1.Correction to: A Virtual Reality Platform for Context-Dependent Cognitive Research in Rodents.
Xue-Tong QU ; Jin-Ni WU ; Yunqing WEN ; Long CHEN ; Shi-Lei LV ; Li LIU ; Li-Jie ZHAN ; Tian-Yi LIU ; Hua HE ; Yu LIU ; Chun XU
Neuroscience Bulletin 2025;41(5):932-932
2.ToxBERT: an explainable AI framework for enhancing prediction of adverse drug reactions and structural insights.
Yujie HE ; Xiang LV ; Wulin LONG ; Shengqiu ZHAI ; Menglong LI ; Zhining WEN
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2025;15(8):101387-101387
Accurate prediction of drug-induced adverse drug reactions (ADRs) is crucial for drug safety evaluation, as it directly impacts public health and safety. While various models have shown promising results in predicting ADRs, their accuracy still needs improvement. Additionally, many existing models often lack interpretability when linking molecular structures to specific ADRs and frequently rely on manually selected molecular fingerprints, which can introduce bias. To address these challenges, we propose ToxBERT, an efficient transformer encoder model that leverages attention and masking mechanisms for simplified molecular input line entry system (SMILES) representations. Our results demonstrate that ToxBERT achieved area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUROC) scores of 0.839, 0.759, and 0.664 for predicting drug-induced QT prolongation (DIQT), rhabdomyolysis, and liver injury, respectively, outperforming previous studies. Furthermore, ToxBERT can identify drug substructures that are closely associated with specific ADRs. These findings indicate that ToxBERT is not only a valuable tool for understanding the mechanisms underlying specific drug-induced ADRs but also for mitigating potential ADRs in the drug discovery pipeline.
3.A Retrospective Study of Rescue Injuries and Agonal Injuries in 640 Death Cases
Xuanyi LI ; Guoli LV ; Wen YANG ; Chunlei WU ; Xiaoshan LIU ; Bin LUO ; Xinbiao LIAO ; Erwen HUANG
Journal of Sun Yat-sen University(Medical Sciences) 2025;46(1):81-87
[Objective]To clearly identify the difference between rescue injuries and agonal injuries and to avoid duplicate identifications and misidentifications.[Methods]Based on the forensic pathological data of 5 923 cases of death cause identification from 2013 to 2022 in Sun Yat-sen University Forensic Identification Center and Guangzhou Tianhe District Branch of Guangzhou Public Security Bureau,this study retrospectively studied the characteristics of rescue injuries and agonal injuries seen in cause of death identification and their influence on cause of death identification.[Results]Among all the 5 923 cases,640 cases were found to have rescue injuries or agonal injuries,and 624 cases received treatment,of which 609 cases were found to have rescue injuries(97.60%),44 cases were found to have agonal injuries,and 13 cases were found to have both types of injuries.Among the 640 cases,441 were male and 199 were female.The age of death was discontinuously distributed from 0 to 95 years old.The leading cause of death was disease,followed by mechanical injury and asphyxia.The main manifestations of rescue injuries were rib and sternum fractures,soft tissue injuries in the prechest area or face,and pericardial rupture.The most common injuries in agonal stage were falling after unconsciousness,inhalation of foreign body in respiratory tract or multiple violent injuries.Among the 640 cases,19 cases were repeatedly identified,including 15 cases of rescue injuries,6 cases of agonal injuries,and 2 cases of both types of injuries.Compared with the cases where neither type of injuries was detected,the repeated identification rate of treatment injuries and agonal injuries was significantly increased(χ2=4.04,P=0.044;χ2=43.49,P<0.001).Among the 640 cases,11 cases(1.72%)were misidentified as the initial injuries in the first identification,and 13 cases had combined rescue injuries or agonal injuries that were involved in death.[Conclusions]By elucidating the epidemiological characteristics of the two types of injuries,this study proved that the two types of injuries were associated with higher rates of repeated identification and misidentification,which provided a reference for reducing repeated identification and misidentification and improving the accuracy of cause of death identification.
