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In this study, it was aimed to increase the antimicrobial properties by combining chitosan and titanium nanoparticles. First, titanium nanoparticles were synthesized by sol-gel method and nanoparticles were modified with thiol groups. The chitosan has been modified with allyl glycidyl ether. Both obtained molecules were linked to each other by a thiol-ene click reaction. The chemical structure of the obtained chitosan modified titanium nanoparticles was elucidated by ATR-FTIR. Paper coating formulations were prepared by using the produced nanoparticles and hydroxy ethyl cellulose at different rates and applied on the base paper. Color, gloss, surface energy, contact angle, air permeability properties of the papers were determined by spectrophotometer, glossmeter, goniometer and L&W air permeability device, respectively. Screen prints were made on coated papers and their printability properties were examined. Antimicrobial properties of titanium nanoparticles, chitosan and chitosan modified titanium nanoparticles were determined against E. coli and S. aureus by disk diffusion method. As a result, it has been determined that both titanium and chitosan have antimicrobial properties against both bacterial species separately and the produced chitosan modified titanium nanoparticles increase this antimicrobial property more having a synergetic effect. It has been concluded that the produced antimicrobial papers have a high upside to be active packaging printing material.

This study was aimed to examine the effects of basic properties, fiber morphological properties, strength properties, wettability and optical properties on offset printing of office papers. Widely used office papers with different brands were obtained from Istanbul-Turkey. Technical characteristics of papers; basic properties, strength properties including tensile, burst, tear, and Z direction tensile strength and optical properties such as gloss, whiteness, opacity, and wettability tests were determined according to TAPPI and ISO standards. The results obtained by the tests are as follows; i) there is a great difference in water resistance between the top and the lowest values (207 %), ii) there is little difference between the highest and the lowest brightness value (3.8 %), other papers values have close to each other, iii) in the printing process there is a little difference between the highest, and the lowest gloss values (36.7 %), although the others are close iv) the highest and lowest values in CIE C* showed that it ranged from the narrowest color gamut to the widest color gamut. By applying the widely used offset printing process to commercially produced office papers, the quality levels were evaluated to raise awareness of consumers and sellers.

© 2022, Publishing House of the Romanian Academy. All rights reserved.Adding an antimicrobial effect to the papers used in the cardboard packaging industry can extend the life of the packed product. Paper, due to its structure, has the property of being ignited quickly. Enhancing the properties of paper, the combination of antimicrobial protection, low flammability and good printability to the paper will expand its usage area in the packaging industry. In this study, barium borate was synthesized in order to impart low flammability to paper. Different combinations of rosemary oil and barium borate were mixed with binding starch in varying amounts, and formulations were prepared. With these mixtures, 80 g/m2 paper was coated using a laboratory-type paper coating machine. The antimicrobial properties of the paper were investigated by performing the disk diffusion antimicrobial test against E. coli and S. aureus bacteria. The Limiting Oxygen Index (LOI) test was performed to determine the low flammability of the paper. Color, gloss, contact angle and surface energy tests were performed for the printability properties of the paper. As a result, the coatings containing formulations of barium borate and rosemary oil, applied to the paper surface, succeeded in imparting antimicrobial and low flammability properties to the papers, while also improving the printability features.

Nowadays, the need for papers and cardboards with improved surface properties is increasing with the development of the packaging industry. The improvements made are not only limited to the paper and paper surface, but also environmentalist approaches are exhibited in printing ink. For this purpose, the use of water-based ink tends to become widespread, especially in food packaging. In this study, five different paper coating formulations were prepared using different proportions of precipitated calcium carbonate (PCC) and kaolin pigments. Latex (Acronal S360D) was used as a binder. All prepared coating mixes were applied onto the base paper surface. All coated papers were also subjected to the calendering process. In addition, three different dyestuffs (14, 17, 20%) concentrations of water-based printing inks were prepared. Prints were made by the silk screen printing technique on the calendered-coated papers. The optical and physical properties (roughness, air permeance, paper gloss and printing gloss, contact angle and surface energy) of all papers were measured according to the standards. Paper gloss, print gloss, Delta E-00 color differences, contact angles and surface energy measurements were made, and the effects of dye ratio on printing and gloss in water-based inks and coating type suitable for printability were investigated. As a result, papers can be coated and even calendered to achieve better paper surface properties and printability. In the case of printing with water-based inks, better printability properties are obtained by choosing PCC pigmented coated papers.

Papers are the most commonly used substrates. A printable paper must have certain properties. These properties include surface smoothness, air permeability, surface energy, colour of the paper, opacity, whiteness, light fastness, gloss, and coefficient of elongation under force. In addition, a good printable paper should not allow ink to pass between its two surfaces. After the papers are produced, they are subjected to surface treatments in order to improve the above-mentioned properties and to provide extra specification. Surface treatments include calendering, surface sizing and coating processes. While filling the recesses and protrusions on the surface with the coating process, the paper's affinity for the ink is increased, and the penetration of the ink to the other surface of the paper is prevented. In the coating process basically, a filler is dispersed in a binder. In this study, it is aimed to obtain the highest quality and most printable paper by changing the type of binder used in the coating. In this study, equal amount (5% w/w) titanium dioxide filler was used in all coating formulations. In coating formulations; cationic starch, hydroxy ethyl cellulose and polyvinyl alcohol polymers were used as binders. Binder amounts are adjusted according to optimum viscosity. The obtained coating formulations were coated on the paper surface with a laboratory type coating device. Colour, gloss, surface smoothness, air permeability, surface energy and surface morphology of the coated papers were determined. It was printed with magenta offset printing ink on three different types of paper coated with different binders, using the IGT C1 offset printability test device, under 400 N/m2 pressure printing conditions. Colour and gloss measurements of the prints were made. As a result; It was determined that three different binders improved the printability parameters.

Valuable papers, such as checks, promissory notes, money or printing papers used in wallpaper laminates, must be resistant to burning. For this reason, different flame retardants are used in papers. However, generally, the flame retardants used negatively affect printability by creating a hydrophobic surface. For this reason, it is thought that the combination of flame retardants with a filler that will positively affect the printability of paper will be more suitable for such printable papers. For this purpose, this work aimed to obtain paper with good printability and delayed ignition properties by using calcium carbonate, which is a good paper filler, and tin oxide, which is a flame retardant.

Background Brucellosis, as a serious zoonotic infectious disease, has been recognized as a re-emerging disease in the developing countries worldwide. In china, the incidence of brucellosis is increasing each year, seriously threatening the health of humans as well as animal populations. Despite a quite number of diagnostic methods currently being used for brucellosis, innovative technologies are still needed for its rapid and accurate diagnosis, especially in area where traditional diagnostic is unavailable. Methodology/Principal findings In this study, a total of 22 B cell linear epitopes were predicted from five Brucella outer membrane proteins (OMPs) using an immunoinformatic approach. These epitopes were then chemically synthesized, and with the method of indirect ELISA (iELISA), each of them displayed a certain degree of capability in identifying human brucellosis positive sera. Subsequently, a fusion protein consisting of the 22 predicted epitopes was prokaryotically expressed and used as diagnostic antigen in a newly established brucellosis testing method, nano-ZnO modified paper-based ELISA (nano-p-ELISA). According to the verifying test using a collection of sera collected from brucellosis and non-brucellosis patients, the sensitivity and specificity of multiepitope based nano-p-ELISA were 92.38% and 98.35% respectively. The positive predictive value was 98.26% and the negative predictive value was 91.67%. The multiepitope based fusion protein also displayed significantly higher specificity than Brucella lipopolysaccharide (LPS) antigen. Conclusions B cell epitopes are important candidates for serologically testing brucellosis. Multiepitope fusion protein based nano-p-ELISA displayed significantly sensitivity and specificity compared to Brucella LPS antigen. The strategy applied in this study will be helpful to develop rapid and accurate diagnostic method for brucellosis in human as well as animal populations., Author summary Brucellosis is one of the most important zoonosis in the world and has caused tremendous economic losses in agriculture and animal husbandry in many countries. Developing rapid, sensitive and specific diagnostic methods is very important for early detection and treatment of brucellosis patients. In this study, a novel diagnostic technique, nano-ZnO modified paper ELISA, was established. The antigen used in this technique was a fusion protein containing multiple B cell epitopes, which were predicted from Brucella major outer membrane proteins such as Bp26, Omp31, Omp16, Omp2b and Omp25. Comparing to traditional LPS antigen, this multiepitope based antigen displayed considerably higher sensitivity and higher specificity in laboratory. With the strategy described in this paper, more efficient epitopes and protein antigen can be identified in the future. Currently, LPS antigen is only prepared from live Brucella, while protein antigen can be produced in large quantities in prokaryotic expression system. In addition to nano-p-ELISA, this protein antigen can also be used for development other methods such as fluorescent polarization assay (FPA) and immunochromatographic assay (ICA) to meet the varied demand for brucellosis testing.

In this study, rose oil was encapsulated with stearic acid substituted polyvinyl alcohol macromolecule. In the first part of the study, stearic acid substituted polyvinyl alcohol macromolecule was synthesized and its chemical structure was elucidated by ATR-FTIR and ¹HNMR. Then, rose oil was encapsulated using this obtained polymer. The chemical structure of the obtained capsules was made by ATR-FTIR, and dimensional analysis was done by scanning electron microscope (SEM). After the obtained capsules, a paper coating formula was prepared and coated on 80 g/m² paper. The resulting scented papers were printed using the screen printing technique. The color, gloss, and deformation of the capsules on the surface of the printed and unprinted papers were determined by spectrophotometer, glossmeter and SEM. As a result, it was determined that the synthesized polymer could encapsulate the rose oil and the papers using these capsules could be printed without deformation.

Non-invasive diagnosis on biological liquid samples, such as urine, sweat, saliva, and tears, may allow patients to evaluate their health by themselves. To obtain accurate diagnostic results, target liquid must be precisely sampled. Conventionally, urine sampling using filter paper can be given as an example sampling, but differences in the paper structure can cause variations in sampling volume. This paper describes precise liquid sampling using synthetic microfluidic papers, which are composed of obliquely combined micropillars. Sampling volume accuracy was investigated using different designs and collection methods to determine the optimal design and sample collecting method. The optimized protocol was followed to accurately measure potassium concentration using synthetic microfluidic paper and a commercially available densitometer, which verified the usefulness of the synthetic microfluidic papers for precision sampling.

