1.Development status and ethical challenges of artificial intelligence in traditional Chinese medicine
Jiaqing DAI ; Yuxuan JIANG ; Jingnan HU ; Liu YANG ; Lifang GUO
Chinese Medical Ethics 2025;38(2):173-178
In the context of the rapid development of 5G technology, the development of artificial intelligence (AI) in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) faces new opportunities and challenges. Focusing on how to uphold tradition while innovating in the development of AI in TCM, starting from the current development status of AI in Chinese medicine, including the integration of four diagnostic methods, syndrome differentiation and treatment, auxiliary diagnosis and treatment, research and development of Chinese herbal medicine, prevention and treatment of diseases, knowledge inheritance, and other aspects, this paper discussed the support of policies and technical advancements, as well as development opportunities such as increased demand for health. Regarding machine ethics, data ethics, regulatory review, and other aspects, it also proposed some suggestions that the training algorithm should be improved to assist medical work; data ownership should be clarified to ensure data security; and an AI ethics committee should be set up to improve the review system, aiming to maximize the advantages of smart healthcare and accelerate the modernization of TCM for the benefit of patients and the service of human health.
2.Epidemiological trends analysis of syphilis among students in Yunnan Province from 2005 to 2023
TAN Min, CHANG Litao, ZHANG Wanyue, HUANG Dafeng, LIU Chunyan, ZHANG Lifang, YANG Yanling
Chinese Journal of School Health 2025;46(5):737-740
Objective:
To analyze epidemiological trends and changing characteristics of syphilis among students in Yunnan Province from 2005 to 2023, so as to provide evidence for the comprehensive prevention and control of syphilis in schools.
Methods:
The case data of syphilis among students in Yunnan Province from 2005 to 2023 were obtained from the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention. The Joinpoint regression model was used to conduct a time trend analysis of the reported incidence rate of syphilis.
Results:
From 2005 to 2023, a cumulative total of 3 191 cases of syphilis were reported in schools in Yunnan Province(1 248 male cases and 1 943 female cases). The reported incidence rate rose continuously from 0.17/100 000 in 2005 to 8.26/100 000 in 2023, with an average annual percent change (AAPC) of 24.89%( Z =13.18, P <0.01). The reported incidence rate was higher in female students than in male students ( χ 2=229.48, P <0.05). The incidence rates in the primary school, junior high school, senior high school and higher education were 0.21/100 000, 2.42/100 000, 4.45/100 000 and 6.29/100 000 respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (χ 2=3 432.84, P <0.05). The average annual growth rate was the highest in the junior high school stage(AAPC= 30.68% , Z =7.57, P <0.05),followed by the senior high school stage (AAPC=24.28%, Z = 5.70 , P <0.05).The reported incidence rate of primary and secondary syphilis increased from 0.12/100 000 in 2005 to 2.06/ 100 000 in 2023, with an AAPC of 16.86% ( Z = 4.57, P <0.05).
Conclusions
The overall reported incidence rate of syphilis among students in schools in Yunnan Province shows a sustained upward trend, with the most rapid annual increase observed in junior high schools. Schools should prioritize syphilis education and expand awareness campaigns to curb transmission.
3.Cannabidiol inhibits neuronal endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis in rats with multiple concussions by regulating the PERK-eIF2α-ATF4-CHOP pathway.
Yujia YANG ; Lifang YANG ; Yaling WU ; Zhaoda DUAN ; Chunze YU ; Chunyun WU ; Jianyun YU ; Li YANG
Journal of Southern Medical University 2025;45(6):1240-1250
OBJECTIVES:
To explore the effects of cannabidiol on endoplasmic reticulum stress and neuronal apoptosis in rats with multiple concussions (MCC).
