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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.

One of the most cited limitations of biochemical detection is its poor sensitivity, owing to the relatively high complexity of micro-samples. Moreover, some samples cannot be easily self-replicated and their abundance cannot be increased through traditional technologies. Therefore, the preconcentration of low-abundance samples is a key requirement for microfluidic biological analysis. In recent years, the ion-concentration polarization phenomenon has aroused widespread interest in the application of microfluidic technology. In addition, paper-based materials are readily available, easy to modify, and exhibit good hydrophilicity. The study of the ion-concentration polarization preconcentration of micro-samples in paper-based microfluidic chips is of considerable significance. In this review, we discuss the development and applications of ion-concentration polarization paper-based preconcentrator in the past 5 years, with emphasis on key progresses in chip fabrication and performance optimization under different conditions. The current needs and development prospects in this field have also been discussed.

A complete mathematical model for electromigration in paper-based analytical devices is derived, based on differential equations describing the motion of fluids by pressure sources and EOF, the transport of charged chemical species, and the electric potential distribution. The porous medium created by the cellulose fibers is considered like a network of tortuous capillaries and represented by macroscopic parameters following an effective medium approach. The equations are obtained starting from their open-channel counterparts, applying scaling laws and, where necessary, including additional terms. With this approach, effective parameters are derived, describing diffusion, mobility, and conductivity for porous media. While the foundations of these phenomena can be found in previous reports, here, all the contributions are analyzed systematically and provided in a comprehensive way. Moreover, a novel electrophoretically driven dispersive transport mechanism in porous materials is proposed. Results of the numerical implementation of the mathematical model are compared with experimental data, showing good agreement and supporting the validity of the proposed model. Finally, the model succeeds in simulating a challenging case of free-flow electrophoresis in paper, involving capillary flow and electrophoretic transport developed in a 2D geometry. Fil: Schaumburg, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; Argentina Fil: Kler, Pablo Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones en Métodos Computacionales. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Centro de Investigaciones en Métodos Computacionales; Argentina Fil: Berli, Claudio Luis Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; Argentina

Bladder cancer is the fourth most common cancer in men, and it is becoming a prevalent malignancy. Most of the regular clinical examinations are prompt evaluations with cystoscopy, renal function testing, which require high-precision instrument, well-trained operators, and high cost. In this study, a microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μPAD) was fabricated to detect nuclear matrix protein 22 (NMP22) and bladder cancer antigen (BTA) from the urine samples. Urine samples were collected from 11 bladder cancer patients and 10 well-beings as experiment and control groups, respectively, to verify the working efficiency of μPAD. A remarkable checkout efficiency of up to 90.91% was found from the results. Meanwhile, this method is feasible for home-based self-detection from urine samples within 10 min for the total process, which provides a new way for quick, economical, and convenient tumor diagnosis, prognosis evaluation, and drug response.

The aim of this work was the wettability improvement of clay-coated paper by ambient air plasma exposure. Industrial corona with a volume dielectric barrier discharge in cylindrical configuration was used as a plasma source; the exposure times varied from 0.25 up to 5 s. Water contact angle (WCA) measurement and surface free energy (SFE) evaluation were carried out for the estimation of wettability changes. Plasma treatment in the duration of 0.25 s was sufficient to decrease the WCA almost to the half of the original value, which was 76 degrees. SFE of paper has increased by 40%-50% after plasma treatment. Long-term ageing effect study of treated samples was carried out up to 3 months after the treatment. WCA did not reach the original value even after 3 months, and it was still 20%-30% lower. O/C ratio increased from 0.7 to 1.8 in case of 5-s plasma treatment, and the new chemical bonds (C=O, O-C=O) were created on the surface.

