ObjectiveTo observe the clinical effectiveness and safety of Qingfei Shenshi Decoction （清肺渗湿汤） combined with western medicine for patients with bronchial asthma of heat wheezing syndrome， and to explore its potential mechanism of action. MethodsEighty-six participants with bronchial asthma of heat wheezing syndrome were randomly divided into treatment group and control group， each group with 43 participants. The control group received conventional western medicine， and the treatment group was additionally administered Qingfei Shenshi Decoction orally on the basis of the control group， 1 dose per day. Both groups were treated for 14 days. The primary outcome measure was clinical effectiveness； secondary outcome measures included traditional Chinese medicine （TCM） syndrome score， asthma control test （ACT） score， pulmonary function indices such as forced expiratory volume in 1 second （FEV₁）， forced vital capacity （FVC）， peak expiratory flow （PEF）， serum inflammatory factor levels including interleukin-4 （IL-4）， tumour necrosis factor-α （TNF-α）， and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein （hs-CRP）， and immune function indices including CD3⁺， CD4⁺， CD8⁺， CD4⁺/CD8⁺. All outcome measures were evaluated before and after treatment. Vital signs were monitored， and electrocardiography， blood routine， urine routine， liver function， and renal function tests were performed before and after treatment. Adverse events and reactions during the study were recorded. ResultsA total of 80 patients completed the trial with 40 in each group. The total clinical effective rate of the treatment group was 97.5% （39/40）， which was significantly higher than that of the control group （85.0%， 34/40， P＜0.05）. After treatment， both groups showed decreased TCM syndrome scores， IL-4， TNF-α， hs-CRP， and CD8⁺ levels， as well as increased ACT scores， CD3⁺， CD4⁺， CD4⁺/CD8⁺， FEV₁， FVC， and PEF levels （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. Moreover， the improvements in these indices were more significant in the treatment group than in the control group （P＜0.05 or P＜0.01）. No significant abnormalities in safety indicators were observed in either group， and no adverse events or reactions occurred. ConclusionQingfei Shenshi Decoction combined with conventional western medicine for patients with bronchial asthma of heat wheezing syndrome can effectively improve the clinical symptoms， pulmonary function， and clinical effectiveness， with good safety. Its mechanism may be related to reducing inflammatory factor levels and regulating T lymphocyte subsets to improve immune function.

Objective: To grasp the distribution characteristics and incidence trend of varicella in Shaanxi Province, so as to provide a reference for scientific and accurate prevention and control strategies. Methods: Data of 161 377 varicella cases in Shaanxi Province from 2016 to 2023 were collected and described from Surveillance Report Management System, a subsystem of National Disease Control and Prevention Information Systems of Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention. FlexScan 3.1.2 software was used to determine irregular spatial clustering, and spatial clustering area was detected for each year. Results: The incidence of varicella in Shaanxi Province showed a seasonal bimodal distribution with peaks from April to July (36.68%) and from October to next January (48.07%). The cases were mainly concentrated in the 3-12 years old group (60.50%), and there was a trend of high incidence age shift within the 0-19 age group from 2021. Most of the cases were students (62.40%) and preschool children ( 17.78 %). The outbreaks mainly occurred in primary schools (76.47%). The regional distribution was mainly concentrated in some areas of southern Shaanxi and Guanzhong. Through spatial analysis, the primary clusters were primarily concentrated in Ankang and Hanzhong cities in southern Shaanxi from 2016 to 2023, and the secondary clusters were mainly found in some areas of Guanzhong (Xi an, Baoji and Weinan cities). Conclusions Prevention and control of varicella should be focused on students and kindergartens aged 3-12 years in southern and Guanzhong areas of Shaanxi Province. Continuous varicella surveillance and vaccination measures should be carried out, and the two dose vaccination strategy and intensive vaccination of key groups should be actively promoted.

