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At least 217 records · Page 12Linked to original sources

PubMed1998

News & notes: paper digestion by the cellulolytic ruminal bacterium Fibrobacter succinogenes.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of the predominant cellulolytic ruminal bacterium Fibrobacter succinogenes S85 to digest filter paper, office paper, newspaper, and magazine paper. When F. succinogenes S85 was incubated with all four paper sources, little digestion of any paper occurred between 0 and 48 h. However, digestion of filter paper increased from 12% at 48 h to 80% at 120 h. No significant digestion of office paper, newspaper, or magazine paper occurred between 48 and 120 h. These results suggest that F. succinogenes S85 is unable to digest office paper, newspaper, or magazine paper.

Animals↗

PubMed2002

Imaging anisotropic elastic properties of an orthotropic paper sheet using photorefractive dynamic holography.

An important material property in the paper industry is the anisotropic stiffness distribution due to the fibrous microstructure of paper and to processing procedures. Ultrasonic methods offer a means of determining the stiffness of sheets of paper from the anisotropic propagation characteristics of elastic Lamb waves along the machine direction and the cross direction. That is, along and perpendicular to the direction of paper production. Currently, piezoelectric ultrasonic methods are employed in the industry to measure the elastic polar diagram of paper through multiple contacting measurements made in all directions. This paper describes a new approach utilizing the INEEL Laser Ultrasonic Camera to provide a complete image of the elastic waves traveling in all directions in the plane of the paper sheet. This approach is based on optical dynamic holographic methods that record the out of plane ultrasonic motion over the entire paper surface simultaneously without scanning. The full-field imaging technique offers great potential for increasing the speed of the measurement and it ultimately provides a substantial amount of information concerning local property variations and flaws in the paper. This report shows the success of the method and the manner in which it yields the elastic polar diagram for the paper from the dispersive flexural or antisymmetric Lamb wave.

Journal Article↗

PubMed1995

Home monitoring of 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone levels by filter paper blood spots in patients with 21-hydroxylase deficiency.

BACKGROUND: 21-Hydroxylase (21-OH) deficiency is characterized by an excess of androgen in both sexes and premature skeletal maturation resulting in short adult stature and male infertility. To achieve optimal height in children and fertility in adults, the replacement treatment of 21-OH deficiency with glucocorticoids should be regulated in order to adequately reduce the excess of androgens while minimizing the dose of glucocorticoids required. Neonatal screening for 21-OH deficiency is based on the measurement of the 17 alpha-hydroxyprogesterone (17-OHP) level from blood spotted on filter paper. The aim of this study was to examine whether repeated daily blood sampling on filter paper can assist in improving the monitoring of, and compliance to, 21-OH deficiency treatment. METHODS: During a 5-year period (1989-1994) we instructed 8 patients with 21-OH deficiency (2 males with salt losing, 2 males and 1 female simple virilizing, and 1 male and 2 females with nonclassical 21-OH deficiency) aged 1.3-36 years to sample blood on filter papers 1-4 times a day and send the papers to our neonatal screening laboratory by mail. On 62 occasions we measured both serum and filter paper 17-OHP levels in order to assess the degree of correlation between the two methods. RESULTS: Comparison between the filter paper and serum 17-OHP levels showed a correlation coefficient of r = 0.87. The filter paper levels were almost always higher than the serum levels. The serum 17-OHP levels were < 1 ng/ml whenever the filter paper levels were < 3 ng/ml. On long-term follow-up of 17-OHP filter paper levels we observed major diurnal and day-to-day fluctuations which might not have been noticed on routine follow-up clinic visits. CONCLUSIONS: Filter paper follow-up of 17-OHP levels can assist in optimizing the replacement treatment in patients with 21-OH deficiency while reinforcing compliance and decreasing the need for frequent clinic visits and hospitalizations. By adjusting the glucocorticoid type, dose, and time of administration to each patient we should be able to achieve optimal growth without bone age acceleration in children, to avoid overtreatment, and to improve fertility in adults.

17-alpha-Hydroxyprogesterone↗

PubMed1994

Telling a clear story in a clinical anaesthesiology paper.

