Investigation of hemostatic effect of Spleeninvigorating,Qi-replenishing and Bloodarresting Formula on simvastatin-induced zebrafish hemorrhage model

Blood-arresting Formula on simvastatin-induced zebrafish hemorrhage model compared with that of the Heat-clearing and Blood-cooling Formula.Methods:AB strain wild type zebrafish were treated with 0.5 mM simvastatin for 24 hours to establish the zebrafish hemorrhage model.Under strictly blind experimental conditions,the zebrafish were then treated with experimental agents in different concentration within the maximum non-lethal dose.The intervention effect of the Spleen-invigorating,Qi-replenishing and Blood-arresting Formula was comprehensively assessed by examining the main observational parameters such as the bleeding reduction rate and hemostatic rate while referring to the additional parameters such as blood flow,improvement rate of blood flow,velocity of movement,improvement rate of motion under spleen-qi deficiency.Results:Hemostatic effect:The bleeding rate and hemostatic rate in the zebrafish were respectively,30%,15%,45%,40%and 60%,80%,40%,47%when equal concentration of 500 mg/mL,1000 mg/mL were used.This showed that the experimental herbs B1 was superior to B2 in decreasing the bleeding rate and improving hemostatic effect in the zebrafish.Improvement of blood flow:With equal concentration,the experimental herb B1 was superior to B2 in increasing the blood flow and improvement rate of blood flow in hemorrhagic zebrafish.Promotion of the improvement of motion:With equal concentration of 500 mg/mL and 1000 mg/mL,the experimental herb B1 was superior to B2 in promoting the velocity of motion in the zebrafish and promoting the improvement rate of motion.Conclusion:The manifestations of simvastatin-induced zebrafish hemorrhage are basically similar to that of failure of the spleen to control blood in human beings.The Spleeninvigorating,Qi-replenishing and Blood-arresting Formula has good hemostatic effect on simvastatin-induced hemorrhage in the zebrafish.It also boasts the functions of improving blood flow and velocity of motion in the hemorrhagic zebrafish.Such a conclusion provides the experimental basis for the treatment of the syndrome of failure of the spleen to control blood by this formula.

COVID-19 transmission driven by age-group mathematical model in Shijiazhuang City of China

Background:A COVID-19 outbreak in the rural areas of Shijiazhuang City was attributed to the complex interactions among vaccination,host,and non-pharmaceutical interventions(NPIs).Herein,we investigated the epidemiological characteristics of all reported symptomatic cases by picking Shijiazhuang City,Hebei Province in Northern China as research objective.In addition,we established an age-group mathematical model to perform the optimal fitting and to investigate the dynamical profiles under three scenarios.Methods:All reported symptomatic cases of Shijiazhuang epidemic(January 2-February 3,2021)were investigated in our study.The cases were classified by gender,age group and location,the distributions were analyzed by epidemiological characteristics.Furthermore,the reported data from Health Commission of Hebei Province was also analyzed by using an age-group mathematical model by two phases and three scenarios.Results:Shijiazhuang epidemic caused by SARS-CoV-2 wild strain was recorded with the peak 84 cases out of 868 reported symptomatic cases on January 11,2021,which was implemented with strong NPIs by local government and referred as baseline situation in this study.The research results showed that R0 under baseline situation ranged from 4.47 to 7.72,and Rt of Gaocheng Distinct took 3.72 with 95%confidence interval from 3.23 to 4.35 on January 9,the declining tendencies of Rt under baseline situation were kept till February 3,the value of Rt reached below 1 on January 19 and remained low value up to February 3 for Gaocheng District and Shijiazhuang City during Shijiazhuang epidemic.This indicated Shijiazhuang epidemic was under control on January 19.However,if the strong NPIs were kept,but remote isolation operated on January 11 was not implemented as of February 9,then the scale of Shijiazhuang epidemic reached 9,482 cases from age group who were 60 years old and over out of 31,017 symptomatic cases.The investigation also revealed that Shijiazhuang epidemic reached 132,648 symptomatic cases for age group who were 60 years old and over(short for G2)under risk-based strategies(Scenario A),58,048 symptomatic cases for G2 under late quarantine strategies(Scenario B)and 207,124 symptomatic cases for G2 under late quarantine double risk strategies(Scenario C),and that the corresponding transmission tendencies of Rt for three scenarios were consistently controlled on Jan 29,2021.Compared with baseline situation,the dates for controlling Rt below 1 under three scenarios were delayed 10 days.Conclusions:Shijiazhuang epidemic was the first COVID-19 outbreak in the rural areas in Hebei Province of Northern China.The targeted interventions adopted in early 2021 were effective to halt the transmission due to the implementation of a strict and village-wide closure.However we found that age group profile and NPIs played critical rules to successfully contain Shijiazhuang epidemic,which should be considered by public health policies in rural areas of China's Mainland during the dynamic zero-COVID policy.

Population genetic structure of the biological control agent Macrolophus pygmaeus in Mediterranean agroecosystems

Biological control of agricultural pests relies on knowledge of agroecosystem functionality, particularly when affected by the use of mass-produced biological agents. Incorporating pre- and/or post-release information such as genetic diversity and struc- ture on these agents using molecular-based approaches could advance our knowledge of how they perform in agroecosystems. We evaluated the population genetics of Macrolo- phus pygmaeus, the most widely used predatory mirid against many arthropod pests of greenhouse crops in the Mediterranean region, using the mitochondrial Cytb sequence and microsatellite data, and population genetics and phylogeny approaches. We investigated commercially mass-produced insects （i.e., commercial insects either mass-reared in the laboratory for many generations, or purchased by farmers and released in the greenhouses） and ＂wild＂ insects （i.e., that occur naturally outside or are collected in nature for release in the greenhouses）. The mirids were mainly collected in agroecosystems in which solana- ceous plants are grown in northern Spain, southern France and Greece. Both molecular markers and approaches distinguished 2 genetically differentiated populations. The less genetically diverse population, hereafter named the ＂commercial＂ strain included all indi- viduals from laboratory mass-rearings and most releases of commercially bred individuals. The most genetically diverse population mainly comprised individuals originating from noncultivated environments, or from releases of＂wild＂ individuals. Rare examples of hy- bridization between M. pygmaeus from the 2 populations were observed and asymmetric gene flow was revealed. These findings provide new insights into what happens to M. pyg- maeus released in the agroecosystems we studied, and show that it is possible to monitor some commercial strains.