ObjectiveTo investigate the anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and goblet cell-stimulating effects of a suspension of Ophiopogon japonicus (L. f.) Ker Gawl. (O. japonicus, Mai Dong) extract combined with hyaluronic acid (HA) in the mouse model with dry eye disease (DED).MethodsA DED mouse model was induced using benzalkonium chloride (BAK), followed by treatment with O. japonicus extract-containing eye drops at varying concentrations. Experimental groups included a normal control, a DED model control, a positive control, and an O. japonicus extract-treated group. Corneal fluorescein staining and tear break-up time (TBUT) were used to assess tear film stability and ocular surface integrity. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measured inflammatory factor levels in corneal and conjunctival tissues, whereas Western blot (WB) analyzed key antioxidant and inflammatory markers, including nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor (2Nrf2) and heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1). Periodic acid-schiff (PAS) staining and immunofluorescence were used to evaluate goblet cell density and mucin secretion.ResultsO. japonicus extract significantly improved corneal damage, reduced fluorescein staining scores, prolonged TBUT, and increased tear secretion. It downregulated inflammatory markers, including interleukin-8 (IL-8), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), and interferon-γ (IFN-γ) while upregulating Nrf2, HO-1, and the interleukin-13 (IL-13)/IFN-γ ratio, alleviating oxidative stress and inflammation. PAS staining showed increased conjunctival goblet cell density and restored mucin secretion, enhancing tear film stability.ConclusionO. japonicus extract demonstrated significant anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and goblet cell-stimulating effects in a DED model, with good biocompatibility and promising therapeutic potential. Future research should optimize extraction processes and validate their efficacy and safety in clinical settings.

Objective To explore the changes in β-hydroxybutyrate levels in rat brains after endurance and resistance exercises,as well as its role and mechanism in regulating the levels of Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor(BDNF)in the rat brain.Methods Thirty Sprague-Dawley(SD)rats were randomly divided into a control group(n=10),a treadmill exercise group(n=10),and a ladder-climbing exercise group(n=10).The control group did not do any exercise,while the treadmill group and ladder-climbing group exercised for 8 weeks according to the reported endurance and resistance exercise model.After the exercise intervention,the tail vein blood,brain tissue,and triceps brachii muscle tissue of the rats were collected,and the tissues were frozen in liquid nitrogen and fixed in paraformaldehyde.Record the weight and training load of rats.Cross-sectional area(CSA)was quantified.The levels of BDNF,β-hydroxybutyrate,silence infor-mation regulator 1(SIRT 1),and PGC-1α were measured by ELISA or/and Western blot,and the expression of histone deacetylase 3(HDAC3)was detected by RT-PCR.Results After 8 weeks,the body weight of rats in each group increased significantly,but the body weight of rats in the treadmill group was significantly lower than that of the control group(P<0.01).Both treadmill exercise and ladder-climbing exercise for 8 weeks caused an increase in the CSA of skeletal muscle,but the increase in CSA was more pronounced in the ladder-climbing exercise group(P<0.001).After 8 weeks of treadmill exercise,the BDNF level in the rat brain was significantly higher than that in the control group(P<0.05).At the same time,the level of fatty acid metabolite β-hydroxybutyrate in the brain increased significantly(P<0.05),and the expression of HDAC3 decreased significantly(P<0.001);In contrast,8 weeks of ladder-climbing training did not cause a significant increase in BDNF levels,a significant decrease in β-hydroxybutyrate(P<0.001),in the expression of SIRT 1 and PGC-1α in the brain were observed(P<0.01),and no significant change in the expression of HDAC3 was found.Conclusion The level of fatty acid metabolite β-hydroxybutyrate plays a key role in the regulation of BDNF levels caused by different exercise modes through different epigenetic mechanisms.

