Earticle

The recent market trend of demand and supply of domestic paper industry expected confusion in near future due to massive imports of low cost product because of suddenly emerging of China's mass productive equipment and capacity. Related domestic industry is deploying joint co-coperative partnership and logistic service, joint operations of transportation and distribution center and innovation activity for customer satisfaction. This paper tries to present a solution through analysis of related paper industry a case study.

The study evaluated the effects of dietary fiber and energy levels administered during two growing periods (d 0?28 and d 29?56) for pigs exposed to a high temperature. A total of 96 growing pigs were used in six treatments as: Two treatments in thermoneutral temperature (21℃?24℃) with dietary energy of 3,300 and the inclusion of high or low fiber, two treatments in heat stress (30℃?34℃) with dietary energy of 3,300 and the inclusion of high or low fiber, and two treatments in heat stress with dietary energy of 3,450 and the inclusion of high or low fiber. Among standard energy level treatments, heat-stressed pigs showed lower average daily gain (ADG), feed intake, digestibility of dry matter, gross energy, crude protein, and crude fiber in phases 1 and 2. Moreover, higher concentrations of acetate, propionate, butyrate, and total short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) in feces were shown in pigs fed high fiber diets. There was a negative interaction between dietary fiber and energy for the fecal concentration of isobutyrate in phase 1 and valerate in phase 2. Pigs in heat stress treatments showed a higher rectal temperature, respiratory rate, hair cortisol, plasma zonulin, and fecal lipocalin-2. Among heat stress treatments, the overall ADG was increased in pigs fed high fiber. Pigs fed high dietary fiber showed a greater concentration of acetate, propionate, butyrate, and total SCFA. High fiber treatments decreased plasma zonulin. In conclusion, the inclusion of beet pulp, soluble fiber, at the level of 4% looks necessary in pigs diet during heat stress.

Oxidative stress and inflammation have been linked to bone loss. We evaluated the effects of feeding orange pulp (OP), a source of vitamin C and flavonoids, on bone quality in a rat model of male osteoporosis. One-year-old retired breeder rats (n = 43) were orchidectomized (ORX) or sham-operated (SHAM). Three days postsurgery, ORX rats were randomly assigned to treatments: ORX or ORX with 2.5% OP, 5% OP, or 10% OP. Diets were isonitrogenous, isocaloric, modified AIN-93M diets with equal fiber content. All ORX rats were fed for 4 months to the mean food intake of the SHAM group. At the end of the study blood, urine and bone samples were collected. Plasma antioxidant capacity and urinary deoxypyridinoline (DPD) were determined. Bone density, structure, and strength were assessed using dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, microcomputed tomography, and finite element analyses. ORX decreased (P < .05) antioxidant status, while OP as low as 2.5% maintained the antioxidant capacity of ORX rats comparable to that of the SHAM group. Cortical thickness at the tibial midshaft was significantly decreased by ORX and increased by OP, and urinary DPD was significantly increased by ORX and decreased by OP. In fourth lumbar trabecular cores, ORX rats had significantly reduced bone volume fraction, connectivity density, and trabecular number and increased trabecular separation. OP significantly increased bone volume fraction and trabecular number and decreased trabecular separation in ORX rats. Improvements due to OP in microarchitectural properties of vertebral bones and in cortical thickness of long bones were subtle but significant. The consistently negative impacts of ORX on bone density, structure, and strength parameters confirm the previously reported importance of testosterone for bone.

