Study on efficiency and mechanism of ultrasonic controlling membrane fouling in ceramic membrane bioreactors.

In recent years, ceramic membranes have been increasingly used in membrane bioreactors (MBRs). However, membrane fouling was still the core issue restricting the large-scale engineering application of ceramic MBRs. As a novel and alternative technology, ultrasonic could be used to control membrane fouling. This research focused on the efficiency and mechanism of ultrasonic controlling membrane fouling in ceramic MBRs. The results showed that ultrasonic reduced the sludge concentration in MBR, and the average particle size of sludge was always in a high range. The sludge activity of the system was stable at 6-9 (mg O2·(g MLSS·h)-1), indicating that ultrasonic did not destroy the activity of microorganisms in the system. The extracellular polymer substance (EPS) of the ultrasonic group was slightly higher than that of the control group, while the soluble microbial product (SMP) content was relatively stable. The ceramic membrane of the ultrasonic group has a partial retention effect on the organic components. The application of ultrasonic slowed down the decrease of the hydrophilicity of the ceramic membrane. The main pollutants on the membrane surface exist in the form of aromatic and heteroaromatic rings, alkynes, and so forth. Ultrasonic removes the amide substances from the membrane surface. Membrane fouling resistance is mainly due to membrane pore blockage, accounting for 75.53%. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Enrich the research on the mechanism of ultrasonic technology in membrane fouling control. The MBR can still operate normally with ultrasonic applied. The time for the ceramic membrane to reach the fouling end point is 2.4 times that without ultrasonic. The main cause of membrane fouling was pore blocking, accounting for 75.53%.

Effects of different feeding patterns on the rumen bacterial community of tan lambs, based on high-throughput sequencing of 16S rRNA amplicons.

Introduction: The mutton quality of Chinese Tan lambs (Ovis aries) has declined as feeding patterns have shifted from pasturing to pen rationing. While pen-fed can enhance the growth performance of sheep, it falls short in terms of meat quality attributes such as meat color and tenderness. Furthermore, compared to pen-fed, pasture-fed husbandry increases the proportion of oxidative muscle fibers, decreases the proportion of glycolytic muscle fibers, and reduces LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) activity. Mutton quality is affected by fatty acids, and rumen microorganisms play a role in the synthesis of short-chain fatty acids, long-chain fatty acids, and conjugated linoleic acids. Methods: We used 16S rRNA sequencing to analyze the effects of two feeding patterns on the rumen bacteria of Tan lambs. In a randomized block design with 24 newborn Tan lambs, 12 lambs were fed by ewes in pasture and 12 were fed by pen-fed ewes. At 2 months, the biceps femoris and the longissimus dorsi were analyzed by gas chromatography for intramuscular fat content and fatty acids composition, and DNA in the rumen contents was extracted and used to analyze the structure of the bacterial community. Results: Different feeding patterns had no significant effect on the intramuscular fat content of the biceps femoris and longissimus dorsi of the lambs, but there was a significant effect on fatty acids composition. The fatty acids c18:3n3 and c20:5n3 were significantly higher in the biceps femoris and longissimus dorsi of the pasture group than the pen-ration group. The alpha diversity of rumen bacteria was significantly greater in the pasture group compared to the pen-ration group. The ACE index, Chao1 index, Shannon index, and Simpson index were all notably higher in the pasture group than in the pen-ration group. Utilizing beta diversity analysis to examine the differences in rumen bacteria between the pasture group and pen-ration group, it was observed that the homogeneity of bacteria in the pasture group was lower than that in the pen-ration group. Furthermore, the diversity of rumen bacteria in the pasture group was greater than that in the pen-ration group. Twenty-one phyla were identified in the pasture group, and 14 phyla were identified in the pen-ration group. The dominant phyla in the pasture group were Bacteroidetes and Fibrobacteres; the dominant phyla in the pen-ration group were Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes. The relative abundance of Proteobacteria was significantly higher in the pen-ration group than in the pasture group (p < 0.01). Diversity at the genus level was also higher in the pasture group, with 176 genera in the pasture group and 113 genera in the pen-ration group. The dominant genera in the pasture group were Prevotella_1, Rikenellaceae_RC9_gut_group, and Bacteroidales_BS11_gut_group_Na; the dominant genera in the pen-ration group were Prevotella_1, Prevotella_7, Succinivibrionaceae_UCG-001, and Succinivibrionaceae_NA. Discussion: The rumen bacterial community of Tan sheep is significantly influenced by pen-ration and pasture-fed conditions, leading to variations in fatty acid content in the muscle, which in turn affects the flavor and nutritional value of the meat to some extent. Pasture-fed conditions have been shown to enhance the diversity of rumen bacterial community structure in Tan sheep, thereby increasing the nutritional value of their meat.

Response of a new rumen-derived Bacillus licheniformis to different carbon sources.

