Endometriosis （EMT） is a common disease with frequent occurrence and difficult to be cured in modern clinical practice of obstetrics and gynaecology. It is characterized by progressively worsening dysmenorrhoea， pelvic mass， and infertility. The incidence of EMT is growing and increasingly younger patients are diagnosed with this disease， which poses a serious threat to the reproductive and psychological health of women of childbearing age and adolescent females. However， the pathogenesis of EMT is still not completely clear， and the disease has a long course. Therefore， developing new therapies is an urgent clinical problem to be solved. Great progress has been achieved in the treatment of EMT with traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）， while the underlying mechanism remains in exploration. Programmed cell death （PCD） is a cell death mode mediated by a variety of bio-molecules with specific signaling cascades. The known PCD processes include apoptosis， pyroptosis， autophagy， ferroptosis， and cuproptosis， which all play a pivotal role in the development of EMT. Researchers have made achievements in the treatment of EMT with TCM， which regulates PCD via multiple pathways， routes， targets， and mechanisms. However， the progress in the regulation of PCD in the treatment of EMT with TCM remains to be reviewed. This paper reviews the research progress in the treatment of EMT with TCM from five PCD processes （apoptosis， pyroptosis， autophagy， ferroptosis， and cuproptosis）， with the aim of providing a theoretical basis for the clinical prevention and treatment of EMT.

ObjectivePhotoacoustic pump-probe imaging can effectively eliminate the interference of blood background signal in traditional photoacoustic imaging, and realize the imaging of weak phosphorescence molecules and their triplet lifetimes in deep tissues. However, background differential noise in photoacoustic pump-probe imaging often leads to large fitting results of phosphorescent molecule concentration and triplet lifetime. Therefore, this paper proposes a novel triplet lifetime fitting method for photoacoustic pump-probe imaging. By extracting the phase of the triplet differential signal and the background noise, the fitting bias caused by the background noise can be effectively corrected. MethodsThe advantages and feasibility of the proposed algorithm are verified by numerical simulation, phantom and in vivo experiments, respectively. ResultsIn the numerical simulation, under the condition of noise intensity being 10% of the signal amplitude, the new method can optimize the fitting deviation from 48.5% to about 5%, and has a higher exclusion coefficient (0.88>0.79), which greatly improves the fitting accuracy. The high specificity imaging ability of photoacoustic pump imaging for phosphorescent molecules has been demonstrated by phantom experiments. In vivo experiments have verified the feasibility of the new fitting method proposed in this paper for fitting phosphoometric lifetime to monitor oxygen partial pressure content during photodynamic therapy of tumors in nude mice. ConclusionThis work will play an important role in promoting the application of photoacoustic pump-probe imaging in biomedicine.

ObjectiveTobacco-related diseases remain one of the leading preventable public health challenges worldwide and are among the primary causes of premature death. In recent years, accumulating evidence has supported the classification of nicotine addiction as a chronic brain disease, profoundly affecting both brain structure and function. Despite the urgency, effective diagnostic methods for smoking addiction remain lacking, posing significant challenges for early intervention and treatment. To address this issue and gain deeper insights into the neural mechanisms underlying nicotine dependence, this study proposes a novel graph neural network framework, termed TI-GNN. This model leverages functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data to identify complex and subtle abnormalities in brain connectivity patterns associated with smoking addiction. MethodsThe study utilizes fMRI data to construct functional connectivity matrices that represent interaction patterns among brain regions. These matrices are interpreted as graphs, where brain regions are nodes and the strength of functional connectivity between them serves as edges. The proposed TI-GNN model integrates a Transformer module to effectively capture global interactions across the entire brain network, enabling a comprehensive understanding of high-level connectivity patterns. Additionally, a spatial attention mechanism is employed to selectively focus on informative inter-regional connections while filtering out irrelevant or noisy features. This design enhances the model’s ability to learn meaningful neural representations crucial for classification tasks. A key innovation of TI-GNN lies in its built-in causal interpretation module, which aims to infer directional and potentially causal relationships among brain regions. This not only improves predictive performance but also enhances model interpretability—an essential attribute for clinical applications. The identification of causal links provides valuable insights into the neuropathological basis of addiction and contributes to the development of biologically plausible and trustworthy diagnostic tools. ResultsExperimental results demonstrate that the TI-GNN model achieves superior classification performance on the smoking addiction dataset, outperforming several state-of-the-art baseline models. Specifically, TI-GNN attains an accuracy of 0.91, an F1-score of 0.91, and a Matthews correlation coefficient (MCC) of 0.83, indicating strong robustness and reliability. Beyond performance metrics, TI-GNN identifies critical abnormal connectivity patterns in several brain regions implicated in addiction. Notably, it highlights dysregulations in the amygdala and the anterior cingulate cortex, consistent with prior clinical and neuroimaging findings. These regions are well known for their roles in emotional regulation, reward processing, and impulse control—functions that are frequently disrupted in nicotine dependence. ConclusionThe TI-GNN framework offers a powerful and interpretable tool for the objective diagnosis of smoking addiction. By integrating advanced graph learning techniques with causal inference capabilities, the model not only achieves high diagnostic accuracy but also elucidates the neurobiological underpinnings of addiction. The identification of specific abnormal brain networks and their causal interactions deepens our understanding of addiction pathophysiology and lays the groundwork for developing targeted intervention strategies and personalized treatment approaches in the future.