Microfluidic paper-based analytical devices (μPADs) allow user-friendly and portable chemical determinations, although they provide limited applicability due to insufficient sensitivity. Several approaches have been proposed to address poor sensitivity in μPADs, but they frequently require bulky equipment for power and/or read-outs. Universal serial buses (USB) are an attractive alternative to less portable power sources and are currently available in many common electronic devices. Here, USB-powered μPADs (USB μPADs) are proposed as a fusion of both technologies to improve performance without adding instrumental complexity. Two ITP USB μPADs were developed, both powered by a 5 V potential provided through standard USB ports. The first device was fabricated using the origami approach. Its operation was analyzed experimentally and numerically, yielding a two-order-of-magnitude sample focusing in 15 min. The second ITP USB μPAD is a novel design, which was numerically prototyped with the aim of handling larger sample volumes. The reservoirs were moved away from the ITP channel and capillary action was used to drive the sample and electrolytes to the separation zone, predicting 25-fold sample focusing in 10 min. USB μPADs are expected to be adopted by minimally-trained personnel in sensitive areas like resource-limited settings, the point-of-care and in emergencies. Fil: Schaumburg, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; Argentina Fil: Kler, Pablo Alejandro. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Centro de Investigaciones en Métodos Computacionales. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Centro de Investigaciones en Métodos Computacionales; Argentina Fil: Carrell, Cody S.. State University of Colorado - Fort Collins; Estados Unidos Fil: Berli, Claudio Luis Alberto. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Santa Fe. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química. Universidad Nacional del Litoral. Instituto de Desarrollo Tecnológico para la Industria Química; Argentina Fil: Henry, Charles S.. State University of Colorado - Fort Collins; Estados Unidos

The use of paper-based devices in combination with noninstrumental detection systems is becoming increasingly important in the analytical field due to its simplicity, rapidity, and low cost. However, their use for determination of volatile analyte derivatives is still relatively scarce. The present work reports on the assessment of a paper-based gas-sensing approach for the simultaneous noninstrumental colorimetric detection of nitrite and sulfide. Colorimetric systems based on the Griess and methylene blue assays, formation of colored metallic sulfides, and interaction/reaction with in situ generated metallic nanoparticles were preliminary evaluated. Then, the effect of experimental variables affecting the analytical performance of the paper-based gas sensor was studied with two digitization systems, namely a scanner and a smartphone. Under optimal conditions, the developed system yielded limits of detection of 0.055 and 0.005 mg/L for nitrite and sulfide, respectively. The repeatability, expressed as relative standard deviation, was found to be 5.9 and 6.7% for nitrite and sulfide, respectively. The proposed method was finally applied to the analysis of water samples, showing recoveries in the range of 95-105%.

A simple and effective ratiometric fluorescence sensor of CdTe QDs/GCNNs for on-site and rapid analysis of Cu2+ has been established by mixing physically CdTe QDs and graphite carbon nitride (GCNNs). Two emissions peaks of CdTe QDs at 572 nm and GCNNs at 436 nm are both excitated at 340 nm. Under a UV lamp, fluorescent of traffic yellow CdTe QDs is linearly quenched by Cu2+ (as the detection signal), while blue GCNNs remains unchanged (as the reference), resulting in a distinguishable color change gradually from pink yellow to blue. The limit of detection (LOD) of this new sensor for Cu2+ is as low as 0.47 ng mL-1 with 1.4 % RSD. The established method has been successfully applied to detection of Cu2+ in various drinks with satisfactory results. Moreover, a paper-based sensor, which has been prepared by soaking cellulose acetate membrane in CdTe QDs/GCNNs sensor solution, has a wide semiquantitative detection range for Cu2+ (0.01 ~ 5.0 μg mL-1 ). It has realized successfully on-site and rapid determination of Cu2+ in red wine without any pretreatment procedure and is of great promotion and application value in determination of Cu2+ in liquid samples.

Sweden is one of the largest exporters of pulp and paper products in the world. It follows that huge quantities of sludge rich in carbonaceous organic material and containing heavy metals are generated. This paper carried out a comparative environmental analysis of three different technologies, which can be adopted to produce biochar and recover energy from the biosludge, using landfilling as the reference case. These three thermochemical biosludge management systems—using incineration, pyrolysis, and hydrothermal carbonization (HTC)—were modeled using life cycle assessment (LCA). Heat generated in the incineration process (System A) was considered to be for captive consumption within the kraft pulp mills. It was assumed that the biochars—pyrochar and hydrochar—produced from pyrolysis (System B) and HTC (System C), respectively, were added to the forest soils. The LCA results show that all the alternative systems considerably improve the environmental performance of biosludge management, relative to landfilling. For all systems, there are net reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (–0.89, –1.43, and –1.13 tonnes CO 2 -equivalent per tonne dry matter biosludge in Systems A, B, and C, respectively). System B resulted in the lowest potential eutrophication and terrestrial ecotoxicity impacts, whereas System C had the least acidification potential. The results of this analysis show that, from an environmental point of view, biochar soil amendment as an alternative method for handling pulp and paper mill biosludge is preferable to energy recovery. However, an optimal biochar system needs to factor in the social and economic contexts as well.

