Knee osteoarthritis:A review of animal models and intervention of traditional Chinese medicine

Background:Knee osteoarthritis(KOA)characterized by degeneration of knee cartilage and subsequent bone hyperplasia is a prevalent joint condition primarily affecting aging adults.The pathophysiology of KOA remains poorly understood,as it involves complex mechanisms that result in the same outcome.Consequently,researchers are interested in studying KOA and require appropriate animal models for basic research.Chinese herbal compounds,which consist of multiple herbs with diverse pharmacological properties,possess characteristics such as multicomponent,multipathway,and multitarget effects.The potential benefits in the treatment of KOA continue to attract attention.Purpose:This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the advantages,limitations,and specific considerations in selecting different species and methods for KOA animal models.This will help researchers make informed decisions when choosing an animal model.Methods:Online academic databases(e.g.,PubMed,Google Scholar,Web of Science,and CNKI)were searched using the search terms“knee osteoarthritis,”“animal models,”“traditional Chinese medicine,”and their combinations,primarily including KOA studies published from 2010 to 2023.Results:Based on literature retrieval,this review provides a comprehensive overview of the methods of establishing KOA animal models;introduces the current status of advantages and disadvantages of various animal models,including mice,rats,rabbits,dogs,and sheep/goats;and presents the current status of methods used to establish KOA animal models.Conclusion:This study provides a review of the animal models used in recent KOA research,discusses the common modeling methods,and emphasizes the role of traditional Chinese medicine compounds in the treatment of KOA.

The Developmental Difficulties and Prospects of Chinese-style Animation:Taking Yao-Chinese Folktales as an Example

As one of the important means to spread Chinese traditional culture,Chinese-style animation has been on the rise in recent years.Many excellent works have emerged,among which the Chinese animated short film series Yao-Chinese Folktales is one of the good representatives.It aroused a strong reaction from the audience as soon as it was released on the Internet,and gave the audience a shock to their mind and vision,which has brought some thoughts to the development of Chinese-style animation.Following a linear logic chain of past-present-future Chinese-style animation’s development,this paper takes Yao-Chinese Folktales as an example and analyzes the developmental difficulties and prospects of Chinese-style animation.At the end of the paper,some suggestions about the development path of Chinese-style animation’s future are given from the aspects of creation and dissemination,for the aim of promoting the Chinese-style animation’s development and spreading the Chinese traditional culture.

Animating Chinese Animation in Visual History on Chinese Animation,Creative Industries,and Digital Culture

While the field of animation studies has expanded in the past decades, scholarly attention paid to the world of animation has been limited to either major works or dominant theoretical approaches from the United States, Europe, and Japan. Among the few exceptions.

Chinese Animation in the World Stage

On October 14,China,as the guest of honor of Cannes TV Festival,held the first large-scale promotion event in China named China Outstanding Animation Showcase. Ten outstanding domestic animation enterprises introduced outstanding Chinese animation to the world, arousing public attention.

Starting from a "Goat":The Globalization of Chinese Animation

Chinese animation has long been criticized about its lack of creativity,its nakedness of dull educational intension,and its aloofness from ordinary audience.It is usually not able to be popular in China,let alone be accepted and welcomed by the world.These years comes Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf which changes the situation and leads the globalization of Chinese animation.Analyzed from the animation itself,its success is owing to the great embodiment of Chinese characteristics and the good fulfillment of common human appeals,including amusement,relaxation,identification and education which should be learned and perfected by more works to continue the mission of the globalization of Chinese animation.

The Current Situation and Development of Chinese Animated Films:Taking Ne Zha as an Example

Taking Ne Zha as an example,this paper analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of Chinese animated films at the presentstage.Under the condition of both opportunities and challenges,some measures to develop Chinese animated films are proposed.

