ObjectiveTo address the challenges of unstructured classical Chinese expressions， nested entity relationships， and limited annotated data in famous traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） case records， this study proposes a joint relation extraction framework that integrates data augmentation and entity mapping， aiming to support the construction of TCM diagnostic knowledge graphs and clinical pattern mining. MethodsWe developed an annotation structure for entities and their relationships in TCM case texts and applied a data augmentation strategy by incorporating multiple ancient texts to expand the relation extraction dataset. A cascade binary tagging framework for relation triple extraction（CasRel） model for TCM semantics was designed， integrating a pre-trained bidirectional encoder representations from transformers（BERT） layer for classical TCM texts to enhance semantic representation， and using a head entity-relation-tail entity mapping mechanism to address entity nesting and relation overlapping issues. ResultsExperimental results showed that the CasRel model， combining data augmentation and entity mapping， outperformed the pipeline-based Bert-Radical-Lexicon（BRL）-bidirectional long short-term memory（BiLSTM）-Attention model. The overall precision， recall， and F₁-score across 12 relation types reached 65.73%， 64.03%， and 64.87%， which represent improvements of 14.26%， 7.98%， and 11.21% compared to the BRL-BiLSTM-Attention model， respectively. Notably， the F₁-score for tongue syndrome relations increased by 22.68%（69.32%）， and the prescription-syndrome relations performed the best with the F₁-score of 70.10%. ConclusionThe proposed framework significantly improves the semantic representation and complex dependencies in TCM texts， offering a reusable technical framework for structured mining of TCM case records. The constructed knowledge graph can support clinical syndrome differentiation， prescription optimization， and drug compatibility， providing a methodological reference for TCM artificial intelligence research.

Dry eye disease (DED) is a prevalent and intractable ocular disease induced by a variety of causes. Elevated sphingomyelin (SM) levels and pro-inflammatory cytokines were detected on the ocular surface of DED patients, particularly in the meibomian glands. Sphingomyelin synthase 2 (SMS2), one of the proteins involved in SM synthesis, would light a novel way of developing a DED therapy strategy. Herein, we report the design and optimization of a series of novel thiophene carboxamide derivatives to afford 14l with an improved highly potent inhibitory activity on SM synthesis (IC_{50, SMS2} = 28 nmol/L). Moreover, 14l exhibited a notable protective effect of anti-inflammation and anti-apoptosis on human corneal epithelial cells (HCEC) under TNF-α-hyperosmotic stress conditions in vitro, with an acceptable ocular specific distribution (corneas and meibomian glands) and pharmacokinetics (PK) profiles (t _{1/2, cornea} = 1.11 h; t _{1/2, meibomian glands} = 4.32 h) in rats. Furthermore, 14l alleviated the dry eye symptoms including corneal fluorescein staining scores and tear secretion in a dose-dependent manner in mice. Mechanically, 14l reduced the mRNA expression of Tnf-α, Il-1β and Mmp-9 in corneas, as well as the proportion of very long chain SM in meibomian glands. Our findings provide a new strategy for DED therapy based on selective SMS2 inhibitors.

Infectious keratitis (IK) is a leading cause of blindness worldwide, primarily resulting from improper contact lens use, trauma, and a compromised immune response. The pathogenic microorganisms responsible for IK include bacteria, fungi, viruses, and Acanthamoeba. This review examines standard therapeutic agents for treating IK, including broad-spectrum empiric antibiotics for bacterial keratitis (BK), antifungals such as voriconazole and natamycin for fungal infections, and antiviral nucleoside analogues for viral keratitis (VK). Additionally, this review discusses therapeutic agents, such as polyhexamethylene biguanide (PHMB), for the treatment of Acanthamoeba keratitis (AK). The review also addresses emerging drugs and the challenges associated with their clinical application, including anti-biofilm agents that combat drug resistance and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) pathway-targeted therapies to mitigate inflammation. Furthermore, methods of Photodynamic Antimicrobial Therapy (PDAT) are explored. This review underscores the importance of integrating novel and traditional therapies to tackle drug resistance and enhance drug delivery, with the goal of advancing treatment strategies for IK.

