Xiebai Zengye decoction improves respiratory function and attenuates inflammation in juvenile rats with postinfection cough via regulating ERK signaling pathway.

This study aimed to determine the effects of Xiebai Zengye decoction (XBZY) on airway inflammation and respiratory function in rats with postinfectious cough (PIC), and its regulatory effects on the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling pathway. Compared with the normal group, the rats from the PIC group had significantly shortened expiratory time (TE) and enhanced pause (EEP), increased resistance (RT), and enhanced pause (Penh), along with increased levels of serum interleukin-4 (IL-4) and IL-6, and decreased levels of IL-10. The lung and colon tissues of rats from the PIC group showed histopathological changes, including inflammatory cell infiltration, damaged mucosal epithelium, and crypt structure, with significantly increased ERK mRNA and protein expression levels. Treatment with XBZY and montelukast sodium (MAS) improved the respiratory function and serum cytokine levels, reduced tissue inflammation, and decreased ERK mRNA and protein expression levels in the lung and colon tissues. In the lung tissues, XBZY treatment significantly decreased the expression of phosphorylated-ERK (p-ERK) protein, as well as p-MEK1/2, p-ERK1/2, and p-c-Fos proteins, while in the colon tissues, XBZY significantly decreased the expression of p-ERK1/2 and p-c-Fos proteins. However, MAS treatment only showed significant improvement in the lung tissue inflammation score, and the expression level of p-ERK protein in the lung tissue was decreased. In conclusion, the present study suggests that XBZY has a potential therapeutic effect on PIC by improving respiratory function and attenuating inflammation, and this effect may be associated with the inhibition of the ERK signaling pathway. These findings could provide a new direction for the development of treatments for PIC. However, further research is needed to elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms of XBZY and to confirm its safety and efficacy in clinical trials.

Chemical characteristics and regional transport of submicron particulate matter at a suburban site near Lanzhou, China.

Lanzhou, which is a valley city on the Loess Plateau, frequently suffered from aerosol pollution in recent years, especially in winter. However, the lack of understanding of factors governing aerosol pollution limits the implementation of effective emission policies in and around Lanzhou. To help solve this problem, an intensive field campaign was conducted at the SACOL site, which is a suburban site near Lanzhou, in winter 2018. The chemical characteristics and sources of submicron particulate matter (PM1) were investigated, and the influence of the topography around Lanzhou on aerosol pollution was examined. In the present study, the average PM1 mass concentration reached 25.6 ± 12.8 µg m-3, with 41.0% organics, 16.1% sulfate, 19.7% nitrate, 10.7% ammonium, 3.1% chloride, and 9.4% black carbon (BC). Three organic aerosol (OA) factors were identified with the positive matrix factorization (PMF) algorithm, including a biomass burning OA (BBOA, 13.6%), a coal combustion OA (CCOA, 34.2%), and an oxygenated OA (OOA, 52.2%). The significant relationships between organics, BC, and chloride and wind pattern suggested that the SACOL site was strongly influenced by regionally transported aerosols. Further analysis suggested that these aerosol regional transport events were caused by topography. Due to the limitation of the valley, aerosols accumulated in the valley. These accumulated aerosols were then transported to the SACOL site along the valley by prevailing winds. Our study highlights enhanced aerosol regional transport in valleys, which provides a new perspective for future studies on aerosol pollution in basins and valleys.

Free-standing cross-linked activated carbon nanofibers with nitrogen functionality for high-performance supercapacitors.

Flexible, heteroatoms-rich activated carbon nanofibers with fascinating cross-linked architectures are successfully gained in a facile and controllable way via electrospinning polyacrylonitrile (PAN) /dicyandiamide (DICY) composite nanofibers followed by carbonation and a CO2 activation process. The unique inter-bonded structures and heteroatoms contents could be easily controlled by adjusting the preoxidation temperature applied in the calcining procedure and the addition of DICY. Significantly, the resultant samples display hierarchical pores with micro/meso/macropores, abundant N, O species doped and unique fiber-fiber interconnections, which considerably boost the electrochemical properties. As an electrode material, the activated N-doped cross-linked carbon nanofibers (ANCLCNFs) show a high capacitance of 323 F g-1 with a current density of 0.5 A g-1, excellent rate capacity (230.1 F g-1 at 20 A g-1) and long-term duration (over 95% after 10000 cycles). Furthermore, the symmetrical supercapacitor delivers a maximum energy density of 14.3 Wh kg-1 at a power density of 162.5 W kg-1.

Investigation into actions of Xiebai and Zengye decoction on cough sensitivity, airway inflammation and gut microbiota in the rat model of post-infectious cough.