Background: It is known that large dogs who are fed lamb and rice diets are at increased risk to develop taurine-deficiency-induced dilated cardiomyopathy. Since dogs obligatorily conjugate bile acids (BA) with taurine, we determined whether rice bran (RB) or other fibers (cellulose; CL, beet pulp; BP) would affect BA excretion and/or the taurine status of dogs. Results: Eighteen medium/large mixed-breed dogs were given purified diets containing CL, BP, or RB for 12 weeks. Taurine concentrations in plasma and whole blood were significantly decreased at week 12. The BP group, compared to the CL or RB groups, showed significantly lower taurine concentrations in plasma (6.5 ± 0.5 vs 20.4 ± 3.9 and 13.1 ± 2.0 μmol/L, respectively, P < 0.01, mean ± SEM) and in whole blood (79 ± 10 vs 143 ± 14 and 127 ± 14 μmol/L, respectively, P < 0.01), lower apparent protein digestibility (81.9 ± 0.6 vs 88.8 ± 0.6 and 88.1 ± 1.2 %, respectively, P < 0.01), and higher BA excretions (5.6 ± 0.1 vs 3.4 ± 0.5 and 3.4 ± 0.4 μmol/g feces, respectively, P < 0.05) at week 12. Conclusions: These results do not support the hypothesis that RB is likely to be a primary cause of lamb meal and rice diets, increasing the risk of taurine deficiency in large dogs. However these indicate that BP may contribute to a decrease taurine status in dogs by increasing excretion of fecal BA and decreasing protein digestibility, thus decreasing the bioavailability of sulfur amino acids, the precursors of taurine.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with citrus pulp, fish by-product,and Bacillus subtilis fermentation biomass on the growth performance, apparent total tract digestibility (ATTD) ofnutrients, and fecal microflora of weanling pigs. A total of 180 weaned piglets (Landrace × Yorkshire × Duroc) wererandomly allotted to three treatments on the basis of body weight (BW). There were six replicate pens in eachtreatment with 10 piglets per pen. Dietary treatments were corn-soybean meal-based basal diet supplemented with 0(control), 2.5, and 5.0% citrus pulp, fish by-product, and B. subtilis fermentation biomass. The isocaloric and isoproteineousexperimental diets were fed in mash form in two phases (d 0 ~ 14, phase I and d 15 ~ 28, phase II). Dietary treatmentshad significant linear effects on gain to feed ratio (G:F) in all periods, whereas significant linear effects on ATTD of drymatter (DM), gross energy (GE), and ash were only observed in phase I. Piglets fed diet supplemented with 5.0% citruspulp, fish by-product, and B. subtilis fermentation biomass showed greater (p < 0.05) G:F (phase I, phase II, and overall)as well as ATTD of DM, GE, and ash (phase I) than pigs fed control diet. Dietary treatments also had significant lineareffects on total anaerobic bacteria populations by d 14 and 28. In addition, piglets fed diet supplemented with 5.0%citrus pulp, fish by-product and B. subtilis fermentation biomass showed greater (p < 0.05) fecal total anaerobic bacteriapopulations (d 14 and 28) than pigs fed control diet. Dietary treatments had no significant effects (linear or quadratic)on average daily gain (ADG), average dial feed intake (ADFI; phase I, phase II, and overall), or fecal populations ofBifidobacterium spp., Clostridium spp., and coliforms (d 14 and 28). These results indicate that dietary supplementationwith 5.0% citrus pulp, fish by-product, and B. subtilis fermentation biomass has the potential to improve the feedefficiency, nutrient digestibility, and fecal microflora of weanling pigs.

Background: In 2006, the European Union (EU) has decided to forbid use of antibiotics as growth promoters. Although many researches had been conducted about fiber source as alternatives of antibiotics, there are still lack of reports in the literature about the optimum level of sugar beet pulp supplementation, affecting growth performance and nutrient digestibility in weaning pigs. Therefore, different level of sugar beet pulp was added to diets to determine the effects of sugar beet pulp supplementation on growth performance, nutrient digestibility, fecal microflora, blood profile and incidence of diarrhea in weaning pigs. Methods: A total of 200 weaning pigs [(Yorkshire × Landrace) × Duroc], averaging 9.01 ± 1.389 kg of initial body weight were, allotted to 5 treatments in a randomized complete block (RCB) design. Each treatment was composed of 4 replicates with 10 pigs per pen. The treatments were control treatment: Corn-SBM basal diet + ZnO (phase 1: 0.05%; phase 2; 0.03%) and four different levels of sugar beet pulp were supplemented in Corn-SBM basal diet (3, 6, 9 or 12%). Two phase feeding programs (phase 1: 1?2 weeks; phase 2: 3?5 weeks) were used for 5 week of growth trial. Results: In feeding trial, there were no significant differences in growth performance and incidence of diarrhea among treatments. The E.coli counts were not significantly different among dietary treatments but linear response was observed in Lactobacillus counts as sugar beet pulp supplementation increased (P < 0.05). In addition, IGF-1, IgA and IgG were not affected by dietary treatments. However, the BUN concentration was decreased when pigs were fed the treatments of diets with SBP compared to that of control treatment (P < 0.05). In nutrient digestibility, crude fiber and NDF digestibilities were improved as the sugar beet pulp increased (P < 0.05). However, digestibilities of crude ash, crude fat, crude fiber and nitrogen retention were not affected by dietary sugar beet pulp levels. Conclusion: This experiment demonstrated that sugar beet pulp can be supplemented in weaning pigs’ diet instead of ZnO to prevent postweaning diarrhea without any detrimental effect on growth performance.