Start-up företaget Wood Tube har utvecklat en ny typ av miljövänlig byggregel gjord av papper. Pappersreglar är en ny produkt som ännu inte finns på marknaden, men som kan komma att innebära stora fördelar för byggindustrin och snickare i fråga om pris, miljövänlighet och förbättrad arbetsmiljö. Det tänkta användningsområdet är att ersätta plåtreglar som ram i icke-bärande innerväggar, men det finns även stor potential i andra applikationer, såsom i möbler. Pappersreglarna tillverkas i standardlängder och ska kapas på plats ute på det aktuella bygget, i dagsläget genom sågning. Detta projekt går ut på att utveckla ett specialanpassat kapningsverktyg som ska möjliggöra en enkel och smidig kapning av dessa reglar, i syfte att göra lösningen mer attraktiv för potentiella kunder. Inom detta projekt har enklare tester utförts som indikerar att klippning är den metod med störst möjlighet till måluppfyllelse. En kravspecifikation har tagits fram och innefattar bland annat att verktyget ska drivas utan el, vara portabelt, ej avge sågspån, motstå korrosion och kunna klippa pappersreglar av olika dimensioner. Ett klippande sax-koncept väljs efter nyttjande av systematiska metoder för konceptgenerering och urval. Mycket inspiration till verktyget hämtas från konkurrentanalys av en grensax med kugg-utväxling av märket Fiskars. Egna tester har utförts för att ta reda på pappersreglarnas klippbarhet och kapningsverktygets tänkta lastfall. Konstruktionsarbetet utförs med Brain-Aided-Design (BAD), Pen-Aided-Design (PAD) och Computer-Aided-Design (CAD), och inkluderar även riskanalyser (FMEA) samt hållfasthetsberäkningar. Slutligen har ett specialiserat kapningsverktyg utvecklats för att snabbt och enkelt kunna klippa miljövänliga pappersreglar från Wood Tube. Wood Tube is a start-up company with a new invention, environmental-friendly building bars made out of paper. The product is not yet available on the market, but these bars are likely to be a lot cheaper and easier to use for carpenters when building drywall, where the bars will replace the commonly used plate metal bars for framing. These bars are manufactured in standard lengths and are supposed to be cut on site to fit the local application. As of now they are sawn with a hand saw. This project is about developing a new specialized cutting-tool for easy and fast cutting of the Wood Tube paper bars, with the idea that a customised tool will make the paper bars even more attractive to carpenters and other potential customers. Tests indicate that cutting with shear-blades is the cutting method with the highest probability to meet the product requirements, which include requirements such as the tool being manually powered, highly portable, does not produce sawdust, is resistant to corrosion and being able to cut paper bars of different dimensions. Using systematic methods for generating concepts and the final selection, this results in a handheld scissors-concept, similar to a lopper. A lot of inspiration for the tool has come from the benchmarking of a lopper with gears from the brand Fiskars. Tests have been performed to determine the cuttability of the paper bars, as well as to predict the loads which will be exerted on the cutting tool. The cutting tool is designed using the methods Brain-Aided-Design (BAD), Pen-Aided-Design (PAD) and Computer-Aided-Design (CAD), along with calculations for tool-strength and risk-analysis (FMEA). The end result are blueprints for a tool which has been specifically developed for cutting paper bars from Wood Tube.

Rabies is a lethal zoonotic encephalomyelitis that causes an estimated 59,000 human deaths yearly worldwide. Although developing countries of Asia and Africa bear the heaviest burden, surveillance and disease detection in these countries is often hampered by the absence of local laboratories able to diagnose rabies and/or the difficulties of sample shipment from low-access areas to national reference laboratories. Filter papers offer a convenient cost-effective alternative for the sampling, shipment, and storage of biological materials for the diagnosis of many pathogens including rabies virus, yet the properties of diagnostic tests using this support have not been evaluated thoroughly. Sensitivity and specificity of molecular diagnosis of rabies infection using a reverse transcription followed by a hemi-nested polymerase chain reaction (RT-hn-PCR) either directly on brain tissue or using brain tissue dried on filter paper were assessed on 113 suspected field animal samples in comparison to the direct fluorescent antibody test (FAT) recommended by the World Health Organization as one of the reference tests for rabies diagnosis. Impact of the duration of the storage was also evaluated. The sensitivity and the specificity of RT-hn-PCR i) on brain tissue were 96.6% (95% CI: [88.1–99.6]) and 92.7% (95% CI: [82.4–98.0]) respectively and ii) on brain tissue dried on filter paper 100% (95% CI: [93.8–100.0]) and 90.9% (95% CI: [80.0–97.0]) respectively. No loss of sensitivity of RT-hn-PCR on samples of brain tissue dried on filter paper left 7 days at ambient temperature was detected indicating that this method would enable analyzing impregnated filter papers sent to the national reference laboratory at ambient temperature within a 1-week shipment time. It could therefore be an effective alternative to facilitate storage and shipment of samples from low-access areas to enhance and expand rabies surveillance., Author summary Dogs are responsible for 99% of human rabies deaths. Facilitating diagnostic of rabid dogs can help further identify i) people who were exposed to rabies in order to encourage them to seek post exposure prophylaxis and ii) other exposed animals to break the transmission chain (i.e. prevent them from further transmitting the virus to other people and animals). Yet, the reference diagnostic method for animal rabies requires brain samples to be collected post-mortem and shipped under temperature-controlled conditions. The shipping of such samples is complex in low-access areas, especially in low income countries, which are often those that bear the heaviest rabies burden. Filter papers offer a convenient alternative for biological sample shipment and storage. Here the efficiency of a molecular diagnostic method applied to brain tissue dried on filter paper is compared to one of the reference methods, the direct fluorescent antibody test. Our results show it has an excellent sensitivity (it does not miss any positive samples), even when filter papers are left 7 days at ambient temperature. These results let us foresee a cost-effective alternative facilitating shipment, storage and testing of samples from rabies suspected animals from low-access areas. This could considerably enhance and expand rabies surveillance in low-income countries, allowing a more comprehensive evaluation of rabies burden, and thus reinforcing arguments for allocating funds to rabies control policies.

High Yield Pulp (HYP), i.e. TMP, SGW or CTMP, is normally used in printing papers (News, SC and LWC) or in a middle layer on cardboard i.e. in products that either have high demands on printability and runnability in fast printing presses or contribute to high bulk in cardboards in order to minimize pulp consumption at a certain sheet stiffness. Tensile strength as a function of density is significantly higher for HYP compared to chemical pulps such as sulphate and sulphite pulps. However, chemical pulp is mainly used in packaging materials that require very high tensile strength, while at the same time allowing the density of the paper to be high. By utilizing the softening properties of high-yielding lignin-rich fibres by hot-pressing technology, it is possible to significantly increase sheet density and thereby strength closer to the level of chemical pulps. Furthermore, due to the presence of high levels of lignin, it was shown that considerably higher wet strength can be achieved compared to chemical pulp without the addition of strengthening agents. The study focuses on the softening of stiff and lignin-rich fibres in papers based on HYP with sufficiently high moisture contents, when hot-pressing at temperature levels significantly above the softening temperature (Tg) of lignin Hot-pressing increases the density of the sheet which increases the contact surface between the fibres in the paper structure. The high pressing temperature can be said to induce a viscous flow of lignin, which also increases the potential for fibre-fibre bonding. It is conceivable that covalent bonds are obtained via condensation reactions and partly that interdiffusion between the lignin in the fibre walls can be obtained as they come close enough to each other during the hot-pressing. The research also shows that hot-pressing greatly improves properties in the form of dry and wet strength as well as hydrophobicity for HYP and for lignin-rich kraft paper. The first part of the study shows the effect of hot-pressing on strength properties of paper sheets based on CTMP, HT-CTMP, TMP, NSSC, SCPal and NBSK. The second part includes a study on how and to what extent different amounts of residual lignin in the pulp contribute to the dry and wet strength of the sheets of paper during hot-pressing as a function of increasing temperature. To demonstrate this, pilot scale cooking of unbleached pulp to various lignin levels was carried out. In all experiments in parts one and two, laboratory sheets with a surface weight of 150 g/m2 and a dry content of 50% were made with a Rapid Köthen (RK) sheet former, after which the sheets were hot-pressed in a cylinder press at temperatures up to 200°C, constant high pressure of about 7 MPa, nip pressure dwell time of 1.5 sec and production speed 1 m/min. The third part includes a study on the optimization of variables in a new design of a dynamic cylinder press for hot-pressing technology. This design is based on previous research at Mid Sweden University combined with key knowledge of steel band technology within IPCO AB. The new pilot machine is based on heating of a steel belt with infrared heat (IR) up to 300°C, a maximum line load of 15 kN/m in two press nips and a dwell time of 23-240 ms in the nip depending on the production speed which is up to 5 m/min. The experiments in part three were based on RK paper sheets with 100 g/m2 and approximately 63% dry content made by HT-CTMP. The results confirm that hot-pressed HYP-based paper sheets enable permanent densification by softening lignin, which provides a very high dry tensile strength and a remarkable improvement in wet tensile strength compared to bleached kraft pulp without the need for wet strength agents. A tensile index of 75 kNm/kg, compression strength index (SCT) of 45 kNm/kg and wet tensile strength index of 16 kNm/kg were obtained, which can be compared with the corresponding values for bleached kraft pulp based paper sheets of 85 kNm/kg, 35 kNm/kg and 5 kNm/kg respectively, all with the same density after hot-pressing at 200°C. The NSSC reached the highest tensile strength index of 92 kNm/kg. The study with the unbleached kraft pulps showed that the lignin content had a significant effect on both the dry and wet tensile strength indices. The pulps showed a linear relationship between wet strength and lignin content. The increase in lignin content from 0% to 12% improved the dry tensile index by 20% and SCT by 35% and gave a very significant increase in the wet strength index from 3 to 23 kNm/kg after hot-pressing. All lignin-rich paper samples exhibit good wet stability for at least 24 hours and an improved surface hydrophobicity by increasing the pressing temperature and lignin content. Optimization of the new steel belt based press machine showed that high nip pressure and two press nips had a great effect on density and strength. Whereas high temperature, well above Tg of lignin, and long pressing time were more important to achieve high wet strength. The highest wet strength index value, 27 kNm/kg, was reached when the pressing temperature was 290°C, the nip pressure about 8 MPa, the pressing time in the press nip 40 ms and the dwell time in contact with the steel belt 23.5 sec. It was also noted that no delamination occurred in these tests. In order to obtain both high dry and wet strength, it is important to have high lignin content, high temperature, high nip pressure and sufficiently long pressing time Sammanfattning Högutbytesmassa (HYP), d.v.s. SGW, TMP eller CTMP, används normalt i tryckpapper (News, SC och LWC) eller i mittskikt i kartong dvs i produkter som har höga krav på tryckbarhet och körbarhet i snabba tryckpressar eller för att bidra till hög bulk i kartong så att man därmed kan minimera förbrukningen av massa för att nå en viss arkstyvhet. Dragstyrka som funktion av densitet är väsentligt högre för HYP jämfört med kemiska massor som sulfat- och sulfitmassor. Däremot används främst kemiska massor i förpackningsmaterial som kräver mycket hög dragstryka, där man samtidigt tillåter att papperets densitet får vara hög. Genom att utnyttja mjukningsegenskaperna hos högutbytesmassors ligninrika fibrer genom varmpressningsteknik kan man väsentligt öka arkdensitet och därigenom styrka till i nivå med kemiska massors. Vidare visas att man tack vara närvaro av höga halter lignin kan nå väsentligt högre våtstyrka jämfört med kemisk massa utan tillsats av styrkehöjande kemikalier. Studien fokuserar på mjukgörning av styva och ligninrika fibrer vid varmpressning vid temperaturnivåer väsentligt över mjukningstemperaturen (Tg) för lignin av HYP-baserat papper med tillräckligt hög fukthalt. Varmpressning ökar arkens densitet, vilket ökar kontaktytan mellan fibrerna i pappersstrukturen. Den höga pressnings-temperaturen kan sägas inducera ett visköst flöde av lignin, vilket då ökar möjligheten att få starkare för fiber-fiber-bindning. Man kan dels tänka sig att kovalenta bindningar erhålls via kondensationsreaktioner och dels att man kan erhålla interdiffusion mellan ligninet i fiberväggarna då de kommer tillräckligt nära varandra vid varmpressningen. Forskningen visar också att varmpressning högst väsentligt förbättrar egenskaper i form av torr- och våtstyrka samt hydrofobicitet för både HYP-baserat och ligninrikt kraftpapper. Den första delen av studien visar effekten av varmpressning på styrke-egenskaper hos pappersark baserade på CTMP, HT-CTMP, TMP, NSSC, SCPal och NBSK. Den andra delen inkluderar en studie om hur och i vilken utsträckning olika mängder av kvarvarande lignin i massa bidrar till pappersarkens torrstyrka och våtstyrka vid varmpressning som funktion av ökande temperatur. För att demonstrera detta tillverkades oblekt kraftmassa till olika ligninhalter i pilotskala. I alla experiment i del ett och två i avhandlingen tillverkades laboratorieark med ytvikten 150 g/m2 och torrhalten 50% i en Rapid Köthen (RK) arkformare varefter arken varmpressades i en cylinderpress vid temperaturer upp till 200°C och konstant högt tryck på cirka 7 MPa i ett pressnyp med uppehållstiden 1,5 s i pressnypet vid maskinhastigheten 1 m/min. Den tredje delen i avhandlingen inkluderar en studie om optimering av variabler i en ny design av en dynamisk cylinderpress för varmpressteknik. Den nya designen baseras på tidigare forskning vid Mittuniversitetet kombinerat med nyckelkunskap om stålbandstekniker inom IPCO AB. Den nya pilotmaskinen är baserad på att ett stålbälte uppvärms med infraröd värme (IR) upp till 300°C, en linjelast upp till 15 kN/m i två pressnyp vardera, med variabel presstid 23-240 ms i pressnypet beroende av maskinhastigheter upp till 5 m/min. Experimenten i del tre i avhandlingen baserades på RK-pappersark tillverkade av HT-CTMP med ytvikten 100 g/m2 och torrhalten ca 63%. Resultaten bekräftar att varmpressande HYP-baserade pappersark möjliggör permanent densifiering genom mjukning av lignin, vilket ger en mycket hög torr dragstyrka och en anmärkningsvärd förbättring av våt dragstyrka jämfört med blekt kraftmassa utan att våtstyrkemedel behöver användas. Ett dragindex på 75 kNm/kg, kompressionsstyrkeindex (SCT) på 45 kNm/kg och våtstyrkeindex på 16 kNm/kg erhölls vilket kan jämföras med motsvarande värden för pappersarken från blekt kraftmassa på 85 kNm/kg, 35 kNm/kg respektive 5 kNm/kg, alla med samma densitet efter varmpressning vid 200°C. Lövvedsbaserad NSSC nådde det högsta dragstyrkeindexet på hela 92 kNm/kg. Studien med de oblekta kraftmassorna visade att lignininnehållet hade en signifikant effekt på både torr- och våtstyrkeindex. Kraftmassorna uppvisade ett linjärt samband mellan våtstyrka och lignininnehåll. Ökningen i ligninhalten från 0% till 12% förbättrade dragindexet med 20% och SCT med 35% och gav en mycket signifikant ökning i våtstyrkeindex från 3 till 23 kNm/kg efter varmpressningen. Alla ligninrika pappersprover uppvisar god våtstyrkestabilitet under minst 24 timmar och en förbättrad ythydrofobicitet genom ökning av presstrycktemperaturen och lignininnehållet. Optimering av den nya stålbandsbaserade cylinderpressen visade att högt pressnyptryck och två pressnyp hade stor effekt på densitet och styrka. Emedan hög temperatur, långt över Tg för lignin, och lång presstid var viktigare för att nå hög våtstyrka. Det högsta värdet på våtstyrkeindex, 27 kNm/kg, uppnåddes när presstemperaturen var 290°C, pressnyptrycket cirka 8 MPa, presstiden i pressnypet 40 ms och tiden i kontakt med stålbältet 23,5 sek. Det noterades också att ingen delaminering inträffade i dessa tester. För att erhålla både hög torr- och våtstyrka är det viktigt med högt lignininnehåll, hög temperatur, högt nyptryck och tillräckligt lång presstid. Vid tidpunkten för framläggningen av avhandlingen var följande delarbeten opublicerade: delarbete 1 (accepterat), delarbete 2 (inskickat), delarbete 3 (manuskript).At the time of the defence the following papers were unpublished: paper 1 (accepted), paper 2 (submitted), paper 3 (manuscript).