METHODS:
SD rats were randomized into sham group, MCC group, 1% tween20 (TW) treatment group, and low-dose (10 mg/kg) and high-dose (40 mg/kg) cannabidiol treatment groups. In all but the sham group, MCC models were established using a metal pendulum percussion device, after which the rats received daily intraperitoneal injections of the corresponding agents for 2 weeks. The expressions of PERK, eIF2α, ATF4, CHOP, TRIB3, p-Akt and pro-caspase-3 in the brain tissue of the rats were detected with qRT-PCR, Western blotting and immunofluorescence staining. The core targets of cannabidiol in treatment of traumatic brain injury (TBI) were identified by network pharmacology analysis, and molecular docking was carried out to simulate the interaction of cannabidiol with the factors related to endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis.
RESULTS:
Compared with the sham-operated rats, the rat models of MCC showed significantly increased mRNA expressions of PERK, eIF2α and CHOP and protein expressions of PERK, eIF2α, ATF4, CHOP, TRIB3, p-AKT and pro-caspase-3 in the cerebral cortex. CBD treatment, especially at the high dose, obviously increased the expression of p-Akt and lowered the expression levels of the other factors tested in the rat models. Network pharmacology analysis indicated interactions of the core targets of CBD with the factors related to endoplasmic reticulum stress and TBI, and molecular docking study showed a high binding energy of CBD with multiple factors pertaining to endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis.
CONCLUSIONS
MCC induce endoplasmic reticulum stress and apoptosis in rat brain tissues, for which CBD, especially at a high dose, provides neuroprotective effects by inhibiting endoplasmic reticulum stress and cell apoptosis.
Animals
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Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress/drug effects*
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Apoptosis/drug effects*
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Rats, Sprague-Dawley
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Activating Transcription Factor 4/metabolism*
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Transcription Factor CHOP/metabolism*
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Rats
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Eukaryotic Initiation Factor-2/metabolism*
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Signal Transduction/drug effects*
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eIF-2 Kinase/metabolism*
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Cannabidiol/pharmacology*
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Neurons/metabolism*
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Brain Concussion/metabolism*
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Male
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Molecular Docking Simulation
4.Construction and application of critical care system based on regional coordination.
Yongguang YANG ; Xinliang LIANG ; Jingge ZHAO ; Jianpeng JIAO ; Erdan HUANG ; Jing LI ; Lei QI ; Lifang ZHANG
Chinese Critical Care Medicine 2025;37(7):671-675
In the context of continuously deepening medical and health system reforms and comprehensively promoting the "Healthy China" strategy, Henan Provincial People's Hospital has established a regional collaborative and vertically integrated critical care service structure and network. This initiative aims to enhance information empowerment, strengthen regional collaboration, improve the insufficient primary medical services, and ensure timely and effective treatment for critically ill patients. By establishing a comprehensive dispatch service platform for regional collaborative critical care, building a "top-down" remote medical collaboration network, and forming a cross-regional specialty alliance for critical care, the hospital has improved the efficiency of medical services and enhanced regional capabilities for treating critically ill patients. Simultaneously, for critically serious patients and those with complex diseases at primary medical institutions, a one-stop consultation and referral service has been implemented. This service adopts a "three specialists" approach and a multidisciplinary consultation mechanism within the hospital, constructs a multi-dimensional critical care transfer mode integrating air, ground, and the internet, creates a regional collaborative rescue mode, and implements full-cycle treatment for critically serious patients. The comprehensive, flexible, and efficient service pathway for regional collaborative critical care established by this system ensures timely and safe treatment for critically ill patients, promotes the distribution of high-quality medical resources, and effectively addresses issues such as uneven distribution of high-quality medical resources and varying levels of critical care capabilities. It has facilitated the formation of a new tiered diagnosis and treatment order characterized by "first diagnosis at the primary level, two-way referral, separate treatment for acute and chronic diseases, and vertical integration". This approach has enhanced the diagnostic and comprehensive service capabilities of primary medical institutions. Currently, by strengthening information empowerment and sharing, creating a full-process critical care diagnosis and treatment model, providing medical assistance and cultivating primary-level critical care talent, and promoting appropriate technologies, the hospital has gradually overcome challenges such as barriers to information exchange and sharing between hospitals, overloaded critical care teams, high pressure on patient reception and transfer, and limited critical care capabilities at primary medical institutions. This article summarizes the construction and practical application of this regionally coordinated critical care system, aiming to provide a reference for the management of critical care treatment.