Introduction: Bacillus licheniformis (B. licheniformis) is a microorganism with a wide range of probiotic properties and applications. Isolation and identification of novel strains is a major aspect of microbial research. Besides, different carbon sources have varying effects on B. licheniformis in regulating the microenvironment, and these mechanisms need to be investigated further. Methods: In this study, we isolated and identified a new strain of B. licheniformis from bovine rumen fluid and named it B. licheniformis NXU98. The strain was treated with two distinct carbon sources-microcrystalline cellulose (MC) and cellobiose (CB). A combination of transcriptome and proteome analyses was used to investigate different carbon source effects. Results: The results showed that B. licheniformis NXU98 ABC transporter proteins, antibiotic synthesis, flagellar assembly, cellulase-related pathways, and proteins were significantly upregulated in the MC treatment compared to the CB treatment, and lactate metabolism was inhibited. In addition, we used MC as a distinct carbon source to enhance the antibacterial ability of B. licheniformis NXU98, to improve its disease resistance, and to regulate the rumen microenvironment. Discussion: Our research provides a potential new probiotic for feed research and a theoretical basis for investigating the mechanisms by which bacteria respond to different carbon sources.

Learning based compressive snapshot spectral light field imaging with RGB sensors.

The application of multidimensional optical sensing technologies, such as the spectral light field (SLF) imager, has become increasingly common in recent years. The SLF sensors provide information in the form of one-dimensional spectral data, two-dimensional spatial data, and two-dimensional angular measurements. Spatial-spectral and angular data are essential in a variety of fields, from computer vision to microscopy. Beam-splitters or expensive camera arrays are required for the usage of SLF sensors. The paper describes a low-cost RGB light field camera-based compressed snapshot SLF imaging method. Inspired by the compressive sensing paradigm, the four dimensional SLF can be reconstructed from a measurement of an RGB light field camera via a network which is proposed by utilizing a U-shaped neural network with multi-head self-attention and unparameterized Fourier transform modules. This method is capable of gathering images with a spectral resolution of 10 nm, angular resolution of 9 × 9, and spatial resolution of 622 × 432 within the spectral range of 400 to 700 nm. It provides us an alternative approach to implement the low cost SLF imaging.

Channeled compressive imaging spectropolarimeter.

A compressive imaging spectropolarimeter is proposed in this paper, capable of simultaneously acquiring full polarization, spatial and spectral information of the object scene. The spectral and polarization information is modulated through a combination of high-order retarders, a dispersion prism and a polarizer filter wheel. Using a random coded aperture, compressive sensing is applied to eliminate the channel crosstalk and resolution limitation of traditional channeled spectropolarimeters. The forward sensing model and inverse problem are developed. Computer simulation results are reported, followed by experimental demonstrations.

Acquisition of a full-resolution image and aliasing reduction for a spatially modulated imaging polarimeter with two snapshots.

A snapshot imaging polarimeter using spatial modulation can encode four Stokes parameters allowing instantaneous polarization measurement from a single interferogram. However, the reconstructed polarization images could suffer a severe aliasing signal if the high-frequency component of the intensity image is prominent and occurs in the polarization channels, and the reconstructed intensity image also suffers reduction of spatial resolution due to low-pass filtering. In this work, a method using two anti-phase snapshots is proposed to address the two problems simultaneously. The full-resolution target image and the pure interference fringes can be obtained from the sum and the difference of the two anti-phase interferograms, respectively. The polarization information reconstructed from the pure interference fringes does not contain the aliasing signal from the high-frequency component of the object intensity image. The principles of the method are derived and its feasibility is tested by both computer simulation and a verification experiment. This work provides a novel method for spatially modulated imaging polarization technology with two snapshots to simultaneously reconstruct a full-resolution object intensity image and high-quality polarization components.

Wavelet transform based defringing in interference imaging spectrometer.

The constructive and destructive fringe-like pattern (FP) introduced by the fringing effects is a universal phenomenon emerging in the imaging system using the back-illuminated CCD. Generally, the flat fielding or modeling based methods were applied to suppressing the FP and featured as time-consuming, duplicated, and hardware-based. In this paper, a method based on the wavelet transform was proposed for the interferogram processing in interference imaging spectrometer. An artificial interferogram construction method was developed and utilized to evaluate the quality of the reconstructed interferogram. The performance of defringing was significantly determined by the wavelet decomposition. Through numerical simulation, 4 wavelets were selected out of 50 typical wavelets; the decomposition levels with better performance were determined. The feasibility of the defringing and performance evaluation methods were verified by the simulation and practical experiments. It provides us with a software-based, time-saving, without prior knowledge, automatic approach for defringing.

Simultaneous measurement of refractive index and temperature using an epoxy resin-based interferometer.