© 2022, Publishing House of the Romanian Academy. All rights reserved.This study aimed to determine whether 100% recycled papers can replace papers made from virgin fibers for the purpose of electrophotographic printing for packaging by evaluating the recycling potential of electrophotographically printed paper using the INGEDE and the washing deinking method. In the first part of the study, typical office copy paper, containing up to 30% recycled fiber, was printed electrophotographically. In the second part of the study, the deinked pulp was then used to prepare the handsheets for deinking evaluation, paper analysis and printability analysis. The print quality of the recycled papers was highly encouraging, as the results were comparable and, in some cases, identical to those of papers manufactured from virgin fibers.

Background Global estimates for cholera annually approximate 4 million cases worldwide with 95,000 deaths. Recent outbreaks, including Haiti and Yemen, are reminders that cholera is still a global health concern. Cholera outbreaks can rapidly induce high death tolls by overwhelming the capacity of health facilities, especially in remote areas or areas of civil unrest. Recent studies demonstrated that stool specimens preserved on filter paper facilitate molecular analysis of Vibrio cholerae in resource limited settings. Specimens preserved in a rapid, low-cost, safe and sustainable manner for sequencing provides previously unavailable data about circulating cholera strains. This may ultimately contribute new information to shape public policy response on cholera control and elimination. Methodology/Principal findings Whole genome sequencing (WGS) recovered close to a complete sequence of the V. cholerae O1 genome with satisfactory genome coverage from stool specimens enriched in alkaline peptone water (APW) and V. cholerae culture isolates, both spotted on filter paper. The minimum concentration of V. cholerae DNA sufficient to produce quality genomic information was 0.02 ng/μL. The genomic data confirmed the presence or absence of genes of epidemiological interest, including cholera toxin and pilus loci. WGS identified a variety of diarrheal pathogens from APW-enriched specimen spotted filter paper, highlighting the potential for this technique to explore the gut microbiome, potentially identifying co-infections, which may impact the severity of disease. WGS demonstrated that these specimens fit within the current global cholera phylogenetic tree, identifying the strains as the 7th pandemic El Tor. Conclusions WGS results allowed for mapping of short reads from APW-enriched specimen and culture isolate spotted filter papers. This provided valuable molecular epidemiological sequence information on V. cholerae strains from remote, low-resource settings. These results identified the presence of co-infecting pathogens while providing rare insight into the specific V. cholerae strains causing outbreaks in cholera-endemic areas., Author summary Cholera affects more than 4 million people globally every year; people predominantly living in poverty or in resource-constrained conditions including political crises or natural disasters. Cholera’s typical presentation is characterized by rapid onset of acute watery diarrhea and vomiting which can progress from watery stool to shock in as little as four hours. Laboratory conditions needed for culture confirmation and strain preservation are rarely to never present in these affected areas. In fact, many cholera endemic areas in Sub-Saharan African are so remote that even treatment response alone is often challenging. Here we present the genomic analysis of DNA extracted from dried filter paper, which is a low-cost, low-tech and sustainable method. Previously this method has facilitated cholera confirmation by PCR, but we demonstrate that this method is also suitable for whole genome sequencing and subsequent strain characterization by presenting the analysis of samples from an outbreak in a remote area of Cameroon. This method will facilitate the understanding of the molecular epidemiology in cholera-prone areas, which were previously too challenging to attempt. It also introduces a method that can be used on a broader scale for diarrheal disease surveillance, including providing a window into co-infection and microbiome analyses.

We describe herein a method of recharging used commercial spin columns or assembling homemade spin columns using filter paper as binding material for cost-effective, low throughput nucleic acid purification. The efficiency of filter paper-based spin columns was evaluated for purification of nucleic acids from various sources. Following protocols of commercial kits, we found filter paper to be a useful binding material for purification of nucleic acids, including plant genomic DNA, plant total RNA, PCR products, and DNA from agarose gels. However, filter paper has a weak binding affinity to plasmid DNA in tested miniprep protocols. Protocols for the use of filter paper recharged spin columns or homemade spin columns for low throughput purification of plant genomic DNA and total RNA with unused commercial kit buffers or less expensive homemade buffers are presented.

Although regression models play a central role in the analysis of medical research projects, there still exist many misconceptions on various aspects of modeling leading to faulty analyses. Indeed, the rapidly developing statistical methodology and its recent advances in regression modeling do not seem to be adequately reflected in many medical publications. This problem of knowledge transfer from statistical research to application was identified by some medical journals, which have published series of statistical tutorials and (shorter) papers mainly addressing medical researchers. The aim of this review was to assess the current level of knowledge with regard to regression modeling contained in such statistical papers. We searched for target series by a request to international statistical experts. We identified 23 series including 57 topic-relevant articles. Within each article, two independent raters analyzed the content by investigating 44 predefined aspects on regression modeling. We assessed to what extent the aspects were explained and if examples, software advices, and recommendations for or against specific methods were given. Most series (21/23) included at least one article on multivariable regression. Logistic regression was the most frequently described regression type (19/23), followed by linear regression (18/23), Cox regression and survival models (12/23) and Poisson regression (3/23). Most general aspects on regression modeling, e.g. model assumptions, reporting and interpretation of regression results, were covered. We did not find many misconceptions or misleading recommendations, but we identified relevant gaps, in particular with respect to addressing nonlinear effects of continuous predictors, model specification and variable selection. Specific recommendations on software were rarely given. Statistical guidance should be developed for nonlinear effects, model specification and variable selection to better support medical researchers who perform or interpret regression analyses.

Stable and predictable energy supply, a low ecological footprint and affordability of energy require a mix of energy technologies with thermal energy included. In this context, supercritical carbon dioxide (sCO2) power cycles promise a large development step that will ensure security and flexibility of electricity supply at lower costs with a reduced carbon footprint. In the last decade, extensive research has been carried out to develop knowledge and upscale the technology readiness level of sCO2 power systems. At European level, the European sCO2 Research & Development Alliance aims at providing a platform for exchanging knowledge on sCO2 technologies in the energy sector for academia and industry, as well as at promoting this topic to the wide society. The 4th European Conference on Supercritical CO2 (sCO2) for Energy Systems is one of the initiatives promoted by the EU sCO2 alliance that was held in Prague on 22-26/03/2021. The event brought together more than 100 participants from all over the world with expertise from research to policy development. There were two keynotes and more than 50 podium presentations. All submitted papers were peer reviewed and approved by the conference committee. Further details at www.sco2.eu This special issue gathers selected papers from the 4th European Conference on Supercritical CO2 in the following research topics related to energy systems: Heat Exchanger and Transfer, Turbomachines and Cycles, sCO2 Applications and Energy Systems, sCO2 Experiments and Loops, Fluid and Material Aspects.

In a more digitalized world the paper industry has struggled to deliver customer value and stay relevant when the digital media has started to emerge. This problem has especially happened to newspaper which has seen a decline in Sweden with over 20% the last decade. Paper mills has also started to destroy shareholder value as many mills only work with offering customers low prices and tries to outlive their competitors. This has led to the following research objective of this study: To examine the importance of end customer value in paper industry for developing market shares in the digital era. This study has been an exploratory and descriptive study with a qualitative data collection. The data has been to one part been collected through a market survey that has asked end-users how they perceive price and quality when comparing two different types of paper. Also interviews with one paper producer and two printing companies have been done to cover the professional aspect of customer value for the paper industry. It has been clearly shown in this study that customers and companies inside the paper industry are agreeing in which customer values being most important, quality and price. The importance of being innovative was also stated by interviewed printing companies and the paper producer. The market survey was a good example of how innovation, from a paper producer, related to important customer values – perceived quality and perceived price – can create a potentially higher market share and profitability, instead of just lowering their prices and try to outlive their competitors. The study has also contributed to see that companies inside the paper industry are conscious that they face tough competition from a more digitalized world. Even though the companies know that they face competition from the digital media the companies have a good understanding of which products they can continue to compete with and which products that digital media has the upper hand on.