Detection of biomarkers is essential for diagnosis and prognosis of diseases for healthcare teams to provide timely appropriate treatments. Reliable, inexpensive, and sensitive devices are desirable to serve this purpose. Paper-based analytical devices (PADs) have gained enormous attention during the past decade as point-of-care devices for biomarker detection due to their simplicity, portability, and biocompatibility. Importantly, the devices highly comply with the WHO "ASSURED" concept (i.e. Affordable, Sensitive, Specific, User-friendly, Rapid and Robust, Equipment free, and Deliverable to end-users). Thus, PADs could be sustainably alternative tools for biomarker detection, especially in resources-constraint areas where budget, skillful operators, and health infrastructure are limited. First, this review introduces overviews of biomarkers, their detection and brief history of PADs. Second, description of common fabrication and detection techniques in PADs are provided. Then, it highlights recent state of the art technologies and applications of PADs for various biomarker detection published during 2018 to May 2019. Applications for tumor marker, cardiac and coronary heath disease, and metabolic disorder biomarker detection are tabulated and selected examples are described in details. Finally, it discusses the current challenges, advances, and novel applications of PADs. The review would be valuable for healthcare workers using PADs as cost-effective point-of-care devices for biomarker detection and for researchers working on future developments of the devices.

This paper describes the fabrication of and data collection from two microfluidic devices: a microfluidic thread/paper based analytical device (μTPAD) and 3D microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μPAD). Flowing solutions of glucose oxidase (GOx), horseradish peroxidase (HRP), and potassium iodide (KI), through each device, on contact with glucose, generated a calibration curve for each platform. The resultant yellow-brown color from the reaction indicates oxidation of iodide to iodine. The devices were dried, scanned, and analyzed yielding a correlation between yellow intensity and glucose concentration. A similar procedure, using an unknown concentration of glucose in artificial urine, is conducted and compared to the calibration curve to obtain the unknown value. Studies to quantify glucose in artificial urine showed good correlation between the theoretical and actual concentrations, as percent differences were ≤13.0%. An ANN was trained on the four-channel CMYK color data from 54 μTPAD and 160 μPAD analysis sites and Pearson correlation coefficients of R = 0.96491 and 0.9739, respectively, were obtained. The ANN was able to correctly classify 94.4% (51 of 54 samples) and 91.2% (146 of 160 samples) of the μTPAD and μPAD analysis sites, respectively. The development of this technology combined with ANN should further facilitate the use of these platforms for colorimetric analysis of other analytes.

BACKGROUND: Ultrafiltration (UF) technology is efficient in treating wastewater. However, membrane fouling during filtration process affects the performance of UF to a large extent. Pretreatment prior to UF is important for enhancing membrane performance, reducing membrane fouling and extending the membrane lifetime. RESULTS: In this study, two pretreatment technologies, including coagulation and Fenton, were applied individually before UF for treating secondary effluent (SE) from recycled paper mill. Results exhibited that direct membrane filtration got the highest flux loss and worst membrane fouling compared with performances of those conducting pretreatments. Compared to coagulation + UF, Fenton + UF had superior performance in reducing dissolved organics with a COD rejection of 91.81%, and mitigating membrane fouling with a stable flux of 133 J m⁻² h⁻¹. GPC results further showed that Fenton pretreatment degraded macromolecules into smaller organic compounds. In addition, the classical blocking filtration laws were employed to scrutinize the fouling alleviation mechanism of pretreatments. CONCLUSION: Pretreatments prolonged the transition from pore blocking to cake filtration, thereby reducing fouling. Among them, Fenton was a promising pretreatment method prior to UF for treating recycled paper SE. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry

Micrometer-sized functional nucleic acid (FNA) superstructures (denoted as 3D DNA) were examined as a unique class of biorecognition elements to produce highly functional bioactive paper surfaces. 3D DNA containing repeating sequences of either a DNA aptamer or DNAzyme was created from long-chain products of rolling circle amplification followed by salt aging. The resulting 3D DNA retained its original spherical shape upon inkjet printing and adhered strongly to the paper surface via physisorption. 3D DNA paper sensors showed resistance to degradation by nucleases, suppressed nonspecific protein adsorption, and provided a much higher surface density of functional DNA relative to monomeric FNAs, making such species ideally suited for development of paper-based biosensors.

