1.QingNangTCM: a parameter-efficient fine-tuning large language model for traditional Chinese medicine
Xuming TONG ; Liyan LIU ; Yanhong YUAN ; Xiaozheng DING ; Huiru JIA ; Xu YANG ; Sio Kei IM ; Mini Han WANG ; Zhang XIONH ; Yapeng WANG
Digital Chinese Medicine 2026;9(1):1-12
Objective:
To develop QingNangTCM, a specialized large language model (LLM) tailored for expert-level traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) question-answering and clinical reasoning, addressing the scarcity of domain-specific corpora and specialized alignment.
Methods:
We constructed QnTCM_Dataset, a corpus of 100 000 entries, by integrating data from ShenNong_TCM_Dataset and SymMap v2.0, and synthesizing additional samples via retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) and persona-driven generation. The dataset comprehensively covers diagnostic inquiries, prescriptions, and herbal knowledge. Utilizing P-Tuning v2, we fine-tuned the GLM-4-9B-Chat backbone to develop QingNangTCM. A multi-dimensional evaluation framework, assessing accuracy, coverage, consistency, safety, professionalism, and fluency, was established using metrics such as bilingual evaluation understudy (BLEU), recall-oriented understudy for gisting evaluation (ROUGE), metric for evaluation of translation with explicit ordering (METEOR), and LLM-as-a-Judge with expert review. Qualitative analysis was conducted across four simulated clinical scenarios: symptom analysis, disease treatment, herb inquiry, and failure cases. Baseline models included GLM-4-9B-Chat, DeepSeek-V2, HuatuoGPT-II (7B), and GLM-4-9B-Chat (freeze-tuning).
Results:
QingNangTCM achieved the highest scores in BLEU-1/2/3/4 (0.425/0.298/0.137/0.064), ROUGE-1/2 (0.368/0.157), and METEOR (0.218), demonstrating a balanced and superior normalized performance profile of 0.900 across the dimensions of accuracy, coverage, and consistency. Although its ROUGE-L score (0.299) was lower than that of HuatuoGPT-II (7B) (0.351), it significantly outperformed domain-specific models in expert-validated win rates for professionalism (86%) and safety (73%). Qualitative analysis confirmed that the model strictly adheres to the “symptom-syndrome-pathogenesis-treatment” reasoning chain, though occasional misclassifications and hallucinations persisted when dealing with rare medicinal materials and uncommon syndromes.
Conclusion
Combining domain-specific corpus construction with parameter-efficient prompt tuning enhances the reasoning behavior and domain adaptation of LLMs for TCM-related tasks. This work provides a technical framework for the digital organization and intelligent utilization of TCM knowledge, with potential value for supporting diagnostic reasoning and medical education.
2.Frailty trajectory and risk factors in elderly hemodialysis patients after SARS-CoV-2 infection
Yifan YANG ; Huayu YANG ; Zongli DIAO ; Xu LIU ; Lan YAO ; Liyan WANG ; Xiaotian SHI ; Xu LI ; Qing MA
Chinese Journal of Geriatrics 2025;44(2):167-172
Objective:To investigate the trajectory of frailty in elderly patients on maintenance hemodialysis(MHD)following SARS-CoV-2 infection and its associated risk factors.Methods:This prospective cohort study focused on elderly patients who underwent baseline frailty assessment(T0)during hemodialysis treatment at Beijing Friendship Hospital for over 3 months between December 1st, 2022, and December 31th, 2022, and were diagnosed with SARS-CoV-2 infection.The Fried Frailty Phenotype was evaluated at 1 month(T1), 3 months(T2), and 6 months(T3)post-infection.Frailty trajectory after infection was analyzed using repeated measurement ANOVA.Patients were divided into stable/improvement or exacerbation groups based on their frailty status at T0 and T3, with logistic regression analysis employed to identify risk factors for different frailty trajectories.Results:A total of 130 elderly maintenance hemodialysis patients, with a median age of 66 years(range: 63-71 years)and 62 males(47.7%), were included in the study.Six months after the infection, a majority of surviving patients saw their frailty scores return to baseline levels.Specifically, 72 patients(55.4%)either maintained or improved to robust or pre-frail states, while 9 patients(6.9%)progressed to a pre-frail state, 18 patients(13.8%)progressed to a frail state, and 31 patients(23.8%)remained in a frail state.Results from multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that low grip strength( OR: 6.30, 95% CI: 1.48-26.73)and all-cause hospitalization( OR: 5.01, 95% CI: 1.19-21.03)were identified as risk factors for non-frail patients transitioning to frailty( P<0.05). Conclusions:The majority of elderly maintenance hemodialysis patients who survived SARS-CoV-2 infection returned to their baseline level of frailty or showed improvement within 6 months.Non-frail patients with low grip strength or those who were hospitalized were more likely to deteriorate towards frailty.