As the world population and economy grow, higher consumption results in higher waste packaging, plastics and paper residues. Pyrolysis offers a way to recover fuels and other chemicals from this waste fraction. By applying heat to these materials in the absence of oxygen, pyrolysis process can convert these feedstocks into more valuable products in the forms of gas, liquid and char. One important issue in the pyrolysis process which requires an investigation is the interactions between the feedstocks which consist of cellulose as the main component of paper and different types of plastics. Regarding this topic, 3 subtopics were investigated which are: the effect of mixing methods on the co-pyrolysis products, the interactions between the plastics and cellulose, and the formation of H, OH and water during cellulose pyrolysis. All these experimental investigations were based on microscale pyrolysis experiments using Py-GC/MS technique. In the first work, polyethylene and cellulose were mixed by melting and by putting side-by-side. It was found that some interactions occurred during co-pyrolysis of these materials which slightly altered the yields of some anhydrosugars, aldehydes and ketones when the two feedstocks were mixed together by melting. Nevertheless, the main pyrolysis products from each feedstock were not affected. In the second study, the investigation continues on the interactions between different types of plastics (PE, PP, PS, PET) and cellulose. By using Py-GC×GC/MS, a good separation of the mixed pyrolysis products could be achieved, thus assisting the analysis. It was found that although the main pyrolysis products from each feedstock were not affected by the co-pyrolysis, small interactions occurred such that the interactions between different plastics were more pronounced than the interactions between plastics and cellulose. Nevertheless, some hydrogen transfer reactions occurred when PS was co-pyrolyzed with cellulose. However, the source of hydrogen was not clear. Therefore, the investigation on the formation of H and OH radicals during cellulose pyrolysis was performed. This work combined first-principle calculations with experimental investigations. The author of the thesis was responsible for the experimental part. It was found from the first-principle calculations that it is energetically more favorable for the generation of a pair of H and OH radicals with subsequence formation of water than to generate a single radical because the formation of a double bond on the resulting cellulose helps stabilize the structure. With Gibbs free energy calculations, it was predicted that the water would be released at 280 °C. This agree well with the experimental findings from multistep pyrolysis of cellulose in Py-GC/MS which showed that water was generated at two different temperature ranges with the first peak around 280 °C. As the interactions between the feedstocks during co-pyrolysis do not much improve the liquid products’ properties, and the nature of the products produced from plastics and paper pyrolysis are significantly different; it might be more beneficial to separate the pyrolysis products from the two feedstocks. Moreover, the hydrocarbons produced from plastics pyrolysis and the oxygenated products from paper pyrolysis require different upgradation methods. Stepwise pyrolysis was then proposed to produce and collect these two products separately. With simulated feedstock mixtures (PE, PS, cellulose) and real waste fractions which are paper rejects, it was successfully demonstrated that the stepwise pyrolysis with a temperature of the first step of 300-350 °C and a temperature of the second step of 500 °C could be used to produce two products streams as previously described. However, an optimization of the process and further investigations on product properties and upgradation are still required. As a continuation on the investigation of the stepwise pyrolysis, an upgradation of the products from the first pyrolysis step was studied. When PVC plastic is present in the feedstock, dehydrochlorination of PVC occurs in the temperature range of the first pyrolysis step together with the pyrolysis of cellulose. Calcium oxide (CaO) was then tested for the simultaneous adsorption of HCl and reforming of cellulose pyrolysis products. The experiments were performed in a two-stage reactor system which was a pyrolysis reactor connected in series to a catalytic reactor containing CaO. It was found that the catalytic temperature should be between 300-350 °C because the desorption of HCl occurred when the temperature was higher than 400 °C. This was partly due to a reaction between water and CaCl2 which caused the desorption of HCl. From all the studies, stepwise pyrolysis has a great potential to produce fuels and other chemicals from mixed plastics and paper. Further investigations are needed to develop, evaluate and realize this promising process.

SCA, Sveriges Cellulosa AB, är Europas största privata skogsägare med flera verksamheter belägna i norra Sverige. Ortvikens pappersbruk är en av SCA:s verksamheter och är ett pappersbruk som tillverkar bestruket och obestruket tryckpapper från mekanisk massa. SCA och Ortvikens Pappersbruk arbetar kontinuerligt för en hållbar utveckling och har, likt all skogsindustri i Sverige, lyckats minskat sin belastning på miljön kraftigt sedan 60-talet. Företagets ledning anser att öka kunskap och medvetenhet hos personalen kan minska fabrikens belastning på miljön. Därför vill Ortvikens pappersbruk erbjuda personalen en hållbarhetsutbildning med miljöfokus för att höja kompetens och engagemang kring miljöfrågor. Detta går i linje med vad FN:s organisation för utbildning, vetenskap och kultur (UNESCO) framhäver, att utbildning som främjar hållbar utveckling krävs för att nå FN:s globala mål för hållbar utveckling. UNESCO har tagit fram mål för lärande för hållbar utveckling (LHU) med syftet att individer ska utveckla kompetenser som anses viktiga för att agera ansvarsfullt ur ett hållbarhetsperspektiv.Arbetets syfte är att utforma ett underlag till en hållbarhetsutbildning med miljöfokus till Ortvikens Pappersbruk. Detta görs genom en undersökning som inkluderar intervjuer och enkäter, som besvarar de didaktiska frågorna för vem, hur och vad. Innan undersökningen genomfördes en förstudie som skapade en bild av fabrikens verksamhet och gav förutsättningar till undersökningen. Eftersom utbildningen riktas till vuxna och har som mål att öka hållbarhetskompetenser har vuxnas lärande och LHU varit en teoretiskt grund till arbetet.I undersökningen framkom det att utbildningen bör vara flexibel och gärna i form av en e-utbildning, men även att personalen lär sig bäst genom diskussion. Personalen har varierande erfarenhet av utbildning, då högsta avslutade utbildningsnivå varierar från grundskola till universitet. Personalen har även varierande förkunskaper när det kommer till hållbarhets- och miljöfrågor. Av den anledningen rekommenderas utbildningen börja med en introduktion till miljöproblem och hållbar utveckling. Några av de hållbarhetskompetenser UNESCO beskriver framkom i undersökningen, däribland systemtänkande kompetens, självreflekterande kompetens, förutseendekompetens samt samarbetskompetens. Dessa har på olika sätt inkluderats i utbildningen.Utbildningen föreslås vara uppdelad i 6 olika moment där de första 5 momenten är e-utbildning och det sista är ett avslutande diskussionstillfälle. Utbildningen behandlar: 1. Introduktion till miljöproblem och hållbar utveckling 2. SCA:s hållbarhetsmål och hållbarhetsarbete 3. Hur kemikalier och utsläpp påverkar vår natur 4. Sundsvalls och fabrikens historia ur ett miljöperspektiv 5. Ortviken som ett kretslopp 6. Avslutande diskussion och Workshop. SCA is one of the biggest private forest owners in Europe and includes different mills in the north of Sweden, where Ortviken Paper mill, a pulp and paper factory, is one of these. Ortviken Paper mill produce publication paper from its own mechanical pulp and have both uncoated qualities and LWC-paper. SCA and Ortviken Paper mill works continuously towards a sustainable development and have lower their impact on the environment considerably over the last decades, just as all forestry in Sweden. The company’s management want to offer their staff a sustainability education with focus on environmental aspects to rise the staff’s competence in sustainability. Rise sustainability competencies is in line with what UNESCO (United Nation Education Science and Culture Organisation) highlights, education is crucial if we want to reach the global sustainable development goals. UNESCO have developed goals for ESD, education for sustainable development, with aim that individuals should develop competences which is considered important to act responsible in a sustainable manner in complex situations.The aim with this work is to design a sustainability education with an environmental focus to Ortviken Paper Mill. To do so, a pre-study and a survey have been done. The pre-study was an observation and created a picture of the mills activities and was a basis for the survey. The survey included interviews and a questionnaire which have been analysed thematically. Since the education is directed to adults and its goal is to rise the staff’s competence in environmental questions, adult education and ESD is chosen as a theoretical basis to the work.It was relieved in the survey that the education should be flexible, preferable designed as an e-learning and the staff learns best through discussion and communications with others. It also relieved that the staff’s experiences of education differ from elementary school to university, and that their knowledge about environmental issues and sustainable development varies. For the content in the education, it relieved in the survey that system thinking, chemicals and emissions impact on nature, and what individuals can do to lower the mills emissions as important or interesting. Since the staff’s knowledge varies and according to the chosen theory, an introduction about environmental issues and sustainable development is highly recommended. The education suggests being divided into six different parts, where the first five are designed as e-learning and the last part is a concluding discussion meeting. The parts in the education suggest focussing on: (i) Introduction to environmental issues and sustainable development (ii) SCA: s sustainability goals (iii) Chemicals and emissions impact on nature (iv) Sundsvall and the paper mills history from an environmental view (v) Ortviken as a cycle (vi) Concluding discussion and Workshop

At the moment, the largest amount of tissue paper products are consumed in East Asia (which includes China and Japan), Europe and North America, and between 2010 and 2023, consumption of tissue paper products is expected to grow by 3% with the largest growth rate in China. Meanwhile, toilet paper, kitchen towels and facial tissues, combined make up 85.2% of all tissue paper products consumed in 2018. While different factors can be named as responsible for this growth in consumption, it is quite difficult to isolate the product-related factors that contribute to the growth of consumption of tissue paper in different countries due to the fact that tissue products have limited uniform specifications between different suppliers. This means, tissue suppliers and tissue machine manufacturers, like Valmet, are left with the challenge of understanding customers’ motivations behind demand of different tissue paper products. This is the motivation behind this study, which is to investigate what qualities of toilet paper, facial tissues and kitchen towels, are customers in the US, China and Japan satisfied or dissatisfied with. This is compared with measurements of the qualities of these products, like softness, strength, thickness, to determine the ranges of values of the products’ qualities that customers are satisfied with. Online reviews of 34 different brands of tissue paper products are collected ethically from online retailer websites (Amazon US, Amazon Japan, Walmart, JD.com), and analysed using the thematic analysis methodology to identify the list of qualities of tissue products that customers are satisfied or dissatisfied with. Then, the Pareto rule was used to identify the top 20% most important qualities to customers. These 34 brands were also purchased from these online retailers and their different qualities were measured. The results and conclusion from the study revealed different insights, among which is that softness is a must-be quality for toilet papers in all countries studied, while water absorption is a must-be quality for kitchen towels. The study also revealed ranges of the numerical values of these qualities that are acceptable to end consumers. Valmet intends to use the conclusions from the study in engagements with tissue paper suppliers in the three countries regarding product strategies and choice of technology.

