Recent Progress in the Use of Capacitive Deionization and Microbial Desalination Cell for Water Treatment - A Critical Review

The increasing depletion of water resources is a severe obstacle to the sustainable development. Finding new ways to provide clean water is one of the many collaborative activities that will be obligatory to resolve this worldwide issue. In this regard, among various methods, electrochemical methods have been used for water treatment. For instance, capacitive deionization (CDI) and microbial desalination cells (MDCs) are capable technologies that can overcome the aforementioned issue. In this regard, current study examines recent advancements in MDC and CDI technologies along with the ongoing research in this field. Moreover, it discusses different configurations of these technologies constructed in the past with different materials and methods to present a better understanding of systems’ efficiencies, along with their contribution towards research and development. It further presents the unexplored prospects of MDCs and CDI for future work

Forecasting impulsive consumers driven by macro-influencers posts: Intervention of followers\u27 flow state and perceived informativeness

Social media influencers have been persuading their followers\u27 shopping experiences according to their reach; however, limited studies unveil the influence of macro-influencers (MIFs) on followers\u27 impulsive decisions. This research divulges the role of MIFs posts\u27 characteristics in impulsive urges through the perceptive route based on the self-determination theory and stimulus-organism-response model. In addition, the interaction effect of perceived risk is examined. Data from 511 followers of MIFs were analyzed by structural equation modeling. Findings portray that MIFs posts\u27 authenticity and visual appeal positively impact followers\u27 perceived informativeness and flow state, leading to the urge to buy impulsively. Besides, a positive association is observed among MIFs posts\u27 authenticity, visual appeal, perceived informativeness, and flow state. Moderating results indicate that higher perceived risk significantly discourages followers from getting involved in impulsive urges. Unexpectedly, it could not influence the followers\u27 flow state. This novel research provides valued implications to recognize and design effective strategies embedded in the phenomenon of MIFs to instigate impulse buying

The role of blockchain-enabled traceability, task technology fit, and user self-efficacy in mobile food delivery applications

The working pattern of the food industry has entirely changed with the emergence of mobile food delivery apps (MFDAs), which deliver an innovative method to interact with and offer high-quality services to customers. This study pinpoints the imperative factors affecting the customer\u27s attitude and continued intention in light of the task technology fit (TTF) model. The required data were collected from MFDA users and analyzed by the structural equation modeling technique via Amos-23 and SPSS-22. The results confirm that customer rating, ordering review, food tracking, navigational design, and user self-efficacy positively impact TTF. Further, self-efficacy positively moderates the relationship between visual design and TTF, navigational design and TTF, and food tracking and TTF. Moreover, TTF positively influences attitude and continued intention, and in turn, attitude positively influences continued intention. Additionally, blockchain technology (BT) enabled traceability positively moderates the relationship between TTF, attitudes, and continued intention to use MFDAs. The developers of MFDAs should consider how customers perceive BT-enabled traceability and take steps to embrace it to increase customer trust in MFDAs. Furthermore, the theoretical and managerial applications are explained in detail so that developers can offer what MFDA users need

Influence by osmosis: Social media green communities and pro-environmental behavior

While there is growing adoption of social media by environmental stakeholders, whether and how social media green communities affect netizens\u27 pro-environmental behavior is understudied. Underpinned by social learning theory, this study explores the relation of green community browsing to netizens\u27 pro-environmental behavior, the underlying mechanisms, and the interactive role of a critical social cue. Results of structural equation modeling in a sample of 585 members of green communities indicate that green communities\u27 browsing has a significant relationship with pro-environmental behavior through the sequential mediation of participation and environmental concern. The volume of likes strengthens the relationship between netizens\u27 browsing of green communities and participation. This novel study offers valuable insights into the role of social media green communities

Correction: Qualitative analysis of biosurfactants from Bacillus species exhibiting antifungal activity.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0198107.]

Zinc nutrition in wheat-based cropping systems

Zinc (Zn) deficiency is one of the most important micronutrient disorders affecting human health. Wheat is the staple food for 35% of the world's population and is inherently low in Zn, which increases the incidence of Zn deficiency in humans. Major wheat-based cropping systems viz. rice-wheat, cotton-wheat and maize-wheat are prone to Zn deficiency due to the high Zn demand of these crops. This review highlights the role of Zn in plant biology and its effect on wheat-based cropping systems. Agronomic, breeding and molecular approaches to improve Zn nutrition and biofortification of wheat grain are discussed. Zinc is most often applied to crops through soil and foliar methods. The application of Zn through seed treatments has improved grain yield and grain Zn status in wheat. In cropping systems where legumes are cultivated in rotation with wheat, microorganisms can improve the available Zn pool in soil for the wheat crop. Breeding and molecular approaches have been used to develop wheat genotypes with high grain Zn density. Options for improving grain yield and grain Zn concentration in wheat include screening wheat genotypes for higher root Zn uptake and grain translocation efficiency, the inclusion of these Zn-efficient genotypes in breeding programs, and Zn fertilization through soil, foliar and seed treatments