Halide perovskite quantum dots (PQDs) are promising materials for diverse applications including displays, light‐emitting diodes, and solar cells due to their intriguing properties such as tunable bandgap, high photoluminescence quantum yield, high absorbance, and narrow emission peaks. Despite the prosperous achievements over the past several years, PQDs face severe challenges in terms of stability under different circumstances. Currently, researchers have overcome part of the stability problem, making PQDs sustainable in water, oxygen, and polar solvents for long‐term use. However, halide PQDs are easily degraded under continuous irradiation, which significantly limits their potential for conventional applications. In this study, an oleic acid/oleylamine (traditional surface ligands)‐free method to fabricate perovskite quantum dot papers (PQDP) is developed by adding cellulose nanocrystals as long‐chain binding ligands that stabilize the PQD structure. As a result, the relative photoluminescence intensity of PQDP remains over ≈90% under continuous ultraviolet (UV, 16 W) irradiation for 2 months, showing negligible photodegradation. This proposed method paves the way for the fabrication of ultrastable PQDs and the future development of related applications., Solid‐state perovskite quantum dot papers are fabricated using a unique vacuum filtration growth method without a purification process. The bonding between cellulose nanocrystals and perovskite quantum dots makes the hybrid structure stable, and record high UV stability and thermal stability are achieved for perovskite quantum dot papers.

To relief the water shortage crisis in China, the Chinese government has initiated a series of clean production (CP) measures to reduce the freshwater consumption and wastewater discharge from paper industry. In this study, a new CP technology was introduced in the paper industry to reuse tissue paper mill effluent water as intake water of corrugated paper mill. The feasibility and impact of the new CP technology was investigated in three different scales, laboratory experiments, pilot-scale testing, and long-term implementation. Results show that the water quality of treated tissue paper mill effluent water is competitive with that of freshwater and some water quality indexes are even better, indicating that treated tissue paper mill effluent water is a suitable alternative to replace the freshwater as intake water for the corrugated paper mill. By reusing tissue paper mill effluent water as intake water of corrugated paper mill, most physical properties of different corrugated paper layers are improved or similar as those by using freshwater as intake water in all different scale experiments. Moreover, the new CP technology significantly reduced the freshwater consumption for the corrugated paper mill, eliminated the wastewater discharged from the tissue paper mill, and at the same time, lowered the operation cost for both paper mills in terms of freshwater consumption and wastewater treatment cost. Total 216,000 RMB will be saved every year with an assumption that tissue paper mill provides annual daily average 2000 cubic meter of effluent water to corrugated paper mill every day. © 2017 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Environ Prog, 2017

A potentially universal approach is presented for enzyme attachment to cellulose that significantly enhances enzyme stability while retaining high activity, and involves no chemical functionalization of cellulose. Bovine serum albumin (BSA) was interlocked in cellulose to form a protein-friendly surface (named BSA-Paper), while also providing COOH and NH2 groups for subsequent attachment of enzymes. The desired enzyme is then mixed with additional BSA and interlocked on BSA-Paper. The second BSA layer dilutes and crosslinks the enzyme for improved stability. Laccase was tested as a model enzyme for interlocking on BSA-Paper, and was found to retain over 100 % activity and was 240 times more stable at 25 °C (half life=180 d) than laccase. This new approach was also tested with a few other enzymes with encouraging results, thus providing a potentially universal method for stabilization of enzymes on cellulose with retention of high activities.

Isoelectric focusing plays a critical role in the analysis of complex protein samples. Conventionally, isoelectric focusing is implemented with carrier ampholytes in capillary or immobilized pH gradient gel. In this study, we successfully exhibited a carrier ampholyte-free isoelectric focusing on paper-based analytical device. Proof of the concept was visually demonstrated with color model proteins. Experimental results showed that not only a pH gradient was well established along the open paper fluidic channel as confirmed by pH indicator strip, the pH gradient range could also be tuned by the catholyte or anolyte. Furthermore, the isoelectric focusing fractions from the paper channel can be directly cut and recovered into solutions for post analysis with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization-time-of-flight mass spectrometry. This paper-based isoelectric focusing method is fast, cheap, simple and easy to operate, and could potentially be used as a cost-effective protein sample clean-up method for target protein analysis with mass spectrometry.

