ETCM v2.0:An update with comprehensive resource and rich annotations for traditional Chinese medicine

Existing traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)-related databases are still insufficient in data standardization,integrity and precision,and need to be updated urgently.Herein,an Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine version 2.0(ETCM v2.0,http://www.tcmip.cn/ETCM2/front/#/)was constructed as the latest curated database hosting 48,442 TCM formulas recorded by ancient Chinese medical books,9872 Chinese patent drugs,2079 Chinese medicinal materials and 38,298 ingredients.To facilitate the mechanistic research and new drug discovery,we improved the target identification method based on a two-dimensional ligand similarity search module,which provides the confirmed and/or potential targets of each ingredient,as well as their binding activities.Importantly,five TCM formulas/Chinese patent drugs/herbs/ingredients with the highest Jaccard similarity scores to the submitted drugs are offered in ETCM v2.0,which may be of significance to identify prescriptions/herbs/ingredients with similar clinical efficacy,to summarize the rules of prescription use,and to find alternative drugs for endangered Chinese medicinal materials.Moreover,ETCM v2.0 provides an enhanced Java Script-based network visualization tool for creating,modifying and exploring multi-scale biological networks.ETCM v2.0 may be a major data warehouse for the quality marker identification of TCMs,the TCM-derived drug discovery and repurposing,and the pharmacological mechanism investigation of TCMs against various human diseases.

SoFDA——面向精准医学的中医证候本体信息存储及“病-证-方”多维关联计算的整合平台

Clinical manifestations of symptoms play a crucial role in the diagnosis and appropriate treatment of diseases and are considered one of the main clinical features for contemporary disease taxonomy(i.e.,international classification of diseases,ICD)[1].Deep investigation on molecular connections among symptoms is one of the key tasks for developing a disease-specific knowledge network and thus promoting the refinement of disease taxonomy toward precision medicine[2].

Biomolecular network-based synergistic drug combination discovery:a combination of paeoniflorin and liquiritin alleviates neuropathic pain by inhibiting neuroinflammation via suppressing the chemokine signaling pathway

Dear Editor,Neuropathic pain(NP)resulting from injuries or diseases affecting the somatosensory nervous system is highly prevalent in various pathological conditions.1 Since NP is debilitating and impacts health and the quality of life,there is an urgent need for effective non-addictive new therapies.Traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)has been increasingly used for its benefits in relieving pain in clinics.Wu-Tou Decoction(WTD),which was first described by the famous TCM classic“Jin Gui Yao Lue”,is one of the most effective TCM herbal prescriptions for pain management.A growing body of clinical evidence shows that WTD markedly alleviates different types of NP,such as trigeminal neuralgia,inflammatory pain,and cancer-induced pain,with a total effectiveness of~80%.2 Our previous data demonstrated the analgesic effects of WTD via suppression of glial cell activation and neuroinflammation and further revealed that WTD attenuated NP partially by inhibiting spinal astrocytic IL-1R1/TRAF6/JNK signaling and regulating the glutamatergic system in CA3 in spinal nerve ligation(SNL)-induced NP in vivo.3,4 However,the bioactive compounds(BACs)of WTD that have an effect on NP and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear.

Persisting lung pathogenesis and minimum residual virus in hamster after acute COVID-19

Dear Editor,Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2(SARS-CoV-2)has infected more than 200 million people,causing coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)worldwide.Lungs are the primary target organ of SARS-CoV-2 infection.The mild COVID-19 cases develop symptoms of fever,fatigue,muscle weakness,chest pain,headache and cough(Chen et al.,2020;Wang et al.,2020;Zhu et al.,2020),while severe COIVD-19 cases might have pneumonia,breathing difficulties,multiple organ failure and death(Chen et al.,2020;Wang et al.,2020;Zhu et al.,2020).Both the clinicians and researchers have largely focused on the acute phase of COVID-19,but the long-term health consequences of the COVID-19 patients after clinical recovery remain less investigated.Several clinical cohorts demonstrated that some patients discharged from hospital still experience symptoms including fatigue,muscle weakness,chest pain,cough and breathing difficulties(Carfi et al.,2020;Lim et al.,2020;Huang et al.,2021).Moreover,severely impaired pulmonary diffusion capacities and abnormal chest imaging manifestations were observed in some convalescent patients(Huang et al.,2021).Surprisingly,residual virus(An et al.,2020;Yao et al.,2020;Kim et al.,2021)were detected in some convalescent patients.

Fabrication of a Flexible Electric Skin Using a Bionic Cell and Study of Its Sensing Ability

Imitating the structure and function of the Pacinian corpuscle in the human body,a Bionic Cell(BC)with a liquid core was designed and made with polyvinylidene fluoride(PVDF),and an Electronic Skin(ES)sensor was successfully obtained by embedding the BCs into silicone rubber.The passive sensing ability of the ES for surface vibration pressure was measured.The results showed that the ES could detect waveform,frequency,amplitude and other parameters of the surface,and it exhibited not only a high sensitivity of 0.46563 fc/Pa,but also a large pressure measurement range of 0.6 Pa–6014 Pa.A falling real object impact experiment was carried out,and the results indicated that the ES output charge was linearly related to the falling height of the object and logarithmically related to the mass of the object.Then,a crawling insect experiment and human pulse experiment were performed to study the perception ability of the ES to irregular pressure.Due to its special structure,simple fabrication process,and high sensitivity wide measurement range,the ES fabricated in this paper is expected to be used as robot skin with tactile perception ability in the near future.

Association Between rs1815739 Polymorphism of ACTN3 Gene and Athletic Ability in Chinese Sprinters

Purpose The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of the ACTN3 rs1815739 polymorphism and to study its association with athletes'level of competition and lower-extremity power.Method Time-of-flight mass spectrometry(TOFMS)and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymor-phism(PCR-RFLP)techniques were employed to identify the ACTN3 rs1815739 genotypes and allele frequencies in 108 elite sprinters and 206 untrained controls.Questionnaires were then used to assess subjects'100 m sprint,standing jump(SJ)and standing triple jump(STJ)personal best record.Results(1)The RR,RX and XX genotype distribution of the ACTN3 rs1815739 polymorphism is 42.6%,49.1%,8.3%,respectively.R and X alleles frequency is 67.1%and 32.9%,respectively,which comply with Hardy Weinberg equilibrium(HWE)through Chi-square(x2)tests(x2=0.661;df=2;P=0.718).(2)Significant differences were found in R allele fre-quency between the elite sprinter group and controls.(3)The athletes'100 m sprint,SJ,and STJ personal best records were better in those with RR and RX than XX genotype.A significant association was observed between the R alleles and 100 m sprint,SJ,and STJ results of male and female athletes.Conclusion The present results indicate that ACTN3 rs1815739 polymorphism has a significant association with speed and lower-extremity power in sprint/power athletes.