**9. Medical treatment**

Hormonal treatment has a supplementary role in the treatment of catamenial pneumothorax. With the administration of hormonal therapy, it is possible to prevent recurrences of catamenial pneumothorax.

A multidisciplinary approach is mandatory for the management of the disease and administration of gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogue, which results in the lack of menses, and is suggested for all patients with proven catamenial pneumothorax in the early postoperative period for 6–12 months [4, 7, 8, 22, 24, 30, 48]. Patients without documented catamenial character or histologically proven thoracic endometriosis may also benefit from hormonal treatment even in the presence of characteristic lesions [24, 30].

Woman's plans concerning pregnancy are very crucial, when deciding whether to start hormonal therapy or not. In such therapies, oral contraceptive pills (estrogen-progestogen) are usually used which induce menses every 28 days or they are used continuously without inducing menses. These pills also include progestogens, and they may be administered orally, intramuscularly, or in intrauterine way.

**49**

*Catamenial Pneumothorax*

endometriosis [17].

for catamenial pneumothorax.

**10. Results of treatment**

mothorax [8–10, 22–24, 29].

recurrence [24, 30, 38–56].

**11. Conclusions**

the surgical results.

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82564*

the contraindications of hormonal therapy [29].

thorax [55], which is described in **Figure 2** in detail.

reported recurrence rates of 20–40% [4, 7, 41, 53].

routine postoperative hormonal treatment [55].

when recurrent catamenial pneumothorax occurs.

fenestrations are detected in diaphragm.

pneumothorax [3–13, 15, 23, 24, 30, 32].

There are also several medications, which are currently in use. Medical treatment is recommended in patients when catamenial pneumothorax is associated with

The aim of early GnRH analogue delivery is to prevent cyclic hormonal changes and to suppress the activity of the ectopic endometrium until effective pleurodesis occurs, because time is needed for the formation of effective pleural adhesions [38]. Hormonal treatment is advised for longer periods especially after reoperations

Proven ineffectiveness of the therapy or significant side effects of the drugs are

There is an accepted surgical algorithm and treatment in catamenial pneumo-

Practically, surgery for catamenial pneumothorax has very low mortality and morbidity. Recurrence is the most common complication of CPX, and there are

High recurrence rates are much higher than surgically treated idiopathic pneu-

A low recurrence rate (8.3%), at a mean follow-up of 45.8 months, was reported by Attaran et al., by video thoracoscopic abrasion and pleurectomy, diaphragmatic repair and PTFE mesh coverage for the repair of diaphragmatic defects, and a

Also Alifano et al. reported that the highest postoperative recurrence rate in 114 women who were operated due to recurrent spontaneous pneumothorax was in the catamenial pneumothorax group (32%), and this was followed by a noncatamenial endometriosis-associated pneumothorax group (27%). They also reported a recurrence rate of 5.3%, at a mean of 32.7 months of follow-up, in patients with noncatamenial nonendometriosis-associated pneumothorax [32]. Incomplete surgical treatment of lesions and lack of additional hormonal treatment in the early postoperative period [23, 24, 38–54] may increase the risk of

Young women with pneumothorax, especially in the perimenstrual period, should be suspected of catamenial pneumothorax. Failure occurs most frequently

The lesions of the parietal and visceral pleura should be carefully examined and removed during surgery. Diaphragm reconstruction is required every time when

Hormonal therapy is also recommended because it facilitates the effectiveness of

Multidisciplinary approach with early postoperative hormonal treatment, which

deals with all thoracic pathologies including disease awareness, early diagnosis, diaphragmatic repair, and surgical management of the main chronic systemic disease, may eventually lead to a reduction in the rate of recurrence of catamenial

Treatment of women of childbearing age is different from men of the same age group. CPX should be excluded in the cohort of women, especially when the

### **Figure 2.** *Accepted surgical algorithm and treatment in catamenial pneumothorax.*


*3.1. Homogeneity Analysis of Positive Simulated Samples*

Studies related to the effect of thermal processing on drug residues have shown significant differences in the percentage of thermal degradation of amphenicols in model solutions (water), spiked tissues and incurred samples, and their degradation products vary. To provide reliable information on the stability of residues of amphenicols for food safety risk assessments, Tian [14] suggested that incurred samples should be systematically implemented rather than spiked tissues to study the impact of cooking on drug residues. However, the subject of this experiment was livestock and poultry meat, and positive samples contaminated with amphenicols and metabolites from the market were difficult to collect. Furthermore, livestock and poultry animals bioaccumulate slowly, and it is also challenging to obtain contamination through controlled laboratory conditions. Therefore, in this study, positive mock samples could only be obtained by adding amphenicols and metabolites standards to negative livestock and poultry meat samples.

In order to ensure the consistency of the target compound concentrations in the meat blocks used for subsequent cooking, the homogeneity analysis of positive mock samples was carried out in this experiment, and the results are shown in Table 4. The one-way ANOVA showed *p* > 0.05 for the measured concentrations of amphenicols and metabolites in pork, beef, lamb and chicken blocks, indicating that the differences in drug concentrations between meat nuggets were insignificant. That is, the meat nuggets prepared by this experimental method had a good homogeneity and could meet the requirements for subsequent cooking.

**Table 4.** Homogeneity analysis of amphenicols and metabolites added to livestock and poultry meat blocks.

Positive simulated meat blocks of each matrix (pork, beef, lamb and chicken) were divided into three groups corresponding to the subsequent boiling, deep-frying and microwaving treatment groups. The three groups for pork were numbered P-1, P-2 and P-3, respectively. The three groups for beef were numbered B-1, B-2 and B-3, respectively. The three groups for lamb were numbered L-1, L-2 and L-3. The three groups for chicken were numbered C-1, C-2 and C-3. No. 1, No. 2 and No. 3 were the three meat blocks randomly selected from each group.

#### *3.2. Processing Quality Loss of Livestock and Poultry Meat*

The effects of boiling, deep-frying and microwave processing on the quality loss of livestock and poultry meat are shown in Figure 2. The mass loss of livestock and poultry meat during boiling showed an overall trend of rising and then leveling off with time. After 20 min of boiling, the quality of pork, beef, lamb and chicken remained stable (*p* > 0.05). During deep-frying and microwave processing, livestock and poultry meat quality loss continued to increase over time (*p* < 0.05). The quality losses of pork, beef, lamb and chicken were 39.89%, 44.95%, 42.61% and 32.60% and 39.98%, 47.34%, 44.76% and 36.91% at 25 min of boiling and 5 min of deep-frying, respectively, and the degree of loss was similar for both. At 1.25 min of microwaving, the quality loss of the four livestock and poultry meat species reached 29.82%, 50.19%, 50.26% and 45.41%, respectively. Compared with boiling and deep-frying, the quality loss rate was faster in microwaves. The reason is that microwaves can heat the whole material simultaneously, which results in a violent heating process, rapid temperature rise and faster water evaporation, thus causing the most severe quality loss in a short time. The determination of the quality loss index should facilitate the understanding of the effect of subsequent cooking on the concentration of drug residues in livestock and poultry meat.

**Figure 2.** Processing quality loss of livestock and poultry meat. (**a**) Boiling; (**b**) Deep-frying; (**c**) Microwaving.


**5. Plasma diffusion surface treatment**

A plasma diffusion technology, which combines a plasma nitriding treatment with a subsequent solubilization treatment, was proposed in pioneering work by Pinedo et al. for solid-state alloying [68, 69]. A 1 mm thick sample of AISI 316 L austenitic stainless steel, plasma nitrided at 470°C for 12 h, in a 1N2:1H2 gas mixture, formed a 60 μm deep, 1290 HV hard nitrided layer composed of γ + CrN + Cr2N. After nitriding, the material was solubilized at 1150°C and cooled in water to promote the diffusion and homogeneous redistribution of nitrogen through the sheet's cross-section. After solubilizing, a 0.80 wt.%N, homogeneous nitrogen content was found throughout the thickness, consistent with Thermocalc© predictions. **Figure 34** shows the nitrogen enrichment profile on the nitrided surface, reaching a maximum content of 10 wt.%. **Figure 35** shows the hardness profile along the sheet thickness showing a homogeneous increase in hardness from 200 to 300 HV, achieving complete hardening of the cross-section.

**Figure 34.** *Compositional profile of nitrogen obtained by GDOES after plasma nitriding of AISI 316 L steel [69].*

**Figure 35.** *Transverse hardening of AISI 316 steel nitrided under plasma and solubilized at 1150°C [69].*

Recently [70] Berton et al. applied the same principle for an AISI 409 ferritic stainless steel. AISI 409 specimens 0.8N2:0.2H2 plasma nitrided at 510°C for 2 h and later solubilized at 1100°C for 1 h for nitrogen diffusion in the ferritic matrix. Once the steel was solubilized, it was subjected to quenching and tempering treatments to obtain a high surface hardness tempered martensite layer. **Figure 36** presents the nitrogen profile along the cross-section for the solubilized (NS) and tempered conditions from 950°C (Q950) and 1050°C (Q1050), showing a maximum effective enrichment of the order of 1% by mass. This enrichment after the complete quenching and tempering cycles promotes a maximum rise in surface hardness close to 4x the core hardness at transverse hardening depths of up to 600 μm, as shown in **Figure 37**.

