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At least 415 records · Page 23Linked to original sources

PubMed2003

Potential for reducing indoor styrene exposure from copied paper through use of low-emitting toners.

Tests were conducted using 53-L dynamic chambers to determine airborne styrene emission rates over time from freshly copied paper. Copies were produced on a single photocopier using two toners manufactured for this copier but having different styrene contents. The resulting emission models were used to predict whether indoor styrene concentrations resulting from copied paper in a typical office might be significantly reduced by use of a low-emitting toner for a given copier. The styrene emissions were best represented by either a 3rd-order decay model or by a power law model having an exponent between 0.3 and 0.5 (R2 = 0.94-0.99). The two toners resulted in copied paper having significantly different styrene emissions (p < 0.01), with unit mass emissions over 1000 hr being nine times greater with the higher-emitting toner. But copied paper is predicted to produce peak indoor styrene concentrations in a typical office no more than 1% of the World Health Organization health-based guideline. Thus, for the toners considered here, indoor styrene exposures from copied paper appear to be too limited to provide incentive for switching to the lower-emitting toner. The ability to generalize these conclusions is limited by the fact that only one copier and two toners could be tested.

Air Pollution, Indoor↗

PubMed1982

Health complaints attributed to the use of carbonless copy paper (a preliminary report).

Persistent health complaints attributed to the use of carbonless copy paper by office workers on the campus of the University of Washington led to this preliminary study. The goals were to estimate the extent of the problem in a population of known carbonless copy paper users; to describe those health problems which the users attribute to the use of carbonless copy paper; and to make a preliminary determination of the chemical constituents of the paper. Participants were asked to complete a health questionnaire and to attach to it copies of the forms they used. A minimum estimate of 10.7 health complainants per 100 users was similar to that found by investigators in Denmark, but lower than that reported by other investigators and of anecdotal material reported to the study group. There was a statistically significant association between complainants and the amount of paper used. Reports of headaches and irritation of the skin, eye and respiratory tract were similar to those reported elsewhere. Concurrent factors such as poor ventilation, high temperature and/or low humidity need to be investigated for possible synergistic or additive effects.

Copying Processes↗

PubMed2003

Measurement of insulin-like growth factor-I during military operational stress via a filter paper blood spot assay.

Insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is sensitive to nutritional stress and is reduced in soldiers during stressful field training. Methods have recently been developed to measure IGF-I from filter paper blood spots. Filter paper has advantages over traditional blood sampling in that neither blood separation equipment nor refrigeration is necessary after sample collection. This study determined whether filter paper blood spots collected in a field environment could measure IGF-I and subsequent changes during military operational stress. Thirty-four Marines participating in an 8-day military field exercise characterized by near-continuous physical work (total daily energy expenditure 17-25 MJ/day) and underfeeding (dietary intake 7.0 MJ/day) had blood samples taken on day 0, day 4, and day 8. IGF-I was measured by filter paper blood spot assays from fingertip blood samples and by conventional methods using serum. Correlation and measurement agreement were assessed. Blood spot (Day 0 152 +/- 6 ng mL(-1) > Day 4 111 +/- 6 ng mL(-1) > Day 8 74 +/- 4 ng mL(-1)) and serum IGF-I (Day 0 412 +/- 10 ng mL(-1) > Day 4 258 +/- 14 ng mL(-1) > Day 8 203 +/- 13 ng mL(-1)) concentrations declined (p < 0.05) progressively over the 8-day exercise. Overall, the two methods significantly (p < 0.05) correlated (r = 0.92); however, the blood spot values were on average 61% lower than serum, but could be used to predict serum values ( +/- 10%). IGF-I is a biomarker of metabolic status. The filter paper blood spot method for IGF-I detected reductions accompanying nutritional stress and may be of potential value for characterizing the IGF-I response when conventional blood sampling methods are not feasible.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Skin disease in paper mill workers.