Objective To evaluate the protective effect of radiation protection safety education (RPSE) on patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) undergoing iodine-131 (¹³¹I) treatment. Methods The DTC patients who undergo ¹³¹I treatment were divided into the control group and the RPSE group using the convenience sampling method, with 142 patients in each group. Patients in the control group received routine health education, while the RPSE group received routine health education combined with RPSE. Dose equivalent rate (DER) on pillows, bed sheets, quilt covers, and household waste of patients were compared between the two groups upon discharge. Results The median (M) DERs of patients' pillows, bed sheets, quilt covers and household waste were 3.86, 3.63, 3.91 and 56.59 times higher in the control group compared with the environmental background level, respectively. The M DERs of patients' pillows, bed sheets, quilt covers were 2.23, 2.18, and 2.55 times higher in the RPSE group compared with the environmental background level, while the M DER of household waste was equivalent to the environmental background level. The DERs of patients' pillows, bed sheets, quilt covers, and household waste in the RPSE group were significantly lower than those in the control group (all P<0.001). The DERs of the above four items were lower in both male and female patients in RPSE group compared with same-gender patients in the control group (all P<0.001). The patients' DERs of the above indicators had no significant difference among different gender in both control group and RPSE group (all P>0.05), except for higher DER of household waste in female patients than that of male patients in the control group (P<0.05). There were no significant differences in the DERs of pillows, bed sheets, quilt covers, and household waste across subgroups, where patients received different treatment doses, of both the control group and the RPSE group (all P>0.05). Conclusion RPSE for DTC patients treated with ¹³¹I, reduces the DERs of pillows, bed sheets, quilt covers, and particularly household waste.

Aim To explore the mechanism of hydroxy-a-sanshool in the treatment of diabetic cardiomyopathy ( DCM) based on label-free quantitative proteomics detection technique. Methods DCM model was established by high fat diet and intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin ( STZ) . They were divided into control group ( CON group ) , diabetic cardiomyopathy group (DCM group) and hydroxy-a-sanshool treatment group ( DCM + SAN group) . The cardiac function of mice was evaluated by echocardiography, the myocardial morphology was observed by pathology staining, the protective mechanism of hydroxy-a-sanshool on diabetic cardiomyopathy was speculated by proteomic technique , and the expression level of cAMP/PKA signaling pathway and key proteins were verified by Western blotting. Results Cardiac ultrasound and pathology staining showed that hydroxy-a-sanshool had protective effect on the heart of DCM mice. Label-free quantitative proteomic analysis was carried out between DCM + SAN group and DCM group, and 160 differential pro-teins were identified by proteomics, in which 127 proteins were up-regulated and 33 proteins were down regulated ; GO secondary functional annotations showed the biological process, molecular function and cellular component; KEGG enrichment analysis showed that cAMP signaling pathway was the most abundant; protein interaction network showed that PKA as the central node interacted with many proteins in the cAMP signaling pathway. Western blot showed that the relative expression of с AMP, PKA protein in DCM group was significantly lower than that in CON group ( P < 0. 05 ) , while the relative expression of cAMP, PKA protein in DCM + SAN group was significantly higher than that in DCM group ( P < 0. 05 ) . Conclusions Hydroxy-a-sanshool has protective effect on heart function of mice with diabetes, which plays a role through cAMP signaling pathway.

