Pulmonary fibrosis is a kind of devastating interstitial lung disease due to the limited therapeutic strategies. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practices have put forth Shenks as a promising treatment approach. Here, we performed in vivo study and in vitro study to delineate the anti-fibrotic mechanisms behind Shenks treatment for pulmonary fibrosis. We found that regardless of the prophylactic or therapeutic treatment, Shenks was able to attenuate BLM-induced-fibrosis in mice, down regulate extracellular matrix genes expression, and reduce collagen production. The aberrantly high Smad3 phosphorylation levels and SBE activity in TGF-β-induced fibroblasts were dramatically decreased as a result of Shenks treatment. At the same time, Shenks was able to increase the expression of antioxidant-related genes, including Gclc and Ec-sod, while reduce the transcription levels of oxidative-related genes, such as Rac1 and Nox4 demonstrated by both in vivo and in vitro studies. Further investigations found that Shenks could decrease the oxidative productions of protein (3-nitrotyrosine) and lipid (malondialdehyde) and increase GSH content both in bleomycin treated mouse lungs and TGF-β stimulated fibroblasts, as well as inhibit the production of ROS stimulated by TGF-β to fight against oxidative stress. Overall, Shenks inhibited fibrosis by blocking TGF-β pathway and modulating the oxidant/antioxidant balance.
Introduction: Although Brownfield greening (BG) can be a crucial solution to green space deficiency in dense urban areas, the potential benefits of different BG initiatives have rarely been quantitatively pre-evaluated. Here, the concept and main features of BG and its costs and benefits are firstly depicted. Next, a conceptual framework is presented which combines ecosystem service (ESS) valuation, economic cost-benefit analysis, and spatial pattern analysis. The framework is used to perform ex ante valuation of the ESS value of BG in Xuhui District, Shanghai. Outcomes: The scenario comparison results show that it can spatially reflect a closer-to-reality value of ESS at the urban scale instead of a theoretical value at the site scale. The ultimate values of ESS (After economic and landscape adjustments) in the composite scenario is more than 21% higher than those in the full-eco scenario, whereas the initial values of ESS (before the adjustments) in the former was 14% lower than those in the latter. These results suggest that a considerable part of brownfield greening projects need to be implemented in the more populated and economically vibrant areas instead of solely in the ecological construction zone, thereby correspondingly providing more cultural and regulation services and forming a better urban green space network.
Conclusion:The framework provides a simple, science-based, and feasible tool for making BG decisions from a systematic perspective in dense urban areas. It can help meet the need for applying ESS knowledge to BG-based green space planning and policy making in the context of urban sustainable development.
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