### **Figure 36.**

*Compositional profile of nitrogen determined by WDS in the diffused condition (NS) and after quenching from 950°C (NS-Q950) and 1050°C (NSQ1050) [70].*

**Figure 37.**

*Transverse hardening profiles of AISI 409 steel under conditions; solubilized (NS) and after quenching at 950°C (Q950) and 1050°C (Q1050), and tempering for 1 h at 250 (T2), 450 (T4), and 650°C (T6). The untreated condition is shown for comparison [70].*


*3.4. Co-Segregation and Expression Analyses*

The mutation site in *flo4-5* was confirmed using a CAPS marker with a *MboII* restriction site. *MboII* digested the mutant Namil(SA)-flo1 allele at two restriction sites (Figure 3a,b, lane 3) and the wild-type Namil allele at a single site (Figure 3a,b, lane 4). For screening F3:4 family populations using the CAPS marker, 23 plants with the Namil(SA)-flo1 phenotype and 22 with the Namil phenotype were selected. As shown in Figure 3a, sequences from all plants with the Namil(SA)-flo1 phenotype were digested at two restriction sites with *MboII*, whereas those with the Namil phenotype were digested at a single site. Fifteen F3:4 plants were heterozygous and exhibited the Namil phenotype, suggesting that the floury endosperm phenotype was controlled by a recessive gene. The genotypes of the currently cultivated Korean japonica rice were evaluated with this marker. Of the 44 tested varieties, none of them were the mutant genotype, whereas two varieties were the Namil genotype and the others were the Nipponbare genotype (Figure 3b). Overall, the co-segregation analysis indicates that *FLO4-5* is responsible for the floury endosperm in rice.

The PROVEAN tool was used to predict the effect of a single nucleotide mutation (C to T) on the *FLO4-5* gene, resulting in a score of –5.802 and a rating of "deleterious". Next, qRT-PCR was used to investigate the transcript type of *FLO4-5* in rice during the grain filling stage. The result that relative expression of *FLO4-5* was much higher in Namil(SA)-flo1 than in Namil (Figure 4) was unexpected, because the mutation was in exon 2, not in the promotor region. Even though the higher expression level in the mutant was not clearly explained based on our experimental design, it is highly possible that the increased level of *FLO4-5* was caused by the mutation.

**Figure 3.** Co-segregation analysis of the *flo4-5* genotype with floury endosperm phenotype. (**a**) Verification of the CAPS marker (digestion by *MboII*) and tagging the *flo4-5* locus using a part of F3 individuals; (**b**) Verification of the CAPS marker (digestion by *MboII*) and tagging the *flo4-5* locus using Korean rice cultivars. 'A' and 'B' are homogeneous of Namil(SA)-flo1 and Milyang 23, respectively. 'H' is heterozygote. M (100bp ladder), F1 (Namil(SA)-flo1), M23 (Milyang 23), Na (Namil). 1. Namil(SA)-flo2(Suweon542), 2. Aranghyangchal, 3. Baegjinju1, 4. Baekogchal, 5. Boramchal, 6. Boramchan, 7. Borami, 8. Boseog, 9. Boseogchal, 10. Boseogheugchal, 11. Cheongnam, 12. Chindeul, 13. Chucheong, 14. Dabo, 15. Danmi, 16. Danpyeong, 17. Deuraechan, 18. Dodamssal, 19. Dongjin, 20. Dongjin1, 21. Dongjinchal, 22. Geonganghongmi, 23. Geonyang 2, 24. Goami, 25. Goami 2, 26. Goami 4, 27. Haepum, 28. Haiami, 29. Hanam, 30. Hanmaeum, 31. Heugjinmi, 32. Heughyangchal, 33. Heugjinju, 34. Heugnam, 35. Heugseol, 36. Hongjinju, 37. Hopum, 38. Hwanggeumnuri, 39. Hwaseong, 40. Hwawang, 41. Hwayeong, 42. Hyangnam, 43. Hyeonpum, 44. Ilmi.

### *3.5. Mutation of FLO4-5 Changed the Expression Levels of Major Starch Synthesis Enzymes*

Because the starch content and the starch granules were altered in the *flo4-5* mutant, the expression levels of the starch synthesis-related genes in the developing grains were then analyzed using qRT-PCR. Compared with the wild-type Namil, the transcription of several genes decreased in the mutant, including *GBSSI*, *GBSSII*, *AGPL1*, *AGPL2*, *AGPL3*, *AGPL4*, *AGPLS1*, *SSI, SSIIa, SSIIIa, SSIIIb, SSIVa, SSIVb, BEI, BEIIa, BEIIb,* and *PUL*. The expression of *AGPS2a*, *AGPS2b*, *SSIIb*, and *SSIIc* increased in the mutant compared to the wild type, with substantial increases seen for *AGPS2a* and *AGPS2b* (Figure 5a). The expression analysis of Suweon 542 (*flo4-4*) revealed similar expression patterns (Figure 5b).

**Figure 4.** Expression analysis of PPDK between Namil and *flo4-5* at 12 DAF. Values shown are mean ± SD (n = 3).

**Figure 5.** Expression profiles of the genes involved in production of storage starch in endosperm from the flo4-5 mutant (**a**) and Suweon542 (**b**) with the wild type Namil (bar begin with 1). Reference gene was Actin, and the expression levels of these genes are shown relative to the wild type Namil, which is set as 1. Each gene name is indicated by a simplified representation. *GBSSI* and *GBSSII*, granule bound starch synthase I and II; AGPL (*AGPL1*, *AGPL2*, *AGPL3* and *AGPL4*) and AGPS (*AGPS1*, *AGPS2a* and *AGPS2b*), ADP-glucose pyrophosphorylase large subunit and small subunite, respectively; *SSIIa* and *SSIIIa*, soluble starch synthase *IIa* and *IIIa*, respectively; *BEI* and *BEIIb*, branching enzyme *I* and *IIb*, respectively; *PUL*, pullulanase.


**4. Discussion**

Glass sponge mortalities occurred at various times throughout the period of dive surveys from 2007 to 2018. Particularly extensive mortalities were associated with the El Niño climate events of 2009/2010 and 2015/2016. Note that the episode of mortality in sponge at the 1-black and 2-black stake sites occurred during the onset of the 2015/2016 El Niño during early spring of 2015 (anomalies of 0.6–1.0). This was during a period when temperatures were higher at this site than at the other three sites (**Figure 2**), whereas other sponge mortalities seemed to coincide with the heightening of that climate event during August/September 2015 (anomalies reaching 1.8 and 2.1). The coincidence of several mortality events during August/ September of 2018 may enable a prediction for testing by subsequent Ocean Niño Index records for 2018/2019 if another El Niño occurs. The onset of increased mortalities in August and September of 2018 (**Figure 7**) may relate to temperature spikes associated with the onset of an El Niño climate phase at the shallow bioherms in Howe Sound. It should also be mentioned that the pH of local seawater hit low extreme levels of 7.3 in 2009 and 7.4 in 2015, compared to modal levels of about 7.7 through that period [7]; thus, low pH may interact with elevated temperature in stressing glass sponges. Interaction of climate warming and ocean acidification may soon affect shallow bioherms.

It needs to be emphasized that, without the deployment of markers [5], it would not have been possible to identify specific sponge clusters or the changes that occurred to them over time. Considerable confusion existed in trying to orient to the reef in 2012 after a period of absence during which the damage from the 2009/2010 El Niño reshaped the appearance of the reef; it was in the aftermath of that period that stakes were deployed in winter of 2013/2014. Similarly, the episode of fishing gear damage in fall of 2016 resulted in disorientation on the reef until videos of marker stakes were scrutinized and certain bushes of sponge were identified as loose and others were spotted with cuts through them. The staking of

transplants in 2016 provided additional markers. Unfortunately, all these markers and oceanographic monitoring devices degrade the pristine aspect of the reef, a cost of ongoing study, but this site is remote from the more accessible bioherms used by dive charter boats in southern Howe Sound.

