Life sciences and biotechnology in China

Life science and biotechnology have become a top priority in research and development in many countries as the world marches into the new century. China as a developing country with a 1.3 billion population and booming economy is actively meeting the challenge of a new era in this area of research. Owing to support from the government and the scientific community, and reform to improve the infrastructure, recent years have witnessed a rapid progress in some important fields of life science and biotechnology in China, such as genomics and protein sciences, neuroscience, systematics, super-hybrid rice research, stem cell and cloning technology, gene therapy and drug/vaccine development. The planned expansion and development of innovation in related sectors and the area of bioethics are described and discussed.     

Development of health biotechnology in developing countries: Can private-sector players be the prime movers?

Health biotechnology has rapidly become vital in helping healthcare systems meet the needs of the poor in developing countries. This key industry also generates revenue and creates employment opportunities in these countries. To successfully develop biotechnology industries in developing nations, it is critical to understand and improve the system of health innovation, as well as the role of each innovative sector and the linkages between the sectors. Countries' science and technology capacities can be strengthened only if there are non-linear linkages and strong interrelations among players throughout the innovation process; these relationships generate and transfer knowledge related to commercialization of the innovative health products. The private sector is one of the main actors in healthcare innovation, contributing significantly to the development of health biotechnology via knowledge, expertise, resources and relationships to translate basic research and development into new commercial products and innovative processes. The role of the private sector has been increasingly recognized and emphasized by governments, agencies and international organizations. Many partnerships between the public and private sector have been established to leverage the potential of the private sector to produce more affordable healthcare products. Several developing countries that have been actively involved in health biotechnology are becoming the main players in this industry. The aim of this paper is to discuss the role of the private sector in health biotechnology development and to study its impact on health and economic growth through case studies in South Korea, India and Brazil. The paper also discussed the approaches by which the private sector can improve the health and economic status of the poor.     

Lessons from seven sustainability indicator programs in developing countries of Asia

Sustainability indicator programs in developing countries are the poor cousin of ecological indicator research. While an enormous number of indicators for the monitoring of sustainable development exists, few meta-evaluations on these measurements have been conducted in developing countries. Yet, researchers developing new programs face the question: how shall we design our monitoring instrument to respond to the local challenges.By presenting a qualitative meta-performance evaluation of seven sustainability indicator programs on the municipal level in developing countries of Asia, we identify crucial success factors in this contribution. The research draws on 41 expert interviews in Indonesia, Thailand, China, and India, as well as on program-related documents. In the presented case studies, local contexts are intended to be diverse: obtained results should map success factors in different settings. A context-related list of good-practice factors is derived from the interview material via a Qualitative Content Analysis and assessed against the data.We identify crucial strengths and weaknesses of sustainability indicator programs in six dimensions and link the success factors to their contexts. The results include innovative approaches to indicator types, data collection and data quality control, and a correlation between the anchoring of programs in approved development plans and long-term implementation. The results can provide valuable guidance to users of existing sustainability indicator programs and planners of new programs.     

A scientometric visualization analysis for global toxicology and pharmacology research of natural products from 1962 to 2018

BackgroundA growing number of studies have been focused on the medicinal potential of natural products since 1962, while few scholars have analyzed the existing documents comprehensively.PurposeAiming to visualize the researches on toxicology and pharmacology of natural products (TPNP) published between 1962 and 2018, as well as to reveal their spatiotemporal patterns, a scientometric analysis with 3210 relevant documents collected from Web of Science was conducted in this study.ResultsThe most prominent contributors of TPNP research are mainly from the USA, China, Brazil, India and Germany. The knowledge domains of TPNP research focus mainly on the topics of (1) traditional Chinese medicine, (2) richardia grandiflora, (3) chemical conversion, (4) new generation, (5) modern medicine, (6) intelligent mixture, (7) hplc-based activity. Most countries have recognized the pharmaceutical potential of natural products, and have paid more attention to the pharmacological and toxicological characteristics of natural products in the past decade. Future TPNP research tends to focus more on complex analysis of mechanisms for diseases treatment, such as toxicology and pharmacology.ConclusionThis research has firstly demonstrated a comprehensive knowledge map for the existing toxicological and pharmacological researches of natural products, which offered essential instructions on medical application of natural products to future research.     

