BACKGROUND: There are few multi-city studies on the association between temperature and mortality in basin climates. This study was based on the Sichuan Basin in southwest China to assess the association of basin temperature with non-accidental mortality in the population and with the temperature-related mortality burden. METHODS: Daily mortality data, meteorological and air pollution data were collected for four cities in the Sichuan Basin of southwest China. We used a two-stage time-series analysis to quantify the association between temperature and non-accidental mortality in each city, and a multivariate meta-analysis was performed to obtain the overall cumulative risk. The attributable fractions (AFs) were calculated to access the mortality burden attributable to non-optimal temperature. Additionally, we performed a stratified analyses by gender, age group, education level, and marital status. RESULTS: A total of 751,930 non-accidental deaths were collected in our study. Overall, 10.16% of non-accidental deaths could be attributed to non-optimal temperatures. A majority of temperature-related non-accidental deaths were caused by low temperature, accounting for 9.10% (95% eCI: 5.50%, 12.19%), and heat effects accounted for only 1.06% (95% eCI: 0.76%, 1.33%). The mortality burden attributable to non-optimal temperatures was higher among those under 65 years old, females, those with a low education level, and those with an alternative marriage status. CONCLUSIONS Our study suggested that a significant association between non-optimal temperature and non-accidental mortality. Those under 65 years old, females, and those with a low educational level or alternative marriage status had the highest attributable burden.
Female ; Humans ; China/epidemiology* ; Cities ; Cold Temperature ; Hot Temperature ; Mortality ; Temperature ; Time Factors ; Middle Aged ; Male

Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases affecting the health of human beings. With limited therapeutic options available, complementary and alternative medicine has been widely adopted in cancer management and is increasingly becoming accepted by both patients and healthcare workers alike. Chinese medicine characterized by its unique diagnostic and treatment system is the most widely applied complementary and alternative medicine. It emphasizes symptoms and ZHENG (syndrome)-based treatment combined with contemporary disease diagnosis and further stratifies patients into individualized medicine subgroups. As a representative cancer with the highest degree of malignancy, pancreatic cancer is traditionally classified into the "amassment and accumulation". Emerging perspectives define the core pathogenesis of pancreatic cancer as "dampness-heat" and the respective treatment "clearing heat and resolving dampness" has been demonstrated to prolong survival in pancreatic cancer patients, as has been observed in many other cancers. This clinical advantage encourages an exploration of the essence of dampness-heat ZHENG (DHZ) in cancer and investigation into underlying mechanisms of action of herbal formulations against dampness-heat. However, at present, there is a lack of understanding of the molecular characteristics of DHZ in cancer and no standardized and widely accepted animal model to study this core syndrome in vivo. The shortage of animal models limits the ability to uncover the antitumor mechanisms of herbal medicines and to assess the safety profile of the natural products derived from them. This review summarizes the current research on DHZ in cancer in terms of the clinical aspects, molecular landscape, and animal models. This study aims to provide comprehensive insight that can be used for the establishment of a future standardized ZHENG-based cancer animal model.
Animals ; Humans ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Hot Temperature ; Pancreatic Neoplasms/therapy* ; Models, Animal ; Syndrome

The paper reviews the inheritance, innovation and development of heat-sensitive moxibustion; and explores the path for the clinical development of moxibustion of traditional Chinese medicine moxibustion (TCM). Practice has shown that the laws of clinical research on TCM moxibustion refer to phenomenon discovery, exploration of rules, technological innovation, verification of curative effects, theory sublimation, returning to clinical practice, discipline construction, and experimental research. It is deeply realized that TCM research should be based on clinical practice, originated from classics, focused on theoretical innovation and in serve of clinical practice.
Moxibustion ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Hot Temperature

OBJECTIVE: To observe the effect of meridian sinew releasing technique on moxibustion sensation of heat-sensitive moxibustion in patients with knee osteoarthritis (KOA). METHODS: A total of 60 patients with KOA were randomly divided into an observation group and a control group, 30 cases each group. In the observation group, on the basis of the meridian sinew releasing technique, moxibustion sensation exploration method was applied at Dubi (ST 35) area on the affected side. In the control group, moxibustion sensation exploration method was applied at Dubi (ST 35) area on the affected side. The meridian sinew releasing technique was performed for 20 min each time, the moxibustion sensation exploration method was performed for 60 min each time, once a day for 3 days. The excitation rate, latency, duration time and intensity value of moxibustion sensation of heat-sensitive moxibustion were recorded on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd days of exploration in the two groups. RESULTS: The excitation rate on the 3rd day of exploration and total excitation rate in the observation group were higher than the control group (P<0.05). On the 1st, 2nd and 3rd days of exploration, the latency of moxibustion sensation of heat-sensitive moxibustion in the observation group was shorter than the control group (P<0.05), the duration time was longer than the control group (P<0.05), and the intensity value was higher than the control group (P<0.05). CONCLUSION Meridian sinew releasing technique could improve the excitation rate of moxibustion sensation of heat-sensitive moxibustion in patients with KOA, shorten the latency, prolong the duration time, and improve the intensity value.
Humans ; Osteoarthritis, Knee/therapy* ; Hot Temperature ; Meridians ; Moxibustion ; Sensation