Why is a scientific paper necessary? Why not just publish figures and tables? The reason is that the paper tells the story behind the figures and tables. Although some readers can construct the story from looking at the figures and tables, most readers need the paper to explain the story to them. The story in a scientific paper has four parts, each corresponding to one of the four sections of the paper. The four parts are the question that was asked (Introduction), what was done to answer the question (Materials and methods), what was found that answers the question (Results), and the answer to the question (Discussion). In addition to these four essential parts, the story includes background information on the topic (Introduction) and an explanation of how the answer fits in with previous work (Discussion). This article illustrates how to tell a clear story in the four sections of a clinical anaesthesiology paper. Examples are based on papers in the March 1993 and July 1992 issues of this journal. All four parts of one paper are included, to give a sense of one complete story. Introduction The story in a scientific paper beings in the Introduction. The most important statement in the Introduction is the question the study asks. The question is most important because it creates an expectation of the kind of answer that will be given in the Discussion and of the type of methods and results that will be described. That is, the question provides a focus for the paper.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Anesthesiology↗

PubMed2004

A new method for the evaluation of biodegradable plastic using coated cellulose paper.

A highly sensitive analytical method for evaluation of poly(L-lactide) (PLA), poly(epsilon-caprolactone) (PCL), poly(beta-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB), and poly(butylene succinate) (PBS) degradability was developed using coated cellulose paper, prepared by penetration and adhesion of these plastics into/onto the cellulose paper. Enzymatic degradability of the obtained plastic coated papers was evaluated using various commercial proteases and lipases. PLA coated paper was highly susceptible to subtilisin and mammalian enzymes, alpha-chymotrypsin, elastase and trypsin. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the degradation of PLA coated paper using subtilisin and mammalian enzymes. Almost all lipase preparations degraded PCL and PHB coated papers but not PBS coated paper. The biodegradability of plastic coated paper was greater than that of plastic powder. The penetration of plastic into cellulose paper by coating improved the plastic degradability, and can be regulated easily.

Biocompatible Materials↗

PubMed2004

Occupational exposure to chemical agents in the paper industry.

As part of an International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) international epidemiological study of workers in the pulp and paper industry, previously unpublished exposure measurements were assembled in a database. This article summarizes the results of 3,873 measurements carried out in the production departments of paper and paperboard mills and recycling plants in 12 countries. In the paper and paperboard mills, most of the agents were measured in the pulping and refining departments and in on-machine coating and winding of paper/paperboard. Exposures to asbestos, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, fungal spores, bacteria, nitrogen dioxide, minerals dusts, paper dust, sulphuric acid and different solvents sometimes exceeded exposure limit values. In the re-pulping and de-inking departments of recycling plants high exposures to formaldehyde, fungal spores, bacteria and paper dust were observed. High exposures to asbestos, bioaerosols, carbon monoxide and paper dust were found in many departments; ammonia, formaldehyde, mineral and paper dust and solvents were found in coating machines; and diphenyl and polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) were found in some special circumstances. Measurements in the newsprint and uncoated paper machine departments revealed only a few elevated exposures. In nearly all departments, measurements of epichlorohydrin, PCBs, sulphur dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and mercaptans tended to be low, often even below their detection limits. In spite of some uncertainties in the measurement data, the study provides new insights into the level and variation of occupational exposures of production workers in the paper and paperboard industry.

Europe↗

PubMed2002

Study of the degradation of gelatin in paper upon aging using aqueous size-exclusion chromatography.

We studied the aging behaviour of gelatin used to size paper. Thus far, research on the aging of paper has largely ignored the sizing agent. Degradation of the protein was characterised and the impact of paper components, such as cellulose, and aluminium potassium sulphate was evaluated. Whatman No. 1 filter papers sized with two types of gelatins (A and B) were prepared as model samples. Commercially sized modern papers (Arches) were also studied in order to compare laboratory samples with real artist papers. Both types of papers were artificially aged (80 degrees C, 50% relative humidity for 35 and 94 days). Historic papers were included in the study in order to compare artificially aged with naturally aged gelatin. The aqueous extracts from the papers were characterised by aqueous size-exclusion chromatography (SEC) using four PL-Aquagel-OH columns and UV photodiode array detection at 220, 254 and 280 nm. Results showed that gelatin undergoes hydrolysis upon aging, type A gelatin showing a faster degradation rate than type B. The result was an increase in the lower-molar-mass fractions, under 50,000 g mol(-1), and especially in a characteristic fraction with a peak molecular mass (MP) of 14,000 g mol(-1). A significant decrease in the extraction yields of alpha-, beta- and gamma-chains occurred after aging. This was attributed to crosslinking, leading to the formation of less-soluble polypeptides with very high molar mass (>800,000 g mol(-1)) Less than 10% alum had no impact on the degradation rate; higher alum contents accelerated hydrolysis reactions.

