objective To investigate the value of NT-proBNP in assessing the volume status in maintenance hemodialysis patients with non-dominant edema.Methods One hundred and forty-five patients were recruited.Bioimpedance measurements were performed for overhydration (OH).NT-proBNP was detected by colloidal gold method.Patients were divided into three groups by levels of OH variability (△ OH,equal to OH minus weight increase) as group H (hypervolemia,n=90); group N (normovolemia,n=36) and group L (hypovolemia,n=19).Hemoglobin,albumin,blood urea nitrogen and serum creatinine were assayed,blood pressure and body mass increase were recorded.Dry weight of patients in Group H were adjusted in 3 months,the relationship between NT-proBNP and volume change were assessed.Results (1) At baseline,overall plasma NT-proBNP levels were higher than normal range.The median NT-proBNP levels in group H and group N were [1318.50(IQR 717.00,3154.25) pg/ml] and [703.50 (IQR 873.00,450.50) pg/ml],respectively.NT-proBNP was positively correlated with △OH value (r=0.801,P ＜ 0.001).(2) After 3 months,NT-proBNP levels in group H was significantly lower than baseline.Forty-one patients reached normal volume range (group H1),49 patients were resistant hypervolemia (group H2).The median NT-proBNP levels in group H1 and group H2 were [685.00 (IQR 422.50,988.50) pg/ml] and [1569.00 (IQR 982.50,2500.50) pg/ml],△ OH in group H1 and group H2 were [(0.63±0.23)L] and [(1.75±0.71)L],respectively.NT-proBNP and △ OH value in two groups had significant difference (P ＜ 0.05).NT-proBNP was positively correlated with △ OH value (r=0.684,P ＜ 0.001).(3) The area under ROC curve for NT-proBNP was 0.818,95％CI (0.733～ 0.904),P ＜ 0.001,since the absolute value of normovolemia was defined as ≤ 1.The cut off value of plasma NT-proBNP was set at 962.50 pg/ml in MHD patients with non-dominant edema,the diagnostic specificity and sensitivity were 79.6％ and 73.2％.Conclusion NT-proBNP could be used to assess volume status in MHD patients with non dominant edema.

Objective To investigate the characteristics of auditory nerves and brainstem pathways,patho-physiological and nerve damages and the correlation between oxygen indexes,and the values of high stimulation ABR in patients with OSAHS.Methods Auditory brain stem responses (ABR)at rates of 11.1 times/s,31.1 times/s,51.1 times/s were performed in both the moderate-to-severe OSAHS group(5 cases of moderate and 34 cases of severe,in total of 39 cases ,78 ears)and the control group (34 cases,68 ears).According to the character-istics of ABR,the correlation with parameters of blood oxygen was studied.Results At the rate of 11.1 times/s, wave V latencies (5.79±0.22 ms)in OSAHS patients were longer than that in the control group.At the rate of 31.1 times/s,wave V latencies (5.98±0.19 ms)and waveⅠ(1.85±0.18 ms)in OSAHS patients were prolonged more than those in the control group.At the rate of 51.1 times/s,wave V latencies (6.09±0.25 ms)and waveⅠ(1.94±0.26 ms)in OSAHS patients were longer than those in the control group.Increasing stimulation rates from 11.1 times/s to 31.1 times/s showedΔⅠwas longer in OSAHS group(0.12±0.17 ms)than in the control group (0.07±0.11 ms).Increasing stimulation rates from 11.1 times/s to 51.1 times/s showedΔⅠwas longer in OS-AHS group(0.21±0.25 ms)than in the control group(0.15±0.10 ms).All above had correlations with hypoxia. Conclusion High stimulation rates in ABR by amplifying the waveⅠ latency confirm cochlear and auditory nerve damages near the cochlear segment in patients with moderate to severe OSAHS.Therefore the study of nerve injury in OSAHS patients should take blood oxygen saturation and hypoxia percentage rather than AHI.