The depth of the present study site is 24 m at the shallowest point. The Passage Island reef is at 24 m, the Defence Island offshore reef at 31 m, and the Halkett Pinnacle reef at 32 m [8]; all other Howe Sound sponge reefs are significantly deeper (38–96 m) [8]. The temperature data (**Figure 2**) indicate that spikes in temperature exceeding 10.5°C occurred at around the heightening of the 2015/2016 El Niño in summer of 2015. By contrast, during the two subsequent La Niña years, the high temperatures were closer to 9.5°C. Cloud sponge mortalities may be associated with high temperature stress. One should note that the bioherms outside Howe Sound are uniformly deeper [1]. Therefore, the present observations represent one of two of the very shallowest known glass sponge reefs in the world, the other being Howe Sound's Passage Island reef. Similarly, the observations of a possible successional community favoring biogenic sedimentation at west Bowen Island are taken from a slightly shallower location of about 22 m depth. The much larger bioherms in northern British Columbia may have different characteristics in growth and recovery of sponge tissues. Whether a bioherm could develop at the 22 m Bowen Island sponge garden would probably depend on the future water conditions at that site. That site should be monitored for sedimentation and sponge attachment characteristics together with close attention to seawater temperature trends.

Temperatures at large sponge reefs on the continental shelf of Hecate Strait were from 5.5 to 7.3°C [9]. Those reefs occur at depths of 140–240 m, much deeper than the Howe Sound reefs at 24–96 m [8]. It is unlikely that the majority of bioherms experience such high summer temperatures as were recorded for the present study site. Therefore, the characteristics of growth and recovery of this shallowest case study site should not be predicted to establish how the deeper bioherms were formed.

If Ocean Niño climate regimes are being affected by global warming, then these two shallowest known glass sponge reefs may be predicted to be at risk of hindered persistence over time (see [10] for review). Continued study will be important to adjudicating the prospects for survival of shallower glass sponge reefs in the future. Beyond direct physiological effects of extreme temperature on glass sponges, another possibility must be considered regarding the food web of sponge reefs. The biodegradation of dying diatoms by bacteria feeds bacteria to glass sponge reefs [4]. Any temperature effect on the dynamics of diatom blooms and their subsequent biodegradation may affect the nutritional status of glass sponges, another possible impact on sponge reef health.

Sponge reefs consist of dictyonine glass sponges (hexactinellids) growing on a geologically stabilized base of glass sponge skeletal material [1, 3]. Although the lyssacine hexactinellid sponges (boot sponges) do not contribute to the sedimented geologic basal portion of bioherms, they may participate in creation of the original reef base at the level of the glacial till on which the bioherm grows. It may be the relatively flat nature of the glacial till at the west Bowen Island site, together with the turbulent drag of the cobbles and pebbles, which enables the sediment accumulation around the boot sponges and bristly tunicates at that location. Bioherms are characterized by growing on glacial till [3]. It is very likely that the inshore Defence Island bioherm is centered on glacial till because Defence Island is on the Porteau Sill, the inner sill of this fjord, the sill primarily consisting of glacially deposited boulders and cobbles. Therefore, the bedrock underneath the uppermost ridge of this bioherm probably relates to a gradual upward creep of this bioherm onto the bedrock of the island shoreline.

**143**

**Figure 15.**

years.

sponge fragments.

*Formation, Persistence, and Recovery of Glass Sponge Reefs: A Case Study*

In this case study, glass sponge skeletons were observed to fragment significantly prior to sedimentation of the bioherm base. Thus, the increase in bioherm base depth with generations of sponges at this study site may be a minor fraction of the cumulative average height of the intact, living sponges through time. Previous literature cited here finds that deeper sponge reefs consist of frameworks of intact skeletons, and it is considered that "larger sponge skeletons may persist several hundred years before they become sedimented over" [11]. We have observed sedimentation of sponge fragments in the present study and have never observed a partially buried sponge skeleton. The portions of the sedimented bioherm base that we removed with intact living sponges attached consisted of layers of sponge skeleton lying flat. Intact skeletal specimens of siliceous sponges have been recovered from Jurassic spongiolithic deposits [12], so there undoubtedly are cases where relatively intact sponge skeletons become stabilized with sediments, but stabilization of sponge fragments must also be a component of bioherm geologic growth at the present study site. Fragmentation occurs prior to burial here, partly owing to a typically unstable tubular morphology (**Figure 15**) which may break off due to gravity after continued growth.

In addition, we observe many secondary species growing on glass sponge skeletons that degrade skeletons within years (DMG unpublished data), so that collapse into fragments also relates to weakening of skeletons over relatively few

The assumption of sexual reproduction and reef growth from settlement of new sponges on skeletal sponge architecture [5, 11] may not be the sole source of new growth. The rapid appearance of relatively large growths out of fallen sponge fragments may have more to do with tissue recovery of stabilized fragments [6]. The experimental crushing of a portion of reef [5] did not show any recovery, but the crushing by an ROV did not leave large intact pieces of sponge as occurs in a debris drift. Many newly settled sponges on the present reef study site simply failed to thrive and disappeared. The few that survived for several years tended to obtain only modest size (<5 cm osculum diameter and height) over a period of several years (DMG, JBM personal observations). The most rapid growth we have seen has been associated with recovery or continued growth of larger sponges, including

The lack of evidence for a frame-building aspect to this very shallow bioherm may indicate that it is more comparable to a biostrome [1] than to a reef mound

*Unstable tubular morph of cloud sponge (October 2018). This type of angled, elongate tube usually collapses by*

*breaking off, and then dies. Note sedimentation of fallen fragments.*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82325*

#### *Formation, Persistence, and Recovery of Glass Sponge Reefs: A Case Study DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82325*

*Invertebrates - Ecophysiology and Management*

dive charter boats in southern Howe Sound.

transplants in 2016 provided additional markers. Unfortunately, all these markers and oceanographic monitoring devices degrade the pristine aspect of the reef, a cost of ongoing study, but this site is remote from the more accessible bioherms used by

The depth of the present study site is 24 m at the shallowest point. The Passage Island reef is at 24 m, the Defence Island offshore reef at 31 m, and the Halkett Pinnacle reef at 32 m [8]; all other Howe Sound sponge reefs are significantly deeper (38–96 m) [8]. The temperature data (**Figure 2**) indicate that spikes in temperature exceeding 10.5°C occurred at around the heightening of the 2015/2016 El Niño in summer of 2015. By contrast, during the two subsequent La Niña years, the high temperatures were closer to 9.5°C. Cloud sponge mortalities may be associated with high temperature stress. One should note that the bioherms outside Howe Sound are uniformly deeper [1]. Therefore, the present observations represent one of two of the very shallowest known glass sponge reefs in the world, the other being Howe Sound's Passage Island reef. Similarly, the observations of a possible successional community favoring biogenic sedimentation at west Bowen Island are taken from a slightly shallower location of about 22 m depth. The much larger bioherms in northern British Columbia may have different characteristics in growth and recovery of sponge tissues. Whether a bioherm could develop at the 22 m Bowen Island sponge garden would probably depend on the future water conditions at that site. That site should be monitored for sedimentation and sponge attachment character-

istics together with close attention to seawater temperature trends.

Temperatures at large sponge reefs on the continental shelf of Hecate Strait were from 5.5 to 7.3°C [9]. Those reefs occur at depths of 140–240 m, much deeper than the Howe Sound reefs at 24–96 m [8]. It is unlikely that the majority of bioherms experience such high summer temperatures as were recorded for the present study site. Therefore, the characteristics of growth and recovery of this shallowest case study site should not be predicted to establish how the deeper bioherms were

If Ocean Niño climate regimes are being affected by global warming, then these two shallowest known glass sponge reefs may be predicted to be at risk of hindered persistence over time (see [10] for review). Continued study will be important to adjudicating the prospects for survival of shallower glass sponge reefs in the future. Beyond direct physiological effects of extreme temperature on glass sponges, another possibility must be considered regarding the food web of sponge reefs. The biodegradation of dying diatoms by bacteria feeds bacteria to glass sponge reefs [4]. Any temperature effect on the dynamics of diatom blooms and their subsequent biodegradation may affect the nutritional status of glass sponges, another possible

Sponge reefs consist of dictyonine glass sponges (hexactinellids) growing on a geologically stabilized base of glass sponge skeletal material [1, 3]. Although the lyssacine hexactinellid sponges (boot sponges) do not contribute to the sedimented geologic basal portion of bioherms, they may participate in creation of the original reef base at the level of the glacial till on which the bioherm grows. It may be the relatively flat nature of the glacial till at the west Bowen Island site, together with the turbulent drag of the cobbles and pebbles, which enables the sediment accumulation around the boot sponges and bristly tunicates at that location. Bioherms are characterized by growing on glacial till [3]. It is very likely that the inshore Defence Island bioherm is centered on glacial till because Defence Island is on the Porteau Sill, the inner sill of this fjord, the sill primarily consisting of glacially deposited boulders and cobbles. Therefore, the bedrock underneath the uppermost ridge of this bioherm probably relates to a gradual upward creep of this bioherm onto the

**142**

formed.

impact on sponge reef health.

bedrock of the island shoreline.