Microbial fuel cells (MFCs) can evolve in a viable technology if environmentally sound materials are developed and became available at low cost for these devices. This is especially important not only for the designing of large wastewater treatment systems, but also for the fabrication of low-cost, single-use devices. In this work we synthesized membranes by a simple procedure involving easily-biodegradable and economic materials such as poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA), chitosan (CS) and the composite PVA:CS. Membranes were chemical and physically characterized and compared to Nafion®. Performance was studied using the membrane as separator in a typical H-Type MFCs showing that PVA:CS membrane outperform Nafion® 4 times (power production) while being 75 times more economic. We found that performance in MFC depends over interactions among several membrane characteristics such as oxygen permeability and ion conductivity. Moreover, we design a paper-based micro-scale MFC, which was used as a toxicity assay using 16 µL samples containing formaldehyde as a model toxicant. The PVA:CS membrane presented here can offer low environmental impact and become a very interesting option for point of need single-use analytical devices, especially in low-income countries where burning is used as disposal method, and toxic fluoride fumes (from Nafion®) can be released to the environment. Fil: Gonzalez Pabon, Maria Jesus. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Figueredo, Federico. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Martínez Casillas, Diana Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina Fil: Corton, Eduardo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química Biológica de la Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; Argentina

This thesis stems from the interest of Holmen group to investigate the opportunitiesavailable for large electricity consumers in the Swedish primary reserve markets.The study performed focuses on one of Holmen's paper mill and it aims at identifyinga load inside the production process that is suitable for providing frequency containmentservices for the grid. The evaluation of the mill's consumption prole and the technicalrequirements of the reserve market led to the identication of the electric boiler coupledwith a steam accumulator as the most appropriate load.Five case study simulating the participation of the mill to dierent energy and reservemarkets have been evaluated. For each case a linear optimization problem has beenformulated. The rst simulation represents the current practice of the mill in relation tothe energy purchased on the spot market (following it will be also referred as referencecase). The second case study (II c.s.) integrates the use of the steam accumulator asa tool to perform thermal load shifting. In the third case study (III c.s.) the mill ismodelled to bid on the spot and primary reserve market by oering some capacity ofthe electric boiler. The last two case studies (IV and V c.s.) recalls the rst and lastpreviously mentioned, but also include the possibility of having energy imbalance. Thismeans that the imbalance settlement operated by eSett will produce an additional costor prot for the mill.The last three problem formulations fall under the denition of stochastic problems,since two random variable are present, namely: average hourly frequency value andimbalance settlement price. The uncertainty of the variables is represented throughscenarios.The outcome derived from the combination of the results for the winter and summercases shows that each strategy brings an economic saving when compared to the referencecase (I c.s.). The less interesting strategies are the ones that do not involve the reservemarket, leading to about 0.03% (II c.s.) and 0.06% (IV c.s.) of saving on the overallyearly energy cost. Contrariwise, by oering FCR-N capacity, the cost of electricitycan be cut by 5.15% (III c.s.) and 6.69% (V c.s.), respectively considering and notconsidering the imbalance settlement. Avhandlingen har sitt ursprung i skogsindustrikoncernen Holmens intresse att undersökamöjligheten för stora elförbrukare att delta på den svenska primär-reservmarknaden. Studien som utförts fokuserar på ett av Holmens pappersbruk och syftar till att identifiera en elektrisk process som, inom bruksgränserna, är lämplig för att tillhandahålla frekvensregleringstjänster till det nationella nätet. En utvärdering av brukets elförbrukning samt de tekniska krav som ställs på reservmarknaden ledde till att en elektrisk panna med tillkopplad ångackumulator identifierades som mest lämplig.Fem budstrategier som simulerar brukets deltagande till olika energioch reservmarknader har presenterats. För varje strategi är ett linjärt optimeringsproblem formulerat. Den första strategin visar på nuvarande sätt bruket köper elektricitet på spotmarknaden. Den andra strategin integrerar användning av ångackumulatorn som ett verktyg för att utföra termisk lastskiftning. I den tredje modelleras deltagande också på primärreservmarknaden genom att erbjuda en viss kapacitet hos elpannan. De två sista strategierna baseras på den första och tredje, men tillåter i tillägg obalanser vilket innebär en extra kostnad eller möjlig intjäning för bruket.De tre sista problemformuleringarna faller under definitionen stokastiska problem, eftersom två slumpmässiga variabler är närvarande, nämligen: genomsnittligt timfrekvensvärde och priset för obalans. Osäkerheten för variablerna representeras genom scenarier.Resultatet visar att varje strategi ger en ekonomisk besparing jämfört med refer-ensfallet (strategi ett). De mindre intressanta strategierna är de som inte involverarreservmarknaden, vilka endast leder till ca 0,03% och 0,06% minskning av den totalaårliga energikostnaden. Däremot, genom att erbjuda FCR-N-kapacitet kan kostnaden för el minskas med 6,69% och 5,15% beroende s eller ej.

The Deliverable 6.6 with the title “7 conference papers”, is part of WP6 “Dissemination and Exploitation” of Athena project with a basic aim to knowledge sharing, network development and exposure to an international environment. Three conference attendances were foreseen (e.g. CAA; SPIE; EARSeL) within the project duration whereas more than 30 posters and oral presentations were presented during the project in the conferences such as: SPIE 2016, SPIE 2018, EUROMED 2016, EUROMED 2018, EGU 2016, EGU 2017, EGU 2018, RSCy2016, RSCy 2017, RSCy 2018, etc.

Paper machine manufacturing of photocatalysts can enable low cost devices for removal of low concentrated pollutants. Lateral variations originating from the paper making process leads to variations of the catalytic activity over the paper area. Paper machine manufactured papers made from tetrapodal ZnO whiskers and kraft pulp were investigated in this test geometry using simulated solar light. Photocatalytic ZnO papers were laminated between polyethylene sheets and an indicator solution seeped into the laminated photocatalytic paper, to create a test geometry where the indicator ink is confined to a small volume between the polyethylene sheets. The photocatalyst papers exhibited surprisingly similar photocatalytic behavior although having different catalyst loading 15, 30 and 45 wt percent. All papers exhibited lateral variations that peaked during the conversion. The results show that production of effective photocatalytic composite papers can be scaled. Further, the results show that variations must be considered for photocatalytic papers.

Amphimeriasis, a fish-borne zoonotic disease caused by the liver fluke Amphimerus spp., has recently been reported as an emerging disease affecting an indigenous Ameridian group, the Chachi, living in Ecuador. The only method for diagnosing amphimeriasis was the microscopic detection of eggs from the parasite in patients' stool samples with very low sensitivity. Our group developed an ELISA technique for detection of anti-Amphimerus IgG in human sera and a molecular method based on LAMP technology (named LAMPhimerus) for specific and sensitive parasite DNA detection. The LAMPhimerus method showed to be much more sensitive than classical parasitological methods for amphimeriasis diagnosis using human stool samples for analysis. The objective of this work is to demonstrate the feasibility of using dried stool samples on filter paper as source of DNA in combination with the effectiveness of our previously designed LAMPhimerus assay for successfully Amphimerus sp. detection in clinical stool samples. A total of 102 untreated and undiluted stool samples collected from Chachi population were spread as thin layer onto common filter paper for easily transportation to our laboratory and stored at room temperature for one year until DNA extraction. When LAMPhimerus method was applied for Amphimerus sp. DNA detection, a higher number of positive results was detected (61/102; 59.80%) in comparison to parasitological methods (38/102; 37.25%), including 28/61 (45.90%) microscopy-confirmed Amphimerus sp. infections. The diagnostic parameters for the sensitivity and specificity werecalculated for our LAMPhimerus assay, which were 79.17% and 65.98%, respectively. We demonstrate, for the first time, that common filter paper is useful for easy collection and long-term storage of human stool samples for later DNA extraction and molecular analysis of human-parasitic trematode eggs. This simple, economic and easily handling method combined with the specific and sensible LAMPhimerus assay has the potential to beused as an effective molecular large-scale screening test for amphimeriasis-endemic areas.

The present work was focused to design a cheap, rapid, portable and easy to use filter paper based assay for the qualitative and quantitate analysis of acetone. Sodium alginate gel was loaded with the acetone specific optical signal probe, and subsequently coated onto filter paper surface to design portable colorimetric assays for acetone monitoring. The color of the paper sensor strip was observed to change from dark yellow to light yellowish in the presence of varying concentrations of acetone. Three different color analyzing models including RGB, HSV, and LAB were employed to probe the output optical signal, and their performance was compared in terms of better interpretation of the generated signal. The LAB model was found to provide better analytical figures of merit with a linear response for the acetone concentration ranging from 2.5 to 1500 ppm, and a limit of detection of 0.5 ppm. Furthermore, the specificity of the designed filter paper based sensor was demonstrated against different common interfering compounds. The results demonstrated the potential of our proposed filter paper based sensor as a novel tool for the analysis of acetone.

Introduction \ud Data collection using paper-based questionnaires can be time consuming and return errors affect data accuracy, completeness, and information quality in health surveys. We compared smartphone and paper-based data collection systems in the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study in rural Sudan. \ud Methods \ud This exploratory pilot study was designed to run in parallel with the cross-sectional household survey. The Open Data Kit was used to programme questionnaires in Arabic into smartphones. We included 100 study participants (83% women; median age = 41.5 ± 16.4 years) from the BOLD study from 3 rural villages in East-Gezira and Kamleen localities of Gezira state, Sudan. Questionnaire data were collected using smartphone and paper-based technologies simultaneously. We used Kappa statistics and inter-rater class coefficient to test agreement between the two methods. Results Symptoms reported included cough (24%), phlegm (15%), wheezing (17%), and shortness of breath (18%). One in five were or had been cigarette smokers. The two data collection methods varied between perfect to slight agreement across the 204 variables evaluated (Kappa varied between 1.00 and 0.02 and inter-rater coefficient between 1.00 and -0.12). Errors were most commonly seen with paper questionnaires (83% of errors seen) vs smartphones (17% of errors seen) administered questionnaires with questions with complex skip-patterns being a major source of errors in paper questionnaires. Automated checks and validations in smartphone-administered questionnaires avoided skip-pattern related errors. Incomplete and inconsistent records were more likely seen on paper questionnaires. \ud Conclusion \ud Compared to paper-based data collection, smartphone technology worked well for data collection in the study, which was conducted in a challenging rural environment in Sudan. This approach provided timely, quality data with fewer errors and inconsistencies compared to paper-based data collection. We recommend this method for future BOLD studies and other population-based studies in similar settings.

The cost and environmental damage of reclaims is a large problem within thepaper industry. With certain types of paper, so called crepe marks on the paper’ssurface is a common issue, leading to printing defects and consequentlyreclaims. This thesis compares four different image analysis methods for evaluatingcrepe marks and predicting printing results. The methods evaluated consistsof one established methods, two adaptations of established methods andone novel method. All methods were evaluated on the same data, topographicheight images of paper samples from 4 paper rolls of similar type but differingin roughness. The method based on 1D Fourier analysis and the method basedon fully convolutional networks performs best, depending on if speed or detailedcharacteristics is a priority.

