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Heavy crude oil rich in colloid and asphaltene is widely used in human life, but the collection and clean-up of its spills are difficult because of its high viscosity and low flowability. Herein, the zeolitic imidazolate framework-8/reduced graphene oxide (ZIF-8/RGO) hybrid aerogels are prepared by in situ anchoring ZIF-8 particles onto anisotropic RGO aerogel for efficient clean-up of spilled heavy crude oil. The solar-thermal ZIF-8/RGO hybrid aerogel with numerous vertical microchannels is efficient in decreasing viscosity and improving flowability of heavy crude oil because of the high solar light absorption and solar-thermal energy conversion capabilities of the RGO and the increased solar light diffuse reflection path and hydrophobicity of the aerogel by ZIF-8. Under 1-sun irradiation, the surface temperature of the aerogel reaches rapidly to 70 °C within 1 min. At the same time, the viscosity of the heavy crude oil falls quickly from 105 to 103 mPa s, and the maximum adsorption capacity of heavy crude oil reaches 112 g g−1 within 9 min. Moreover, the hybrid aerogel exhibits satisfactory adsorption and cycling ability to various organic solvents and oily media. The excellent solar-thermal energy conversion and high adsorption capacities make the anisotropic aerogel promising for efficient clean-up of spilled heavy crude oil. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fufang Luohanguo Qingfei granules (LQG) is a Chinese patent medicine, clinically used to treat flu-like symptoms including cough with yellow phlegm, impeded phlegm, dry throat and tongue. However, the protective activity of LQG against influenza infection is indeterminate. This study is to investigate the therapeutic effect of LQG on influenza infection and elucidate its underlying mechanism. In vivo : A viral susceptible mouse model induced by restraint stress was established to investigate LQG's beneficial effects on influenza susceptibility. MAVS knockout (Mavs −/−) mice were used to verify the potential mechanism of LQG. In vitro : Corticosteroid (CORT)-treated A549 cells were employed to identify the active ingredients in LQG. Mice morbidity and mortality were monitored daily for 21 days. Histopathologic changes and inflammatory cytokines in lung tissues were examined by H&E staining and ELISA. RNA-seq was used to explore the signaling pathway influenced by LQG and further confirmed by qPCR. Immunoblotting and immunohistochemistry (IHC) were used to determine the protein levels. CO-IP and DARTS were applied to detect protein-protein interaction and compound-protein interaction, respectively. LQG effectively attenuated the susceptibility of restrained mice to H1N1 infection. LQG significantly boosted the production of IFN-β transduced by mitochondrial antiviral-signaling protein (MAVS), while MAVS deficiency abrogated its protective effects on restrained mice infected with H1N1. Moreover, in vitro studies further revealed that mogroside Ⅱ B, amygdalin, and luteolin are potentially active components of LQG. These results suggested that LQG inhibited the mitofusin 2 (Mfn2)-mediated ubiquitination of MAVS by impeding the E3 ligase synoviolin 1 (SYVN1) recruitment, thereby enhancing IFN-β antiviral response. Overall, our work elaborates a potential regimen for influenza treatment through reduction of stress-induced susceptibility. [Display omitted] • LQG reduces influenza virus susceptibility by improving MAVS/IFN-β pathway. • LQG curbs MAVS ubiquitination degradation by disrupting Mfn2/SYVN1 recruitment. • LQG's efficacy is abolished in Mavs−/− mice. • Mogroside Ⅱ B, amygdalin, and luteolin are potentially active components of LQG. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]