This is a review of the literature published in 2018 related to the prevention of water pollution by or recovery of beneficial materials from wastewater produced in the pulp and paper industry. This review includes the following main sections: cleaner production, biological treatment, and physico-chemical treatment. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Converting pulp and paper treatment sludges to value-added materials can be efficient cleaner production technique. Modeling and dynamic simulation techniques of biological treatment along with optimization methods can improve the effluent quality out of a paper mill. Hybrid treatment systems can have a synergistic effect on the treatment of pulp and paper effluents.

Tetracycline (TC) represents a broad-spectrum antibiotic to treat bacterial infections. In this study, a ratiometric fluorescence (FL) probe was developed for the detection of TC in water samples by using waste printing paper extract as a FL indicator. In this ratiometric probe, the emission of printing paper extract at 436 nm gradually decreased and the emission of mixed solution at 538 nm significantly increased with the sequential addition of TC upon being excited at 390 nm, coupled with a remarkable FL color change from bright blue to faint yellow. Thus, a ratiometric F538 /F436 FL probe was created for TC detection by simply mixing the printing paper extraction and TC. Under the optimized conditions, the linear range from 1-100 μM and a detection limit of 0.48 μM (S/N = 3) for TC were obtained. Importantly, the FL probe can be easily prepared with rapid response, high sensitivity, and good selectivity. The application of the waste printing paper extract for the detection of TC in environmental water samples was demonstrated.

A simple method was developed in this work for facile and visual detection of S2- using a paper-based fluorescence (FL) sensor coated with CdTe quantum dots (QDs) by headspace sampling. With the addition of hydrochloric acid, the target S2- in the liquid phase would transform to H2 S, which was released to headspace and quenched the FL of CdTe QDs in a linear manner through a gas-solid reaction, with any possible liquid-phase interference avoided. The regular quenching caused by S2- in analyte solution with increased concentration could be easily observed by the naked eye, and the limit of detection (LOD) for this method was 0.13 μM and 0.93 μM for FL and visual sensing, respectively, comparable or not to that by other sensing probes. A relative standard deviation of 1.2% was accomplished from seven replicated measurements, implying the high reproducibility, and the recovery for the spiked water samples ranging from 94 to 103%, and illustrating the satisfactory reliability of this method. Moreover, the preparation of this paper sensor was facile and did not require any complicated or time-consuming procedures for additional modification or functionalization as for other probes previously reported.

Paper-based advanced functional materials have become the focus of intense research in recent years. Particularly, magnetic papers show strong potential for applications in a wide range of 4.0 technologies including communication, magnetic sensing, electromagnetic filtering, magnetic-based health care tools, point-of-care microfluidic devices, and security. In situ and lumen-loading, the main methods to prepare magnetoactive papers, have problems such as the rigorous reaction conditions, hard control of deposition location, decreased tensile strength, poor retention of magnetic nanoparticles, or the obligation to perform the magnetic impregnation during the papermaking process, that hinder their applicability. Those issues are addressed in the present work, in which approximate to 20 nm Fe3O4 nanoparticles are hydrothermally synthesized and later incorporated in a wax-based home-made cartridge and nanoimpregnated into paper by a thermal process leading to a magnetic paper with improved stress and strain at rupture and Young's modulus, 30 MPa, 4.5%, and 2 GPa, respectively, when compared to neat paper, 15 MPa, 3.5%, and approximate to 1 GPa, respectively. Additionally, the reported magnetic impregnation method provides the paper with a 0.2 emu g(-1) magnetic saturation, allowing it to work as a bending actuator with a bending of 12 mm at an applied magnetic field of 105 mT., The authors thank the FCT- FundacAo para a Ciencia e Tecnologia- for financial support in the framework of the Strategic Funding UID/FIS/04650/2020 and under projects PTDC/BTM-MAT/28237/2017 and PTDC/EMD-EMD/28159/2017. R. B-P. acknowledges also support from FCT (SFRH/BD/140698/2018). P.M. thanks FCT- FundacAo para a Ciencia e Tecnologia for the contract under the Stimulus of Scientific Employment, Individual Support - 2017 Call (CEECIND/03975/2017). The authors thank funding by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) and the European Regional Development Fund (ERFD) through the project PID2019-106099RB-C43/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and from the Basque Government Industry and Education Department under the ELKARTEK, HAZITEK and PIBA (PIBA-2018-06) programs, respectively. Technical and human support provided by SGIker (UPV/EHU, MICINN, GV/EJ, EGEF and ESF) is gratefully acknowledged.