In this case study, glass sponge skeletons were observed to fragment significantly prior to sedimentation of the bioherm base. Thus, the increase in bioherm base depth with generations of sponges at this study site may be a minor fraction of the cumulative average height of the intact, living sponges through time. Previous literature cited here finds that deeper sponge reefs consist of frameworks of intact skeletons, and it is considered that "larger sponge skeletons may persist several hundred years before they become sedimented over" [11]. We have observed sedimentation of sponge fragments in the present study and have never observed a partially buried sponge skeleton. The portions of the sedimented bioherm base that we removed with intact living sponges attached consisted of layers of sponge skeleton lying flat. Intact skeletal specimens of siliceous sponges have been recovered from Jurassic spongiolithic deposits [12], so there undoubtedly are cases where relatively intact sponge skeletons become stabilized with sediments, but stabilization of sponge fragments must also be a component of bioherm geologic growth at the present study site. Fragmentation occurs prior to burial here, partly owing to a typically unstable tubular morphology (**Figure 15**) which may break off due to gravity after continued growth. In addition, we observe many secondary species growing on glass sponge skeletons that degrade skeletons within years (DMG unpublished data), so that collapse into fragments also relates to weakening of skeletons over relatively few years.

The assumption of sexual reproduction and reef growth from settlement of new sponges on skeletal sponge architecture [5, 11] may not be the sole source of new growth. The rapid appearance of relatively large growths out of fallen sponge fragments may have more to do with tissue recovery of stabilized fragments [6]. The experimental crushing of a portion of reef [5] did not show any recovery, but the crushing by an ROV did not leave large intact pieces of sponge as occurs in a debris drift. Many newly settled sponges on the present reef study site simply failed to thrive and disappeared. The few that survived for several years tended to obtain only modest size (<5 cm osculum diameter and height) over a period of several years (DMG, JBM personal observations). The most rapid growth we have seen has been associated with recovery or continued growth of larger sponges, including sponge fragments.

The lack of evidence for a frame-building aspect to this very shallow bioherm may indicate that it is more comparable to a biostrome [1] than to a reef mound

#### **Figure 15.**

*Unstable tubular morph of cloud sponge (October 2018). This type of angled, elongate tube usually collapses by breaking off, and then dies. Note sedimentation of fallen fragments.*

bioherm. It should be noted that the inshore biostromes of Queen Charlotte Sound are relatively flat [1, 13], whereas the shallowest bioherms in the Howe Sound area of the present study have much steeper top slopes than has been documented elsewhere [13]. Early work on glass sponge reefs referred to skeletal fragments in core samples [13], so the question of how intact skeletons are within all bioherms should be held moot. It remains for coring or detailed side-scan work on the shallowest inshore reefs of Howe Sound to be conducted, so whether these bioherms are any deeper in thickness than biostromes remains to be determined. Searching for evidence of frame-building within these shallow Howe Sound bioherms is another topic for future research.

### **5. Conclusions**

A theory of scree slope drift formation at sponge reefs is proposed as a means of relatively rapid growth for bioherms; we further posit that such scree recovery does not ordinarily occur at sponge gardens owing to lack of stabilized position of fragments in garden sites resulting in continued mechanical damage of fragments in gardens. The difference is that currents continually shift and damage sponge fragments on bedrock, whereas the spicules of loose sponges can firmly lock position on a bioherm substrate under favorable circumstances of position.

The present observations indicate that a dead sponge will tend to collapse under its own weight within a few years of the death of living tissue. Similarly, growing, living sponges also have some tendency to become unstable and to collapse in the face of tidal currents, especially tubular morphs with necrosis occurring at the narrow points of attachment to the reef base. Thus, the view that bioherm growth consists of sedimentation of intact, dead skeletons of glass sponges does not fit well with our case study in which episodes occurred of necrosis and collapse of significant portions of the reef. Both the 2009/2010 and 2015/2016 El Niños coincided with certain areas of the reef dying and collapsing. The tissue collapse episode after 2009/2010 led to at least one debris drift forming and subsequently recovering growth (**Figure 3**). This is consistent with results from experimental transplant of fragments [6].

As well, a theory of successional community contribution to bioherm formation is based on observations of an extant ecological community on glacial till where sediment sequestering species of lyssacine sponge and tunicate buildup sediments in which fragments of dead dictyonine glass sponges rest secure from movement by seabed tidal currents. Attachment of live dictyonine sponges to such stabilized dead fragments can occur (**Figure 14**). A major question concerns what variation in rates of sedimentation can occur during formation of sponge reefs. A related question concerns what the dynamic is between ongoing vertical growth, collapse, and regrowth of the living surface of the reef in relation to the vertical growth of the geologically stabilized, sedimented reef base. The present study suggests that the living reef has a more dynamic range of growth, collapse, and regrowth through time than has been presumed.

These very shallow sponge reefs in Howe Sound, the only cases in the world amenable to studies based on scuba diving with compressed air, may afford valuable opportunities for citizen science contributions based on video recordings. It must be cautioned, however, that without landmarking against either geologic features or use of marker stakes, it is nearly impossible to prove identity of a sponge from one point in time to another owing to significant changing of shape and size.

**145**

provided the original work is properly cited.

\*, Laura A. Borden1

1 Ocean Wise Coastal Ocean Research Institute, Canada

\*Address all correspondence to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
2 Underwater Council of British Columbia, Canada

© 2018 The Author(s). Licensee IntechOpen. This chapter is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,

, Jessica A. Schultz1

, Donna M. Gibbs1

*Formation, Persistence, and Recovery of Glass Sponge Reefs: A Case Study*

Environmental Damages Fund (Environment Canada).

The authors have no conflicts of interest.

Volunteer divers assisted the efforts of the Underwater Council of British Columbia (GJD) with temperature logger installation and recovery at various reefs. Volunteers also assisted in work at the inshore Defence Island reef studied by the Coastal Ocean Research Institute (CORI) team (JBM, LAB, JAS, DMG). Amanda Weltman, Boaz Hung, Jeremy Heywood, Conor McCracken, Danny Kent, and Jonathan Wong assisted the CORI authors with various aspects of the work. We thank Anya Dunham and Kim Conway for critical reviews. Partial support of work by the CORI team included grants from Mountain Equipment Co-op and the

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82325*

**Acknowledgements**

**Conflict of interest**

**Author details**

Jeffrey B. Marliave1

and Glen J. Dennison2

*Formation, Persistence, and Recovery of Glass Sponge Reefs: A Case Study DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.82325*


*<IP_ADDRESS>.2 Orbital thrusters control*

If orbit maneuver is required, then it can be commanded by AODCS SW autonomously, or special control commands TLM (uploaded command tables) are sending to satellite AODCS, and in predetermined time they are executed activating at scheduled time for the calculated period ð Þ Δ*t* the orbital thrusters that provide for the required orbital correction/maneuver pulseð Þ *F*Δ*t* .


**3. Technology trends on composite materials with natural fibers**

The resins used in manufacturing composite materials can be thermosetting and thermoplastic. The thermosetting resins are predominant, while the thermoplastic resins play a minor role in the fabrication of advanced composites.

The thermosetting resins require the addition of a curing hardener. Once cured, the composite cannot be reformed. Widely used thermosetting resins include epoxies, polyurethanes, phenolic and amino resins and polyamides. The most

## *Composite Materials with Natural Fibers DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.101818*

common employed are the epoxies because the potential for respiratory exposure is low due to their relatively high molecular-weight.

Another essential component of the cured resins is the hardener. Such compounds control the reaction rate and greatly influence the properties of the matrix. Some commonly used curing agents are the aromatic amines. Like epoxies, such hardeners have a low vapor pressure and are not a respiratory hazard. However, both epoxies and hardeners are a dermal hazard and can even permeate common protective gloves.

The authors of this chapter performed extensive experiments with epoxy resins and hardeners from Struers GmbH, Hanover, Germany. Their epoxy resins are suitable for the matrix of composite materials because they have low shrinkage and the adhesion to natural fibers is excellent. The hardened epoxy is duro-plastic and not affected by moderate heat or chemicals. The curing time is relatively long, but adhesion to most materials is excellent. They polymerize through a chemical reaction after being mixed in the correct proportions. Our experiments employed the polymer Epiclorhydrin in a ratio 15/2 with the hardener Triethylenetretamine. The hardened epoxy is duro-plastic and not affected by moderate heat or chemicals [16].

The curing of epoxy matrix depends on the amount of resin. If small amounts of resin are employed, the polymerization takes longer. However, favorable conditions exist for removing excessive heat generated by the chemical reaction. Larger amounts of epoxy will accelerate the curing process by storing heat due to the poor conductive properties of the system. The air bubbles developed during the curing are caused by higher than acceptable temperatures. Sticky or rubbery sample surfaces after curing indicate a process temperature too low and can be corrected by post-curing in ovens at temperatures below 50°C. The content of water in natural fibers can significantly influence the bond fiber-matrix and it can be reduced by combined exposure to heat at around 120°C for 2 hours and immersion in 10% NaOH for 4 hours. The immersion of fibers in NaOH is increasing the exposed surface, with beneficial effects for their adhesion to the matrix material.