Calibration↗

PubMed1998

Clinical utility of pH paper versus pH meter in the measurement of critical gastric pH in stress ulcer prophylaxis.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical utility of measuring gastric pH with a pH meter vs. pH paper in critical care patients. DESIGN: Prospective comparison of gastric pH measurements, using both pH meter and pH paper. SETTING: Surgical intensive care unit (ICU) at a rural Midwestern university medical center. PATIENTS: Fifty-one patients who received therapy for prophylaxis of stress ulcers in the surgical ICU. INTERVENTIONS: Therapy for stress ulcer prophylaxis was monitored. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The pH of 985 gastric samples, taken from 51 patients, was measured with both pH meter and pH paper. The pH meter and pH paper measures demonstrated a concordance correlation coefficient of .896. The mean difference between the two measures (pH paper - pH meter) was estimated to be between -0.4 and 1.4, suggesting a positive bias for the paper. The prevalence of events representing clinically relevant differences between the pH meter and pH paper in the measurement of the same gastric sample was calculated. The frequency with which each of the events occurred consecutively (or, in one case, two nearly consecutive events on the same day) was also calculated. Bias in a clinically relevant range was estimated. A set of "probability profiles" was constructed. CONCLUSIONS: A hand-held pH meter and pH paper are not interchangeable measures of gastric pH. The pH paper exhibits an appreciable positive bias compared with a hand-held pH meter in the clinically relevant range of 2 to 6. More research is needed to determine if that bias affects treatment outcomes. We recommend the use of a pH meter for patients who demonstrate pH readings of < or = 4, consecutive with readings of < or = 5.

Adult↗

PubMed2003

Random formation, inelastic response and scale effects in paper.

We consider the constitutive law of paper and its relation to a spatially inhomogeneous, random paper structure, the so-called formation. Under biaxial tensile loading, paper may be taken as an elastic-plastic hardening material, modelled here by a hyperbolic tangent law. The fact that paper is a quasi-two-dimensional solid offers a chance to inspect its formation via a basis-weight distribution (mass per unit area), and then carry out cross-correlations of two planar fields: the formation versus the strain (or stress) field resulting from a fine-mesh finite-element simulation of a sheet of paper subjected to a specified in-plane loading. The simulation requires an assumption of constitutive coefficients as a function of formation, and the higher the resultant cross-correlation, the better the assumed constitutive law. With this methodology we conclude that the higher the basis-weight, the higher the local stiffness and strength of the paper (on millimetre scales) in two very different cases: a Crayola sketch-paper and a paperboard. We next set up a Boolean model of paper formation, where each grain plays the role of a floc of cellulose fibres. First, we employ a computational-mechanics fibre-network model to demonstrate the effects of formation on non-uniform strain fields in the elastic regime. Moving on to the inelastic regime, we treat flocs as continuum ellipses, and, employing the resulting relation between formation and constitutive coefficients, we study scale-dependent homogenization of paper and establish that the representative volume element in the sense of Hill (1963 J. Mech. Phys. Solids 11, 357-372) is approximately reached on scales about 10 times larger than the floc size.

Collagen↗

PubMed1996

Evaluation of handling methods in the histological diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori: the effect of filter paper.

