Zero-Emission Cement Plants with Advanced Amine-Based CO2 Capture.

Decarbonization of the cement sector is essentially required to achieve carbon neutrality to combat climate change. Amine-based CO2 capture is a leading and practical technology to deeply remove CO2 from the cement industry, owing to its high retrofittability to existing cement plants and extensive engineering experience in industrial flue gas decarbonization. While research efforts have been made to achieve low-carbon cement with 90% CO2 removal, a net-zero-emission cement plant that will be required for a carbon neutrality society has not yet been investigated. The present study proposed an advanced amine-based CO2 capture system integrated with a cement plant to achieve net-zero CO2 emission by pushing the CO2 capture efficiency to 99.7%. Monoethanomaine (MEA) and piperazine/2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol (PZ-AMP) amine systems, which are considered to be the first- and second-generation capture agents, respectively, were detailed investigated to deeply decarbonize the cement plant. Compared to MEA, the advanced PZ-AMP system exhibited excellent energy performance with a regeneration duty of ∼2.6 GJ/tonne CO2 at 99.7% capture, 39% lower than the MEA process. This enabled a low CO2 avoided cost of $72.0/tonne CO2, which was 18% lower than that of the MEA-based zero-emission process and even 16.2% lower than the standard 90% MEA process. Sensitivity analysis revealed that the zero-emission capture cost of the PZ-AMP system would be further reduced to below $56/tonne CO2 at a $4/GJ steam production cost, indicating its economic competitiveness among various CO2 capture technologies to achieve a zero-emission cement plant.

Non-Esterified Fatty Acid-Induced Apoptosis in Bovine Granulosa Cells via ROS-Activated PI3K/AKT/FoxO1 Pathway.

Non-esterified fatty acid (NEFA), one of negative energy balance (NEB)'s most well-known products, has a significant impact on cows' reproductive potential. Our study used an in vitro model to investigate the deleterious effects of NEFA on bovine granulosa cells (BGCs) and its underlying molecular mechanism. The results showed that high levels of NEFA led to the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), increased the expression of apoptosis-related factors such as Bcl2-Associated X/B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bax/Bcl-2) and Caspase-3, and down-regulated steroid synthesis-related genes such as sterol regulatory element binding protein 1 (SREBP-1), cytochrome P450c17 (CYP17), and cytochrome P450 aromatase (CYP19), to promote oxidative stress, cell apoptosis, and steroid hormone synthesis disorders in BGCs. In addition, NEFA significantly inhibited phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and phosphorylated protein kinase B (p-AKT) activity and increased forkhead box O1 (FoxO1) expression. To further explore the role of the PI3K/AKT/FoxO1 signaling pathway in NEFA, we found that pretreatment with AKT-specific activator SC79 (5 mg/mL) for 2 h or transfection with FoxO1 knockdown siRNA in BGCs could alleviate the negative effects of NEFA treatment by decreasing Bax/Bcl-2 ratio and Caspase-3 expression, and upregulating SREBP-1, CYP17, and CYP19 expression. Meanwhile, SC79 significantly inhibited NEFA-induced dephosphorylation and massive nuclear translocation of FoxO1. Taken together, the NEFA induced oxidative stress, apoptosis, and steroid hormone synthesis disorders in BGCs by inhibiting the PI3K/AKT pathway that regulates FoxO1 phosphorylation and nuclear translocation. Our findings help to clarify the molecular mechanisms underlying the negative effects of high levels of NEFA on BGCs.

Effect of a Multistrain Probiotic on Feline Gut Health through the Fecal Microbiota and Its Metabolite SCFAs.

With the increasing awareness of raising pets following scientific methods, people are becoming increasingly more interested in the nutrition and health of pets, especially their intestinal health, which has become a research hotspot. Both Saccharomyces boulardii and Pediococcus acidilactici are probiotics with strong probiotic properties that can maintain the balance of intestinal flora. However, the role of Saccharomyces boulardii and Pediococcus acidilactici in felines has not been comprehensively studied to date. The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of multistrain probiotics consisting of Saccharomyces boulardii and Pediococcus acidilactici on the gut health of felines by modulating gut microbes and the production of metabolite SCFAs. The results show that the multistrain probiotic did not alter the intestinal microbial diversity and structure of short-haired domestic cats, promoted the colonization of beneficial bacteria, increased the levels of microbiota-derived SCFAs and fecal antioxidants, and reduced the levels of fecal inflammatory markers. In conclusion, the use of a multistrain probiotic in healthy, short-haired domestic cats can promote gut health by modulating gut microbes, improving microbiota-derived SCFA production, reducing inflammatory conditions, and improving antioxidant status. These results provide new insights for further exploration of the role of probiotics in the gut microbiome of cats.