Recent Discoveries on Marine Organism Immunomodulatory Activities

Marine organisms have been shown to be a valuable source for biologically active compounds for the prevention and treatment of cancer, inflammation, immune system diseases, and other pathologies. The advantage of studying organisms collected in the marine environment lies in their great biodiversity and in the variety of chemical structures of marine natural products. Various studies have focused on marine organism compounds with potential pharmaceutical applications, for instance, as immunomodulators, to treat cancer and immune-mediated diseases. Modulation of the immune system is defined as any change in the immune response that can result in the induction, expression, amplification, or inhibition of any phase of the immune response. Studies very often focus on the effects of marine-derived compounds on macrophages, as well as lymphocytes, by analyzing the release of mediators (cytokines) by using the immunological assay enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), Western blot, immunofluorescence, and real-time PCR. The main sources are fungi, bacteria, microalgae, macroalgae, sponges, mollusks, corals, and fishes. This review is focused on the marine-derived molecules discovered in the last three years as potential immunomodulatory drugs.     

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.     

水生生物DNA序列相似度的算法

本文提出DNA序列相似度指标,建立DNA序列比对算法。首先,将水生生物DNA样本序列与现有的基因库中的DNA序列逐项比对;其次,在满足特定阈值条件下,确认样本序列的分类。利用Java编程语言来实现算法,通过MonteCarlo模拟和实际应用,验证算法的有效性。理论结果表明:在满足特定阈值条件下,通过计算DNA序列相似度,能够确定数据库中与未知DNA样本序列最相似的序列,判断样本序列的分类。模拟实验、对比研究和应用结果表明:相似度指标算法在有效判别DNA序列的分类,提高DNA序列匹配成功率,降低程序复杂度等方面具有优良特征。     

硫丹对水生生物毒理效应的研究进展

硫丹是一种有机氯杀虫剂,广泛应用于蔬菜、水果、茶叶、棉花、烟草、林木等害虫的防治.然而,在杀灭害虫、提高农产品产量的同时,硫丹也会对非目标生物,特别是对栖息在水环境中的生物体产生一定影响.本文综述了硫丹对水生生物急、慢性毒理效应,初步归纳了硫丹影响水生生物代谢的机制,阐述了硫丹在水体、底泥和生物体中的分布情况,旨为评价硫丹在水生生态系统中的环境行为及其对人类健康风险提供科学依据.     

1.0%斑蝥素乳油对重要非靶标生物的安全性评价

参照"化学农药环境安全评价试验准则"的规定,测定了1.0%斑蝥素乳油对蜜蜂、家蚕、蝌蚪、蚯蚓、土壤微生物5类环境生物的毒性。结果表明:1.0%的斑蝥素乳油对蜜蜂24 h触杀毒性LD50为0.15μg/蜂,摄入毒性LC50为1.83 mg/L;对家蚕表现为强烈的拒食作用,24 h接触毒性LC50为0.83μg/cm2;对蝌蚪24 h和48 h LC50分别为0.93 mg/L和0.87 mg/L;对蚯蚓7 d的LC50为22.66 mg/kg;10 mg/L处理蔬菜地和小麦地土壤,对土壤微生物15 d的呼吸抑制率分别为16.1%和21.8%。以上结果表明,1.0%斑蝥素乳油对蚯蚓和土壤微生物表现为低毒,对蜜蜂和家蚕属高毒,对蝌蚪表现为中等毒性。     

印度转基因生物发展现状及政策研究

印度作为人口大国,农村人口占绝大多数并且大量处于贫困状态。因此,印度政府非常重视生物技术对农业生产和粮食安全的作用,转基因生物技术的发展及其在农业中的运用对印度农业发展具有重要意义,转基因抗虫棉的推广使印度成为世界棉花生产和出口大国。但印度在转基因作物推广种植中也遇到了不少问题,国内各界对此也存在分歧。基于此,印度对转基因生物的监管参考欧美两大监管体系,并寻找适合本国利益的最佳选择。研究印度转基因生物的发展现状及其监管政策对发展中国家具有借鉴意义。     

转基因食品检测技术研究进展

就转基因食品检测技术的研究进展进行综述,并对各种检测技术的特点进行分析,同时对其面临的问题及发展趋势进行研究。     

Against the neoliberal steamroller? The Biosafety Protocol and the social regulation of agricultural biotechnologies

Through a discursive and organizational analysis we seek to understand the Biosafety Protocol and the place of socioeconomic regulation of agricultural biotechnology in it. The literature on the Protocol has been fairly extensive, but little of it has explored debates over socioeconomic regulation during the negotiation process or the regulatory requirements specified in the final document. This case is especially important at a time when the spread of neoliberalism is increasingly associated with deregulation, because it sheds light on the conditions under which circumvention of the market is deemed legitimate and socio-economic regulation of agricultural technology is possible. Daniel Lee Kleinman is a professor in the Department of Rural Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where he is also affiliated with the Holtz Center for Science and Technology Studies and the Integrated Liberal Studies Program. He is the author and editor of a number of books, including Impure Cultures: University Biology and the World of Commerce (2003). Abby J. Kinchy is a PhD candidate in the Departments of Sociology and Rural Sociology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. Her current research examines the controversies surrounding the genetic “contamination” of Mexican maize and Canadian canola.     

渤海湾外来浮游植物物种及其入侵途径分析

为了预防外来浮游植物入侵引发的渤海湾赤潮灾害,基于近20年建设项目环境影响评价报告书和相关文献资料的研究成果,收集整理了渤海湾海域已发现的外来浮游植物物种及具体物种信息,分析了物种入侵的主要途径及可能产生的赤潮灾害影响。结果表明：渤海湾海域共发现17种外来浮游植物,其中,甲藻门最多,有10种;硅藻门次之,有5种;金藻门和黄藻门最少,各有1种。研究表明：渤海湾外来浮游植物中,除中华盒形藻外,其余16种均属于赤潮生物,这些物种主要通过压载水引入、传播的方式进入渤海湾海域,应加强港口监控和管理,以防赤潮灾害。     

土壤微塑料和农药污染及其对土壤动物毒性效应的研究进展

微塑料和农药可能会在土壤中长期共存,塑料制品的种类和结构差异导致其对化学污染物有不同的亲和力和吸附行为。因此,微塑料可作为农药的载体,与农药形成复合污染,对生物体产生联合毒性效应,进而对食物链乃至人类产生健康危害。本文归纳了微塑料和农药对土壤环境的影响,阐述微塑料吸附农药的机理与研究现状,分析了微塑料和农药对土壤动物的联合毒性效应,指出当前研究存在的问题并对未来研究方向进行展望,为未来研究微塑料与农药在土壤中的环境行为提供重要参考。