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PubMed1988

A proportionate mortality ratio analysis of pulp and paper mill workers in New Hampshire.

A proportionate mortality ratio (PMR) analysis of 1071 deaths in pulp and paper mill workers in New Hampshire during 1975-85 showed an increase in cancers of the digestive tract and lymphopoietic tissues. A similar analysis of deaths for 452 timber cutters and loggers failed to show excess PMRs for cancers of these sites. Despite methodological constraints, these results suggest that one or more of the exposures experienced by pulp and paper mill workers may pose a significant carcinogenic risk. More definitive epidemiological studies are required to determine particular high risk processes or specific aetiological agents.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Pulmonary function among pulp and paper workers in Berlin, New Hampshire.

Pulmonary function was studied among pulp and paper workers from a production facility in New Hampshire. Subjects were first tested in the 1960s and then surveyed at regular intervals up to 1985. The current study examined results for the 339 subjects who participated in at least one of the two most recent follow up surveys in 1979 and 1985. For the 171 subjects who were tested in both surveys, the pulmonary function values were higher and the effect of pulp mill work was diminished compared with the findings for the 168 subjects who were tested in just one of the two surveys. To avoid the loss of less healthy subjects and the subsequent bias in effect estimate, the 1985 data were analysed cross sectionally with the inclusion of data from 1979 for those subjects who had not been followed up in the last survey. The subjects with work experience in the pulp mill had mean levels of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) lower than those of unexposed subjects who had never worked in the pulp or paper production areas. Based on parameter estimates from regression analysis, each year of employment in the pulp operation was associated with a -5.8 ml change in FEV1 (p = 0.08) and a -7.2 ml change in FVC (p = 0.04). Ninety one per cent of the subjects with pulp mill experience had terminated employment in that area of the company, so the association with decreased lung function appears to be a non-reversible effect that persisted after the cessation of exposure.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗
PubMed2001

Insulin-like growth factor I measurement on filter paper blood spots.

The measurement of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) from extracted whole dried blood spots on filter paper is a simple method allowing sample collection to be carried out by the patient at home. One drop of blood is applied to a filter card, air dried and posted to the laboratory. The IGF-I is dissociated from its binding protein by an acidification and neutralization procedure, and IGF-I is then measured by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results from the analysis of IGF-I using blood spots on filter paper compared favourably with those from conventional methods, thus showing it to be an ideal and cost-effective technique for the measurement of IGF-I in both adults and children.

Blood Chemical Analysis↗
PubMed1991

Repair of chronic tympanic membrane perforations using applications of hyaluronan or rice paper prostheses.

A controlled randomized study was performed in 60 patients with 64 chronic, dry tympanic membrane (TM) perforations. The perforations were randomly allocated to either resection of the perforation rim and instillation of 1% hyaluronan (Healon; HYA) in the perforation gap once daily for 7 days (33 ears) or resection of the perforation margin and application of a sterile rice paper prosthesis (31 ears). The treatment effect was documented by TM photography and morphometric measurements of the perforation area. The hearing was assessed with puretone and high-frequency audiometry. After 2 months, 5 of the HYA-treated perforations (15%) and 4 of the rice-paper-treated TMs (13%) were healed. After 1 year, 18 perforations (9 in each treatment group) were healed. In neither group were there any persistent adverse effects on hearing. It is noteworthy that 28% (18/64) of the chronic, long-standing TM perforations could be repaired by these technically simple and time-saving methods. Both procedures should be considered as easy first-choice alternatives to myringoplasty in selected cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cholesterol-raising factor from boiled coffee does not pass a paper filter.

Previous studies have indicated that consumption of boiled coffee raises total and low density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, whereas drip-filtered coffee does not. We have tested the effect on serum lipids of consumed coffee that was first boiled and then filtered through commercial paper coffee filters. Sixty-four healthy volunteers consumed six cups per day of this boiled and filtered coffee for 17 days. Then, they were randomly divided into three groups, which, for the next 79 days, received either unfiltered boiled coffee (lipid content, 1.0 g/l), boiled and filtered coffee (0.02 g lipid/l), or no coffee. Serum total cholesterol levels rose by 0.42 mmol/l (16 mg/dl; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.14-0.71), LDL cholesterol levels by 0.41 mmol/l (16 mg/dl; 95% CI, 0.16-0.66), and apolipoprotein B levels by 8.6 mg/dl (95% CI, 3.8-13.4) in those who consumed boiled coffee relative to those who consumed boiled and filtered coffee. Responses of triglycerides, high density lipoprotein cholesterol, and apolipoprotein A-I did not differ significantly among these groups. No significant effects on serum lipid levels were found in the boiled and filtered coffee-consuming group compared with those who drank no coffee. In subjects who drank boiled coffee, serum campesterol level, an indicator of cholesterol absorption, remained constant. The serum lathosterol level, an indicator of cholesterol synthesis, increased by 11% (p less than 0.05), but the lathosterol to cholesterol ratio did not change. We propose that paper filters of the type used for drip-filtered coffee retain the lipid present in boiled coffee and in that way remove the hypercholesterolemic factor.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Development of a filter paper blood spot radioimmunoassay for thyroid stimulating hormone suitable for a regional neonatal screening unit.