BACKGROUND:Knee osteoarthritis is a common disease in middle-aged and elderly people.It is a kind of disease that seriously affects the quality of life of patients and even has the risk of disability.Therefore,the pathogenesis and treatment of knee osteoarthritis have become the focus of research.In Chinese medicine,knee osteoarthritis is often treated as"biness,"which is closely related to"biness"caused by blood stasis and blood vessels blocking collaterals in the theory of"blood stasis"in traditional Chinese medicine.Iron overload is a kind of pathological state caused by iron metabolism disorder,which highly coincides with the pathogenic characteristics and clinical manifestations of the"blood stasis"theory of traditional Chinese medicine,and is a risk factor that promotes the development of knee osteoarthritis. OBJECTIVE:Based on the"blood stasis"theory,to summarize the effects of iron overload on cartilage metabolism and subchondral bone reconstruction,to lay a new theoretical foundation for the treatment of knee osteoarthritis with traditional Chinese medicine,and to explore the therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine for promoting blood circulation after interfering with bone tissue. METHODS:CNKI,WanFang database,PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched for relevant literature.The Chinese search terms were"ferroptosis,iron,iron overload,osteoarthritis,blood stasis"and the English search terms were"ferroptosis,iron,iron overload,osteoarthritis,TCM."In the end,76 articles were included for further review. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:First of all,we explored the potential of the"blood stasis"theory in treating knee osteoarthritis,and found that"blood stasis"is a crucial part in the progress of knee osteoarthritis,indicating that the"blood stasis"theory is the key to the treatment of knee osteoarthritis in traditional Chinese medicine.Secondly,"blood stasis"and iron overload have a high degree of similarity in pathogenic factors,clinical manifestations,and pathogenic characteristics,suggesting the possibility of"blood stasis"theory in treating iron overload.This finding reminds us that iron overload may be an important mechanistic basis for the"blood stasis"theory in the treatment of knee osteoarthritis.The extracts of blood-activating drugs can relieve iron overload and treat knee osteoarthritis,but the specific mechanism is still unclear.Therefore,we believe that the relationship between"blood stasis"theory and iron overload and related mechanisms are important research directions for knee osteoarthritis in the future.The related mechanism of"blood stasis"theory to alleviate iron overload and then treat knee osteoarthritis also provides a theoretical basis for the modernization of traditional Chinese medicine,such as the development of new drugs and innovative usage,and has certain guiding significance for clinical practice.

Bacteria have posed a threat to human health,and the emergence of super bacteria has made it more difficult to cure bacterial infections in clinical practice.Currently,vaccines are one of the effective means of preventing bacterial infections.With the rapid development of cutting-edge technologies in recent years in such disciplines as biology,medicine,and materials science,various innovative strategies have been provided for vaccine research and preparation.This article summarizes the status quo and prospects of innovative vaccines for treating bacterial infections in recent years,including subunit vaccines,mRNA vaccines and attenuated live vaccine in the hopes of providing data for subsequent development and research of bacterial vaccines.

Objective To establish a preliminary evaluation system for gastrointestinal qi stagnation syndrome.Methods On the basis of the systematic evaluation of medical literature in the early stage of the research group,24 high-frequency items were subjected to Delphi method,the item indexes were determined through three rounds of expert consultation,and the proportion value of the indexes was determined by AHP,and the evaluation system of gastrointestinal qi stagnation syndrome was initially constructed.Results A total of 84 valid questionnaires were collected by three rounds of Delphi method,including 15 in the first round,32 in the second round and 37 in the third round.According to the statistics,16 items including distention(stuffy)or distending pain or moving pain(epigastric,abdominal,etc.),belching,borborygmus,flatus,etc.were selected.The order of the proportion of the first level indexes obtained by the analytic hierarchy process from high to low is:clinical symptoms,pulse,tongue;The proportion of secondary indicators from high to low is as follows:distention(stuffy)or distending pain or moving pain(epigastric,abdominal,etc.),pulse string,greasy fur,thin white fur,slippery pulse string,pulse sinking string,light red tongue,flatus,borborygmus,belching,induced or aggravated in case of emotional distress,hiccup,abdominal mass,anorexia,vomiting,belching and swallowing acid.Conclusion Delphi method and analytic hierarchy process have been used to study gastrointestinal qi stagnation syndrome,and an evaluation system has been preliminarily formed.The index structure is reasonable,targeted and has strong clinical practicability.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of esketamine on hippocampal neuronal necroptosis in aged rats with postoperative cognitive dysfunction.Methods:One hundred and twenty SPF-grade healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 22 months, weighing 550-600 g, were divided into 4 groups ( n=30 each) using a random number table method: control group (group C), postoperative cognitive dysfunction group (group P), postoperative cognitive dysfunction+ esketamine group (group PE), and esketamine group (group CE). Rats received exploratory laparotomy under sevoflurane anesthesia, and esketamine 10 mg/kg and the equal volume of 0.9% sodium chloride were intraperitoneally injected at the end of surgery once a day for 6 consecutive days in group P and group PE, respectively. Rats received no anesthesia and surgery, and esketamine 10 mg/kg and the equal volume of 0.9% sodium chloride were intraperitoneally injected at the end of surgery once a day for 6 consecutive days in group CE and group C, respectively. Morris water maze test was performed at 7th day after surgery. The escape latency, times of crossing the original platform and time spent in the original platform quadrant were recorded. The rats were sacrificed at the end of Morris water maze test, and the hippocampal tissues were collected for determination of the rate of necroptosis and cytosolic Ca 2+ concentrations (by flow cytometry) and expression of mixed lineage kinase domain-like protein (MLKL), phosphorylated MLKL (p-MLKL), receptor-interacting protein kinase-3 (RIPK3), phosphorylated RIPK3 (p-RIPK3), receptor-interacting protein kinase-1 (RIPK1) and phosphorylated RIPK1 (p-RIPK1) (by Western blot). Results:Compared with group C, the escape latency was significantly prolonged, the times of crossing the original platform were decreased, the time spent in the original platform quadrant was shortened, the necroptosis rate of hippocampal neurons and cytosolic Ca 2+ concentrations were increased, and the expression of MLKL, p-MLKL, RIPK3, p-RIPK3, RIPK1 and p-RIPK1 was up-regulated in group P and group PE ( P<0.05). Compared with group P, the escape latency was significantly shortened, the times of crossing the original platform were increased, the time spent in the original platform quadrant was prolonged, the necroptosis rate of hippocampal neurons and cytosolic Ca 2+ concentrations were decreased, and the expression of MLKL, p-MLKL, RIPK3, p-RIPK3, RIPK1 and p-RIPK1 was down-regulated in group PE ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The mechanism by which esketamine attenuates postoperative cognitive dysfunction may be related to inhibition of necroptosis in hippocampal neurons of aged rats.

