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Climate change mitigation by increased paper recycling can alleviate the two-sided pressure on the Swedish forest sector: supplying growing demands for wood-based products and increasing the forest carbon sink. This study assesses two scenarios for making use of a reduced demand for primary pulp resulting from an increased paper recycling rate in Sweden, from the present 72% to 78%. A Conservation scenario uses the saved primary pulp to reduce pulplog harvests so as to increase the forest carbon sink concomitant with constant overall wood product supply. In contrast, a Substitution scenario uses the saved primary pulp to produce man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCF) from dissolving pulp replacing cotton fiber, implying increased overall wood product supply. Our results suggest that utilizing efficiency gains in paper recycling to reduce pulplog harvests is better from a climate change mitigation perspective than producing additional MMCF to substitute cotton fiber. This conclusion holds even when assuming the use of by-products from dissolving pulp making and an indirect increase in MMCF availability. Hence, unless joint improvements across the value chain materialize, the best climate change mitigation option from increased paper recycling in Sweden would seemingly be to reduce fellings rather than producing additional MMCF.

Paper and pencil have shown wide applicability in the area of flexible electronics. Devices based on paper and pencil offer distinctive advantages, including rapid, straightforward, and cost-effective fabrication, as well as recyclability and eco-friendly characteristics. There are several concepts that have been demonstrated using paper and pencil including thermoelectric, strain gauges, capacitive sensors, and biomedical devices. This review article summarizes state of art of pencil-based thermoelectric devices on paper and their future potential.

Background : The incorporation of industrial wastes, such as wood ash and paper sludge, as soil amendments is vital for both environmental sustainability and agroecosystem productivity. Herein, we evaluated the effects of wood ash and paper sludge alone and in combination with biochar on the physicochemical properties and heavy metal leaching risks in podzolic soils. Methods : The treatments included limestone (control), wood ash, paper sludge, wood ash+paper sludge, limestone+biochar, wood ash+biochar, paper sludge+biochar and wood ash+paper sludge+biochar, arranged in a 4 × 2 factorial design with three replicates. The Hydrus-1D model was employed to simulate the water movement under these soil amendments using leaching colums. Results : Overall, wood ash, paper sludge and biochar application significantly increased the pH of amended soil compared to control. Paper sludge amended treatments alone or in combination with biochar significantly decreased bulk density (8%–17%) and increased the total porosity (14%–25%). While biochar addition to wood ash and paper sludge significantly reduced the concentrations of Cd (by 6.42%), Co (by 10.95%), Cu (by 11.76%), Pb (by 30%) and Ni (by 3.75%) in the collected leachates. The treatment paper sludge + biochar was found to be the most effective treatment to retain the heavy metals, with maximum plant available water (0.28 cm ^3 cm ^−3 ) and field capacity (0.36 cm ^3 cm ^−3 ) compared to control treatment. The predictions from Hydrus-1D showed that paper mill wastes with biochar has a significant potential to increase the volumetric moisture contents of amended podzolic soil, with the simulated leaching times and saturation levels closely aligning with the measured values. Conclusion : paper sludge + biochar treatment showed improved soil physicochemical properties and displayed lower heavy metals than allowed limits to be used in soil. Further, experiments are needed to assess the effects of papermill waste products on podzolic soil properties under variable field conditions.

We study a three-species cyclic model whose organisms are vulnerable to contamination with an infectious disease which propagates person-to-person. We consider that individuals of one species perform a self-preservation strategy by reducing the mobility rate to minimise infection risk whenever an epidemic outbreak reaches the neighbourhood. Running stochastic simulations, we quantify the changes in spatial patterns induced by unevenness in the cyclic game introduced by the mobility restriction strategy of organisms of one out of the species. Our findings show that variations in disease virulence impact the benefits of dispersal limitation reaction, with the relative reduction of the organisms’ infection risk accentuating in surges of less contagious or deadlier diseases. The effectiveness of the mobility restriction tactic depends on the deceleration level and the fraction of infected neighbours which is considered too dangerous, thus triggering the defensive strategy. If each organism promptly reacts to the arrival of the first viral vectors in its surroundings with strict mobility reduction, contamination risk decreases significantly. Our conclusions may help biologists understand the impact of defensive strategies in ecosystems during an epidemic.

Call For Papers for the 247th ECS Meeting, Montreal, Canada, May 18-22, 2025 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Handling and storing the immense amounts of data native to the information age is a major challenge in terms of technological sustainability and energy demand. To date, tape storage remains the most widespread method for data archiving, while DNA data storage appears to offer the best data density and long-term stability in the future. However, DNA data storage is still in its infancy primarily due to economic and accessibility challenges. This emphasizes the need for more practical and readily available alternatives. We present a method for data storage utilizing inkjet printable quantum dots on paper with photoluminescence (PL) readout. Our proof of principle study showcases the ability to print and stack multiple bits of data on a single spot by exploiting the unique PL properties of quantum dots. This approach utilizes easily accessible resources, including a consumer-grade printer and paper as the substrate. Additionally, we perform initial stability tests, investigate scalability by controlling emission intensity, and evaluate the potential data density achievable by our approach.