This study was aimed to observe the curative effect and safety of Danzhi Jiangtang Capsule ( DJC ) combined with atorvastatin on carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT) in diabetes patients without hyper-tension . A total of 196 diabetes patients without hypertension with incrassate carotid artery IMT were randomly divided into the control group ( 98 cases ) and the treatment group ( 98 cases ) . The conventional diabetes thera-py was given to both groups . The atorvastatin of 20 mg/night was given to the control group . And the atorvas-tatin 20 mg/night added with DJC 9 . 0 g/night were given to the treatment group . The treatment course was
12 months . Carotid artery IMT , carotid atherosclerotic plaque area , FPG , FIns , HOMA-IR , HbA1c , blood lipids , hepatorenal function and etc . were examined before and after the treatment respectively . The results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between carotid artery IMT and FIns , HOMA-IR , HbAlc , LDL-C . After 12-month treatment , the total effectiveness is 85 . 87% in the treatment group . And there was significant difference compared with the control group ( P < 0 . 05 ) . The levels of FPG , FIns , HOMA-IR , HbAlc of the treatment group had no difference compared with the control group . Compared with the control group, TC and LDL-C of the treatment group was obviously decreased (P < 0.05). And HDL-C was significantly increased ( P < 0 . 05 ) . The carotid artery IMT of the treatment group decreased from ( 0 . 11 ±0 . 01 ) cm to ( 0 . 08 ± 0 . 01 ) cm . And compared with the control group , there was statistical significance ( P <0 . 05 ) . The carotid atherosclerotic plaque area of 58 cases in the treatment group decreased from ( 0 . 37 ±0.56) cm2 to (0.21 ± 0.25) cm2. However, there was no statistical significance compared to the control group. There were 5 adverse events in the control group and 9 adverse events in the treatment group . And there was no difference between two groups. It was concluded that DJC combined with atorvastatin can regulate lipid metabolism and reduce carotid artery IMT .

Objective:To explore the medication law and core TCM prescriptions of Jia Yuejin in the treatment of coronary heart disease (CHD) complicated with depressive disorder (DD) by analyzing target-based network and mining clinical data.Methods:The targets of CHD complicated with DD were obtained by GeneCards, OMIM, TTD and other databases, and then the protein-protein interaction network of the two disease targets was constructed and then screened out the core targets. The Metascape platform was used to perform GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analysis on the intersection targets respectively to analyze the mechanism of action of CHD complicated with DD. Then TCMSP was used to query the active components acting on the targets and the Chinese materia medica containing these active components, and the data were imported into Cytoscape 3.9.0 to construct the core target-active component-Chinese materia medica network for network topology analysis. The outpatient clinical data of Jia Yuejin from January 1, 2015 to January 1, 2021 were collected, and data mining was conducted by using the Ancient and Modern Medical Case Cloud Platform (V2.3.5) to obtain his commonly used prescriptions. The results were fitted with the core TCM prescriptions obtained by target network analysis, and the drugs in the core prescriptions were analyzed.Results:Totally 1 501 intersection targets were obtained by protein interaction network analysis of CHD complicated with DD, which could be divided into 4 core target clusters, including inflammation cause, subclass tumor cause, subclass lipid metabolism factor, and fibrosis factor; a total of 480 active components were obtained by TCMSP, which belonged to 181 types of Chinese materia medica, including 8 core components: quercetin, kaempferol, luteolin, carotene, beta-carotene, acacetin, formononetin and ellagic acid. GO enrichment analysis yielded 61 results, mainly including positive regulation of protein phosphorylation, signal receptor agonist activity, side of membrane , etc.; KEGG pathway enrichment analysis yielded a total of 20 results, mainly including cancer pathways, lipid and atherosclerosis, JAK-STAT signaling pathway, etc. Clinical data mining included 120 cases and 148 prescriptions, including 135 types of Chinese materia medica; the properties were mainly mild, warm, slightly cold and cold; the tastes were mainly sweet, bitter and light, and the medicine mainly belongs to the lung, spleen, liver, heart, stomach, kidney and other meridians; drug association analysis, cluster analysis and complex network analysis were used to synthesize common prescriptions. The core TCM prescriptions obtained from common prescription and target network analysis were fitted: Pinelliae Rhizoma, Glycyrrhizae Radixet Rhizoma, Bupleuri Radix, Cyperi Rhizoma, Salviea Miltiorrhizae Radix et Rhizoma, Corydalis Rhizoma, Codonopsis Radix, Astragali Radix, Acori Tatarinowii Rhizoma. Conclusion:The medication law of Jia Yuejin in the treatment of CHD complicated with DD is in accordance with core TCM prescriptions. This study can provide guidance for clinical treatment and further research of CHD complicated with DD.