Double Coupling Edman Chemistry for High-Sensitivity Automated Protein Sequencing

Capillary electrophoresis with laser-induced fluorescence detection (CE-LIF) is a promising new method for the analysis of protein sequencing products. It gives 10 zmol (1 zmol = 10^–21 mol) limits of detection (3) for fluorescein thiohydantoin (FTH) amino acids. We have developed a separation for the (FTH)-amino acid products generated from 18 of the 20 coded amino acids. The extremely low volume requirement associated with CE-LIF makes it incompatible with commercial sequencers. For this reason, we have also been developing a miniaturized sequencer that can be more easily coupled to our detection system. Both the CE-LIF system and the miniaturized sequencer are described.     

青藏高原高寒地区生态草牧业可持续发展:原理、技术与实践

青藏高原在保障国家生态安全、发展高寒生态草牧业和改善当地民生等方面具有重要战略意义。实现高寒地区生态草牧业可持续发展,对推动青藏高原生态保护和区域高质量发展具有重要推动作用。由于高寒草地承载力低、草畜供需时空失衡和畜牧业经营方式粗放等原因,导致草地畜牧业生产效率低,牧民经营效益差,高寒草地退化严重。为了协调推动高原生态保护、国家公园建设和区域民生改善,传统草地畜牧业亟待转型升级。近年来在国家和地方科技项目支持下,针对高寒草地畜牧业系统效率低、资源消耗大和经营效益差的瓶颈,我们在位于青藏高原东缘农牧交错区的青海省贵南县系统开展了生态草牧业关键技术研发、应用和示范,集成了以“高寒草地适度利用—优质高产人工草地建植—优良牧草青贮—系列草产品加工—饲草料精准配置—家畜营养均衡饲养—高原特色畜产品精深加工—一二三产业融合—区域功能耦合”等为一体的高寒地区生态草牧业提质增效技术体系,积极推动了传统草地畜牧业向生态草牧业发展转变,促进了高寒地区生态—生产—生活协调发展。上述工作将为青藏高原生态保护、草牧业可持续发展和高寒地区牧民持续增收提供重要科技支撑,同时对我国西部典型生态脆弱区适应性管理,黄河上游生态保护和高质量发展具有一定的启示作用。     

Analysis of globulin maturation in developing sunflower seeds

The synthesis of major storage globulin polypeptides has been examined in developing seeds of sunflower(Helianthus annuus L.). Analyses of total proteins and purified globulins, also called helianthinin, by gel electrophoresis and immunoelectrophoresis have shown that a burst of protein synthesis and accumulation occurs around 10 d after flowering. There is no mature globulin before that time and only small amounts of precursor forms can be detected. Thus, 10–12 d after flowering appears to be a transition period during which genetic information for the globulin becomes actively expressed. Immunoelectrophoresis has confirmed that globulin is the main storage protein, at seed maturation, accounting up to 70 % of total proteins per kernel. Pulse chase experiments have shown that synthesis initially involves the formation of high molecular mass precursors and that storage proteins are post-translationally processed. Intermediary products, with molecular mass higher than early translational products, can be detected, together with mature globulin polypeptides.     