OBJECTIVES: Few studies have evaluated the handling methods used in the histological diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori. Filter paper has conventionally been used as a receptacle for the biopsy specimen before fixation. The aim of this study was to determine the presence of any effect caused by the use of filter paper. METHODS: The study population consisted of 104 consecutive patients undergoing endoscopic examination. Two antral biopsy specimens from the same area were obtained from each patient. One specimen was put onto a piece of filter paper, and the other into a plastic case. The specimens were fixed overnight in buffered formalin, embedded in paraffin, sectioned, and stained with hematoxylin and eosin and Giemsa. A direct smear was also prepared from 77 patients by vigorously rubbing the filter paper on a glass slide and staining it with Giemsa. RESULTS: The detection rate of H. pylori was 47.1% (49 of 104) for the filter paper method, 56.7% (59 of 104) for the plastic case method, and 57.7% (60 of 104) for either of the two methods. Of the 60 positive patients, 11 filter paper specimens were negative, whereas only one plastic case specimen was negative. Statistical analysis revealed a significant difference between the two groups (p < 0.01). On the amount of H. pylori, the filter paper method showed a significantly lower grade than the plastic case method (p < 0.05). In the Giemsa-stained smears, H. pylori was identified in 17 (22.1%) of the 77 patients studied. CONCLUSIONS: Use of filter paper may decrease the sensitivity for detection of H. pylori infection. We recommend not using filter paper in the histological diagnosis of H. pylori.

Biopsy↗

PubMed2003

Patient compliance with paper and electronic diaries.

Paper diaries are commonly used in health care and clinical research to assess patient experiences. There is concern that patients do not comply with diary protocols, possibly invalidating the benefit of diary data. Compliance with paper diaries was examined with a paper diary and with an electronic diary that incorporated compliance-enhancing features. Participants were chronic pain patients and they were assigned to use either a paper diary instrumented to track diary use or an electronic diary that time-stamped entries. Participants were instructed to make three pain entries per day at predetermined times for 21 consecutive days. Primary outcome measures were reported vs actual compliance with paper diaries and actual compliance with paper diaries (defined by comparing the written times and the electronically-recorded times of diary use). Actual compliance was recorded by the electronic diary. Participants submitted diary cards corresponding to 90% of assigned times (+/-15 min). However, electronic records indicated that actual compliance was only 11%, indicating a high level of faked compliance. On 32% of all study days the paper diary binder was not opened, yet reported compliance for these days exceeded 90%. For the electronic diary, the actual compliance rate was 94%. In summary, participants with chronic pain enrolled in a study for research were not compliant with paper diaries but were compliant with an electronic diary with enhanced compliance features. The findings call into question the use of paper diaries and suggest that electronic diaries with compliance-enhancing features are a more effective way of collecting diary information.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Application of enzymes in the pulp and paper industry

The pulp and paper industry processes huge quantities of lignocellulosic biomass every year. The technology for pulp manufacture is highly diverse, and numerous opportunities exist for the application of microbial enzymes. Historically, enzymes have found some uses in the paper industry, but these have been mainly confined to areas such as modifications of raw starch. However, a wide range of applications in the pulp and paper industry have now been identified. The use of enzymes in the pulp and paper industry has grown rapidly since the mid 1980s. While many applications of enzymes in the pulp and paper industry are still in the research and development stage, several applications have found their way into the mills in an unprecedented short period of time. Currently the most important application of enzymes is in the prebleaching of kraft pulp. Xylanase enzymes have been found to be most effective for that purpose. Xylanase prebleaching technology is now in use at several mills worldwide. This technology has been successfully transferred to full industrial scale in just a few years. The enzymatic pitch control method using lipase was put into practice in a large-scale paper-making process as a routine operation in the early 1990s and was the first case in the world in which an enzyme was successfully applied in the actual paper-making process. Improvement of pulp drainage with enzymes is practiced routinely at mill scale. Enzymatic deinking has also been successfully applied during mill trials and can be expected to expand in application as increasing amounts of newsprint must be deinked and recycled. The University of Georgia has recently opened a pilot plant for deinking of recycled paper. Pulp bleaching with a laccase mediator system has reached pilot plant stage and is expected to be commercialized soon. Enzymatic debarking, enzymatic beating, and reduction of vessel picking with enzymes are still in the R&D stage but hold great promise for reducing energy. Other enzymatic applications, i.e., removal of shives and slime, retting of flax fibers, and selective removal of xylan, are also expected to have a profound impact on the future technology of the pulp and paper-making process.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2026

Reimagining research papers as interactive and reliable AI agents.