BACKGROUND:We have successfully established an animal model of small ear pig in southern Yunnan province with internal tension relieving technique combined with autologous Achilles tendon for anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction,and verified the stability and reliability of the model.However,whether internal tension relieving technique can promote the ligamentalization process of autologous Achilles tendon graft has not been studied. OBJECTIVE:To investigate the differences in the process of ligamentalization between conventional reconstruction and internal reduction reconstruction of the anterior cruciate ligament by gross view,histology and electron microscopy. METHODS:Thirty adult female small ear pigs in southern Yunnan province were selected.Anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction was performed on the left knee joint with the ipsilateral knee Achilles tendon(n=30 in the normal group),and anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction was performed on the right knee joint with the ipsilateral knee Achilles tendon combined with the internal relaxation and enhancement system(n=30 in the relaxation group).The autogenous right forelimb was used as the control group;the anterior cruciate ligament was exposed but not severed or surgically treated.At 12,24,and 48 weeks after surgery,10 animals were sacrificed,respectively.The left and right knee joint specimens were taken for gross morphological observation to evaluate the graft morphology.MAS score was used to evaluate the excellent and good rate of the ligament at each time point.Hematoxylin-eosin staining was used to evaluate the degree of ligament graft vascularization.Collagen fibers and nuclear morphology were observed,and nuclear morphology was scored.Ultrastructural remodeling was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)The ligament healing shape of the relaxation group was better at various time points after surgery,and the excellent and good rate of MAS score was higher(P<0.05).Moreover,the relaxation group could obtain higher ligament vascularization score(P<0.05).(2)The arrangement of collagen bundles and fiber bundles in the two groups gradually tended to be orderly,and the transverse fiber connections between collagen gradually increased and thickened,suggesting that the strength and shape degree of the grafts were gradually improved,but the ligament remodeling in the relaxation group was always faster than that in the normal group at various time points after surgery.(3)The diameter,distribution density,and arrangement degree of collagen fibers in the relaxation group were better than those in the normal group at all time points,especially in the comparison of collagen fiber diameter between and within the relaxation group(P<0.05).

Current experimental and computational methods have limitations in accurately and efficiently classi-fying ion channels within vast protein spaces.Here we have developed a deep learning algorithm,GPT2 Ion Channel Classifier(GPT2-ICC),which effectively distinguishing ion channels from a test set con-taining approximately 239 times more non-ion-channel proteins.GPT2-ICC integrates representation learning with a large language model(LLM)-based classifier,enabling highly accurate identification of potential ion channels.Several potential ion channels were predicated from the unannotated human proteome,further demonstrating GPT2-ICC's generalization ability.This study marks a significant advancement in artificial-intelligence-driven ion channel research,highlighting the adaptability and effectiveness of combining representation learning with LLMs to address the challenges of imbalanced protein sequence data.Moreover,it provides a valuable computational tool for uncovering previously uncharacterized ion channels.

Current experimental and computational methods have limitations in accurately and efficiently classifying ion channels within vast protein spaces. Here we have developed a deep learning algorithm, GPT2 Ion Channel Classifier (GPT2-ICC), which effectively distinguishing ion channels from a test set containing approximately 239 times more non-ion-channel proteins. GPT2-ICC integrates representation learning with a large language model (LLM)-based classifier, enabling highly accurate identification of potential ion channels. Several potential ion channels were predicated from the unannotated human proteome, further demonstrating GPT2-ICC's generalization ability. This study marks a significant advancement in artificial-intelligence-driven ion channel research, highlighting the adaptability and effectiveness of combining representation learning with LLMs to address the challenges of imbalanced protein sequence data. Moreover, it provides a valuable computational tool for uncovering previously uncharacterized ion channels.

Obstructive sleep apnea(OSA)is a common sleep disorder characterized by repeated episodes of upper airway collapse and obstruction during sleep.Polysomnography is the gold standard for diagnosing OSA,but it is expensive,time-consuming,and can cause discomfort for patients.In recent years,acoustic-based approaches for detecting OSA have emerged as a research focus.This review summarizes recent advances in OSA automatic detection techniques based on snoring and speech signals,and systematically examines their applications in diagnosis,severity assessment,and localization of obstruction sites.Findings indicate that the acoustic features of snoring and speech signals hold significant value for OSA screening,and when combined with machine learning and deep learning models,it can achieve high diagnostic accuracy.Future research should focus on elucidating the relationship between acoustic features and the pathophysiological mechanisms of OSA,integrating multimodal information,and advancing the clinical application of wearable devices,with the aim of promoting intelligent,non-invasive,and cost-effective screening technologies for OSA.