The European pulp and paper industry (PPI) directly emits 31.9 Mton CO2 (2016) and indirectly 12.3 and 5 Mton CO2 from purchased electricity and transport respectively. It also accounts for 68 Mton of biogenic CO2 emissions. The PPI is a mature industry with overall stagnating market demand in the past ten years and relatively high levels of recycling. Forest countries like Sweden and Finland dominate the production of virgin fibres whereas paper production in other countries relies more on recycled fibre and purchased pulp. Decarbonisation across all sectors is expected to increase the competition for biomass feedstock for fuel in heat and power production, biofuels for transport, bio-based materials and chemicals, and perhaps wood for construction. This development implies new interdependencies between the PPI and other sectors. Decarbonisation of the PPI itself can be achieved through energy efficiency, fuel switching and electrification (assuming decarbonised power). This decarbonisation is ongoing and carbon intensity has been steadily declining for decades. Two other decarbonisation pathways are important to consider. One is the transition to biorefineries and a bioeconomy where several other products than pulp and paper are produced (including liquid fuels, lignin, textile fibres and bio-composites). The other is the transition to a closed-loop carbon society where biogenic CO2 becomes an important feedstock through carbon capture and use (CCU). For the biorefinery pathway the PPI must develop in new directions, operate in new markets, and form partnerships with other actors. So far, there is less of a clear direction for this pathway and it appears that low levels of collaboration between the chemical industry and the forestry industry constitute a barrier. For the PPI, decarbonisation is an opportunity but increased competition for feedstock is also a threat. Feedstock scarcity in the EU as well as globally is a serious problem in scenarios where the heat, power and transport sectors use biomass for energy at scale. The limits to biomass may necessitate the use of biogenic CO2 (e.g., from chemical recovery boilers and waste incineration) as feedstock for the production of organic compounds (e.g., liquid fuels and plastics) in a fossil free society. This pathway is relatively unexplored but our preliminary analysis shows that biogenic CO2 is also a scarce resource unless demand for organic compounds, in particular liquid fuels, is reduced considerably. It requires large amounts of emissions-free electricity for hydrogen production and implies completely new value chains and collaborations between the forestry, energy and chemicals industries.

In this project an experimental setup is designed to investigate the effect of intermittent load patterns in combination with moisture content on cellulose ageing. It is done by exposing groups of samples to different intermittent load patterns with varying frequency. A literature review is done on transformer insulation system and cellulose degradation. Various technical solutions to different aspects of the experimental design are reviewed. The final experimental setup is explained with the primary focus being on the hardware and programming of the controlling system. The controlling system consists of a Data Acquisition (DAQ) system from National Instruments and is programmed in LabVIEW. The controlling system is examined in two investigative tests where it performed satisfactorily. Three load patterns are developed. This project suggests how to prepare the samples and what direct- and indirect tests to apply to the insulation system for future analysis.Over the years, a considerable amount of scientific work has been devoted to understanding paper ageing in order to improve transformer diagnostics and investments for utility owners. However, transformer loading guidelines of today do not take intermittent load in combination with moisture content into account [1] [2]. Previous work suggests that the thermal models may be improved by looking into the effects of moisture content [3].The primary aim of the proposed experimental setup is to investigate whether an intermittent load pattern in combination with moisture content have a considerable detrimental effect on cellulose ageing. The intent is to contribute with new knowledge about transformer diagnostics and long-term possibly improve the current thermal models used for Dynamic Transformer Rating (DTR) which do not take this phenomenon into account. This would in particular benefit transformers with typically intermittent load patterns, e.g. a transformer connected to a wind farm or photovoltaic panels. Increasing renewable energy installations increase the need for developing the thermal models in the transformer loading guidelines to take unconventional load profiles into account. I det här projektet utformas ett experiment för att undersöka inverkan av intermittenta lastmönster i kombination med fukthalt på åldrande av cellulosa. Detta görs genom att utsätta provgrupper för olika lastmönster med varierande frekvens. En litteraturgenomgång görs på transformatorisoleringssystem och nedbrytning av cellulosa. Olika tekniska lösningar för olika aspekter av experimentets design ses över. Den slutliga utformningen av experimentet förklaras med fokus på hårdvara och programmering av kontrollsystemet. Kontrollsystemet består av ett system för datainsamling från National Instruments och programmeras i LabVIEW. Kontrollsystemet utvärderas i två undersökande test där det förfor på ett tillfredsställande sätt. Tre lastmönster till experimentet har tagits fram. Det här projektet föreslår hur man förbereder proverna och vilka direkta och indirekta test som kan göras för framtida analyser.Under åren har en betydande mängd vetenskapligt arbete ägnats åt att förstå pappersåldring för att förbättra transformatordiagnostik och investeringsunderlaget för nätägare. De industriella standarderna tar dock inte hänsyn till intermittent belastning i kombination med fukthalt [1] [2]. Tidigare arbete föreslår att de termiska modellerna möjligen kan förbättras genom att undersöka effekterna av fukthalt [3].Det huvudsakliga målet med den föreslagna experimentella uppställningen är att undersöka huruvida ett intermittent belastningsmönster i kombination med fukthalt har en betydande inverkan på pappersåldrandet. Föresatsen är att bidra med ny kunskap om transformatordiagnostik och för att om möjligt långsiktigt förbättra de nuvarande termiska modellerna som används till dynamiska lastbarhetsmodeller för transformatorer. Detta skulle särskilt gynna transformatorer med typiskt intermittenta belastningsmönster, t ex en transformator ansluten till en vindkraftpark eller solcellspaneler. Ökande antal av anläggningar för förnybar energi ökar behovet av att utveckla de termiska modellerna för att ta hänsyn till okonventionella lastprofiler.

Over the past several years, considerable efforts have been made to increase the efforts to move towards a circular economy. The ambition to reuse, remanufacture and recycle materials is of great significance for the establishment of a sustainable society. An extended longevity of materials helps to decrease the amount of wastes in landfills, as well as to reduce the mining of natural assets. Pulp and paper and steel industries are two large basic industries and export industrial sectors in Sweden. The pulp and paper industries generate large amounts of organic and inorganic wastes. A significant part of these wastes ends up in landfills. The deposit of wastes in landfills is becoming more challenging to employ and more costly, due to stronger regulations and demands with respect to the environment. During Electric Arc Furnace (EAF) and Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD) stainless steelmaking operations, burnt lime (primary lime) is charged together with other slag forming components in the furnace or converter to obtain a specific basicity of the slag and to attain purification from undesired elements by chemical reactions between the steel and slag. In blast furnace (BF) operations, carbon is charged in the form of coke and injected as powder to provide heat to melt the iron ore and to reduce the iron oxides to iron by separating iron from oxygen. The use of this primary lime and fossil carbon does not comply with the closing the loop idea that is being prioritized in modern society. However, some of the CaO-containing wastes from pulp and paper mills can be used as slag formers in steelmaking processes, and to neutralize and clean acidic wastewaters from the pickling process in steelmaking to replace the currently used primary lime. Moreover, some C-containing organic sludges can be upgraded to hydrochar and partly replace fossil carbon in blast furnaces. This thesis presents results from preliminary experiments for examining the replacement of primary lime with recovered lime from pulp and paper production waste as slag formers in EAF and AOD converters and neutralizing agents for acidic wastewaters, as well as hydrochar from organic sludges as a carbon source in BF. The gained results showed a possibility of using up to 30% CaO from recovered lime as a replacement for primary lime in the EAF. Furthermore, the amount of ferrosilicon alloy additions can be decreased by up to 3kg/ton of steel. In the AOD process, the use of recovered lime didn´t show any negative effects on the decarburization process nor on the reduction process. Moreover, the desulphurization function was similar when using recovered lime compared to when using the primary lime. However, the P content in the metal increased slightly. Thus, the replacement ratio of recovered lime will be limited by the acceptable P level in the final steel due to higher P content in recovered lime materials from pulp and paper mills compared to that in primary lime. Furthermore, the obtained results of laboratory-scale trials using recovered lime materials as neutralizers showed that they can be successfully used instead of primary lime to significantly raise the pH level of the wastewater as well as to decrease the concentrations of Cr, Fe, Ni, Mo and Zn. Also, the results from the initial industrial-scale experimental trials using hydrochar derived from mixed organic biosludge and from green waste showed that most of the technological parameters of the BF process, such as the production rate of hot metal, amount of dust, fuel rate and amount of injected coal, amount of slag, contents of FeO in slag and %C and %P in the hot metal in the experimental trials were very similar compared to those in the reference periods (two days before and two days after the trials) without using these new innovative charge materials. Thus, it was proven that hydrochar derived from various types of organic residues could be used for metallurgical applications. However, the replacement ratio was very low and longer trial campaigns are needed to obtain more certain results. Moreover, it was revealed during this study that slags from AOD converters can be used as binding agents for briquetting of these recovered lime materials. These results show that waste materials/byproducts from two of the most important Swedish base industries can be used to make metallurgical briquettes, uniting two major industrial sectors in a circular symbiosis towards obtaining a more sustainable future. Under senare år har stora ansträngningar gjorts för att utveckla den cirkulära ekonomin. Ambitionen att återanvända, renovera och återvinna material är av stor vikt för att etablera ett hållbart samhälle. Ett utökat livsspann på material hjälper till att minska mängden avfall som hamnar på deponier, samt att minska utvinningen av naturtillgångar. Pappers- och massa industrin och stålindustrin är två av de största basindustrierna och viktiga exportsektorer i Sverige. Pappers- och massa industrin genererar stora mängder organiskt och oorganiskt avfall varje år, varav en stor del förvaras i deponier. Att deponera avfall blir svårare och dyrare på grund av hårdare regler och miljökrav. Vid tillverkning av rostfritt stål i ljusbågsugnar (EAF) och Argon Oxygen Decarburization (AOD) konvertrar används bränd kalk (primärkalk) tillsammans med andra slaggbildare för att få rätt basicitet i slaggen och för att rena stålet från oönskade ämnen genom kemiska reaktioner mellan slagg och stålsmälta. Vid framställning av råjärn i en masugn chargeras kol i form av koks och injicerat kolpulver för att ge smältvärme till järnmalmen och för att reducera järnoxiderna till järn genom att separera järn och syre. Användningen av primärkalk och fossilt kol gynnar inte den cirkulära ekonomi som eftersträvas idag. Dock kan ett antal CaO-innehållande avfall från pappers- och massabruk användas som slaggbildare i ståltillverkningsprocessen, och för att neutralisera och rena surt avfallsvatten från betningsprocessen på ett stålverk som ersättning för denprimära kalk som används idag. Vidare kan några kolrika organiska slam uppgraderas till hydrochar och delvis ersätta fossilt kol i masugnar. Det här är en inledande studie för att undersöka möjligheten att ersättaprimärkalk med återvunnen kalk från pappers- och massaproduktionen som slaggbildare i ljusbågsugns- och konverterprocesserna, och för att neutralisera surt avfallsvatten, samt att använda hydrochar från organiska slam som kolkälla i masugnar. Resultaten visar att det är möjligt att använda upp till 30% CaO från återvunnen kalk som ersättning för primärkalk i ljusbågsugn. Dessutom kan mängden tillsatt ferrokisel minskas med upp till 3 kg/ton stål. I konverterprocessen har användning av återvunnen kalk inte visat några negativa effekter på kolfärskningen eller reduktionsprocessen, och den har motsvarande avsvavlingsfunktion som den primära kalken. Fosforhalten (P) i metallen ökades något, och möjligheten att ersätta primärkalken med återvunnen kalk kommer att begränsas av hur mycket P som kan tillåtas i stålet på grund av det högre P-innehållet i dessa återvunna kalkmaterial än i primärkalk. Vidare visarresultaten av försöken i laboratorieskala med neutralisering av surt avfallsvatten att sekundära kalkmaterial framgångsrikt kan användas för att markant höja pH-värdet och minska halten Cr, Fe, Ni, Mo och Zn. Resultaten från de initiala experimentella försöken i industriell skala med användning av hydrochar från blandat organiskt bio slam och från grönt avfall visade att de flesta teknologiska parametrarna i masugnsprocessen, såsom produktionshastighet för råjärn, mängd damm, bränsleåtgång,mängden injicerat kol, mängden slagg, FeO-halten i slagg och % C och % P i råjärnet i de experimentella försöken var väldigt lika jämfört med referensperioderna (två dagar före och två dagar efter försöken) utan dessa nya innovativa material. Det bevisades således att hydrochar från olika typer av organiska rester kunde användas för metallurgiska tillämpningar även om ersättningsnivån var väldigt låg och längre försökskampanjer krävs för att få mer tillförlitliga resultat. Dessutom visar resultaten från den här studien att slagg från AOD-konvertrar kan användas som bindemedel för brikettering av dessa återvunna kalkmaterial. Dessa resultat visar att avfall/biprodukter från två av Sverige största basindustrier kan användas för att göra metallurgiska briketter och förena två stora industrisektorer i en cirkulär symbios mot en mer hållbar framtid.