3.Application and research progress in the use of zebrafish in inflammatory bowel disease research
Liyan XU ; Fangzhen LI ; Yuxin WANG ; Meng JIN ; Yun ZHANG ; Kechun LIU ; Rongchun WANG
Acta Laboratorium Animalis Scientia Sinica 2025;33(10):1539-1545
Inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)is a non-specific chronic inflammatory bowel condition.Crohn's disease(CD)and ulcerative colitis(UC)are the 2 main types of IBD.IBD is prone to recurrent attacks,which is associated with many factors,such as immune dysfunction,intestinal microenvironment homeostasis imbalance,and environmental and genetic factors;however,its specific pathogenesis is still unclear.Zebrafish has recently emerged as an emerging animal model and have been used extensively for mechanistic research into IBD,model construction,activity evaluation,and screening of anti-IBD agents,due to their unique biological advantages.Based on the latest research progress using zebrafish in the field of IBD,this review systematically introduces the intestinal development characteristics,tissue structure,intestinal immunity,IBD model,and the application of drug screening in zebrafish,to demonstrate the value of zebrafish in the study of IBD.
4.Clinical study of 123I-labeled prostate-specific membrane antigen ligand for prostate biopsy
Nanxin ZOU ; Shaoxi NIU ; Yiwen XIONG ; Liyan AO ; Ziwei CHEN ; Jialong SONG ; Yachao LIU ; Jin LI ; Xu ZHANG
Journal of Clinical Surgery 2025;33(5):527-530
Obejective To explore whether it is possible to detect the 123I-prostate-specific membrane antigen(PSMA)radiation value of the puncture tissue during prostate biopsy to achieve real-time,rapid,and accurate identification of benign and malignant prostate tissues,so as to improve the current clinical biopsy strategy and achieve accurate diagnosis of prostate cancer during operation with fewer puncture needles.Method In this prospective,diagnostic trial,we included 29 patients with suspected prostate cancer.All patients underwent transperineal biopsy guided by ultrasound within 24 hours after injection of 123I-PSMA,a total of 435 punctures were performed.The radiation value of punctured tissue was measured in real-time with a gamma counter.Pearson test is used to correlate radiation value with histopathology.Result The median radiation value of prostate cancer tissue(1 906.50 cpm)was significantly higher than that of benign prostate tissue(415.00 cpm).The optimal cut-off value for distinguishing benign and malignant prostate tissues was 828.50 cpm.The median radiation value of clinically significant prostate cancer tissue(2 652.50 cpm)was significantly higher than that of clinically insignificant prostate cancer(1 386.00 cpm).The optimal cut-off value for distinguishing clinically significant and clinically insignificant prostate cancer tissues was 1 767.00 cpm.In additional,there was a significant positive correlation between the radiation value of puncture tissue and ISUP pathological grade(r=0.834).Conclusion It is preliminarily confirmed that detection of 123I-PSMA radiation value of prostate puncture tissue can realize real-time,rapid and accurate identification of benign and malignant prostate tissues during operation.
