Systems Pharmacology Strategy for the Investigation of Action Mechanisms of Qin Herb Libanotis Buchtormensis (Fisch.) DC. in Bone Diseases.

INTRODUCTION: Qin medicines are medicinal plants growing in habitat around the peak of Qinling Mountain. Their unique curative effects on bone metabolic diseases and pain diseases have been favoured by the local people in clinical trials for thousands of years. Libanotis buchtormensis (Fisch.) DC. (LBD), is one of the popular Qin herbs, which has been widely used for the treatment of various diseases, such as osteoporosis, rheumatic, and cardiovascular diseases. However, due to the multiple compounds in LBD, the underlying molecular mechanisms of LBD remain unclear. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to systemically investigate the underlying mechanisms of LBD against bone diseases. METHODS: In this study, a systems pharmacology platform included the potential active compound screening, target fishing, and network pharmacological analysis was employed to decipher the action mechanisms of LBD. RESULTS: As a result, 12 potential active compounds and 108 targets were obtained. Furthermore, compound-target network and target-pathway network analysis showed that multi-components interacted with multi-targets and multi-pathways, i.e., MARK signalling pathway, mTORC1 signalling pathway, etc., involved in the regulation of the immune system and circulatory system. These results suggested the mechanisms of the therapeutic effects of LBD on various diseases through most compounds targeted by multiple targets. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, we successfully predicted the LBD bioactive compounds and potential targets, implying that LBD could be applied as a novel therapeutic herb in osteoporosis, rheumatic, and cardiovascular diseases. This work provides insight into the therapeutic mechanisms of LBD for treating various diseases.

Evaluating the Effect of Roadside Parking on a Dual-Direction Urban Street.

Roadside parking is a common traffic phenomenon in China. Narrow urban streets, high parking demands, and a shortage of parking lots force the public to engage in random parking along the roadside. A protocol is proposed to determine the impact of a roadside-parked vehicle on passing vehicles. In this investigation, a dual-direction and two-lane urban street in which one vehicle is parked on the roadside is selected for the collection of traffic data. Based on these data, the impact of the roadside-parked vehicles on the trajectory and speed of passing vehicles is determined. In addition, a microsimulation model is applied to determine the impact of roadside parking on the maximum queue length, delay, emissions, and other indicators under different traffic volumes according to the sensitivity analysis. The results show that roadside-parked vehicles affect the trajectory of passing vehicles for approximately 80 m and have a negative effect on speed, with the lowest speed being observed at the location of the roadside-parked vehicle. The sensitivity analysis results suggest that traffic volume increases synchronously with indicator values. The protocol provides a method for determining the effect of roadside parking on travel trajectory and speed. The research contributes to the refined management of future roadside parking.

Determination of the Friction Coefficients of Icy Pavements Under Different Amounts of Snowfall.

Ice on road surfaces can lead to a significant decrease in the friction coefficient, thus endangering driving safety. However, there are still no studies that provide exact friction coefficient values for pavements covered in ice, which is detrimental to both road design and the selection of winter road maintenance measures. Therefore, this article presents an experimental method to determine the friction coefficient of icy road surfaces in the winter. A British portable tester (BPT), also known as a pendulum friction coefficient meter, was employed for the experiment. The experiment was divided into the following five steps: the preparation of the equipment, the calculation and analysis of the snowfall, equipment calibration, friction coefficient determination, and data analysis. The accuracy of the final experiment is directly affected by the equipment accuracy, which is described in detail. Moreover, this article suggests a method for calculating the ice thickness for corresponding amounts of snowfall. The results illustrate that even patchy ice formed by very light snowfall may lead to a significant decrease in the friction coefficient of the pavement, thus endangering driving safety. Additionally, the friction coefficient is at its peak when the ice thickness reaches 5 mm, meaning protection measures should be taken to avoid the formation of such ice.