4.Diagnostic Significance of Modified Lung Ultrasound Score in Pediatric Bacterial and Viral Pneumonia
Wen XIE ; Guorong LV ; Junxian RUAN ; Qiuxia JIANG ; Jingyang ZHENG ; Weiru LIN
Chinese Journal of Medical Imaging 2025;33(4):370-374
Purpose To investigate the diagnostic significance of modified lung ultrasound score(MPUS)for pediatric bacterial and viral pneumonia.Materials and Methods A total of 93 eligible children with suspected community-acquired pneumonia in Quanzhou Maternal and Child Care Hospital(Quanzhou Children’s Hospital)from December 2022 to June 2023 were elected as the study subjects.All these children received lung ultrasound and the MLUS was recorded according to the ultrasound manifestations of A line,B line and lung consolidation.According to the etiological results,the children were divided into a bacterial pneumonia group and a viral pneumonia group.According to disease severity,the children were divided into the mild group and the severe group.The MLUS was used to analyze the diagnostic significance of pediatric bacterial and viral pneumonia.Results The MLUS in the mild pneumonia group was 7(4,13)points and the MLUS in the severe pneumonia group was 20(14,30)points,and MLUS scores of pneumonia in the two groups were different(Z=-5.205,P<0.05).By drawing receiver operating characteristic curve,MLUS score of 14.5 was used as the cut-off point,the sensitivity for diagnosing severe pneumonia was 75.9%,the specificity was 82.8%.Area under the curve was 0.838.There was no significant differences in MLUS of 8.00(4.00,16.00)between the bacterial pneumonia group and 13.00(7.00,21.75)between the viral pneumonia group(Z=-1.981,P>0.05).The MLUS of 10.00(5.25,17.75)in the mild bacterial pneumonia group and 5.00(4.00,9.50)in the mild viral pneumonia group were significantly different(Z=-3.403,P<0.05).There was no significant differences in MLUS between the severe bacterial pneumonia group and the severe viral pneumonia group(t=0.017,P>0.05).In mild pneumonia,the cut-off value for the modified lung ultrasound score of 10.5 predicted moderate diagnostic efficacy of mild bacterial pneumonia,the area under the curve was 0.747,sensitivity was 50%and specificity was 87.5%.Large-area lung consolidation was more common in the bacterial pneumonia group than in the viral pneumonia group(χ2=8.360,P<0.05).Conclusion The modified lung ultrasound score can effectively evaluate the severity of pediatric bacterial pneumonia and viral pneumonia.For the identification of the two,MLUS may be a certain guiding significance.
5.ToxBERT:An explainable AI framework for enhancing prediction of adverse drug reactions and structural insights
Yujie HE ; Xiang LV ; Wulin LONG ; Shengqiu ZHAI ; Menglong LI ; Zhining WEN
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2025;15(8):1926-1936
Accurate prediction of drug-induced adverse drug reactions(ADRs)is crucial for drug safety evaluation,as it directly impacts public health and safety.While various models have shown promising results in predicting ADRs,their accuracy still needs improvement.Additionally,many existing models often lack interpretability when linking molecular structures to specific ADRs and frequently rely on manually selected molecular fingerprints,which can introduce bias.To address these challenges,we propose ToxBERT,an efficient transformer encoder model that leverages attention and masking mechanisms for simplified molecular input line entry system(SMILES)representations.Our results demonstrate that ToxBERT achieved area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUROC)scores of 0.839,0.759,and 0.664 for predicting drug-induced QT prolongation(DIQT),rhabdomyolysis,and liver injury,respectively,outperforming previous studies.Furthermore,ToxBERT can identify drug substructures that are closely associated with specific ADRs.These findings indicate that ToxBERT is not only a valuable tool for understanding the mechanisms underlying specific drug-induced ADRs but also for mitigating potential ADRs in the drug discovery pipeline.
