ObjectiveTo evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Sufei Pingchuan Formula （肃肺平喘方） in the treatment of bronchiectasis with airflow limitation， phlegm-heat obstructing the lung， and lung-spleen qi deficiency syndrome. MethodsA randomized， double-blind， placebo-controlled trial was conducted. A total of 72 patients with stable bronchiectasis with airflow limitation of phlegm-heat obstructing the lung and lung-spleen qi deficiency syndrome were randomly divided into treatment group and control group， with 36 cases in each group. On the basis of regular inhalation of tiotropium bromide inhalation spray， the treatment group was given Sufei Pingchuan Formula granules， and the control group was given Sufei Pingchuan Formula granule simulant. The course of treatment in both groups was 12 weeks. The pulmonary function of both groups before and after treatment was observed， specifically focusing on forced expiratory volume in one second （FEV1）； the modified British Medical Research Council （mMRC） dyspnea scale， 24-hour sputum volume， COPD assessment test （CAT）， and traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome scores were assessed before treatment and after 4， 8， and 12 weeks of treatment； acute exacerbations were recorded at weeks 4， 8， and 12； additionally， changes in routine blood tests， urinalysis， liver and kidney function， and adverse events were monitored before and after treatment. ResultsAfter treatment， 4 patients in the treatment group and 6 in the control group dropped out. After 12 weeks of treatment， FEV1 increased in both groups compared to pre-treatment levels （P＜0.05）， but the difference between groups was not statistically significant （P＞0.05）. Compared to before treatment， the treatment group showed a reduction in mMRC scores after 12 weeks （P＜0.05） and a decrease in 24-hour sputum volume， CAT scores， and TCM syndrome scores at weeks 4， 8， and 12 （P＜0.05）. In the control group， 24-hour sputum volume decreased after 12 weeks （P＜0.05）， and TCM syndrome scores decreased at weeks 8 and 12 （P＜0.05）. Compared to the control group， the treatment group showed a greater reduction in mMRC scores at week 12 （P＜0.05）， a decrease in 24-hour sputum volume and TCM syndrome scores at weeks 4， 8， and 12 （P＜0.05）， and lower CAT scores at weeks 8 and 12 （P＜0.05）. The frequency and number of acute exacerbations in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group at week 12 （P＜0.05）. No severe adverse events occurred in either group. ConclusionSufei Pingchuan Formula can improve the pulmonary function FEV1， the severity of dyspnea， reduce 24-hour sputum volume and frequent acute exacerbations， and improve the quality of life in patients with bronchiectasis and airflow limitation， with good safety.

ObjectiveTo explore the construction of a machine learning model for the diagnosis of traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndromes in chronic cough and the optimization of this model using the Voting ensemble algorithm. MethodsA retrospective analysis was conducted using clinical data from 921 patients with chronic cough treated at the Respiratory Department of Dongfang Hospital， Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. After standardized processing， 84 clinical features were extracted to determine TCM syndrome types. A specialized dataset for TCM syndrome diagnosis in chronic cough was formed by selecting syndrome types with more than 50 cases. The synthetic minority over-sampling technique （SMOTE） was employed to balance the dataset. Four base models， logistic regression （LR）， decision tree （dt）， multilayer perceptron （MLP）， and Bagging， were constructed and integrated using a hard voting strategy to form a Voting ensemble model. Model performance was evaluated using accuracy， recall， precision， F1-score， receiver operating characteristic （ROC） curve， area under the curve （AUC）， and confusion matrix. ResultsAmong the 921 cases， six syndrome types had over 50 cases each， phlegm-heat obstructing the lung （294 cases）， wind pathogen latent in the lung （103 cases）， cold-phlegm obstructing the lung （102 cases）， damp-heat stagnating in the lung （64 cases）， lung yang deficiency （54 cases）， and phlegm-damp obstructing the lung （53 cases）， yielding a total of 670 cases in the specialized dataset. High-frequency symptoms among these patients included cough， expectoration， odor-induced cough， throat itchiness， itch-induced cough， and cough triggered by cold wind. Among the four base models， the MLP model showed the best diagnostic performance （test accuracy： 0.9104； AUC： 0.9828）. Compared with the base models， the Voting ensemble model achieved superior performance with an accuracy of 0.9289 on the training set and 0.9253 on the test set， showing a minimal overfitting gap of 0.0036. It also achieved the highest AUC （0.9836） in the test set， outperforming all base models. The model exhi-bited especially strong diagnostic performance for damp-heat stagnating in the lung （AUC： 0.9984） and wind pathogen latent in the lung （AUC： 0.9970）. ConclusionThe Voting ensemble algorithm effectively integrates the strengths of multiple machine learning models， resulting in an optimized diagnostic model for TCM syndromes in chronic cough with high accuracy and enhanced generalization ability.

