7 research outputs found
Interdisciplinary Regional Collaboration for Public Health Adaptation to Climate Change in the Eastern Mediterranean
Recognizing animal personhood in compassionate conservation
Compassionate conservation is based on the ethical position that actions taken to protect biodiversity should be guided by compassion for all sentient beings. Critics argue that there are 3 core reasons harming animals is acceptable in conservation programs: the primary purpose of conservation is biodiversity protection; conservation is already compassionate to animals; and conservation should prioritize compassion to humans. We used argument analysis to clarify the values and logics underlying the debate around compassionate conservation. We found that objections to compassionate conservation are expressions of human exceptionalism, the view that humans are of a categorically separate and higher moral status than all other species. In contrast, compassionate conservationists believe that conservation should expand its moral community by recognizing all sentient beings as persons. Personhood, in an ethical sense, implies the individual is owed respect and should not be treated merely as a means to other ends. On scientific and ethical grounds, there are good reasons to extend personhood to sentient animals, particularly in conservation. The moral exclusion or subordination of members of other species legitimates the ongoing manipulation and exploitation of the living worlds, the very reason conservation was needed in the first place. Embracing compassion can help dismantle human exceptionalism, recognize nonhuman personhood, and navigate a more expansive moral space
Scaling of RO-Membranes in Desalination of Wastewater and the Effect of Organic Matter on Calcium-Phosphate Mineralization.
Effects of Biological Molecules on Calcium Mineral Formation Associated with Wastewater Desalination as Assessed using Small-Angle Neutron Scattering
Biopolymer-induced calcium phosphate scaling in membrane-based water treatment systems: Langmuir model films studies
Biofouling and scaling on reverse osmosis (RO) or nanofiltration (NF) membranes during desalination of secondary and tertiary effluents pose an obstacle that limits the reuse of wastewater. In this study we explored the mineral scaling induced by biopolymers originated from bacterial biofilms: bovine serum albumin (BSA), fibrinogen, lysozyme and alginic acid, as well as an extracts of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) from bio-fouled RO membranes from wastewater treatment facility. Mineralization studies were performed on Langmuir films of the biopolymers deposited at the interface of a solution simulating RO desalination of secondary-treated wastewater effluents. All studied biopolymers and EPS induced heterogeneous mineralization of mainly calcium phosphate. Using IR spectroscopy coupled with systematic quantitative analysis of the surface pressure versus molecular-area isotherms, we determined the mineralization tendencies of the biopolymers to be in the order of: fibrinogen > lysozyme > BSA > alginic acid. The biopolymers and EPS studied here were found to be accelerators of calcium-phosphate mineralization. This study demonstrates the utilization of Langmuir surface-pressure area isotherms and a model solution in quantitatively assessing the mineralization tendencies of various molecular components of EPS in context of membrane-based water treatment systems
Effects of Biological Molecules on Calcium Mineral Formation Associated with Wastewater Desalination as Assessed using Small-Angle Neutron Scattering
Calcium phosphate scale formation
on reverse osmosis (RO) membranes
is one of the main limitations on cost-effective desalination of domestic
wastewater worldwide. It has been shown that organic agents affect
mineralization. In this study, we explored mineralization in the presence
of two biofilm-relevant organic compounds, the proteins bovine serum
albumin (BSA) and lysozyme, in a simulated secondary effluent (SSE)
solution using small-angle neutron scattering (SANS), and applied
the results to analyses of mineral precipitation in RO desalination
of secondary effluents of wastewater. The two proteins are prominent
members of bacterial extracellular polymeric substances (EPSs), forming
biofilms that are frequently associated with RO-membrane fouling during
wastewater desalination. Laboratory experiments showed that both proteins
in SSE solution are involved in complex mineralization processes.
Only small portions of both protein fractions are involved in mineralization
processes, whereas most of the protein fractions remain as monomers
in solution. Contrast variation showed that composite particles of
mineral and protein are formed instantaneously to a radius of gyration
of about 300 Å, coexisting with particles of about μm size.
After about one day, these large particles start to grow again at
the expense of the 300 Å particles. The volume fraction of the
300 Å particles is of the order of 2 × 10<sup>–4</sup>, which is too large to represent calcium phosphate such as hydroxyapatite
as the only mineral present. Considering the data of mineral volume
fraction obtained here as well as the solubility product of possible
mineral polymorphs in the SSE solution, we suggest the formation of
protein-mineral particles of hydroxyapatite and calcium carbonate
during scale formation
Recognizing animal personhood in compassionate conservation
Compassionate conservation is based on the ethical position that actions taken to protect biodiversity should be guided by compassion for all sentient beings. Critics argue that there are 3 core reasons harming animals is acceptable in conservation programs: the primary purpose of conservation is biodiversity protection; conservation is already compassionate to animals; and conservation should prioritize compassion to humans. We used argument analysis to clarify the values and logics underlying the debate around compassionate conservation. We found that objections to compassionate conservation are expressions of human exceptionalism, the view that humans are of a categorically separate and higher moral status than all other species. In contrast, compassionate conservationists believe that conservation should expand its moral community by recognizing all sentient beings as persons. Personhood, in an ethical sense, implies the individual is owed respect and should not be treated merely as a means to other ends. On scientific and ethical grounds, there are good reasons to extend personhood to sentient animals, particularly in conservation. The moral exclusion or subordination of members of other species legitimates the ongoing manipulation and exploitation of the living worlds, the very reason conservation was needed in the first place. Embracing compassion can help dismantle human exceptionalism, recognize nonhuman personhood, and navigate a more expansive moral space.
https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13494
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/helenkopnina