6.Diagnostic Significance of Modified Lung Ultrasound Score in Pediatric Bacterial and Viral Pneumonia
Wen XIE ; Guorong LV ; Junxian RUAN ; Qiuxia JIANG ; Jingyang ZHENG ; Weiru LIN
Chinese Journal of Medical Imaging 2025;33(4):370-374
Purpose To investigate the diagnostic significance of modified lung ultrasound score(MPUS)for pediatric bacterial and viral pneumonia.Materials and Methods A total of 93 eligible children with suspected community-acquired pneumonia in Quanzhou Maternal and Child Care Hospital(Quanzhou Children’s Hospital)from December 2022 to June 2023 were elected as the study subjects.All these children received lung ultrasound and the MLUS was recorded according to the ultrasound manifestations of A line,B line and lung consolidation.According to the etiological results,the children were divided into a bacterial pneumonia group and a viral pneumonia group.According to disease severity,the children were divided into the mild group and the severe group.The MLUS was used to analyze the diagnostic significance of pediatric bacterial and viral pneumonia.Results The MLUS in the mild pneumonia group was 7(4,13)points and the MLUS in the severe pneumonia group was 20(14,30)points,and MLUS scores of pneumonia in the two groups were different(Z=-5.205,P<0.05).By drawing receiver operating characteristic curve,MLUS score of 14.5 was used as the cut-off point,the sensitivity for diagnosing severe pneumonia was 75.9%,the specificity was 82.8%.Area under the curve was 0.838.There was no significant differences in MLUS of 8.00(4.00,16.00)between the bacterial pneumonia group and 13.00(7.00,21.75)between the viral pneumonia group(Z=-1.981,P>0.05).The MLUS of 10.00(5.25,17.75)in the mild bacterial pneumonia group and 5.00(4.00,9.50)in the mild viral pneumonia group were significantly different(Z=-3.403,P<0.05).There was no significant differences in MLUS between the severe bacterial pneumonia group and the severe viral pneumonia group(t=0.017,P>0.05).In mild pneumonia,the cut-off value for the modified lung ultrasound score of 10.5 predicted moderate diagnostic efficacy of mild bacterial pneumonia,the area under the curve was 0.747,sensitivity was 50%and specificity was 87.5%.Large-area lung consolidation was more common in the bacterial pneumonia group than in the viral pneumonia group(χ2=8.360,P<0.05).Conclusion The modified lung ultrasound score can effectively evaluate the severity of pediatric bacterial pneumonia and viral pneumonia.For the identification of the two,MLUS may be a certain guiding significance.
7.Comparison of Jinzhen oral liquid and ambroxol hydrochloride and clenbuterol hydrochloride oral solution in the treatment of acute bronchitis in children: A multicenter, non-inferiority, prospective, randomized controlled trial.
Qinhua FAN ; Chongming WU ; Yawei DU ; Boyang WANG ; Yanming XIE ; Zeling ZHANG ; Wenquan SU ; Zizhuo WANG ; Changchang XU ; Xueke LI ; Ying DING ; Xinjiang AN ; Jing CHEN ; Yunying XIAO ; Rong YU ; Nan LI ; Juan WANG ; Yiqun TENG ; Hongfen LV ; Nian YANG ; Yuling WEN ; Xiaoli HUANG ; Wei PAN ; Yufeng LIU ; Xueqin XI ; Qianye ZHAO ; Changshan LIU ; Jian XU ; Haitao ZHANG ; Lie ZHUO ; Qiangquan RONG ; Yu XIA ; Qin SHEN ; Shao LI ; Junhong WANG ; Shengxian WU
Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B 2024;14(12):5186-5200
The comparison between traditional Chinese medicine Jinzhen oral liquid (JZOL) and Western medicine in treating children with acute bronchitis (AB) showed encouraging outcomes. This trial evaluated the efficacy and safety of the JZOL for improving cough and expectoration in children with AB. 480 children were randomly assigned to take JZOL or ambroxol hydrochloride and clenbuterol hydrochloride oral solution for 7 days. The primary outcome was time-to-cough resolution. The median time-to-cough resolution in both groups was 5.0 days and the antitussive onset median time was only 1 day. This randomized controlled trial showed that JZOL was not inferior to cough suppressant and phlegm resolving western medicine in treating cough and sputum and could comprehensively treat respiratory and systemic discomfort symptoms. Combined with clinical trials, the mechanism of JZOL against AB was uncovered by network target analysis, it was found that the pathways in TRP channels like IL-1β/IL1R/TRPV1/TRPA1, NGF/TrkA/TRPV1/TRPA1, and PGE2/EP/PKA/TRPV1/TRPA1 might play important roles. Animal experiments further confirmed that inflammation and the immune regulatory effect of JZOL in the treatment of AB were of vital importance and TRP channels were the key mechanism of action.
8.Efficacy and Side Effects of Mixed-Strategy Electroconvulsive Therapy: A Proof-of-Concept Randomized Clinical Trial on Late Life Depression
Si-wen LV ; Yan SUN ; Yang CHEN ; Chen WANG ; Xin-hui XIE ; Xiao-min HU ; Hong HONG ; Lou-Feng ZHANG ; Nan-nan ZHU ; Peng-yv XIE ; Li ZHANG ; Ling CHEN ; Xiao-ming KONG
Psychiatry Investigation 2024;21(7):772-781
Objective:
Patients with late life depression sometimes refuse to receive electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) owing to its adverse reactions. To alleviate patient’s resistance, a novel ECT stimulation strategy named mixed-strategy ECT (msECT) was designed in which patients are administered conventional ECT during the first three sessions, followed by low energy stimulation during the subsequent sessions. However, whether low energy electrical stimulation in the subsequent stage of therapy affect its efficacy and reduce adverse reactions in patients with late life depression remains unknown. To explore differences between msECT and regular ECT(RECT) with respect to clinical efficacy and side effects
Methods:
This randomized, controlled trial was conducted from 2019 to 2021 on 60 patients with late life depression who were randomly assigned to two groups: RECT or msECT. A generalized estimating equation (GEE) was used to compare the two stimulation strategies regarding their efficacy and side effects on cognition. Chi-squared test was used to compare side effects in the two strategies.