This paper summarized Professor ZHOU Zhaoshan's clinical experience in treating bronchial asthma （abbreviated as asthma） by stages with dampness-draining method. It is believed that pathogenic dampness is the key pathological factor in the onset of asthma. Dampness accumulates into water， which gathers into rheum； the condensed rheum forms phlegm， which lingers in the lungs. When external pathogens trigger the latent phlegm， phlegm and qi become mutually obstructed， leading to airway obstruction， disrupted qi movement， and upward reversal of lung qi， thereby resulting in asthma attacks. The treatment emphasizes a stage-based approach. During acute attacks， the main syndromes include cold-damp obstructing the lungs， damp-heat accumulating in the lungs， and shaoyang （少阳） constraint with heat. For the syndrome of cold-damp obstructing the lungs， a self-formulated Wenfei Shenshi Decoction （温肺渗湿汤） is used to warm the lungs and disperse cold， drain dampness and relieve panting； for the syndrome of damp-heat accumulating in the lungs， a self-formulated Qingfei Shenshi Decoction （清肺渗湿汤） is employed to clear the lungs and expel heat， drain dampness and relieve asthma； and for the syndrome of shaoyang constraint with heat， a self-formulated Chaihu Shenshi Decoction （柴胡渗湿汤） is administered to harmonize the shaoyang， clear heat and drain dampness. During the remission stage， treatment is based on the underlying kidney-deficiency constitution， and a self-formulated Bushen Shenshi Decoction （补肾渗湿汤） is formulated to tonify the kidneys and drain dampness， improve qi reception and relieve panting.

Objective:To summarize the tools and applications of functionality appreciation assessment.Methods:A computerized search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, VIP, and China Biology Medicine disc for literature related to functionality appreciation assessment tools and their applications, with the time frame from database inception to May 12, 2024.Results:A total of 26 articles were included. Functionality appreciation was found to be associated with demographic, physiological, psychological, and social health factors. Functionality appreciation assessment tools demonstrated good psychometric properties across different cultural backgrounds and populations.Conclusions:Functionality appreciation exerts multidimensional benefits on physical and psychological health. However, the available functionality appreciation assessment tools are limited in variety. Future research should further explore the applicability of these tools in different populations in China.

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of vaccination on the onset of varicella and clinical symptoms of varicella based on the survey data of varicella outbreaks in schools.Methods Six schools with chickenpox outbreaks in Shaanxi Province were selected as the sites,and students in the classes or dormitories where the cases were located were chosen as the research subjects.A 1∶2 matching case control was used to conduct a questionnaire survey to analyze the relationship between the history of varicella vaccine immunization and the incidence of chickenpox so as to evaluate the effectiveness of varicella vaccine.Results The total prevalence of the six varicella outbreaks involved in this study was 1.39％.The proportion of chickenpox vaccinations was 44.53％,of which 15.78％ were vaccinations with two doses.The overall effectiveness of varicella vaccine was 63.52％ (95％ CI:40.690％-77.560％),and the effectiveness of one and two doses was 58.72％ and 72.90％,respectively.The effectiveness of varicella vaccine against moderate to high fever and moderate to severe rash was 82.77％ and 76.27％,respectively.The risk of chickenpox in people with vaccination intervals of 6 to 8 years and ≥ 9 years was 13.05 times and 3.93 times higher than that of those vaccinated before the age of 3 years,respectively.Conclusion Varicella vaccine has a good effectiveness on high-exposure people,and the effectiveness of two doses is better than that of one dose.Varicella vaccination can lessen the clinical symptoms of chickenpox.It is recommended to further strengthen the publicities of varicella vaccination and increase the number of children to complete two doses of varicella vaccination before entering nurseries,so as to actively and effectively control varicella outbreaks.

Chronic kidney disease(CKD)is a chronic renal structural and functional disorder caused by multiple causes(history of kidney injury>3 months),with complex etiology and high inci-dence,which will eventually lead to end-stage re-nal disease(ESRD).Common chronic kidney diseas-es include diabetic nephropathy,polycystic ne-phropathy,nephrogenic diabetes insipidus and re-nal fibrosis.At present,there is still a lack of effec-tive specific treatment for chronic kidney disease.The Apelin system is an endogenous physiological regulator.Studies have shown that Apelin is in-volved in the occurrence and development of the above diseases mainly through the regulation of kidney body fluids and blood vessels,and the regu-lation of kidney glucose and lipid metabolism and immunity.This article aims to review the role of Apelin in chronic kidney diseases in recent years,and provide ideas for the treatment and drug de-velopment of kidney diseases with Apelin as a new target.

