Yiqi Huoxue Huatan formula attenuates inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by suppressing the activation of PI3K/AKT and NF-κB signaling pathways

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A Case Study of the 3D Water Vapor Tomography Model Based on a Fast Voxel Traversal Algorithm for Ray Tracing

A fast voxel traversal algorithm for ray tracing was applied to build a 4 × 4 × 20 tomography model using the observation data of 11 ground-based Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) meteorology (GNSS/MET) stations in Hebei Province, China. The precipitation water vapor (PWV) observed at 05 a.m. (Universal Time Coordinated: UTC) on 10 December 2019, was used to reconstruct three-dimensional (3D) water vapor density fields over the test area. The tomographic results (GNSS_T) show that the water vapor density above this area is mainly below 25 g/m3 and is concentrated between the first to the fourth layers. The vertical distribution conforms to the exponential characteristics, while the horizontal distribution shows a decreasing trend from southwest to northeast. In addition, the results of the 0.25° grid dataset generated by the Global Forecast System (GFS) of the National Center for Environmental Forecasting (NCEP) (GFS_L) were interpolated to the height of the tomographic grid, which is in good agreement with the tomographic results. GFS_L is larger than GNSS_T on the first floor at the surface, with an average deviation of 0.19 g/m3. In contrast, GFS_L from the second floor to the top of the model is smaller than GNSS_T, with the average deviations distributed between −0.08 and −0.15 g/m3

Yiqi Huoxue Huatan formula attenuates inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease by suppressing the activation of PI3K/AKT and NF-κB signaling pathways

Purpose: To explore the mechanism with which Yiqi Huoxue Huatan formula regulates inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Methods: COPD rat models (n=60) were procured and administered with prednisone and Yiqi Huoxue Huatan formula. Histological examination of lung tissues was carried out and bronchoalveolar fluid was collected for further analysis. In addition, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting were used to evaluate the expression of different genes and proteins. The study also assessed pulmonary functions in each rat. Results: The results showed that Yiqi Huoxue Huatan formula relieved the lung inflammation and helped to preserve alveolar structure, and its anti-inflammatory efficacy was superior to prednisone. Moreover, it significantly improved pulmonary function in COPD rats. This formula was shown to repress the activity of both PI3K/AKT and NF-κB signaling pathways. Conclusion: Yiqi Huoxue Huatan formula may be effective in treating COPD by attenuating local inflammation and improving pulmonary function

Extraction of l‑Tryptophan by Hydroxyl-Functionalized Ionic Liquids

In this work, several hydroxyl-functionalized ionic liquids (ILs) were synthesized and used to extract tryptophan from the aqueous phase. The experimental results indicated that the hydroxyl-functionalized ILs presented better extraction ability than the dialkylimidazolium-based ILs. The extraction efficiency was significantly influenced by the pH of the aqueous phase. Moreover, the cationic form of tryptophan preferred to transfer into the IL phase, thereby suggesting a cation-exchange extraction mechanism. Driving forces of the extraction processes included hydrogen bonding, hydrophobicity, π–π stacking, and the screening effect. Among these factors, hydrogen bonding was the main parameter, as suggested by the results of thermodynamic analysis. After extraction, [C₁C₆­OHim]­NTf₂ could be reused by using the pH swing effect. These findings demonstrate that [C₁C₆­OHim]­NTf₂ is a good alternative to conventional solvents for recovering tryptophan from the aqueous phase