Objective:To evaluate the effect of pre-injection of young rat plasma on cognitive dysfunction after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion (I/R) in aged rats and the role of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/serine threonine protein kinase (PI3K/Akt) signaling pathway.Methods:Seventy-two SPF-grade healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 18 months, weighing 600-650 g, were divided into 4 groups ( n=18 each) by the random number table method: control group (group C), cerebral I/R group (group IR), pre-injection of young rat plasma group (group P) and PI3K inhibitor LY294002 group (group LY). In group P and group LY, young rat plasma 100 μl/time was injected via the tail vein. In group C and group IR, the equal volume of normal saline was injected via the the tail vein, 2 times a week for 4 weeks. Then the model of cerebral I/R injury was developed under sevoflurane anesthesia in IR, P and LY groups. LY294002 0.3 mg/kg was injected through the tail vein at 1 h before anesthesia in LY group. The neurological deficit score (Longa score) was performed at 24 h after reperfusion, and then 6 rats were randomly sacrificed, and brain tissues were obtained to determine the cerebral infarct volume. Spontaneous mobility and anxiety-like behavior were assessed by the open field test at day 29 of reperfusion, and cognitive function was assessed by the novel object recognition test at day 30 of reperfusion. At the end of the behavioral test, rats were sacrificed, hippocampal tissues were isolated for determination of the expression of phosphorylated PI3K (p-PI3K), phosphorylated Akt (p-Akt), postsynaptic dense protein-95 (PSD-95) and synaptic vesicle protein (SYN) (by Western blot), and the dendritic length and dendritic spine density of neurons in the hippocampal CA1 region. Results:There was no significant difference in motor speed, distance traveled, and time of staying at the center of the open field among the four groups ( P>0.05). Compared with group C, the Longa score and cerebral infarct volume were significantly increased, the percentage of novel object exploration and discrimination index were decreased, the expression of p-PI3K, p-Akt, PSD-95 and SYN in hippocampal tissues was down-regulated, and the dendritic length and dendritic spine density of hippocampal neurons were decreased in IR, P and LY groups ( P<0.05). Compared with group IR, Longa score and cerebral infarct volume were significantly decreased, the percentage of novel object exploration and discrimination index were increased, the expression of p-PI3K, p-Akt, PSD-95 and SYN in hippocampal tissues was up-regulated, and the dendritic length and dendritic spine density of hippocampal neurons were increased in group P ( P<0.05), and no significant change was found in the parameters mentioned above in group LY ( P>0.05). Compared with group P, Longa score and cerebral infarct volume were significantly increased, the percentage of novel object exploration and discrimination index were decreased, the expression of p-PI3K, p-Akt, PSD-95 and SYN in hippocampal tissues was down-regulated, and the dendritic length and dendritic spine density of hippocampal neurons were decreased in group LY ( P<0.05). Conclusions:Pre-injection of young rat plasma can attenuate cognitive dysfunction after cerebral I/R in aged rats, and the mechanism is related to activation of hippocampal PI3K/Akt signaling pathway and improvement in synaptic plasticity.

