Combining the External Medical Knowledge Graph Embedding to Improve the Performance of Syndrome Differentiation Model.

The electronic medical records (EMRs) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) include a wealth of TCM knowledge and syndrome diagnosis information, which is crucial for improving the quality of TCM auxiliary decision-making. In practical diagnosis, one disease corresponds to one syndrome, posing considerable hurdles for the informatization of TCM. The purpose of this work was to create an end-to-end TCM diagnostic model, and the knowledge graph (KG) created in this article is used to improve the model's information and realize auxiliary decision-making for TCM disorders. We approached auxiliary decision-making for syndrome differentiation in this article as a multilabel classification task and presented a knowledge-based decision support model for syndrome differentiation (KDSD). Specifically, we created a KG based on TCM features (TCMKG), supplementing the textual representation of medical data with embedded information. Finally, we proposed fusing medical text with KG entity representation (F-MT-KER) to get prediction results using a linear output layer. After obtaining the vector representation of the medical record text using the BERT model, the vector representation of various KG embedded models can provide additional hidden information to a certain extent. Experimental results show that our method improves by 1% (P@1) on the syndrome differentiation auxiliary decision task compared to the baseline model BERT. The usage of EMRs can aid TCM development more efficiently. With the help of entity level representation, character level representation, and model fusion, the multilabel classification method based on the pretraining model and KG can better simulate the TCM syndrome differentiation of the complex cases.

[Impact of Differents in the Concentrations of Ozone on the Chemical Composition of Single Particles].

To investigate the effect of high concentration of ozone (O3) on the aerosol formation and aging process, this study made observations using a single-particle aerosol mass spectrometer (SPAMS) at Heshan Atmospheric Environment Supervision Station in Guangdong Province in October 2018. During the observation period, a high ozone concentration period (PH) and a low ozone concentration period (PL) were defined according to the level of O3 concentration. The average O3 concentration during PH was 117 µg·m-3, and that of PL was 25 µg·m-3. According to the difference in chemical composition, single particles mainly included aging element carbon particles (EC-aged), secondary particles (Sec), and aging organic carbon particles (OC-aged) during the observation period. The total number of single particles in PH (348085) was higher than in PL (224797), and the proportion of Sec particles (37.1%) in PH was significantly higher than in PL (27.8%), whereas the proportion of EC-aged particles in PH (32.1%) was lower than in PL (44.1%). The proportion of OC-aged particles in PH (13.5%) was slightly higher than in PL (10.4%). The concentration of particles containing nitrate and sulfate showed significant diurnal changes during PH, but no diurnal changes during PL. The peak area of nitrate and sulfate in the Sec particles and EC-aged particles in PH was higher than in PL, which indicates that the amount of nitrate and sulfate produced by the secondary reaction process in PH was more than in PL. In addition, the peak areas of nitrate and sulfate in the Sec particles were significantly higher than those in the EC-aged particles, indicating that the age of the Sec particles was greater. In this study, acetate (59CH3CO2-) and glyoxal (73C2HO3-) were selected to represent the changing characteristics of aldehyde and ketone compounds in single-particle aerosols. The number concentration and peak area of 59CH3CO2- and 73C2HO3- in Sec and OC-aged particles in PH were significantly higher than those in PL, and showed significant diurnal variation characteristic during PH. The peak appeared 2 h after the peak of O3 concentration. In PL, the peak value was significantly reduced, and the change trend was the same as that of the number concentration of Sec and OC-aged particles, indicating that high concentration of O3 is beneficial to the oxidation of VOCs to 59CH3CO2- and 73C2HO3-. In summary, high concentration of O3 and enhancement of secondary species in single particles were due to the strong photochemical reactions during PH.

Paulownia C-geranylated flavonoids: their structural variety, biological activity and application prospects.

Paulownia species, especially their flowers and fruits, are traditionally used in Chinese herbal medicines for the treatment of infectious diseases. C-geranylated flavonoids were found to be the major special metabolites in Paulownia flowers and fruits, and 76 C-geranylated flavonoids had been isolated and characterized thus far. Structural variations in Paulownia C-geranylated flavonoids are mainly due to the complicated structural modifications in their geranyl substituents. These natural compounds have attracted much attention because of their various biological activities, including antioxidation, anti-inflammation, cytotoxic activity and various enzymatic inhibitions, etc. Among them, diplacone, a major Paulownia component, was considered to have promise for applications in medicine. This paper summarizes the information from current publications on Paulownia C-geranylated flavonoids, with a focus on their structural variety, key spectroscopic characteristics, biological activity with structure-activity relationships and application prospects. We hope that this paper will stimulate further investigations of Paulownia species and this kind of natural product.