The radioimmunoassay described measures TSH in dried whole blood spots collected from neonates onto filter paper Guthrie cards. Microgranular cellulose is added to the precipitating reagent at the critical separation stage of the assay to overcome imprecision caused by the presence of the filter paper sample disc in the tube. The method was developed for a regional neonatal screening unit and has been found to be very reliable during ten months' routine use. It was required to be as precise, sensitive, accurate, rapid, simple, and inexpensive as possible and suitable for use with automatic diluting equipment in order to process large numbers of samples. Other methods were examined for their suitability and found not to fulfil one or more of the above criteria.

Congenital Hypothyroidism↗
PubMed1989

Improved sample collection technique for capillary blood on filter paper for determination of glycated haemoglobin.

A simple and practical method of sampling capillary blood was tested. This method was used for determination of glycated haemoglobin by ion exchange chromatography. Capillary blood was collected onto filter paper and placed in a small polypropylene tube containing phosphate-buffered sodium chloride with EDTA and p-hydroxybenzoic acid methyl ester. There was good correlation between filter paper sampling and conventional sampling in tubes with EDTA as anticoagulant. With this new sampling technique the glycated haemoglobin value was stable for 7 days at room temperature and for at least 10 days at +4 degrees C. Sampling can be performed by the patient at home and the sample then mailed to the laboratory, thus enabling analysis to be performed prior to the patient's visit to the physician.

Blood Specimen Collection↗
PubMed2005

Chemical and microbiological stability of waste sludge from paper industry intended for brick production.

Due to its chemical composition, waste sludge generated in the paper industry may be used as a raw material for brick production. Brick manufacture is limited to the warmer months of the year whereas sludge is produced continuously by different effluent treatment devices. Therefore, it has to be stored until further processing. For this reason, it is essential that it is not subject to significant chemical and microbiological decomposition during storage. In the experiment, sludge from a tissue paper mill was tested for its stability. It was stored for several weeks during winter and summer periods in a pile, 2 m in height, in an open but covered store. Different leachable organic and inorganic compounds indicating possible ongoing deterioration processes, as well as pH value, redox potential, temperature, humidity and dry matter content were evaluated weekly in water extracts of homogenized sludge samples. According to the test results, the material may be considered to be chemically and microbiologically stable as there was practically no emission of odorous and toxic compounds such as H2S, NH3 and butyric acid despite prolonged storage times and elevated environmental temperatures. All the microbial species identified in the sludge during storage belong to the typical microflora of the environment.

Bacteria, Aerobic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lung cancer mortality in a cohort of older pulp and paper workers.

The occurrence of deaths due to lung cancer was studied among 883 white male workers from a pulp and paper company in northern New Hampshire. All subjects had participated in a longitudinal study of respiratory morbidity, and data from interviews were used to construct lifetime cigarette smoking and occupational histories. Most of the subjects had entered follow-up in the 1960s and, at that time, their mean age was 51 years and they had worked for the pulp and paper company a mean of 25 years. By the end of follow-up in 1992, the 512 deceased subjects included 35 whose underlying cause of death had been lung cancer. With an internal comparison using the Cox proportional-hazards model, the hazard ratio for sulfite pulp mill work was 2.5 (95% CI 1.3-4.9), while controlling for the effects of age, cigarette smoking, and work in other parts of the pulping operation. In addition, the hazard ratio for the combination of >35 pack-years of smoking and >10 years sulfite mill work was greater than the product of the hazard ratios for each factor alone. While these findings are consistent with past asbestos exposure in the sulfite pulp mill environment, the absence of mesothelioma cases is inconsistent with this type of exposure.

Cause of Death↗
PubMed2006

Use of filter paper stored dried blood for measurement of triglycerides.

