The rationale behind the four major anti-COVID-19 principles of Chinese herbal medicine based on systems medicine

As the novel coronavirus disease 2019(COVID-19)and its variants continue to rage into the second year of a global pandemic,many success stories of applying Chinese herbal medicine(CHM)to treat COVID-19 patients continue to emerge from China and other part of the world.Herewith,from a systems medicine perspective,the authors analyze those experiences and categorize them into four major treatment principles:(1)focusing on eliminating toxins in the early stage of the disease,(2)tonifying deficiency of the body throughout the entire disease course,(3)treating the affected lung and intestine simultaneously based on visceral interactions,(4)cooling blood and removing blood stasis at the later stage,as well as interpret the rationale of these principles.This is helpful not only in reducing the complexity of promoting the CHM applications to enhance anti-COVID-19 efficacy,but also in ramping out the process of integrating traditional Chinese medicine with modern medical practices.

Exploring Innovation with Scientific Thinking

The mode of scientific thinking is undergoing rapid and profound changes.In the 21st century,macro and micro civilizations go parallel.A systematic and scientific methodology is required for the study of complex things.The thinking mode in modern medicine is gradually shifting from analytical,reductive thinking to holistic and systematic thinking.As such Western medicine and traditional Chinese medicine are gradually approaching the epistemology of health and disease state.The importance of scientific thinking in innovation has been expounded in this study.The development trends in medicine in the current era are analyzed,the importance of systems theory in the study of human bodies is discussed,and a new medical model named Novel Systems Medicine is proposed.

Observation of Medical Anthropology on Covid-19 Variants Epidemic Prevention Based on the Community-Level Governance Experience of Shenzhen in 2022

In recent years,the thinking and research on the prevention and control of Covid-19 Variants Epidemic is not only the technical operation level discussion in the public health and disease prevention academic circles,there is also growing academic interest in comparative research on public health governance and different paradigms.Based on the experience of Shenzhen's epidemic prevention and control team at the community governance level in 2022,based on the observational perspective of medical anthropology,and through comparison with Hong Kong's anti-epidemic experience,this paper deeply analyzes the function and impact of traditional medical methods in epidemic prevention and control.Then the authors cite the paradigm of‘systems medicine’and research results in recent years,closely link the research topic with community governance in methodological sense,so as to promote public health and epidemic prevention research that aim at the combination of technology and humanities.

Lessons Learned as President of the Institute for Systems Biology(2000–2018)

I stepped down as president of the Institute for Systems Biol- ogy （ISB） on Jan 1, 2018. As I think about my 17-year term as President, I am astounded at how much I have learned, not only about science but also about, among other things, what it takes to build a unique world-class institution.

The German emergency and disaster medicine and management system--history and present

As well for optimized emergency management in individual cases as for optimized mass medicine in disaster management, the principle of the medical doctors approaching the patient directly and timely, even close to the site of the incident, is a long-standing marker for quality of care and patient survival in Germany. Professional rescue and emergency forces, including medical services, are the ＂Golden Stan- dard＂ of emergency management systems. Regulative laws, proper organization of resources, equipment, training and adequate delivery of medical measures are key factors in systematic approaches to manage emergencies and disasters alike and thus save lives. During disasters command, communication, coor- dination and cooperation are essential to cope with extreme situations, even more so in a globalized world. In this article, we describe the major historical milestones, the current state of the German system in emergency and disaster management and its integration into the broader European approach.

Clinical Efficacy and Safety of Bathing with Chinese Medicine Taohong Siwu Decoction(桃红四物汤) for Treatment of Diffuse Cutaneous Systemic Sclerosis:A Randomized Placebo-Controlled Trial

Objective：To examine the efficacy and safety of bathing therapy with Taohong Siwu Decoction（桃红四物汤,TSD） in the treatment of early-stage,mild-moderate diffuse cutaneous systemic sclerosis（dc SSc）.Methods：This randomized,placebo-controlled trial enrolled 148 men and women（18–60 years） with dc SSc（disease duration 12 months） and baseline modified Rodnan skin score（MRSS） 10.Patients were randomized into a TSD group（71 cases bathing with TSD plus oral prednisone） or control group（71 cases bathing with placebo plus oral prednisone）.Bathing（40 ℃,30 min） of the upper and lower limbs was carried out once daily for 12 consecutive weeks.The primary outcome measure was MRSS;secondary outcomes were Raynaud＇s phenomenon（RP） score,quality of life（QOL）,physician visual analogue scale（VAS）,patient VAS,percent predicted diffusing capacity for carbon monoxide（DLCO）,percent predicted forced vital capacity（FVC）,erythrocyte sedimentation rate（ESR）,C-reactive protein（CRP） level and overall treatment effect.Results：The final analysis included 135 patients（control group,68 cases;TSD group,67 cases）.Primary and secondary outcome measures after 2 weeks of treatment showed no improvement（versus baseline） in both groups,with no differences between groups.At 12 weeks,QOL,physician VAS,patient VAS,ESR and CRP were improved in both groups,but MRSS and RP score were improved only in the TSD group（all P〈0.05）.MRSS,RP score,QOL,physician VAS,patient VAS,ESR and CRP differed significantly between groups（all P〈0.05）.Meanwhile,the overall treatment effect was significantly higher in the TSD group than in the control group（P〈0.05）.Adverse events in the two groups were similar（P〉0.05）.Conclusions：Bathing with TSD plus oral prednisone achieves better outcomes than oral prednisone alone in patients with dcS Sc and is not associated with serious adverse events.

