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Soybean is a powerful biological fixer of molecular nitrogen. Increasing the intensification of nitrogen fixation of the culture is facilitated by inoculation – the settlement of the root zone with effective strains of symbiotic nodule bacteria. Bubble symbiotic bacteria fix molecular nitrogen and transform it into a form available for cultures. Also, nodule bacteria synthesize amino acids and vitamins of group B and other biologically active substances, which in general has a positive effect on the growth and development of soybeans and ensures high crop productivity. Peculiarities of the interaction of leguminous plants and nodule bacteria in field conditions depend on a number of factors, such as the genotype of plants, species composition, the number and activity of nitrogen fixers, the properties of soils, their water and temperature regimes, and the level of agricultural technology. The effectiveness of soybean inoculation with biotechnological preparations based on nitrogen-fixing microorganisms was analyzed. In Ukraine, a number of biotechnological preparations on the basis of nodule bacteria such as Nitragin, Rhizotrophin, Rhizoaktiv, Rhizobophyte, Rhizohumin, Azotophyte, Azorchis have been created and tested. According to the results of the scientific literature analysis and the conducted research, a positive effect of biotechnological preparations use on the formation of nodules on soybean roots and the increase in the intensity of nitrogen fixation was established. Positive changes in the indicators of the crop yield structure under the influence of inoculation were also monitored. It has been confirmed that the productivity of soybeans has increased due to the biotechnological preparations use based on symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria. It has been proven that the inoculation of soybeans with biotechnological preparations is an effective measure that ensures an increase in the productivity of soybeans, an improvement in the quality of the obtained products, contributes to the intensification of the formation of nodules on the roots, and as a result, enhances the fixation of atmospheric nitrogen., Соя є потужними біологічними фіксатором молекулярного азоту. Підвищенню інтенсифікації азотфіксації культури сприяє інокуляція – заселення прикореневої зони ефективними штамами симбіотичних бульбочкових бактерій. Бульбочкові симбіотичні бактерії фіксують молекулярний азот і трансформують його в доступну для культур форму. Також бульбочкові бактерії синтезують амінокислоти й вітаміни групи В та інші біологічно активні речовини, що в цілому позитивно впливає на ріст і розвиток сої та забезпечує високу продуктивність культури. Особливості взаємодії бобових рослин і бульбочкових бактерій у польових умовах залежать від ряду факторів, таких як генотип рослин, видовий склад, чисельність та активність азотфіксаторів, властивості ґрунтів, їх водний і температурний режими та рівень агротехніки. Проаналізовано ефективність інокуляції сої біотехнологічними препаратами на основі азотфіксувальних мікроорганізмів. В Україні на сьогодні на основі бульбочкових бактерій створено та апробовано ряд біотехнологічних препаратів, таких як Нітрагін, Ризотрофін, Ризоактив, Ризобофіт, Ризогумін, Азотофіт, Азорхіс. Численними експериментами науковців доведено, що їх внесення за вирощування бобових культур сприяє підвищенню урожайності зеленої маси на 50,0–54,0 %, зерна – на 11,0–40,0 %, забезпечує зростання збору протеїну, підвищення стійкості рослин до хвороб, та сприяє формуванню активного симбіотичного апарату. Відповідно до результатів аналізу наукової літератури та проведених досліджень встановлено позитивний вплив застосування біотехнологічних препаратів на формування бульбочок на коренях сої та підвищення інтенсивності азотфіксації. Також прослідковано позитивні зміни показників структури врожаю культури під впливом інокуляції. Підтверджено підвищення урожайності сої за застосування біотехнологічних препаратів на основі симбіотичних азотфіксувальних бактерій. Доведено, що інокуляція сої біотехнологічними препаратами є ефективним заходом, що забезпечує підвищення продуктивності сої, покращення якості отриманої продукції, сприяє інтенсифікації утворення бульбочок на коренях, і як наслідок, посилює фіксацію атмосферного азоту.

