When goliaths clash: US and EU differences over the labeling of food products derived from genetically modified organisms

There is a fundamental divergence of opinion between the EU and the US over how food products derived from genetically modified organisms should be labeled. This has less to do with safety, as moves towards the international harmonization of safety standards continue apace, and rather more to do with the consumers' right to know about the origins of the food they are consuming. This paper uses a framework drawn from the global public goods (GPG) literature of economics and the work by international relations theorists on formal international organizations (FIO) to explain why there is presently no global consensus on the manner (voluntary or mandatory) in which GM food products should be labeled.     

糯玉米改性淀粉的制备及其在速冻食品中的应用研究进展

糯玉米淀粉因独特的结构具有良好的冻融稳定性,在速冻食品中有着巨大的潜在利用价值,但原淀粉自身存在耐酸性、耐高温、耐剪切性较差等缺点,限制了其在食品工业中的应用。为了改善糯玉米淀粉的理化特性和加工性能,需要对原淀粉进行改性处理。概述了糯玉米淀粉常见的改性方法,介绍了糯玉米改性淀粉在速冻食品中的应用,并对糯玉米改性淀粉的研究现状和在速冻食品中的应用进行了分析和展望,为糯玉米改性淀粉在速冻食品中的应用提供一定的理论依据。     

甘露糖修饰的壳聚糖聚乳酸-羟基乙酸共聚物纳米微球作为口蹄疫病毒核酸疫苗递送载体的特性评价

旨在对制备的甘露糖修饰的壳聚糖聚乳酸-羟基乙酸共聚物[poly （D,L-lactide-co-glycolide）,PLGA]纳米微球作为口蹄疫病毒（foot-and-mouth disease virus,FMDV）核酸疫苗递送载体进行评价。采用西佛碱反应和元素分析制备具有一定取代度的甘露糖修饰的壳聚糖衍生物（mannose modified chitosan,MCS）,然后,经双重乳化挥发法制备得到甘露糖修饰的壳聚糖PLGA纳米微球（MCS-PLGA-NPs）。采用纳米粒径仪检测MCS-PLGA-NPs粒径分布和表面电势（zeta）、扫描电镜考察其形态、琼脂糖凝胶电泳观察其对质粒的吸附和吸附质粒后抵抗核酸酶降解能力、CCK-8法检测MCS-PLGA-NPs的细胞毒性、激光共聚焦观察巨噬细胞对MCS-PLGA-NPs-质粒DNA复合物的摄取、荧光显微镜和Western blot验证MCS-PLGA-NPs加载质粒DNA在细胞中的表达。元素分析结果表明,成功制备了取代度为5%~10%的MCS。纳米粒径测定和扫描电镜结果表明,MCS-PLGA-NPs的zeta为正值、粒径分布均匀且形态规则呈球形。琼脂糖凝胶电泳结果显示,MCS-PLGA-NPs吸附质粒的能力随着其质量的增加而增强并且可以在一定程度上抵抗核酸酶降解质粒DNA。在细胞毒性试验中,不同浓度的MCS-PLGA-NPs与RAW264.7细胞共孵育24 h后,细胞存活率仍在85%以上。在细胞摄取试验中,用激光共聚焦显微镜可以明显观察到质粒DNA结合到纳米微球表面被RAW264.7细胞摄取。荧光显微镜和Western blot试验证明MCS-PLGA-NPs加载质粒DNA可以在细胞中进行表达。综上表明,本研究成功制备了MCS以及具有递送核酸疫苗能力的MCS-PLGA-NPs,为FMDV核酸疫苗的递送研究提供了新的方向和见解,也为该递送载体携带特定抗原靶向抗原递呈细胞表面甘露糖受体以及应用于动物免疫的研究奠定基础。     

Reciprocal recurrent selection for multitrait indices in maize

Summary Reciprocal recurrent selection was carried out with two populations of maize (Zea mays L.) having good combining ability. We selected for higher grain yield, early maturity, shorter plant height and lodging resistance. Two cycles were completed in two years (four seasons), by resorting to late planting of S1 lines for recombination in the main season in which top-cross families were assessed. Top-crosses and selfings were made in the off-season. The original and improved versions of the populations and their crosses were evaluated in multilocation trials. The superiority of the population hybrid was 10.3% for grain yield, 5.5% for plant height and 1.8 days to silk. The improved hybrid had delayed leaf senescence and better resistance to lodging and post-flowering stalk rots. Among the yield components, only ear girth showed improvement. Syn 2 of the improved population cross showed a yield reduction of 6.2% in comparison to Syn 1. Intrapopulation gains were not significant except for lodging resistance in one population.     

