• Bacteria could easily and quickly attached onto TEP to form protobiofilms.• TEP-protobiofilm facilitate the transport of bacteria to membrane surface.• More significant flux decline was observed in the presence of TEP-protobiofilms.• Membrane fouling shows higher sensitivity to protobiofilm not to bacteria level. Transparent exopolymer particles (TEPs) are a class of transparent gel-like polysaccharides, which have been widely detected in almost every kind of feed water to membrane systems, including freshwater, seawater and wastewater. Although TEP have been thought to be related to the membrane fouling, little information is currently available for their influential mechanisms and the pertinence to biofouling development. The present study, thus, aims to explore the impact of TEPs on biofouling development during ultrafiltration. TEP samples were inoculated with bacteria for several hours before filtration and the formation of “protobiofilm” (pre-colonized TEP by bacteria) was examined and its influence on biofouling was determined. It was observed that the bacteria can easily and quickly attach onto TEPs and form protobiofilms. Ultrafiltration experiments further revealed that TEP-protobiofilms served as carriers which facilitated and accelerated transport of bacteria to membrane surface, leading to rapid development of biofouling on the ultrafiltration membrane surfaces. Moreover, compared to the feed water containing independent bacteria and TEPs, more flux decline was observed with TEP-protobiofilms. Consequently, it appeared from this study that TEP-protobiofilms play a vital role in the development of membrane biofouling, but unfortunately, this phenomenon has been often overlooked in the literature. Obviously, these findings in turn may also challenge the current understanding of organic fouling and biofouling as membrane fouling caused by TEP-protobiofilm is a combination of both. It is expected that this study might promote further research in general membrane fouling mechanisms and the development of an effective mitigation strategy. 相似文献
Wildlife conservation and management (WCM) practices have been historically drawn from a wide variety of academic fields, yet practitioners have been slow to engage with emerging conversations about animals as complex beings, whose individuality and sociality influence their relationships with humans. We propose an explicit acknowledgement of wild, nonhuman animals as active participants in WCM. We examined 190 studies of WCM interventions and outcomes to highlight 3 common assumptions that underpin many present approaches to WCM: animal behaviors are rigid and homogeneous; wildlife exhibit idealized wild behavior and prefer pristine habitats; and human–wildlife relationships are of marginal or secondary importance relative to nonhuman interactions. We found that these management interventions insufficiently considered animal learning, decision-making, individuality, sociality, and relationships with humans and led to unanticipated detrimental outcomes. To address these shortcomings, we synthesized theoretical advances in animal behavioral sciences, animal geographies, and animal legal theory that may help conservation professionals reconceptualize animals and their relationships with humans. Based on advances in these fields, we constructed the concept of animal agency, which we define as the ability of animals to actively influence conservation and management outcomes through their adaptive, context-specific, and complex behaviors that are predicated on their sentience, individuality, lived experiences, cognition, sociality, and cultures in ways that shape and reshape shared human–wildlife cultures, spaces, and histories. Conservation practices, such as compassionate conservation, convivial conservation, and ecological justice, incorporate facets of animal agency. Animal agency can be incorporated in conservation problem-solving by assessing the ways in which agency contributes to species’ survival and by encouraging more adaptive and collaborative decision-making among human and nonhuman stakeholders. 相似文献
• The OA supply significantly increased the water-extractable Mn in all soils.• All OA supply levels promoted plant growth in unexplored soil.• Low OA supply level promoted plant growth in explored and tailing soils.• OA amendment increased the Mn concentrations and total Mn in P. pubescens.• P. pubescens experienced less Mn stress in unexplored soil than in the other two soils. The current study evaluated the effects of oxalic acid (OA) application on the growth and Mn phytoremediation efficiency of Polygonum pubescens Blume cultivated in three different manganese (Mn)-contaminated soils sampled from an unexplored area (US), an explored area (ES) and a tailing area (TS) of the Ertang Mn mine, South China. The supplied levels of OA were 0 (control), 1 (low level), 3 (medium level), and 9 (high level) mmol/kg, referred to as CK, OA1, OA3 and OA9, respectively. The results revealed that the average water-extractable Mn concentrations US, ES and TS amended with OA increased by 214.13, 363.77 and 266.85%, respectively. All OA supply levels increased plant growth and Mn concentrations in US. The low OA supply level increased plant growth in ES and TS; however, contrasting results were found for the medium and high OA supply levels. Plant Mn concentrations and total Mn increased in ES and TS in response to all OA supply levels. Total Mn in the aerial parts increased by 81.18, 44.17 and 83.17% in US, ES and TS, respectively; the corresponding percentages for the whole plants were 81.53, 108.98 and 77.91%, respectively. The rate of ·O2− production and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations increased in response to OA amendment, especially the medium and high OA supply levels in ES and TS. In general, antioxidant enzymes might play a vital role in alleviating Mn stress in plants cultivated in US, while non-enzymatic antioxidants might be the main factor for plants cultivated in ES and TS. 相似文献
Solar energy application in a large spectrum has the potential for high-efficiency energy conversion. Though, solar cells can only absorb photon energy of the solar spectrum near their band-gap energy, and the remaining energy will be converted into thermal energy. The use of the thermoelectric generator becomes a necessity for convert this thermal energy dissipated so as to increase efficiency conversion.
This paper analyses the feasibility of photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid system and reviews their performance in order to optimize harvested energy. Regarding the thermoelectric effect, a new method of the ambient energy harvesting is presented. This method combines thermoelectric generators and the effects of heat sensitive materials associated to photovoltaic cells in phase change for generating both energy day and night. Experimental measures have been conducted primarily in laboratory conditions for a greater understanding of hybridization phenomena under real conditions and to test the actual performance of devices made. Results show that the hybrid system can generate more power than the simple PV and TEG in environmental conditions. This hybrid technology will highlight the use of renewable energies in the service of the energy production. 相似文献