BACKGROUND: Paper mill workers have frequent and prolonged exposure to skin irritants and allergens and may have a higher risk of developing occupational dermatitis. Aims The aim of this study was to determine the extent of skin problems in a paper mill and how much was attributable to contact with allergens. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out among 80 paper mill workers having daily exposure to skin irritants and allergens. They all completed a questionnaire, underwent a standard interview and physical examination. Workers whose history indicated possible contact allergy were patch tested and prick tested. RESULTS: Workers reported a high exposure to skin irritants, especially when carrying out tasks that caused the hands and feet to become wet from perspiration and having contact with process water. Atopic dermatitis was seen in 3% of the workers. Contact dermatitis was seen in 26% of the workers and 36% were diagnosed with mycosis of the feet. All cases of contact dermatitis and mycosis could be attributed to occupational exposure to skin irritants. No cases of relevant contact allergy were seen. CONCLUSION: Occupational dermatitis in paper mills is primarily related to the exposure to skin irritants. Occupational physicians should be aware of the risk of occupational dermatitis in paper mill workers.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗

PubMed1989

Effect of heat on extracted HIV viral infectivity and antibody activity using the filter paper technique of blood sampling.

The diagnostic potential of the standardized filter paper technique at an outpatient clinic was further evaluated for individuals infected with HIV; the inactivation of HIV in dried blood from filter paper was also investigated. Heat treatment at 56 degrees C or 70 degrees C for 1 h did not demonstrably affect antibody activity as measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and Western blot. Prolonged treatment up to 18 h reduced the activity to some extent. Drying at room temperature of filter papers which had been soaked with HIV was sufficient to inactivate low, but not high, amounts of infectious virus. After exposure of the filter paper discs to 56 degrees C or 70 degrees C for 1 h, HIV could not be isolated from the extracts. The obvious advantage of blood collection on filter paper for serological studies makes it an alternative to venipuncture, especially when the blood might be contagious for HIV.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗

PubMed2002

Quantitative in vitro comparison of fluorescein delivery to the eye via impregnated paper strip and volumetric techniques.

PURPOSE: To compare the quantity of fluorescein delivered to the eye via fluorescein-impregnated paper strips of various sizes and surface areas and via various microliter volumes of fluorescein sodium using an in vitro assay. METHODS: A commercially available fluorescein-impregnated strip (75 mm2) and three modified strips of reduced fluorescein-impregnated surface areas (10, 7.5, and 5.0 mm2) were used. The amount of fluorescein delivered to the eye for each of the four strips was approximated by applying each strip to a Whatman No. 1 filter paper under conditions simulating application of the strip to the eye, extracting the fluorescein from the filter paper in an aqueous solution, and performing spectrophotometric analysis at 484 nm. Similarly, this filter paper analytical system was calibrated using 1, 2, and 3 microl volumes of 2% w/v fluorescein delivered to the filter paper. RESULTS: Using calibration curves, linearity was observed between absorbance and concentration of fluorescein sodium with an R2 value > or = 0.99. Using these calibration curves, the amount of fluorescein delivered to the eye for the four strips and the three fluorescein solution samples was determined. Fluorescein-impregnated strips with surface areas of 75, 10, and 5 mm2 delivered approximately the same quantity of fluorescein to the ocular surface as 3 microl, 1 microl, and 0.5 microl of fluorescein 2% solution, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The surface area of the fluorescein-impregnated portion of the strip can be designed to control the amount of fluorescein delivered to the eye.

Absorption↗

PubMed1995

High-performance liquid chromatography determination of dapsone, monoacetyldapsone, and pyrimethamine in filter paper blood spots.