This work was undertaken to observe therapeutic effect of Xiebai and Zengye (XBZY) decoction on post-infectious cough (PIC) in rats, as well as its effect on gut microbiota and the exploration of the intestinal microecological mechanisms of XBZY decoction in the treatment of PIC. Using a random number table, the rats that were successfully modelled were assigned to the PIC, XBZY group (14.8 g/kg/d), and montelukast sodium treatment (MAS) group (1 mg/kg/d). The cough sensitivity of rats and changes in fecal water content were assessed, and serum interleukin-8 (IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) levels were determined by ELISA. The histopathological changes in the bronchus and colon tissues were observed under the microscope after hematoxylin-eosin staining. Short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in fecal samples were measured by gas chromatography, and changes in gut microbiota were observed using 16S rRNA sequencing. The PIC rats showed decreased fecal water content, increased cough sensitivity, elevated serum TNF-α and IL-8 levels, and higher bronchitis scores comparing to normal control group. The PIC rats showed reductions in SCFAs and significant changes in the structure of gut microbiota. XBZY decoction intervention led to increased fecal water content in rats, reduced cough sensitivity, decreased serum IL-8 and TNF-α levels, decreased bronchitis scores, and alleviated inflammatory cell infiltration was observed in the colonic mucosa. Additionally, elevated SCFAs levels were observed in the PIC rats. XBZY decoction intervention improved alpha-/beta-diversity, and corrected microbiota imbalance in PIC rats. SCFAs, TNF-α and IL-8, acetic acid was revealed to be positively associated with Allobaculum but inversely correlated with unclassified_f_Oscillospiraceae; propanoic acid was positively associated with Lactobacilli but negatively associated with Romboutsia; butanoic acid exhibited positive correlations with Akkermansia and Lactobacilli, but negative correlations with unclassified_f_Oscillospiraceae, Eubacterium_xylanophilum_group, and Lachnospiraceae_NK4A136_group; Additionally, TNF-α was inversely linked to Allobaculum, while IL-8 was positively related to Romboutsia and Turicibacter. In conclusion, XBZY decoction significantly reduced cough sensitivity and airway inflammation in PIC rats while ameliorating stool dryness and colonic inflammation. The protective effects of XBZY decoction could be linked to modulat gut microbiota in PIC rats, and regulat SCFAs contents in PIC rats, while the regulator mechanisms of XBZY decoction in gut microbiota still requires further in-depth investigation.

Wintertime vertical distribution of black carbon and single scattering albedo in a semi-arid region derived from tethered balloon observations.

The vertical distribution of atmospheric aerosols plays an essential role in aerosol-radiation and aerosol-cloud interactions. Because of strong light absorption, the radiative effects of black carbon (BC) are highly sensitive to its vertical distribution; the lack of high-resolution observations is the reason for their poor quantification. We used a tethered balloon platform to acquire high-resolution vertical profiles of BC, particle number concentration, and meteorological parameters in the semi-arid region of Northwest China in December 2018. A total of 112 BC profiles were classified into four vertical distribution categories, which were determined by local emissions, regional transport, vertical mixing due to the ABL evolution, and topography. BC profiles with peaks near or above the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) accounted for 57% of the profiles. Vertical single scattering albedo (SSA) profiles were subsequently calculated using the profiles of BC and particle size distribution. The vertical SSA distribution is generally modulated by BC profiles. The diurnal variations of the BC and SSA profiles were summarized using a boundary-layer normalization method. In the ABL, BC decreased and SSA increased with increasing height at 02:00, 08:00, and 20:00, while both BC and SSA exhibited a uniform distribution at 14:00. The SSA decreased above the ABL at 14:00, which might have had a profound impact on ABL development. These results provide a better understanding of the vertical BC and SSA distributions, which can also be used to reduce uncertainties in estimating the BC radiative effects.

High contribution of vehicle emissions to fine particulate pollutions in Lanzhou, Northwest China based on high-resolution online data source appointment.

The quantitative estimation of urban particulate matter (PM) sources is essential but limited because of various reasons. The hourly online data of PM2.5, organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble ions, and elements from December 2019 to November 2020 was used to conduct PM source appointment, with an emphasis on the contribution of vehicle emissions to fine PM pollution in downtown Lanzhou, Northwest China. Vehicle emissions, secondary formation, mineral dust, and coal combustion were found to be the major PM sources using the positive matrix factorization model. The seasonal mean PM2.5 were estimated to be 72.8, 39.2, 24.3, and 43.6 µg·m-3 and vehicle emissions accounted for 35.7%, 25.8%, 30.0%, and 56.6% in winter, spring, summer, and autumn, respectively. Vehicle emissions were the largest source of PM considering the high PM pollution in winter and its significantly large contribution in autumn. Furthermore, the contribution of vehicle emissions increased with increasing PM in winter and autumn. Vehicle emissions were also the most important source of EC, accounting for 70.3%, 91.0%, 83.5%, and 93.7% of the total EC in winter, spring, summer, and autumn, respectively. With the reduction in industrial emissions and increase in vehicle numbers in China in recent years, vehicle emissions are going to be the largest source of urban PM pollution. To sustainably improve air quality in Lanzhou and other Chinese cities, efforts should be made to control vehicle emissions such as promoting clean-energy vehicles and encouraging public transportation.

Wetting layer evolution and its temperature dependence during self-assembly of InAs/GaAs quantum dots.

For InAs/GaAs(001) quantum dot (QD) system, the wetting layer (WL) evolution and its temperature dependence were studied using reflectance difference spectroscopy and were analyzed with a rate equation model. WL thicknesses showed a monotonic increase at relatively low growth temperatures but showed an initial increase and then decrease at higher temperatures, which were unexpected from a thermodynamic understanding. By adopting a rate equation model, the temperature dependence of QD formation rate was assigned as the origin of different WL evolutions. A brief discussion on the indium desorption was given. Those results gave hints of the kinetic aspects of QD self-assembly.

Observation of strong anisotropic forbidden transitions in (001) InGaAs/GaAs single-quantum well by reflectance-difference spectroscopy and its behavior under uniaxial strain.

The strong anisotropic forbidden transition has been observed in a series of InGaAs/GaAs single-quantum well with well width ranging between 3 nm and 7 nm at 80 K. Numerical calculations within the envelope function framework have been performed to analyze the origin of the optical anisotropic forbidden transition. It is found that the optical anisotropy of this transition can be mainly attributed to indium segregation effect. The effect of uniaxial strain on in-plane optical anisotropy (IPOA) is also investigated. The IPOA of the forbidden transition changes little with strain, while that of the allowed transition shows a linear dependence on strain.PACS 78.66.Fd, 78.20.Bh, 78.20.Fm.