The cleaning of particles from smooth and rough paper surfaces using a high-speed CO2 snow jet was investigated. The measurements included characterization of the jet properties, determination of the cleaning efficiency, and evaluation of any possible adverse effects. The method was compared with nitrogen jet cleaning and dry cleaning by commercial materials. The results showed that the CO2 snow jet is able to effectively remove particles from the paper surface and did not cause any observable degradation. The CO2 snow jet cleaning compared with the mechanical dry cleaning showed similar effectiveness without any adverse effects on the paper surface. It was proved that the CO2 snow technique is a suitable method for cleaning common types of paper materials.

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.

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N, Cl-doped carbon dots (N, Cl-CDs) were prepared by hydrothermal method from rhodamine B (RhB) and ethylenediamine (EDA). The resulting N, Cl-CDs exhibited fascinating solvent dependence and strict excitation independence. As the polarity of the solvent increased (from tetrahydrofuran (THF) to water), the emission spectrum of N, Cl-CDs was redshifted and the fluorescence efficiency decreased, which were attributed to hydrogen bond-induced aggregation. Taking advantage of these attributes, the N, Cl-CDs were used as suitable probes for fluorescence and colorimetric dual-mode detection of water in THF. The linear relationship was 0.5–100% water with the detection limit down to 0.093%. Moreover, the sensing platform was converted into a paper-based sensor for handy, real-time, and visible humidity sensing. N, Cl-CDs/PVA films were fabricated and realized continuously tunable solid-state fluorescence, further expanding their practical application.

Despite the green energy generation with low cost compared to conventional fuel cells, microbial fuel cells (MFCs) still suffer with anode related constraints including laborious pretreatment and modification process of conventional electrodes, limited bacterial loading capacity, and inferior extracellular electron transfer efficiency. Accordingly, this investigation explores the waste tissue paper derived three dimensional (3D) carbon aerogel (CA) integrated with cerium dioxide (CeO2) nanotubes decorated nitrogen-doped reduced graphene oxide nanosheets (NRGO) as a competent anode to address these technical complements. The direct growth of NRGO and CeO2 over CA in the form of freestanding and binder-free NRGO/CeO2(1:2)/CA alleviates the significant constrains of conventional anode fabrication. The 3D hierarchical architectures of CA with open porous structure provide easy access of bacteria, thus increases the bacterial colonies per unit volume. Furthermore, the hydrogen bonding between the interfacial oxygen atoms of CeO2 and lysine residues of the cytochrome c in bacteria yields excellent extracellular electron transfer efficiency. The electrostatic interaction between the NRGO and bacteria cells improves the bacterial adhesion and biofilm formation, leading to the compact biofilm formation for the improved direct electron transference. With the profits of above, the MFC with NRGO/CeO2(1:2)/CA demonstrates a maximum power output and good lifespan performances. The present exploration facts thus access advanced avenues to converting waste matters of tissue paper, human urine, and wastewater into profitable constituents for the development of efficient and durable power producing systems.

In this study, an internal circulation-anoxic/aerobic (IC-A/O) process followed by ultrafiltration (UF) and reverse osmosis (RO) system was applied for paper wastewater reclamation. The IC-AO system presented a stable and efficient performance, achieving high removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC) and total nitrogen (TN) with methane production rate of 132.8 mL/d. Acute toxicity to Daphnia magna (D. magna) was reduced significantly (83.2%) and the spearman's rank correlation analysis indicated that the toxicity of effluents from each reactor were positively correlated with COD and TOC. Hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid and benzophenone were the main toxic contributors for biological effluent. Microbial community revealed that Anaerolinea was significantly related with organic pollutants. The UF-RO system further removed pollutants and toxicity with the final effluent COD, TOC, ammonium nitrogen (NH4+-N) and TN of 32.6, 18.8, 0.3 and 9.2 mg/L, respectively, which proved that it was feasible for paper wastewater reuse. This study presented an efficient, practical and environmentally competitive system, and paved a foundation for the treatment and reuse of paper wastewater.