An automatic ash-removal heat-sensitive moxibustion device was developed, which could keep relatively constant temperature of heat-sensitive moxibustion, and realize the automatic ignition and automatic ash removal of moxa sticks during heat-sensitive moxibustion. The automatic ash-removal heat-sensitive moxibustion device comprises a bracket and a moxibustion box fixed on the top of the bracket; the bracket is composed of a base and a movable telescopic arm. This device can solve the problems of temperature instability, moxa ash blocking heat transfer and moxa ash falling during heat-sensitive moxibustion, avoiding the scalding caused by moxa ash falling, and reduce the workload of medical staff.
Humans ; Hot Temperature ; Moxibustion ; Temperature

A multifunctional moxibustion treatment machine is designed and developed to assist the heat-sensitive moxibustion therapy. Through the motion control of the stepping motor by programmable logic controller (PLC), the automatic control is obtained for the acupoint detection of heat-sensitive moxibustion therapy and the manual operation of moxibustion. The skin temperature is monitored in real-time, using infrared non-contact temperature measurement technology. Based on the deviation of the temperature set value and the monitoring one, the distance between the moxibustion device and the exerted region is adjusted automatically by PLC so that the temperature is controlled practically. The multifunctional moxibustion treatment machine based on the heat-sensitive moxibustion therapy is capable of the operation control of mild moxibustion, circling moxibustion, sparrow-pecking moxibustion and along-meridian moxibustion techniques, as well as real-time monitoring of skin temperature. The temperature change curve of this machine is coincident with that obtained by the manual operation of heat-sensitive moxibustion. This multifunctional moxibustion treatment machine assists the delivery of heat-sensitive moxibustion therapy and it is satisfactory in temperature control and precise in operation.
Hot Temperature ; Moxibustion ; Pain Management ; Acupuncture Points ; Meridians

Regan Syrup has the effect of clearing heat, releasing exterior, benefiting pharynx and relieving cough, and previous phase Ⅱ clinical trial showed that the efficacy of Regan Syrup high-dose and low-dose groups was better than that of the placebo group, and there was no statistically significant difference in the safety between the three groups. The present study was conducted to further investigate the efficacy and safety of the recommended dose(20 mL) of Regan Syrup in the treatment of common cold(wind-heat syndrome). Patients who met the inclusion and exclusion criteria were selected and divided into the test group(Regan Syrup+Shufeng Jiedu Capsules placebo), positive drug group(Regan Syrup placebo+Shufeng Jiedu Capsules) and placebo group(Regan Syrup placebo+Shufeng Jiedu Capsules placebo) at a 1∶1∶1 using a block randomization method. The course of treatment was 3 days. A total of 119 subjects were included from six study centers, 39 in the test group, 40 in the positive drug group and 40 in the placebo group. The onset time of antipyretic effect was shorter in the test group than in the placebo group(P≤0.01) and the positive drug group, but the difference between the test group and the positive drug group was not significant. The test group was superior to the positive drug group in terms of fever resolution(P<0.05), and had a shorter onset time of fever resolution than the placebo group, but without obvious difference between the two groups. Compared to the positive drug group, the test group had shortened disappearance time of all symptoms(P≤0.000 1). In addition, the test group was better than the positive drug group and the placebo group in relieving symptoms of sore throat and fever(P<0.05), and in terms of clinical efficacy, the recovery rate of common cold(wind-heat syndrome) was improved in the test group compared to that in the placebo group(P<0.05). On the fourth day after treatment, the total TCM syndrome score in both test group and positive drug group was lower than that in the placebo group(P<0.05). There was no significant difference in the incidence of adverse events between three groups and none of them experienced any serious adverse events related to the study drug. The results indicated that Regan Syrup could shorten the onset time of antipyretic effect, reduce the time of fever resolution, alleviate the symptoms such as sore throat and fever caused by wind-heat cold, reduce the total score of Chinese medicine symptoms, and improve the clinical recovery rate with good safety.
Humans ; Antipyretics/therapeutic use* ; Capsules ; Common Cold/diagnosis* ; Double-Blind Method ; Fever/drug therapy* ; Hot Temperature ; Pharyngitis ; Treatment Outcome

