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.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the impact of the lower limb weight bearing line ratio (WBLR) on motor function recovery after high tibial osteotomy (HTO). METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on 55 patients with unilateral compartment knee osteoarthritis who underwent open-wedge HTO between August 2020 and October 2023 and met the selection criteria. Based on the postoperative Lysholm score, patients were divided into two groups: the good knee function group (Lysholm score≥90, group A) and the poor knee function group (Lysholm score<90, group B). Lysholm score, American Knee Society (AKS) score, Western Ontario and McMaster Universities Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) score, and visual analogue scale (VAS) score for pain were compared between the two groups. Univariate analysis was performed on baseline data including gender, age, body mass index (BMI), affected side, disease duration, Kellgren-Lawrence grade, and radiographic parameters [preoperative and postoperative medial proximal tibial angle, lateral distal femoral angle, femoral-tibial angle, hip-knee-ankle angle (HKA), WBLR, posterior tibial slope angle, and joint line convergence angle] to identify factors influencing functional recovery. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was further used to identify independent factors. Additionally, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis was employed to determine the optimal cut-off value of postoperative WBLR for predicting motor function recovery, and the area under curve (AUC) was calculated to assess diagnostic performance. RESULTS: All 55 patients were followed up 10-14 months (mean, 11.8 months). According to the postoperative Lysholm score, there were 30 patients in group A and 25 in group B. All postoperative clinical scores in group A were significantly better than those in group B ( P<0.05). Univariate analysis indicated that age, BMI, postoperative HKA, and postoperative WBLR were influencing factors for motor function recovery ( P<0.1). Further multivariate logistic regression analysis identified a postoperative WBLR≤55.5% as an independent factor influencing motor function recovery ( P<0.05). ROC curve analysis yielded an AUC of 0.788 and determined the optimal postoperative WBLR cut-off value for predicting motor function recovery to be 55.5% ( P<0.001). CONCLUSION A postoperative WBLR of 55.5% is associated with optimal motor function recovery after HTO.
Humans ; Male ; Female ; Osteotomy/methods* ; Retrospective Studies ; Tibia/surgery* ; Recovery of Function ; Middle Aged ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/physiopathology* ; Weight-Bearing ; Knee Joint/surgery* ; Lower Extremity ; Aged ; Adult ; Treatment Outcome

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the risk factors of overall postoperative complications in elderly patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgeries. METHODS: This study was conducted among a total of 1388 elderly patients, who underwent elective gastrointestinal surgeries at 17 centers across China between April, 2020 and April, 2022. The primary outcome was the incidence of postoperative complications within 30 days, including procedure-related, neuropsychiatric, respiratory, cardiovascular, and gastrointestinal complications as well as acute kidney injury. Baseline characteristics, preoperative psychological and functional status, intraoperative anesthesia and surgical factors, intraoperative medication, use of nerve block, and postoperative analgesia methods were compared between the patients experiencing one or more postoperative complications and those without complications. Univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed to identify the independent risk factors for postoperative complications. The relationship between postoperative acute pain and each type of complication were explored. RESULTS: The incidence of overall postoperative complications was 50.8% (705/1388) in these patients. Multivariate analysis showed that age (OR: 1.026; 95% CI: 1.006-1.046), prognostic nutritional index (OR: 0.998; 95% CI: 0.997-1.000), preoperative EuroQol-5 dimensions score (OR: 0.094; 95% CI: 0.018-0.500), blood loss (OR: 1.002; 95% CI: 1.001-1.003), and acute postoperative pain (OR: 1.308; 95% CI: 1.033-1.657) were significantly associated with the occurrence of postoperative complications. Specifically, patients experiencing severe postoperative pain had a significantly higher incidence of neuropsychiatric (27.2% vs 19.8%), procedure-related (17.3% vs 10.2%), and cardiovascular complications (3.6% vs 1.7%). CONCLUSIONS An advanced age, a low preoperative nutritional index, a poor quality of life score, a greater volume of intraoperative blood loss, and acute postoperative pain are independent risk factors for postoperative complications in elderly patients undergoing gastrointestinal surgeries. There is a significant association between acute postoperative pain and multi-system complications.