Humans
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China
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Critical Care/organization & administration*
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Delivery of Health Care/organization & administration*
5.Mass spectral database-based methodologies for the annotation and discovery of natural products.
Fengyao YANG ; Zeyuan LIANG ; Haoran ZHAO ; Jiayi ZHENG ; Lifang LIU ; Huipeng SONG ; Guizhong XIN
Chinese Journal of Natural Medicines (English Ed.) 2025;23(4):410-420
Natural products (NPs) have long held a significant position in various fields such as medicine, food, agriculture, and materials. The chemical space covered by NPs is extensive but often underexplored. Therefore, high-throughput and efficient methodologies for the annotation and discovery of NPs are desired to address the complexity and diversity of NP-based systems. Mass spectrometry (MS) has emerged as a powerful platform for the annotation and discovery of NPs. MS databases provide vital support for the structural characterization of NPs by integrating extensive mass spectral data and sample information. Additionally, the released annotation methodologies, based on a variety of informatics tools, continuously improve the ability to annotate the structure and properties of compounds. This review examines the current mainstream databases and annotation methodologies, focusing on their advantages and limitations. Prospects for future technological advancements are then discussed in terms of novel applications and research objectives. Through a systematic overview, this review aims to provide valuable insights and a reference for MS-based NPs annotation, thereby promoting the discovery of novel natural entities.
Biological Products/chemistry*
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Mass Spectrometry/methods*
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Databases, Factual
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Drug Discovery/methods*
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Humans
6.Detection of Free T4 in Cerebrospinal Fluid Predicts Autism-like Behaviors in Offspring Rats Induced by Hypothyroidism during Pregnancy
Lifang LI ; Jiaqi ZHANG ; Junhua YANG ; Yuxin MA ; Guoying LI
Journal of Sun Yat-sen University(Medical Sciences) 2025;46(6):1029-1040
ObjectiveTo investigate the potential value of thyroid hormones in cerebrospinal fluid in predicting autism-like behaviors induced by hypothyroidism in pregnant rats. MethodsTwelve pregnant Wistar rats were randomly divided into a control group and a hypothyroidism group (hypothyroidism model group). Offspring from both groups had serum and cerebrospinal fluid levels of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH), total triiodothyronine (TT3), total thyroxine (TT4), free triiodothyronine (FT3), and free thyroxine (FT4) levels in serum and cerebrospinal fluid. Ultrasonic vocalization tests were conducted on postnatal day 2 (P2), day 7 (P7), and day 14 (P14), while behavioral tests using the three-box social interaction test were performed on day 21(P21). ResultsCompared with the control group, free T4 (FT4) levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of the hypothyroidism group were significantly reduced during the developmental period (P0-P21; P2: P<0.05; P7: P<0.05; P14: P<0.01; P21: P<0.01), with no statistical difference between the two groups only at P0 (P>0.05). In the ultrasonic vocalization (USV) tests, the number and duration of USVs in offsprings from the hypothyroidism group were significantly reduced compared with those of the control group on P2, P7 and P14: for USV counts (P2: P<0.05; P7: P<0.001; P14: P<0.01); for USV duration (P2: P<0.05; P7: P<0.001; P14: P<0.001). In the three-box social tests, offsprings of the hypothyroidism group showed significantly reduced sniffing time with unfamiliar rats at P21 compared to the control group (all P<0.001). The FT4 levels in cerebrospinal fluid had a significantly positive correlation with USV counts (P7: r=0.883, P<0.05; P14: r=0.902, P<0.05) and sniffing time with unfamiliar rats (r=0.814, P<0.01). ConclusionMeasuring free T4 in cerebrospinal fluid can predict autism-like behaviors in offsprings of rats induced by hypothyroidism during pregnancy.
