A Robust Operation Method with Advanced Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage for Integrated Energy System under Failure Conditions

Integrated energy system (IES) is an important direction for the future development of the energy industry, and the stable operation of the IES can ensure heat and power supply. This study established an integrated system composed of an IES and advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage (AA-CAES) to guarantee the robust operation of the IES under failure conditions. Firstly, a robust operation method using the AA-CAES is formulated to ensure the stable operation of the IES. The method splits the energy release process of the AA-CAES into two parts: a heat-ensuring part and a power-ensuring part. The heat-ensuring part uses the high-temp tank to maintain the balance of the heat subnet of the IES, and the power-ensuring part uses the air turbine of the first stage to maintain the balance of the power subnet. Moreover, another operation method using a spare gas boiler is formulated to compare the income of the IES with two different methods under failure conditions. The results showed that the AA-CAES could guarantee the balance of heat subnet and power subnet under steady conditions, and the dynamic operation income of the IES with the AA-CAES method was a bit higher than the income of the IES with the spare gas boiler method

A Robust Operation Method with Advanced Adiabatic Compressed Air Energy Storage for Integrated Energy System under Failure Conditions

Integrated energy system (IES) is an important direction for the future development of the energy industry, and the stable operation of the IES can ensure heat and power supply. This study established an integrated system composed of an IES and advanced adiabatic compressed air energy storage (AA-CAES) to guarantee the robust operation of the IES under failure conditions. Firstly, a robust operation method using the AA-CAES is formulated to ensure the stable operation of the IES. The method splits the energy release process of the AA-CAES into two parts: a heat-ensuring part and a power-ensuring part. The heat-ensuring part uses the high-temp tank to maintain the balance of the heat subnet of the IES, and the power-ensuring part uses the air turbine of the first stage to maintain the balance of the power subnet. Moreover, another operation method using a spare gas boiler is formulated to compare the income of the IES with two different methods under failure conditions. The results showed that the AA-CAES could guarantee the balance of heat subnet and power subnet under steady conditions, and the dynamic operation income of the IES with the AA-CAES method was a bit higher than the income of the IES with the spare gas boiler method

A Putative Role of Vasopressin/Oxytocin-Type Neuropeptide in Osmoregulation and Feeding Inhibition of <i>Apostichopus japonicus</i>

Vasopressin/oxytocin (VP/OT)-type neuropeptide is an ancient neurophysin-associated neuropeptide and has been intensively studied to be involved in multiple physiological processes in protostomian and deuterostome vertebrates. However, little is known about the functions of VP/OT-type neuropeptide in deuterostome invertebrates especially in echinoderms. Here, we firstly report VP/OT-type neuropeptide signaling in an important economic species, Apostichopus japonicus, which is widely cultured in Asia, with high nutritional and medicinal values. Molecular characterization analysis of holotocin and its precursor revealed the highly conserved features of VP/OT family. The candidate receptor for holotocin (AjHOR) was confirmed to be able to activate the signaling via cAMP-PKA and possible Ca2+-PKC pathway, and further activated the downstream ERK1/2 cascade. Holotocin precursor expression profile showed that they were mainly concentrated in circumoral nerve ring. Furthermore, in vitro pharmacological experiments demonstrated that holotocin caused contractile responses in preparations from A. japonicus. And in vivo functional studies indicated that short-term injection of holotocin resulted in body bloat and long-term injection resulted in reduced body mass, suggesting potential roles of holotocin in osmoregulation and feeding co-inhibition with holotocin–CCK. Our findings provided a comprehensive description of AjHOR–holotocin signaling, revealed ancient roles of holotocin in osmoregulation and feeding inhibition by controlling muscle contractions

Structural and Functional Improvements of Coastal Ecosystem Based on Artificial Oyster Reef Construction in the Bohai Sea, China

Oyster reefs are gaining more and more attention in marine ranching and coastal ecosystem restoration, but tremendous knowledge gaps still exist. In this study, we developed trophic models for the established artificial oyster reef (EAOR), newly deployed artificial oyster reef (NAOR), and non-reef bare substratum (NBS) ecosystems located in the Bay of Xiangyun, Bohai Sea, China, to assess the benefits of artificial oyster reef construction and to characterize the unique role of these reefs in coastal management. The analysis showed that the EAOR and NAOR ecosystems were similar to each other, but both were greatly different than the NBS ecosystem. Reefs showed greater "ecological size" and stronger top-down effects compared to the bare area. The ecosystems were not yet mature, but the EAOR and NAOR ecosystems had more complicated trophic relationships, greater potential to withstand perturbations, and higher biological carrying capacities of commercial organisms compared to the NBS ecosystem. These results demonstrated that artificial oyster reef construction resulted in great advantages to the ecosystem. For example, oysters became the structuring functional group and played a critical role in the trophic structure of the reef areas. The phytoplankton/detritus-oysters-carnivorous macrobenthos pathway developed and became dominant in these areas, thereby contributing to highly efficient secondary production. The ratios of total primary production/total respiration were < 1, indicating that the reef ecosystems responded effectively to nutrient inputs from adjacent ecosystems. We speculate that water exchange might be a critical factor influencing the maintenance of the system. Long-term monitoring of the EAOR and NAOR should be implemented for oyster protection and to assess the need to manipulate carnivorous macrobenthos to keep the systems in balance. Results of this study could benefit the restoration, exploitation, and management of oyster reefs. Further studies should take the adjacent ecosystems and anthropogenic activities into account

The Concept, Technical System and Heat Transfer Analysis on Phase-Change Heat Storage Backfill for Exploitation of Geothermal Energy