Objective:To evaluate the effects of hemoclips on preventing delayed bleeding for early gastric cancer (EGC) after endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD).Methods:Clinical data of 459 patients who underwent ESD for EGC in Beijing Friendship Hospital from June 2013 to August 2020 were collected retrospectively. Patients were divided into group A (hemoclip group, n=162) and group B (non-hemoclip group, n=297) according to whether preventive hemostatic clip treatment was performed after resection. Delayed bleeding within 2 weeks after ESD was observed. Univariate analysis and subgroup analysis were conducted for the delayed bleeding incidence and clinicopathological features. Results:Delayed bleeding incidences of group A and group B were 3.1% (5/162) and 8.1% (24/297) with significant difference between the two groups ( χ2=4.418, P=0.036). Subgroup analysis showed that there were significant differences in the delayed bleeding incidence between the two groups when the diameter of the tumor >20 mm [3.5% (2/57) VS 15.3% (13/85), χ2=5.016, P=0.025], the tumor located in the lower part of the stomach [1.0% (1/97) VS 10.4% (20/192), χ2=8.425, P=0.004], and the depth of tumor invasion was M/SM1 [3.2% (5/157) VS 8.1% (23/285), χ2=4.072, P=0.044]. There were no significant differences in the delayed bleeding incidence between group A and group B when the diameter of the tumor ≤20 mm, the tumor located in the upper/medial part of the stomach and the depth of tumor invasion was SM2 ( P>0.05). Conclusion:Hemoclips can prevent delayed bleeding after ESD for EGC, which is mainly observed in a tumor of diameter >20 mm, located in the lower part of the stomach and M/SM1 tumor invasion. It has little effect on the prevention when the tumor diameter ≤20 mm and located in the upper/medial part of the stomach.

Objective:To evaluate the role of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF)/tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) signaling pathway in pre-injection of young rat plasma-induced reduction of sevoflurane-caused cognitive dysfunction in aged rats.Methods:Eighty SPF healthy male Sprague-Dawley rats, aged 18 months, weighing 550-650 g, were divided into 4 groups ( n=20 each) using a random number table method: control group (group C), sevoflurane anesthesia group (group S), young rat plasma group (group Y) and BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway inhibitor K252a group (group K). The plasma 100 μl obtained from 3-month-old young rats was injected via the tail vein in group Y and group K, while the equal volume of normal saline was given via the tail vein in group C and group S, twice a week, for 4 weeks.In S, Y and K groups, 3% sevoflurane was inhaled for 3 h starting from the end of treatment, and BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway inhibitor K252a was injected via the tail vein before anesthesia in group K. The open field test and Morris water maze test were performed at 3 days after anesthesia to assess the spontaneous motor ability and cognitive function.Then the rats were sacrificed, and the hippocampal tissues were isolated for determination of the expression of BDNF, phosphorylated TrkB (p-TrkB), postsynaptic dense protein-95 (PSD-95) and synaptic vesicle protein (SYN) (by Western blot), dendritic length and dendritic ridge density of neurons in hippocampal CA1 area (by Golgi staining), and the number of synapses and length of synaptic active area (with a transmission electron microscope). Results:Compared with group C, the escape latency was significantly prolonged, the number of crossing the original platform was reduced, the expression of p-TrkB, BDNF, PSD-95 and SYN was down-regulated, and the dendritic length, dendritic ridge density, the number of synapses and length of synaptic active area were decreased in group S ( P<0.05). Compared with group S, the escape latency was significantly shortened, the number of crossing the original platform was increased, the expression of p-TrkB, BDNF, PSD-95 and SYN was up-regulated, and the dendritic length, dendritic ridge density, the number of synapses and length of synaptic active area were increased in group Y ( P<0.05). Compared with group Y, the escape latency was significantly prolonged, the number of crossing the original platform was reduced, the expression of p-TrkB, BDNF, PSD-95 and SYN was down-regulated, and the dendritic length, dendritic ridge density, the number of synapses and length of synaptic active area were decreased in group K ( P<0.05). Conclusions:The mechanism by which pre-injection of young rat plasma reduces sevoflurane-induced cognitive dysfunction is related to activation of BDNF/TrkB signaling pathway and improvement in synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus of aged rats.