ObjectiveTo observe the clinical efficacy of Danzhi Jiangtang capsules with the functions of replenishing Qi， nourishing Yin， and dredging collaterals on patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus （T2DM） combined with lower-extremity macroangiopathy and serum levels of homocysteine （Hcy） and cystatin C （Cys C）. MethodA total of 80 eligible patients who were treated in the department of endocrinology of the First Affiliated Hospital of Anhui University of Chinese Medicine from May 2017 to December 2019 were randomized into the treatment group （40 cases） and control group （40 cases）. Both groups received the basic therapies for diabetes and Danzhi Jiangtang capsules （oral） was added to the treatment group. The levels of glycosylated hemoglobin A1c （HbA1c）， fasting plasma glucose （FPG）， 2-hour postprandial glucose （2 hPG）， fasting C-peptide （C-P）， and 2-hour postprandial C-peptide （2 hC-P）， triglycerides （TG）， total cholesterol （TC）， high density lipoprotein cholesterol （HDL-C）， and low density lipoprotein cholesterol （LDL-C） and serum levels of Hcy and Cys C were measured and the traditional Chinese medicine（TCM） syndrome scores were calculated before and after treatment in the two groups. ResultAfter 12 weeks of treatment， levels of HbA1c， FPG， and 2 hPG were lower than those before treatment in the two groups （P<0.05）. Levels of C-P （P<0.05） and 2 hC-P were higher than those before treatment in the two groups. After treatment， levels of HbA1c， FPG， and 2 hPG in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group （P<0.05）， while levels of C-P and 2 hC-P showed no significant difference between two groups. After treatment， the levels of TG， TC， and LDL-C were lower than those before treatment （P<0.05） and HDL-C level was higher than that before treatment （P<0.05） in both groups. After treatment， levels of TG and LDL-C in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group （P<0.05）， and levels of TC and HDL-C demonstrated no significant difference between two groups. After the treatment， the TCM syndrome score was lower than that before the treatment in both groups （P<0.05） and lower in the treatment group than in the control group （P<0.05）. The overall effective rate of the treatment group was higher than that of the control group （χ^２=7.585， P<0.05）. The levels of Cys C and Hcy were lower than those before treatment in the two groups （P<0.05） and lower in the treatment group than in the control group （P<0.05）. Doppler echocardiography of the lower limbs showed no obvious improvement in the control group after treatment. However， for the treatment group， slight decrease in intima-media thickness of the lower limb arteries and a slight reduction in the plaque area were observed， but the difference was not statistically significant. ConclusionDanzhi Jiangtang capsules has definite therapeutic effect on T2DM combined with lower-extremity macroangiopathy， which can improve glucolipid metabolism and reduce serum levels of Hcy and Cys C. This study can serve a reference for the prevention and treatment of T2DM combined with macroangiopathy.