This paper describes characteristics of pollutants in wastewater from the pulp and paper industry and biological technologies for the wastewater treatment. The wastewater from the pulp and paper industry contains high concentrations of biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) and shows high toxicity and strong black-brown color. In particular, organic chlorinated compounds such as dioxins and furans may be formed by the chlorination of lignin in wood chips. Thus the pulp and paper industry is recently trending toward total chlorine-free (TCF) bleaching processes. All biological technologies for pulp and paper wastewater treatment are based on the contact between wastewater and bacteria, which feed on organic materials in the wastewater, thus they reduce BOD concentration in it. Both aerobic and anaerobic treatments were found to be effective for the wastewater treatment. Furthermore, advanced technologies such as fungal application and combined biological-filtration process have been also introduced to the wastewater treatment field. These technologies would be useful for water recycling to reduce water consumption throughout pulp and paper making process.

On April 20, 2010, the International Court of Justice rendered its judgment on the Case Concerning Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay between Argentina and Uruguay. The dispute before the Court was submitted in connection with Uruguay's planned construction of one pulp mill and the construction and commissioning of another mill on the River Uruguay. The legal framework for this case is the bilateral treaty between Argentina and Uruguay for the purposes of delimitating the boundary in the River Uruguay, which, in turn, contemplated a "regime for the use of river." This regime was established through the 1975 Statute signed between Argentina and Uruguay to accomplish the optimum and rational utilization of the River Uruguay. The Court noted that the claims made by Argentina in its application concerns the alleged breach by Uruguay of both procedural and substantive obligations and determined that while those two obligations are functionally the linked, those two obligations can be separately reviewed according to their specific content. As far as the procedural obligations are concerned, the Court pointed out the essential role and functions of the Administrative Commission of the River Uruguay and reached the conclusion that Uruguay failed to properly notify the planned activity on the River Uruguay to the Commission as well to Argentina, thereby failing to comply with the procedural obligation under the 1975 Statute. With regard to the substantial obligation, the Court concluded that Uruguay has not breached its substantive obligations as most evidence submitted before the Court did not substantiate the claims made by Argentina.

Pigment extracts obtained from Star Ruby grapefruit pulp were stored at different temperatures (4.5$^{\circ}C$, 23$^{\circ}C$) and exposed to light. many carotenoid oxidation products were formed due to light-exposure during storage periods. They were monitored by using HPLC with photodiode array detection and tentatively identified. Including (all-E)-lycopene and trans-$\beta$-carotene as predominant carotenoids in red grapefruit, 5Z-lycopene, 9Z-lycopene, 13Z-lycopene, and 15-cis-$\beta$-carotene were formed at 4.5$^{\circ}C$, 23$^{\circ}C$. Degradation of all-tarns lycopene was more susceptible to light-exposure and temperature a than that of all-trans $\beta$-carotene. The formation of lycopene cis isomers was favored under lighted condition. Respectively, (5Z)-lycopene was formed in greater amounts than other isomers at 23$^{\circ}C$ storage. The concentration of 15-cis-$\beta$-carotene was significantly increased during storage at 23$^{\circ}C$ storage. The concentration of 15-cis-$\beta$-carotene was significantly increased during storage at 23$^{\circ}C$.

Kunu is a millet-based, non-alcoholic, and non-carbonated energy beverage commonly consumed in the northern part of Nigeria. The nutrients composition, antioxidant properties, and sensory characteristics of instant kunu beverage made from pearl millet supplemented with African locus bean pulp (ALBP) were evaluated in this study. Instant kunu beverage was produced with 5?25% ALBP replacement for millet and freeze-dried. A control sample was produced from 100% millet. The chemical (proximate, vitamins, minerals) and phytochemical (total phenol, favonoids, tannin, saponin, and phytates) contents and antioxidant activities, as well as the sensory properties of the beverage, were evaluated, using standard methods. The crude fber (3.14?4.07%), total ash (1.77?3.40%), phosphorus (12.45?15.00 mg/100 g, potassium (12.00?12.55 mg/100 g), vitamin A (0.34?1.35%), and phytochemical contents (except phytate) increased signifcantly as the ALBP supplementation level increased in the beverage. The ranges of phenolic, favonoid, saponin, tannin, and phytate were 0.71?0.90, 0.35?0.86, 0.02?0.34, 0.02?0.34, and 0.83?0.62 mg/g, respectively. The antioxidant activities of the beverage also increased as the ALBP level in the beverage increased. All the beverage samples were generally accepted by the panelists, with an overall acceptability of 5.17 to 6.73. Hence, the instant kunu beverage made from pearl millet supplemented with African locus bean pulp may serve as a dietary source of essential nutrients and antioxidants for human nutrition.