A fiber-optics reflection probe based on fiber Fabry-Perot interference (FFPI) is proposed and experimentally demonstrated. The sensing structure comprises an epoxy resin (ER)-based cap on the end-face of the single-mode fiber. A well-defined interference spectrum is obtained by the reflective beams of two surfaces of the ER cap. The simultaneous measurements, including fringe contrast-referenced for the surrounding refractive index (SRI) and wavelength-referenced for temperature, have been achieved via selective interference dips monitoring. Experimental results indicate that the proposed FFPI presents an SRI sensitivity of 57.69 dB/RIU in the measurement range of 1.33-1.40 RIU and a temperature sensitivity of 0.98 pm·µm-1·°C-1 with per unit cavity length in the range of 30°C-70°C. The proposed sensor has advantages of being compact and robust, making it an alternative candidate as a smart sensor in chemical and biological applications.

Complete optical throughput analysis of the static polarization wind imaging interferometer.

The basic principle of the static polarization wind imaging interferometer (SPWII) is expounded in this paper. By using trigonometric function and complex amplitude methods, the complex vibration amplitude of each polarization device with deviation from its ideal direction is calculated. The variations of the fringe visibility and optical throughput with deviation angles are given analytically and simulated numerically. According to the design parameters of the SPWII, the air-equivalent length L is equal to 16.14 cm and the total transmissivity is greater than 0.4. When the polarization directions of each polarization device are all in the ideal directions, the total optical throughput can be maintained at about 16.4% of the incident optical intensity. When the polarization directions of each polarization device are all 2° deviated from the ideal positions, the total optical throughput is decreased by 0.08%. This work would be useful for the realization and data processing of the SPWII.

Precise spectrum reconstruction of the Fourier transforms imaging spectrometer based on polarization beam splitters.

A method was proposed to precisely reconstruct the spectrum from the interferogram taken by the Fourier transform imaging spectrometer (FTIS) based on the polarization beam splitters. Taken the FTISs based on the Savart polariscope and Wollaston prism as examples, the distorted spectrums were corrected via the proposed method effectively. The feasibility of the method was verified via simulation. The distorted spectrum, recovered from the interferogram taken by the polarization imaging spectrometer developed by us, was corrected.

Empirical mode decomposition based background removal and de-noising in polarization interference imaging spectrometer.

Based on empirical mode decomposition (EMD), the background removal and de-noising procedures of the data taken by polarization interference imaging interferometer (PIIS) are implemented. Through numerical simulation, it is discovered that the data processing methods are effective. The assumption that the noise mostly exists in the first intrinsic mode function is verified, and the parameters in the EMD thresholding de-noising methods is determined. In comparison, the wavelet and windowed Fourier transform based thresholding de-noising methods are introduced. The de-noised results are evaluated by the SNR, spectral resolution and peak value of the de-noised spectrums. All the methods are used to suppress the effect from the Gaussian and Poisson noise. The de-noising efficiency is higher for the spectrum contaminated by Gaussian noise. The interferogram obtained by the PIIS is processed by the proposed methods. Both the interferogram without background and noise free spectrum are obtained effectively. The adaptive and robust EMD based methods are effective to the background removal and de-noising in PIIS.

Static hyperspectral imaging polarimeter for full linear Stokes parameters.

A compact, static hyperspectral imaging linear polarimeter (HILP) based on a Savart interferometer (SI) is conceptually described. It improves the existing SI by replacing front polarizer with two Wollaston prisms, and can simultaneously acquire four interferograms corresponding to four linearly polarized lights on a single CCD. The spectral dependence of linear Stokes parameters can be recovered with Fourier transformation. Since there is no rotating or moving parts, the system is relatively robust. The interference model of the HILP is proved. The performance of the system is demonstrated through a numerical simulation, and the methods for compensating the imperfection of the polarization elements are described.

Static polarization-difference interference imaging spectrometer.

A static polarization-difference imaging spectrometer is conceptually described and demonstrated through experiment. It consists of a Wollaston prism, a Savart polariscope, a linear analyzer, and a CCD camera. This design improves the existing polarization-difference system by eliminating its moving parts and obtaining the spectral variation of the polarization state, and making the system more compact and robust. After simultaneously acquiring two sequential interference images corresponding to two orthogonal polarization states, the hyperspectral images of the states can be reconstructed, respectively. The use of uniaxial birefringent crystal can widen the detectable spectral region.

Spectrum reconstruction based on the constrained optimal linear inverse methods.

The dispersion effect of birefringent material results in spectrally varying Nyquist frequency for the Fourier transform spectrometer based on birefringent prism. Correct spectral information cannot be retrieved from the observed interferogram if the dispersion effect is not appropriately compensated. Some methods, such as nonuniform fast Fourier transforms and compensation method, were proposed to reconstruct the spectrum. In this Letter, an alternative constrained spectrum reconstruction method is suggested for the stationary polarization interference imaging spectrometer (SPIIS) based on the Savart polariscope. In the theoretical model of the interferogram, the noise and the total measurement error are included, and the spectrum reconstruction is performed by using the constrained optimal linear inverse methods. From numerical simulation, it is found that the proposed method is much more effective and robust than the nonconstrained spectrum reconstruction method proposed by Jian, and provides a useful spectrum reconstruction approach for the SPIIS.