**Abstract**

Some microorganisms (MOs) such as bacteria, fungi and aquatic creatures synthesize bioactive secondary metabolites synthesis that known as natural products. A series of landmark metabolomics studies by using mass spectrometry (MS) or nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) analysis to identify potentially important microbial metabolites that derive from the intestine microbes. Vital roles for numerous microbial metabolic pathways in host physiology had been long established, such as in the synthesis of vitamin K and the synthesis of water-soluble B vitamins including biotin, folates, nicotinic acid, pyridoxine, riboflavin, cobalamin and panthotenic acid, the degradation of nutritional oxalates, and amendment of bile salts. These metabolites have biological and medical activities. The medical activities including antimicrobial, immunosuppressive, anticancer, and anti-inflammatory, antibiotic, antitumor, antioxidant activities, etc. Also biological activities derive from metabolites microbial transformation have effects on physiological processes such as gut and immune homeostasis, energy metabolism, vascular function, and neurological behavior such as short-chain fatty acids, trimethylamine N-oxide, tryptophan and tyrosine derivatives, and oxidized fatty acids. Using recombinant DNA technology synthesize a wide array of biopharmaceutical products, such as recombinant proteins, offering significant advances in treating a broad spectrum of medical. Such interventions will require modulating either bacterial species or the bacterial biosynthetic enzymes required to synthesis these metabolites.

**Keywords:** microorganism, metabolism, biosynthesis, metabolite, biological activities


# **Molecular Mechanisms of Steroid Hormone Biosynthesis and Action**

Edited by Jacques J. Tremblay

Printed Edition of the Special Issue Published in *International Journal of Molecular Sciences*

www.mdpi.com/journal/ijms


*4.1. Improved PSO Algorithm*

The particle swarm optimization (PSO) algorithm is an iterative optimization algorithm. By converting the target into a certain number of particles, the position is updated in each iteration, and the optimal solution is searched through continuous iteration. The updating method is as follows:

$$w\_{id}^{k+1} = wv\_{id}^k + c\_1 r\_1 \left(p\_{id}^{(k)} - \mathbf{x}\_{id}^{(k)}\right) + c\_2 r\_2 \left(\mathbf{g}\_d^{(k)} - \mathbf{x}\_{id}^{(k)}\right) \tag{13}$$

$$
\pi\_{id}^{(k+1)} = \pi\_{id}^{(k)} + v\_{id}^{(k+1)} \tag{14}
$$

where *w* represents inertia weight; *c*1, *c*2 are acceleration coefficients of particle motion respectively. *r*1,*r*2 are randomly selected in the range of 0 to 1; *P*(*k*) *id* represents the *d*dimensional component of the particle numbered *i* in the optimal position vector at time *k*; and *g* (*k*) *d* represents the *d*-dimensional component of the optimal position of all particles at time *k*.

In the process of iterative optimization, the traditional muti-objective particle swarm optimization algorithm is prone to fall into local optimal and appear 'Premature convergence'. Therefore, this paper cross-mutates the prescribed bit vectors of particles to prevent them from falling into the local optimum.

$$X\_{i,d} = X\_{min} + (X\_{max} - X\_{min})r\tag{15}$$

where *Xmin* represents the minimum position variable of the particle; *r* represents any value between 0 and 1.

Random cross variation is carried out when the probability distribution *P* < *Pm* is satisfied. When the fitness of particles tends to be the same or locally optimal, the *w* will increase. Otherwise, the *w* will decrease as the particles tend to disperse [36].

$$w = \begin{cases} w\_{\max} - \frac{(w\_{\max} - w\_{\min})\left(f\_i - f\_{\text{avg}}\right)}{f\_{\max} - f\_{\text{avg}}} & f\_i \ge f\_{\text{avg}}\\ & w\_{\max} \, f\_i \le f\_{\text{avg}} \end{cases} \tag{16}$$

where *fi* is the fitness value of the particle *i*, *wmax*,*wmin* are the maximum and minimum of *w*, and *fmax*, *fmin*, *favg* are the average and maximum, minimum, and average fitness of all particles at present, respectively.

In order to make the optimal solution distributed evenly in a certain range, the Pareto solution set should be optimized step by step. In this paper, a dynamic image Pareto solution set updating method is adopted, as is shown in Figure 6. In the initial distribution stage of particles, referring to all particles of the original comparison rule, an image *ViD* is established with the optimal particle as an optimal Pareto solution set. With the progress of iteration, the average value of particles is obtained between every two images, and the optimal solution is used to make the speed and position of particles updated at this time so that the particle population moves towards the target direction. In the whole process, new particles constantly exchange information with image particles and update data in image particles continuously until the end of iteration:

$$W\_{iD}^{t+1} = wv\_{iD}^{t+1} + c\_1 rand\_1 \left(p\_{iD} - X\_{iD}^{t+1}\right) + c\_2 rand\_2 \left(Average\left(pbest\_p\right) - x\_{iD}^t\right) \tag{17}$$

$$
\mathfrak{x}\_{iD}^{k+1} = \mathfrak{x}\_{iD}^{k} + \mathfrak{v}\_{iD}^{k+1} \tag{18}
$$

where *t* is the number of iterations; *D* is the dimension of the decision variable; *piD* is the best historical value of single particle *i*; and *pbestp* is the optimal particle of the current Pareto solution set in the image. *Average pbestp* is the superior particle of the optimal Pareto solution set in the two images.

**Figure 6.** Dynamic image Pareto solution updates schematic.

There are differences in the selection of the optimal solutions between the multiobjective particle swarm optimization and single-objective particle swarm optimization, and the results obtained are complementary dominated Pareto solutions, which cannot be obtained by direct comparison of the particle fitness function. Therefore, in this section, the first 20% Pareto solutions with lower crowding distances and higher priority orders are randomly selected to guide the iterative updating of the particle population.

#### *4.2. Multi-Attribute Decision-Making Based on TOPSIS Method*

After solving the lower multi-objective optimization problem, the optimal solution obtained by the IMOPSO algorithm is a set of Pareto solutions, and the selection of the optimal solution is essentially a multi-attribute decision problem. TOPSIS is a method for ordering by similarity to an ideal solution, it selects the optimal solution set and the worst solution set through the established initial decision matrix, then compares the distance between the two solution sets and the evaluation index with the optimal solution set and finally sorts them to evaluate the pros and cons of the scheme. The TOPSIS method has high strict requirements in selecting weights. In this paper, the information entropy method is used to determine the weight of each target value. The information entropy method determines *w* by the difference of the target value in the Pareto solution, improves the accuracy of the final decision, reduces the difference, and ensures the objectivity of the decision. By using the TOPSIS method, we can determine a set of optimal Pareto solutions to guide us to choose an energy storage configuration scheme.

The optimal solution of the Pareto solution set obtained is selected from *X*1 ∼ *XN* and combined into *N* alternative schemes. The scheme *Xi* is selected from *N* records. It is the composition of some optimal solutions in the Pareto solution set. *gm*(*Xi*) represents the value of the *m*th attribute of the scheme *Xi*. Since each attribute is different, it should be unified and changed into the same type. The new attribute value is *Gm*(*Xi*) , which can be expressed as:

$$G\_m(X\_i) = \frac{g\_m(X\_i)}{\sqrt{\frac{1}{N} \sum\_{i=1}^{N} g\_m^2(X\_i)}}\tag{19}$$

$$d(\mathbf{x}\_i) = \frac{d\_+(\mathbf{x}\_i)}{d\_+(\mathbf{x}\_i) + d\_-(\mathbf{x}\_i)} \tag{20}$$

$$d\_{+}(\mathbf{x}\_{i}) = \sqrt{\sum\_{m=1}^{n} \left[\lambda\_{m}\mathbf{g}\_{m}^{\prime}(\mathbf{x}\_{i}) - \lambda\_{m}\mathbf{g}\_{m+}^{\prime}\right]^{2}}\tag{21}$$

$$d\_{-}(\mathbf{x}\_{i}) = \sqrt{\sum\_{m=1}^{n} \left[\lambda\_{m}\mathbf{g}\_{m}^{\prime}(\mathbf{x}\_{i}) - \lambda\_{m}\mathbf{g}\_{m-}^{\prime}\right]^{2}}\tag{22}$$

where *d*(*xi*) is the relative distance of scheme *xi*; *d*+(*xi*) represents the distance between scheme *xi* and the optimal solution. *d*−(*xi*) represents the distance from solution *xi*, the negative worst solution. *λm* indicates the weight value of *gm*(*Xi*), which is randomly set between 0 and 1. *g m*+ and *g m*− indicate the optimal and worst values of all schemes *gm*.

#### **5. Analysis and Discussion**

### *5.1. Case Description*

In this paper, the proposed scheme is tested on the IEEE-33 node distribution network [37]. In addition, the structure of the system is shown in Figure 7.