Humans ; Postoperative Complications/etiology* ; Aged ; Risk Factors ; Digestive System Surgical Procedures/adverse effects* ; Male ; Female ; China/epidemiology* ; Pain, Postoperative/epidemiology* ; Incidence ; Aged, 80 and over

Objective To evaluate the relationship between nutritional parameters and the risk of venous thromboembolicism(VTE)in patients with tuberculosis so as to identify the risk factors and predictors of thrombosis and assist in the early identification of high-risk factors for VTE in patients with the pulmonary tuberculosis.Methods A total of 323 patients diagnosed with the pulmonary tuberculosis and hospitalized in Kunming Third People's Hospital from August 2021 to August 2023 were collected.According to the VTE risk assessment of non-operative patients,they were divided into the high-risk group and the low-risk group respectively with 116 and 207 in each group.The nutritional indicators with statistically significant differences between the two groups were screened by Lasso regression.Multivariate Logistic regression was used to screen the independent risk factors for high VTE risk in pulmonary tuberculosis patients,and a nomogram prediction model was constructed.The prediction model was evaluated by receiver operating characteristic curve(ROC),calibration curve,decision curve,and influence curve.Results Patients in the high-risk group were significantly older than those in the low-risk group(59 vs.41,P<0.001),hypertension,gender,and Type 2 diabetes did not differ significantly(P values were 0.084,0.724 and 0.488,respectively).9 variables were selected from the inter-group comparison and Lasso regression,including ALB,HCT,NRS2002 scores,HBDH,RDW-SD,RDW-CV,TG,CONUT scores,and NEFA.Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that ALB,NRS2002 scores,RDW-SD,and CONUT scores were independent influencing factors for the high risk of VTE scores in patients with tuberculosis(P<0.005).Area under the ROC curve showed that the AUC(0.892)for high-risk VTE scores in patients with the pulmonary tuberculosis was greater than that of ALB(0.803),NRS2002 score(0.735),RDW-SD(0.685),and CONUT score(0.774).Fitting prediction model:Logit(P):Y=0.433×NRS-0.136×ALB+0.411×CONUT score+0.072×RDW-SD-1.770,P=1/(1+e-Y)(Y:prediction index,P:prediction probability).Calibration curve showed that the model prediction tended to be consistent with the actual results(U:>0.05),and the decision curve and influence curve showed that the model can bring clinical benefits.Conclusion ALB,NRS2002 scores,RDW-SD,and CONUT scores are independent influencing factors for the high risk of VTE scores in patients with tuberculosis.They can guide the clinical practice,improve these indicators as soon as possible,reduce VTE scores,and reduce the thrombosis risk.At the same time,the prediction model performs well in the verification cohort,with its discrimination ability,calibration accuracy and clinical utility(decision curve analysis)all reaching a satisfactory level.

OBJECTIVE To explore the self precipitation source of Erhuang powder, determine the content of related components and its efficacy on HeLa cells. METHODS Bifurcation study to identify the main compatibility of precipitating. The self precipitation, supernatant and extract of Erhuang powder were analyzed by UHPLC-Q-Exactive MS. The main compounds in Coptidis Rhizoma and Catechu, catechin, epicatechin, epicberberine, coptisine, berberine and palmatine were selected as controls. A analysis method of UHPLC for self precipitation, supernatant and extract of Erhuang powder was established and the related components were quantitatively determined. The effects of self precipitation, supernatant and extract on HeLa cells were evaluated by MTT method and flow cytometry. RESULTS A slight flocculation precipitate appeared when the decoction of Erhuang powder was mixed in pairs, while a large amount of flocculation appeared when the decoction of Coptidis Rhizoma and Catechu water was mixed. The self precipitation, supernatant and extract samples contained 39 compounds, which were mainly alkaloids and phenolic acids. The contents of catechin and berberine in the 6 index components were mostly, which accounted for 73.56% of the total content of the index components in self precipitation and 61.89% of the total content of the index components in extract. Inhibition effect on HeLa cells: extract ≈ self precipitation > supernatant, and inducing apoptosis: self precipitate ≈ extract, supernatant had no apoptosis-inducing effect. CONCLUSION Coptidis Rhizoma-Catechu is the main compatible formula for precipitation formation. The self precipitation and extracts of Erhuang powder are mainly alkaloids and phenolic acids, among which berberine and catechin are high in content and can be used as representative components. The effect of self-precipitation and extract on HeLa cells was better than that of supernatant. This basically indicates that the self precipitation components and pharmacological effects of Erhuang powder are similar to those of the extract.