5.The study value of corrected-size ratio(c-SR)value on risk of rupture of craniocerebral aneurysm
Yafei LIU ; Weijun CHEN ; Yang XU ; Yu ZHAO ; Nan ZHANG ; Xuejiao LIU ; Baohua ZHANG ; Liyan ZHANG
Journal of Practical Radiology 2025;41(3):381-384
Objective To explore the value of the corrected-size ratio(c-SR)value of intracranial volume computed tomography angiography(CTA)in predicting the risk of intracranial aneurysm rupture.Methods A total of 81 patients with aneurysms who had follow-up records were selected.Among them,39 patients with unruptured aneurysms and underwent regular follow-ups,while 9 patients with unruptured aneurysms opted for surgical intervention.Additionally,surgery was performed on 33 patients with ruptured aneu-rysms.Three-dimensional reconstruction of CTA was performed to obtain the morphological parameters of aneurysms.The initial size ratio(SR)value of aneurysm and the follow-up SR value or postoperative c-SR value were obtained.The changes in SR values of unruptured aneurysms were analyzed,the preoperative SR values and postoperative c-SR values of aneurysms were analyzed.Finally,the correla-tion between the intial SR value of unruptured aneurysms and the c-SR value of ruptured aneurysms was compared.Results No sig-nificant difference was observed between the initial SR value of unruptured aneurysms and the follow-up SR value(P>0.05).Simi-larly,no significant difference was noted between the preoperative SR value of unruptured aneurysms and the postoperative c-SR value(P>0.05).The preoperative SR value of ruptured aneurysms differed significantly from the postoperative c-SR value(P<0.05).There was a significant difference between the initial SR value of unruptured aneurysms and the postoperative c-SR value of ruptured aneurysms(P<0.05).The receiver operating characteristic(ROC)curve analysis was performed on the initial SR value of unrup-tured aneurysms and the postoperative c-SR value of ruptured aneurysms.The area under the curve(AUC)was 0.860 and the best cut-off value was 1.045.Conclusion Unruptured aneurysms remain stable for an extended period of time,exhibiting no significant change in morphological parameters.It can be concluded that surgical intervention does not affect the SR value of aneurysms.In the case of subarachnoid hemorrhage caused by ruptured aneurysms,the parent artery become thinner,then the preoperative SR value of ruptured aneurysms may be exaggerated,which results in the distortion of the preoperative SR value of ruptured aneurysms.However,the postoperative c-SR value is the true SR value before the rup-ture of aneurysms.
6.Application and research progress in the use of zebrafish in inflammatory bowel disease research
Liyan XU ; Fangzhen LI ; Yuxin WANG ; Meng JIN ; Yun ZHANG ; Kechun LIU ; Rongchun WANG
Acta Laboratorium Animalis Scientia Sinica 2025;33(10):1539-1545
Inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)is a non-specific chronic inflammatory bowel condition.Crohn's disease(CD)and ulcerative colitis(UC)are the 2 main types of IBD.IBD is prone to recurrent attacks,which is associated with many factors,such as immune dysfunction,intestinal microenvironment homeostasis imbalance,and environmental and genetic factors;however,its specific pathogenesis is still unclear.Zebrafish has recently emerged as an emerging animal model and have been used extensively for mechanistic research into IBD,model construction,activity evaluation,and screening of anti-IBD agents,due to their unique biological advantages.Based on the latest research progress using zebrafish in the field of IBD,this review systematically introduces the intestinal development characteristics,tissue structure,intestinal immunity,IBD model,and the application of drug screening in zebrafish,to demonstrate the value of zebrafish in the study of IBD.
7.Interleukin-33 Knockout Promotes High Mobility Group Box 1 Release from Astrocytes by Acetylation Mediated by P300/CBP-Associated Factor in Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis.
Yifan XIAO ; Liyan HAO ; Xinyi CAO ; Yibo ZHANG ; Qingqing XU ; Luyao QIN ; Yixuan ZHANG ; Yangxingzi WU ; Hongyan ZHOU ; Mengjuan WU ; Mingshan PI ; Qi XIONG ; Youhua YANG ; Yuran GUI ; Wei LIU ; Fang ZHENG ; Xiji SHU ; Yiyuan XIA
Neuroscience Bulletin 2025;41(7):1181-1197
High mobility group box 1 (HMGB1), when released extracellularly, plays a pivotal role in the development of spinal cord synapses and exacerbates autoimmune diseases within the central nervous system. In experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), a condition that models multiple sclerosis, the levels of extracellular HMGB1 and interleukin-33 (IL-33) have been found to be inversely correlated. However, the mechanism by which IL-33 deficiency enhances HMGB1 release during EAE remains elusive. Our study elucidates a potential signaling pathway whereby the absence of IL-33 leads to increased binding of P300/CBP-associated factor with HMGB1 in the nuclei of astrocytes, upregulating HMGB1 acetylation and promoting its release from astrocyte nuclei in the spinal cord of EAE mice. Conversely, the addition of IL-33 counteracts the TNF-α-induced increase in HMGB1 and acetylated HMGB1 levels in primary astrocytes. These findings underscore the potential of IL-33-associated signaling pathways as a therapeutic target for EAE treatment.