International audience; Background: Identification of the source of mosquito blood meals is an important component for disease control and surveillance. Recently, matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) profiling has emerged as an effective tool for mosquito blood meal identification, using the abdomens of freshly engorged mosquitoes. In the field, mosquito abdomens are crushed on Whatman filter papers to determine the host feeding patterns by identifying the origin of their blood meals. The aim of this study was to test whether crushing engorged mosquito abdomens on Whatman filter papers was compatible with MALDI-TOF MS for mosquito blood meal identification. Both laboratory reared and field collected mosquitoes were tested.Material and methods: Sixty Anopheles gambiae Giles were experimentally engorged on the blood of six distinct vertebrate hosts (human, sheep, rabbit, dog, chicken and rat). The engorged mosquito abdomens were crushed on Whatman filter papers for MALDI-TOF MS analysis. 150 Whatman filter papers, with mosquitoes engorged on cow and goat blood, were preserved. A total of 77 engorged mosquito abdomens collected in the Comoros Islands and crushed on Whatman filter papers were tested with MALDI-TOF MS. Results The MS profiles generated from mosquito engorged abdomens crushed on Whatman filter papers exhibited high reproducibility according to the original host blood. The blood meal host was correctly identified from mosquito abdomens crushed on Whatman filter papers by MALDI-TOF MS. The MS spectra obtained after storage were stable regardless of the room temperature and whether or not they were frozen. The MS profiles were reproducible for up to three months. For the Comoros samples, 70/77 quality MS spectra were obtained and matched with human blood spectra. This was confirmed by molecular tools.Conclusion: The results demonstrated that MALDI-TOF MS could identify mosquito blood meals from Whatman filter papers collected in the field during entomological surveys. The application of MALDI-TOF MS has proved to be rapid and successful, making it a new and efficient tool for mosquito-borne disease surveillance.

En förväntad ökning av jordens befolkning ställer den redan ökande fiberkonsumtionen på sin spets. Bomull är en av de mest frekvent använda textilfibrerna men dess vatten- och kemikalieanvändning i framställningsprocessen har lett till förödande konsekvenser för människa och miljö. Flera alternativa, hållbara fibrer behöver därmed introduceras på marknaden. Garn av papper från råvaran abacá har länge använts till textila ändamål till följd av dess goda mekaniska egenskaper. På senare år har intresset för fibern ökat främst på grund av dess miljömässiga fördelar i jämförelse med bomull. Garn av papper är dock styvt och känns strävt mot huden. För att vidga pappersgarnets användningsområden måste därför dess taktila egenskaper förbättras genom någon typ av behandling. Textilproduktion är kemikaliekrävande och flertalet av kemikalierna som används är miljö- och hälsofarliga. Det är därför av intresse att hitta en mekanisk metod för mjukgöring snarare än en kemisk. En sådan mjukgöring har därav utvecklats och undersökts inom projektets ramar. Mjukgöringen är en smärglingsbehandling i garnform där garnet leds genom en bladspännare utrustad med två sandpapper som smärgeldukar. Behandlingen ämnar öka antalet utstickande fiberändar och på så vis efterlikna känslan av ett stapelfibergarn. Genom att garnet behandlas redan i garnstadiet kan det sedan användas till valfri textil konstruktionsteknik. För att undersöka effekten av smärglingsbehandlingen har studien delats in i två delar. Den ena delen undersöker två klassiska denimvävar av 100 % papper där väftgarnet i den ena väven har smärglats en gång medan väftgarnet i den andra är obehandlat. Kawabata Evaluation System (KES) har använts för att objektivt analysera vävarnas taktila egenskaper, alltså hur de känns vid beröring. För att undersöka hur vävens ytstruktur förändrats till följd av behandlingen har provkropparna fotograferats i svepelektronmikroskop (SEM) och ljusmikroskop. Studiens andra del undersöker effekten av upprepade smärglingsbehandlingar på garn. Pappersgarner som behandlats mellan noll och fem gånger undersöks dels gällande dess mekaniska egenskaper men även visuellt i SEM och med hjälp av ljusmikroskop. Behandlingen förväntas minska garnets styrka. För att kontrollera om de behandlade garnerna är tillräckligt starka för att användas i en industriell vävprocess trots den mekaniska degraderingen jämfördes deras styrka med ett referensgarn av bomull. Majoriteten av resultaten från KES-testerna visar på att det inte är någon skillnad mellan en obehandlad väv och en väv vars väftgarn är smärglat en gång. Den behandlade väven är dock lättare att komprimera och har en större initial tjocklek än den obehandlade väven. Detta tyder på att smärglingen kan ha ändrat garnernas diameter vilket resulterat i högre invävning och därmed ökad vikt och tjocklek. Den visuella undersökningen av garnerna i ljusmikroskop pekar mot ett ökat antal utstickande fiberändar i takt med ökat antal behandlingar. Dock är skillnaden mellan det osmärglade garnet och det garn som enbart smärglats en gång liten. Dragprovning av garn visar att det pappersgarn som smärglats fem gånger har signifikant lägre brottkraft än de övriga pappersgarnerna men är starkare än referensgarnet i bomull. Detta styrker förväntningen om att smärgling försämrar styrkan på garnet men visar också att de behandlade garnerna, trots den minskade styrkan, bör vara tillräckligt starka för att användas som väftgarn i maskinell vävning. Fiberändarnas effekt i en denimväv behöver undersökas vidare för att en slutsats kring hur de påverkar den taktila komforten ska kunna dras. Metoden för garnsmärgling är i sin initiala fas och flera parametrar behöver undersökas närmare innan metoden skulle kunna implementeras på industriell skala som en metod för mjukgöring av pappersgarn med syfte att främja den framtida fibermångfalden. An expected population increase and rising consumption of textile fibres creates a demand for both new materials and processes. Cotton is one of the most frequently used fibres but its use is resource intensive both in terms of water and chemical agents. To meet these demands a range of alternative, sustainable fibres need to be developed and introduced into the market. Due to its good mechanical properties paper yarns produced from the abacá plant have long been used in textile applications. In recent years it has also garnered increased interest as a result of its environmental benefits in comparison to cotton. However, paper yarns tend to be stiff and feel coarse in contact with skin. In order for paper yarns to have larger fields of use its tactile qualities must therefore be improved. The production of textiles is generally reliant on the use of chemicals that in varying degree pose threats both to human health and the environment as a whole. It would therefore be beneficial to develop a method for the softening of paper yarns that is based on a mechanical approach, rather than a chemical one. In this project a mechanical method of softening paper yarns has been developed and tested. The softening process is an altered approach to conventional emery grinding and is performed on yarn rather than fabric. The yarn is guided through a leaf tensioner fitted with two sand papers with the purpose to increase the number of protruding fibre ends, thereby reproducing the feel of staple fibre yarns. In order to investigate the effects of the emery grinding two classical denim weaves were produced from 100 % paper yarn. The weft yarn in one of the weaves was emery ground once while the other was left untreated. Kawabata Evaluation System (KES) was used to objectively analyze the tactile qualities of the differently treated weaves. In addition to KES-tests Scanning Electron Microscopy and light microscopy was utilized for a visual analysis. Since it would also be of interest to study the effects of repeated treatments, yarn treated up to five times was inspected both visually and mechanically. The emery grinding process is expected to decrease the strength of the yarn. To check whether the emery ground yarns were strong enough to be used in an industrial weaving process, its strength was compared to a cotton yarn previously used as a weft yarn in a denim weave. Results from KES show no significant changes concerning the majority of parameters tested on the weaves. The treated weave is however easier to compress and presents an increase in initial thickness when compared to the untreated one. This indicates that the emery grinding may have altered the yarns diameter resulting in a higher crimp in the weave causing an increase in the weight and thickness of the fabric. The visual inspection of the yarns using a digital microscope point to an increase in protruding fibre ends as the number of treatments increase. The difference between untreated paper yarn and yarn that had been emery ground once was however small. The tensile test shows that yarn that had been treated five times had a significantly lower tensile strength compared to the other paper yarns but was still stronger than the cotton yarn. This indicates that emery grinding does indeed decrease the tensile strength of the paper yarn, but that it still should be strong enough to be used in industrial weaving. Paper yarn treated more than once would have to be studied further in order to come to a conclusion about their impact on the tactile comfort of the weave. The method of emery grinding is in its initial phase and a number of parameters can be assumed to have an effect on the results of the process. In the interest of creating more diversity in textile fibres the effects of these parameters would all have to be explored before this method can be implemented on an industrial scale for the softening of paper yarns.

This work presents an experimental study of second mode positive streamers propagating along mineral oilpaper interfaces. A point-plane arrangement immersed in mineral oil with the paper inclined 60 degrees to the plane electrode is used to create the liquid-solid interface. Kraft paper and a kraft fibril paper, made from cellulosic micro and nano fibrils, with higher density and lower surface roughness are used as the solid materials. High speed shadowgraphy and charge recordings are used to compare the propagation of second mode positive streamers along the mineral oil-kraft paper and mineral oil-kraft fibril paper. Streamers creeping along the mineral oil-kraft paper interface propagate mainly into the liquid, with one or two main filaments. In comparison, the streamers propagating along the kraft fibril paper show a strong reduction of the branching; these streamers consist of a single filament that propagates exactly on the solid surface. Streamers along the kraft fibril paper also have longer propagation time than for the case with kraft paper. Mutual electrostatic shielding between filaments is observed for the streamers creeping on the kraft paper. An electrostatic analysis of the influence of permittivity, density and surface roughness of the solid in the electrical properties of the streamer filaments is also performed.

BACKGROUND The lack of information regarding the burden of acute bacterial meningitis in Latin America leads to a reduction in the estimated incidence rates of the disease, and impairs public health decisions on the use and follow-up of preventive interventions, particularly, the evaluation of existing vaccination policies. The use of the real-time PCR in diagnostic routine procedures has resulted in a substantial increase in confirmed bacterial meningitis cases. However, in resource-poor countries, these assays are only available in reference laboratories. Sample transportation to these laboratories is a critical constraint, as it requires specialized, high cost courier services. To overcome this barrier we evaluated the use of FTATM Elute filter paper cards for the conservation and processing of samples under normal environmental conditions, as they would be when transported from remote and under-equipped healthcare facilities to the reference centers. A total of 401 samples received in 2015 as part of Sao Paulo's national surveillance for routine diagnosis were selected for this study. METHODS The sensitivity and specificity of real-time PCR were evaluated using fresh serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples processed using our laboratory's standard DNA extraction, and processing the same samples after being dried and stored on FTATM card, and DNA extracted following the manufacturer's instructions. RESULTS The sensitivities for detection of Neisseria meningitidis, Streptococcus pneumoniae, and Haemophilus influenzae from CSF dried and stored on FTATM cards were 98%, 92%, and 100%, respectively, and with serum samples were 73%, 88%, and 100%, respectively. When compared to our laboratory's standard methodology, results showed high concordance, with Kappa index ranges of 0.9877-1.00 for CSF, and 0.8004-1.00 for serum samples. CONCLUSION The use of FTATM cards for CSF and serum conservation and transport represents a rapid, reliable, and cost-effective alternative that will allow obtaining valuable epidemiological information that would otherwise be lost.