BACKGROUND:Currently,there have been a variety of conservative and surgical treatment plans for spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee,achieving excellent results.However,a broad consensus on indication and guide of surgical treatment has not been announced.In clinical practice,there is still a misunderstanding that unicondylar replacement or total knee arthroplasty should be performed upon the discovery of spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee,while an urgent need for universal access to the concept of stepwise therapy. OBJECTIVE:To summarize and find the factors leading to the poor effect of conservative treatment in spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee,which occurred on the medial femoral condyle,from the literature and clinical cases,at the same time,combined with the Koshino stage,to propose the strategy of stepwise spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee treatment on the medial femoral condyle. METHODS:A systematic search of the literature database was conducted to summarize the factors leading to poor outcomes of conservative treatment in spontaneous osteonecrosis of the medial femoral condyle.Meanwhile,according to the Clinical&Health Records for analytics&Sharing system,the cases receiving conservative and surgical treatment in spontaneous osteonecrosis of the medial femoral condyle in the Department of Orthopedics of Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Chinese Medicine from January 2017 to January 2023 were analyzed retrospectively,then the causes of success and failure in typical cases were summarized and analyzed. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION:(1)Early diagnosis and treatment of spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee were very important for prognosis.For sudden knee pain in some patients,if no obvious abnormality was found in the X-ray examination,and the symptoms persisted and could not be relieved for more than 1 week,an MRI examination was recommended to detect early spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee.(2)The X-ray images of Koshino stage 1 and stage 2 of spontaneous osteonecrosis of the medial femoral condyle were difficult to be distinguished,which needed to be probed by MRI.MRI images of Koshino stage 1 were mainly characterized by bone marrow edema,and an osteonecrosis area with a clear boundary was not formed,while MR images of Koshino stage 2 showed a necrotic area with a clear boundary.(3)Five factors leading to the poor effect of conservative treatment on spontaneous osteonecrosis of the medial femoral condyle were summarized:a.The necrotic area was＞5 cm2;b.The necrotic area accounted for more than 40%of the condyle;c.relative compression percentage of medial meniscus≥33%(with or without medial meniscus injury and subchondral bone marrow edema);d.MRI depth of necrotic area(anterior-posterior diameter of sagittal necrotic area)＞20 mm;e.varus deformity of lower limb＞6°.(4)Conservative treatment of spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee in Koshino stage 1 was good.For spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee in Koshino stage 2,conservative treatment was preferred or combined with drilling decompression.If there was no relief or improvement of symptoms or in MRI after 3 months,while the patient had any of the previous five factors,then knee preservation surgery should be considered.For spontaneous osteonecrosis of the knee in Koshino stage 3 and stage 4,knee preservation surgery should be selected based on the previous five factors,including age,gender and activity level of the patient.Total knee arthroplasty was used for spontaneous osteonecrosis in Koshino stage 4,which was associated with symptomatic patellofemoral arthritis,valgus alignment,or necrotic area,which greatly affected the stability of unicondyle prosthesis.

Following the principles of evidence-based medicine,in accordance with the structure and drafting rules of standardized documents,based on literature research,according to the characteristics of chronic cough in children and issues that need to form a consensus,the TCM Guidelines for Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Cough in Children was formulated based on the Delphi method,expert discussion meetings,and public solicitation of opinions.The guideline includes scope of application,terms and definitions,eti-ology and diagnosis,auxiliary examination,treatment,prevention and care.The aim is to clarify the optimal treatment plan of Chinese medicine in the diagnosis and treatment of this disease,and to provide guidance for improving the clinical diagnosis and treatment of chronic cough in children with Chinese medicine.