A high-performance liquid chromatography method for the simultaneous analysis of dapsone (DDS), the major metabolite of DDS, monoacetyldapsone (MADDS), and pyrimethamine (PYR) was modified for capillary blood samples obtained by finger prick and dried on filter paper. Limit of quantitation using 150 microliters whole blood dried on filter paper was found to be 20 ng/ml for DDS and PYR and 15 ng/ml for MADDS (precision < 15%). The clinically relevant concentrations of DDS are 50-2,000 ng/ml and for PYR 25-150 ng/ml. No interference from several drugs were observed. The accuracy of the filter paper method and the original whole-blood method was almost comparable. Standardization could therefore be obtained by the more simple whole-blood method. Dried filter paper samples stored at 19-22 degrees C were stable for months and for 2 weeks stored at 35 degrees C. The concentrations of simultaneously collected capillary blood and conventional venous blood samples correlated well. The present method using capillary blood dried on filter paper is reliable, simple, sensitive, and applicable in the field with limited technical facilities.

Anti-Infective Agents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

An electronic menstrual cycle calendar: comparison of data quality with a paper version.

OBJECTIVES: This pilot study compared a prototype electronic menstrual calendar on a handheld computer with a paper calendar for data quality and participants' perceptions. DESIGN: Twenty-three women completed identical information about menstrual bleeding and symptoms using paper and electronic calendars for 1 month each. RESULTS: Use of the paper calendar resulted in more missing data than the electronic calendar for bleeding characteristics (13% vs. 4%) and symptoms (35% vs. 4%). The electronic calendar's ability to log data entries revealed retrospective entry for 61% of the data. Total data entry and cleaning time was reduced by 81% with the electronic calendar. Overall, participants preferred the electronic (70%) to the paper (22%) calendar. CONCLUSIONS: Data quality with conventional paper calendars may be poorer than recognized. The data-logging feature, unique to the electronic calendar, is critical for assessing data quality. Electronic menstrual calendars can be useful data collection tools for research in women's health.

Computers↗

PubMed1980

Fluid uptake in Schirmer papers and its relevance to their employment in tear collection for lysozyme tests.

An investigation was undertaken into the relationship between the wet length of a standard Schirmer paper and the fluid weight in the 5 mm tip after a 5-minute moistening period. Immediate weighing after moistening showed that it is unreliable to infer a particular fluid weight in the 5 mm tip from a known wet length, and it is concluded that such papers will lead to error in lysozyme tests. If the papers are inserted for a period within sealed envelopes, there is found to be a close relationship between wet length and fluid weight in the tip, the papers reaching a stable state at 5 hours. Soaked Schirmer papers were shown to given particularly inconsistent results.

Filtration↗

PubMed1989

Mortality among pulp and paper workers in Berlin, New Hampshire.

Cause specific mortality was analysed among 883 white male workers from a paper company in Berlin, New Hampshire. Subjects were assigned to different exposure groups on the basis of their having worked in the pulp mill, the paper mill, or elsewhere in the paper company. A standardised mortality ratio (SMR) analysis was used to compare death rates for each of the exposure groups with United States national rates. For all the subjects, deaths due to all causes, all malignant neoplasms, and lung cancer were close to the number expected and excesses were noted for cancers of the digestive system and leukaemia. Among pulp mill workers, the number of cancers of the digestive system was raised and the SMR for pancreatic cancer was especially high (SMR = 305, 95% CI = 98-712). Among paper mill workers, more deaths were due to leukaemia and cancers of the digestive system than expected. These results are consistent with the findings from other studies that employment in pulp and paper mills is associated with excess mortality due to digestive and lymphopoietic cancers.

Aged↗

PubMed2006

Acute, short-lasting rhinitis due to camomile-scented toilet paper in patients allergic to compositae.

A 20-year-old woman with a proven allergy to camomile suffered from short-lasting rhinitis when using a camomile-scented toilet paper. The prick-by-prick test performed with the toilet paper was positive. Diagnosis was confirmed by a challenge test that also resulted positive. This is the first reported case of toilet-paper-induced acute rhinitis. The removal of the toilet paper from the bathroom was sufficient to obtain the disappearance of symptoms. Patients allergic to camomile should avoid a camomile-scented toilet paper.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed2003

Handheld computers. A feasible alternative to paper forms for field data collection.