ObjectiveTo construct a macro-evaluation tool for dampness syndrome （DS） animal model， which will provide a basis for experimental research on dampness syndrome in traditional Chinese medicine （TCM）. MethodsConceptual framework of this study was clarified through discussions within the core working group， and dimensions of the evaluation of the animal model of DS were identified according to TCM principles. We searched CNKI， Wanfang， VIP and SinoMed databases from the inception to June 30th， 2023， on experiments involving dampness syndrome animals to create a pool of items about DS animal models. The core items were selected and extracted for factor analysis and cluster analysis. An expert importance rating questionnaire was developed based on the results of the literature review， analyzing the distribution of item scores， importance averages， and coefficient of variation. Through a comprehensive analysis of literature， expert importance scoring， and specific expert opinions， items that did not meet anyone of the criteria of average importance rating ≥2.04， coefficient of variation ≤30%， or literature eva-luation frequency ≥2% were removed， thereafter， the macro-evaluation tool for DS animal model was preliminarily constructed. ResultsSpirit and body state， autonomic activity state， body surface characteristics， diet， urination and defecation， tongue manifestation， and motor behavior assessment were constructed as the seven dimensions in the evaluation of DS animal model. A total of 348 papers about animal experiments were included and analyzed， resulting in a saturated pool of 72 items， which was refined to 38 core items of DS animal models. Factor analysis obtained 16 common factors， which were further clustered into two categories， named dampness transforming from heat syndrome and dampness transforming from cold syndrome. The expert importance scoring showed that the Kendall harmony coefficient was 0.359 （P＜0.05） indicating a high level of agreement， coordination and reliability among the experts. Notably， 50% or more of the experts considered the items thick and greasy tongue coating， unclean perianal area， loose stools， lethargy， unformed stools， and listless expression as very important. The median scores for all items were 2.04（1.73， 2.37）， with a coefficient of variation ranging from 19.73% to 53.38%. After expert evaluation， the macro-evaluation tool for DS animal model in TCM with 33 items and corresponding criteria for assessing the formation of DS models was finally contructed. ConclusionThe Macro-evaluation tool for DS animal model in TCM is highly scientific， credible， and operable， and can be utilized in DS animal experiments after its characteristics are actually evaluated.

Objective To analyze the characteristics of visceral leishmaniasis cases in Henan Province, so as to provide insights into formulation of the visceral leishmaniasis control srtrategy. Methods All epidemiological data of reported visceral leishmaniasis cases in Henan Province from 2021 to 2023 were retrieved from the National Notifiable Disease Report Information Management System of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, and the epidemiological features and diagnosis of visceral leishmaniasis cases were descriptively analyzed. Results A total of 93 visceral leishmaniasis cases were reported in Henan Province from 2021 to 2023, with a male to female ratio of 2.58∶1, and including 2 imported cases from other provinces and 91 local cases. The number of visceral leishmaniasis cases peaked during the period between March and May, and between July and October. The reported visceral leishmaniasis cases had ages of 7 months to 74 years, with the largest number of cases found at ages of 0 to 9 years (26 cases, 27.96%), followed by at ages of 60 to 70 years (24 cases, 25.81%). Farmer (47 cases, 50.54%) and diaspora children (19 cases, 20.43%) were predominant occupations, and 91 local visceral leishmaniasis cases were found in 6 cities of Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Anyang, Hebi, Sanmenxia and Xuchang. The median duration from onset of visceral leishmaniasis to diagnosis was 20 days, and there were 25.81% (24/93) cases with 10 days and less duration from onset to diagnosis, 38.71% (36/93) cases receiving diagnosis at 11 to 30 days following onset, and 35.48% (33/93) cases receiving diagnosis for more than 30 days following onset. All cases were predominantly diagnosed in province- (60.00%) and city-level (28.89%) medical institutions. Conclusions The number of visceral leishmaniasis is on the rise in Henan Province, with a gradually expanding coverage. Intensified monitoring of visceral leishmaniasis cases, dogs, and vectors, dog management, sandflies control and improved individual protection are recommended to prevent the spread of visceral leishmaniasis.