Based on the interaction between supramolecule of traditional Chinese medicine and enterobacteria, the material basis of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma and Coptidis Rhizoma was explored. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS) were used to characterize the morphological differences of Rhubarb single decoction, Coptis single decoction and Rhubarb and Coptis co-decoction. An in vitro antibacterial model (E. coli, E. faecium and B. subtilis) was established to evaluate the damage effect of the combination of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma and Coptidis Rhizoma on enterobacteria. Ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) was used to analyze the changes of chemical components of single decoctions and co-decoctions. The co-decoction of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma and Coptidis Rhizoma was turbid after decocting. The spherical particles of 300-400 nm were observed under SEM, and the co-decoction was more uniform and stable than that of single decoction. The interaction between supramolecules formed after the combination of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma and Coptidis Rhizoma and enterobacteria was significantly different from that of single decoction. In the process of interaction between supramolecules and enterobacteria, the spherical state was maintained, and the medicinal ingredients in Coptidis Rhizoma or Rhei Radix et Rhizoma were blocked, which could effectively alleviate the damage to enterobacteria. This study provided a reference for subsequent studies on the regulation of intestinal flora homeostasis by the combination of Rhei Radix et Rhizoma and Coptidis Rhizoma.

A derivatizaton method combined with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry(GC-MS)was established for detection of isobutyl chloroformate(IBCF)residue in active pharmaceutical ingredient of agatroban.The extraction and derivatization reagents,derivatization time,qualitative and quantitative ions were selected and optimized,respectively.The possible mechanism of derivatization and characteristic fragment ions fragmentation were speculated.The agatroban samples were dissolved and extracted by methanol,and the residual IBCF was derived with methanol to generate methyl isobutyl carbonate(MIBCB).After 24 h static derivatization at room temperature,IBCF was completely transformed into MIBCB,which could be used to indirectly detect IBCF accurately.The results showed that the linearity of this method was good in the range of 25-500 ng/mL(R2=0.9999).The limit of detection(LOD,S/N=3)was 0.75 μg/g,and the limit of quantification(LOQ,S/N=10)was 2.50 μg/g.Good recoveries(95.2%-97.8%)and relative standard deviations(RSDs)less than 3.1%(n=6)were obtained from agatroban samples at three spiked levels of IBCF(2.50,25.00,50.00 μg/g),which showed good accuracy of this method.Good precision of detection results was obtained by different laboratory technicians at different times,the mean value of spiked sample solution(25.00 μg/g)was 24.28 μg/g,and the RSD was 2.1%(n=12).The durability was good,minor changes of detection conditions had little effect on the results.Under the original condition and conditions with initial column temperature±5℃,heating rate±2℃/min,column flow rate±0.1 mL/min,the IBCF content of spiked sample solution(25.00 μg/g)was detected,the mean value of detection results was 24.16 μg/g,and the RSD was 2.2%(n=7).Eight batches of agatroban samples from two manufacturers were detected using the established method,and the results showed that no IBCF residue was detected in any of these samples.The agatroban samples could be dissolved by methanol,and then the IBCF residue could be simultaneously extracted and derived with methanol as well.This detection method had the advantages of simple operation,high sensitivity,low matrix effect and accurate quantification,which provided a new effective method for detection of IBCF residue in agatroban.

Objective To investigate whether Liuwei Dihuang Pills enhances the antigen cross-presenting ability of dendritic cell(DC)by increasing gap junctional intercellular communication(GJIC),and to explore the mechanisms involved.Methods Western Blot and immunofluorescence were used to observe the effects of Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum on the expression and membrane localisation of gap junction protein connexin43(Cx43)in mouse melanoma cells(B16);Calcein-AM/DiI fluorescence tracer assay was used to observe the effects of Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum on the function of GJIC in B16 cells;flow cytometry was used to observe the role of GJIC in the enhancement of DC antigen presenting ability by Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum;and propidium iodide(PI)/Hoechst staining assay was used to observe the immunocidal effect of CD8+ T-lymphocytes.Results Western Blot and immunofluorescence experiments showed that Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum led to the up-regulation of Cx43 expression;fluorescence tracer experiments proved that the GJIC function of B16 cells was significantly enhanced by Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum;flow cytometry analyses showed that the DC antigen-presenting ability was enhanced by Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum;and the results of PI/Hoechst staining showed that the immuno-killing effect of CD8+T-cells was more significant after the intervention of Liuwei Dihuang Pills-containing serum in B16-OVA.Conclusion Liuwei Dihuang Pills improve the GJIC function by up-regulating the Cx43 expression of melanoma cells,and then enhance the cross-presenting ability of DCs thus activating stronger CD8+ T-cell immunocidal responses.