Recent advances in handheld computer hardware and software may provide alternatives to paper-based data collection methods. The authors compared data collected with paper forms to data collected with handheld computer-based forms in a field observation study of alcohol purchase attempts at 47 community festivals in a large metropolitan area. Agreement between data collected with paper forms and data collected with handheld computers was greater than 95%. Computer-based forms handled branching patterns better and yielded data that were immediately available for analyses. Paper forms handled written comments better. Handheld computers are a feasible alternative to paper forms for field data collection.

Adult↗

PubMed2004

Yields from glucose, xylose, and paper sludge hydrolysate during hydrogen production by the extreme thermophile Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus.

This study addressed the utilization of an industrial waste stream, paper sludge, as a renewable cheap feedstock for the fermentative production of hydrogen by the extreme thermophile Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus. Hydrogen, acetate, and lactate were produced in medium in which paper sludge hydrolysate was added as the sole carbon and energy source and in control medium with the same concentration of analytical grade glucose and xylose. The hydrogen yield was dependent on lactate formation and varied between 50 and 94% of the theoretical maximum. The carbon balance in the medium with glucose and xylose was virtually 100%. The carbon balance was not complete in the paper sludge medium because the measurement of biomass was impaired owing to interfering components in the paper sludge hydrolysate. Nevertheless, >85% of the carbon could be accounted for in the products acetate and lactate. The maximal volumetric hydrogen production rate was 5 to 6 mmol/(L x h), which was lower than the production rate in media with glucose, xylose, or a combination of these sugars (9-11 mmol/[L x h]). The reduced hydrogen production rate suggests the presence of inhibiting components in paper sludge hydrolysate.

Bacteria↗

PubMed1998

[Detection of IgM against the dengue++ virus in whole blood absorbed on filter paper].

This paper presents a standardized procedure for the detection of IgM antibodies to dengue virus in blood samples taken from filter paper. The samples were obtained from 118 patients, of whom 91 had been clinically diagnosed with dengue and 27 with a viral infection unrelated to that disease. The first group of patients came from Costa Rica and Nicaragua and the second group from Cuba. All the samples were tested for IgM antibody against dengue virus by means of a capture enzyme immunoassay (EIA). Analysis of the results for patients from all three countries together yielded a sensitivity of 98.1% and a specificity of 98.5% for the test done on whole blood on filter paper stored at 4 degrees C; agreement between the results of that test and those of the EIA using serum samples was 96%. In a comparison of the results obtained with three samples from the same patient--whole blood on filter paper stored at room temperature, the same type of sample stored at 4 degrees C, and serum--the agreement was 86%. This study demonstrates the high diagnostic sensitivity and specificity achieved when whole blood absorbed on filter paper is processed in the manner described in detail in the article. The authors recommend the use of this method in the dengue surveillance programs in the Region.

Dengue Virus↗

PubMed1991

Bacterial sampling by absorbent paper points. An in vitro study.

This in vitro study was designed to test the hypothesis that sampling of bacterial suspensions by absorbent paper points would accurately reflect the proportion of the bacterial species whether they are homogeneously or non-homogeneously distributed in the sample site. The non-homogeneously distributed populations consisted of equal numbers of colony forming units (CFU) of two periodontal bacterial species present as separate cultures, one layered on top of the other. The species in the top layer accounted for greater than 90% of the total number of CFU detected by paper point sampling, regardless of which species formed the top layer. In contrast, when the layers were mixed prior to sampling to give a homogeneous bacterial distribution, the paper points detected equal numbers of CFU of each species. Thus the hypothesis was not supported and the proportions yielded by paper point sampling are not the same when the bacteria are non-homogeneously distributed as when they are homogeneously distributed. Ultrastructural observations have documented a non-homogeneous distribution of bacterial species in periodontal pockets. If the specific microbiota in the apical portion of deep periodontal pockets are important to the periodontal disease process, these data suggest that bacterial samples obtained by absorbent paper points misrepresent the presence of such bacterial species.

