This study aims to exploit the distinctive properties of carbon nanotube materials, which are particularly pronounced at the microscopic scale, by deploying fabrication techniques that allow their features to be observed macroscopically. Specifically, we aim to create a semiconductor device that exhibits flexibility and the ability to modulate its electromagnetic wave absorption frequency by means of biasing. Initially, we fabricate a sheet of carbon nanotubes through a vacuum filtration process. Subsequently, phosphorus and boron elements are separately doped into the nanotube sheet, enabling it to embody the characteristics of a PN diode. Measurements indicate that, in addition to the fundamental diode's current-voltage relationship, the device also demonstrates intriguing transmission properties under the TEM mode of electromagnetic waves. It exhibits a frequency shift of approximately 2.3125 GHz for each volt of bias change. The final result is a lightweight and flexible carbon-based semiconductor microwave filter, which can conform to curved surfaces. This feat underscores the potential of such materials for innovative and effective electromagnetic wave manipulation.

Nanocelluloses have gained significant attention in recent years due to singular properties (good biocompatibility, high optical transparency and mechanical strength, large specific surface area and good film-forming ability) and wide-ranging applications (paper, food packaging, textiles, electronics and biomedical). This article is a comprehensive review of nanocelluloses from the preparation methods to their applications in conservation and restoration of historical paper documents. The novelty lies in the information collected about nanocelluloses as renewable, environmentally friendly and sustainable materials in the field of preservation of cultural heritage as an alternative to conventional methods. Several studies have demonstrated that nanocelluloses, with or without other particles, impart to the paper documents excellent optical and mechanical properties, very good stability against temperature and humidity aging, stronger antibacterial and antifungal activity, high protection to UV light and do not require additional adhesive.

Automation is at the core of modern industry. It aims to increase production rates, decrease production costs, and reduce human intervention in order to avoid human mistakes and time delays during manufacturing. On the other hand, human assistance is usually required to customize products and reconfigure control systems through a special process interface called Human Machine Interface (HMI). Machine Learning (ML) algorithms can effectively be used to resolve this tradeoff between full automation and human assistance. This paper provides an example of the industrial application of ML algorithms to help human operators save their mental effort and avoid time delays and unintended mistakes for the sake of high production rates. Based on real-time sensor measurements, several ML algorithms have been tried to classify paper rolls according to paper grammage in a white paper mill. The performance evaluation shows that the AdaBoost algorithm is the best ML algorithm for this application with classification accuracy (CA), precision, and recall of 97.1%. The generalization of the proposed approach for achieving a cost-effective mill construction by reducing the total number of the required physical sensors will be the subject of our future research.

Buckypaper (BP), a flexible and porous material, exhibits photovoltaic properties when exposed to light. In this study, we have employed Radio Frequency (RF) Sputtering of Zinc Oxide (ZnO) followed by rapid thermal annealing to enhance the photovoltaic response of BP. We investigated the impact of various sputtering parameters, such as the gas flow ratio of argon to oxygen and deposition time, on the morphology, composition, resistivity, and photovoltaic characteristics of ZnO-modified BP. Additionally, the photovoltaic performance of the samples under different illumination modes and wavelengths was compared. It was found that optimal sputtering conditions—argon to oxygen flow ratio of 1:2, deposition time of 20 minutes, and power of 100 watts—resulted in a ZnO film thickness of approximately 45 nanometers. After annealing at 400°C for 10 minutes, the ZnO-modified BP demonstrated a significant increase in photocurrent and photovoltage, along with a reduction in resistivity, compared to unmodified BP. Moreover, under gradient illumination, the ZnO-modified BP exhibited a photovoltage enhancement of 14.70 times and a photocurrent increase of 13.86 times, compared to uniform illumination. Under blue light, it showed a higher photovoltaic response than under other colors. The enhancement in photovoltaic response is attributed to the formation of a Schottky junction between ZnO and BP, an increased carrier concentration gradient, and an expanded light absorption spectrum. Our results validate that ZnO sputtering followed by annealing is an effective method for modifying BP for photovoltaic applications such as solar cells and photodetectors.

We fabricate paper-supported semiconducting devices by rubbing a layered molybdenum disulfide (MoS₂) crystal onto a piece of paper, similarly to the action of drawing/writing with a pencil on paper. We show that the abrasion between the MoS₂ crystal and the paper substrate efficiently exfoliates the crystals, breaking the weak van der Waals interlayer bonds and leading to the deposition of a film of interconnected MoS₂ platelets. Employing this simple method, that can be easily extended to other 2D materials, we fabricate MoS₂-on-paper broadband photodectectors with spectral sensitivity from the ultraviolet (UV) to the near-infrared (NIR). We also used these paper-based photodetectors to acquire pictures of objects by mounting the photodetectors in a homebuilt single-pixel camera setup.

In this study, ozone oxidation experiment was carried out for the removal of fluorescent whitening agent which is widely used in textile dyeing and paper industry. The stilbene fluorescent whitening agent has been industrialized since the earliest, and the amount of current production is the highest. Due to the characteristics of the fluorescent whitening agent that cannot be removed by conventional wastewater treatment methods, the fluorescent whitening agent in wastewater treatment has difficulty in using as recycled water in the process. Pre-treatment ozone oxidation experiment was conducted prior to the introduction of Membrane Bio Reactor (MBR) treatment process by converting biodegradable materials into biodegradable materials. The removal efficiencies of fluorescent whitening agents, a diaminostilbene disulfonic acid derivative by ozone oxidation were evaluated by UV254 Scan, COD, T-N and color using a synthetic wastewater sample (COD=433.0 mg/ℓ) and paper and paper mill wastewater (COD=157.2 mg/ℓ).

Paper-based analytical devices have been substantially developed in recent decades. Many fabrication techniques for paper-based analytical devices have been demonstrated and reported. Herein we report a relatively rapid, simple, and inexpensive method for fabricating paper-based analytical devices using parafilm hot pressing. We studied and optimized the effect of the key fabrication parameters, namely pressure, temperature, and pressing time. We discerned the optimal conditions, including pressure of 3.8 MPa (3 tons), temperature of 80oC, and 3 minutes of pressing time, with the smallest hydrophobic barrier size (821 µm) being governed by laminate mask and parafilm dispersal from pressure and heat. Physical and biochemical properties were evaluated to substantiate the paper functionality for analytical devices. Wicking speed in the fabricated paper strips was slightly slower than that of non-processed paper, resulting from reducing paper pore size. A colorimetric immunological assay was performed to demonstrate the protein binding capacity of the paper-based device after exposure to pressure and heat from the fabrication. Moreover, mixing in two-dimensional paper-based device and flowing in a three-dimensional counterpart were thoroughly investigated, demonstrating that the paper device from this fabrication process is potentially applicable as analytical devices for biomolecule detection. Fast, easy, and inexpensive parafilm hot press fabrication presents an opportunity for researchers to develop paper-based analytical devices in resource-limited environments.

Here, we designed the composition of the coating of the paper sheets composed of chitosan, bacterial cellulose (nanofibres), and ZnO with boosted antibacterial and mechanical activity. We investigated the compositions with ZnO exhibiting two different sizes/shapes: (1) rods and (2) irregular sphere-like particles. The proposed processing of bacterial cellulose resulted in the formation of nanofibers. Antimicrobial behavior was tested using E. coli ATCC® 25922™ following ASTM E2149-13a standard. Mechanical properties of the paper sheets were measured by comparison of tearing resistance, tensile strength, and bursting strength according to ISO 5270 standard. The increased antibacterial response is assigned to the combination of chitosan and ZnO (independently of its shape and size), while the boosted mechanical behavior is due to bacterial cellulose nanofibers. Therefore, the proposed composition is an interesting multifunctional mixture for coatings in food packaging applications.