The determination of the dielectric breakdown strengths of microstructurally heterogeneous materials has been a primarily experimental endeavor. We report the development of a microstructure-level model for computationally predicting the breakdown strength and analyzing the interactions between electromagnetic pulses (EMP) and the constituents in a composite of cellulose-based paper and mineral oil found in electrical transformers. The model allows explicit simulation of the material breakdown process by tracking the transition of dielectric constituents from non-conductive to conductive states. The focus is on the electric fields induced in the materials and the overall conditions for dielectric breakdown (defined as the onset of avalanche) caused by the electric field induced in the composite. Responses to three distinct pulse shapes, i.e., Steep Front (SF), Lightning (L), and AC with spectra spanning 60–9 × 10 ^5 Hz are considered. It is found that the breakdown strength of the material is significantly affected by microstructure heterogeneities, the spatial variations of the constituent properties, and the pulse shapes. A probabilistic characterization of the breakdown strength is computationally obtained and compared with experimental measurements. Although one particular material is analyzed, the model and approach are applicable to other heterogeneous materials as well.

Version 11 of the chianti database and software package is presented. Advanced ionization equilibrium models have been added for low charge states of seven elements (C, N, O, Ne, Mg, Si, and S), and represent a significant improvement especially when modeling the solar transition region. The models include the effects of higher electron density and charge transfer on ionization and recombination rates. As an illustration of the difference these models make, a synthetic spectrum is calculated for an electron pressure of 7 × 10 ^15 cm ^−3 K and compared with an active region observation from HRTS. Increases are seen in factors of 2–5 in the predicted radiances of the strongest lines in the UV from Si iv , C iv , and N v , compared to the previous modeling using the coronal approximation. Much better agreement (within 20%) with the observations is found for the majority of the lines. The new atomic models better equip both those who are studying the transition region and those who are interpreting the emission from higher-density astrophysical and laboratory plasma. In addition to the advanced models, several ion data sets have been added or updated, and data for the radiative recombination energy loss rate have been updated.

We use James Webb Space Telescope Near-Infrared Camera Wide Field Slitless Spectroscopy (NIRCam WFSS) and the Near-Infrared spectrograph (NIRSpec) in the Cosmic Evolution Early Release survey to measure rest-frame optical emission-line ratios of 155 galaxies at z > 2. The blind NIRCam grism observations include a sample of galaxies with bright emission lines that were not observed on the NIRSpec masks. We study the changes of the H α , [O III ]/H β , and [Ne III ]/[O II ] emission lines in terms of redshift by comparing to lower-redshift SDSS, CLEAR, and MOSDEF samples. We find a significant (>3 σ ) correlation between [O III ]/H β with redshift, while [Ne III ]/[O II ] has a marginal (2 σ ) correlation with redshift. We compare [O III ]/H β and [Ne III ]/[O II ] to stellar mass and H β SFR. We find that both emission-line ratios have a correlation with H β SFR and an anticorrelation with stellar mass across the redshifts 0 < z < 9. Comparison with MAPPINGS V models indicates that these trends are consistent with lower metallicity and higher ionization in low-mass and high-SFR galaxies. We additionally compare to IllustrisTNG predictions and find that they effectively describe the highest [O III ]/H β ratios observed in our sample, without the need to invoke MAPPINGS models with significant shock ionization components.

M15 is a globular cluster with a known spread in neutron-capture elements. This paper presents abundances of neutron-capture elements for 62 stars in M15. Spectra were obtained with the Michigan/Magellan Fiber System spectrograph, covering a wavelength range from ∼4430 to 4630 Å. Spectral lines from Fe i, Fe ii, Sr i, Zr ii, Ba ii, La ii, Ce ii, Nd ii, Sm ii, Eu ii, and Dy ii were measured, enabling classifications and neutron-capture abundance patterns for the stars. Of the 62 targets, 44 are found to be highly Eu-enhanced r -II stars, another 17 are moderately Eu-enhanced r -I stars, and one star is found to have an s -process signature. The neutron-capture patterns indicate that the majority of the stars are consistent with enrichment by the r -process. The 62 target stars are found to show significant star-to-star spreads in Sr, Zr, Ba, La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, and Dy, but no significant spread in Fe. The neutron-capture abundances are further found to have slight correlations with sodium abundances from the literature, unlike what has been previously found; follow-up studies are needed to verify this result. The findings in this paper suggest that the Eu-enhanced stars in M15 were enhanced by the same process, that the nucleosynthetic source of this Eu pollution was the r -process, and that the r -process source occurred as the first generation of cluster stars was forming. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infrared spectroscopic observations have established the presence of solid methanol (CH3OH) in the interstellar medium and in solar system ices, but the abundance of frozen CH3OH cannot be deduced without accurate band strengths, optical constants, and reference spectra. In this paper we identify disagreements, omissions, and gaps in the literature on infrared (IR) intensities of methanol ices, including unaddressed concerns that reach back several decades. New spectra are presented with intensity measurements aided by new data on the index of refraction and density of solid CH3OH. The result is that the large discordant results from different laboratory groups can now be reconciled. Multiple ices have been used to determine, apparently for the first time, IR intensities of H2O + CH3OH mixtures of accurately known composition for use with observations of interstellar ices. Also for the first time, measurements on CH3OH ices with different thicknesses have allowed us to report both near-IR band strengths and optical constants for two near-IR features used by planetary scientists. We have used our new IR results to determine vapor pressures of solid CH3OH and have compared them to measurements made with a quartz-crystal microbalance. Thermal annealings of methanol ices have been carried out and phase changes in the solid state examined. Comparisons of our results to earlier work are presented where possible, and electronic versions of our new results are made available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]