The rich club, as a community of highly interconnected nodes, serves as the topological center of the network. However, the similarities and differences in how the rich club supports functional integration and segregation in the brain across different species remain unknown. In this study, we first detected and validated the rich club in the structural networks of mouse, monkey, and human brains using neuronal tracing or diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data. Further, we assessed the role of rich clubs in functional integration, segregation, and balance using quantitative metrics. Our results indicate that the presence of a rich club facilitates whole-brain functional integration in all three species, with the functional networks of higher species exhibiting greater integration. These findings are expected to help to understand the relationship between brain structure and function from the perspective of brain evolution.
Animals ; Humans ; Brain/diagnostic imaging* ; Mice ; Male ; Nerve Net/diagnostic imaging* ; Macaca ; Female ; Neural Pathways/diagnostic imaging* ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Biological Evolution ; Adult ; Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Brain Mapping ; Species Specificity ; Mice, Inbred C57BL

OBJECTIVES: This study investigates independent risk factors for postoperative internal fixation device infection in patients with maxillofacial fractures and proposes an early warning model based on the synthetic minority over-sampling technique (SMOTE) algorithm. METHODS: A total of 1 104 patients who underwent surgical treatment for maxillofacial fractures at Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery Department, Affiliated Hospital of Nantong University from January 2021 to December 2024 were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into two groups based on the presence of postoperative internal fixation device infection: the infection group (27 cases) and non-infection group (1 077 cases). Clinical data from both groups were collected and subjected to statistical analysis. Univariate and binary Logistic regression analysis were used to identify risk factors for postoperative internal fixation device infection in maxillofacial fractures. Subsequently, a Logistic regression model was established, and the dataset was improved based on the SMOTE algorithm to construct an early warning model with the improved dataset. The prediction performance of the models was compared and validated. RESULTS: Among the 1 104 patients who underwent surgical treatment for maxillofacial fractures, 27 cases of postoperative internal fixation device infections were identified, corresponding to an infection rate of 2.45% (27/1 104). Age, diabetes history, fracture severity, and oral hygiene status were all identified as risk factors for postoperative internal fixation device infections in maxillofacial fractures (all P<0.05). The prediction model based on the original data (P1). The prediction model based on the SMOTE algorithm (P2). Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis shows that the area under curve (AUC) for the P2 model was 0.882, the P1 model was 0.861, indicating the superior predictive performance of the P2 model. The DeLong test results show that the difference in AUC between the two models was statistically significant (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS Age, diabetes history, postoperative fracture severity, and oral hygiene status are all risk factors for infections associated with internal fixation devices after maxillofacial fracture surgery. The proposed early warning model demonstrated good predictive performance. Medical professionals can utilize this model to effectively intervene and anticipate infections related to internal fixation devices after maxillofacial fracture surgery.
Humans ; Algorithms ; Retrospective Studies ; Male ; Female ; Fracture Fixation, Internal/instrumentation* ; Risk Factors ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Logistic Models ; Surgical Wound Infection/epidemiology* ; Aged ; Internal Fixators/adverse effects* ; Maxillofacial Injuries/surgery* ; Adolescent

Objective To study the death status of pancreatic cancer among residents in Xuhui district, Shanghai, from 1992 to 2021, and analyze its trends of change, so as to provide evidence for the prevention and treatment of pancreatic cancer. Methods Based on the database of Shanghai death registration system from 1992 to 2021, the crude mortality rate, standardized mortality rate, age-specific mortality rate and other indicators of pancreatic cancer among registered residents in Xuhui district were calculated. The Joinpoint software was used to analyze the trends of average annual percent change (AAPC) of pancreatic cancer mortality rate, and the age-period-cohort model was used to analyze the age effect, period effect and birth cohort effect pairs significant changes in pancreatic cancer mortality. Results In 2021, the mortality rate of pancreatic cancer in Xuhui district, Shanghai, ranked fourth among malignant tumors, and the winning rate and world standard rate of the whole population, males and females were 8.34/100 000 (8.81/100 000, 7.98/100 000) and 7.28/100 000 (7.69/100 000, 6.96/100 000), respectively, with males higher than females. AAPC of crude mortality rate and the standardized (6) mortality rate were higher in males than that in females. The age-specific mortality rate increased with the increase of age, and the highest mortality rate was found in 60-84 years old group. The age-period-cohort model showed that from 1992 to 2021, the annual net shift of pancreatic cancer mortality among the whole population, male and female residents in Xuhui district, Shanghai, was 1.22%, 1.58%, 1.15% (P=0.20, 0.19, 0.45) respectively, and the time trend was not significant. From the perspective of age effect, the risk of death from pancreatic cancer in the whole population and with age deviation in males had an obvious trend with increasing age (P<0.05), while the age effect in females had no obvious trend. From the perspective of period effect, no period deviation was significant in the whole population, males and females (P>0.05). In terms of cohort effects, there were significant differences in the whole population and the male cohort deviations(P<0.05). No significant cohort effect was observed in the female population. Conclusions The mortality rate of pancreatic cancer among registered residents in Xuhui district, Shanghai from 1992 to 2021, was on the rise, especially in the 60-84 years old group and male. The prevention and control of pancreatic cancer needs to develop effective epidemic prevention measures for corresponding populations.