Animals
;
Encephalomyelitis, Autoimmune, Experimental/metabolism*
;
Astrocytes/metabolism*
;
Interleukin-33/metabolism*
;
HMGB1 Protein/metabolism*
;
Acetylation
;
Mice, Knockout
;
Mice, Inbred C57BL
;
p300-CBP Transcription Factors/metabolism*
;
Mice
;
Spinal Cord/metabolism*
;
Cells, Cultured
;
Female
;
Signal Transduction
8.Clinical study of 123I-labeled prostate-specific membrane antigen ligand for prostate biopsy
Nanxin ZOU ; Shaoxi NIU ; Yiwen XIONG ; Liyan AO ; Ziwei CHEN ; Jialong SONG ; Yachao LIU ; Jin LI ; Xu ZHANG
Journal of Clinical Surgery 2025;33(5):527-530
Obejective To explore whether it is possible to detect the 123I-prostate-specific membrane antigen(PSMA)radiation value of the puncture tissue during prostate biopsy to achieve real-time,rapid,and accurate identification of benign and malignant prostate tissues,so as to improve the current clinical biopsy strategy and achieve accurate diagnosis of prostate cancer during operation with fewer puncture needles.Method In this prospective,diagnostic trial,we included 29 patients with suspected prostate cancer.All patients underwent transperineal biopsy guided by ultrasound within 24 hours after injection of 123I-PSMA,a total of 435 punctures were performed.The radiation value of punctured tissue was measured in real-time with a gamma counter.Pearson test is used to correlate radiation value with histopathology.Result The median radiation value of prostate cancer tissue(1 906.50 cpm)was significantly higher than that of benign prostate tissue(415.00 cpm).The optimal cut-off value for distinguishing benign and malignant prostate tissues was 828.50 cpm.The median radiation value of clinically significant prostate cancer tissue(2 652.50 cpm)was significantly higher than that of clinically insignificant prostate cancer(1 386.00 cpm).The optimal cut-off value for distinguishing clinically significant and clinically insignificant prostate cancer tissues was 1 767.00 cpm.In additional,there was a significant positive correlation between the radiation value of puncture tissue and ISUP pathological grade(r=0.834).Conclusion It is preliminarily confirmed that detection of 123I-PSMA radiation value of prostate puncture tissue can realize real-time,rapid and accurate identification of benign and malignant prostate tissues during operation.
9.Study on activation mechanism of SGCs in representation along the distribution of stomach meridian in IBS-D mice.
Na LI ; Junhui REN ; Lu GUAN ; Yashuang XU ; Liyan ZHONG ; Xiaomei SHAO ; Jianqiao FANG ; Junying DU ; Junfan FANG
Chinese Acupuncture & Moxibustion 2025;45(5):593-600
OBJECTIVE:
To explore the peripheral neural mechanism underlying representation along the distribution of stomach meridian induced by intestinal inflammatory reaction using diarrhea predominant-irritable bowel syndrome (IBS-D) mice.
METHODS:
Among 62 healthy male C57BL/6 mice of clean grade, 12 mice were randomly selected and divided into a control group and a model group, 6 mice in each group, additionally, 12 mice were randomly selected and divided into a Tianshu group, a Liangqiu group and a Zusanli group, 4 mice in each group. In the model group, citrobacter was administered orally to establish IBS-D model. In the control group and the model group, the visceral pain threshold was observed using fecal colorectal distension (fCRD) induced electromyography of external oblique muscle, the positive cell number of neutrophil in the colonic muscularis was detected by myeloperoxidase (MPO) staining, the number, location and distribution rule of Evans blue (EB) extravasation points were observed by injection of EB staining solution into the tail vein. In the Tianshu group, the Liangqiu group and the Zusanli group, fluorescent dye Dil was injected at bilateral "Tianshu" (ST25), "Liangqiu" (ST34) and "Zusanli" (ST36) respectively, to observe the dye-positive cell number in different dorsal root ganglion (DRG) segments. In the control group and the model group, the activation of satellite glial cells (SGCs) in different DRG segments was observed by immunofluorescence.