Usually in the manufacture of beer by fermentation of barley, in both industrialized and developing countries significant amounts of organic solid waste are produced from barley straw. These possibly have an impact on the carbon footprint with an effect on global warming. According to this, it is important to reduce environmental impact of these solid residues, and an adequate way is the recycling using them as raw material for the elaboration of handmade paper. Therefore, it is required to manage this type of waste by analyzing the environmental impact, and thus be able to identify sustainable practices for the treatment of this food waste, evaluating its life cycle, which is a useful methodology to estimate said environmental impacts. It is because of this work shows the main results obtained using the life cycle analysis (LCA) methodology, to evaluate the possible environmental impacts during the waste treatment of a brewery located in the state of Hidalgo, Mexico. The residues evaluated were barley straw, malt residues and spent grain, and at the end, barley straw was selected to determine in detail its environmental impact and its reuse, the sheets analyzed presented a grammage that varies from 66 g/m2 and 143 g/m2, resistance to burst was 117 to 145 kpa, with a crystallinity of 34.4% to 37.1%.

Paper recycling has increased in recent years. A principal consequence of this process is the problem of addressing polymeric components known as stickies. A deep characterization of stickies sampled over one year in a recycled paper industry in México was performed. Based on their chemical structure, an enzymatic assay was performed using lipases. Compounds found in stickies by Fourier-Transform Infrared spectrometry were poly (butyl-acrylate), dioctyl phthalate, poly (vinyl-acetate), and poly (vinyl-acrylate). Pulp with 4% consistency and pH=6.2 was sampled directly from the mill once macro stickies were removed. Stickies were quantified by counting the tacky macrostructures in the liquid fraction of the pulp using a Neubauer chamber before the paper was made, and they were analyzed with rhodamine dye and a UV lamp. Of the two enzymes evaluated, the best treatment condition used Lipase 30G at a concentration of 0.44 g/L, which produced a 35.59% decrease in stickies. SebOil DG showed a smaller stickies reduction of 21.5% when used at a concentration of 0.33 g/L. Stickies in kraft paper processes were actively controlled by the action of lipases, and future research should focus on how this enzyme recognizes its substrate and should apply synthetic biology to improve lipase specificity.

This study reports on the development of bio-based hydrophobic coatings for packaging papers through deposition of polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) particles in combination with nanofibrillated cellulose (NFC) and plant wax. In a first approach, PHB particles in micrometer range (PHB-MP) were prepared through a phase-separation technique providing internally nanosized structures. The particles were transferred as a coating by dip-coating filter papers in the particle suspension, followed by sizing with a carnauba wax solution. This approach allowed partial to almost full surface coverage of PHB-MP over the paper surface resulting in static water contact angles of 105° to 122° and 129° to 144° after additional wax coating. In a second approach, PHB particles with submicron sizes (PHB-SP) were synthesized by an oil-in-emulsion (o/w) solvent evaporation method, and mixed in aqueous suspensions with 0 to 7 wt% NFC. After dip-coating filter papers in PHB-SP/NFC suspensions and sizing with a carnauba wax solution, static water contact angles of 112° to 152° were obtained. The intrinsic properties of the particles were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, thermal analysis and infrared spectroscopy, indicating higher crystallinity for PHB-SP than PHB-MP. The chemical interactions between the more amorphous PHB-MP particles and paper fibers were identified as an esterification reaction, while the morphology of the NFC fibrillar network was playing a key role as binding agent in the retention of more crystalline PHB-SP at the paper surface, hence contributing to higher hydrophobicity.

Handmade papers, as carriers of paper-based cultural relics, have played a crucial role in the development of human culture, knowledge, and civilization. Understanding the intricate relationship between the structural properties and degradation mechanisms of handmade papers is essential for the conservation of historical documents. In this work, an artificial dry-heat accelerated ageing method was used to investigate the interplay between the mechanical properties of paper, the degree of polymerization (DP) of cellulose, chemical composition, hydrogen bond strength, crystallinity, and degree of hornification. The results show that the mechanical properties of handmade bamboo paper exhibited a first plateau region, a rapid decline region, and sometimes a second plateau region. A critical point in the mechanical properties of the paper occurs when the cellulose DP decreases to a range of 400-600, signifying a shift from the initial plateau to a sharp decline phase. The strengthening of intermolecular hydrogen bonds and the hornification process help counteract the embrittlement of fibers caused by cellulose chain scission due to DP reduction. A secondary plateau emerges when the DP is smaller than 400, cellulose degradation is slow, and the component content, hydrogen bond strength, crystallinity, and degree of hornification reach a secondary plateau.

In this paper, MnO2 nanowire (MnO2-NW) modified carbon paper (CP) electrode was developed as a novel electrochemical sensor for sensitive determination of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA). MnO2 nanowire was prepared by a hydrothermal synthesis method, and the morphology and structure of MnO2 were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Electrochemical performance of TBBPA on MnO2-NW/CP was investigated by cyclic voltammetry, and the result confirmed that MnO2-NW/CP exhibited excellent sensitive for the determination of TBBPA due to the high specific surface area and good electrical conductivity of the nanowire-like MnO2. Moreover, the important electrochemical factors such as pH value, incubation time and modified material proportion were systematically studied to improve the determination sensitivity. The interferences from similar structure compounds on TBBPA have also been investigated. Under the optimal conditions, MnO2-NW/CP displayed the linear range of 70 500 nM for TBBPA with the detection limit of 3.1 nM, which was superior to some electrochemical methods in references. The work presents a novel and simple method for the determination of TBBPA.

The research hypothesis states that the impregnation of the honeycomb paper core of lightweight sandwich panels with modified starch, sodium silicate and LiquidWood® resin has a significant effect on the elastic properties of it. In the study, a recycled paper was used in three thicknesses, seven types of cell shapes, including two after numerical optimization and three types of impregnating agents. The method of digital image analysis determined the elastic constants of manufactured paper cores, which were subjected to axial compression in two directions. Based on the experimental results, elastic constants of the cores were calculated and compared with the results of numerical calculations. It has been shown that each of the impregnating solutions used improves the stiffness of the paper core. The best results were obtained for LiquidWood® epoxy resin and modified starch. An important parameter of cell geometry affecting their rigidity is the angle of the cell wall φ, as well as the arrangement of the common cell wall in relation to the direction of load. The numerical models developed were positively verified.

Paper-based sensors, microfluidic platforms and electronic devices have attracted attention in the past couple of decades because they are flexible, can be recycled easily, environmentally friendly, and inexpensive. Here we report a paper aptamer-based potentiometric sensor to detect the whole Zika virus for the first time with a minimum sensitivity of 2.6 nV/Zika and the minimum detectable signal (MDS) of 0.8x1e6 Zika. Our paper sensor works very similar to a P-N junction where a junction is formed between two different wet regions with different electrochemical potentials near each other on the paper. These two regions with slightly different ionic contents, ionic species and concentrations, produce a potential difference given by the Nernst equation. Our paper sensor consisted of a 2-3 mm x 10 mm segments of a paper with a conducting silver paint contact patches on its two ends. The paper is soaked in a buffer solution containing aptamers designed to bind to the capsid proteins on Zika. Atomic force microscopy studies were carried out to show both the aptamer and Zika become immobilized in the paper. We then added the Zika (in its own buffer or simulant Urine) to the region close to one of the silver-paint contacts. The Zika virus (40 nm diameter with 43 kDa or 7.1x10-20 gm weight), became immobilized in the paper’s pores and bonded with the resident aptamers creating a concentration gradient. The potential measured between the two silver paint contacts reproducibly became more negative as upon adding the Zika. We also showed that an LCD powered by the sensor, can be used to detect the sensor output.

