Multi-Physics Simulation of Tar-Rich Coal In Situ Pyrolysis with a Multiregion Homogenization Treatment.

The macroscopic multi-physics simulation of tar-rich coal in situ pyrolysis (TCISP) is conducted, in the fractured porous zone, by coupling heat transfer, fluid flow, and chemical reaction. A novel TCISP pattern of gas injection between fractured zones is proposed by treating the fractured porous zone as a homogeneous porosity gradient descending region. In this case, nearly 11,500 kg of oil can be produced within 6 months from a 10*10*1 m3 area. The influence of the fractured zone and porosity are investigated. The results indicated that gas injection between fractured zones is more conducive to rapid production, compared with the traditional case where the gas injection is in the center. The temperature field is more uniform, which is conducive to maintaining the same reaction conditions and producing appropriate products. Inlet velocity has a positive effect on the increase of heat transfer rate but has a negative effect on heat transfer uniformity. There is an optimal inlet temperature of 973 K for the fastest heating rate. With the increase in temperature, the heat transfer uniformity gets worse. Increasing the height of the fractured zone is beneficial for the heating rate and heat transfer uniformity.

Addition of Bamboo Charcoal to Selenium (Se)-Rich Feed Improves Growth and Antioxidant Capacity of Blunt Snout Bream (Megalobrama amblycephala).

The ability of bamboo charcoal to reduce the negative effects of high dietary selenium (Se) concentrations was assessed by feeding juvenile blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala) one of five Se-rich diets (1.5 mg/kg Se; 36% protein, 8.7% lipid) containing graded levels (0-4 g/kg) of bamboo charcoal powder for eight weeks. There were four tanks (350 L) of fish (initial weight 16.0 ± 0.5 g) for each treatment, and the fish were fed to satiation four times each day. At the end of the feeding trial, all of the fish from each tank were weighed to calculate the growth performance. Blood samples were firstly obtained to collect plasma for the biochemical indexes determination. Liver tissues were then collected to determine the antioxidant enzyme activities and gene expression. Dorsal muscles were also collected to determine the nutrient composition. The results show that when the bamboo charcoal content in the Se-rich feed ranged between 0 and 3 g/kg, the weight growth rate (WGR) and specific growth rate (SGR) values increased with the higher dietary bamboo charcoal content, and the maximum WGR and SGR values were achieved when the bamboo charcoal content in the Se-rich feed was 2-3 g/kg (p < 0.05). The Se content in muscle tissues decreased significantly with the increased bamboo charcoal content (p < 0.05) in the Se-rich feed, which ranged from 0 to 4 g/kg. When the bamboo charcoal content in the Se-rich feed was 2-3 g/kg, the levels of glucose (GLU) and albumin (ALB) in plasma reached a maximum (p < 0.05), whereas the level of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) reached a minimum (p < 0.05). Additionally, the activities of catalase (CAT), total superoxide dismutase (T-SOD), total antioxidative capacity (T-AOC), and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were significantly enhanced (p < 0.05) when the bamboo charcoal content was 3 g/kg. In contrast, the malondialdehyde (MDA) level increased sharply when the bamboo charcoal content in the Se-rich feed was 1 g/kg, compared to the control group and the groups supplemented with 2-3 g/kg bamboo charcoal (p < 0.05). Regarding mRNA-level gene expression, the results show that dietary supplementation with 0 to 3 g/kg of bamboo charcoal increased the expression of keap1 and nrf2, whereas nfkb expression was inhibited (p < 0.05). The mRNA expression of the antioxidant enzymes cat, gpx, and mn-sod was consistently enhanced in the group fed with the 3 g/kg bamboo charcoal diet (p < 0.05). The expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines tnfα and tgfß was inhibited in the groups supplemented with 2-3 g/kg bamboo charcoal, whereas the expression of anti-inflammatory cytokines (il10) increased in the bamboo charcoal supplementation groups compared to the control group (p < 0.05). Generally, supplementation with 2-3 g/kg of bamboo charcoal in Se-rich feed improved the growth performance, physiological status, and antioxidant enzyme activities of blunt snout bream. Moreover, bamboo charcoal supplementation in Se-rich diets stimulated the antioxidant system and inhibited the inflammatory response by activating Nrf2-Keap1 and suppressing NF-κB.

Molecular and functional characterization of sirt4 and sirt6 in Megalobrama amblycephala under high glucose metabolism.

We analyzed the sequences of sirt4 and sirt6 and their changes in expression after oral glucose administration in blunt snout bream (Megalobrama amblycephala). We cloned sirt4 and sirt6 and found that their full-length cDNA sequences were 1530 bp and 1723 bp, respectively; their amino acid sequences were 93% and 92% identical to Danio rerio. Megalobrama amblycephala were fed a high glucose solution (3 g/kg). Normally, sirt4 expression is higher in spleen, intestine, and gill (P < .05), and sirt6 expression is higher in intestine and gill (P < .05). After oral glucose administration, sirt4 and sirt6 expression increased in liver and gill, and sirt4 expression increased in intestine at 0.5 h (P < .05). In contrast, sirt4 in kidney and sirt6 in head kidney were downregulated at 1 h (P < .05). Expression of sirt4 was upregulated in brain, head kidney, spleen, muscle, and liver 2 h, 4 h, 4 h/24 h, 8 h, and 24 h, respectively (P < .05). Expression of sirt4 was downregulated in kidney at 8 h-48 h (P < .05). Expression of sirt6 was upregulated in intestine, liver, muscle, kidney, and spleen at 4 h/24 h, 8 h/24 h, 12 h, 12 h, and 24 h, respectively (P < .05). We report that sirt4 and sirt6 are highly conserved in evolution and exhibit tissue-specific expression profiles. We demonstrate that the expression of sirt4 and sirt6 are tissue-specific, and depend upon tissue-specific responses to glucose metabolism.