Objective:To investigate interleukin-37 (IL-37) expression in patients with diabetic kidney disease (DKD), and to assess the regulation of exogenous IL-37 on CD8 + T cell function in DKD patients. Methods:A cross-section study was carried out. Twenty healthy controls, thirty-six patients with diabetes mellitus type 2 (T2DM), and forty-seven DKD patients were enrolled in the study. Peripheral blood was collected. Plasma and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated. IL-37 and soluble IL-1 receptor 8 (IL-1R8) levels in the plasma were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). IL-18 receptor α chain (IL-18Rα), IL-1R8 and immune checkpoint molecules levels in CD8 + T cells were measured by flow cytometry. CD8 + T cells were purified, and were stimulated with recombinant IL-37. CD8 + T cells were co-cultured with HEK293 cells in either direct contact or indirect contact manner. Levels of perforin, granzyme B, interferon-γ (IFN-γ) and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were measured by ELISA. The proportion of target cell death was assessed by measuring lactate dehydrogenase level. Results:Plasma IL-37 levels in DKD patients [(63.42±23.30) ng/L] were significant lower than those in healthy controls [(143.02±50.67) ng/L] and T2DM patients [(87.88±40.62) ng/L] ( t=8.848, P<0.001; t=3.456, P<0.001). Plasma IL-37 level had good predictive values for T2DM in health individuals and for DKD in T2DM patients [the area under the curve was 0.797 (95% CI 0.676-0.917, P<0.001) and 0.691 (95% CI 0.576-0.807, P=0.003), respectively]. Plasma IL-37 level was negatively correlated with urea nitrogen ( r=-0.313, P=0.032) and creatinine ( r=-0.477, P<0.001), and positively correlated with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ( r s=0.478, P<0.001) in DKD patients. IL-1R8 + CD8 + cell proportion in DKD patients (33.60%±9.47%) was significantly higher compared to healthy controls (16.29%±5.97%) and T2DM patients (17.13%±4.85%) ( t=7.545, 9.516, both P<0.001), but did not correlate with fast blood glucose, urea nitrogen, creatinine, or eGFR (all P>0.05). There were no statistical differences of IL-18Rα + CD8 + cell proportion, soluble IL-1R8 level, or immune checkpoint molecule proportion in CD8 + T cells among healthy controls, T2DM patients, and DKD patients (all P>0.05). Perforin and granzyme B secretions by CD8 + T cells were significantly elevated in DKD patients compared with healthy controls [(108.78±12.42) ng/L vs. (94.60±10.07) ng/L, t=3.096, P=0.005; (261.34±48.79) ng/L vs. (166.28±30.80) ng/L, t=3.387, P=0.002] and T2DM patients [(108.78±12.42) ng/L vs. (92.58±14.71) ng/L, t=3.263, P=0.003; (261.34±48.79) ng/L vs. (170.66±39.24) ng/L, t=2.627, P=0.014]. There were no significant differences of either IFN-γ or TNF-α secretions by CD8 + T cells among healthy controls, T2DM patients, and DKD patients (all P>0.05). In direct contact co-culture manner, CD8 + T cell-induced HEK293 cell death was down- regulated (13.03%±4.97% vs. 17.88%±5.19%, t=2.235, P=0.037). The levels of perforin [(222.02±25.79) ng/L vs. (294.30±25.58) ng/L, t=6.603, P<0.001], granzyme B [(416.27±90.24) ng/L vs. (524.71±115.53) ng/L, t=2.454, P=0.023], IFN-γ [(23.66±4.20) ng/L vs. (35.18±8.51) ng/L, t=4.026, P<0.001] and TNF-α [(1.62±0.29) μg/L vs. (2.09±0.57) μg/L, t=2.302, P=0.034] were also reduced as well. In indirect contact co-culture manner, there were no significant differences of CD8 + T cell-induced HEK293 cell death, perforin, or granzyme B levels between no stimulation and IL-37 stimulation (all P>0.05). IFN-γ and TNF-α levels in the supernatants were reduced in response to IL-37 stimulation [(23.56±6.24) ng/L vs. (32.56±9.90) ng/L, t=2.550, P=0.019; (1.41±0.31) μg/L vs. (2.10±0.44) μg/L, t=4.011, P<0.001]. Conclusion:IL-37 level is reduced in DKD patients.Exogenous IL-37 suppresses the cytotoxicity of CD8 + T cells in DKD patients.

