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Environmental pollution and public health risks increase due to elevated metal levels in cigarettes throughout the globe especially in the developing countries. Herein, study is carried out to investigate the heavy metals and rare earth element contents in the popular cigarette brands (local and imported) in Pakistan. Twenty-six elements are measured in cigarette, tobacco, wrapping paper and filter (n = 168) sold in the Pakistan market in 14 brands of cigarettes using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The mean concentrations of Cr, V, Mo, Ni, Sn, As, Sb, Fe, Al, Mg, Ti and B (8.30, 0.22, 0.45, 1.85, 4.63, 1.32, 0.89, 378.01, 180.18, 2134.21, 6.53 & 22.20 μg/g), respectively, are slightly higher in local cigarette brands and the mean concentration of Co, Cd, Pb, Se, Sr, Mn, Cu, Zn, Ca, K, Na, Y, Zr and Ba (0.49, 0.69, 1.58, 1.47, 71.03, 68.23, 32.69, 32.33, 2906.82, 7601.73, 962.31, 0.10, 1.04 & 35.19 μg/g), respectively, are slightly higher in imported cigarette brands. The concentrations of Pb, Ni, Cd, Co, Fe and Zn in local tobacco cigarettes are approximately comparable to concentration levels of metals in imported tobacco cigarettes sold in other countries. While a strong positive correlation was observed in Cr, Sn, Mn, Ba, Ni, Co, As and Sr, while K, Mo, Ti, Ca and Mo were negatively associated with other elements. In addition, this study also provides an important information on the elemental levels such as alkali metals (Na & K), alkaline rare earth metals (Mg, Ca, Sr & Ba), transition metals (Ti, V, Mo, Y & Zr), post-transition metals (Sn), metalloids (B & As) and reactive non-metal (Se) for the very first time in Pakistan in different components of cigarettes. We believe that this study will be beneficial to the prevention of public health hazards and the reduction of human health risks through tobacco consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While gift‐givers typically wrap gifts prior to presenting them, little is known about the effect of how the gift is wrapped on recipients' expectations and attitudes toward the gift inside. We propose that when recipients open a gift from a friend, they like it less when the giver has wrapped it neatly as opposed to sloppily and we draw on expectation disconfirmation theory to explain the effect. Specifically, recipients set higher (lower) expectations for neatly (sloppily)‐wrapped gifts, making it harder (easier) for the gifts to meet these expectations, resulting in contrast effects that lead to less (more) positive attitudes toward the gifts once unwrapped. However, when the gift‐giver is an acquaintance, there is ambiguity in the relationship status and wrapping neatness serves as a cue about the relationship rather than the gift itself. This leads to assimilation effects where the recipient likes the gift more when neatly wrapped. We assess these effects across three studies and find that they hold for desirable, neutral, and undesirable gifts, as well as with both hypothetical and real gifts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A functional biopolymer-coated paper was prepared by coating a ternary blend of the alginate, carboxymethyl cellulose, and carrageenan with grapefruit seed extract (GSE) for the substitute use of synthetic polymer-coated paper. The microstructure of the surface and cross-section of the coated paper analyzed by field emission scanning electron microscope (FE-SEM) indicated that the biopolymer was compatible with the base paper and filled the pores of the porous fiber to make a smooth-surfaced coating paper. The properties of the biopolymer-coated paper, such as water and oil resistance, water vapor barrier, surface hydrophobicity, and mechanical properties, increased significantly compared with not only the base paper but also commercially used PE-coated paper. The blended biopolymer coating material exhibited strong antibacterial activity against food-borne pathogenic bacteria, Listeria monocytogenes and Escherichia coli , which were destroyed completely within 3 and 9 h, respectively. The packaging test for a minced fish cake packed with the biopolymer-coated paper showed the complete destruction of surface inoculated bacteria in 6–9 days. The biopolymer-coated paper showed a high potential for disposable food packaging applications to increase the shelf-life of packaged food. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycling a book's pages as waste paper was a literary commonplace in Antiquity and the early modern period, a way of imagining literary and physical mortality, but it was also a material practice. This article explores the material and the textual culture of the motif in sixteenth-century France, focusing on the printed page as material object. The underlying preoccupations of the motif – waste, copiousness, and materiality – offer ways of analysing the relationship between the material book and the immaterial text and how Renaissance writers conceived of the book and its recycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The degradation kinetics of ancient and model plasticized PVC films placed in contact with silk paper as wrapping material used for PVC heritage objects was investigated during an artificial thermal aging consisting in a temperature cycle and under controlled relative humidity. The studied PVC had close plasticizer content at the beginning of the artificial aging treatment and both contain a phthalate plasticizer. As reference, the same materials were aged in absence of any contact material. Color changes, plasticizers loss and surfaces properties were assessed every month. The results show that the silk paper does not accelerate the PVC degradation rate. Indeed, color changes and plasticizer loss are similar whether the contact material is present or not. However for both PVC, the silk paper slows down the migration of an additive. Even if these additives are present in a very low proportion, their migration modifies significantly the material aspect as they accumulate at the PVC surface. The silk paper has thus a protective effect during the storage of PVC objects. In addition, this study shows that the speed of aging of the ancient PVC is faster than that of the model PVC, revealing the role of the initial state of degradation. Highlights • Silk paper as wrapping material for plasticized PVC does not accelerate PVC aging. • Silk paper slows down the migration of additives. • Ancient PVC has a faster degradation speed than model one. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors report Myxobacteria virescens (M. virescens) mediated synthesis of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) and its efficacy against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC-33591), Salmonella typhi (ATCC-51812), Escherichia coli (E. coli) (ATCC-14948), Klebsiella pneumoniae (MTCC-4030) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MTCC-4673). The organism exhibiting resistance to various antibiotics showed remarkable sensitivity, when used in combination of antibiotics and AgNPs. Antimicrobial property of AgNPs is playing a significant role in medicine and food storage. In this study, they have used M. virescens for the synthesis of AgNPs, which were characterised by using UV-Vis spectrophotometer, nano-particles tracking and analysis, zeta potential, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. Synthesised AgNPs were impregnated into paper by three different methods, i.e. glass rod method (without binder), glass rod method (with binder) and direct synthesis of AgNPs on paper. Nanoparticles synthesis on paper showed the significant antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC-33591), Salmonella typhi (ATCC-51812), E. coli (ATCC-14948), Klebsiella pneumoniae (MTCC-4030) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MTCC-4673). Paper impregnated with AgNPs was used for wrapping of fruits (apples) which increases their shelf life up to 15 days. This study demonstrates a new method for wrapping of fruits, which increases the shelf life of apples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the present study, we assessed the possibility of improving the shelf life of fresh sea bass ( Dicentrarchus labrax) fillets by using vacuum packaging and wrapping with chitosan-based edible films during cold storage at 4 °C. Sea bass fillet samples were periodically evaluated to assess chemical (pH, trimethylamine and total volatile basic nitrogen) and microbiological (presence of mesophilic aerobic bacteria and psychrotrophic bacteria) quality. Chemical spoilage (trimethylamine and total volatile basic nitrogen) and growth of microorganisms (total mesophilic and total psychrophilic aerobic bacterial counts) were significantly reduced ( P ≤ 0.05) in vacuum-packaged chitosan film wrapping during cold storage at 4 °C. The results showed that the shelf life of the control and vacuum-packaged groups ended within 5 days, whereas that of vacuum-packaged chitosan film-wrapped samples ended at 25 to 30 days. Therefore, the shelf life of sea bass fillets wrapped in chitosan was prolonged by about 20 days. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What happens when three apparently identical boxes are lifted, first all together and then one on its own. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quiz on the miles of spaghetti and the amount of wrapping paper respectively consumed and used by Americans yearly, is presented.