Author summary Conferences are great venues for disseminating algorithmic bioinformatics results, but they unfortunately do not offer an opportunity to make major revisions in the way that journals do. As a result, it is not possible for authors to fix mistakes that might be easily correctable but nevertheless can cause the paper to be rejected. As a reviewer, I wish that I had the opportunity to tell the authors, “Hey, you forgot to do this really important thing, without which it is hard to accept the paper, but if you could go back and fix it, you might have a great paper for the conference.” This lack of a back and forth can be especially problematic for first-time submitters or those from outside the field, e.g., biologists. In this article, I outline Ten Simple Rules to follow when writing an algorithmic bioinformatics conference paper to avoid having it rejected.

A Thesis work has been performed along with BillerudKorsnäs AB, as a closing course of the Bachelor of science in Mechanical Engineering, Karlstad University. This report contains the process of a product development of an equipment for restrained drying of paper.Restrained drying means locking the fibers in the sheet and prevent shrinkage during drying (zero deformation), which causes internal tensions and with the restrained drying, the mechanical properties of the paper can be affected. BillerudKorsnäs is a company that manufacture packaging materials and packaging solutions based on forestry products. Within their development work, sheets of paper need to dry, where BillerudKorsnäs has previously used drying methods that do not fulfill their wishes. Therefore, a new drying equipment is desired to be able to dry sheets in a controlled way, with restrained drying. The aim of the work was to develop a new and better equipment for drying of paper, with associated drawings for future manufacturing. A concept has been developed using various product development methods along with frequent communication with BillerudKorsnäs. In the end of the thesis, a final equipment for restrained drying that handles sheets of sizes between A5-A4 (approximately 150x210mm - 210x300mm) has been produced. According to a theoretical basis, the equipment is shown to be better adapted to the application than previous drying methods used. The result meets BillerudKorsnäs goals and requirements. Ett examensarbete har utförts tillsammans med BillerudKorsnäs AB, som en avslutande del av Högskoleingenjörsprogrammet i Maskinteknik, Karlstads Universitet. Denna rapport behandlar en produktutvecklingsprocess av en torkutrustning för inspänd torkning av pappersark.Inspänd torkning innebär att man låser arkets fibrer och förhindrar krympning under torkning (noll deformation), vilket leder till att interna spänningar byggs upp och med inspänd torkning kan man påverka ett pappers mekaniska egenskaper. BillerudKorsnäs är ett företag som levererar förpackningsmaterial och förpackningslösningar baserat på skogsråvara. Inom deras utvecklingsarbete behöver pappersark torkas, där företaget tidigare använt sig av torkmetoder som inte uppfyller deras önskemål. En ny torkutrustning med inspänd torkning önskas därför av BillerudKorsnäs, för att på ett kontrollerat och strukturerat tillvägagångssätt kunna torka ark. Målet med arbetet har varit att framställa en utrustning för denna torkprocess, i form av en 3D-modell med tillhörande ritningsunderlag. Om tid fanns skulle utrustningen också tillverkas och utvärderas, som en bonus. Vilket tyvärr inte verkställdes. Med hjälp av produktutvecklingsprocessen, experimentella analyser samt olika metoder av idégenereringar har ett koncept tagits fram som svarar på problemformuleringen. Detta koncept har sedan i hög grad utvecklats under frekvent kommunikation med BillerudKorsnäs. Avslutningsvis har en slutgiltig torkutrustning som erhåller möjlig inspänning och töjning av pappersark, med tillhörande ritningsunderlag framställts. Utrustningen är manuell och hanterar pappersark av storlek mellan A5-A4 (cirka 150x210mm - 210x300mm) och medför en kontrollerad torkning. Enligt en teoretisk grund påvisas denna vara bättre anpassad för användningsområdet än tidigare torkmetoder som använts. Resultatet uppfyller BillerudKorsnäs mål och krav.

The most important energy carrier at an integrated pulp and paper mill is steam, it is essential to power components and machinery. The components create variations in the steam grid network, variations that exceed the capacity of the steam accumulator. To avoid steam shortages, production leans towards having the accumulator nearly filled, eventually leading to periods with over production. Abundantly produced steam must be released from the steam grid network, and this is done without energy recovery. The purpose has therefore been to create a computer model with the ability to predict steam consumption for the entire mill. The prediction shall eventually be used in the control systems for steam producers and the accumulator. By knowing future steam demand, production can be planned more efficiently and so can the accumulation level of steam. This will allow a greater range of operation since the predictor can provide information on when significant steam demand changes will occur. The most important energy carrier at an integrated pulp and paper mill is steam, it is essential to power components and machinery. The components create variations in the steam grid network, variations that exceed the capacity of the steam accumulator. To avoid steam shortages, production leans towards having the accumulator nearly filled, eventually leading to periods with over production. Abundantly produced steam must be released from the steam grid network, and this is done without energy recovery. The purpose has therefore been to create a computer model with the ability to predict steam consumption for the entire mill. The prediction shall eventually be used in the control systems for steam producers and the accumulator. By knowing future steam demand, production can be planned more efficiently and so can the accumulation level of steam. This will allow a greater range of operation since the predictor can provide information on when significant steam demand changes will occur.By creating separate predictor models for the largest steam consumers, the final predictor consists of four minor predictor models. The first is related to five batch digesters, the second to one of the two paper machines (PM5), the third to the other paper machine (PM6), finally the forth to all other consumers. The separate predictors have been created by gathering historical process data connected to their operation. Analyses and correlations have been made to show what has significant effects on their steam consumption. The final predictor has shown the possibility of having an R2 above 0.7 for up to one hour ahead. Even though, it is possible to have 60 minutes of accurate prediction. Reliable prediction ranges are determined for the four separate predictors. The reliable prediction range for the two paper machines has a potential of 15 minutes and the R2 is still above 0.8 for that time ahead. The predictions for digesters have an R2 above 0.6 for up to 25 minutes ahead. The steam demand from other components can be predicted with an average error of no more than 9% for 60 minutes ahead. Vid ett integrerat massa- och pappersbruk är ånga den mest vitala energibäraren, den brukas av maskiner och komponenter för massa- och papperproduktionen. Komponenternas arbetscykler skapar svängningar på ångnätet som överstiger vad den installerade ångackumulatorn kan hantera. För att möta det svängande behovet produceras ånga i en sådan takt att ackumulatorn ska hålla hög nivå. Något som skapar perioder med överproduktion och full ackumulator vilket leder till att ånga måste friblåsas förutan energiåtervinning. Av denna anledning har syftet med detta arbete varit att ta fram en prediktionsmodell som kan förse bruket med pålitlig prognos för ångförbrukning. Kunskap om framtida prognoser ska såsmåningom implementeras i styrningen för ackumulatorn samt ångproducenter. Prognoserna ska underlätta att mer effektivt möta kommande behov, större reglerutrymme i ackumulatorn samt mer anpassad produktion. Den färdigställda prediktionsmodellen består av fyra mindre modeller grundade utefter de mest påverkande komponenterna. Den första tillhör de fem batch kokarna, den andra ansvarar för pappermaskin 5 (PM5). Tredje är till pappersmaskin 6 (PM6), slutligen en prediktor för övriga förbrukare. Prediktorerna har skapats utefter teoretiska behov samt relevant historisk data som påverkat energianvändningen. Analyser av korrelationer mellan olika parametrar har skapat prediktionsförmåga för dessa prediktorer. Den kompletta prediktionsmodellen uppvisar potential att leverera pålitlig prognos med förklaringsgrad R2 över 0.7 upp till 60 minuter fram i tiden. Trots att 60 minuters pålitlig prediktion är möjlig kan den inte garanteras. Pålitlig prediktionstid bestämms utifrån vardera enskild prediktor. Pappersmakinera påvisar pålitlig prediktionsförmåga upp till 15 minuter där R2 hålls ovan 0.8 inom den tiden. Kokeriets prediktionstid är 25 minuter där R2 har värden över 0.6. Övriga komponenter påvisar liten skillnad inom 60 minuters prediktionstid. Det genomsnittliga prediktionsfelet överstiger ej 9% inom den tiden.

The purpose of this thesis was to test the mille-feuille nanofilter paper for a virus removal filtration from a potential protein-based nutraceutical. Therefore, chicken IgY was purified from egg yolk, with PEG precipitation for crude fractionation followed by thiophilic adsorption chromatography. The biuret total protein assay was done for quantitative analysis, and for qualitative analyses, sodium dodecyl sulphate- polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, dynamic light scattering and size exclusion-high performance liquid chromatography were performed. The protein characterization results revealed that the final preparation of IgY was a complex mixture of proteins and aggregates. Two variants of the mille-feuille filter paper were produced for the two-step nanofiltration: 11 m pre-filters to remove aggregates and other high molecular weight impurities, as well as dedicated 31 m virus removal filters. The thickness, basis weight and hydraulic flux of the produced filters were measured for quality control, and the pore size distributions of the filters were estimated with the use of cryoporometry by differential scanning calorimetry and the BJH method derived from nitrogen gas sorption isotherms. Finally, the IgY preparation was spiked with the model virus ΦX174 and tested for virus removal with the mille feuille filter paper, which resulted in an LRV over 5 as determined with the plaque forming units assay. Flux measurements as well as following pre-filtrate and filtrate characterizations with dynamic light scattering revealed that the pre-filtration had a critical impact on the quality of the final product. The final filtrate was gone through tandem mass spectrometry, upon which IgY and several other egg yolk proteins were identified. The results of this thesis show that the mille-feuille nanofilter paper has a high potential for virus removal of nutraceuticals.

ObjectivesRecently, the results of two economic evaluations were published both of which seemingly demonstrate the cost-effectiveness of sofosbuvir-based regimens for the treatment of chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 infection in Germany. Both analyses were sponsored by the manufacturer of sofosbuvir and use a different methodology: Whereas one evaluation is based on a conventional cost-utility analysis, the other rests upon the efficiency-frontier method used by the German Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG). The purpose of this study is to reanalysis the results of both economic evaluations in combination.DesignReanalysis of published decision modelling results.SettingPrimary care in Germany.ParticipantsPatients with chronic hepatitis C genotype 1 infection (treatment-naïve and -experienced, cirrhotic and non-cirrhotic).InterventionsSofosbuvir, other anti-hepatitis C virus drugs, and no treatment.Primary and secondary outcome measuresCost per unit of health benefit and cost per quality-adjusted life year.ResultsReanalysis of the results of both economic evaluations in combination reveals an unclear rationale for choosing the selected cost-effectiveness methods as well as a potential publication bias, favoring the product of the manufacturer. Based on the reanalysis, sofosbuvir is not cost-effective in treatment-experienced non-cirrhotic patients, potentially lacks cost-effectiveness in treatment-experienced cirrhotic patients, and is only partially cost-effective in treatment-naïve non-cirrhotic patients. Taken together, these results indicate a lack of cost-effectiveness in three quarters of the German patient population.ConclusionsTwo economic evaluations on sofosbuvir suggest, in combination, that sofosbuvir cannot be considered a cost-effective treatment in three quarters of the German patient population.