters were estimated by the application of non-isothermal methods: Kissinger-Akahira-Sunose (KAS), Flynn-Ozawa-Wall (FOW) and Coats and Redfern. The activation energy values were about 140-160 kJ/mol and 60-80 kJ/mol for plastic and cellulosic materials, respectively. Regarding waste valorisation, a blend composed of 95% of rejects and 5% of de-inking sludge was selected for gasification tests. The energy consumption during the preparation was recorded and a gasification tests were done to prove the usability of these pellets in a CFB gasifier. The main results were a net calorific value (NCV) of 5 MJ/Nm(3) and a total tar content of 11.44 g/Nm(3) at an equivalence ratio (ER) of 0.3., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Although the prevalence of incidental findings revealed during an obstetric ultrasound examination is low, the findings may include adnexal and cervical masses, uterine or urinary congenital malformations, free fluid in the pouch of Douglas or tortuous vessels (varices). Adnexal masses are the most common finding and vary in imaging characteristics. They are mainly unilateral, cystic masses with a low risk of malignancy that are treated conservatively. The International Ovarian Tumor Analysis scoring models may be helpful in differentiating benign from malignant masses. For those masses >5 cm, follow-up is recommended, and resection could be considered to avoid risk of torsion, rupture and hemorrhage, which may compromise pregnancy outcome. Uterine masses such as fibroids are commonly diagnosed early in the first trimester and should be followed up during pregnancy to evaluate any changes. Transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound is the first-line test for the diagnosis of such incidentalomas; however, magnetic resonance ultrasound may have a useful role in excluding malignancy potential. As a result of their low frequency and the lack of good evidence, there are no specific guidelines on the management of incidentalomas detected at obstetric scans. Their management should follow the related general guidelines for ovarian, cervical and uterine masses, with individualized management depending on the pregnancy status., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Paper mill sludge (PMS) raises critical environmental issues due to its disposal problem, but its high sugar content and well-dispersed structure make it a great feedstock for biochemical production. The technical feasibility of integrating cellulase enzyme production into lactic acid (LA) fermentation from PMS was investigated in this study. The low ash content of PMS suggests a great potential for cellulase production. The enzyme produced using PMS without any treatment gave an activity of 7.8 FPU/ml, a performance comparable to the commercial enzyme, Cellic CTec 2. The LA yield from PMS with in-house enzyme was 64.7% and 73.7% at the enzyme loading of 10 and 15 FPU/g-glucan, respectively. The LA obtained was optically pure L- isomer with over 99% purity. The optimal condition of LA production by Bacillus coagulans was found to be 50 °C and pH 5.3 (with 50 g/L CaCO 3 ). The nutrient effect of yeast extract (YE) and corn steep liquor (CSL) was substrate dependent, and CSL could substitute YE as an inexpensive nutrient when using PMS as a substrate., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

The menopause transition, which constitutes the five or so years surrounding the final menstrual period, has been established as a time of increased risk for depressive symptoms. While mounting research suggests that exposure to more extreme and fluctuating levels of estradiol (E2) plays a role, it remains unclear which specific trigger is most strongly implicated in the development of depressive mood: acute E2 withdrawal or extreme increases in E2. The current review summarises the literature supporting the role of each, considering research pertaining to perimenopausal depression as well as other reproductive mood disorders in which ovarian hormone change is believed to play a key role, namely premenstrual dysphoric disorder and postpartum depression. Taking together the available research pertaining to the various reproductive mood disorders, we propose that women may exhibit one of four E2 sensitivity profiles, each of which may have important implications for the expected timing and severity of depressive mood during the menopause transition: the E2-increase sensitive profile, developing depressive mood in response to elevations in E2, the E2-decrease sensitive profile, for whom E2 withdrawal triggers negative mood, the E2-change sensitive profile, characterised by mood sensitivity to E2 change in either direction, and the E2 insensitive profile for whom changes in E2 have negligible psychological effects. The evidence supporting the existence of such profiles are summarised, potential biological mechanisms are briefly highlighted, and implications for future research are discussed., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Exposure to early adverse experiences induces persistent changes in physiological, emotional and behavioural functions predisposing the individual to an enhanced vulnerability to develop different disorders during lifespan. The adverse outcomes depend upon the timing of the stressful experiences, and in this contest, adolescence represents a key sensitive period for brain development. Among the biological systems involved, gut microbiota has recently been proposed to act on the interplay between the stress response, brain functions and immune system, through the gut-brain axis communication. In the current study we aimed to evaluate, in a preclinical model, changes over time in the microbiota community structure in physiological condition and in response to stress during adolescence. We also aimed to correlate the microbiota composition to the inflammatory status in brain. We used the preclinical model of social deprivation in rats during adolescence, based on the lack of all social contacts, for four weeks after weaning, followed by re-socialization until adulthood. We collected fecal samples at different post-natal days to investigate the short- and long-lasting effects of social isolation on gut microbiota composition and we collected brain areas (dorsal and ventral hippocampus) samples at killing to measure a panel of inflammatory and microglia activation markers. 16 S metataxonomic sequencing analysis revealed that microbial changes were influenced by age in both isolated and controls rats, regardless of sex, whereas social isolation impacted the microbial composition in a sex-dependent manner. A multivariate analysis showed that social isolation induced short-term gut microbiota alterations in females but not in males. We also identified several stress-related genera associated with social isolation condition. In brain areas we found a specific inflammatory pattern, in dorsal and ventral hippocampus, that significantly correlated with gut microbiota composition. Overall, in this study we reported a novel sex-specific association between gut microbiota composition and inflammatory response related to social isolation paradigm during adolescence, suggesting that stressful experiences during this sensitive period could have a long-lasting impact on the development of different biological systems that could in turn influence the vulnerability to develop mental disorders later in life., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Testicular incidentalomas are non-palpable, asymptomatic lesions, most frequently detected on ultrasound examinations. Each incidentaloma should undergo a standardized diagnostic workup to exclude malignancy and recognize other potentially significant non-malignant conditions that may first present with an incidental finding on scrotal ultrasound. This position statement of the World Federation of Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology (WFUMB) summarizes the available evidence on management of testicular incidentalomas and describes efficient management strategies with particular reference to the role of ultrasound techniques., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest disclosure The authors declare they have no conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2021 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine & Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)