Paper-based sensors, microfluidic platforms and electronic devices have attracted attention in the past couple of decades because they are flexible, can be recycled easily, environmentally friendly, and inexpensive. Here we report a paper aptamer-based potentiometric sensor to detect the whole Zika virus for the first time with a minimum sensitivity of 2.6 nV/Zika and the minimum detectable signal (MDS) of 1.2x10⁶ Zika. Our paper sensor works very similar to a P-N junction where a junction is formed between two different wet regions with different electrochemical potentials near each other on the paper. These two regions with slightly different ionic contents, ionic species and concentrations, produce a potential difference given by the Nernst equation. Our paper sensor consisted of a 2-3 mm x 10 mm segments of a paper with a conducting silver paint contact patches on its two ends. The paper is soaked in a buffer solution containing aptamers designed to bind to the capsid proteins on Zika. Atomic force microscopy studies were carried out to show both the aptamer and Zika become immobilized in the paper. We then added the Zika (in its own buffer) to the region close to one of the silver-paint contacts. The Zika virus (40 nm diameter with 43 kDa or 7.1x10^-20 gm weight), became immobilized in the paper’s pores and bonded with the resident aptamers creating a concentration gradient. The potential measured between the two silver paint contacts reproducibly became more negative as upon adding the Zika. We also showed that an LCD powered by the sensor, can be used to detect the sensor output.

This letter solves an open question of paper spring risen by Yoneda (2019). Universal scaling laws of a paper spring are proposed by using both dimensional analysis and data fitting. It is found that spring force obeys power square law of spring extension, however strong nonlinear to the total twist angle. Without doing any additional works, we have successfully generalize the scaling laws for Poisson ratio 0.3 to the materials with an arbitrary Poisson's ratio with the help of dimensional analysis.

Areca palm sheath leaves were an incredibly noble food packaging system. In ancient times, naturally available wood, leaves, stems, and barks were used to store food materials. But all these were turned down upon the rise of civilization. Today, many modern food packaging systems are used; paper and paperboard packaging materials are used mainly as a replacement for plastic materials. But somehow, paper-based materials have major drawbacks when temperature-dependent products are stored; leaching out components poses a higher threat to health. To alleviate it, bio-based components were used in the manufacturing of paper materials, but the migration of those components was still risky. This study focuses on how the areca palm sheath leaves can be effectively used to prevent this migration of components.

This study was conducted to improve the white index (WI) by preparing thermally expandable microspheres (TEMs) for wallpaper. The thermal properties, foam expansion ratio and WI were studied depending on the particle size of colloidal silica in the preparation of TEMs. As a result, the TEMs with small particles of colloidal silica showed the best results for whiteness and yellowing. Additionally, TGA results indicated that it was highly possible that colloidal silica with small particle sizes was physically or chemically attached to the surface of the TEMs that led to an improvement in whiteness at high temperatures.

The recyclable paper based on photochromic materials not only reduces the pollution in the paper manufacture process, but also reduces the pollution caused by the use of ink, which receives wide attention. In this paper, a serial of PMoA-PWA/ZnO/PVP hybrid films which had different ratio of PMoA/PWA was prepared by the ultrasonic composite method. The results indicated that the hybrid film prepared when the ratio of PMoA to PWA was 3 had the best photochromic performance. In this system, ZnO was the photosensitizer while PMoA/PWA was the chromophore. The photochromic mechanism of PMoA-PWA/ZnO/PVP hybrid film was based on the photogenerated electron transfer mechanism. ZnO generated photoelectron under the excitation of visible light, then PMoA and PWA obtained the photoelectron and produced photoreduction reaction to generate heteropolyblue. The visible light photochromic paper was prepared by loaded PMoA-PWA/ZnO/PVP hybrid film (A3) on A4 paper. Application test showed that the prepared paper had extremely stable, excellent and reversible visible light photochromic properties, whether it was printing patterns or words and could replace the ordinary paper to realize the reuse of paper.

We report on an immunofluorescent paper-based assay for the detection of severe acute respiratory symptom coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) humanized antibody. The paper-based device was fabricated by using lamination technique for easy and optimized handling. Our approach utilises a two-step strategy that involves (i) initial coating of the paper-electrode with recombinant SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid antigen to capture the target SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies, and (ii) subsequent detection of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies using fluorophore-conjugated IgG antibody. The fluorescence readout was observed with fluorescence microscopy. The images were processed and quantified using a MATLAB program. The assay can selectively detect SARS-CoV-2 humanized antibodies spiked in PBS and healthy human serum samples with the relative standard deviation of approximately 6.4% (for n = 3). It has broad dynamic ranges (1 ng to 50 ng/µL in PBS and 5 to 100 ng/µL in human serum samples) for SARS-CoV-2 humanized antibodies with the detection limits of 2 ng/µL (0.025 IU/mL) and 10 ng/µL (0.125 IU/mL) in PBS and human serum samples, respectively. We believe that our assay has the potential to be used as a simple, rapid, and inexpensive paper-based diagnostic device with a portable fluorescent reader to provide point-of-care diagnosis. This assay can be used for rapid examination of a large batch of samples toward clinical screening of SARS-CoV-2 specific antibodies as a confirmed infected active case or to evaluate the immune response to a SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.

The research results presented in the article were carried out during the realization of the project, the aim of which is to develop a method of drying cellulose insulation in power transformers with the use of synthetic ester. This method uses a very high water absorption of the ester. During the drying of transformers, the ester is systematically contaminated with mineral oil, which gradually loses its ability to absorb water. Information on the oil concentration in the mixture is needed in two cases: at the stage of making a decision on the treatment of the mixture and during its treatment. The article presents the results of investigations of two methods: 1) based on the measurement of the mixture density, and 2) based on the measurement of the capacitance of the capacitor immersed in the mixture. The conducted research shows that the method of measuring the density of the mixture gives an uncertainty of 2.6 p. %, while the method of measuring the capacitance of a capacitor gives an uncertainty of 2.2 p. %. A significant advantage of the method of measuring the capacitance is the possibility of using it online to control the ester treatment process.

Paper-based microfluidic analysis devices (μPADs) have attracted attention as a cost-effective platform for point-of-care testing (POCT), food safety, and environmental monitoring. Recently, three-dimensional (3D)-μPADs have been developed to improve the performance of μPADs. For accurate diagnosis of diseases, however, 3D-μPADs need to be developed to simultaneously detect multiple biomarkers. Here, we report a 3D-μPADs platform for the detection of multiple biomarkers that can be analyzed and diagnosed with a smartphone. The 3D-μPADs were fabricated using a 3D digital light processing printer and consisted of a sample reservoir (300 µL) connected to 24 detection zones (of 4 mm in diameter) through 8 microchannels (of 2 mm in width). With the smartphone application, eight different biomarkers related to various diseases were detectable in concentrations ranging from normal to abnormal conditions: glucose (0–20 mmol/L), cholesterol (0–10 mmol/L), albumin (0–7 g/dL), alkaline phosphatase (0–800 U/L), creatinine (0–500 µmol/L), aspartate aminotransferase (0–800 U/L), alanine aminotransferase (0–1000 U/L), and urea nitrogen (0–7.2 mmol/L). These results suggest that 3D-µPADs can be used as a POCT platform for simultaneous detection of multiple biomarkers.

This paper proposes a novel approach to represent the geometry of the corrugated board profile during compression by using graphs. Graphs are lighter than images, and the computational time of compression analysis is then significantly reduced compared to using the original image data for the same analysis. The main goal of using such graphs is to gain more knowledge about the mechanical behavior of corrugated boards under compression compared to the current load-deformation curve approach. A node-tracking algorithm is applied to characterize the different phases happening during the compression test in order to predict physical phenomena, including buckling and contact. The main results show that analyzing the nodes provides significant insights into the compression phases, which was not achieved in the current state-of-the-art. The authors believe the object of this research is crucial to better understand the physics of corrugated boards under compression, and it can also be extended to other engineering structures.