中国履行生物多样性公约的成就和展望

2004年是生物多样性公约实施10周年。中国于1993年1月7日作为第7个国家正式加入“公约”。接着就由国家环境保护总局牵头组建国家履约协调组和许多联络点,下设办公室负责日常工作。可见,国家对生物多样性工作的重视和认真的态度。10年来,中国在履约方面做了大量工作,成绩显著。例如,完成了“中国生物多样性国情研究报告”和“中国生物多样性保护行动计划”等一大批重要文件,建立了“生物多样性委员会”、“生物多样性保护基金会”和相应的科学与教育部门,开展了许多科研项目和讲授相关的课程,出版了系列丛书和“中国生物多样性”学术刊物,重视开展学术交流,建立了生物多样性数据库和相关的管理政策,生物多样性保护实体和产业日益增加和发展等就是明显的事例。履约10年的经验在于下列三个方面(1)保护和发展必须密切结合;(2)“统一协调、分散管理”的方针需要进一步完善;(3)基础性和综合性研究需要加强。展望未来,只有在加强基础和综合研究以及提高管理水平方面下一番功夫,履约工作才能取得更大的成绩。     

Fluoride and Children’s Intelligence: A Meta-analysis

This paper presents a systematic review of the literature concerning fluoride that was carried out to investigate whether fluoride exposure increases the risk of low intelligence quotient (IQ) in China over the past 20 years. MEDLINE, SCI, and CNKI search were organized for all documents published, in English and Chinese, between 1988 and 2008 using the following keywords: fluorosis, fluoride, intelligence, and IQ. Further search was undertaken in the website www.fluorideresearch.org because this is a professional website concerning research on fluoride. Sixteen case-control studies that assessed the development of low IQ in children who had been exposed to fluoride earlier in their life were included in this review. A qualitative review of the studies found a consistent and strong association between the exposure to fluoride and low IQ. The meta-analyses of the case-control studies estimated that the odds ratio of IQ in endemic fluoride areas compared with nonfluoride areas or slight fluoride areas. The summarized weighted mean difference is -4.97 (95%confidence interval [CI] = -5.58 to -4.36; p < 0.01) using a fixed-effect model and -5.03 (95%CI = -6.51 to 3.55; p < 0.01) using a random-effect model, which means that children who live in a fluorosis area have five times higher odds of developing low IQ than those who live in a nonfluorosis area or a slight fluorosis area.     

Strategies of Bringing Drug Product Marketing Applications to Meet Current Regulatory Standards

In the past decade, many guidance documents have been issued through collaboration of global organizations and regulatory authorities. Most of these are applicable to new products, but there is a risk that currently marketed products will not meet the new compliance standards during audits and inspections while companies continue to make changes through the product life cycle for continuous improvement or market demands. This discussion presents different strategies to bringing drug product marketing applications to meet current and emerging standards. It also discusses stability and method designs to meet process validation and global development efforts.At the 2014 American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) annual meeting in San Diego, CA, Yan Wu (Merck) and Anita Freed (Pfizer) led a symposium entitled “Bringing Drug Product Marketing Applications to Current Regulatory Standards: Trials and Tribulations.” This symposium was very timely as this topic is a growing industry concern, evidenced by over 300 attendees, and considering the new guidances (1–8) that have been established over the past decade. While most of these quality standards are applicable to new drug products, there is a risk that currently marketed products, known as legacy products, will not meet the new compliance standards during audits and inspections. Companies also need to continuously make process or method changes for in-line products as part of product life cycle management efforts or to meet different market needs. If legacy (or in-line) products undergo a change, the question is how much extra effort is needed to have these products meet current standards to support the associated submission. This symposium addressed these issues and offered modeling tools using existing data or other approaches and case studies to effectively manage post-approval changes. Presentations included the following:

• Modeling historical data to support process and method stability changes
• Food and Drug Administration (FDA) perspectives on application of International Conference on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Pharmaceuticals for Human Use (ICH) Q8 to legacy products
• Assessment of impact on stability with manufacturing, packaging, and/or method changes
• Applying Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) stability requirements to legacy products and managing specifications across climatic zones

This paper provides an overview of the presentations and highlights strategies and points of consideration when bringing marketing applications of the legacy drug products to current and emerging standards.     