A comparative study of chemical looping combustion (CLC) with paper, plastic, and coal as fuel was carried out. Experiments were performed in a laboratory fluidized-bed reactor by alternating between reduction and oxidation cycles. The results obtained indicated that a higher temperature leads to an increase in the CO yield and carbon conversion for all fuels. Paper had the highest fractional conversion of CO to CO followed by polyvinyl chloride (PVC) and coal. This was due to the higher fraction of volatiles in paper compared to PVC and coal. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analysis of the oxygen carrier particle after each of the solid fuel experiment was carried out. For the used ilmenite, there was a slight difference in the morphology for the three different fuels.

This paper describes enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISAs) utilizing microfluidic thread/paper-based analytical devices (μTPAD), microfluidic fabric-based analytical devices (μFAD), and microfluidic thread-based analytical devices (μTAD). Here, the quantitative detection of biotinylated goat anti-mouse IgG (system one) and rabbit IgG (system two) antibodies via colorimetric analysis is detailed. In both systems, antibody is spotted on the detection site and subjected to a series of washes, addition of streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase (Strep-ALP) (system 1) or alkaline phosphatase (ALP)-conjugated secondary antibody (system 2), and colorimetric substrate. The devices are scanned and analyzed yielding a correlation between inverse yellow (or purple) intensity. For system one, a linear range of detection at low concentrations of streptavidin-alkaline phosphatase (Strep-ALP) was observed befire the enzyme reached a Vmax . At higher concentrations of Strep-ALP, saturation is achieved for both the μTPAD and μFAD devices. For system two, the IC50 values obtained for the non-trifurcated and trifurcated μTADs were determined to be 180.2 fmol/zone and 133.8 fmol/zone, respectively. The IC50 value was demonstrated to be 1034 fmol/zone and 208.6 fmol/zone for the μTPADs and μFADs, respectively. For all devices the lowest concentration of Strep-ALP or rabbit IgG used in the assay was 3.75 × 10-4 mg/mL and 0.7 fmol/zone, respectively. The development of this technology should further facilitate the use of these platforms for ELISA to detect and quantitate antibodies.

Paper-like electrodes are emerging as a new category of advanced electrodes for flexible supercapacitors (SCs). Graphene, a promising two-dimensional material with high conductivity, can be easily processed into papers. Here, we report a rational design of flexible architecture with Co9 S8 nanotube arrays (NAs) grown onto graphene paper (GP) via a facile two-step hydrothermal method. When employed as flexible free-standing electrode for SCs, the proposed architectured Co9 S8 /GPs exhibits superior electrochemical performance with ultrahigh capacitance and outstanding rate capability (469 F g-1 at 10 A g-1 ). These results demonstrate that the new nanostructured Co9 S8 /GPs can be potentially applied in high performance flexible supercapacitors.

We report a general anion sensing platform based on a portable and cost-effective ion-selective optode and a smartphone detector equipped with a color analysis app. In contrast to traditional anion-selective optodes using a hydrophobic polymer and/or plasticizer to dissolve hydrophobic sensing elements, the new optode relies on hydrophilic cellulose paper. The anion ionophore and a lipophilic pH indicator are inkjet-printed and adsorbed on paper and form a “dry” hydrophobic sensing layer. Porous cellulose sheets also allow the sensing site to be modified with dried buffer that prevents any sample pH dependence of the observed color change. A highly selective fluoride optode using an Al(III)-porphyrin ionophore is examined as an initial example of this new anion sensing platform for measurements of fluoride levels in drinking water samples. In addition to Lewis acid-base recognition, hydrogen bonding recognition is also shown to be compatible with this sensing platform.