Objective:To explore the interaction needs between depressed adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury behavior and their parents.Methods:From June to November 2023, purposive sampling was used to select depression adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury behavior and their parents admitted to Huai'an Third People's Hospital as respondents. The semi-structured interview was used to collect data. The paired interview and Colaizzi 7-step analysis methods were used to analyze and summarize interview data.Results:Fifteen pairs of adolescents and their parents were interviewed. The needs of depressed adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury behavior for parental attention were summarized as controlling emotions, empathetic perception, reducing stress, mental dependence, autonomous decision-making, and mutual respect. The needs of parents for depressed adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury behavior were summarized as overcoming depression, restoring education, emotional response, actively seeking help, deep communication, and easing relationships.Conclusions:There are various interactive needs between depressed adolescents with non-suicidal self-injury behavior and their parents, which are closely related but contradictory in coping with the illness. It is recommended that medical and nursing staff conduct research on patients and their parents as a whole and provide personalized and targeted two-way guidance and emotional support through in-depth understanding and careful consideration of the multi-level interaction needs of both parties.

Objective To explore the characteristics and correlation of the chin and airway in females with skeletal Class Ⅱ mandibular retraction for reference for clinical diagnosis and therapy.Methods This study was approved by the hospital Medical Ethics Committee.Forty cases of skeletal Class Ⅱ mandibular retraction adult females with aver-age angle were selected as the research group,and sixty cases of skeletal Class Ⅰ patients with average angle were se-lected as the control group.Cone-beam computed tomography(CBCT)images for all subjects were analyzed using three-dimensional modeling software.Measurements included the chin morphology,position,and upper airway morphology.Results Compared with skeletal Class Ⅰ patients,patients with skeletal Class Ⅱ mandibular retraction had smaller an-terior chin thickness,base bone volume,chin total volume,and larger chin angle,chin depression,chin curvature,and alveolar area with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05).Gn-V,Gn-H,Po-NB distance,and facial angle were smaller,and the Y-axis angle was larger in patients with skeletal Class Ⅱ mandibular retraction with statistically signifi-cant differences(P＜0.05).Upper airway total volume,transverse and sagittal diameter of the glossopharynx upper boundary were smaller in patients with skeletal Class Ⅱ mandibular retraction with statistically significant differences(P＜0.05).The correlation analysis between the morphology and position of the chin and the morphology of the upper airway in patients with Class Ⅱ mandibular retraction showed that there was a negative correlation between chin angle and laryngopharynx length in patients with Class Ⅱ mandibular retraction(r=-0.277,P＜0.01).There was a negative correlation between Po-NB distance and palatopharyngeal length(r=-0.222,P＜0.05).Chin height(r=-0.261,P＜0.01)and basal bone area(r=-0.225,P＜0.05)were negatively correlated with the transverse diameter of the palato-pharyngeal upper boundary.The minimum chin thickness(r=0.245,P＜0.05),chin angle(r=0.249,P＜0.05),and al-veolar area(r=0.213,P＜0.05)were positively correlated with the sagittal diameter of the palatopharyngeal upper boundary.Gn-V(r=0.217,P＜0.05)and Po-NB distance(r=0.208,P＜0.05)were positively correlated with the trans-verse diameter of the glossopharynx upper boundary.Anterior chin thickness was negatively correlated with the sagittal diameter of the laryngopharynx upper boundary(r=-0.211,P＜0.05).Chin depression was negatively correlated with the sagittal diameter of the laryngopharynx lower boundary(r=-0.237,P＜0.05).Chin curvature was positively corre-lated with the transverse diameter of the laryngopharynx lower boundary(r=0.231,P＜0.05).Conclusion Patients with skeletal Class Ⅱ mandibular retraction exhibit thinner chins.The sagittal position of the chin is backward,and the vertical position is upward.Patients with skeletal Class Ⅱ mandibular retraction have a narrow glossopharyngeal airway.There is a correlation between the morphology and position of the chin and the morphology of the upper airway in pa-tients with Class Ⅱ mandibular retraction.