Chinese Medical Center

IntroductionTraditional Chinese medicine (TCM) pharmacies in Taiwan have been a vital healthcare resource in Chinese communities, with generations of accumulated TCM knowledge playing a crucial role in infectious disease prevention and treatment. However, as proprietors age and the industry declines, this valuable ethnomedicinal knowledge faces the risk of being lost. Therefore, documenting and analyzing the knowledge used by Taiwanese TCM pharmacies in combating COVID-19 is essential for the preservation and application of ethnomedicine.MethodsThis study employed a stratified sampling method to survey 106 TCM pharmacies in Taiwan, collecting 61 TCM formulae against COVID-19. The medicinal materials were compiled, and analysis were conducted using relative frequency of citation (RFC) and the Phi correlation coefficient to examine the relationships among TCMs. Furthermore, cluster analysis was applied to establish TCM combination patterns.ResultsThis study recorded a total of 70 medicinal materials and identified 30 commonly used ones, categorizing them into four major groups: Group A (heat-clearing and detoxifying): As similar as NRICM101, suitable for moderate to severe cases. Group B (heat-clearing and tonifying): Suitable for mild cases, with both antiviral and immune-boosting effects. Group C (symptom relief): Primarily used for relieving cough, expelling phlegm, and alleviating discomfort. Group D (tonifying and strengthening): Suitable for uninfected individuals to enhance immunity.DiscussionThis study successfully documented and analyzed the TCM usage patterns of Taiwanese TCM pharmacies in combating COVID-19, revealing their alignment with modern TCM theories. The findings not only contribute to the preservation of ethnobotanical knowledge but also serve as a reference for developing herbal prevention strategies and healthcare products, ensuring that traditional medical wisdom can play a greater role within the modern healthcare system.

Abstract Background: The control of tomato gray mold mainly relies on chemical fungicides, which can easily cause pesticide residues and environmental pollution. Therefore, a new fungicide for the control of tomato gray mold is urgently needed. Ginsenosides can inhibit the growth of diseases and are safe and non-toxic. To reveal the antibacterial mechanism of ginsenoside against Botrytis cinerea, and to provide theoretical basis for the development of ginsenoside plant pesticide. Results: Ginsenoside showed significant inhibitory activity against B. cinerea, and the inhibition rate reached 95.45% at 1 mg·mL-1. Transcriptome results showed that there were 21 DEGs in the 3 stages, among which 17 genes were upregulated in the treatment group. Bioinformatics analysis showed that the DEGs are mainly related to metabolic pathways such as Metabolism, Cenetic Information Processing, Environmental information Processing and Cellular Processes. Quantitative real-time PCR results demonstrated the accuracy of transcriptome data. Ginsenosides seriously damaged the ultramicrostructure of B. cinerea, resulting in the exosmosis of contents, the formation of a large number of cytoplasm cavities, and the change and degradation of mitochondrial structure. Conclusion: Transcriptomic analysis indicated that ginsenoside may inhibit the growth of B. Cinerea by decreasing the stability of cell membrane or cell wall, and B. Cinerea may respond to the stress caused by ginsenoside by increasing ergosterol synthesis and ABC transporter expression.

Left ventricular thrombus (LVT) is a common complication of coronary heart disease; thus, traditional Chinese medicine has become a therapeutic option. Here we report two LVT cases treated with Western medicine and traditional Chinese herbal medicine. After treatment, the thrombus became obviously smaller than before, and the clinical symptoms were also relieved. Furthermore, there was little relevant literature in this field, so we expect that this report could support the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine in treating LVT.

Abstract We developed a Creative Thinking Counseling Teaching Program (CTCTP) for Grade 7 students using the self‐concept of the counseling curriculum as the primary development axis and investigated how this program influences creativity, creative tendency, and self‐concept. We adopted a non‐equivalent control group pre‐test–post‐test quasi‐experimental design. Of 133 participants, the experimental group (67 students) received an eight‐week CTCTP, involving a 45‐minute class per week; the control group (66 students) participated in general counseling. Research instruments included the NTCT‐Figural Exercises (NTCT‐Figural), The Williams Assessment of Creative Tendency (WACT), and Elementary School Student Self‐Concept Scale (SCS). Personal reflection learning sheets, learning achievement assessment, and course feedback forms were used to qualitatively analyze the learning effectiveness and feasibility of the teaching program. Results showed that the experimental group had significantly higher scores than the control group for creativity, creative tendency, and self‐concept. Further mediation analysis showed that the effects of the teaching experiment were not the result of mutual mediation effects. Students’ feedback on the CTCTP learning process suggested that it had a positive effect on the development of students’ creativity, creative tendency, and self‐concept, while also meeting their learning needs. We propose recommendations for application in teaching practice and future research.