We explored the use of filter paper soaked in whole blood for measuring carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stable isotopes, often used in feeding ecology or diet studies, to better understand drivers of exposure to contaminants. Our results showed no statistically or biologically relevant differences in C and N stable isotope measures between our gold standard (whole blood with anticoagulant) and eluates from processed, blood-soaked filter paper. Our data supported the effectiveness of using filter paper for assessing C and N stable isotopes in blood to address feeding ecology and other uses. The ease of sampling and processing should allow blood-soaked filter paper to be used in sampling of live (e.g., captured, stranded) and lethally taken (e.g., hunter-killed) wild vertebrates.

This work presents a portable microfluidic paper-based analytical device (micro-PAD) card for the quantification of total ammonia nitrogen in human saliva. The amount of total ammonia nitrogen in saliva can be an indicator of the status of the oral microbiome with potential correlation to kidney health problems. The developed micro-PAD card comprises twenty units consisting of three stacked layers of circular discs: the sample layer, paper discs impregnated with sodium hydroxide solution, the PTFE membrane layer, and the detection layer, paper discs impregnated with bromothymol blue. The twenty units were aligned on transparent laminating pouches laminated to form the micro-PAD card (7.5 cm × 10.5 cm). Saliva samples can be directly dispensed onto the micro-PAD card and the detection was achieved by the BTB indicator color change, from yellow to blue, after conversion of ammonium into ammonia and diffusion of the ammonia gas through a hydrophobic layer. The determination of total ammonia nitrogen in saliva using the developed micro-PAD card intended to be very simple method and operated without the need of laboratory equipment. A quantification limit of 11.3 NH4 +mg L-1 and linear application range from up to 150 NH4 +mg L-1 were obtained making it suitable for the expected concentrations of total ammonia nitrogen in human saliva. It was successfully applied to saliva samples and its validation obtained by comparison against a potentiometric method. The card is stable for at least 1 month making it ideal as a portable device for point-of-care diagnosis. [Figure not available: see fulltext.].

In this work, different paper surface modification strategies were compared to obtain an amine functionalized SBA-15 (N-SBA-15) composite for paper-based device development. The synthesized N-SBA-15 was characterized by N 2 adsorption-desorption isotherm, and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and it was incorporated to different polymer matrices (κ-carrageenan (CA), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) and polyethylenimine (PEI)) for the development of the composite modified paper-based device. The retention, interactions, and morphology of the obtained composites were investigated by absorbance measurement, FTIR and scanning electron microscopy (SEM), respectively. To demonstrate the applicability of the modified paper-based device, ascorbic acid (AA) quantification was carried out. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) was immobilized onto the modified paper surface. HRP in the presence of H 2 O 2 catalyzes the oxidation of 10-acetyl-3,7-dyhidroxyphenoxazine (ADHP) to highly fluorescent resorufin, which was measured by LIF detector. Thus, when AA was added to the solution, it decreases the relative fluorescence signal proportionally to the AA concentration. The linear range from 50 nmol L −1 to 1500 nmol L −1 and a detection limit of 15 nmol L −1 were obtained for AA quantitation. The obtained results allowed us to conclude that N-SBA-15/PEI composite could be considered an excellent choice for the paper-based device modification procedure due to its inherent simplicity, low cost, and sensitivity. Fil: Moreira, Cristian Matias. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Química de San Luis. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Química de San Luis; Argentina Fil: Scala Benuzzi, María Luz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Química de San Luis. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Química de San Luis; Argentina; Argentina Fil: Takara, Eduardo Andres. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Química de San Luis. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Química de San Luis; Argentina; Argentina Fil: Pereira, Sirley Vanesa. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Química de San Luis. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Química de San Luis; Argentina; Argentina Fil: Regiart, Daniel Matias Gaston. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Química de San Luis. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Química de San Luis; Argentina; Argentina Fil: Soler Illia, Galo Juan de Avila Arturo. Universidad Nacional de San Martin. Instituto de Nanosistemas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina Fil: Raba, Julio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Química de San Luis. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Química de San Luis; Argentina; Argentina Fil: Messina, Germán Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - San Luis. Instituto de Química de San Luis. Universidad Nacional de San Luis. Facultad de Química, Bioquímica y Farmacia. Instituto de Química de San Luis; Argentina; Argentina