In this paper, the rated voltage of the selected distribution network is 12.66 kV, and the total load is 3715 kW + j2300 kvar. The upper and lower limits of the node voltage are specified as not exceeding ±5% of the rated voltage. Node 1 is a balance node, which is connected to the upper-level distribution network for power transmission. Taking into account the actual work and construction of photovoltaic power generation connected to the distribution network, photovoltaic power generation is connected to Node 9, and its installed power generation capacity is 1.077 MW (29% penetration rate).

**Figure 7.** The topology diagram of IEEE-33 bus system.

The typical PV output curve selected by the method in Section 2 is shown in Figure 8. The typical daily load curve in this area is shown in Figure 9.

**Figure 8.** Photovoltaic typical sunrise force curve.

**Figure 9.** Typical daily characteristic curve of load.

In this paper, the battery is used as the energy storage system for research and introduces the time-of-use pricing strategy proposed in [38]. The specific time-of-use price is shown in Table 2. The energy storage control parameters are shown in Table 3. The specific setting parameters of the energy storage configuration optimization simulation are shown in Table 4.

**Table 2.** Time-of-use electricity price table.

**Table 3.** Energy storage control parameter table.

**Table 4.** Simulation parameter settings.

In order to study the actual effect of energy storage configuration, we first analyzed the specific benefits of a photovoltaic distribution network connecting to energy storage configuration and demonstrated that energy storage still has good benefits in the high-light volt distribution network. Then, we compared the photovoltaic distribution network scenarios under different permeability and analyzed and compared the change of photovoltaic permeability with the corresponding change of optimal energy storage configuration scheme. The specific analysis content is introduced in the following section.

### *5.2. Energy Storage Optimization Scenario Division*

Analyze the effectiveness of the method proposed in this paper, set different conditions, divide it into four scenarios, and compare them one by one to verify the feasibility of the method:

storage system is charged and discharged at a constant power regardless of the high or low electricity price.

Scenario 4: The optimal configuration result of energy storage in Scenario 2 is used as the constraint condition of this scenario, and the traditional multi-objective PSO algorithm is used to simulate and analyze the lower model in the optimal configuration model of the energy storage double-level. Node voltage curves and load curves in different scenarios are shown in Figures 10 and 11 below, and Table 5 shows the optimization results of different scenarios.

**Figure 10.** System node voltage curve in different scenarios.

**Figure 11.** Load curve in different scenarios.

By comparing Scenario 1 and Scenario 2, it can be found that the voltage amplitude curve of the photovoltaic distribution network is smoother after the energy storage is connected, and the voltage fluctuation and load fluctuation are reduced to a large extent, which indicates that the BESS plays a good role in suppressing the node voltage fluctuation and load fluctuation when it is connected to the distribution network. Compared with Scenario 3, the load fluctuation range of Scenario 2 is smaller, and the load smoothing capacity is better. At the same time, the total cost of Scenario 2 is 803.27 yuan lower than that of Scenario 3 economically, which verifies the good characteristics of the model proposed in this paper.

The optimal Pareto solution set distribution of Scenario 2 and Scenario 4 is shown in Figure 12. Scenario 2 adopts the improved IMOPSO algorithm in this paper to solve the inner model, and Scenario 4 adopts the unimproved MOPSO algorithm to solve it. The Pareto solution set in Scene 2 is more evenly distributed than that in Scene 4 due to the introduction of particle cross mutation, adaptive inertia weight, and the Pareto solution set update method of the dynamic image. Moreover, Scene 2 adopts multi-attribute decisions based on the TOPSIS method, resulting in a more diverse solution set.

**Figure 12.** Pareto solution set distribution.

Through the comparison of scenes, it is obvious that the optimization results of the IMOPSO algorithm are obviously better than the MOPSO algorithm, and the search accuracy is higher. In order to compare the performance of the two algorithms, the external solution set and the spacing S are used in this paper to measure the optimization performance of the two algorithms. The S index refers to whether the particles in the Pareto solution set are evenly distributed in space. The mean variance of the particle density distance is used in this paper to characterize the uniformity and global nature of the population particles, as shown in Equation (23).

$$S = \sqrt{\frac{1}{N} \sum\_{i=1}^{N} [I(\mathbf{x}\_i) - \overline{I}]^2} \tag{23}$$

where *I* represents the average of all particles *I*(*xi*) in the Pareto solution set.

According to the different internal environments of the two algorithms, after 20 cycles, the node voltage and load fluctuations in the optimization target are taken as the research object, as shown in Figure 13 and Table 6.

**Figure 13.** Convergence curves of external solutions for different objectives.

By combining and comparing the charts, it was concluded that the IMOPSO algorithm proposed in this paper reduces the number of iterations in the node voltage fluctuation and load fluctuation, and the convergence performance is obviously better than the MOPSO algorithm. In addition, the improved algorithm and Pareto solution set update strategy make the solution set distribution more uniform and the type of solution set more diverse, and the improved MOPSO has better robustness and convergence.

#### *5.3. Energy Storage Benefit Analysis under Different Photovoltaic Permeability*

In order to verify the effectiveness of the dual-layer multi-objective optimal configuration model of the energy storage system proposed in this paper in the high-light volt permeability distribution network, the upper limit of photovoltaic power generation permeability was set at 60%, and the verification started from 30% permeability. Using the optimal configuration strategy of the BESS, the curve as shown in Figure 14 was obtained.

**Figure 14.** Changes in energy storage capacity and power under different photovoltaic penetration rates.

When the photovoltaic permeability increases from 30% to 60%, the capacity and power of the energy storage system have an obvious rising trend. When the photovoltaic permeability reaches 50%, the growth slows down and tends to remain unchanged. In other words, it is of little significance to increase the capacity of the energy storage system when the permeability reaches a certain level.

Figure 15 below shows the variation trend of energy storage investment and the total cost of distribution network operation under different photovoltaic permeability. It can be clearly seen that the total cost of the system decreases first and then increases when the photovoltaic permeability increases, and the total cost is the minimum when the permeability is 45%. As the cost of photovoltaic power generation decreases with the continuous increase of the permeability but is limited by the load level, the cost of the energy storage system increases with the increase of the capacity. The interaction between the two makes the total cost of the system decrease to the minimum when the photovoltaic permeability is 45%. When the permeability increases again, the system's total cost will keep rising, and the system operation economy will be seriously affected.

Based on the discussion of the above two legends, it is found that the total capacity of the BESS should be controlled in the optimal range according to the actual situation, and the photovoltaic permeability should also be controlled at a certain value so as to ensure the system operation economy while ensuring the safe and stable operation of the system. In order to improve the overall economy of the system, this paper selected 45% photovoltaic permeability to verify and analyze the two-layer programming model of the energy storage system proposed in this paper.

As shown in Figure 16 below, after optimizing the configuration of the energy storage system with 45% photovoltaic permeability, the load curve of the distribution network presents an obvious smoothing trend, and the peak–valley difference decreases. The sufficiency proves that the two-layer optimal configuration model of energy storage can still effectively improve the off-peak load, reduce the peak load of the distribution network, and increase the scheduling flexibility of the distribution network under the condition of high photovoltaic permeability.

**Figure 15.** Total cost curve under different PV penetration rates.

**Figure 16.** Distribution network load curve before and after energy storage configuration optimization under 45% photovoltaic penetration rate.

#### **6. Conclusions**

In order to ensure the power quality and scheduling flexibility of the photovoltaic distribution network with increasing permeability, this paper proposes a joint optimization operation mode of optical storage. Firstly, the PV output model was analyzed, and the scenario planning method was applied. The K-means clustering algorithm was used to divide the output scenarios, and the typical output scenarios were selected for analysis. A BESS two-layer decision model was established, and the improved IMOPSO algorithm was used to solve the two-layer model. The IEEE-33 node example was adopted, and the simulation verification was carried out based on the current feed-in price, selected energy storage parameters, and other parameters. The simulation analysis results are as follows:

#### **7. Future Work**

In this paper, only batteries are considered in the selection of batteries in the energy storage system. However, with a wider application of energy storage, a single energy storage system may not be able to meet the actual demand in the future. In subsequent research, we will combine other types of energy storage for optimization analysis of hybrid energy storage.

At the same time, because of the variety of renewable energy, more and more distributed power is connected to the distribution network. This paper only analyzes access to photovoltaic power generation. In a follow-up study, we will conduct a further study on scenarios with access to various energy sources.

In addition to the voltage fluctuation and load fluctuation considered in this paper, the power system with energy storage access has more indicators to measure security. In a follow-up study, we will also analyze the improvement and influence of energy storage access on various indicators.

**Author Contributions:** Conceptualization, J.Z. and L.Z.; methodology, S.Z.; software, S.Z. and L.Z.; validation, J.Z., S.Z. and L.Z.; formal analysis, J.Y.; investigation, L.L.; resources, J.Y.; data curation, J.Y.; writing—original draft preparation, L.Z.; writing—review and editing, J.Z.; visualization, L.L.; supervision, J.Y. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** This work is supported in part by the National Key Research and Development Program Project (Grant number: 2019YFE0104800), Natural Science Foundation of Henan Province (Grant number:<PHONE_NUMBER>71) and the Key Project of Science and Technology in Colleges and Universities of Henan Province (Grant number:<PHONE_NUMBER>30).