A novel paper‐based biofuel cell with a series/parallel array structure has been fabricated, in which the cell voltage and output power can easily be adjusted as required by printing. The output of the fabricated 4‐series/4‐parallel biofuel cell reached 0.97±0.02 mW at 1.4 V, which is the highest output power reported to date for a paper‐based biofuel cell. This work contributes to the development of flexible, wearable energy storage device.

There is a need in the field of microfluidics for integration of analytical detection methods onto small fluidic chips. Electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) is an effective method for detecting a wide range of analytes, including small molecules, metal ions and bacteria. This Minireview discusses recent applications of ECL-based detection methods to inexpensive microfluidic devices. We discuss various paper and cloth based devices, including 3D-origami devices and devices utilizing bipolar electrodes. We also discuss novel devices that have replaced traditional instrumentation with inexpensive and portable equipment, such as mobile phones.

A portable paper‐based organic redox flow primary battery using sustainable quinone chemistry is presented. The compact prototype relies on the capillary forces of the paper matrix to develop a quasi‐steady flow of the reactants through a pair of porous carbon electrodes without the need of external pumps. Co‐laminar capillary flow allows operation Under mixed‐media conditions, in which an alkaline anolyte and an acidic catholyte are employed. This feature enables higher electrochemical cell voltages during discharge operation and the utilization of a wider range of available species and electrolytes and provides the advantage to form a neutral or near‐neutral pH as the electrolytes neutralize at the absorbent pad, which allows a safe disposal after use. The effects of the device design parameters have been studied to enhance battery features such as power output, operational time, and fuel utilization. The device achieves a faradaic efficiency of up to 98 %, which is the highest reported in a capillary‐based electrochemical power source, as well as a cell capacity of up to 11.4 Ah L−1 cm−2, comparable to state‐of‐the‐art large‐scale redox flow cells., The funding for this research provided through the Science for Solving Society's Problems Challenge by the Electrochemical Society and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is highly appreciated. P.A. acknowledges support from CONACyT through a scholarship to pursue postgraduate studies. N.S. is thankful for financial support received from ERC Consolidator Grant (SUPERCELL—GA.648518). Additional support from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and British Columbia Knowledge Development Fund (BCKDF) is also acknowledged. E.K. acknowledges support from the Canada Research Chairs program.

In this essay, I undertake a critical analysis of the UN-Habitat publication, The Quito Papers. I begin by unpacking the representation within The Quito Papers of the Charter of Athens of 1941 as an outcome of CIAM IV in 1933. Here, the ways in which the authors centralize the Charter of Athens within their critique of contemporary urbanization is critically analysed. Ultimately, I argue that what emerges is a simplification of the complex intertwining of urbanization and urbanist ideals. Based on this, I situate what is presented in The Quito Papers as alternative imaginaries?centred largely on European ideals of urbanism?within the context of urban change since the 1970s. This includes a discussion of the manner in which these ideals are promoted within urbanist discourse, including the role of the authors themselves in their engagement with UN-Habitat. Finally, I situate some of the arguments contained in The Quito Papers within current debates in urban theory. I contend that the relationship between processes of urbanization and the ideals of modernist urbanism are more genealogical than direct. Furthermore, I argue that it is through this relationship that broader power dynamics and their resultant inequalities can be further examined and challenged.

To circumvent the bottlenecks of non‐flexibility, low sensitivity, and narrow workable detection range of conventional biosensors for biological molecule detection (e.g., dopamine (DA) secreted by living cells), a new hybrid flexible electrochemical biosensor has been created by decorating closely packed dendritic Pt nanoparticles (NPs) on freestanding graphene paper. This innovative structural integration of ultrathin graphene paper and uniform 2D arrays of dendritic NPs by tailored wet chemical synthesis has been achieved by a modular strategy through a facile and delicately controlled oil–water interfacial assembly method, whereby the uniform distribution of catalytic dendritic NPs on the graphene paper is maximized. In this way, the performance is improved by several orders of magnitude. The developed hybrid electrode shows a high sensitivity of 2 μA cm−2 μm −1, up to about 33 times higher than those of conventional sensors, a low detection limit of 5 nm, and a wide linear range of 87 nm to 100 μm. These combined features enable the ultrasensitive detection of DA released from pheochromocytoma (PC 12) cells. The unique features of this flexible sensor can be attributed to the well‐tailored uniform 2D array of dendritic Pt NPs and the modular electrode assembly at the oil–water interface. Its excellent performance holds much promise for the future development of optimized flexible electrochemical sensors for a diverse range of electroactive molecules to better serve society.