When the power converter connected to the high-frequency transformer breaks through the bottleneck and reaches a frequency of 100kHz or even higher, the high-frequency transformer's inter-turn insulation faces more serious high-frequency discharge and high temperature problems. In order to improve the service performance of oil-immersed high-frequency transformer insulation paper, composite K-BNNSs particles are prepared by ultrasonic stripping, heat treatment and thermomagnetic stirring. Then, K-BNNSs particles are mixed with PMIA slurry to produce composite aramid paper. And the effects of K-BNNSs particles with different contents on the thermal conductivity, dielectric properties, partial discharge properties and mechanical properties of aramid paper are explored. It can be found that when the addition of composite particles (K-BNNSs) is 10%, the comprehensive performance of composite aramid paper is the best. Compared with Nomex paper, the in-plane and through-plane thermal conductivity of composite insulating paper F-10 is increased by 668.33% and 760.66% respectively. Besides, the high-frequency breakdown voltage is increased by 48.73% and the tensile strength is increased by 2.49%. The main reason is that the composite particles form a complete thermal conductive network in the aramid paper matrix and a large number of hydrogen bonds with the matrix, which enhances the internal interface bonding force of the material and changes the charge transport mechanism.

In this study, we have designed a promising platform based on metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) to develop paper-based analytical devices (PADs) to immobilize biomolecules for application in biosensors. PADs have become increasingly popular in sensing applications in recent years due to their portability, low cost, simplicity, efficiency, fast detection capability, excellent sensitivity, and selectivity. In addition, MOFs are an excellent choice for developing highly sensitive and selective sensors. Their ability to reversibly and reproducibly adsorb and desorb specific molecules allows using these materials as sensors for various applications. They also offer the possibility to modify their structure and properties, making them highly versatile and adaptable to different environments and sensing needs. In this research, we synthesized and characterized three different amino-functionalized MOFs: UiO66-NH2 (Zr), MIL125-NH2 (Ti), and MIL101-NH2 (Fe). These MOFs were used to fabricate PADs capable of sensitive and portable monitoring of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) enzyme activity by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF). Overall, amino-derivated MOF platforms demonstrate significant potential for integration into biosensor PADs, offering key properties that enhance their performance and applicability in analytical chemistry and diagnostics.

This manuscript offers a concise overview of paper microfluidics, emphasizing its sustainable sensing applications in healthcare, environmental monitoring, and food safety. Researchers have developed innovative sensing platforms for detecting pathogens, pollutants, and contaminants by leveraging the paper’s unique properties, such as biodegradability and affordability. These portable, low-cost sensors facilitate rapid diagnostics and on-site analysis, making them invaluable tools for resource-limited settings. The review discusses fabrication techniques, principles, and applications of paper microfluidics, showcasing its potential to address pressing challenges and enhance human health and environmental sustainability.

Potassium-oxygen batteries (KOBs) are a promising energy storage technology with high theoretical en-ergy density, low overpotential and long cycle life. Cathode microstructure plays a significant role in the electrochemical performance of KOB. In this article, hierarchical porosity was introduced to commer-cially available carbon paper cathodes by the thermal pretreatment in air at different pretreatment times. This pretreatment modifies the properties, such as, surface area, defects, oxygen functional groups etc. and it has been found to enhance the discharge capacity and it result in reduction of dis-charge overpotentials.

The automotive industry is under growing pressure from regulatory agencies to improve the recyclability of their plastic components. Simultaneously, manufacturers are adopting natural fiber composites in vehicles to reduce carbon footprints and decrease reliance on petroleum-based materials. This presents a challenge at vehicle end-of-life however, as natural fiber-reinforced polymers are substantially more difficult to recycle than their unreinforced counterparts. This study investigated the development of a mechanical recycling process for paper fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites, focusing on the impact of injection molding parameters—specifically, injection temperature and rate—on the thermal, mechanical, and water uptake properties of the composites. The results showed that processing temperature had a greater influence on composite performance than injection rate, with some limited interaction effects between the two. Higher processing intensity damaged the paper fibers, increasing the number of nucleation sites and resulting in greater polypropylene crystallinity. These structural changes reduced tensile properties at higher intensities, while flexural properties improved. Objective function analysis was applied to identify optimal processing conditions, balancing these competing trends. Overall, the findings demonstrate that paper fiber-reinforced polypropylene composites can be recycled into automotive relevant injection molding compounds using conventional plastic manufacturing techniques, though careful tuning of processing parameters is essential to achieve optimal performance.

Three edible aquatic weeds, helencha (Enhydra fluctuans), malancha (Alternanthera philoxeroides), and kalmi (Ipomoea aquatica), were used to produce edible paper sheets. The composition of the raw and paper sheet samples was analyzed, including proximate composition, amino acid content, minerals and heavy metal contents, and bioactive compounds. The dried raw and paper sheets showed similar proximate composition, with carbohydrates being the highest (50.38-64.63%), followed by crude protein (15.25-19.13%), ash (9.30-15.88%), and lipid (1.549-3.43%). The weeds and paper sheets were rich in essential minerals like Na, Ca, Zn, and Fe. Acceptable levels of heavy metals, including Ni, Pb, and Cu, were found. The paper sheets contained seven essential and eight non-essential amino acids. A. philoxeroides sheets showed the highest amino acid content (16146.81mg/100g), while I. aquatica showed the lowest (13118.67 mg/100g). The aquatic weeds paper sheets were rich in containing bioactive compounds and the number in E. fluctuans, A. philoxeroides, and I. aquatica paper sheets were 31, 33, and 40, respectively. There were no significant changes in the nutritional content of aquatic weeds in paper sheet form compared to the raw weeds which suggests promising prospects for the production and consumption as a source of nutrition and bioactive compounds.

Polymeric wet-strength agents are important additives used in the paper industry to improve the mechanical properties of paper products, especially when they come in contact with water. These agents play a crucial role in enhancing the durability, strength, and dimensional stability of paper products. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of the different types of wet-strength agents available and their mechanisms of action. We will also discuss the challenges associated with the use of wet-strength agents and the recent advances in the development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly agents. As the demand for more sustainable and durable paper products continues to grow, the use of wet strength agents is expected to increase in the coming years.

Data papers have emerged as a powerful instrument for open data publishing, obtaining credit, and establishing priority for datasets generated in scientific experiments. Academic publishing improves data and metadata quality through peer-review and increases the impact of datasets by enhancing their visibility, accessibility, and re-usability. We aimed to establish a new type of article structure and template for omics studies: the omics data paper. To improve data interoperability and further incentivise researchers to publish high-quality data sets, we created a workflow for streamlined import of omics metadata directly into a data paper manuscript. An omics data paper template was designed by defining key article sections which encourage the description of omics datasets and methodologies. The workflow was based on REpresentational State Transfer services and Xpath to extract information from the European Nucleotide Archive, ArrayExpress and BioSamples databases, which follow community-agreed standards. The workflow for automatic import of standard-compliant metadata into an omics data paper manuscript facilitates the authoring process. It demonstrates the importance and potential of creating machine-readable and standard-compliant metadata. The omics data paper structure and workflow to import omics metadata improves the data publishing landscape by providing a novel mechanism for creating high-quality, enhanced metadata records, peer reviewing and publishing of these. It constitutes a powerful addition for distribution, visibility, reproducibility and re-usability of scientific data. We hope that streamlined metadata re-use for scholarly publishing encourages authors to improve the quality of their metadata to achieve a truly FAIR data world.