7.Analysis of three Chinese pedigrees affected with Genetic epilepsy with febrile seizures plus due to variants of SCN1A gene
Zhigang YANG ; Yuan WANG ; Guohong CHEN ; Lifang SONG ; Yanli MA ; Weihua ZHANG
Chinese Journal of Medical Genetics 2024;41(3):284-288
Objective:To analyze the clinical and genetic characteristics of three Chinese pedigrees affected with Genetic epilepsy with febrile seizures plus (GEFS+ ).Methods:Three GEFS+ probands and their pedigree members presented at the Children′s Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2020 to December 2021 were selected as the study subjects. Clinical data of the pedigrees were collected. Whole exome sequencing was carried out for the probands, and Sanger sequencing was used to verify the candidate variants.Results:Proband 1 was a 3-year-and-2-month-old male with febrile seizure plus. His father, two aunts, grandmother, aunt grandmother, uncle grandfather, and paternal great-grandmother also had onset of febrile seizures at 1 ~ 2 years of age with remission before 6 years old. Proband 2 was a 1-year-and-4-month-old male with complex febrile seizure. His mother, maternal uncle, and maternal grandmother also had febrile seizures before 5 ~ 6 years of age. Proband 3 was a 3-year-and-11-month-old male with febrile seizure plus. His father and grandfather also had febrile seizures plus with remission at 7 ~ 8 years of age. Genetic testing revealed that proband 1 had harbored a paternally derived heterozygous SCN1A: c. 1613T>C variant, proband 2 had harbored a maternally derived heterozygous SCN1A: c. 2804A>G variant, and proband 3 had harbored a paternally derived heterozygous SCN1A: c. 1271T>C variant. All of the three variants were predicted as likely pathogenic based on the guidelines from the American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (PM1+ PM2_Supporting+ PP1+ PP3+ PP4). Conclusion:The c. 1613T>C, c. 2804A>G and c. 1271T>C variants probably underlay the pathogenesis of GEFS+ in these pedigrees.
8.The effects of scutellarin on P13K expression and phosphorylation level in activated microglia
Lifang YANG ; Zhaoda DUAN ; Yujia YANG ; Dongyao XU ; Chunyun WU ; Li YANG
Chinese Journal of Neuroanatomy 2024;40(3):320-326
Objective:To explore the impact of scutellarin on the levels of phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase(P13K)and phosphorylated P13K(p-PI3K)in activated microglia.Methods:A rat cerebral ischemia model was made by middle cerebral artery occlusion(MCAO)method.SD rats were randomly divided into three groups:sham operation group(Sham),cerebral ischemia group(MCAO),and cerebral ischemia with scutellarin group(MCAO+S).A model of ischemia-hypoxia injury of BV2 microglia was established by glucose-oxygen deprivation(OGD)and randomly assigned as control group(Control),OGD group and OGD+scutellarin group(OGD+S).Changes in PI3K and p-PI3K expres-sion in microglia were assessed using double immunofluorescence staining and Western Blot.Results:Immunofluores-cence staining and Western Blot analyses revealed a significant increase in p-PI3K levels in activated microglia both in vivo and in vitro(P<0.05).Furthermore,treatment with scutellarin led to a further elevation in p-PI3K(P<0.05).However,there were no significant alterations observed in PI3 K expression among the groups(P>0.05).Conclusion:Scutellarin may play a positive role in the treatment of cerebral ischemia by up-regulating the phosphorylation level of P13K in activated microglia.
