Studies on the soybean aphid, Aphid glycines Matsumura

The soybean aphid is widely distributed among all major soybean growing regions in China. It causes severe damage in Jilin, Liaoning, and Helongjiang Provinces, and part of the inner Mongolian autonomous region, and those areas are often called aphid-stricken areas. Its hosts include wild soybean (Glycine benth forma lanceolate Makino), buckthorn (Rhamnus davuricus) as well as soybean. Results of field investigation and inoculation experiments confirmed that the widely distributed buckthorn in the Northern Provinces is the over-wintering host for soybean aphids. According to the life cycle of aphids and their characteristic damage to soybeans, three different periods of impact can be recognized: 1) starting from seedling stage to blooming stage (mid-July), the aphid population reaches its peak point. About 50-70% of the whole aphid population colonizes on the tender leaves and twigs on top of the soy plants. The soybean damage caused during this period has the worst impact on the plants. 2) During the third ten days of July when the soybean plants cease to grow, aphids then migrate from the top leaves and twigs to the middle or lower ones and feed on the underside of the leaves. At the same time, the young nymphs appear. The aphid population grows slowly, and their damage to soybean plants is at a low tide. 3) From late August -- the late pod bearing period -- to early September -- the yellow maturing period -- aphids start their late multiplying stage. In late Fall, aphids migrate back to buckthorn, their overwintering host, and oviposit overwintering eggs after mating. During Fall, the male aphids and the ovipositional female aphids are living on different hosts. Gynoparae live on buckthorn, and the male aphids live on soybean. Aphids reproduce 15 generations a year on soybean. After analyzing the life cycle of aphids, their growth pattern in the field, as well as the meteorological data in recent years, we came to preliminary results about the growth and decline pattern of aphids and their affecting factors: 1) the more the overwintering eggs and aphids numbers were at the seedling stage, the more severe their impact on seedlings; 2) Average temperatures between 22-25 °C and relative humidity below 78% from late June to early July greatly favored the growth and reproduction of aphids. Even if the original aphid population is small, severe aphid epidemics still could occur during the blooming period in July because aphids reproduced very quickly under those favorable weather conditions; 3) As the growth points ceased growing in late July and the nutrient condition deteriorated, the aphid population declined. In summary, we may make long- or short-term predictions of aphid epidemics based on the number of overwintering eggs, meteorological data, and current and past aphid information. Based on the results of several years’ laboratory and field experiments, the following aphid control measures achieved very good results: 0.5% lindane (benzene hexachloride, or BHC), 1 to 300-400 diluted 6% BHC wettable powder, 1 to 15000 diluted E605 (parathion), 1 to 100 diluted tobacco leaf solution, and seed coating with 20% BHC. Among these methods, 0.5% BHC powder and seed coating with 0.7% of 20% BHC have been widely used in agricultural practice.Originating text in Chinese.Citation: Wang, Cheng Lun, Xiang, Liang Ying, Zhang, Guang Xue, Zhu, Hong Fu. (1962). Studies on the soybean aphid, Aphid glycines Matsumura. Acta Entomologica Sinica, 11, 31-44

Factors influencing the quality of clinical trials on traditional Chinese medicine— Qualitative interviews with trial auditors, clinicians and academic researchers

Background: As clinical trials evaluating the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) therapies have increased, several empirical studies have shown that the quality of TCM trials are generally low in terms of risk of bias. This qualitative study aimed to investigate the factors influencing the quality of TCM clinical trials to provide strategic advice on trial quality improvement. Methods: One focus group with clinical trial auditors (n=4) and six indepth semi-structured interviews with clinical research organization managers (n=2), lecturers and researchers in TCM academic institutions (n=2), a chief physician in a TCM oncology department and a PhD candidate specialized in non-pharmaceutical TCM interventions were conducted. The interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and thematically analyzed. Results: Factors that influenced the quality of TCM clinical trials merged on the following 6 themes: trial design; trialists/ participants; trial conducting; TCM specified problems; trial monitoring, and finally societal influences. The lack of expertise and time inputs of the trialists were repeatedly mentioned. Methodological difficulties experienced when conducting TCM trials included calculating sample size, analyzing the efficacy of TCM decoctions with multiple ingredients, blinding in trials investigating non-pharmaceutical TCM interventions were highlighted. Interviewees agreed that third-party monitoring can help improving trial quality and improved participant welfare and may accelerate recruiting processes and increase compliance; however more comprehensive regulations and funding requirements would be needed. Conclusions: This study identified real-life issues influencing the quality of TCM clinical trials from design to reporting. In addition to mandatory training for TCM trial designers and coordinators, more effective institutional oversight is required. Future studies should explore specific measures to address the methodological problems in TCM trials and explore how the quality of TCM trials can affect further evidence synthesis and clinical practice

Sevoflurane improves gaseous exchange and exerts protective effects in lipopolysaccharide-induced lung injury in mice models

Purpose: To investigate the protective effect of sevoflurane against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced acute liver injury (ALI) in amice model.Methods: Seven week-old female BalB/C mice were used. Lung water content and cell count were estimated by standard protocols. Cytokine and chemokine analysis was performed using commercially available kits. Myeloperoxidase activity was evaluated spectrophotometrically while histopathological analysis was carried out by H and E staining.Results: The results revealed that sevoflurane treatment significantly improved gaseous exchange, and reduced lung water content and lung inflammation as evidenced by a decrease in neutrophil migration into BALF (p < 0.01). Sevoflurane also significantly reversed the LPS-triggered suppression of IL-10 in the lung tissues of LPS-treated mice, when compared to saline-treated controls (p < 0.01). It reversed LPS-induced oxidative stress, as demonstrated by increase in total antioxidant capacity (T-AC), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD-1), as well as an increase in reduced/oxidized glutathione (GSH/GSSG) ratio. In addition, sevoflurane blocked LPS-induced lung tissue injury in ALI mice, and exerted protective effects against acute LPS-induced lung injury.Conclusion: These results suggest that sevoflurane improves gaseous exchange and exerts a protective effect against LPS-triggered lung injury in mice model, most probably due to its antiinflammatory and antioxidant properties.Keywords: Lung injury, Sevoflurane, Respiratory distress, Superoxide dismutase, Liposaccharid