license: cc-by-nc-4.0
task_categories:
- text-retrieval
- question-answering
language:
- en
tags:
- rag
- retrieval-augmented-generation
- biomedical
- neuroscience
- rare-disease
- STXBP1
- epilepsy
- chromadb
- vector-database
- sentence-transformers
- bge
size_categories:
- 100K<n<1M
pretty_name: STXBP1 RAG Database v9 - BGE Embeddings
𧬠STXBP1-ARIA RAG Database v9 - BGE Embeddings
A pre-built ChromaDB vector database containing ~570,000 indexed text chunks from ~17,000 curated PubMed Central (PMC) biomedical papers related to STXBP1, Munc18-1, synaptic transmission, epileptic encephalopathy, and therapeutic research.
π‘ This is the lightweight version β BGE-base runs efficiently on CPU/system RAM without requiring a GPU, making it ideal for free-tier deployments and local development. For maximum retrieval quality with NVIDIA's state-of-the-art 2048-dimensional embeddings (requires GPU with 2-4GB VRAM), see our premium database: STXBP1-RAG-Nemotron
π What's New in v9
| Feature | v8 (Previous) | v9 (Current) |
|---|---|---|
| Embedding Model | all-MiniLM-L6-v2 | BGE-base-en-v1.5 |
| Dimensions | 384 | 768 |
| Model Params | 22M | 110M |
| MTEB Score | ~56 | ~63 |
| Corpus | 31,786 papers (unfiltered) | ~17,000 papers (curated) |
| Chunks | 1.19M (58% noise) | ~570K (high relevance) |
| Quality Focus | Quantity | Precision |
Why BGE?
- 2x embedding dimensions = finer semantic distinctions
- 5x larger model = better understanding of biomedical terminology
- Curated corpus = removed irrelevant papers, kept STXBP1-focused content
- MTEB benchmark leader = proven retrieval performance
π Dataset Statistics
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Total Chunks | ~570,000 |
| Source Papers | ~17,000 PMC articles |
| Database Size | ~8-10 GB |
| Embedding Model | BAAI/bge-base-en-v1.5 (768 dimensions) |
| Chunk Size | ~1500 chars with 200 char overlap |
| Index Type | ChromaDB with HNSW |
| Build Date | January 2026 |
π― Purpose
This database powers the STXBP1-ARIA therapeutic discovery system, enabling:
- Literature-grounded responses with PMC citations
- Semantic search across decades of research
- Real-time retrieval for AI-assisted variant analysis
- Evidence-based therapeutic recommendations
π Contents
STXBP1-RAG-Database/
βββ chroma.sqlite3 # Main database
βββ metadata.json # Build info
βββ [uuid]/ # HNSW index files
βββ data_level0.bin # Vector index
βββ header.bin
βββ index_metadata.pickle
βββ length.bin
βββ link_lists.bin
π§ Usage
Quick Start
from huggingface_hub import snapshot_download
import chromadb
from chromadb.config import Settings
from sentence_transformers import SentenceTransformer
# Download database
db_path = snapshot_download(
repo_id="SkyWhal3/STXBP1-RAG-Database",
repo_type="dataset"
)
