Metabonomic Evaluation of ZHENG Differentiation and Treatment by Fuzhenghuayu Tablet in Hepatitis-B-Caused Cirrhosis

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), treatment based on ZHENG (also called TCM syndrome and pattern) differentiation has been applied for about 3 thousand years, while there are some difficulties to communicate with western medicine. In the present work, metabonomic methods were utilized to differentiate ZHENG types and evaluate the therapeutic efficiency of Fuzhenghuayu (FZHY) tablet in hepatitis-B-caused cirrhosis (HBC). Urine samples of 12 healthy volunteers (control group, CG) and 31 HBC patients (HBCG) were analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and multivariate statistical analysis. The significantly changed metabolites between CG and HBCG were selected by PLS-DA loading plot analysis. Moreover, 4 ZHENGs were differentiated mutually, suggesting that there was urine metabolic material basis in ZHENG differentiation. The efficiency of FZHY tablet on subjects with spleen deficiency with dampness encumbrance syndrome (SDDES) and liver-kidney yin deficiency syndrome (LKYDS) was better than that of other syndromes. The efficiency of FZHY treatment based on ZHENG differentiation indicated that accurately ZHENG differentiating could guide the appropriate TCM treatment in HBC

Exploration of Macro-Micro Biomarkers for Dampness-Heat Syndrome Differentiation in Different Diseases

Increased attention is being paid to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a complementary and alternative medicine to provide an effective approach for personalized diagnosis and clinical treatment. TMC performs treatment based on differentiation of TCM syndrome (ZHENG), which may identify special phenotypes by symptoms and signs of patients even if they are in different diseases. There has, however, been skepticism and criticism because syndrome classification only depends on observation, knowledge, and clinical experience of TCM practitioners, which lacks objectivity and repeatability. In order to transform syndrome classification into mainstream medicine, we introduce a macro-micro approach that combines symptoms, clinical indicators, and metabolites. The present paper explores the macro-micro biomarkers of dampness-heat syndrome in chronic hepatitis B and nonalcoholic fatty liver patients, which could provide the basis for developing a possible population-screening tool for selecting target individuals and creating an evaluation index for personalized treatment

Similar Connotation in Chronic Hepatitis B and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Patients with Dampness-Heat Syndrome

The phenomenon that the same syndrome turns up in different diseases appears in the sight of people around the world, which raises the thought for possibility of “Same Treatment for Different Diseases.” Actually, treatment based on ZHENG classification in Traditional Chinese Medicine could bring revelation for the former finding. The dampness-heat syndrome in chronic hepatitis B and nonalcoholic fatty liver is regarded as the breakthrough point. We discussed the molecular mechanism of similar connotation that exists in chronic hepatitis B and nonalcoholic fatty liver by metabonomics to give the modern understanding of dampness-heat syndrome. Both urine and serum metabolic profiling revealed that obvious differences existed between dampness-heat syndrome and non-dampness-heat syndrome but the commonality was proved to appear in chronic hepatitis B and nonalcoholic fatty liver patients with dampness-heat syndrome. Furthermore, disorder of body fluid metabolism, decline in digestive capacity, and imbalance of intestinal flora were found to be the new guiding for treatment, with the hope to provide the basis for Chinese personalized medicine

Persistent lymphocytopenia in convalescent patients with COVID-19: dysregulated B cell, CD4+ T cell, and treg compartments in 7–12% of moderate-severe cases

BackgroundLong COVID manifests with heterogeneous clinical outcomes, potentially linked to immune dysfunction. However, the recovery of immune-cell subsets during convalescence remains incompletely understood.MethodsIn this longitudinal cohort, 279 unvaccinated patients with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (13 mild, 218 moderate, 48 severe) were enrolled. Peripheral lymphocyte subsets were analyzed by flow cytometry at admission and at 50 days post-symptom onset (DPSO 50).ResultsTotal T-cell counts normalized in 90–98% of patients in the moderate and severe groups by DPSO 50. Nevertheless, a subgroup exhibited persistent B-cell lymphopenia (<90 cells/µL) in 7.3% of moderate cases (median 77.1 cells/µL, IQR 51.9–83.8) and 12.5% of seltvere cases (median 54.5 cells/µL, IQR 28.4–79.3). Patients with B-cell deficiency also showed concurrent reductions in total T cells, CD4+ T cells, and CD4+CD25+CD127low/FOXP3+ regulatory T cells (Tregs). In moderate cases, CD4+ T cell and Treg counts correlated positively (r = 0.72, p < 0.001), independent of B-cell status, whereas this relationship was absent in severe cases, indicating severity-dependent immune dysregulation.ConclusionsApproximately 7–12% of moderate-to-severe COVID-19 survivors displayed persistent lymphopenia affecting B cells, CD4+ T cells, and Tregs at ~50 days post-symptom onset. These findings highlight distinct recovery trajectories and provide insights into Long COVID pathogenesis that may inform therapeutic strategies

A Comparative Study of the Simulation Accuracy and Efficiency for the Urban Wind Environment Based on CFD Plug-Ins Integrated into Architectural Design Platforms

The deterioration of the urban environment is a problem which has captured the attention of governmental departments and researchers, who are committed to improving the urban environment from the perspective of optimizing urban morphology. Although many researchers have applied computational fluid dynamics (CFD) plug-ins to study the problems of urban ventilation and pollutant accumulation, studies on the reliability and simulation accuracy verification of CFD plug-ins are currently scarce. Therefore, we used three CFD plug-ins based on different architectural design platforms to evaluate and compare their operation difficulty, simulation accuracy, and efficiency through the analysis of the simulation results of urban ventilation. This study complements the reliability validation of CFD plug-in simulations and guides urban planners and architects in the selection and application of CFD plug-ins. The results show that the CFD plug-in generally underestimates the wind speed at the pedestrian level and the prediction accuracy is poor in the wake area of obstacles, especially with the GH_Wind plug-in. Under the 0° inflow direction, the simulation results of the Butterfly plug-in were the most consistent with the experimental values. When the inflow direction increased to 22.5° and 45°, the Autodesk CFD showed the best simulation accuracy. Overall, Autodesk CFD achieves a balance between simulation accuracy and speed in urban airflow simulation