Utilization of Chinese Herbal Feed Additives in Animal Production

The experimental knowledge on efficacy,possible modes of action and aspects of application of Chinese herbs as feed additives for animal production are reviewed in this article.Chinese herbs commonly contain protein,carbohydrate,fat,vitamins,andmineral which are necessary nutrients to the growth of animal.Polysaccharide,organic acid,alkaloids,and essential oils involved in Chinese herbs can improve the immune function of livestock.Currently,numerous studies have demonstrated anti-oxidative and anti-microbial efficacy and the assumption that Chinese herbs may improve the flavor of meat,which has been confirmed by some observations,but the mode of this action is still unclear.Moreover,several observations support the hypothesis that herbal feed additives may favorably affect gut functions （e.g.,enzyme activity,microbial eubiosis） in vitro.Such effects may explain a considerable number of practical studies with livestock reporting improved production performance after providing herbal feed additives.In summary,available evidence indicates that herbal feed additives may have the potential to add to the set of non-antibiotic growth promoters for use in livestock,such as organic acids and probiotics.However,a systematic approach toward the efficacy,mode of action and safety of herbal compounds used as feed additives for animal production seems to be required in the future.

Creating animal models, why not use the Chinese tree shrew ( Tupaia belangeri chinensis)？

The Chinese tree shrew （Tupaia belangeri chinensis） a squirrel-like and rat-sized mammal, has a wide distribution in Southeast Asia, South and Southwest China and has many unique characteristics that make it suitable for use as an experimental animal. There have been many studies using the tree shrew （Tupaia belangeri） aimed at increasing our understanding of fundamental biological mechanisms and for the modeling of human diseases and therapeutic responses. The recent release of a publicly available annotated genome sequence of the Chinese tree shrew and its genome database （www.treeshrewdb.org） has offered a solid base from which it is possible to elucidate the basic biological properties and create animal models using this species. The extensive characterization of key factors and signaling pathways in the immune and nervous systems has shown that tree shrews possess both conserved and unique features relative to primates. Hitherto, the tree shrew has been successfully used to create animal models for myopia, depression, breast cancer, alcohol-induced or non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases, herpes simplex virus type 1 （HSV-1） and hepatitis C virus （HCV） infections, to name a few. The recent successful genetic manipulation of the tree shrew has opened a new avenue for the wider usage of this animal in biomedical research. In this opinion paper, I attempt to summarize the recent research advances that have used the Chinese tree shrew, with a focus on the new knowledge obtained by using the biological properties identified using the tree shrew genome, a proposal for the genome-based approach for creating animal models, and the genetic manipulation of the tree shrew. With more studies using this species and the application of cutting-edge gene editing techniques, the tree shrew will continue to be under the spot light as a viable animal model for investigating the basis of many different human diseases.

Study on prescription medication mode and mechanism of traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of noncritical COVID-19 based on data mining

Background:As of 2023,coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)is still spreading globally.Therefore,we aim to integrate non-critical COVID-19 high-frequency and high-targeting Chinese medicines to provide a reference for clinical prescriptions to improve COVID-19-related symptoms.Materials and methods:The information on non-critical COVID-19 high-frequency Chinese medicines in the diagnosis and treatment of COVID-19 was obtained by the TCM inheritance support platform.Using network pharmacology and molecular docking technology,high-targeting Chinese medicines with good docking activity with COVID-19 receptors angiotensin-converting enzyme-II(ACE2),3CLpro and tyrosine-protein kinase receptor UFO(AXL)were obtained.A new prescription for non-critical COVID-19 was established by integrating high-frequency and high-targeting Chinese medicines.Rats with acute lung injury induced by lipopolysaccharide were used as the experimental model.The histopathological changes in the lungs of rats in each group were observed by hematoxylin-eosin staining.The lung coefficient of rats was measured.The levels of IL-6,TNF-α,and IL-1βin serum were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.The mRNA and protein levels of ACE2 and AXL in lung tissue were detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot.Results:Through data mining,it was found that there were 39 high-frequency traditional Chinese medicines for non-critical COVID-19 in the diagnosis and treatment guidelines.According to network pharmacology and molecular docking,30 highly targeted traditional Chinese drugs for COVID-19 were found.The new prescriptions for non-critical COVID-19 were comprehensively obtained,including Glycyrrhizae Radix,Ephedra Herba,Amygdalus Communis Vas,Gypsum Fibrosum,Descurainiae Semen,Atractylodes Lancea,Scutellariae Radix,Amomum Tsao-Ko Crevostet,Forsythiae Fructus,Pogostemon cablin,Magnolia Officinalis.Compared with the LPS-induced lung injury model group,the medium dose of the new prescription group had significantly alleviated pathological changes in lung tissue,decreased lung coefficient,decreased contents of IL-6,TNF-αand IL-1β,and increased mRNA and protein expression of ACE2 and AXL(P<0.05).Conclusion:Based on data mining,network pharmacology and molecular docking technology,the new prescription for non-critical COVID-19 established by this method has an anti-inflammatory effect on rats with acute lung injury induced by lipopolysaccharide and can provide a reference for clinicians to alleviate the symptoms related to non-critical COVID-19.