Combined metabolic activators improve cognitive functions in Alzheimer’s disease patients:a randomised,double-blinded,placebo-controlled phase-II trial

Background Alzheimer’s disease(AD)is associated with metabolic abnormalities linked to critical elements of neurodegeneration.We recently administered combined metabolic activators(CMA)to the AD rat model and observed that CMA improves the AD-associated histological parameters in the animals.CMA promotes mitochondrial fatty acid uptake from the cytosol,facilitates fatty acid oxidation in the mitochondria,and alleviates oxidative stress.Methods Here,we designed a randomised,double-blinded,placebo-controlled phase-II clinical trial and studied the effect of CMA administration on the global metabolism of AD patients.One-dose CMA included 12.35 g L-serine(61.75%),1 g nicotinamide riboside(5%),2.55 g N-acetyl-L-cysteine(12.75%),and 3.73 g L-carnitine tartrate(18.65%).AD patients received one dose of CMA or placebo daily during the first 28 days and twice daily between day 28 and day 84.The primary endpoint was the difference in the cognitive function and daily living activity scores between the placebo and the treatment arms.The secondary aim of this study was to evaluate the safety and tolerability of CMA.A comprehensive plasma metabolome and proteome analysis was also performed to evaluate the efficacy of the CMA in AD patients.Results We showed a significant decrease of AD Assessment Scale-cognitive subscale(ADAS-Cog)score on day 84 vs day 0(P=0.00001,29%improvement)in the CMA group.Moreover,there was a significant decline(P=0.0073)in ADAS-Cog scores(improvement of cognitive functions)in the CMA compared to the placebo group in patients with higher ADAS-Cog scores.Improved cognitive functions in AD patients were supported by the relevant alterations in the hippocampal volumes and cortical thickness based on imaging analysis.Moreover,the plasma levels of proteins and metabolites associated with NAD+and glutathione metabolism were significantly improved after CMA treatment.Conclusion Our results indicate that treatment of AD patients with CMA can lead to enhanced cognitive functions and improved clinical parameters associated with phenomics,metabolomics,proteomics and imaging analysis.

Ethnobotany,phytochemistry and pharmacological potential of Vitex negundo L.(five-leaved chaste tree):An updated review

In the past two decades,a shift in paradigm has been observed in the development of new drugs from the plants for the treatment of diseases.Many scientists are focusing on the evidence based use of medicinal plants to develop pharmacotherapy for various human ailments.An important medicinal plant that has caught the attention of researchers all over the globe is Vitex negundo Linn.This plant is commonly used in various traditional systems of medicine like Ayurveda,Chinese,Siddha and Unani to treat various diseases and has been the subject of extensive research studies lately.Its roots and leaves are widely used in various disorders and illnesses such as skin eczema,ringworm,liver disorders,spleen enlargement,rheumatic pain,gout,abscess,backache etc.Seeds are also used as folklore medicine in bronchitis,eye disorders,female reproductive disorders,cold,dropsy,malarial fever and as demulcent.The current article is an effort to compile an updated review to disseminate knowledge and information among the scientific fraternity covering the progress made in the pharmacology and phytochemistry of this useful medicinal plant.This review on a very important traditional medicine,Vitex negundo L.can serve as a reference to the scientific community for their future research on this plant.

A probe into the medicinal potential of Viola canescens-A threatened medicinal plant from Himalaya

Viola canescens Wall.ex Roxb.is a perennial herb belonging to family Violaceae,and it is almost cosmopolitan in distribution.This plant is widely used in Ayurveda and Unani medicinal systems for curing various ailments,most commonly for cough and cold.Phytochemical studies releaved that this plant is rich in secondary metabolites.This plant revealed significant antimicrobial,anti-inflamatory,antioxidant,hepatoprotective,laxative,analgesic as well as antitumor activities.Due to all these important pharmacological activities,market demand of Viola canescens is increasing day by day and this plant is facing tremendous over exploitation and becomes a threatened plant according to International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.The present review compiles that the ethnobotanical,phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of the plant need to be conserved.

Integrated Genomic and Network-Based Analyses of Complex Diseases and Human Disease Network

A disease phenotype generally reflects various pathobiological processes that interact in a complex network. The highly interconnected nature of the human protein interaction network（interactome） indicates that, at the molecular level, it is difficult to consider diseases as being independent of one another. Recently, genome-wide molecular measurements, data mining and bioinformatics approaches have provided the means to explore human diseases from a molecular basis. The exploration of diseases and a system of disease relationships based on the integration of genome-wide molecular data with the human interactome could offer a powerful perspective for understanding the molecular architecture of diseases. Recently, subnetwork markers have proven to be more robust and reliable than individual biomarker genes selected based on gene expression profiles alone, and achieve higher accuracy in disease classification. We have applied one of these methodologies to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy（IDCM） data that we have generated using a microarray and identified significant subnetworks associated with the disease. In this paper, we review the recent endeavours in this direction, and summarize the existing methodologies and computational tools for network-based analysis of complex diseases and molecular relationships among apparently different disorders and human disease network. We also discuss the future research trends and topics of this promising field.