This research explores the initial stages of converting fibrous mycelium pulp into non-woven fabric, starting from domestically available varieties of mushrooms and mycelium mats. The study aims to develop novel materials for textile or leather manufacturing to mitigate environmental issues associated with conventional fiber production processes. The bleaching process, modified from Nakauchi et al. (2023), utilized bleaching agents such as hydrogen peroxide (H2O2), sodium hypochlorite (NaClO), and sodium oxalate (Na2C2O4) to produce a bleached suspension. Strains such as Pleurotus ostreatus, Flammulina velutipes, Schizophyllum commune, and Trametes orientalis were used, which were converted into a bleached suspension. Each properties were characterized using scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM&EDX), infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and colorimeter. Analysis indicated that bleaching with H2O2 exhibited superior bleaching capabilities, although generally, the bleaching process induced alterations in the mycelium structure, as confirmed through surface analysis.

Cellulose is the most abundant substance in the natural world and is considered as a positive material because it can be recycled. Nanocellulose is made of nano-sized cellulose, and its manufacturing method is divided into physical method, chemical method, and biological method. The nanocellulose produced by physical methods has been studied in many fields such as forestry, medicine, and food science as well as in the field of papermaking because the fibers are fibrillated to nanosize and have high aspect ratio and high strength advantage. Particularly, in the field of paper making, the use of nanocellulose as an additive by using the strength advantage of nanocellulose is high, and as the commercialization research proceeds, the possibility of commercialization of nanocellulose is increasing. However, since it is manufactured by a strong mechanical power, the production cost is high, which causes a trouble to research and commercialization. Therefore, chemical pretreatment or pretreatment of enzymes followed by production of weak mechanical power is widely used.This work was carried out to utilize abandoned waste materials as high value added materials by using waste paper. This work investigated the effect of wet pulp pressing on the fibrillization properties of nanocellulose when producing high value added nanocellulose using white ledger, which is a waste paper that is reused after printing paper is used. In case of white ledger, it is difficult to fibrillate compared with wood pulp due to the hornification. Therefore, in this work, wet pulp was pressed at a pressure of 3.5 MPa, 7 MPa, 10.5 MPa, and 15 MPa, respectively, to grind the fibrillated fibers.(Super Mass colloider Masuko Sangyo, Japan). Fiber analysis, brookfield viscosity measurement, CED measurement and physical property evaluation of the prepared nanocellulose were also carried out.

BACKGROUND: Biomass-based materials have gained attention as next-generation materials due to their renewable and eco-friendly characteristics. Among these, mycelium materials, utilizing mushroom mycelium, are being actively researched and developed worldwide. The current mainstream technology involves a bottom-up process of cultivating mycelium to form objects. However, in Japan, where mushroom production is high, we considered the possibility of competition between mycelium cultivation and food production. Therefore, we focused on a "scrap-and-build" approach, which allows for the use of inedible mushrooms and by-products. This study aims to create novel fibrous materials by breaking down mushroom mycelium. Specifically, we prepare mycelium pulp using Ganoderma lucidum (Reishi), an inedible and tough mushroom, as well as hot-water extraction residues of Flammulina velutipes (Enokitake) by-products. This presentation will discuss the concept of this technology and the properties of the materials. RESULTS: Through chemical treatment with sodium hydroxide solution and hydrogen peroxide, as well as UV irradiation, the fruiting bodies were effectively bleached, and ultrasonic processing produced a slurry-like substance with dispersed micrometer-sized mycelium. In the obtained samples, the mycelium maintained its structure, with thick, linear mycelium measuring 8.0 ± 3.4 μm in width observed in F. velutipes and fine, branched mycelium measuring 2.3 ± 0.6 μm in width observed in G. lucidum. FT-IR spectral analysis indicated no significant changes in the chemical composition of the mycelium pulp after bleaching and fibrillation treatments, suggesting the presence of various polysaccharides. The mycelium pulp could be molded into yarn-like, film-like, or sponge-like forms. CONCLUSION: These findings confirmed that, unlike conventional fruiting body-derived materials, the mycelium pulp retained its mycelial structure. This study successfully created mycelium pulp, a novel mushroom-derived material. Mycelium pulp holds diverse potential applications as a sustainable material and is expected to contribute to the circular bioeconomy.