Adaptation of assays on dried blood has advantages of ease of collection, transportation, minimal invasiveness and requirement of small volume. A method for extraction and estimation of triglyceride from blood spots dried on filter paper (Whatman no. 3) has been developed. A single dried blood spot containing 10 muL blood was used. Triglyceride was efficiently extracted in methanol from blood dried on filter paper by incubation at 37 degrees C for two hours with gentle shaking. For the estimation, a commercially available enzymatic method was used. Blood spot assays showed mean intra and inter assay coefficient of variance of 6.0% and 7.4% respectively. A comparison of paired whole blood spots and plasma samples (n = 75, day 0) gave an intraclass correlation of 0.96. The recovery was 99.6%. The dried blood triglyceride concentrations were stable for one month when the filter discs were stored at room temperature (16-28 degrees C). Storage of filters at 4 degrees C extended the stability and triglycerides could be quantitatively recovered after 3 months of storage.

Blood Specimen Collection↗
PubMed1989

[Determination of isepamicin in the eluates from the dried blood spots on filter paper for monitoring of blood levels in a guinea-pig].

In general, collection of serial blood samples from small experimental animals is difficult in terms of sampling site and operation technique. To overcome these problems, a simple reproducible method has been improved by the use of filter papers. Whole blood obtained by venipuncture from the ear vein of guinea-pig was spotted onto a filter paper. Isepamicin in the dried blood spot was extracted with 0.5 M Na2HPO4 buffer by incubation and determined by fluorescence polarization immunoassay. Linearity was established over the range of 5-150 micrograms/ml by using only 100 microliters of whole blood. Consequently its accuracy and precision were good, with mean coefficient of variation of less than 5%. The method described here correlates well with a conventional sampling method and could be used for the pre-clinical study of isepamicin blood levels of individual guinea-pigs. This method is suitable for the simultaneous measurement of aminoglycoside antibiotics or physiological parameters after the administration of aminoglycoside antibiotics for the pharmacokinetics study.

Animals↗
PubMed1976

A simple and sensitive fluorometric assay method for taurine using high-voltage paper electrophoresis.

A simple and sensitive fluorometric assay method for taurine (2-aminoethanesulfonic acid) has been developed. For the separation of taurine, high voltage paper electrophoresis subsequent to column chromatographic procedures was employed. Fluorescent product of taurine was yielded by spraying fluorescamine (4-phenylspiro [furan-2(3H), 1'-phthalan]-3, 3'-dione) and borate buffer on the paper, and the fluorescence was assayed spectro-fluorometrically after eluting with 50% ethanol. The linear relationship between the concentration of taurine and fluorescence developed was achieved over the concentration ranges of 0.5-10 nmoles, and the recoveries obtained were 90-100%. The specificity of this method for taurine was satisfactory and structural analogues involved in the metabolic pathway of taurine did not interfere with the assay. Examples for tissue levels of taurine in various organs of the rat as determined by this new method are also presented.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Aromatase activity in the ovary and brain of the eastern mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) exposed to paper mill effluent.

Studies have shown that female mosquitofish living downstream of a paper mill located on the Fenholloway River, Florida, have masculinized secondary sex characteristics, including altered anal fin development and reproductive behavior. Masculinization can be caused by exposure to androgens in the water or from an alteration in aromatase activity in the fish. We hypothesized that aromatase activity would be inhibited by a component(s) of the paper mill effluent. Aromatase inhibition could masculinize the hormonal profile and, subsequently, secondary sex characteristics of the exposed females. Therefore, we predicted that ovarian and brain aromatase activity would be lower in the female mosquitofish from the Fenholloway River compared with the reference site, the Econfina River. Adult females were collected and standard length, body mass, anal fin length, and segment number were measured. Ovarian and brain aromatase activity were determined using a tritiated water assay. Fenholloway females had masculinized anal fin development as indicated by an increase in the number of segments in the longest anal fin ray (p < 0.0001), yet the length of the ray did not differ between sites (p = 0.95). Fenholloway females exhibited higher ovarian (p = 0.0039) and brain (p = 0.0003) aromatase activity compared with reference site fish. These data do not support aromatase inhibition as the mechanism for masculinization, suggesting that the masculinization of the Fenholloway female mosquitofish is due to androgenic contaminants. Future studies should examine the relationship between aromatase enzyme activity and exposure to environmental androgens.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

Cancer mortality in workers exposed to organochlorine compounds in the pulp and paper industry: an international collaborative study.