Absorption↗

PubMed2003

Using receiver operating characteristic methodology to evaluate the diagnostic quality of radiography on paper prints versus film.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic quality of paper prints with film copies in a sample of observers who were trying to detect small coin lesions on radiographs of a phantom. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The phantom consisted of 60 high-contrast and 60 low-contrast test objects, half of which had holes in them. Diameter and depth of the holes varied from 0.5 mm to 2 mm. Fifteen radiographs were obtained from different areas of the test objects. Film copies and paper prints were made using high-quality printers. Five observers independently evaluated 1,800 high-contrast and 1,800 low-contrast images. Data were evaluated using the well-established receiver operating characteristic methodology. RESULTS: The mean area under the curve rated 0.863 for paper prints (0.859 for high contrast and 0.860 for low contrast) and 0.926 for laser films (0.937 for high contrast and 0.913 for low contrast). The difference between the two imaging techniques was statistically significant for both high- and low-contrast lesions (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Detection of small coin lesions on radiographs of a phantom was significantly less sensitive on paper prints than on film. We found paper prints less acceptable for the diagnosis of small-sized lesions.

Diagnostic Errors↗

PubMed1981

Paper chromatographic behavior of tetranitronitrosylruthenate and its decomposition products.

The paper chromatographic behavior of tetranitronitrosylruthenate was examined together with its decomposition products. First, Rf values at various eluting conditions were studied with five kinds of papers, since there was a discrepancy among the reported Rf values. Usually Rf of 0.9 was obtained by the recommended procedure of Wain, et al. Second, stability of the tetranitronitrosylruthenate in water was followed by paper chromatography. No change was found until 200 days passed. Third, the tetranitronitrosylruthenate was warmed in acid, and its decomposition products were studied through the paper chromatography. The paper chromatographic behavior showed that the sample kept in water more than 200 days seemed to contain a dinitro complex, and the sample warmed in acid seemed to be decomposed to a mononitro complex or further.

Adsorption↗

PubMed2003

Feasibility of using paper impregnated with urine instead of liquid urine for assessing ovarian activity.

BACKGROUND: Ovarian activity should ideally be assessed by serial non-invasive methods that require simple procedures for sample collection and storage. Measurement of urinary oestrone-3-glucuronide and pregnanediol-3 alpha-glucuronide is a non-invasive method available for assessment of ovarian activity, but transport of large numbers of urine samples is cumbersome and samples need to be stored frozen. An alternative sample collection, transport and storage procedure that is easier to handle and requires no or minimal cold storage facilities will particularly benefit studies in which ovulatory activity needs to be assessed in field settings. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of using paper impregnated with urine as an alternative to liquid urine for the measurement of oestrone-3-glucuronide and pregnanediol-3 alpha-glucuronide concentrations in the assessment of ovarian activity. METHODS: Urine samples collected daily throughout regular menstrual cycles were stored as liquid urine at -20 degrees C, and as paper impregnated with urine, in the refrigerator for 3 to 12 months or at room temperature for 1 to 6 months. Oestrone-3-glucuronide and pregnanediol-3 alpha-glucuronide concentrations were measured in these urine samples by enzyme immunoassay. Values obtained were correlated using Spearman's correlation test. RESULTS: The pattern of oestrone-3 glucuronide and pregnanediol-3 alpha-glucuronide concentrations estimated using paper impregnated with urine followed that of liquid urine in all storage conditions used. Values obtained by two methods correlated significantly (p < 0.001 to 0.0001) though the paper impregnated with urine gave slightly higher values. CONCLUSIONS: Paper impregnated with urine can be used to facilitate sample collection, transport and storage of urine when oestrone-3-glucuronide and pregnanediol-3 alpha-glucuronide measurements are required in a large number of serial samples to assess ovarian activity.

Estrone↗