Non-Photorealistic Rendering in Chinese Painting of Animals

A set of algorithms is proposed in this paper to automatically transform 3D animal models to Chinese painting style. Inspired by real painting process in Chinese painting of animals, we divide the whole rendering process into two parts: borderline stroke making and interior shading. In borderline stroke making process we first find 3D model silhouettes in real-time depending on the viewing direction of a user. After retrieving silhouette information from all model edges, a stroke linking mechanism is applied to link these independent edges into a long stroke. Finally we grow a plain thin silhouette line to a stylus stroke with various widths at each control point and a 2D brush model is combined with it to simulate a Chinese painting stroke. In the interior shading pipeline, three stages are used to convert a Gouraud-shading image to a Chinese painting style image: color quantization, ink diffusion and box filtering. The color quantization stage assigns all pixels in an image into four color levels and each level represents a color layer in a Chinese painting. Ink diffusion stage is used to transfer inks and water between different levels and to grow areas in an irregular way. The box filtering stage blurs sharp borders between different levels to embellish the appearance of final interior shading image. In addition to automatic rendering, an interactive Chinese painting system which is equipped with friendly input devices can be also combined to generate more artistic Chinese painting images manually.

A Study of Animal Culture Implication between Chinese and English

Both Chinese and English are rich in the idioms in which the vehicle is an animal. But some of the animal vehicles and their associative meanings are different in English and Chinese idioms. Then what's the reason behind them? Is it because of the different characteristics of the nations? This paper will explore the inherent connections between characteristics of the nation and animal vehicles from three aspects: custom, historical background and geographical conditions.

English "DOG" and Chinese "GOU":Comparison on English and Chinese Cultural Connotations in Terms of Animal Words

Connotations refer to the additional meanings that a word or phrase has beyond its central meaning.These meanings show people's attitudes or feelings toward what the word or phrase refers to.People from different countries or regions may have different connotative reactions to the word or phrase because of their different social and cultural background.Such as the word "dog" in English and 狗(gou)in Chinese.Though they can be said to have the same denotative meaning,people from China and English-speaking countries havedifferent attitudes toward the above two words.This article is about to compare English and Chinese cultural connotations in terms of animal words.And the author hopes there will be fewer and fewer communicative problems arising from cultural differences in intercultural communication as long as people from different countries or regions could more and more understand each other's culture.

Establishment of AIDS Animal Model with SIVmac239 Infected Chinese Rhesus Monkey

In the present research,two Chinese rhesus monkeys were inoculated intravenously with 5000 TCID50 of SIVmac239. The changes in the numbers of CD4+ T lymphocyte in peripheral blood,plasma viral loads,proviral DNA and humoral antibodies against virus were periodically monitored during 121 days. At the early stage of infection,proviral DNA had been detected in PBMCs,and infectious SIVmac239 virus had been isolated from PBMCs. At the same period,the numbers of CD4+ T lymphocytes were significantly decreased,and maintained at low level during the 121-day period of infection. Plasma viral loads reached the peak at week 2 post-inoculation and kept at a steady state subsequently. Moreover,antibodies against viral proteins were detected from plasma. All the results showed that the two Chinese rhesus monkeys had been infected with SIVmac239 successfully. This animal model can be applied for further AIDS researches.