9.Inversion Method of Constitutive Parameters from Plantar Soft Tissues Based on Random Forest and Neural Network Algorithms
Fengtao LI ; Lifang SUN ; Yaping TAO ; Peng YANG ; Mengqiang JI ; Jianbing SANG
Journal of Medical Biomechanics 2024;39(3):476-481
Objective To predict the constitutive parameters of a superelastic model of plantar soft tissues based on random forest(RF)and backpropagation(BP)neural network algorithms to improve the efficiency and accuracy of the method for obtaining constitutive parameters.Methods First,a finite element model for a spherical indentation experiment of plantar soft tissues was established,and the spherical indentation experiment process was simulated to obtain a dataset of nonlinear displacement and indentation force,divided into training and testing sets.The established RF and BP neural network(BPNN)models were trained separately.The constitutive parameters of plantar soft tissues were predicted using experimental data.Finally,the mean square error(MSE)and coefficient of determination(R2)were introduced to evaluate the accuracy of the model prediction,and the effectiveness of the model was verified by comparison with the experimental curves.Results Combining the RF and BPNN models with finite element simulation was an effective and accurate method for determining the superelastic constitutive parameters of plantar soft tissues.After training,the MSE of the RF model reached 1.370 2×10-3,and R2 was 0.982 9,whereas the MSE of the BPNN model reached 4.858 1×10-5,and R2 was 0.999 3.The inverse-determined constitutive parameters of the plantar soft tissues suitable for simulation were obtained.The calculated response curves for the two predicted sets of constitutive parameters were in good agreement with the experimental curves.Conclusions The prediction accuracy for the superelastic constitutive parameters of plantar soft tissues based on an artificial intelligence algorithm model is high,and the relevant research results can be applied to study other mechanical properties of plantar soft tissues.This study provides a new method for obtaining the constitutive parameters of plantar soft tissues and helps to quickly diagnose clinical problems,such as plantar soft tissue lesions.
10.Serum CCL21 and CXCR3 predict stroke-associated pneumonia in patients with acute ischemic stroke
Haiyan ZHAI ; Lin LI ; Lifang ZHU ; Chunjuan REN ; Dan WEI ; Jie YANG
International Journal of Cerebrovascular Diseases 2024;32(7):495-499
Objective:To investigate the predictive value of serum levels of C-C motif chemokine ligand 21 (CCL21) and C-X-C motif chemokine receptor 3 (CXCR3) for stroke-associated pneumonia (SAP) in patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS).Methods:Patients with AIS admitted to No.215 Hospital of Shaanxi Nuclear Industry from July 2020 to December 2023 were prospectively included. Serum CCL21 and CXCR3 test results and general clinical data at admission were collected using the hospital electronic medical record system. The independent influencing factors of SAP were identified through multivariate logistic regression analysis, and the predictive value of serum CCL21 and CXCR3 levels for SAP were analyzed by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Results:A total of 150 patients with AIS were enrolled, including 91 males (60.67%), aged 61.48±7.92 years. Among them, 41 patients (27.33%) developed SAP during hospitalization. There were significant differences in serum CCL21 and CXCR3 levels, National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale score, Glasgow Coma Scale score, invasive mechanical ventilation, length of hospital stay, and the proportion of patients with hypertension and diabetes between the SAP group and the non-SAP group (all P<0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that serum CCL21 (odds ratio [ OR] 1.022, 95% confidence interval [ CI] 1.006-1.039; P=0.006) and CXCR3 ( OR 1.036, 95% CI 1.018-1.054; P<0.001) levels were the independent risk factors for SAP. ROC curve analysis showed that serum CCL21 and CXCR3 levels had good predictive power separately for SAP. The areas under the curve was 0.730 (95% CI 0.634-0.825) and 0.807 (95% CI 0.721-0.892), respectively. The combined prediction of the two showed an area under the curve of 0.881 (95% CI 0.819-0.943). Conclusion:The patients with AIS generally have higher levels of serum CCL21 and CXCR3. The levels of serum CCL21 and CXCR3 are closely associated with SAP, and both of them have a good predictive effect on SAP alone or in combination.


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