Results:
In the intent-to-treat group, the GEE model suggested no differences between-group difference in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale-17 score over time (Wald χ2=7.275, p=0.064), whereas the comparison of side effects in the two strategies favored msECT (Wald χ2=8.463, p=0.015) as fewer patients had adverse events during the second phase of treatment with msECT (χ2 =13.467, p=0.004).
Conclusion
msECT presents its similar efficacy to RECT. msECT may have milder side effects on cognition.
9.Flavor technology for Jiannaoning Mixture based on electronic tongue combined with preference index
Ji-Yong FU ; Lv-Feng ZHANG ; Yan-Xu ZHANG ; Zhi WANG ; Pan-Wen HUANG ; Nian-Ping FENG ; Guo-Fu ZHU
Chinese Traditional Patent Medicine 2024;46(11):3585-3593
AIM To investigate the flavor technology for Jiannaoning Mixture based on electronic tongue combined with preference index.METHODS Artificial sensory evaluation method was employed to screen the type of flavor agents,electronic tongue was applied to screening the consumption of flavor agents,and double-bottle preference test was adopted in the analysis of effects of rat gender and body weight on taste sensitivity,after which acceleration test was conducted.RESULTS Sucrose,stevioside and xylitol were taken as flavor agents,whose optimal consumptions were 15%,0.08%and 15%,respectively.Male rats demonstrated stable taste perception with the body weights of 220-280 g,and 0.08%stevioside displayed the best flavoring effect.After placed under accelerated condition for 3 months,the preparation exhibited stable appearance,pH value and contents of lobetyolin,salvianolic acid B,schizandrin,ruscogenin.CONCLUSION This stable and reliable method can provide reference for improving the terrible tastes of Jiannaoning Mixture and other oral liquid preparations of traditional Chinese medicines.
10.Small molecule deoxynyboquinone triggers alkylation and ubiquitination of Keap1 at Cys489 on Kelch domain for Nrf2 activation and inflammatory therapy
Linghu KE-GANG ; Zhang TIAN ; Zhang GUANG-TAO ; Lv PENG ; Zhang WEN-JUN ; Zhao GUAN-DING ; Xiong SHI-HANG ; Ma QIU-SHUO ; Zhao MING-MING ; Chen MEIWAN ; Hu YUAN-JIA ; Zhang CHANG-SHENG ; Yu HUA
Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis 2024;14(3):401-415
Activation of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2(Nrf2)by Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1(Keap1)alkylation plays a central role in anti-inflammatory therapy.However,activators of Nrf2 through alkylation of Keap1-Kelch domain have not been identified.Deoxynyboquinone(DNQ)is a natural small molecule discovered from marine actinomycetes.The current study was designed to investigate the anti-inflammatory effects and molecular mechanisms of DNQ via alkylation of Keap1.DNQ exhibited signif-icant anti-inflammatory properties both in vitro and in vivo.The pharmacophore responsible for the anti-inflammatory properties of DNQ was determined to be the α,β-unsaturated amides moieties by a chemical reaction between DNQ and N-acetylcysteine.DNQ exerted anti-inflammatory effects through activation of Nrf2/ARE pathway.Keap1 was demonstrated to be the direct target of DNQ and bound with DNQ through conjugate addition reaction involving alkylation.The specific alkylation site of DNQ on Keap1 for Nrf2 activation was elucidated with a synthesized probe in conjunction with liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.DNQ triggered the ubiquitination and subsequent degra-dation of Keap1 by alkylation of the cysteine residue 489(Cys489)on Keap1-Kelch domain,ultimately enabling the activation of Nrf2.Our findings revealed that DNQ exhibited potent anti-inflammatory capacity through α,β-unsaturated amides moieties active group which specifically activated Nrf2 signal pathway via alkylation/ubiquitination of Keap1-Kelch domain,suggesting the potential values of targeting Cys489 on Keap1-Kelch domain by DNQ-like small molecules in inflammatory therapies.

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