Synthesis of styrene butadiene hybrid latex was performed via emulsion polymerization technique using various amount of laponite clay as filler. Laponite clay was modified with cationic surfactant methyl triphenylphosphonium bromide (MTPB) with ion exchange technique prior to polymerization process. The main objective of the modification is to render the surface of the clay layers to more organophilic. Emulsion polymerization was performed under semi batch process using 2 L laboratory stainless steel reactor with temperature 85°C to 90°C for 8 hours. Polymer hybrid styrene butadiene latex was characterized for its physical and chemical properties with standard ASTM Methods. Characterization of its binding and printing properties were carried out with standard testing method (TAPPI Methods) using single coating formulation on 80 gsm woodfree paper. Polymer hybrid latex based on styrene and butadiene monomers with laponite clay enhanced binding and printing properties of coated paper, addition of laponite clay to 6.0 wt % increased the binding resistance of the coated paper two times higher than pure latex. Reducing binder level become possible for cost saving.

The number of citations that a paper has received is the most commonly used indicator to measure the quality of research. Researchers, journals, and universities want to receive more citations for their scholarly publications to increase their h-index, impact factor, and ranking respectively. In this paper, we tried to analyses the effect of the number of available Google Scholar versions of a paper on citations count. We analyzed 10,162 papers which are published in Scopus database in year 2010 by Malaysian top five universities. Then we developed a software to collect the number of citations and versions of each paper from Google Scholar automatically. The result of spearman correlation coefficient revealed that there is positive significant association between the number of Google Scholar versions of a paper and the number of times a paper has been cited.

A new biodegradable paper-based film is a hot research topic in the development of green agriculture. In this paper, a black paper base film coated with cooked tung oil with excellent mechanical properties, hydrophobic surface, high heat transfer and strong weather resistance was prepared by spraying high pigment carbon black solution on the surface of base paper. The results showed that the surface solidified oil film with rough structure was made by the brush coating process of cooked tung oil, and the base film of black paper was given hydrophobic structure, and the contact angle reached 98.9 °. Cooked tung oil permeates into the inside of the paper base, and after curing, it forms a multi-dimensional network film structure. The maximum tensile stress of the black paper base film is about 123% higher than that of the original paper base film. The coloring of carbon black makes the black paper base film have heat conduction effect, and the average heat transfer rate reaches 15.12 °C/s. Cooked tung oil is combined with the paper-based fiber high-toughness layer to form a stable system. The existence of the cured film improves the basic mechanics and hydrophobicity, and the resistance to ultraviolet radiation and hot air is greatly improved. This study provides a feasible scheme for the application of a black paper base film coated with cooked tung oil.

In the educational process, quality has long been considered a critical component. It may get impacted due to different factors especially when talking about the COVID19 pandemic. The purpose of this investigation is to explore the impact and relationship between COVID-19 and the quality of education using bibliometric analysis. As face-to-face learning shifts to online learning, this research investigates how the COVID-19 epidemic has affected education quality, concentrating on Programme Educational Outcomes (PEOs), Programme Learning Outcomes (PLOs), and Course Learning Outcomes (CLOs). The research covers pandemic online education, literature, and trends. There are two important steps in any bibliometric analysis selecting keywords and databases. The initial set of keywords was selected by the authors' experience and then an online survey study through Google Forms was conducted among experts in the research area. This was followed by a search of the selected keywords in the databases consisting of PubMed, Web of Science (WoS), and SCOPUS. Therefore, the final data was collected from the SCOPUS database on August 24, 2021. Hence, 182 documents were considered for the current study. The document's data were analysed by using the “visualization of similarities” (VOS) Viewer software and the R-Tool of the Bibliometrix-package that was specifically designed for quantitative Bibliometrics research. Based on the obtained data, the results showed the quality of education that may get impacted by the changing of the education delivery from face-to-face to online-based learning. In conclusion, this study showed the importance of studying the correlation and impact of COVID-19 on the quality of education.

Delve into the ebb and flow of human ingenuity as the researcher traces the evolution of writing from papyrus to pixels. Discover how humble instruments like quill pens and typewriters have propelled human into the digital frontier, forever reshaping the art of expression in the modern age. This article examines the evolution of writing tools from traditional pen and paper to digital writing in the modern age. It explores the development of writing materials such as papyrus, parchment, and paper, as well as the invention of writing tools including quill pens, fountain pens, and typewriters. The rise of digital writing tools, including word processing software and smartphones, is also discussed, along with their benefits such as increased efficiency and productivity, enhanced collaboration and sharing capabilities, and greater accessibility and flexibility. However, the article also highlights the challenges of writing in the digital age, including the impact of digital distractions on writing focus and quality, the issue of online plagiarism and copyright infringement, and the potential loss of traditional writing skills. The article concludes with recommendations for educators, school administrators, students, and researchers to strike a balance between digital and traditional writing practices, to embrace digital writing tools while preserving traditional writing skills, and to understand the importance of the evolution of writing. The theoretical frameworks of Social Construction of Technology (SCOT) Theory, Media Ecology Theory, and Activity Theory are also discussed in relation to the evolution of writing tools. Overall, this article provides valuable insights into the history, benefits, and challenges of writing in the digital age, as well as suggestions for navigating the future of writing and its tools.

In this study, a slow-release urea fertilizer hydrogel was synthesized from hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose, polyvinyl alcohol and glycerol blends with paper (blended paper) as second layer. The fertilizer hydrogel was characterized by SEM, XRD and FTIR. Its retention in sandy soil, swelling behavior in distilled and tap water as well as slow-release behavior to urea were investigated. The results indicated that the fertilizer had good slow-release properties and ability to retain water in soil. However, the addition of blended paper as a second layer matrix was found to help improve the release properties of the fertilizer. The swelling kinetic of the hydrogel followed the Schott’s Second order model. The release kinetics of urea in water was best described by the Zero order model signifying that the release behavior was independent of fertilizer concentration

Headaches are among the most prevalent and disabling disorders and there are several patients’ unmet needs in current pharmacological options, while a growing interest is focusing on nutritional approaches as non-pharmacological treatments. Among these, the most promising seems to be the ketogenic diet (KD). Exactly 100 years ago, KD was used to treat pediatric forms of drug-resistant epilepsy, but progressively applications of this diet also involved adults and other neurological disorders. Evidence of KD effectiveness in migraine comes from 1928, but in the last years different groups of research and clinicians paid attention to this therapeutic option to treat patients with drug resistant migraine and cluster headache, and/or comorbid with metabolic syndrome. Here we describe all the existing evidence on the potential benefits of KDs in headaches, explore in deep all the potential mechanisms of action involved in the efficacy, and synthesize results of working meetings of an Italian panel of experts on this topic. Aim of the working group is the creation of a consensus on indications and clinical practice to treat with KDs patients with headache. The results here we present are the base for further improvement in the knowledge and application of KDs in the treatment of headaches.

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is an important analysis technique with applications in many industrial branches and fields of scientific research. Nowadays, the advantages of LIBS are impaired by the main drawback in the analysis of collected data. This procedure is essentially based on the comparison of lines present in the spectrum with a literature database. This paper proposes the use of various computational intelligence methods to develop a reliable and fast classification of non-destructively acquired LIBS spectra into a set of predefined classes. We focus on a specific problem of classification of paper-ink samples into 30 separate, predefined classes. For each of 30 classes (10 pens of each of 5 ink types combined with 10 sheets of 5 paper types plus empty pages) 100 LIBS spectra are collected. Four variants of preprocessing, seven classifiers (Decision trees, Random forest, k-Nearest Neighbour, Support Vector Machine, Probabilistic Neural Network, Multi-Layer Perceptron, and Generalized Regression Neural Network), 5-fold stratified cross-validation and test on an independent set (for methods evaluation) scenarios are employed. Our developed system yielded an accuracy of 99.08% with average classification time of about 0.12 s is obtained using the random forest classifier. Our results clearly demonstrates that machine learning methods can be used to identify the paper-ink samples based on LIBS reliably at a faster rate.