Similar to the paper-making process, the efficient flame retardant graphene paper is conveniently obtained by using graphene oxide (GO) and hexachlorocyclotriphosphazene (HCCP) aqueous pulp. The “paper pulp” can also conceivably be used as ink to make other hydrophilic films become flame retardant paper. Further, the as-prepared reduced GO-HCCP paper (RGO-HCCP paper), compared with GO-HCCP paper, can maintain its intact structure for a longer time in an ethanol flame. As a consequence of these preparation methods, the bearing temperature of the as-prepared graphene papers shows a significant increase.

Sixth generation will exploit satellite, aerial, and terrestrial platforms jointly to improve radio access capability and unlock the support of on-demand edge cloud services in three-dimensional (3D) space, by incorporating mobile edge computing (MEC) functionalities on aerial platforms and low-orbit satellites. This will extend the MEC support to devices and network elements in the sky and forge a space-borne MEC, enabling intelligent, personalized, and distributed on-demand services. End users will experience the impression of being surrounded by a distributed computer, fulfilling their requests with apparently zero latency. In this paper, we consider an architecture that provides communication, computation, and caching (C3) services on demand, anytime, and everywhere in 3D space, integrating conventional ground (terrestrial) base stations and flying (non-terrestrial) nodes. Given the complexity of the overall network, the C3 resources and management of aerial devices need to be jointly orchestrated via artificial intelligence-based algorithms, exploiting virtualized network functions dynamically deployed in a distributed manner across terrestrial and non-terrestrial nodes. European Union in the Horizon 2020 EU-Korea project 5G-ALLSTAR, GA no. 815323, by the Institute for Information & Communications Technology Promotion (IITP) grant funded by the Korean government (MSIT No. 2018-0-00175) and by Grant No. P102-18-27023S, funded by the Czech Science Foundation.

A novel colorimetric probe RP1 was synthesized using rhodamine derivatives and heterocyclic compounds for the purpose of detecting Cu2+ . RP1 showed good selectivity, high sensitivity and affinity toward Cu2+ over other competing ions in CH3 OH-H2 O (1/1, v/v) solution. Absorbance intensity showed a good linear fit between probe R1 and Cu2+ over the concentration range 1-8 μM and the association constant was also calculated to be 1.145 × 105 M-1 . The sensing mechanism was deduced using Job's plot, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and density functional theory studies. In addition, the colorimetric experiment indicated that probe RP1 could be made into test paper to detect Cu2+ with a colour change from colourless to pink.

Current paper-based potentiometric ion-sensing platforms are planar devices used for clinically relevant ions. These devices, however, have not been designed for the potentiometric biosensing of proteins or small molecule analytes. A three-dimensional origami paper-based device, in which a solid-contact ion-selective electrode is integrated with an all-solid-state reference electrode, is described for the first time. The device is made by impregnation of paper with appropriate bioreceptors and reporting reagents on different zones. By folding and unfolding the paper structures, versatile potentiometric bioassays can be performed. A USB-controlled miniaturized electrochemical detector can be used for simple and in situ measurements. Using butyrylcholinesterase as a model enzyme, the device has been successfully applied to the detection of enzyme activities and organophosphate pesticides involved in the enzymatic system as inhibitors. The proposed 3D origami paper device allows the potentiometric biosensing of proteins and small molecules in a simple, portable, and cost-effective way.

We demonstrate, for the first time, the multiplexed determination of microbial species from whole blood using the paper‐folding technique of origami to enable the sequential steps of DNA extraction, loop‐mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP), and array‐based fluorescence detection. A low‐cost handheld flashlight reveals the presence of the final DNA amplicon to the naked eye, providing a “sample‐to‐answer” diagnosis from a finger‐prick volume of human blood, within 45 min, with minimal user intervention. To demonstrate the method, we showed the identification of three species of Plasmodium, analyzing 80 patient samples benchmarked against the gold‐standard polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay in an operator‐blinded study. We also show that the test retains its diagnostic accuracy when using stored or fixed reference samples.