Type 2 diabetes mellitus(T2DM), a common chronic metabolic disease, is often accompanied by internal heat syndrome. Heat-clearing prescriptions are widely used to treat different heat syndromes of T2DM from the aspects of clearing stagnant heat, excess heat, damp heat, phlegm heat, and heat toxin, demonstrating remarkable effects. The mechanism of blood sugar-lowering agents has always been a hotspot of research. Recently, the basic studies of heat-clearing prescriptions from different perspectives have been increasing year by year. To clarify the mechanisms of heat-clearing prescriptions and find specific mechanisms, we systematically reviewed the basic studies of heat-clearing prescriptions commonly used for the treatment of T2DM in the past decade, intending to provide a reference for related research.
Humans ; Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2/drug therapy* ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/therapeutic use* ; Hot Temperature ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional ; Prescriptions ; Syndrome

The quality of moxa is an important factor affecting moxibustion therapy, and traditionally, 3-year moxa is considered optimal, although scientific data are lacking. This study focused on 1-year and 3-year moxa from Artemisia stolonifera and A. argyi(leaf-to-moxa ratio of 10∶1) as research objects. Scanning electron microscopy(SEM), Van Soest method, and simultaneous thermal analysis were used to investigate the differences in the combustion heat quality of 1-year and 3-year moxa and their influencing factors. The results showed that the combustion of A. stolonifera moxa exhibited a balanced heat release pattern. The 3-year moxa released a concentrated heat of 9 998.84 mJ·mg~(-1)(accounting for 54% of the total heat release) in the temperature range of 140-302 ℃, with a heat production efficiency of 122 mW·mg~(-1). It further released 7 512.51 mJ·mg~(-1)(accounting for 41% of the total heat release) in the temperature range of 302-519 ℃. The combustion of A. argyi moxa showed a rapid heat release pattern. The 3-year moxa released a heat of 16 695.28 mJ·mg~(-1)(accounting for 70% of the total heat release) in the temperature range of 140-311 ℃, with an instantaneous power output of 218 mW·mg~(-1). It further released 5 996.95 mJ·mg~(-1)(accounting for 25% of the total heat release) in the temperature range of 311-483 ℃. Combustion parameters such as-R_p,-R_v, D_i, C, and D_b indicated that the combustion heat quality of 3-year moxa was superior to that of 1-year moxa. It exhibited greater combustion heat, heat production efficiency, flammability, mild and sustained burning, and higher instantaneous combustion efficiency. This study utilized scientific data to demonstrate that A. stolonifera could be used as excellent moxa, and the quality of 3-year moxa surpassed that of 1-year moxa. The research results provide a scientific basis for the in-depth development of A. stolonifera moxa and the improvement of moxa quality standards.
Artemisia ; Hot Temperature ; Moxibustion ; Plant Leaves

Objective: To study the effect of diurnal temperature range on the number of elderly inpatients with ischemic stroke in Hunan Province. Method: Demographic and disease data, meteorological data, air quality data, population, economic and health resource data of elderly inpatients with ischemic stroke were collected in 122 districts/counties of Hunan Province from January to December 2019. The relationships between the diurnal temperature range and the number of elderly inpatients with ischemic stroke were analyzed by using the distributed lag non-linear model, including the cumulative lag effect of the diurnal temperature range in different seasons, extremely high diurnal temperature range and extremely low diurnal temperature range. Results: In 2019, 152 875 person-times were admitted to the hospital for ischemic stroke in the elderly in Hunan Province. There was a non-linear relationship between the diurnal temperature range and the number of elderly patients with ischemic stroke, with different lag periods. In spring and winter, with the decrease in diurnal temperature range, the risk of admission of elderly patients with ischemic stroke increased (P_trend<0.001, P_trend=0.002);in summer, with the increase in diurnal temperature range, the risk of admission of elderly patients with ischemic stroke increased (P_trend=0.024);in autumn, the change in the diurnal temperature range would not cause a change in admission risk (P_trend=0.089). Except that the lag effect of the extremely low diurnal temperature range in autumn was not obvious, the lag effect occurred in other seasons under extremely low and extremely high diurnal temperature ranges. Conclusion: The high diurnal temperature range in summer and the low diurnal temperature range in spring and winter will increase the risk of admission of elderly patients with ischemic stroke, and the risk of admission of elderly patients with ischemic stroke will lag under the extremely low and extremely high diurnal temperature ranges in the above three seasons.
Humans ; Aged ; Temperature ; Ischemic Stroke ; Inpatients ; Cold Temperature ; Hot Temperature ; Seasons ; China/epidemiology*