Here we introduce Paper2Agent, an automated framework that converts research papers into artificial intelligence (AI) agents. Paper2Agent transforms research output from passive artefacts into active systems that accelerate use and discovery. Conventional research papers require readers to understand and adapt the paper's code, data and methods to their work, creating barriers to dissemination and reuse. Paper2Agent addresses this challenge by converting a paper into an AI agent that functions as a virtual corresponding author, exposing its manuscript, supplementary materials, datasets, code and workflows as active, agent-native knowledge rather than static text. It analyses the paper and codebase using multiple agents to construct a model context protocol (MCP) server, then generates and runs tests to refine and increase robustness of the MCP. These paper MCPs can be connected to a chat agent (such as Claude Code) to carry out complex scientific queries through natural language while invoking tools and workflows from the paper. We demonstrate Paper2Agent's effectiveness through case studies. Paper2Agent created an agent that leveraged AlphaGenome1 to interpret genomic variants and agents based on Scanpy2 and TISSUE (transcript imputation with spatial single-cell uncertainty estimation)3 to conduct single-cell and spatial transcriptomics analyses. We validate that these agents reproduce the results of the original papers and carry out novel user queries. Paper2Agent created multiple agents that collaborate to prioritize a causal gene for psoriasis. By turning static papers into interactive AI agents, Paper2Agent introduces a paradigm for knowledge dissemination and a collaborative ecosystem of AI co-scientists.

Journal Article↗

PubMed2006

[Analysis of the quality of papers dealing with clinical trails in "Chinese Journal of Burns" during 2000-2004 by the standard of evidence-based medicine].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the quality of reports of clinical results concerning burn injury, in order to raise the standard of clinical study of burn care in accordance to the standard of evidence-based medicine (EBM), with the aim of improving clinical research in burn care of this country. METHODS: All the papers of clinical study published in Chinese Journal of Burns (CJB) from 2000 to 2004 were evaluated according to EBM standard. RESULTS: There were 89 papers about clinical trials published in the past 5 years, in which 43 (48.3%) of the studies were carried out with random control trials (RCT), and 46 (51.7%) were clinical control trials (CCT). RCT papers increased year by year, while the number of CCT papers fluctuated greatly. The disparity in the quality of research was found as follows. In all the RCT and CCT papers, blinded research was adopted only in 5 papers (5.6%). Strict diagnostic standard including inclusion and exclusion standards were reported in 53 articles (59.6%). The comparison with baselines was not provided in 64 articles (71.9%). P value was given in 10 papers but statistical method was not mentioned (11.2%). Follow-up visits and lost information were only recorded in 2 articles, but no detailed follow-up visiting data were provided. Side effects were reported in 10 articles (11.2%). There were analysis and explanation of mixed interfering factors only in 5 papers (5.6%). There was no explanation of the evaluation of sample size in any one paper. CONCLUSION: In summary, the literature concerning clinical studies published in CJB in the past five years has become more extensive. However, the present study indicates that many clinical trials are not designed and ethical consideration is often missing. Therefore, it is deemed imperative to improve the quality of the clinical studies by improving the planning of the protocols of the study and statistical analysis of the research results in future.

Burns↗

PubMed1996

A novel paper cuff for vascular reconstruction in canine liver transplantation.

A new, simple method of producing optimal cuffs using thin paper and then setting it in resin for vascular reconstruction in canine liver transplantation is herein described. Thin Paper was cut into a paper tape strip. By fixing both ends of this paper tape, a cylinder paper core of any desired size could thus be obtained. The paper core was immersed into a two-liquid mixture-type resin, removed, and left to harden. The paper cuffs (0.2 mm or less in thickness) were then used for anastomoses of the portal vein and the infrahepatic inferior vena cava in a series of 10 consecutive canine liver transplantations. Out of 10 animals, 8 survived for more than 5 days. The vascular patency in these 8 animals at the cuff anastomotic sites was 100% at postmortem. We therefore conclude that this paper cuff appears to be useful for various types of experimental liver transplantations in large animals.

Anastomosis, Surgical↗

PubMed2001

Sugar composition of biofilms produced by paper mill bacteria.