Objective To investigate the clinical efficacy of modified Fuzheng Yiliu Decoction(composed of Astragali Radix,Codonopsis Radix,Ligustri Lucidi Fructus,Hedyotis Diffusae Herba,Moutan Cortex,Visci Herba,etc.)combined with XELOX regimen(Oxaliplatin plus Capecitabine)for the treatment of postoperative patients with advanced gastric cancer of qi and yin deficiency type.Methods A total of 80 postoperative patients with advanced gastric cancer of qi and yin deficiency type were randomly divided into the Chinese medicine group and the control group,with 40 cases in each group.Both groups received chemotherapy with XELOX regimen,while the Chinese medicine group was given modified Fuzheng Yiliu Decoction.Three weeks constituted a course of treatment,the medication of Chinese medicine decoction lasted for two weeks or more in each course of treatment,and a total of 8 courses of treatment were performed.The incidence of adverse reactions during chemotherapy was monitored and changes in serum tumor markers of serum carcinoembryonic antigen(CEA),carbohydrate antigen 199(CA199)and alpha-fetoprotein(AFP)were observed in the two groups before and after treatment.Moreover,the patients'quality of life was assessed by the scores of Karnofsky's Performance Status(KPS)and World Health Organization Quality of Life Measurement Scale(WHOQOL-100).Long-term follow-up was carried out for the evaluation of the prognostic indicators such as overall survival and one-year and 2-year overall survival rates.Results(1)Patients in the two groups were all followed up,and the median follow-up time was 27 months(95%CI:23.59-27.86).(2)After treatment,the levels of serum CEA and AFP in the Chinese medicine group were significantly lower than those before treatment(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01),while serum CA199 tended to decrease compared with those before treatment,but the difference was not statistically significant(P＞0.05);in the control group,the levels of serum CEA,CA199,and AFP were not significantly decreased after treatment(P＞0.05).The intergroup comparison showed that the decrease of serum CEA,CA199 and AFP levels in the Chinese medicine group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).(3)The adverse reactions during chemotherapy in the two groups mainly involved bone marrow suppression,gastrointestinal reactions and liver function abnormalities,etc.The incidences of all adverse reactions in the Chinese medicine group tended to be lower than those in the control group,but the differences were not statistically significant(P＞0.05).(4)After treatment,the KPS scores of patients in both groups were improved compared with those before treatment(P＜0.01),and the improvement in the Chinese medicine group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.01).(5)After treatment,the scores of the four dimensions of WHOQOL-100 such as health status,mobility,life feelings,and other activities of daily life in the Chinese medicine group were significantly improved compared with the pre-treatment(P＜0.05),whereas there was no significant improvement in the control group(P＞0.05).The intergroup comparison showed that the improvement of the scores of each dimension of the WHOQOL-100 in the Chinese medicine group was significantly superior to that in the control group(P＜0.05 or P＜0.01).(6)The median survival in the Chinese medicine group was 29.0 months(95%CI:25.95-31.70)and that in the control group was 22.0 months(95%CI:19.67-25.58),indicating that the median survival was significantly prolonged in Chinese medicine group(P＜0.01).The one-year and 2-year postoperative survival rates were 97.5%and 77.5%in the Chinese medicine group and 92.5%and 47.5%in the control group,respectively.The intergroup comparison showed that the one-year and 2-year postoperative survival rates in the Chinese medicine group were higher than those in the control group(P＜0.01).Conclusion Modified Fuzheng Yiliu Decoction can effectively alleviate the adverse reactions during adjuvant chemotherapy for postoperative patients with advanced gastric cancer of qi and yin deficiency type,improve the quality of life of patients,and prolong the survival time of patients.

In recent years, with the continuous development of in situ cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, the research of structural biology has undergone a paradigm shift. Structural analysis is no longer confined to isolated and purified biomolecules, and determination of high-resolution in situ structures directly within cells and tissues becomes feasible. Furthermore, structural analysis of the molecular landscapes of subcellular regions can be performed to gain a deeper understanding of the molecular mechanisms of living activities in the native functional context. Through determining in situ structures of various protein complexes within the cell, it is feasible to visualize the proteome with spatial and quantitative information, which is often referred to as visual proteomics. Emerging in situ structural methods represented by cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) hold the promise to elucidate the three-dimensional interaction networks of the intracellular proteome and understand their activities in a systematic manner. To advance in situ cryo-EM/ET and visual proteomics in China, this review summarizes the new research paradigms and technological advances, showcases the superiority of new concepts and technologies with representative examples, and discusses the future prospects in the field.