Surface modification of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) is of great interest, especially to facilitate their use as polymer reinforcements. Generally, alteration of the surface chemistry is performed using multiple reaction steps. In contrast, this study demonstrates that the hydrolysis of disordered regions of cellulose along with the esterification of accessible hydroxyl groups can be performed simultaneously in a single step to produce surface functionalized CNCs. The reaction is carried out in an acid mixture composed of H2SO4, one type of organic acids (formic, acetic and butyric acids are all demonstrated) and H2O with a mass ratio of 1:7:2 for 3-7 h. The rod-like CNCs could be obtained with a high yield (>70%) and high crystallization index (>75%). Thermogravimetric analysis revealed that all of the obtained CNCs exhibited good thermal stability (Tmax >330 °C) which were better than that of the typical sulfuric acid hydrolysis ones. Moreover, due to the negative charged sulfate groups and ester groups introduced on the surface of CNCs in the mixed acid hydrolysis process, the resultant CNCs showed a typical flow birefringence under polarized light and CNC aqueous suspensions could be stably stored for a long time (over one month). Therefore, the present work demonstrated an efficient and sustainable preparation method for the acyl functionalized CNCs with high yield and good thermal stability.

Because mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) maintain distinct capacities with respect to self-renewal, differentiation ability and immunomodulatory function, they have been highly considered as the therapeutic agents for cell-based clinical application. Of particular, differentiation condition alters characteristics of MSCs, including cellular morphology, expression of gene/protein and cell surface molecule, immunological property and apoptosis. However, the previous results for differentiation-related apoptosis in MSCs have still remained controversial due to varied outcomes. Therefore, the present study aimed to disclose periodical alterations of pro- and anti-apoptosis in MSCs under differentiation inductions. The human dental pulp-derived MSCs (DP-MSCs) were differentiated into adipocytes and osteoblasts during early (1 week), middle (2 weeks) and late (3 weeks) stages, and were investigated on their apoptosis-related changes by Annexin V assay, qRT-PCR and western blotting. The ratio of apoptotic cell population was significantly (p < 0.05) elevated during the early to middle stages of differentiations but recovered up to the similar level of undifferentiated state at the late stage of differentiation. In the expression of mRNA and protein, whereas expressions of pro-apoptosis-related makers (BAX and BAK) were not altered in any kind and duration of differentiation inductions, anti-apoptosis marker (BCL2) was significantly (p < 0.05) elevated even at the early stage of differentiations. The recovery of apoptotic cell population at the late stage of differentiation is expected to be associated with the response by elevation of anti-apoptotic molecules. The present study may contribute on understanding for cellular mechanism in differentiation of MSCs and provide background data in clinical application of MSCs in the animal biotechnology to develop effective and safe therapeutic strategy.

Molded pulp products has become more attractive than traditional materials such as expanded polystyrene foam (EPS) owing to low-priced recycled paper, environmental benefits such as biodegradability, and low production cost. In this study, various design factors regarding compression and cushioning characteristics of the molded pulp cushion with truncated pyramid-shaped structural units were analyzed using a test specimen with multiple structural units. The adopted structural factors were the geometric shape, wall thickness, and depth of the structural unit. The relative humidity was set at two levels. We derived the cushion curve model of the target molded pulp cushion using the stress-energy methodology. The coefficient of determination was approximately 0.8, which was lower than that for EPS (0.98). The cushioning performance of the molded pulp cushion was affected more by the structural factors of the structural unit than by the material characteristics. Repeated impacts, higher static stress, and drop height decreased the cushioning performance. Its compression behavior was investigated in four stages: elastic, first buckling, sub-buckling, and densification. It had greater rigidity during initial deformation stages; then, during plastic deformation, the rigidity was greatly reduced. The compression behavior was influenced by structural factors such as the geometric shape and depth of the structural unit and environmental conditions, rather than material properties. The biggest difference in the compression and cushioning characteristics of molded pulp cushion compared to EPS is that it is greatly affected by structural factors, and in addition, strength and resilience are expected to decrease due to humidity and repetitive loads, so future research is needed

Thermal stability and rheological behaviors of Ricinodendron heudelotii wood were investigated. Thermogravimetric analysis conducted at a heating rate of 10oC/min from 20 to 600oC in a nitrogen atmosphere indicated that there was no variation in the decomposition of the onset and final temperature for all the polymers. The thermal behaviours were investigated at a temperature range from 130 to 0oC at 3oC/min, multi-frequencies of 0.1-10 Hz using dynamic mechanical analysis. N-methyl-2-pyrolidone saturated specimens were tested while submerged under the same solvent. Polymers decomposition pattern during thermogravimetric analysis are similar in the radial position of the wood. The glass transition temperature (Tg) of R. heudelotii is 45±1oC at 0.1 Hz. The Tg differs from the innerwood to outerwood. The Tg showed that N-methyl-2-pyrolidone saturated R. heudelotii would require low energy consumption during chemi-thermomechanical pulping.