Biofilms of paper mill bacteria were cultivated in paper mill white water-simulating conditions on glass slides or stainless steel coupons in a laboratory culture system. The sugar content and composition of the biofilms were analysed and compared with the sugar composition of paper mill slimes. Acid methanolysis followed by gas chromatography revealed that Burkholderia was the major biofilm producer in pure culture, producing up to 50 microg of biofilm sugar cm(-2) in 5 days in rich medium and 10 microg in paper mill simulating medium. A mixture of simulated paper mill water with a culture medium yielded more biofilm (100 microg cm(-2)) than either of the media alone, so the biofilm accumulation was not proportional to the available substrate. More biofilm accumulated on stainless steel coupons than on glass slides, and the steel-coupon biofilms contained slightly more uronic acids. The biofilm sugars contained mainly galactose, glucose, mannose, and rhamnose. In paper mill medium, the Burkholderia biofilm contained more galactose and glucose, and less rhamnose, than in rich laboratory medium. The sugar composition of paper mill slimes was quite similar to those of steel-cultured Burkholderia cepacia biofilms. This suggests that Burkholderia cepacia is responsible for much of the slime in the paper mill.

Biofilms↗

PubMed2001

Determination of amino acids by ion-exchange chromatography on filter paper spotted blood samples stored at different temperatures and for different periods: comparison with capillary and venous blood.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether the well-established filter paper spotted blood method used for the determination of some amino acids could be reliably used to measure all amino acids and whether amino acid results thus obtained are reproducible and comparable to the results obtained by measuring plasma amino acids in either capillary or venous blood. METHODS: This is a prospective study in which blood samples from a finger-prick were collected in capillary tubes and at the same time blotted on filter papers; another sample was taken from a vein, from 19 healthy volunteers aged between 18 and 24 yr after a strict 12-h overnight fast. Another 9 healthy adult volunteers provided blood samples on filter papers for the storage study; 9 samples were analyzed immediately; 9, 8 and 4 samples were stored at -20 degrees C, -4 degrees C and room temperature respectively and analyzed after 14 days; 8 samples stored at -20 degrees C were analyzed after 4 weeks. RESULTS: Intra-sample reproducibility in the filter paper blood from the same individual was found to be mostly less than 20%, while for the capillary blood was less than 5%. The greatest variability was in cystine and methionine. There was no significant difference between results obtained from capillary blood and from venous blood, but there was a significant difference between amino acid concentrations in venous and capillary blood on the one hand and filter paper blood on the other. Storage at different temperatures and for a varied period of time showed little change except in serine, glutamate, ornithine, histidine, cystine and methionine. There was a 30% decrease in concentrations of most amino acids in filter paper blood when compared to capillary or venous blood probably because of loss in the extraction process. CONCLUSION: A new set of values for amino acids in filter paper blood in normal individuals is presented. Blood spotted filter paper could be used to screen practically all inborn errors of amino acid metabolism.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1999

Detection of a whitening fluorescent agent as an indicator of white paper biodegradation: a new approach to study the kinetics of cellulose hydrolysis by mixed cultures.

A simple and reliable method to estimate paper degradation by cellulolytic bacteria is described. This method is based on the detection in the culture medium of a fluorescent whitening agent (FWA) added to white paper during the manufacturing process. Preliminary results using a Cellulomonas strain cultivated in a liquid medium containing FWA, indicated that this component is non-toxic at a final concentration of 0.01 per thousand (v/v) and that the fluorescence decreased during the first 24 h of incubation, i.e. during exponential growth phase, suggesting an adsorption of FWA on bacterial cells. Consequently, all experiments have been performed with a liquid medium containing FWA (0.01 per thousand v/v) and white paper (8.0 g/l) as cellulose source. Mixed bacterial populations (MBPs) were prepared from refuse samples. These MBPs, which mainly consisted of bacterial rod cells, were used as inocula and fluorescence was measured after 30 h of incubation, i.e. after the stationary phase was reached. A high linear correlation (R(2) = 0.979) was found between the percentages of degraded paper (%P) deduced from residual paper weight and the fluorescence values (F) of the culture medium and the following equation between %P and F was determined: %P = 8.71x10(-5) x F. An additional experiment using a second MBP showed a strong correlation (R(2) = 0.990) between the measured %P and the %P estimated from F values, confirming the reproducibility of the method. Moreover, the time course of paper degradation by five replicate flasks from a unique MBP was set up. Paper degradation was detected 3 to 5 days after the beginning of the stationary phase. The average degradation rate between the 7th and the 11th day of incubation was 11.4% per day. Rates of paper degradation ranged from 31 to 60% after 10 days and from 77 to 88% after 3 weeks of incubation, depending on the inoculum.

Biodegradation, Environmental↗