# Load embedding model (MUST match indexing model!)
embedder = SentenceTransformer("BAAI/bge-base-en-v1.5")
# Connect to ChromaDB
client = chromadb.PersistentClient(
path=db_path,
settings=Settings(anonymized_telemetry=False)
)
# Get collection
collection = client.get_collection("stxbp1_papers")
print(f"Loaded {collection.count():,} chunks")
# Search (BGE recommends query prefix for retrieval)
query = "STXBP1 dominant negative mechanism therapeutic approaches"
query_embedding = embedder.encode(query, normalize_embeddings=True).tolist()
results = collection.query(
query_embeddings=[query_embedding],
n_results=10,
include=["documents", "metadatas", "distances"]
)
for doc, meta, dist in zip(
results['documents'][0],
results['metadatas'][0],
results['distances'][0]
):
pmcid = meta.get('pmcid', meta.get('pmc_id', 'Unknown'))
print(f"[{pmcid}] (distance: {dist:.3f})")
print(f"{doc[:200]}...\n")
With ARIA Integration
See the full retriever implementation at: STXBP1-Variant-Lookup Space
π Curated Corpus
Unlike v8's broad collection, v9 uses a curated corpus filtered for STXBP1 relevance:
Primary Keywords (Auto-include)
- STXBP1, Munc18-1, Munc18, syntaxin binding protein
- UNC-18, N-Sec1
Related Keywords (Relevance filtered)
- Epilepsy: epileptic encephalopathy, Ohtahara, West syndrome, Dravet, infantile spasms
- Synaptic: SNARE complex, syntaxin-1, synaptic vesicle, exocytosis, neurotransmitter release
- Genetics: haploinsufficiency, dominant negative, nonsense/missense/frameshift mutations
- Therapeutics: gene therapy, AAV, ASO, CRISPR, base editing, prime editing
- Chaperones: 4-PBA, phenylbutyrate, protein folding, proteostasis
- Neurodevelopment: intellectual disability, developmental delay, autism
Curated Entries
Includes 24 hand-curated entries covering:
- Key primary research (Guiberson 2018, Kovacevic 2018, etc.)
- Therapeutic mechanism summaries
- Variant-specific knowledge
- Clinical trial information
ποΈ How It Was Built
1. Corpus Curation
- Filtered 27,000 multimodal PMC papers by relevance keywords
- Kept ~17,000 papers with direct STXBP1 relevance
- Added 41 targeted high-value papers
- Included 24 curated expert entries
2. Text Processing
- Chunked documents into ~1500 character segments
- 200 character overlap between chunks
- Preserved document metadata (PMC ID, title)
3. Embedding Generation
- Used
BAAI/bge-base-en-v1.5(768 dimensions) - Normalized embeddings for cosine similarity
- GPU-accelerated batch processing
4. Index Building
- ChromaDB with persistent storage
- HNSW index optimized for semantic search
- Built on RTX 3080 in ~55 minutes
π Metadata Schema
Each chunk includes:
{
"pmcid": "PMC1234567",
"title": "Paper title",
"chunk_idx": 0,
"source": "multimodal_corpus"
}
Source types:
multimodal_corpus- Papers from curated PMC collectiontargeted_paper- High-priority STXBP1 paperscurated- Hand-written expert entries
π¬ Use Cases
- Therapeutic Research - Find evidence for treatment approaches
- Variant Analysis - Locate papers discussing specific mutations
- Mechanism Understanding - Search for molecular pathway details
- Clinical Context - Find case reports and trial results
- Literature Review - Rapid survey of research landscape
β‘ Performance Notes
- Free Tier Compatible: BGE-base runs on CPU or minimal GPU
- Query Time: <100ms typical retrieval
- Memory: ~1-2GB RAM for embedding model
π Related Resources
- STXBP1-ARIA MAX (Nemotron embeddings): Coming soon
- STXBP1-Variant-Lookup: HuggingFace Space
- STXBP1 Foundation: stxbp1disorders.org
- ClinVar STXBP1: NCBI ClinVar
π Citation
@dataset{stxbp1_rag_database_2026,
author = {Freygang, Adam},
title = {STXBP1-ARIA RAG Database v9: BGE-Embedded Biomedical Literature for Therapeutic Discovery},
year = {2026},
publisher = {HuggingFace},
url = {https://huggingface.co/datasets/SkyWhal3/STXBP1-RAG-Database}
}
π§ Contact
Adam Freygang
AI/ML Engineer & STXBP1 Parent Researcher
SkyWhal3 on HuggingFace
Built with β€οΈ for the STXBP1 community
Part of the NeuroSenpai + STXBP1-ARIA therapeutic discovery system