[Characteristics of water-soluble organic nitrogen of PM2.5 in Xi'an during wintertime non-haze and haze periods].

High-volume PM2.5 samples were collected hourly from 4 December to 13 December 2012 at an urban site in Xi'an and analyzed for organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), water-soluble total nitrogen (WSTN), water-soluble organic nitrogen (WSON) and inorganic ions to investigate the sources and formation mechanism of WSON. The results showed that during the sampling period the averaged hourly concentration of WSON was (12 +/- 9.4) microg x m(-3) and maximized at 31 microg x m(-3), accounting for 47% +/- 9.8% of WSTN with NH4(+) -N and NO3(-) -N being 29% +/- 8.5% and 23% +/- 8.1%, respectively. WSON: WSOC (N: C) mass ratios ranged from 0.04 to 0.65 with an average of 0.31 +/- 0.13 during the observation period. WSON was (1.6 +/- 0.9) microg x m(-3), (6.5 +/- 3.9) microg x m(-3) and (23 +/- 4.7) microg x m(-3) in non-haze days (visibility > 10 km), light haze days (5 km < visibility < 10 km) and heavy haze days (visibility < 5 km), respectively. WSOC/OC mass ratio throughout the observation period showed no significant change, but WSON/WSOC(N: C) mass ratio increased significantly from a lower value of 0.2 +/- 0.1 in non-haze days to 0.3 +/- 0.1 on light haze days and 0.4 +/- 0.1 on heavy haze days, in consistence with the enhanced acidity of the fine particles. In addition, during the whole sampling period, WSON was strongly correlated with NH4(+), SO4(2-) and NO3(-) (R2 > 0.80), and negatively correlated with cation-anion equivalent ratio (R2 = 0.53). These phenomena can be mainly ascribed to a gas-particle conversion of gaseous water-soluble nitrogen-containing organic compounds like amines via acid-base reactions, which was sharply increased under the favorable meteorological conditions (e.g., low temperature and high humidity) during the heavy haze days.

Isolation, structure determination and biological activity of a new glutarimide antibiotic, S632A3.

A new antibiotic, S632A3, was isolated from a cultured broth of Streptomyces hygroscopicus S632. It was purified by column chromatography on silica gel, Sephadex LH-20 and HPLC. Structural studies by analysis of 1H NMR and 13C NMR, MS, UV and IR spectra in comparison with those of S632A2 clarified that S632A3 is an isomer of 9-methylstreptimidone. In addition, this antibiotic showed potent biological activity including differentiation induction effects on HL-60 cell and antitumour activity in vivo.

Structural and functional changes of immune system in aging mouse induced by D-galactose.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the role of D-galactose, especially in the structural and functional changes of the immune system in aging. METHODS: Serum levels of advanced glycation end-products (AGE) were determined by ELISA method. Ultra-structures of thymus and spleen were detected by transmission electron microscopy. MTT method was used to determine the lymphocyte proliferation. IL-2 activity was determined by bioassay. Northern blot was used to detect the IL-2 mRNA levels. RESULTS: Serum AGE levels of D-galactose- (P < 0.01) and AGE-treated (P < 0.05) mice (n = 8) were increased significantly. The ultra-structures of thymus and spleen in D-galactose- and AGE-treated mice showed regressive changes similar to those in the aged control group. The lymphocyte mitogenesis and IL-2 activity of spleen were also decreased significantly (P < 0.01, n = 8). The change of IL-2 activity shown by Northern blot resulted from the change of mRNA expression. The AGE plus aminoguanidine group, however, showed no significant change in these parameters in comparison with the young control group (P < 0.01 or P < 0.05, n = 8). CONCLUSION: D-galactose and AGE lead to a mimic regression change of aging in the immune system in vivo.

Role of insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 signaling pathway in longevity.

The insulin/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) signaling pathway is evolutionary conserved in diverse species including C.elegans, saccharomyces cerevisiae, Drosophila melanogaster, rodents and humans, which is involved in many interrelated functions that are necessary for metabolism, growth and reproduction. Interestingly, more and more research has revealed that insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway plays a pivotal role in the regulation of longevity. Generally, disruption of the power of this pathway will extend longevity in species ranging from C.elegans to humans. The role of insulin/IGF-1 in longevity is probably related to stress resistance. Although the underlying mechanisms of longevity are not fully understood, the Insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway has attracted substantial attention and it will be a novel target to prevent or postpone age-related diseases and extend life span. In this review, we mainly focus on the similar constitution and role of insulin/IGF-1 signaling pathway in C.elegans, saccharomyces cerevisiae, rodents and humans.