The forest resources input–output model: An application in China

Understanding the state of forest resource utilization in China and correctly evaluating the role and function of forest resources in national economic development are essential for realizing balanced development of forests, the environment, and the economy. This is especially true given the present situation of increasingly scarce forest resources. Using data from Chinese forest industry statistical yearbooks, forestry development reports, and other documents, this paper examines the current state of forest resource utilization in China from the angle of combining quantities and values based on input–output tables. We show that demand for and input use of forest resources varies greatly across industrial sectors; the paper products and furniture manufacturing industries have the greatest direct consumption coefficient for timber use. When considering direct and indirect demand, it is clear that forest resources restrict different industrial sectors in diverse ways. These results provide an important set of reference values regarding the utilization of forest resources and coordinated industrial development in China.     

Genetically modified and organic crops in developing countries: A review of options for food security

Since two decades ago, when the first GM crops were introduced, there have increasingly been hot debates on the applications of gene manipulation. Currently, the development of GM crop varieties has raised a wide range of new legal, ethical and economic questions in agriculture. There is a growing body of literature reflecting the socio-economic and environmental impacts of GM crops which aims to criticize their value for farming systems. While organic crops are promoted as environmentally-friendly products in developed countries, they have provoked great controversy in developing countries facing food security and a low agricultural productivity. Discussion has been especially vigorous when organic farming was introduced as an alternative method. There are in fact, a few tradeoffs in developing countries. On the one hand, farmers are encouraged to accept and implement GM crops because of their higher productivity, while on the other hand, organic farming is encouraged because of socio-economic and environmental considerations. A crucial question facing such countries is therefore, whether GM crops can co-exist with organic farming. This paper aims to review the main considerations and tradeoffs.     

基于CiteSpace生物化学实验教学动态与热点可视化分析

生物化学是生物学和医学学科非常重要的基础课程,是进入21世纪以来发展最为迅速和最具活力的学科之一.生物化学理论教学极具抽象性,所以其实验教学是理解相关理论与掌握实际技能的重要环节.在生物化学实验教学过程中,及时掌握新的教学理念,新的教学方法,新的教学热点,紧跟教学发展趋势一直是教师们关注的重点问题.本文以中国学术期刊网...     

Landscape-Scale Prioritization Process for Private Land Conservation in Alberta

There are 12 conservation land trust organizations (CLTOs) in the province of Alberta, Canada that actively steward land. Together they have protected over 1.09 million hectares of land. Using in-depth interview data with published documents on CLTOs, this paper examines how CLTOs make decisions as to which projects to pursue and the kinds of justifications they offer for the projects they have completed. We identify 13 aspects that such a decision-making process should contain. The CLTOs studied have, to some degree, incorporated 7 of them. The remaining 6 aspects could easily be contributing substantially to some of the main the challenges identified in both the literature and our own research regarding private land conservation. Consequently, we recommend developing a robust landscape-scale approach to private land conservation, communicating that approach to all CLTOs, and increasing cooperation among CLTOs and between them and government.     