A nanostructured catalyst is introduced that demonstrates peroxidase mimicking activity. It consists of nickel- and nitrogen-doped graphene nanotubes loaded with platinum nanoparticles. Pt-decorated Ni-doped nitrogen-rich graphitic nanotube (Pt/Ni@NGT) was synthesized using a two-step procedure in which the precursors were first refluxed to form a supramolecular assembly followed by a pyrolysis and leaching step to form nanotubes. Afterwards, Pt was decorated on the outer surface of nanotube by an ultrasound assisted method. Pt/Ni@NGT was characterized by XPS, TEM, SEM, and HAADF–STEM. The as-prepared Pt/Ni@NGT nanostructure was used for the detection of glucose via catalyzing the oxidation of a substrate, 3,3′,5,5′-tetramethylbenzidine (TMB), to form a blue product (ox-TMB), thereby enabling colorimetric assay for enzymatically generated H2O2. The nanostructure exhibited excellent biocompatibility and led to highly efficient immobilization and retention of GOx. The method has a linear response in the 43 pM to 220 μM glucose concentration range, a detection limit as low as 1 pM and a limit of quantification of 3.4pM, along with good reproducibility(< 3%). A paper based visual microfluidic assay was also worked out that has an analytical range that extends from 0.1–50 mM. It is simple and rapid enough to be useful as a glucose home test.. The method was successfully applied to the determination of glucose in tear and saliva samples.

The potential growth of buffalo grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum) and couch grass (Cynodon dactylon) on artificial floating islands (AFIs) and their ability to remove total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) from a simulated paper mill wastewater was studied. This was done to assess the potential of AFIs for removal of nutrients from aerated stabilization basins (ASBs) that had occasional growth of blue-green algae (BGA) to bloom levels. Small scale AFIs were prepared using polyethylene foam and planted with the grasses in 30 L of tested water. Trials were conducted in a plastic covered greenhouse over a three-month period where temperatures ranged from 15 to 44 °C. The results showed that both buffalo and couch grasses can adapt to planting in AFIs showing increases of 125% and 148% in wet weight, respectively. Nutrient uptake by buffalo grass and couch grass were found to be similar. Percentage uptakes of TP and TN from the synthetic water by the buffalo grass were 82% and 47%, whereas by couch grass, uptakes were 83% and 45%, respectively.

The purpose of this study was to perform an initial investigation of the possibility to determine breast cancer growth rate with (14)C bomb-pulse dating. Tissues from 11 breast cancers, diagnosed in 1983, were retrieved from a regional biobank. The estimated average age of the majority of the samples overlapped the year of collection (1983) within 3σ Thus, this first study of tumour tissue has not yet demonstrated that (14)C bomb-pulse dating can obtain information on the growth of breast cancer. However, with further refinement, involving extraction of cell types and components, there is a possibility that fundamental knowledge of tumour biology might still be gained by the bomb-pulse technique. Additionally, δ (13)C and δ (15)N analyses were performed to obtain dietary and metabolic information, and to serve as a base for improvement of the age determination.

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 s-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.

The pulp and paper industry wastewater treatment processes produce large volumes of biosludge. Limited anaerobic degradation of lignocellulose has hindered the utilization of biosludge, but the processing of biosludge using anaerobic digestion has recently regained interest. In this study, biosludge was used as a sole substrate in long-term (400 d) mesophilic laboratory reactor trials. Nine biosludge batches collected evenly over a period of one year from a pulp and paper industry wastewater treatment plant had different solid and nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus, trace elements) characteristics. Nutrient characteristics may vary by a factor of 2-11, while biomethane potentials (BMPs) ranged from 89 to 102 NL CH4 kg(-1) VS between batches. The BMPs were enhanced by 39-88% with thermal pretreatments at 105-134 °C. Despite varying biosludge properties, stable operation was achieved in reactor trials with a hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 14 d. Hydrolysis was the process limiting step, ceasing gas production when the HRT was shortened to 10 days. However, digestion with an HRT of 10 days was feasible after thermal pretreatment of the biosludge (20 min at 121 °C) due to enhanced hydrolysis. The methane yield was 78 NL CH4 kg(-1) VS for untreated biosludge and was increased by 77% (138 NL CH4 kg(-1) VS) after pretreatment.