Obstructive sleep apnea(OSA)is a common sleep disorder characterized by repeated episodes of upper airway collapse and obstruction during sleep.Polysomnography is the gold standard for diagnosing OSA,but it is expensive,time-consuming,and can cause discomfort for patients.In recent years,acoustic-based approaches for detecting OSA have emerged as a research focus.This review summarizes recent advances in OSA automatic detection techniques based on snoring and speech signals,and systematically examines their applications in diagnosis,severity assessment,and localization of obstruction sites.Findings indicate that the acoustic features of snoring and speech signals hold significant value for OSA screening,and when combined with machine learning and deep learning models,it can achieve high diagnostic accuracy.Future research should focus on elucidating the relationship between acoustic features and the pathophysiological mechanisms of OSA,integrating multimodal information,and advancing the clinical application of wearable devices,with the aim of promoting intelligent,non-invasive,and cost-effective screening technologies for OSA.

OBJECTIVE To investigate the effects of borneol on pharmacodynamic and pharmacokinetic effects of Corydalis saxicola total alkaloids in depression model rats.METHODS Thirty male SD rats were divided into blank control group,negative control group,positive control group (fluoxetine 10 mg/kg,i.g.),single drug group (C.saxicola total alkaloids 210 mg/kg,i.g.) and combined drug group (C.saxicola total alkaloids 210 mg/kg+borneol 50 mg/kg,i.g.) according to the random number table method,with 6 rats in each group.By lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induction modeling,except blank control group (no model and no administration) received intraperitoneal injection of the same amount of normal saline,the rats in the other groups were intraperitoneally injected with LPS once a day to establish a rat model of depression.After 1 week of modeling,each administration group was given relevant drug intragastrically according to the corresponding dose,and blank control group and negative control group (without drug treatment) were administered intragastrically with an equal volume of solvent to dissolve the drug;continued modeling while administering the drug.After two weeks of continuous administration,the effects of C.saxicola total alkaloids versus the combination of C.saxicola total alkaloids and borneol on the behavior of depressed rats were tested by behavioral experiments;the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α,interleukin-1β and interleukin-6 in rats were determined;the histopathological changes of the hippocampus of rats were observed.Blood sample was collected from the orbit at different time points after administration on the 15th day,and the upper plasma was obtained.Ultra-performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry was established for the simultaneous determination of dehydrocarvedine,tetrahydropalmatine,coptisine,palmatine,jatrorrhizine,berberine,berberrubine and epiberberine in rat plasma.The average plasma concentration-time curve was depicted,the area under the curve (AUC) was calculated,and the pharmacokinetic parameters were analyzed by DAS 3.2.2 software.RESULTS Compared with blank control group,the negative control group had a decrease in body mass and sugar water preference rate,a decrease in the total distance of open field,a prolonged swimming immobility time,and a increased in the expression of inflammatory factors in serum (P<0.05);compared with negative control group,the single drug group and the combined drug group increased the preference rate of sugar water,increased the total distance of open field,shortened the time of swimming immobility,and decreased the expression of inflammatory factors in serum (P<0.05).There was no significant difference in the above indicators between the single drug group and the combined drug group in rats (P>0.05).Pharmacokinetic results showed that compared with single drug group,AUC0-t of coptisine,AUC0-t,AUC0-∞,tmax and cmax of jatrorrhizine,AUC0-t,AUC0-∞,t1/2 and cmax of berberrubine,and AUC0-t of epiberberine,cmax of dehydrocarvedine,cmax of palmatine were significantly increased in combined drug group,but there was no significant difference,indicating that borneol didn't have a significant effect on the efficacy of Corydalis saxicola nigra at this dose.CONCLUSIONS Both C.saxicola total alkaloids alone and in combination with borneol can improve depression-like behavior in depression model rats,reduce serum inflammatory cytokine levels,and protect hippocampal neurons.Compared with the use of Corydalis saxicola base alone,the combination with borneol do not show significant pharmacodynamic differences,bu can improve the absorption of coptisine,jatrorrhizine in model rats.