The objective of this study was to evaluate cancer mortality in pulp and paper industry workers exposed to chlorinated organic compounds. We assembled a multinational cohort of workers employed between 1920 and 1996 in 11 countries. Exposure to both volatile and nonvolatile organochlorine compounds was estimated at the department level using an exposure matrix. We conducted a standardized mortality ratio (SMR) analysis based on age and calendar-period-specific national mortality rates and a Poisson regression analysis. The study population consisted of 60,468 workers. Workers exposed to volatile organochlorines experienced a deficit of all-cause [SMR = 0.91; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.89-0.93] and all-cancer (SMR = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.89-0.97) mortality, with no evidence of increased risks for any cancer of a priori interest. There was a weak, but statistically significant, trend of increasing risk of all-cancer mortality with increasing weighted cumulative exposure. A similar deficit in all-cause (SMR = 0.94; 95% CI, 0.91-0.96) and all-cancer (SMR = 0.94; 95% CI, 0.89-1.00) mortality was observed in those exposed to nonvolatile organochlorines. No excess risk was observed in cancers of a priori interest, although mortality from Hodgkin disease was elevated (SMR = 1.76; 95% CI, 1.02-2.82) . In this study we found little evidence that exposure to organochlorines at the levels experienced in the pulp and paper industry is associated with an increased risk of cancer, apart from a weak but significant association between all-cancer mortality and weighted cumulative volatile organochlorine exposure.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

Qualitative and quantitative analysis of illicit drug mixtures on paper currency using Raman microspectroscopy.

Measurement of illicit drugs on paper currency is of interest for evidentiary purposes in legal cases involving the drug trade. Current methods, primarily based on mass spectrometry, are destructive and prevent re-analysis of the evidence. This article details a method based on Raman microspectroscopy that is able to collect spectra from individual crystals on the surface of paper currency. Mixtures of isoxsuprine and norephedrine, which are non-pharmacologically active drug surrogates, as well as lidocaine and benzocaine, common excipients in street drugs, were doped in small quantities onto US currency. Significant fluorescence interference resulted from the underlying dollar bill. This work presents two methods for reducing the fluorescence background, photobleaching and background subtraction, which both worked well. Finally, a method for determining the percent composition of individual components in heterogeneous mixtures was developed by systematically sampling the surface of the dollar bill. Results were accurate within a few percent, although the method was quite time consuming.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2004

Lung function among workers in the soft tissue paper-producing industry.

OBJECTIVES: To describe lung function in correlation with information on exposure to dust and fibers in soft tissue paper-producing factories in Germany. METHODS: Ambient monitoring was performed for inhalable, respirable dust and fibers in nine soft tissue paper-producing factories. In a study group of 1,047 workers (189 control subjects, 240 workers with moderate exposure, and 618 workers with high exposure), spirometry (FVC, FEV(1)) was performed. Information on occupational history, duration of exposure, workshop within the company, former occupational exposures, and smoking habits were collected. By employing multiple linear regression modeling, the potentially confounding effects of age, sex, body mass index, smoking habits, and factory were incorporated into the analysis of FVC, FEV(1), and FEV(1) in percent of FVC (FEV(1)%FVC). By employing a logistic regression model, odds ratios were calculated for FVC < 80% predicted in different exposure subgroups. RESULTS: The mean concentrations for inhalable, respirable, and fibrous dusts were 12.4 mg/m(3), 0.28 mg/m(3), and 420,000 fibers per cubic meter. With relation to cumulative dust and fiber exposure, a decrease of FVC from 105.4% predicted to 96.9% predicted (dust) and 97.1% predicted (fibers) in the subgroup with highest cumulative exposure was observed. For FEV(1), a decrease from 107.3% predicted to 103.0% predicted (dust) and 102.8% predicted (fibers) was found. The parameter estimates show dose-response relationships that are more pronounced for FVC compared to FEV(1). FEV(1)%FVC did not change significantly with increasing cumulative exposure, indicating a restrictive pattern of the findings. CONCLUSIONS: Due to high ambient dust concentrations and the observed adverse effects on lung function, a reduction of dust exposure and secondary preventive measures is advised.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Hydrogen production from paper sludge hydrolysate.

The main objective of this study was to develop a system for the production of "renewable" hydrogen. Paper sludge is a solid industrial waste yielding mainly cellulose, which can be used, after hydrolysis, as a feedstock in anaerobic fermentation by (hyper)thermophilic organisms, such as Thermotoga elfii and Caldicellulosiruptor saccharolyticus. Tests on different medium compositions showed that both bacteria were able to produce hydrogen from paper sludge hydrolysate, but the amount of produced hydrogen and the requirement for other components differed. Hydrogen production by T. elfii strongly depended on the presence of yeast extract and salts. By contrast, C. saccharolyticus was less dependent on medium components but seemed to be inhibited by a component present in the sludge hydrolysate. Utilization of xylose was preferred over glucose by C. saccharolyticus.

Bacteria↗