In this work, an environmental friendly RC/N-TiO2 nanocomposite thin film was designed as a green portable photocatalyst by utilizing recycled newspaper as sustainable cellulose resource. Investigations on the influence of N-doped TiO2 nanorods incorporation on the structural and morphological properties of RC/N-TiO2 nanocomposite thin film are presented. The resulting nanocomposite thin film was characterized by FESEM, AFM, FTIR, UV-vis-NIR spectroscopy, and XPS analysis. The results suggested that there was a remarkable compatibility between cellulose and N-doped TiO2 nanorods anchored onto the surface of the RC/N-TiO2 nanocomposite thin film. Under UV and visible irradiation, the RC/N-TiO2 nanocomposite thin film showed remarkable photocatalytic activity for the degradation of methylene blue solution with degradation percentage of 96% and 78.8%, respectively. It is crucial to note that the resulting portable photocatalyst produced via an environmental and green technique in its fabrication process has good potential in the field of water and wastewater treatment application.

Paper Sensor detection methods are attractive in wide analytical applications. Presented herein is a paper sensor and fluorescence methods that was firstly developed to detect curcumin (Cur) based on fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) between nitrogen-doped carbon quantum dots (NCQDs) and Cur. The facile fluorescent method was demonstrated to detect Cur in the range of 0–2600 μM with a detection limit of 0.13 μM. And facile paper sensor of Cur was fabricated and displayed at concentration of 0 μM, 100 μM, 200 μM, 300 μM, 400 μM, 500 μM and 600 μM, respectively. In additions, it was realized for determination of Cur in real samples including orange juice and curry solution. Compared with the reported methods, the present method is simple, rapid and sensitive for detecting Cur.

The membrane process had been applied for the advanced treatment of pig farm biogas slurry. As studied, this physical pretreatment, with low cost and high efficiency of the suspended solids removal and nutrient retention, is required to control membrane fouling. The combined process of paper filtration and ultrafiltration in a pilot scale was applied in the present study. The main objective was to explore and identify the feasibility of the new process for the pretreatment of the separation liquid of pig farm biogas slurry. A precision identification experiment of paper filtration and the multi-batch repetitive experiments of the combined process were designed. The results showed, at the identified paper filtration precision of 50&mu, m and an operating pressure of 0.3 bar of the ultrafiltration process, that the flux rate at the stable stage of the multi-batch operation was around 295.00 L/h. The combined process achieved an overall processing rate of 345.41 &plusmn, 18.81 L/h and a volume permeation proportion of 82.45% &plusmn, 0.85%. The TSS was removed by 95.71%, but total nitrogen (TN) and ammonia nitrogen (NH3-N) were retained by 76.29% &plusmn, 2.04% and 73.74% &plusmn, 2.10%, respectively. Comprehensively, the requirement for the pretreatment was obtained.

Temporal and spatial patterns of variability in aquatic ecosystems can be complex and difficult to quantify or predict. However, understanding this variability is critical to making a wide range of water quality assessment and management decisions effectively. Here we report on the nature and magnitude of spatial and temporal variation observed in conductivity, total phosphorus, and total nitrogen during a 15-year study of four U.S. stream systems receiving pulp and paper mill effluent discharges. Sampling locations included mainstem sites upstream and downstream of effluent discharge, as well as tributary sites. In all four stream systems, variability in conductivity as measured by the coefficient of variation was typically in the range of 10-50%, and was as low or lower than the variability in nutrient endpoints. The effect of effluent discharge was relatively minor overall, except in some site-specific instances. Some relatively large differences between tributary and mainstem variability were also observed. Flow variation tended to have a more consistent and larger effect on conductivity variation compared to the nutrient endpoints. After removing flow effects, significant relatively complex trends over time were observed at several sites. Changes in variability during the study also were observed. This paper highlights the importance of long-term studies to accurately characterize water quality variability used in water quality management decision-making.