This work aims to evaluate the by-products obtained by thermal and catalytic pyroly-sis of the fraction (organic matter and paper) of municipal solid waste (MSW), in dif-ferent socioeconomic regions, through the yields of reaction products (bio-oil, bio-char, H2O and gas), acid value and chemical composition of bio-oils, and characteriza-tion of biochar, on a laboratory scale. The organic matter and paper segregated from the gravimetric composition of the total waste sample were subjected to drying, crushing and sieving pre-treatment. The experiments were carried out at 450 °C and 1.0 atmosphere, and at 400 °C and 475 °C and 1.0 atmosphere, using 10.0% (by mass) of the basic catalyst Ca(OH)2, in discontinuous mode. The bio-oil was characterized by acidity value and the chemical functions present in the bio-oil identified by FT-IR, NMR and composition by GC-MS. The biochar was characterized by SEM/EDS and XRD. The bio-oil yield increased with the addition of catalyst and the pyrolysis tem-perature. For catalytic pyrolysis, bio-char and gas yields increased slightly with Ca(OH)2 content, while bio-oil and H2O phase remained constant. GC-MS of the liquid reaction products identified the presence of hydrocarbons and oxygenates, as well as nitrogen-containing compounds, including amides and amines. The acidity of the bio-oil decreased with the addition of the basic catalyst in the process. The concentration of hydrocarbons in the bio-oil appeared with the addition of the catalyst in the catalyt-ic pyrolysis process as catalytic deoxygenation of fatty acid molecules occurs, through decarboxylation/decarbonylation, producing aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, in-troducing the basic catalyst into the thermal process.

This article discourses on how the inheritance and innovation in paper-cutting art have taken place through its integration with modern design language. Xuzhou paper-cut is regarded as representative of China's traditional folk art, carrying a rich cultural heritage, but it faces both challenges and opportunities that come with modern society. In the course of reviewing the development history of Xuzhou paper-cutting, the value of Xuzhou paper-cut as intangible cultural heritage was discussed. This paper will seek to find out the possibility of application for Xuzhou paper-cutting in modern design with both qualitative and quantitative methods, including questionnaires and interviews. Successful examples are used in this research to look for evidence that effectively proves traditional paper-cutting combines well with the principles of modern design in developing concepts, artistic expressions, and cultural symbolism. It shows that Xuzhou paper-cutting has a great potential to apply in modern design, and education, exhibitions, and community activities will be also necessary to revive it. On the other hand, traditional craft could adapt to current social needs only when the design language has been innovated. The research brought in new input with regard to integrating traditional culture with modern design from a theoretical and practical point of view, thus serving as an informant for the direction of further research in heritage and design integration.

The goal of this paper is to fabricate innovative diaphragm headphones using graphene oxide paper (GOP) and GOP/epoxy nanocomposites (GOPC). Initially, graphene oxide suspension is fabricated, and the vacuum filtration method is adopted to make GOP. Then vacuum bag molding is used to fabricate GOPC from GOP. Hot pressing and associated molds are adopted to fabricate line-indented (GOPC-L) or curve-indented patterns (GOPC-C) on the GOPC. The performance of one kind of GOP and three kinds of GOPC diaphragm headphones is analyzed based on their sound pressure level (SPL) curves achieved by the Soundcheck measurement system. There are four important processing parameters that will influence the performance of the diaphragm, including material type GOP versus GOPC, indented pattern type, sonication time on suspension, and graphene weight fraction in suspension. Compliances of various diaphragms are measured by the Klippel LPM laser measurement system. The results indicate that effects of sonication time and graphene weight fraction on SPL of GOP and GOPC headphones are in reverse, and this is associated with their difference on compliance (modulus), mass, damping ratio, and microstructure uniformity. Either GOPC-L or GOPC-C seems to improve the microstructure of the GOPC, and leads to better SPL performance. The correlation between the previous four factors and SPLs of four kinds of diaphragm headphones is proposed by using scanning electron microscope (SEM) to examine the microstructure of these diaphragms.

The chiral recognition of enantiomers is a topic of great importance. In this study, a straightforward and effective chiral detection strategy was developed for distinguishing between tryptophan (TRP) enantiomers. The approach involved the preparation of a magnetic molecularly imprinted chitosan (MMIC) for the sample preparation, which was combined with a nitrocellulose membrane (paper-based analytical device, PAD) integrated with D-TRP covalently-grafted polymethacrylic acid (PAD_PMA_D-TRP). The discrimination between TRP enantiomers was achieved using AuNPs as a colorimetric probe. Indeed, the presence of D-TRP rapidly induced the aggregation of AuNPs due to its strong affinity to PAD-PMA_D-TRP, resulting in a noticeable color change of the AuNPs from red to purple. On the other hand, L-TRP did not induce any color change. The chiral analysis could be easily performed with the naked eye and/or a smartphone. The developed method exhibited a detection limit of 3.3 µM and it was successfully applied to detect D-TRP in serum samples, demonstrating good recovery rates. The proposed procedure is characterized by its simplicity, cost-effectiveness, rapidity, and ease of operation.

The aim of this document is to present how the interpretation of the RVM (Recovery Voltage Measurement) test can be improved through the use of a Debye equivalent circuit. As it is described in the literature the interpretation of the RVM test requires expertise and if the transformer presents a high interfacial polarization it is not possible to diagnose it in detail. Debye model is proposed in this work for enhancing RVM interpretation. This model is based on an electrical circuit that includes basic R-L-C components, that allows two interesting features: on one hand, isolation physical effects can be separately represented and, on the other, the values of the R-C components can be calculated from the RVM response (L components are not used in this work as long as no magnetic field effects are taken into account). Thus, the different isolation effects that are indistinguishable merged in the RVM transient response can be split into different R-C branches, each one corresponding with a single (not merged) isolation effect. Finally, several case studies are presented, in which it is correlated a dielectric oil treatment carried out and the equivalent circuit changes.

In this work, a xylan-based antimicrobial additive agent was prepared and aimed for uses in paper products against Escherichia coli bacteria. The derived Cationic-Xylan-grafted-PHGH (CX-g-PHGH) was successfully synthesized by graft copolymerization of cationic-xylan with guanidine polymer (PHGH) using ceric ammonium nitrate as initiator. The obtained CX-g-PHGH had maximum PHGH grafting ratio of 18.45% and efficiency of 58.45%, and showed good viscosity and thermal stability. Furthermore, the paper samples prepared in this work were reinforced obviously with the addition of CX-g-PHGH by improved mechanical properties. Compared to the reference paper without any of the xylan-derivatives, the index of tensile, tear, burst and folding endurance of the paper had increases up to 20.07%, 25.31%, 30.20% and 77.78%, respectively. Moreover, the prepared CX-g-PHGH paper exhibited an efficient antimicrobial activity against E. coli bacterial, by which a lot of applications based on the new xylan-derived additive agent obtained in this work could be found, especially in field of antimicrobial paper products against E. Coli bacteria from contaminated food.

In this study, effluent water was produced through Submerged Membrane Bio-Reactor (SMBR) process, which is a simple system and decomposes organic matter contained in wastewater with biological treatment process and performs solid-liquid separation, Especially, ozone oxidation treatment process is applied to effluent water containing fluorescent whitening agent, which is a trace pollutant which is not removed by biological treatment, and influences the quality of reused water. The concentration of COD in the SMBR was 449.3 mg/ℓ-COD, and the concentration of permeate water was 100.3 mg/ℓ-COD. The removal efficiency was about 70.1%. The amount of ozone re- quired for the removal of the fluorescent whitening agent in the permeated water in SMBR was 6.67 g-O3/min, and the amount of ozone required to remove COD relative to the permeate water was calculated to remove 0.997 mg-COD for 1 mg of O3.