Research Survey of Animal Model of Hepatic Fibro-sis Integrated with Western Medicine Diseases and Traditional Chinese Medicine^TCM~)Syndrome

Although the animal models of hepatic fibrosis developed by former researchers have pathological changes of hepatic fibrosis, they do not include charac- teristics of important TCM syndromes such as stagnation of qi, deficiency of qi, liver depression, phlegm-dampness and blood stasis because of single-factor model- ing. Animal models of hepatic fibrosis and animal models integrated disease and syndrome were reviewed, and several new types of integrated disease and syndrome animal models constructed by multiple-factor modeling method were evaluated, under the guidance of etiological theory of TCM. This kind of hepatic fibrosis model animals has dual characteristics of disease and syndrome. It is consistent with pathological characteristics of hepatic fibrosis in western medicine when replicating the basic characteristics accorded with TCM syndrome. Thus, the pathogenesis and pathogenic process of clinical disease and syndrome formation is simulated more ac- curately, providing a new platform and pathway for studying hepatic fibrosis disease with integrated traditional Chinese and western medicine.

Effect of traditional Chinese medicine on anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity in animal models:A systematic review and metaanalysis

Objective:To evaluate the effect of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)on anthracycline-induced cardiotoxicity(AIC)in animal models.Methods:Separate systematic searches for preclinical studies were performed in the PubMed,EMBASE,Web of Science,Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure,Chinese Biomedical Database,Chinese Scientific Journal Database,and Wanfang Data from inception to August 2019.The primary outcomes were echocardiography,serum assays for myocardial enzymograms,histological assessments,and electrocardiograms.The secondary outcomes mainly included body weight and safety evaluations.The protocol is registered on PROSPERO(CRD42019145819).RevMan(V.5.3)was used for meta-analysis.Results:We identified 10 studies from 9 international scientific publications describing the efficacy of TCM on AIC animal models.All the included studies reported that,compared with animal model without any intervention,TCM significantly improved ventricular function,cardiac biomarkers,electrocardiograph results,and cardiac fibrosis.Improved survival rates and body mass indices were also observed with TCM.We further pooled the available data from four studies(63 animals)for the meta-analysis and the results showed that,compared with models without any intervention,TCM significantly increased the ejection fraction by 14.13%(95%CI,9.96e18.29)and fraction shortening by 8.66%(95%CI,6.05 e11.26).Creatine kinase-MB(SMD=2.49,95%CI:-3.12 to-1.85)and lactate dehydrogenase(SMD=-2.78,95%CI:-3.45 to-2.12)were also significantly decreased by TCM.Conclusions:TCM is effective in improving AIC in animal models and has tremendous potential to be translated to treat AIC in clinical practice.Additionally,the systematic review and meta-analysis of animal experiments may be valuable in enhancing and guiding animal experiments and promoting the transformation of the results.

Update on establishment of TCM animal model of myocardial ischemia and Chinese medicine treatment

The prevention and treatment of myocardial ischemia is a hot and difficult point in clinical research and animal experimental research in the cardiovascular field.The combined disease and syndrome animal model with the disease characteristics of Western medicine and guided by the theory of Chinese medicineto replicate the"syndrome"of Chinese medicine on the model animals by using experimental methods is an effective tool for the research of Chinese medicine.This article summarized the methoding methods and evaluation index of the animal model combined disease of coronary heart disease myocardial ischemia with cold blood stasis,phlegm and blood stasis,qi deficiency and blood stasis syndrome,kidney deficiency and blood stasis,and concluded the treatment of Traditional Chinese medicine.At the same time,it analyzed the main deficiencies of myocardial ischemia syndrome combined with animal models to provide reference for the establishment and research of related animal models.

A Contrastive Study of Chinese and English Animal-metaphor Idioms —A Sociolinguistic Perspective

Human beings and animals have been being bound together inextricably, so it is not surprising that there is many a wordand expression about animals in languages, including Chinese and English. Idiom, as one of the important and refined componentparts of language, is also of such kind. This paper attempts to make a contrastive study of similarities and differences between Chi-nese and English animal-metaphor idioms. It also investigates into the causes for similarities and differences between Chinese andEnglish animal-metaphor idioms from a sociolinguistic perspective.

The Comparison of Connotative Meaning in Animal Words between Chinese and English Expressions and Their Translation

A good translation involves the language as well as the culture.Providing many convincing examples,this thesis attemptsto describe and discuss the differences and similarities in animal words between Chinese and English expressions so as to exploretheir cultural connotations and interaction with translation.