Objective To explore the efficacy of eye-movement tracking training in improving attention disorders in children with traumatic brain injury.Methods A total of 96 children with traumatic brain injury admitted to the hospital from March 2022 to March 2024 were selected and randomly divided into an observa-tion group and a control group using a random number table method,with 48 cases in each group.The control group received conventional treatment including intracranial pressure reduction,cerebral edema alleviation,and infection prevention,while the observation group received additional eye-movement tracking training.Atten-tion function scores,Digit Span Test scores,Digit Symbol Substitution Test scores,Digit Cancellation Test scores,and satisfaction were compared between the two groups before and after the intervention.Results Af-ter the intervention,the scores of the Mini-Mental State Examination(MMSE)and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment(MoCA)in both groups were higher than those before the intervention,moreover,MMSE score(23.54±4.42 vs.19.78±5.23)and MoCA score(3.95±1.06 vs.3.14±0.89)of the observation group were higher than those of the control group(P<0.05).After the intervention,Trail Making Test(TMT)-A scores and TMT-B scores of the two groups were lower than those before the intervention,moreover,TMT-A score(61.52±24.80 vs.75.78±26.23)and TMT-B score(120.24±37.81 vs.164.18±36.27)of the ob-servation group were lower than those of the control group(P<0.05).After the intervention,the scores of sequential recitation and reverse recitation in both groups were higher than those before the intervention,mo-reover,the scores of sequential recitation(7.04±1.85 vs.5.48±1.54)and reverse recitation(5.38±1.53 vs.3.96±1.48)in the observation group were higher than those in the control group(P<0.05).The satis-faction rate of the observation group(95.83%vs.77.08%)was higher than that of the control group,and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion Eye tracking training is beneficial for im-proving attention levels and cognitive function in children with traumatic brain injury.

Objective To explore the clinical application of needle-embedding therapy for preventing and treating postoperative constipation in the patients with thoracolumbar vertebral fractures based on the theory of"preventing illness".Methods Eighty patients meeting the criteria for postoperative constipation af-ter thoracolumbar vertebral surgery in a tertiary hospital of Hangzhou City from January 2023 to February 2024 were selected as the study subjects.The patients were divided into the control group and experimental group by using the random number table method,40 cases in each group.The control group adopted the treat-ment of orally taking lactulose oral solution and the nursing such as routine postoperative food and drink and bed defecation training.The experimental group was given the needle-embedding therapy on the basis of rou-tine care.The gastrointestinal syndrome rating scale(GSRS)score,intra-abdominal pressure(IAP),abdomi-nal circumference,defecation and exhausting situation before and after intervention were performed the statis-tics and compared between the two groups.Results At 36,72 h after oeperation,the GSRS score,IAP and ab-dominal circumference in the both groups were significantly declined or decreased compared with those imme-diately after the operation,the above indicators in the experimental group were superior to those in the control group,and the differences were statistically significant(P＜0.01).The first exhausting and defecation time of the experimental group was earlier than that of the control group,and the difference was statistically signifi-cant(P＜0.01).Conclusion Under the basis of"preventing illness",the needing-embedding therapy has signif-icant therapeutic effects in preventing and treating postoperative constipation in thoracolumbar fractures,could effec-tively reduce IAP,alleviate the symptoms of constipation in the patients and improve their quality of life.

Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of Lingnan fire needling in the treatment of plaque psoriasis.Methods A total of 60 cases of patients with plaque psoriasis admitted to Bao'an Hospital of Chinese Medicine Affiliated to Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine from August 2021 to January 2023 were selected,and the patients were randomly divided into the observation group and the control group according to the random number table method,with 30 cases in each group.The observation group was given Lingnan fire needling for treatment,and the control group was given topical application of Calcipotriol Ointment.The course of treatment covered eight weeks continuously.After eight weeks of treatment,the clinical efficacy of the two groups was evaluated,and the changes of Psoriasis Area and Severity Index(PASI)scores and Dermatology Life Quality Index(DLQI)scores,as well as the diameter of glomus under dermoscopy of the patients in the two groups were observed before the treatment and after 2,4,6,and 8 weeks of treatment.Changes in Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale(GAD-7)scores before treatment and after 2,4,6,and 8 weeks of treatment were compared between the two groups.Results(1)After 2,4,6 and 8 weeks of treatment,the scores of PASI,DLQI and GAD-7 of patients in the two groups were improved significantly(P<0.05),and the improvement in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group,the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05).(2)The cured and markedly rate of the observation group was 86.67%(26/30);and that of the control group was 66.67%(20/30).The efficacy of the observation group was superior to that of the control group,the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05).(3)After 2,4,6,and 8 weeks of treatment,the diameter of glomus under dermoscopy of the patients in the two groups were improved significantly(P<0.05),and the improvement in the observation group was significantly superior to that in the control group,the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion Lingnan fire needling therapy for plaque psoriasis can effectively improve the clinical symptoms of the patients,relieve the anxiety symptoms induced by skin lesions and itching,so as to improve their quality of life.

