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With the acceleration of urbanization, the proportion of surface imperviousness is increasing continuously in cities, resulting in frequent waterlogging disasters. In this context, storm water management, based on the low-impact development (LID) concept, offers an effective measure for the management of urban storm waters. First, the storm water management model (SWMM) was built for a typical cold climate city (Changchun) in China. Next, the two-stage calibrated model was employed to explore the surface runoff and storm sewer control effects of four LID combination plans. Finally, these plans were put through a "cost-benefit" evaluation through an analytic hierarchy process. According to the results, after using four LID plans, the reduction rates of peak runoff exceeded 40% and the problem of overflow load of the storm sewage was significantly mitigated. The infiltration-oriented Plan I proved to be the optimal plan, with the lowest proportions of the overflow nodes and full-load pipe sections in each return period, as well as with maximum overall performance. This study offers technical and conformed methodological support to cold cities for the prevention and control of waterlogging disasters and recycling of rainwater resources., (Copyright © 2021. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Fullerenes with novel structures find numerous potential applications, particularly in the fields of biology and pharmaceutics. Among various fullerene derivatives, those exhibiting amphiphilic character and capable of self-assembly into vesicles are particularly interesting, being suitable for delayed drug release. Herein, we report the synthesis and self-assembly of biocompatible hollow nanovesicles with bilayer shells from amphiphilic functionalized fullerenes C 60 R 5 Cl (R=methyl ester of 4-aminobutyric/glutamic acid or phenylalanine). The thus prepared vesicles exhibit sizes of 80-135nm (depending on R) and can be used as delayed-release carriers of anti-cancer drugs such as 5-fluorouracil, cyclophosphamide, and cisplatin, with the time of 5-fluorouracil release from drug-containing vesicles exceeding that of non-encapsulated forms by a factor of three. We further reveal the effect of R on the loading amount and release rate/amount of vesicle-encapsulated drugs, demonstrating a potential pharmaceutical application of the prepared nanovesicles depending on the nature of R., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Topical use of ginsenosides, the major bioactive substances in Panax ginseng, has been used for the treatment of irritated skin complaints. However, the protective mechanisms of ginsenosides remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory role of ginsenoside F2 (GF2) on the skin inflammation. To induce irritant dermatitis, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) was applied on the surface of the mouse ears with or without treatments of GF2 and dexamethasone for 24 h. Protective effects of GF2 on edema and inflammation were assessed by measuring ear thickness, weights of skin punch, and inflammatory responses. In gross findings, treatments with GF2 significantly decreased skin thickness and weight compared to those of TPA-treated groups, which was comparable with the protective effects of dexamethasone. In addition, expression of inflammatory mediators was remarkably reduced in GF2-treated ears compared to that of vehicle-treated ears of mice. Interestingly, immunohistochemistry and flow cytometry analyses revealed that TPA treatment significantly increased infiltration of interleukin-17 (IL-17) producing dermal γδ T cells, while frequencies of γδ T cells was decreased by GF2 treatment, subsequently ameliorating inflammation in skin. Concomitantly, TPA-mediated skin inflammation was significantly ameliorated in IL-17A knock out mice. Furthermore, GF2 treatment inhibited infiltration and generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) of neutrophils in damaged ears compared with vehicle-treated mice. These results clearly suggest that GF2 treatment ameliorates TPA-induced dermal inflammation by inhibiting production of IL-17 and ROS in γδ T cells and neutrophils, respectively. Therefore, as a natural compound, application of GF2 may be a novel therapeutic approach for treating skin inflammation., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are promising candidates for cell-based therapy to treat several diseases and are compelling to consider as vehicles for delivery of biological agents. However, MSCs appear to act through a seemingly limited "hit-and-run" mode to quickly exert their therapeutic impact, mediated by several mechanisms, including a potent immunomodulatory secretome. Furthermore, MSC immunomodulatory properties are highly variable and the secretome composition following infusion is uncertain. To determine whether a transiently controlled antiinflammatory MSC secretome could be achieved at target sites of inflammation, we harnessed mRNA transfection to generate MSCs that simultaneously express functional rolling machinery (P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 [PSGL-1] and Sialyl-Lewis(x) [SLeX]) to rapidly target inflamed tissues and that express the potent immunosuppressive cytokine interleukin-10 (IL-10), which is not inherently produced by MSCs. Indeed, triple-transfected PSGL-1/SLeX/IL-10 MSCs transiently increased levels of IL-10 in the inflamed ear and showed a superior antiinflammatory effect in vivo, significantly reducing local inflammation following systemic administration. This was dependent on rapid localization of MSCs to the inflamed site. Overall, this study demonstrates that despite the rapid clearance of MSCs in vivo, engineered MSCs can be harnessed via a "hit-and-run" action for the targeted delivery of potent immunomodulatory factors to treat distant sites of inflammation.

We have previously found that bronchial epithelial cells express CCR3 whose signaling elicits mitogen-activated protein (MAP) kinase activation and cytokine production. Several investigators have focused on the signaling crosstalk between G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) in cancer cells. In this study, we investigated the role of EGFR in CCR3 signaling in the bronchial epithelial cell line NCI-H292. Eotaxin (1-100 nM) induced dose-dependent tyrosine phosphorylation of EGFR in NCI-H292 cells. Pretreatment of the cells with the EGFR inhibitor (AG1478) significantly inhibited the MAP kinase phosphorylation induced by eotaxin. Eotaxin stimulated IL-8 production, which was inhibited by AG1478. The transactivation of EGFR through CCR3 is a critical pathway that elicits MAP kinase activation and cytokine production in bronchial epithelial cells. The delineation of the signaling pathway of chemokines will help to develop a new therapeutic strategy to allergic diseases including bronchial asthma.