琯溪蜜柚柚瓣的臭氧处理结合气调包装保鲜研究

采用正交试验设计，优选出最佳的臭氧处理时间和气体成分，分析了臭氧处理结合气调包装（MAP）保鲜对琯溪蜜柚柚瓣品质的影响。结果表明：臭氧处理结合气调包装的方法可明显延长琯溪蜜柚柚瓣的保鲜时间，改善保鲜柚瓣的品质，臭氧处理5min，以5％O2、3％CO2、92％N2的气体成分包装的保鲜效果最好。     

转基因植物食用安全评价

2014年全球转基因植物种植面积达到1.815亿hm2,转基因植物商业化发展给全球农业和环境带来巨大收益,但是其安全性问题仍然受到广泛争议。目前,对转基因植物的安全评价在全球范围内已经建立起较为完善的体系,但是各国政府对评价程序的具体要求还存在差异。为了在法律法规层面规范转基因植物安全评价程序,中国农业部颁布了《转基因植物安全评价指南》,涵盖了详细的转基因植物及其产品的安全性评价内容。本文结合案例分析,对该指南中的食用安全评价部分详细解析和论述了包括营养学、毒理学、致敏性以及非期望效应等安全评价程序,旨在为我国转基因植物的食用安全评价提供有益的指导与借鉴。     

Long-term monitoring of feral genetically modified herbicide-tolerant Brassica napus populations around unloading Japanese ports

Genetically modified, herbicide-tolerant (GMHT) Brassica napus plants originating from seed spill have recently been found along roadsides leading from Japanese ports that unload oilseed rape. Such introductions have potential biodiversity effects (as defined by the Cartagena Protocol): these include replacement of native elements in the biota through competitive suppression or hybridization. We conducted surveys in the period 2006–2011 to assess such threats. We examined shifts in the population distribution and occurrence of GMHT plants in 1,029 volunteer introduced assemblages of B. napus, 1,169 of B. juncea, and 184 of B. rapa around 12 ports. GMHT B. napus was found around 10 of 12 ports, but its proportion in the populations varied greatly by year and location. Over the survey period, the distributions of a pure non-GMHT population around Tobata and a pure GMHT population around Hakata increased significantly. However, there was no common trend of population expansion or contraction around the 12 ports. Furthermore, we found no herbicide tolerant B. juncea and B. rapa plants derived from crosses with GMHT B. napus. Therefore, GMHT B. napus is not invading native vegetation surrounding its populations and not likely to cross with congeners in Japanese environment.     

草莓的保鲜现状研究

草莓味道鲜美,受到人们的喜爱,但是却难以保藏。目前,草莓的保藏方法主要是控制温度,并使用保鲜剂进行贮藏。控制温度一般通过冷藏库实现。草莓控温在冰点以上进行冰温贮藏比普通的冷藏效果要好。而使用气调库、气调包装则能更好地保持草莓的新鲜度。     

不同浓度盐胁迫对转基因饲用甜菜种子萌发及幼苗生长的影响

通过不同浓度NaCl溶液处理转基因饲用甜菜种子及其幼苗试验，研究了盐胁迫下种子萌发、幼苗生长及胁迫解除后种子的效应，为盐土农业生产提供理论依据。结果表明，转基因饲用甜菜种子萌发的适宜Nacl浓度为50。150mmol/L，其中100mmoL／LNaCl胁迫下，种子发芽率最高，与对照相比高6．78％。随着盐胁迫浓度的升高，种子萌发延迟，萌发率也呈不同程度的降低。盐胁迫解除后，种子萌芽迅速，萌芽率提高，整齐度增加。转基因饲用甜菜幼苗在不同NaCl浓度胁迫下表现出的反应不同，高盐胁迫对抑制幼根生长影响较大。     

Influence of soil properties on the vertical movement of genetically-marked Pseudomonas fluorescens through large soil microcosms

Summary Vertical translocation of the introduced transposon Tn5-tagged Pseudomonas fluorescens cells was studies after irrigation of 50-cm long soil columns of loamy sand. The soil in the columns was slowly brought to saturation using groundwater, and enough water was then slowly added to permit collection of the percolated water. Introduced bacteria were transported to lower soil layers to a significantly higher degree in undisturbed soil cores than in repacked cores; water transport was hampered in both core types due to high soil bulk densities. Soil bulk density affected the degree of transport of the introduced cells; progressively more cells were translocated to deeper soil layers and into the percolation water at decreasing soil bulk densities. Repeated percolation of soil at a bulk density of 1.25 caused an increase in Tn5-tagged cell numbers in the lower soil layers and in the percolated water. Further, cells initially introduced into a dry (5.3% moisture) soil were translocated to a lesser extent than cells introduced into a wetter (13% moisture) soil. Finally, wheat roots enhanced the water-induced transport of introduced cells to the 40- and 50-cm deep soil layers and into the effluent, but not to the remaining soil layers. Large soil columns such as those used in the present study are useful in assessing the transport and survival of introduced bacterial cells in soils under a variety of simulated environmental conditions.