Objective To investigate the distribution and evolutionary patterns of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndromes and syndrome elements during the malignant transformation from chronic pancreatitis(CP)to pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia(Pan IN)and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma(PDAC).Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 710 patients(330 of CP,104 of Pan IN,276 of PDAC)diagnosed pathologically or clinically at Shanxi Institute of Traditional Chinese Medicine from January 2021 to June 2024.Data including demographics,laboratory results,and TCM diagnostic information were recorded using EpiData 3.1.Syndrome and syndrome-element patterns were determined via factor analysis and K-means clustering using SPSS 27.0.Results The study identifies seven TCM syndrome types in CP,Pan IN,and PDAC.Among CP patients,the syndrome distribution was primarily liver-gallbladder damp-heat syndrome(22.42％)and gastrointestinal excess-heat syndrome(20.91％),with excess syndromes accounting for a higher proportion(43.33％);the syndrome elements were mainly heat(51.52％)and dampness(35.15％),with the disease location in the pancreas,related to the liver,spleen,and stomach.In Pan IN patients,the syndrome distribution was mainly spleen deficiency with dampness obstruction(23.08％)and liver-gallbladder damp-heat syndrome(17.31％),with mixed deficiency-excess syndrome accounting for a higher proportion(30.00％);the syndrome elements were mainly heat(41.35％),dampness(40.38％),and qi deficiency(37.50％),with the disease location in the pancreas,related to the spleen and liver.In PDAC patients,the syndrome distribution was mainly spleen deficiency with dampness obstruction(29.71％)and qi-blood deficiency syndrome(20.29％),with deficiency syndromes accounting for a higher proportion(49.82％);the syndrome elements were mainly qi deficiency(50.00％)and dampness(36.23％),with the disease location in the pancreas,related to the spleen,kidney,and liver.Chi-square tests revealed significant differences in syndrome types(TCM syndromes:x2=100.419,P＜0.001;deficiency-excess syndromes:x2=73.722,P＜0.001),syndrome elements(x2=117.384,P＜0.001),and disease locations(x2=127.191,P＜0.001)across different stages of CP malignant transformation.During CP malignant progression,the proportion of excess syndromes gradually decreased(43.33％→12.32％),while deficiency syndromes increased(26.67％→49.82％).Excess syndrome elements(fire,heat,qi stagnation,blood stasis)decreased(53.48％→25.36％),whereas deficiency syndrome elements(qi deficiency,yin deficiency,yang deficiency,blood deficiency)increased(25.15％→49.64％).The disease location shifted from primarily the liver,spleen,and stomach in the inflammatory stage to the spleen and kidney in the cancerous stage.Conclusion The malignant transformation of CP basically involves the pancreas,is correlated early with liver and spleen-stomach and later with kidney,and exhibits a progression from excess to deficiency in the pattern of"deficiency interweaved with excess syndrome,transition from excess to deficiency,and progressive spleen deficiency".

Alzheimer's disease(AD)is a chronic neurodegenerative disease that severely affects the quality of life of the elderly.Its main pathological features include the deposition of β-amyloid protein to form senile plaques,neurofibrillary tangles caused by abnormal phosphorylation of tau pro-tein,as well as extensive neuronal loss and synaptic dysfunction.In recent years,mesenchymal stem cells(MSCs)and their exosomes(MSC-Exos)have attracted extensive attention due to their poten-tial in the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.MSCs possess multidirectional differentiation po-tential,immunomodulatory capacity,and significant neuroprotective and repair effects.As an impor-tant signaling mediator of MSCs,MSC-Exos are a type of nanoscale double-layer membrane-structured vesicles secreted by MSCs,capable of carrying and delivering various bioactive substances.MSCs and their derived MSC-Exos have demonstrated good safety and efficacy in the treatment of AD.This arti-cle systematically reviewed the basic and translational research progress on MSCs and MSC-Exos in the treatment of AD in recent years.