Alkenyl Succinic Anhydride (ASA) is a sizing agent used in papermaking to increase the water repellency of paper. Almost 60 years after the introduction of the chemical in papermaking, scientists still have differing views on how ASA interacts with cellulose. Several experiments were conducted to bring more clarity to the ASA sizing mechanism, especially on the contentious question of ASA-cellulose covalent bonding or the esterification reaction between ASA and cellulose during papermaking. Herein, research papers and patents, including experiments and results, from the1960’s to 2020 were reviewed. Our investigation revealed that the ester bond formation between ASA and cellulose is insignificant and is not a prerequisite for sizing effectiveness; the main ASA related material found in sized paper is hydrolyzed ASA or both hydrolyzed ASA and ASA salt. In addition, ASA emulsion stability and ASA emulsion retention are important for sizing efficiency improvement.

The pulp and paper industry is one of the biggest industry sectors worldwide, whose market growth is expected to reach 370.12 billion USD by 2028. However, as a water-intensive process, the pulp and paper production generate huge volumes of contaminated effluents, some of which contain dissolved high-value chemical compounds, such as lignin, hemicellulose, or carboxylic acids. These compounds can be recovered using membrane operations. Thus, membrane operations represent a method to valorize effluents and byproducts from this industry sector and narrow the gap between biorefinery models and the pulp and paper production as an integrated biorefinery. The present review reviews the state-of-the-art-research and the state-of-the-art applications of membrane operations in the pulp and paper industry.

Environmentally friendly and low-cost sensors are needed for the next generation disposable electronics applications. Given its low-cost, availability and biodegradability, paper-based devices are a very promising. Here we demonstrate the fabrication of a tungsten disulphide (WS2) strain sensor on standard copy paper. The WS2 is deposited through direct abrasion of WS2 powder against the paper surface making the fabrication of the device low-tech and cost effective. The fabricated strain gauge devices present gauge factors up to ~70 for strains in the ± 0.5 % range. These values are ~ 9 times larger than that obtained on devices with the same geometry but using a graphite film instead a WS2 as a sensitive material. We demonstrate the potential of these WS2-on-paper strain gauges by integrating them directly on a paper cantilever to sense mass and forces. We show how this very simple device can detect sub-milligram masses. Moreover, we also demonstrate the capability of transducing motion in mechanical resonators by gluing a WS2-on-paper strain gauge on their surface.

Temporary pavilions play an important role as experimental fields for architects, designers and engineers, apart from providing exhibition spaces. Novel structural and formal solutions applied in pavilions also can give them unusual appearance that attracts eyesight of spectators. In this article authors explore the possibility of combination of structural novelty, visual attractiveness and low-cost by a design and construction of a temporary pavilion. For that purpose, an innovative structural system and design approach was applied, i.e. membrane structure designed in Rhino and Grasshopper environments with the use of Kiwi!3D IsoGeometric analysis tool. The designed pavilion, named Obverse/Reverse, was built in Opole, Poland, for the occasion of World Architecture Day in July 2019. Design and construction was performed by the authors in cooperation with students’ organisation Humanisation of Urban Environment from the Faculty of Architecture Wroclaw University of Science and Technology. The Rresultant pavilion proved the possibility of obtaining a low-budgets but visually attractive architectural solution with the adaption of parametrical design tools and some scientific background with innovative structural systems.

Recently, more and more countries are entering the global race for university competitiveness. On the one hand, global rankings are a convenient tool for quantitative analysis. On the other hand, their indicators are often difficult to quickly calculate, they often contradict each other. We thought about using widely available indicators for a quick analysis of the University's publication strategy. We opted for the normalized citation indicators available in SciVal analytical tool, i.e. Source Normalized Impact per Paper (SNIP) and Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI). We have demonstrated the possibility of applying the correlation analysis to the impact indicators of a document and a journal on the sample of the social and humanitarian fields at Peoples' Friendship University of Russia. Particular attention was paid to the application of the results in practice.

In this work, three different types of sandwich structures were manufactured using Formica sheet (a paper-based sheet) as skin and perlite/sodium silicate foam as core with/without the paper honeycomb. The sandwich structures were fabricated by attaching Formica sheets on both sides of the honeycomb, perlite/sodium silicate foam, and perlite/sodium silicate foam-filled honeycomb core panels. The flexural characteristics were studied by a three-point bending test and the thermal conductivity was measured using Lee’s thermal conductivity apparatus. The results demonstrated a significant improvement in flexural properties, including core shear stress, facing stress, bending stress, and energy absorption, when incorporating the paper honeycomb reinforcement. The thermal conductivity and flexural properties were found to be well-compatible with the existing building materials for similar applications in the literature. The failure investigation revealed that the sandwiches with paper honeycomb only prematurely failed due to core buckling, whereas the foam-filled honeycomb core-based sandwiches were able to sustain higher loads, exhibiting material failures such as core shear failure, skin rapture, and delamination. It is found that the foam-filled paper honeycomb sandwich structures can withstand higher bending loads compared to foam core-based and paper honeycomb-based sandwich structures. These developed sandwiches offer potential as green materials due to the characteristics of their constituent materials and can find valuable applications in the building thermal insulation.

Analytical chemistry applied to medical and diagnostic analysis, recently focused on the development of cost-effective biosensors able to monitor the health status or to assess the level of specific biomarkers that can be indicative for several diseases. The improvement of technologies relating to the possibility of non-invasive sampling of biological fluids, as well as sensors for the detection of analytical signals and the computational capabilities of the systems routinely employed in everyday life (e.g. smartphones, computers, etc.), make the complete integration of self-standing analytical devices more accessible. This review aims to discuss the biosensors that have been proposed in the last 5 years focusing on two principal detecting approaches, optical and electrochemical, which have been employed for quantifying different kind of target analytes reaching detection limits below the clinical sample levels required. These detection principles applied to Point-of-care (POC) devices, have been extensively reported in literature and even the limited examples found on the market are based on these strategies. This work will show the latest innovations considering the integration of optical and electrochemical detection with the most commonly reported analytical platforms for POC applications such as paper-based or wearable and implantable devices.

Oil immersed paper insulation condition is a crucial aspect of power transformer’s life condition diagnostic. The measurement testing database collected over the years made it possible for researchers to implement classification analysis to in-service power transformer. This article presents classification analysis of transformer oil-immersed paper insulation condition. The measurements data (dielectric characteristics, dissolved gas analysis, and furanic compounds) of 149 transformers with primary voltage of 150 kV had been gathered and analyzed. The algorithm used for developing classification model is Support Vector Machine (SVM). The model has been trained and tested using different datasets. Different models have been created and the best chosen, resulting in 90.63% accuracy in predicting the oil-immersed paper insulation condition. Further implementation was executed to classify oil-paper condition of 19 Transformers which Furan data is not available. The classification results combined, reviewed, and compared to conventional assessment methods and standards, confirming that the model developed has the ability to do classification of current oil-paper condition based on Dissolved Gasses and Dielectric Characteristics.

This paper develops a novel dynamic correction method for the reliability assessment of large oil-immersed power transformers. First, with the transformer oil-paper insulation system (TOPIS) as the target of evaluation and the winding hot spot temperature (HST) as the core point, an HST-based static ageing failure model is built according to the Weibull distribution and Arrhenius reaction law, in order to describe the transformer ageing process and calculate the winding HST for obtaining the failure rate and life expectancy of TOPIS. A grey target theory based dynamic correction model is then developed, combined with the data of Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA) in power transformer oil, in order to dynamically modify the life expectancy calculated by the built static model, such that the corresponding relationship between the state grade and life expectancy correction coefficient of TOPIS can be built. Furthermore, the life expectancy loss recovery factor is introduced to correct the life expectancy of TOPIS again. Lastly, a practical case study of an operating transformer has been undertaken, in which the failure rate curve after introducing dynamic corrections can be obtained for the reliability assessment of this transformer. The curve shows a better ability of tracking the actual reliability level of transformer, thus verifying the validity of the proposed method and providing a new way for transformer reliability assessment. This contribution presents a novel model for the reliability assessment of TOPIS, in which the DGA data, as a source of information for the dynamic correction, is processed based on the grey target theory, thus the internal faults of power transformer can be diagnosed accurately as well as its life expectancy updated in time, ensuring that the dynamic assessment values can commendably track and reflect the actual operation state of the power transformers.