**Data Availability Statement:** The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article; further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.


**Author details**

Yang Tang

**Figure 11.** Schematic description of the electrochemical deposition setup.

This chapter gives the review of the CIGS solar cells regarding the heterostructures, materials, technology and research advances. The CIGS solar cells consist of a number of films which are deposited onto a rigid or flexible substrate. Mo deposited by magnetron sputtering serves as a nontransparent back-contact. The Mo film is covered by the actual Cu(In,Ga)Se2 film. The coevaporation method and the two-stage process are two of the most important techniques to fabricate Cu(In,Ga)Se2. The heterojunction is formed by depositing a very thin n-type buffer layer (typically CdS) and an n-type wide gap transparent window layer (usually heavily doped ZnO). The CdS buffer layer is usually fabricated by a chemical bath deposition method. The magnetron sputtering is extensively used to deposit the ZnO window layer. The chapter also states the key findings in our research and provides suggestions for future research. One of the plausible solutions for boosting solar cells' efficiency is to implant nanostructures such as ZnO nanorod arrays in the conventional thin film photovoltaic devices. ZnO nanostructures can be grown on top of the CIGS solar cells' window layers as an antireflective coating layer or implanted into the solar cells. On one hand, the implanted nanostructures will decrease the reflection and increase the light path due to light coupling effects. On the other hand, the ZnO nanostructures will put the electrode close to the photoinduced carrier generation area with larger carrier collection function. It will assist in boosting the solar cells' efficiency by carrier

In the past four decades, the CIGS thin film solar cells have developed steadily. The lab efficiency of the CIGS solar cells has reached to as high as 22.6% [2]. However, the journey to successful large-scale commercialization is going through fire and water. Nowadays the silicon

**5. Conclusion**

196 Nanostructured Solar Cells

collection enhancement.

**6. Outlook**

Address all correspondence to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
National Institute of Clean-And-Low-Carbon Energy, Future Science & Technology City, Beijing, People's Republic of China


**3.1 Structural properties**

Scaffold micro and macro architecture critically influences cell survive and surface adhesion, but also cellular proliferation, differentiation, vascularization, and specific gene expression [10].

If on the one hand, a scaffold may be strong enough to support the physiological load of the body and to allow surgical handling during implantation, on the other hand, it is important to obtain a porous structure to avoid cellular colonization. It is clear that a balance between mechanical strength and high porosity is a significant challenge in scaffold production.

## *3.1.1 Pore interconnection, porosity, and pore size*

 Pore interconnection, porosity, and pore size represent very important parameters for the scaffold production. All three features allow cellular penetration, vascularization, adequate diffusion of nutrients and oxygen to cells within the construct, and neo-formed extracellular matrix ensuring cell viability [5, 11].

 In particular, pore size is a key element for the scaffold efficiency. In fact, the pores must be large enough to allow cells to penetrate and migrate within the scaffold structure, but also small enough to allow the binding of a critical number of cells at the same. Pores can be classified into micropores (0.1–2 nm), mesopores (2–50 nm), and macropores (>50 nm) according to their dimension. All the scaffolds used for tissue engineering may have a macroporous structure with a specific pore size as a function of the type of host tissue. In particular, a pore size of 20 micron is required for hepatocyte and fibroblast growth, while the dimension is around 20–150 micron for soft tissue healing. For bone tissue engineering, researchers propose a pore size range between 200 and 400 micron.

The most common techniques used to obtain a porous structure are gas foaming, salt leaching, phase separation, sintering, and freeze-drying.

## **3.2 Mechanical properties**

The scaffold for tissue engineering must have adequate mechanical integrity, so that it can offer support from the time of implantation until the remodeling process is fully completed.

## *3.2.1 Mechanical strength and stiffness*

The mechanical strength depends on the bonding forces that hold together the atoms in scaffold architecture. It is an important parameter to avoid the

solid structure deformation due to cellular loading on the scaffold or caused by scaffold handling.

Another important feature of the scaffold surface is the stiffness that is measured by Young's modulus. Cells respond to scaffold stiffness *via* different mechanisms such as activation of ion channels or protein unfolding, and by this way, stiffness affects cell proliferation and differentiation. Hadjipanayi *et al.* demonstrated that the increasing of free-floating collagen matrix stiffness led to a higher proliferation rate for human dermal fibroblasts [12].


**3.4 Evidence for calcium-mediated alteration of the cytoskeleton**

Cultured blood-brain barrier endothelial cells were exposed to conditions simulating ischemia and reperfusion, as described above. Following treatment, the cytoskeletal component actin was stained with phalloidin (0.05 mg/ml) [41] and examined using confocal laser microscopy. Incubating cells for 120 minutes under control conditions revealed the usual configuration of actin, which forms an organized ring of fibrils just inside the plasma membrane. Incubating under ischemic conditions either did not alter this configuration at all, or had a relatively minor effect on cytoskeletal arrangement. However, exposing the cells to ischemic conditions for 90 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of control treatment (reperfusion) caused a remarkable reorganization of the actin (**Figure 4**), which assumed the usual stress fiber configuration associated with damage and increased permeability characteristics [44]. An inhibitor of calcium activated myosin light chain kinase [50] (Sigma, 0.1 μM) prevented the appearance of stress fibers observed during reperfusion (**Figure 4**).

#### **3.5 Evidence for alterations of permeability characteristics**

Cultured cerebral capillary endothelial cells were incubated in transwells under conditions simulating ischemia (90 minutes) and reperfusion (30 minutes), and permeability properties of the endothelial barrier were measured by quantifying unidirectional flux of 14C-sucrose across the endothelium [42]. **Figure 5** shows that selective inhibition of Na/H exchange, a brain capillary endothelial carrier shown earlier to contribute to calcium uptake (**Figure 3**) and structural damage (**Figure 4**) during reperfusion, caused a significant reduction in the observed permeability to sucrose.

#### **3.6 Evidence for mitochondrial dysfunction**

**Figure 6** shows that 1 μM Cyclosporin A (CsA), an inhibitor of mitochondrial damage and apoptosis [42, 43, 51], significantly reduced sucrose permeability across

**205**

**Figure 5.**

**Figure 4.**

*from 4 sets of monolayers for each treatment.*

*Prevention of Oxidative Injury Associated with Thrombolysis for Ischemic Stroke*

brain capillary endothelial cell monolayers associated with simulated ischemia (90 minutes) and reperfusion (30 minutes). In addition, **Figure 7** confirms that ischemia (30 minutes) followed by reperfusion (24 hours) greatly increased caspase 3 activity that is typically associated with apoptosis [51], and that this was significantly reduced with DMA (100 μM), an inhibitor of Na/H antiport and calcium loading (**Figure 3**). A specific inhibitor of caspase 3 activity (z-VAD-FMK, 10 μM)

*An inhibitor of Na/H antiport (100 μM DMA, R + DMA) significantly reduced the permeability (% of control) to 14C-sucrose across cultured brain capillary endothelial cells observed during 90 minutes ischemia/30 minutes reperfusion (reperfusion). \*P = 0.05. Values are mean ± SD, n = 4 0bservations.*

*Cultured blood-brain barrier cells were stained for actin with phalloidin following incubation under conditions of ischemia and reperfusion. Normally the actin forms a concentrated ribbon inside the plasma membrane, and ischemia alone causes only minor changes, if any. Simulated reperfusion (30 minutes) following ischemia (90 minutes), however, causes a random and diffuse rearrangement of actin, termed stress fibers (reperfusion without inhibitor). This pattern is typical of cell damage and enhanced permeability of passive solute markers through tight junctions. An inhibitor of calcium-activated myosin light chain kinase (sigma, 0.1 μM) completely prevented the appearance of stress fibers (reperfusion with inhibitor). These are representative fields*

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84774*

#### **Figure 4.**

*Antioxidants*

**Figure 3.**

**3.4 Evidence for calcium-mediated alteration of the cytoskeleton**

appearance of stress fibers observed during reperfusion (**Figure 4**).