Metabolic syndrome(MetS)is a cluster of metabolic disorders with diverse clinical manifestations.Jingui Yaolue,or Synopsis of the Golden Chamber,discusses over 40 different diseases in total.This study reveals that some of these diseases,including tanyin(phlegm-dampness),xulao(consumptive disease),and xiaoke(wasting and thirst),exhibit clinical manifestations similar to those of MetS.Furthermore,there are also correspondences between these diseases and MetS in terms of the etiology and pathogenesis.For example,the pathogenesis involves multiple organs,but is centered on the spleen;the disease arises from deficiency and ultimately leads to a dual deficiency of yin and yang;the syndrome patterns are complex and predominantly characterized by phlegm-turbidity.This article summarizes targeted treatment approaches for MetS mentioned in Synopsis of the Golden Chamber,including focusing on the spleen in the treatment of diseases involving multiple organs,supporting the vital energy while dealing with excess syndrome,balancing yin and yang in a state of dual deficiency of both yin and yang,and treating phlegm and blood stasis simultaneously due to the close connection between body fluids and blood.Integrating these treatment principles into current traditional Chinese medicine treatment plans for MetS may help optimize traditional Chinese medicine treatment protocols for MetS and improve clinical outcomes.

Objective:To summarize the tools and applications of functionality appreciation assessment.Methods:A computerized search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, Embase, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang Data, VIP, and China Biology Medicine disc for literature related to functionality appreciation assessment tools and their applications, with the time frame from database inception to May 12, 2024.Results:A total of 26 articles were included. Functionality appreciation was found to be associated with demographic, physiological, psychological, and social health factors. Functionality appreciation assessment tools demonstrated good psychometric properties across different cultural backgrounds and populations.Conclusions:Functionality appreciation exerts multidimensional benefits on physical and psychological health. However, the available functionality appreciation assessment tools are limited in variety. Future research should further explore the applicability of these tools in different populations in China.

Immune-related kidney disease is one of the causes of end-stage renal disease and an important disease type that threatens public health. Farnesoid X receptor (FXR) is a nuclear receptor activated by bile acids, involved in regulating gene expression related to bile acid, lipid, and glucose metabolism. In recent years, the role of FXR in renal immune regulation has received attention. FXR participates in the occurrence and development of immune-related kidney diseases by regulating the differentiation, polarization, activation, recruitment, adhesion, infiltration, and cytokine release of immune cells such as macrophages, dendritic cells, natural killer cells, T lymphocytes, and B lymphocytes. This article reviews renal immune-regulatory mechanisms of FXR in recent years and its potential role in immune-related kidney diseases, to provide a theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of immune-related kidney diseases targeting FXR.

Objectives:To explore the relationship between epicardial adipose tissue(EAT),left atrium and left atrial appendage(LAA)structures and LAA thrombosis in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.Methods:Clinical data from non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients who underwent cardiac computed tomography angiography(CTA)and transesophageal echocardiography(TEE)at the Second Hospital of Hebei Medical University between November 2019 and October 2024,were retrospectively collected.Twenty-eight patients diagnosed with LAA thrombus by both CTA and TEE were enrolled as the LAA thrombus group(20 males,8 females,average age[65±9]years).Using an individual matching method,56 non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients without LAA thrombus,matched for gender and age(±3 years),were sequentially enrolled at a ratio of 1:2 as the no-thrombus group(40 males,16 females,average age[65±8]years).CTA was used to measure the epicardial adipose tissue volume(EATV),left atrial epicardial adipose tissue volume(LA-EATV),and structural parameters of the left atrium and LAA in both groups.The correlation between EAT,structural parameters of the left atrium/LAA and LAA thrombosis was evaluated.Results:In the LAA thrombus group,the proportions of patients with persistent atrial fibrillation and atrial fibrillation rhythm were significantly higher than in the no-thrombus group(both P<0.001).There were no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of age,gender composition,body mass index,duration of atrial fibrillation,and the proportions of patients with hypertension,diabetes,dyslipidemia,coronary heart disease,ischemic stroke,heart failure,vascular disease,and CHA2DS2-VASc scores(all P>0.05).Compared to the no-thrombus group,the EATV,LA-EATV,left atrial volume(LAV),LAA volume(LAAV),and LAA orifice area were significantly higher in the LAA thrombus group(all P<0.05).There was no significant difference between the two groups in the LAA depth(P=0.076).Conditional logistic regression analysis showed that LA-EATV(OR=1.092,95%CI:1.004-1.187,P=0.040)and LAV(OR=1.022,95%CI:1.003-1.041,P=0.025)were independent predictors of LAA thrombosis in non-valvular atrial fibrillation patients.The LA-EATV threshold for predicting LAA thrombosis was 27.16 cm3,with an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve(AUC)of 0.843(sensitivity 85.7%,specificity 76.8%);the LAV predictive threshold was 118.45 ml(AUC=0.853,sensitivity 82.1%,specificity 80.4%).Conclusions:LA-EATV and LAV measured by cardiac CTA are independent predictors of LAA thrombosis in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.