The study was aimed at examining the status of research productivity and exploring the factors behind the identified status in Ethiopian universities from SDT and RBVT perspectives. In phase I, a null hypothesis was tested using a one-sample t-test at 0.05 alphas while in phase II one RQ was solved using qualitative analysis. The sample involved 531 academics, of whom 13 were interviewed. The mixed-methods research approach and explanatory sequential design guided this research. The status of research project production, indexed publication, and conference presentation performances in Ethiopian universities demonstrated statistically significant mean differences below the institutional, national, and world average cut-off points (performing at least one research project, one indexed journal, and one conference paper presentation per year per academic staff). Furthermore, we explored scarcity of funds, low research capacity, weak research culture, lack of productive institutional leadership, and political instability in the country as major causes of the low research productivity status. The researchers felt that the study would contribute to both promoting academic staff's research productivity and enriching the higher education research literature. MOE, university presidents, and deans should intervene in causes to improve academics’ research productivity status towards the desired local and global standards.

This hypothesis demonstrates that the efficiency of Loop-Mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP) for nucleic acid detection can be positively influenced by preconcentration of microbial cells onto hydrophobic paper surfaces. The mechanism of this model is based on the high attraction of microbes towards hydrophobic surfaces. Extensive studies have demonstrated that hydrophobic surfaces exhibit enhanced bacterial and fungal adhesion. The preconcentration approach by exploiting this inherent affinity of hydrophobic paper substrates enables the adherence of a greater number of target cells, resulting in a higher concentration of target templates for amplification directly from urine samples. In contrast to conventional methods, which often involve complex procedures, this approach offers a simpler, cost-effective, and user-friendly alternative. Moreover, the integration of cell adhesion, LAMP amplification, and signal readout within paper origami-based devices can provide a portable, robust, and highly efficient platform for rapid nucleic acid detection. This innovative hypothesis holds significant potential for point-of-care (POC) diagnostics and field surveillance applications. Further research and development in this field will advance the implementation of this technology, contributing to improved healthcare systems and public health outcomes.

The distribution of tiny sensors over a specific area was first proposed in the late 1990s as a concept known as Smart Dust. Several efforts focused primarily on computing and networking capabilities but quickly ran into problems related to power supply, cost, data transmission, and environmental pollution. To overcome these limitations, we propose using paper-based (confetti-like) chemosensors that exploit the inherent selectivity of chemical reagents, such as colorimetric indicators. In this work, cheap and biodegradable passive sensors made from cellulose could successfully indicate the presence of hazardous chemicals, e.g., strong acids, by a significant color change. A conventional color digital camera attached to a drone could easily detect this from a safe distance. The collected data was processed to define the hazardous area. Our work presents a combination of the smart dust concept, chemosensing, paper-based sensor technology, and low-cost drones for flexible, sensitive, economical, and rapid detection of hazardous chemicals in high-risk scenarios.

This study evaluated the effectiveness of an electronic system for managing drug-sensitive pulmonary tuberculosis patients in the Kyrgyz Republic. This was a cohort study using programmatic data. The study included patients registered on the paper-based system in 2019 and the electronic system between June 2021 and May 2022. Data was taken from 302 individuals from the electronic system for completeness and concordance in comparison with the paper-based system. The study showed that for most variables the completeness and concordance was 85.3%-93.0% and was lowest for non-mandatory fields such as medication side effects (26.8% vs 13.6%). No significant difference was observed in time taken from symptom onset to diagnosis and treatment initiation between the two systems. However, the electronic system had a significantly higher percentage of patients who initiated treatment on the same day of diagnosis (80.3% vs. 57.1%). The proportion with successful outcomes was similar in both groups, but the electronic system had a significantly lower proportion of patients with outcomes that were not evaluated or recorded (4.8% vs. 14.3%, p < 0.001). The study highlights the potential advantages of implementing an electronic TB register system for improving records. We advocate for similar studies in other regions in Kyrgyz Republic.

The present grievous situation of the tuberculosis disease can be improved by efficient case management and timely follow-up evaluations. With the advent of digital technology this can be achieved by quick summarization of the patient-centric data. The aim of our study was to assess the effectiveness of the ODK Scan paper-to-digital system during testing period of three months. A sequential, explanatory mixed-method research approach was employed to elucidate technology use. Training, smartphones, application and 3G enabled SIMs were provided to the four field workers. At the beginning, baseline measures of the data management aspects were recorded and compared with endline measures to see the impact of ODK Scan. Additionally, at the end, users’ feedback was collected regarding app usability, user interface design and workflow changes. 122 patients’ records were retrieved from the server and analysed for quality. It was found that ODK Scan recognized 99.2% of multiple choice bubble responses and 79.4% of numerical digit responses correctly. However, the overall quality of the digital data was decreased in comparison to manually entered data. Using ODK Scan, a significant time reduction is observed in data aggregation and data transfer activities, however, data verification and form filling activities took more time. Interviews revealed that field workers saw value in using ODK Scan, however, they were more concerned about the time consuming aspects of the use of ODK Scan. Therefore, it is concluded that minimal disturbance in the existing workflow, continuous feedback and value additions are the important considerations for the implementing organization to ensure technology adoption and workflow improvements.

In any document, graphical elements like tables, figures, and formulas contain essential information. The processing and interpretation of such information require specialized algorithms. Off-the-shelf OCR components cannot process this information reliably. Therefore, an essential step in document analysis pipelines is to detect these graphical components. It leads to a high-level conceptual understanding of the documents that makes digitization of documents viable. Since the advent of deep learning, the performance of deep learning-based object detection has improved many folds. In this work, we outline and summarize the deep learning approaches for detecting graphical page objects in the document images. Therefore, we discuss the most relevant deep learning-based approaches and state-of-the-art graphical page object detection in document images. This work provides a comprehensive understanding of the current state-of-the-art and related challenges. Furthermore, we discuss leading datasets along with the quantitative evaluation. Moreover, it discusses briefly the promising directions that can be utilized for further improvements.

A paper impregnated with silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) has been prepared. For the preparation of the substrates, aqueous suspensions of pulp fines, a side product from the paper production, have been mixed with Ag nanoparticles (AgNP) suspensions. The nanoparticle synthesis thereof was carried out via laser ablation of pure Ag in water. After the sheet formation process, the leaching of the AgNPs was determined to be low while the sheets exhibited antimicrobial activity towards E. Coli.

Diagnostics is believed to drive about 70% of medical interventions, but this may not be true for all demographics. With more than 30% of the African population living in extreme poverty ($1.9 per day - 2022); and healthcare costs competing unfavorably against unbridled access to antibiotics and herbal concoctions, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa, how do you convince such a people to choose diagnostics first? More importantly, how do you design a medical device targeted at meeting the diagnostic needs of this demographic? In developing diagnostic devices for such a market, what is worth sacrificing? How dire is the need for advanced technologies in devices developed for such a demographic? These are questions that remain unaddressed by the technological breakthroughs and current research in medical device development, especially for infectious disease diagnostics. The objective of this paper is to underscore critical concerns which must be considered in the bid to successfully design medical diagnostic devices for Africa and perhaps, other limited-resource settings. It is also written as a suggestive guidance document for researchers whose interest is in the development of infectious disease diagnostic platforms for rural Africa and similar limited-resource environments.