Nine different samples of sewage sludges, composts and other representative organic wastes, with potential interest to be used as agricultural soil amendments, were characterized: municipal sewage sludge (SS1 and SS2), agro industrial sludge (AIS), municipal slaughterhouse sludge (MSS), mixed municipal solid waste compost (MMSWC), agricultural wastes compost (AWC), compost produced from agricultural wastes and sewage sludge (AWSSC), pig slurry digestate (PSD) and paper mill wastes (PMW). The characterization was made considering their: (i) physicochemical parameters, (ii) total and bioavailable heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, Zn and Hg), (iii) organic contaminants, (iv) pathogenic microorganisms and (v) stability and phytotoxicity indicators. All the sludges, municipal or other, comply with the requirements of the legislation regarding the possibility of their application to agricultural soil (with the exception of SS2, due to its pathogenic microorganisms content), with a content of organic matter and nutrients that make them interesting to be applied to soil. The composts presented, in general, some constraints regarding their application to soil, and their impairment was due to the existence of heavy metal concentrations exceeding the proposed limit of the draft European legislation. As a consequence, with the exception of AWSSC, most compost samples were not able to meet these quality criteria, which are more conservative for compost than for sewage sludge. From the results, the composting of sewage sludge is recommended as a way to turn a less stabilized waste into a material that is no longer classified as a waste and, judging by the results of this work, with lower heavy metal content than the other composted materials, and without sanitation problems.

Herein we utilized the filter paper to physically trap red blood cells (RBC) to observe the breathing process of red blood cells based on the permeability of the filter paper. By integrating double-sided conductive carbon tape as the working electrodes, the device could be applied to monitor electrochemical responses of RBC for up to hundreds of minutes. The differential pulse voltammetry (DPV) peak currents increased under oxygen while decreased under nitrogen, indicating that RBC could take in and release oxygen. Further studies demonstrated that the RBC suspension could more effectively take in oxygen than the solution of hemoglobin and the supernatant of RBC, suggesting the natural advantage of RBC on oxygen transportation. This study implied that simple paper-based analytical devices might be effectively applied in the study of gas-participating reactions and biochemical detections.

Using ammonium molybdate and thiourea as precursors, nitrogen-doped MoO

An ongoing call to implement a circular economy is underway in the European Union, and a specific attention has been placed on the forest industry, which seeks additional recycling routes for its side streams, including biosludge. Biosludge is often dried and incinerated, thus wasting the nitrogen contained therein. This paper describes a study in which the release of nitrogen during thermal drying, the impact of the drying temperatures of 130°C, 180°C, and 210°C on the mass of ammonia released, and the potential for recovery of nitrogen from biosludge were examined. The results indicate that 1310–1730 mg kgTS−1 of nitrogen was released, which corresponded to 56–74% of the soluble nitrogen in biosolids or 4.0–5.3% of the total nitrogen. Of this released nitrogen, 83–85% was identified in condensate and absorbing water, thus indicating a high potential for recovering nitrogen from biosludge.