中国伐木制品碳储量时空差异

森林生态系统碳储量是全球变化研究的热点问题之一,在国内外已经进行了深入的研究。然而,森林采伐后生产的伐木制品碳储量研究相对较少,因此基于IPCC提出的大气流动法,综合考虑伐木制品废弃情形,以2000年为基准年,估算了我国2000—2009新生产伐木制品的碳储量。结果表明,我国伐木制品是一个巨大碳库,且碳储量呈不断增加趋势。2000—2009年我国新生产的伐木制品,在2009年净碳储量为306.52 TgC,非纸木制品、纸类和竹材制品碳储量分别为114.71 TgC、4.33 TgC和199.07 TgC,而薪材燃烧累计碳释放量为11.60TgC,其他伐木制品累计碳释放量共为37.76 TgC。在2009年,终端伐木制品碳储量为318.12TgC,木材制品和竹制品碳储量分别占37.42%和62.58%;在木材制品中,非纸木制品和纸类碳储量为114.71TgC和4.33 TgC,各占96.36%和3.64%。与方精云估算的我国1999—2003年森林年碳汇量168.1 TgC/a相比,这一时期生产的伐木制品年净碳储量为25.21 Tg/a,占森林年碳汇量的15%,这说明伐木制品在维持碳平衡具有重要的作用。本文估算的竹制品碳储量约为木材制品碳储量的1.67倍,这说明竹材制品碳储量在伐木制品碳储量中占相当大的比重,是一个重要的碳库。此外,按照终端伐木制品净碳储量情况,可将我国分成高储量区、中储量区和低储量区。高储量区包括福建、浙江、湖南、云南、广西、江西6个省,这些地区终端伐木制品净碳储量占全国的67%;中储量区包括安徽、广东、湖北、四川、黑龙江、吉林和内蒙古等地区,其他地区为低储量区。我国7个地区按终端伐木制品净碳储量顺序排列为:华东、华中、华南、西南、东北、华北、西北。此外,研究还表明我国南方和北方伐木制品碳储量分别以竹材制品和木材制品储存为主。     

Activator-inhibitor dynamics of vertebrate limb pattern formation

The development of the vertebrate limb depends on an interplay of cellular differentiation, pattern formation, and tissue morphogenesis on multiple spatial and temporal scales. While numerous gene products have been described that participate in, and influence, the generation of the limb skeletal pattern, an understanding of the most salient feature of the developing limb--its quasiperiodic arrangement of bones, requires additional organizational principles. We review several such principles, drawing on concepts of physics and chemical dynamics along with molecular genetics and cell biology. First, a "core mechanism" for precartilage mesenchymal condensation is described, based on positive autoregulation of the morphogen transforming growth factor (TGF)-beta, induction of the extracellular matrix (ECM) protein fibronectin, and focal accumulation of cells via haptotaxis. This core mechanism is shown to be part of a local autoactivation-lateral inhibition (LALI) system that ensures that the condensations will be regularly spaced. Next, a "bare-bones" model for limb development is described in which the LALI-core mechanism is placed in a growing geometric framework with predifferentiated "apical," differentiating "active," and irreversibly differentiated "frozen" zones defined by distance from an apical source of a fibroblast growth factor (FGF)-type morphogen. This model is shown to account for classic features of the developing limb, including the proximodistal (PD) emergence over time of increasing numbers of bones. We review earlier and recent work suggesting that the inhibitory component of the LALI system for condensation may not be a diffusible morphogen, and propose an alternative mechanism for lateral inhibition, based on synchronization of oscillations of a Hes mediator of the Notch signaling pathway. Finally, we discuss how viewing development as an interplay between molecular-genetic and dynamic physical processes can provide new insight into the origin of congenital anomalies.     

Institutionalization of Life-Cycle Thinking in the Everyday Discourse of Market Actors

The widespread popularity of life-cycle assessment (LCA) is difficult to understand from the point of view of instrumental decision making by economic agents. Ehrenfeld has argued, in a 1997 issue of this journal, that it is the world-shaping potential of LCA that is more important than its use as a decision-making tool. The present study attempts to explore the institutionalization of this "LCA world view" among ordinary market actors. This is important because environmental policy relies increasingly on market-based initiatives. Cognitive and normative assumptions in authoritative LCA documents are examined as empirical data and compared with data from focus group interviews concerning products and the environment with "ordinary" manufacturers, retailers, and consumers in Finland. These assumptions are (1) the "cradle-to-grave" approach, (2) the view that all products have an environmental impact and can be improved, (3) the relativity of environmental merit, and (4) the way responsibility for environmental burdens is attributed. Relevant affinities, but also differences, are identified. It is argued that life-cycle thinking is not primarily instrumental, but rather is gaining a degree of intrinsic value. The study attempts to establish a broader institutional context in which the popularity of LCA can be understood. From the point of view of this broader context, some future challenges for the development of LCA and life-cycle thinking are suggested.