In view of high ground stress, high geothermal temperature, and thermal hazard during deep mineral resource exploitation, the concept of phase-change heat storage backfill was put forward in this study. Further, the corresponding technical system was constructed and the main content involved in technical system, which is the optimized proportion of the backfill slurry added with phase-change materials (PCMs), was examined. Moreover, we elaborated upon the collaborative optimization of a backfill body&rsquo;s mechanical and thermal properties and the mutual cooperation on backfill mining, geothermal energy exploitation, and simultaneous stope cooling. The heat transfer behavior of a backfill body plays a key role in technology system. We numerically simulated the heat transfer among a backfill body, surrounding rock, and airflow in the heat storage process, as well as the heat transfer between backfill body and cold fluid during the heat release process. The temperature distribution of a backfill body at different heat storage/heat release times&mdash;i.e., the temperature distribution and its evolution&mdash;with heat transfer were revealed and analyzed. This study can provide theoretical guidance for a phase-change heat storage backfill, as it has an important significance for the collaborative exploitation of mineral resources and geothermal energy

A Systematic Review of Phytochemistry, Pharmacology and Pharmacokinetics on <i>Astragali</i> Radix: Implications for <i>Astragali</i> Radix as a Personalized Medicine

Astragali radix (AR) is one of the most widely used traditional Chinese herbal medicines. Modern pharmacological studies and clinical practices indicate that AR possesses various biological functions, including potent immunomodulation, antioxidant, anti-inflammation and antitumor activities. To date, more than 200 chemical constituents have been isolated and identified from AR. Among them, isoflavonoids, saponins and polysaccharides are the three main types of beneficial compounds responsible for its pharmacological activities and therapeutic efficacy. After ingestion of AR, the metabolism and biotransformation of the bioactive compounds were extensive in vivo. The isoflavonoids and saponins and their metabolites are the major type of constituents absorbed in plasma. The bioavailability barrier (BB), which is mainly composed of efflux transporters and conjugating enzymes, is expected to have a significant impact on the bioavailability of AR. This review summarizes studies on the phytochemistry, pharmacology and pharmacokinetics on AR. Additionally, the use of AR as a personalized medicine based on the BB is also discussed, which may provide beneficial information to achieve a better and more accurate therapeutic response of AR in clinical practice

High-Throughput Sequencing Reveals Differential Expression of miRNAs in Intestine from Sea Cucumber during Aestivation

<div><p>The regulatory role of miRNA in gene expression is an emerging hot new topic in the control of hypometabolism. Sea cucumber aestivation is a complicated physiological process that includes obvious hypometabolism as evidenced by a decrease in the rates of oxygen consumption and ammonia nitrogen excretion, as well as a serious degeneration of the intestine into a very tiny filament. To determine whether miRNAs play regulatory roles in this process, the present study analyzed profiles of miRNA expression in the intestine of the sea cucumber (<i>Apostichopus japonicus</i>), using Solexa deep sequencing technology. We identified 308 sea cucumber miRNAs, including 18 novel miRNAs specific to sea cucumber. Animals sampled during deep aestivation (DA) after at least 15 days of continuous torpor, were compared with animals from a non-aestivation (NA) state (animals that had passed through aestivation and returned to the active state). We identified 42 differentially expressed miRNAs [RPM (reads per million) >10, |FC| (|fold change|) ≥1, FDR (false discovery rate) <0.01] during aestivation, which were validated by two other miRNA profiling methods: miRNA microarray and real-time PCR. Among the most prominent miRNA species, miR-200-3p, miR-2004, miR-2010, miR-22, miR-252a, miR-252a-3p and miR-92 were significantly over-expressed during deep aestivation compared with non-aestivation animals. Preliminary analyses of their putative target genes and GO analysis suggest that these miRNAs could play important roles in global transcriptional depression and cell differentiation during aestivation. High-throughput sequencing data and microarray data have been submitted to GEO database.</p></div

Nervous System Development and Neuropeptides Characterization in Embryo and Larva: Insights from a Non-Chordate Deuterostome, the Sea Cucumber Apostichopus japonicus

Here, we described the complex nervous system at five early developmental stages (blastula, gastrula, auricularia, doliolaria and pentactula) of a holothurian species with highly economic value, Apostichopus japonicus. The results revealed that the nervous system of embryos and larvae is mainly distributed in the anterior apical region, ciliary bands or rings, and the feeding and attachment organs, and that serotonergic immunoreactivity was not observed until the embryo developed into the late gastrula; these are evolutionarily conserved features of echinoderm, hemichordate and protostome larvae. Furthermore, based on available transcriptome data, we reported the neuropeptide precursors profile at different embryonic and larval developmental stages. This analysis showed that 40 neuropeptide precursors present in adult sea cucumbers were also identified at different developmental stages of embryos and larvae, and only four neuropeptide precursors (SWYG precursor 2, GYWKDLDNYVKAHKT precursor, Neuropeptide precursor 14-like precursor, GLRFAmprecursor-like precursor) predicted in adults were absent in embryos and larvae. Combining the quantitative expression of ten specific neuropeptide precursor genes (NPs) by qRT-PCR, we revealed the potential important roles of neuropeptides in embryo development, feeding and attachment in A. japonicus larvae. In conclusion, this work provides novel perspectives on the diverse physiological functions of neuropeptides and contributes to understanding the evolution of neuropeptidergic systems in echinoderm embryos and larvae

Mapping statics of Solexa sequencing reads.

<p>Mapping statics of Solexa sequencing reads.</p