RESULTS:
Compared with the control group, in the model group, the area under curve of electromyography of external oblique muscle was increased at fCRD of 25, 50 and 75 μL distilled water (P<0.001, P<0.01); the MPO-positive cell number of neutrophil in the colonic muscularis was increased (P<0.01). Few EB extravasation points could be found in the control group, while there were much more EB extravasation points observed in the model group, which was specially distribution in the area of stomach meridian, from "Huaroumen" (ST24) to "Zusanli" (ST36), as well as the surface area dominated by L2-L5 segment of the spinal cord. The Dil-positive cells were mainly exhibited in the DRG of T11, L5 and L4 segments in the Tianshu group, the Liangqiu group and the Zusanli group, respectively. Compared with the control group, the ratio of glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP)/glutamine synthetase (GS) co-expression was increased in the DRG of T11, L4 and L5 segments in the model group (P<0.05, P<0.01).
CONCLUSION
The activation of SGCs within DRG of T11, L4 and L5 segments may relate closely to the occurrence of the representation along the stomach meridian distribution in IBS-D mice.
Animals
;
Male
;
Mice
;
Irritable Bowel Syndrome/therapy*
;
Mice, Inbred C57BL
;
Meridians
;
Stomach/physiopathology*
;
Humans
;
Acupuncture Points
;
Disease Models, Animal
10.Clinical Observation on Modified Danggui Yinzi Combined with Thumb-Tack Needling for Subcutaneous Embedding in the Treatment of Chronic Spontaneous Urticaria of Wind Dryness Due to Blood Deficiency Type
Linya NI ; Shuping XU ; Dejian DUAN ; Liyan LAI ; Qiaomin LIN ; Haifang GAN
Journal of Guangzhou University of Traditional Chinese Medicine 2025;42(4):914-920
Objective To observe the clinical efficacy of modified Danggui Yinzi combined with thumb-tack needling for subcutaneous embedding in the treatment of chronic spontaneous urticaria(CSU)of wind dryness due to blood deficiency type.Methods A total of 68 cases of patients admitted to the dermatology wards and outpatient clinics of The Seventh Clinical School of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine with a definitive diagnosis of CSU of wind dryness due to blood deficiency type were selected as the study subjects from July 2023 to February 2024.The patients were randomly divided into the observation group and the control group according to the random number table method,with 34 cases in each group.The control group was treated with Cetirizine Dihydrochloride Tablets,and the observation group was treated with modified Danggui Yinzi combined with thumb-tack needling for subcutaneous embedding based on the treatment of the control group,the course of treatment covered four weeks.After one month of treatment,the clinical efficacy of the two groups was evaluated,and the changes in Urticaria Activity Score(UAS)and Dermatology Life Quality Index(DLQI)scores and traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)syndrome scores before and after treatment were observed in the two groups.The changes of serum total immunoglobulin E(total IgE)levels before and after treatment in the two groups were compared.The safety and recurrence cases of the two groups were evaluated.Results(1)The total effective rate was 91.18%(31/34)in the observation group and 70.59%(24/34)in the control group.The efficacy of the observation group was superior to that of the control group,the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05).(2)After two,three,and four weeks of treatment,the UAS scores 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<0.01).(3)After treatment,the DLQI scores and TCM syndrome scores 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<0.01).(4)After treatment,the total IgE levels 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<0.01).(5)The comparison of the incidence of adverse reactions between the two groups showed that the difference being not statistically significant(P>0.05).(6)In the follow-up after the completion of treatment,the recurrence rate was 5.88%(2/34)in the observation group and 23.53%(8/34)in the control group,and the recurrence rate of the observation group was significantly lower than that of the control group,the difference being statistically significant(P<0.05).Conclusion Modified Danggui Yinzi combined with thumb-tack needling for subcutaneous embedding in the treatment of CSU of wind dryness due to blood deficiency type can significantly alleviate the clinical symptoms of the patients,improve their quality of life,and reduce the recurrence rate.

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