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MOSAIC: Doyle’s papers sold
Ink to cut paper waste THE erasing machine might encourage paper reuse. Tonnes of wasted printed paper could get a new lease of life if “erasable ink” technology proves big in Japan. A carbon-free ink has been developed in Japan that can be rubbed out with heat from a portable eraser machine. The ink and machine, which went on sale in Japan recently, can clean swathes of paper at a time and could help create more eco-friendly paper use. Waste paper currently makes up 40 per cent of total office rubbish in Japan, with about 60 per cent being recycled. Super sleuths and magicians will be excited at the prospect of being able to make ink disappear, but environmentalists will be even happier that recycling could be made a bit easier. The so-called ‘e-blue’ technology basically reverses the chemical bonding reaction that happens in the development process during thermal printing, which uses heat and pressure to put images and text on paper. Once, there was a dream that technology would create a ‘paperless office’, but people still cannot ‘make do’ with electronic documents alone. “Despite new tools like e-mail and the development of all sorts of wireless technologies, people still just like to have things on paper,” said Junichi Nagaki, an expert in the field. “We don’t think demand for paper will ever disappear completely.” But the volume of paper consumption is something which worries environmentalists, and as more Japanese companies investigate eco-friendly products, there could be a significant demand for a hi-tech solution. The e-blue technology works on documents that have been printed using the special ink or toner, which appears in a blue colour to distinguish it from normal toner or ink. If it is successful, trees may breathe easier. The ink loses its colour when it is treated in the special erasing machine, which exposes the ink to very high temperatures of about 140 C (284 F). At that temperature, the chemical bonding of the dye in the ink is broken down, making it invisible. The erasing machine can handle about 400 to 500 A4 sheets of paper or 200 to 250 A3 sheets in under three hours. The paper can then be used over and over again until it falls apart. It has already proved popular in trials. According to Nagaki, some employees have been able to cut paper costs by 60 per cent, in terms of purchasing new paper at the office. “It also contributed to a reduction in wasted paper because employees reuse the papers which are printed by e-blue toner about five to six times before recycling it in the normal way.” A photocopier is being developed which will be able to use the technology. If the technology proves popular, then lets bring it to the world. — Samina Iqbal Reducing hip-fracture HOMOCYSTEINE is an amino acid formed during the metabolism of methionine. A congenital abnormality can cause elevated plasma concentrations of homocysteine causing severe narrowing of blood vessels, implicating plasma homocysteine as a risk factor for cardiovascular disease. These patients also tend to have an increased prevalence of skeletal deformities, including osteoporosis, a primary risk factor for hip fracture, states a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. A study conducted on elderly men and women to examine the association of plasma homocysteine concentrations and the risk of hip-fracture revealed a positive result. It provided strong evidence for interventions to prevent hip-fractures, because total homocysteine concentrations can be effectively and easily modified by dietary intake of folic acid and vitamins B6 and B12. Patients with pernicious anaemia and low vitamin B12 levels, have decreased bone mineral density at the lumbar spine, and in comparison with the general population they have almost double the risk of hip fracture. A recent, population-based study showed that older women, but not men, with low bone mineral density had significantly lower vitamin B12 concentrations than older women with higher bone density. Because folate and vitamins B12 and B6 are major determinants of homocysteine concentrations in older persons, it may be possible that the inadequacy of one or more of these vitamins, may be responsible for the increased risk of hip-fractures. It has also to be determined if folic acid fortification of food will help to reduce rates of hip-fracture. — Dr Fatema Jawad | ||
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