Moxa floss is the primary material used in moxibustion, an important traditional Chinese medicine therapy that uses ignited moxa floss to apply heat to the body for disease treatment. Till date, there is no available data regarding quality control of different grades of moxa floss. The objectives of this study were to explore the probative value of the electronic nose (e-nose) in differentiating different quality grades of commercial moxa floss sold in China, and to investigate if data mining techniques could be used to optimize the sensor array while retaining classification accuracy of the samples. The e-nose with 12 metal oxide semiconductor type sensors was used to analyze the odor profiles of 15 commercial moxa floss samples of different quality grades. Feature selection algorithms using principal component analysis (PCA) and BestFirst (BC) coupled with correlation-based feature subset selection (CfsSubsetEval) method were used to obtain the most efficient feature subsets. Results for the BC feature selection method identified 3 optimized sensors (S2, S6, and S11), suggesting that aromatic compounds relate more to the identification of the samples. Radial basis function (RBF), multilayer perceptron (MLP), and random forests (RF) performed well in discriminating the samples, retaining prediction accuracies above 85%, which achieved cost-effectiveness and operational simplicity, while retaining prediction accuracy. The e-nose could be a rapid and nondestructive method for objective preliminary classification of quality grades of moxa floss and may be used for future studies related to moxa products safety and quality.

Objective: Chinese Medicine (known as acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (AOM) in the United States), has spread far and been utilized in more than 183 countries or regions. It has played an important role in the health care systems of many countries. Licensed acupuncturists' contribution to the U.S. market alone is more than 3.5 billion dollars. The aim of the current study was to determine the ranking status of Chinese Medicine schools on the global or international level in 2020. Materials and Methods: Databases of PubMed.gov, wanfangdata.com.cn, cnki.net, and google.com were searched, using the keywords: university or college or school, Chinese Medicine or acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, global ranking or international ranking, 2020 both in English and Chinese. If the ranking did not show up in the results directly, the authors moved on to find global or international higher education (universities or colleges) ranking agencies or institutions. Then the authors used the websites of ranking agencies or institutions to conduct more research, using the keywords: 2020, Chinese Medicine, or acupuncture and Oriental Medicine. Results: U.S. News & World Report is the only recognized authority that reported the ranking status of universities of Chinese Medicine in its 2020 edition, in which the best global universities were ranked. A total of 1500 universities in 81 countries and regions were included. Based on the overall academic strength of each university, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, and Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine were ranked as numbers 1376, 1390 and 1440, respectively. In clinical medicine, 750 universities were ranked among the strongest in the world; Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine, Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine were ranked as 688th, 734th, and 738th, respectively. In pharmacology and toxicology, 250 universities were among the strongest in the world; Shanghai University of Traditional Chinese Medicine and Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine were ranked as 153rd and 209th, respectively. In oncology, 250 universities were ranked as strongest in the world; Nanjing University of Chinese Medicine was ranked as 243rd in the world. Conclusions: Chinese Medicine schools are more accepted and more highly ranked than they had been in the past.

The present study was designed to investigate the protective effects of Cordyceps militaris polysaccharides (CMP) on STZ-treated DN mice. CMP were identified by FT-IR and HPLC. Diabetic nephropathy (DN) was induced in male C57BL/6 mice by the injection of streptozotocin (STZ, 50 mg kg-1) in citrate buffer on 5 consecutive days. Administration of CMP at 200 and 400 mg kg-1 or irbesartan at 60 mg kg-1 in the STZ-treated mice could prevent the damage caused by STZ. CMP significantly reduced the STZ-induced higher expression of the kidney index, TC, TG, MDA, urinary protein, Scr, and BUN, while it markedly increased the STZ-induced decrease in GSH levels compared with the DN group. Histopathology analysis of the kidney by PAS, Masson, and HE staining confirmed the renal injury induced by STZ and the protective effects of CMP. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) results confirmed the severe foot process effacement induced by STZ, but CMP treatment inhibited the podocytes' structure defects and ameliorated the function of podocytes. Desmin was measured by immunofluorescence and was related to podocyte injury. The results showed that CMP lessened the expression of desmin induced by STZ. CD68 expression was measured by immunohistochemistry analysis, and the expressions of IL-1β, IL-6, and MCP-1 mRNA were measured by qRT-PCR. The results showed that CMP suppressed the expressions of CD68, IL-1β, IL-6, and MCP-1 mRNA induced by STZ. The role of autophagy in the treatment of DN mice with CMP was detected by TEM and western blotting. The results showed that the administration of CMP was able to overcome the STZ-treated autophagy deficiency, significantly increase the rate of autophagy in the kidney, promote the expression of Atg5, beclin1 and LC3 protein, and reduce the expression of p62 protein. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that CMP exert a protective effect on DN in STZ-treated mice possibly via activation of autophagy.

"This is a collection of essays written by a skilled TCM practitioner with over 40 years of experience. The author shares his experiences and reflects on his medical career, illustrating in many instances with real-life case examples, in the hope that the book will inspire and benefit TCM learners. The content was previously published in Chinese by China Renmin University Press. The book provides three main viewpoints: 1. Chinese medicine needs to be accurately positioned to guide professionals in practice; 2. The TCM essence of finding a cure with syndrome differentiation and treatment is emphasized; 3. Pulse diagnosis is essential when prescribing for a cure."--