**3.5 Evidence for alterations of permeability characteristics**

**3.6 Evidence for mitochondrial dysfunction**

Cultured blood-brain barrier endothelial cells were exposed to conditions simulating ischemia and reperfusion, as described above. Following treatment, the cytoskeletal component actin was stained with phalloidin (0.05 mg/ml) [41] and examined using confocal laser microscopy. Incubating cells for 120 minutes under control conditions revealed the usual configuration of actin, which forms an organized ring of fibrils just inside the plasma membrane. Incubating under ischemic conditions either did not alter this configuration at all, or had a relatively minor effect on cytoskeletal arrangement. However, exposing the cells to ischemic conditions for 90 minutes, followed by 30 minutes of control treatment (reperfusion) caused a remarkable reorganization of the actin (**Figure 4**), which assumed the usual stress fiber configuration associated with damage and increased permeability characteristics [44]. An inhibitor of calcium activated myosin light chain kinase [50] (Sigma, 0.1 μM) prevented the

*Simulating ischemia-reperfusion in cultured brain capillary endothelial cells resulted in a significant increase in intracellular sodium (panel a) during ischemia (120 minutes), that was maintained during ischemia followed by reperfusion (90/30 minutes). The rise observed during ischemia/reperfusion was prevented by inhibiting Na/H exchange (100 μM DMA). The same results were observed when measuring intracellular calcium (panel B). The rise in calcium during ischemia/reperfusion was significantly reduced with a specific inhibitor of the reverse movement of Na/Ca exchange (20 μM KB-R 7943). Intracellular calcium was also significantly reduced by DMA (100 μM (not shown). \*P < 0.05, different from control; + P < 0.05, different from ischemia/reperfusion. Values are mean ± SD. Measurements are made from 50 cells randomly chosen to represent each treatment.*

Cultured cerebral capillary endothelial cells were incubated in transwells under conditions simulating ischemia (90 minutes) and reperfusion (30 minutes), and permeability properties of the endothelial barrier were measured by quantifying unidirectional flux of 14C-sucrose across the endothelium [42]. **Figure 5** shows that selective inhibition of Na/H exchange, a brain capillary endothelial carrier shown earlier to contribute to calcium uptake (**Figure 3**) and structural damage (**Figure 4**) during reperfusion, caused a significant reduction in the observed permeability to sucrose.

**Figure 6** shows that 1 μM Cyclosporin A (CsA), an inhibitor of mitochondrial damage and apoptosis [42, 43, 51], significantly reduced sucrose permeability across

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*Cultured blood-brain barrier cells were stained for actin with phalloidin following incubation under conditions of ischemia and reperfusion. Normally the actin forms a concentrated ribbon inside the plasma membrane, and ischemia alone causes only minor changes, if any. Simulated reperfusion (30 minutes) following ischemia (90 minutes), however, causes a random and diffuse rearrangement of actin, termed stress fibers (reperfusion without inhibitor). This pattern is typical of cell damage and enhanced permeability of passive solute markers through tight junctions. An inhibitor of calcium-activated myosin light chain kinase (sigma, 0.1 μM) completely prevented the appearance of stress fibers (reperfusion with inhibitor). These are representative fields from 4 sets of monolayers for each treatment.*

**Figure 5.**

*An inhibitor of Na/H antiport (100 μM DMA, R + DMA) significantly reduced the permeability (% of control) to 14C-sucrose across cultured brain capillary endothelial cells observed during 90 minutes ischemia/30 minutes reperfusion (reperfusion). \*P = 0.05. Values are mean ± SD, n = 4 0bservations.*

brain capillary endothelial cell monolayers associated with simulated ischemia (90 minutes) and reperfusion (30 minutes). In addition, **Figure 7** confirms that ischemia (30 minutes) followed by reperfusion (24 hours) greatly increased caspase 3 activity that is typically associated with apoptosis [51], and that this was significantly reduced with DMA (100 μM), an inhibitor of Na/H antiport and calcium loading (**Figure 3**). A specific inhibitor of caspase 3 activity (z-VAD-FMK, 10 μM)

#### **Figure 6.**

*Inhibiting the mitochondrial permeability transition with Cyclosporin A (1 μM, R + CsA) significantly inhibited the sucrose permeability (% of control) observed during 30 minutes of reperfusion (R control), following 90 minutes of ischemia. \*P < 0.05. Values are mean ± SD, n = 3 observations.*

#### **Figure 7.**

*Caspase 3 activity was expressed in cultured blood-brain barrier cells exposed to conditions simulating ischemia-reperfusion. Twenty-four hours of reperfusion following 30 minutes of ischemia resulted in a large increase in caspase 3 activity that was inhibited with DMA (100 μM). \*P < 0.05 from control; +P < 0.05 from I/ rep. I/rep is ischemia plus reperfusion; I/R Na inh is ischemia-reperfusion with DMA inhibition; I/R Cp inh is ischemia-reperfusion with a specific caspase inhibitor. Values are mean ± SD, n = 3 observations.*

served as an internal control. The non-mitochondrial caspase 8 pathway for apoptosis showed no significant response in these cells.

#### **3.7 Evidence for the protective role of antioxidants**

We have previously shown that the antioxidant γ-glutamylcysteine reduces injury to cultured brain capillary endothelial cells [58] under conditions of simulated ischemia/reperfusion. Cells were incubated for 1.5 hours under ischemic conditions, followed by 3 hours of simulated reperfusion. The presence of 1 mM γ-glutamylcysteine significantly inhibited release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) into the incubation medium, thus reducing cell lysis. Additional new studies in our laboratory confirm that the antioxidants glutathione and *N*-acetylcysteine significantly (P<0.05) inhibit LDH release from cultured brain capillary endothelial cells under the same circumstances. Compared to cultured cells incubated under conditions simulating ischemia (1.5 hours) and reperfusion (3 hours) in the *absence* of these antioxidants, 1 mM glutathione and 1 mM *N*-acetylcysteine inhibited mean LDH release by factors of 0.51 and 0.45, respectively. Collectively, the data

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per group).

**3.9** *In vivo* **evidence for inhibition of apoptosis**

Cerebral cortical tissue was randomly sampled from the animals above (1 hour ischemia/24 hours reperfusion), and the TUNEL assay was performed to determine if apoptosis was occurring. Representative tissue from 2 of 4 animals in each group is shown in **Figure 9**. The left panels show cerebral tissue from stroked animals without the drugs. Comparable regions are shown in the right panels, representing tissue from stroked animals that also received the drugs just prior to reperfusion. The cerebral tissue from stroked animals without the drugs showed prominent

*Prevention of Oxidative Injury Associated with Thrombolysis for Ischemic Stroke*

**3.8** *In vivo* **evidence for a strategy to prevent reperfusion injury**

indicate that injury to cultured brain capillary endothelial cells exposed to ischemia/reperfusion is significantly reduced in the presence of known antioxidants [19, 20, 45] including native glutathione, and its precursors *N*-acetylcysteine, and

The purpose of the following experiments was to confirm that the mechanisms revealed by our cellular and molecular studies could be used to design a therapeutic approach in whole animals for the treatment of reperfusion injury to the brain capillaries, following transient ischemic stroke. The *in vitro* data suggested that two key factors are responsible for cellular injury and disruption of brain capillaries: (1) a rise in intracellular calcium due to reverse movement of the Na/Ca exchanger during reperfusion, and (2) depletion of endogenous antioxidant activity during the prolonged ischemia, resulting in an elevation of reactive oxygen species upon reperfusion. This led to our conclusion that a reasonable treatment for damage to brain capillary endothelial cells following transient ischemia would be to administer an inhibitor of reverse movement of Na/Ca exchange to prevent the rise in intracellular calcium, and to buffer reactive oxygen species by restoring antioxidant activity within the cells. To test this hypothesis, middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) was performed on Long-Evans female rats, involving 1 hour of ischemia to the left cerebral hemisphere, and 24 hours of reperfusion. One group of animals received KB-R7943 (10 mg/kg) and γ-glutamylcysteine (400 mg/kg) in 1 ml of isotonic saline solution 1 minute prior to reperfusion (IV, femoral vein), while the other group was administered a placebo (isotonic saline). Following treatment, tissue from the lateral cortex was prepared for electron microscopy, and the cross-sectional area of mitochondria in blood-brain barrier endothelial cells was quantified using morphometric techniques. The contralateral (right) hemisphere served as an internal control for non-ischemic tissue. The data is represented by electron micrographs in **Figure 8** from 2 of 4 animals in each group. As observed in the left panels of **Figure 8** depicting tissue exposed to ischemia/reperfusion without the drugs, mitochondria of blood-brain barrier endothelial cells (solid arrows) are noticeably swollen and abnormal in appearance, indicative of the mitochondrial permeability transition associated with apoptosis [43, 51]. In some instances, mitochondria have actually been extruded into the lumen (dashed arrows) of the capillary, indicating extensive cell damage. In the right panels showing tissue from 2 of 4 stroked animals administered the drugs, the mitochondria are normal, and the blood-brain barrier endothelial cells look healthy. When comparing the groups of animals, morphometric measurements of endothelial mitochondrial size revealed a highly significant (P = 0.0015) increase in swelling in stroked animals without the drugs vs. those with the drugs, expressed as a percent change in cross-sectional area from the control contralateral hemisphere (67 ± 15 vs. 13 ± 12, mean ± SD, n = 4 animals

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.84774*

γ-glutamylcysteine.

indicate that injury to cultured brain capillary endothelial cells exposed to ischemia/reperfusion is significantly reduced in the presence of known antioxidants [19, 20, 45] including native glutathione, and its precursors *N*-acetylcysteine, and γ-glutamylcysteine.


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