ObjectiveTo investigate the effect of total alkaloids of Corydalis saxicola on a rat model of lipopolysaccharide（LPS）-induced depression， as well as the pharmacokinetic characteristics of 8 of its major components. MethodTwenty-four male SD rats were randomly divided into normal group， model group， fluoxetine group（10 mg·kg^-1） and total alkaloids of C. saxicola group（210 mg·kg^-1）， with 6 rats in each group. In addition to the normal group， the rats were injected intraperitoneally with LPS to establish the inflammation model of depression， and the drug administration was started 1 week after modeling， and the administration groups were gavaged according to the corresponding dose， and the normal and model groups were intragastric administration with equal volume of distilled water， and the administration was performed along with the modeling. After two weeks of continuous administration， the effect of total alkaloids of C. saxicola on the behavior of depressed rats were tested by sucrose preference， forced swimming and open field experiments， the levels of tumor necrosis factor-α（TNF-α）， interleukin（IL）-1β and IL-6 in serum of rats were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay（ELISA）， the histopathological changes of rat hippocampus were observed by hematoxylin-eosin（HE） staining. After the last administration， blood was collected from orbit according to the set time， and ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole tandem mass spectrometry（UPLC-QqQ-MS） was established to simultaneously detect the concentrations of dehydrocavidine， tetrahydropalmatine， coptisine， palmatine， jatrorrhizine， berberine， berberrubine and epiberberine in plasma， and drug-time curves were drawn. The pharmacokinetic parameters were analyzed by DAS 2.0 software. ResultCompared with the normal group， the model group exhibited a decrease in sucrose preference rate， total distance traveled in the open field， as well as an increase in swimming immobility time and serum inflammatory factor expression（P<0.01）. In contrast， compared with the model group， rats in each administration group showed an increase in sucrose preference rate and total distance traveled in the open field， a decrease in swimming immobility time， and a reduction in serum inflammatory factor expression（P<0.05， P<0.01）. Additionally， HE staining results revealed that neurons in the hippocampus of rats from the model group were characterized by loss， disorganization and residual vacuoles， whereas those from the total alkaloids of C.saxicola group displayed an increase in number with orderly arrangement and clear cytoplasm. Pharmacokinetic results showed that the time to peak（t_max） and half-life（t_1/2） of the 8 active ingredients were 0.19-2.06 h and 3.71-8.70 h after continuous administration of total alkaloids of C. saxicola. Among them， the area under the curve（AUC_0-∞） of tetrahydropalmatine was the highest and the t_1/2 was the shortest， and the AUC_0-∞ of coptisine， palmatine， jatrorrhizine， berberine， berberrubine and epiberberine were low. The curves of dehydrocavidine， coptisine， palmatine， berberine and epiberberine showed obvious double peak phenomenon. ConclusionTotal alkaloids of C. saxicola can improve the depression-like behavior of rats， inhibit the expression of inflammatory factors in serum， improve the pathological injury of hippocampus， and has the antidepressant effect. Meanwhile， the effective site is absorbed quickly and eliminated slowly in the depressed model rats， and the efficacy is maintained for a long time.

Objective: To explore the interaction of multi-target stool DNA (MT-sDNA), intestinal flora and environmental factors in the development of colorectal cancer, so as to provide insights into pathogenesis study of colorectal cancer. Methods: A total of 54 cases of colorectal cancer from the First Affiliated Hospital of Ningbo University were included in the case group and 51 healthy subjects were included in the control group. Demographic information, diet and family history of colorectal cancer were collected by a questionnaire survey. MT-sDNA, intestinal flora, cancer antigen 19-9 (CA19-9), carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and other tumor markers were detected. Interactions of MT-sDNA, intestinal flora and environmental factors with the development of colorectal cancer was analyzed by multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR), crossover analysis and additive model. Results: The case group included 20 males (37.04%) and 34 females (62.96%), and had a mean age of (64.89±9.72) years. The control group included 24 males (47.06%) and 27 females (52.94%), and had a mean age of (53.94±10.33) years. MDR analysis showed that subjects with both high absolute intestinal flora indexes and positive MT-sDNA had an increased risk of colorectal cancer (OR=3.782, 95%CI: 1.190-5.034). Crossover analysis showed that subjects with positive MT-sDNA and >5 μg/L of CEA had an increased risk of colorectal cancer (OR=2.121, 95%CI: 1.162-4.033). Additive model analysis showed that MT-sDNA had positive additive interaction with CEA (SI=3.687, 95%CI: 1.229-7.238), and MT-sDNA had negative additive interaction with fruit intake (SI=0.145, 95%CI: 0.020-0.753). Conclusion Positive MT-sDNA can synergistically increase the risk of colorectal cancer with high intestinal flora index and CEA, and fruit intake can reduce the risk of colorectal cancer in MT-sDNA-positive population.