In the present study, we aimed to determine the applicability of a paper container for the vitrification of in vitro matured (IVM) bovine oocytes. In experiment 1, IVM oocytes were exposed to vitrification solution (20% dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO), 20% ethylene glycol (EG), and 5 mol/L sucrose), using a two-step method, for 30 s; loaded onto either a paper container or Cryotop; and stored in liquid nitrogen. No significant difference (P

The aim of the study was to grow microalgae on mixed municipal and industrial wastewater to simultaneously treat the wastewater and produce biomass and lipids. All algal strains grew in all wastewater mixtures; however, Selenastrum minutum had the highest biomass and lipids yields, up to 37% of the dry matter. Nitrogen and phosphorus removal were high and followed a similar trend in all three strains. Ammonium was reduced from 96% to 99%; this reduction was due to algal growth and not to stripping to the atmosphere, as confirmed by the amount of nitrogen in the dry algal biomass. Phosphate was reduced from 91% to 99%. In all strains used the lipid content was negatively correlated to the nitrogen concentration in the algal biomass. Mixtures of pulp and paper wastewater with municipal and dairy wastewater have great potential to grow algae for biomass and lipid production together with effective wastewater treatment.

A mixed culture of microalgae, containing two Scenedesmus species, was analysed to determine its potential in coupling of pulp and paper mill effluent treatment and microalgal cultivation. Laboratory studies suggested that 60% concentration of wastewater was optimum for microalgal cultivation. A maximum of 82% and 75% removal of BOD and COD respectively was achieved with microalgal cultivation in outdoor open pond. By the end of the cultivation period, 65% removal of NO3-N and 71.29% removal of PO4-P was observed. The fatty acid composition of mixed microalgal culture cultivated with effluent showed the palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid as major fatty acids. The results obtained suggest that pulp and paper mill effluent could be used effectively for cultivation of microalgae to minimise the freshwater and nutrient requirements.

International audience; The authors explored the risks and benefits of repeated irrigation of Populus alba saplings with aqueous paper sludge (APS). Saplings were cultivated in pots of forest soil (3 L) in a greenhouse for 7 weeks and watered twice a week with differing concentrations of APS (0, 10, 20, 30, 50, 75,and 100 % v/v with deionized water). Plant growth and ecophysiological variables along with zinc and aluminum transfer were monitored. A stimulation of plant growth was observed with sludge treatments of 30 or 50 %, significantly correlated to APS input (r = 0.81). This may be explained by the easily available nitrogen as is shown with the positive correlation of CO2 assimilation and leaf nitrogen (r = 0.70). However, a significant reduction in plant growth was observed when treatments of 75 and 100 % of APS were administered, despite a high nutritional level (nitrogen and phosphorus). The study suggests that APS concentrations from 30 to 50 % may positively affect the growth of poplar saplings; however, the higher concentrations indicated a risk for plant growth and the environment.

The main objective of the present study was to determine the optimum C/N ratio for converting waste paper and chicken manure to nutrient-rich manure with minimum toxicity. Six treatments of C/N ratio 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, and 70 (T1, T2, T3, T4, T5, and T6, respectively) achieved by mixing chicken manure with shredded paper were used. The study involved a composting stage for 20 days followed by vermicomposting with Eisenia fetida for 7 weeks. The results revealed that 20 days of composting considerably degraded the organic waste mixtures from all treatments and a further 7 weeks of vermiculture significantly improved the bioconversion and nutrient value of all treatments. The C/N ratio of 40 (T3) resulted in the best quality vermicompost compared to the other treatments. Earthworm biomass was highest at T3 and T4 possibly due to a greater reduction of toxic substances in these waste mixtures. The total N, total P, and total K concentrations increased with time while total carbon, C/N ratio, electrical conductivity (EC), and heavy metal content gradually decreased with time during the vermicomposting process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the intrastructural degradation of the chicken manure and shredded paper matrix which confirmed the extent of biodegradation of treatment mixtures as result of the composting and vermicomposting processes. Phytotoxicity evaluation of final vermicomposts using tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), radish (Raphanus sativus), carrot (Daucus carota), and onion (Allium cepa) as test crops showed the non-phytotoxicity of the vermicomposts to be in the order T3 > T4 > T2 > T1 > T5 > T6. Generally, the results indicated that the combination of composting and vermicomposting processes is a good strategy for the management of chicken manure/paper waste mixtures and that the ideal C/N ratio of the waste mixture is 40 (T3).