Trends in the global commercialization of genetically modified crops in 2023

The commercialization of genetically modified(GM)crops has increased food production,improved crop quality,reduced pesticide use,promoted changes in agricultural production methods,and become an important new production strategy for dealing with insect pests and weeds while reducing the cultivated land area.This article provides a comprehensive examination of the global distribution of GM crops in 2023.It discusses the internal factors that are driving their adoption,such as the increasing number of GM crops and the growing variety of commodities.This article also provides information support and application guidance for the new developments in global agricultural science and technology.

Traditional Chinese medicine for acute mountain sickness prevention: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) for preventing acute mountain sickness(AMS).Methods: We included randomized controlled trials(RCTs) which evalueded the effect of TCM for preventing AMS, compared with a placebo, no treatment or acetazolamide. The literature was searched in 6major databases. RevMan 5.4 software was used for the meta-analysis. The relative risk for discrete variables and the mean difference for continuous variables with 95% confidence intervals(CIs) were applied to express the effect size. The risk of bias in the included studies was evaluated using the Cochrane risk assessment tool 2.0(RoB 2.0), and the evidence certainty was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment and the Development and Evaluation(GRADE) approach.Results: Twenty RCTs involving 3015 participants and 16 TCM patent drugs were included. The overall risk of bias in the majority of studies(15/20) was of some concerns. In terms of the AMS incidence,Rhodiola rosea(R. rosea, Hong Jing Tian) and Ginkgo biloba(G. biloba, Yin Xing Ye) were equivalent to the placebo/no treatment [RR(95% CI): 0.66(0.43-1.01), 0.82(0.63-1.06), respectively]. The AMS incidence in the G. biloba group was higher than that in the acetazolamide group [RR(95% CI): 2.92(1.69-5.06)]. In terms of improving the AMS symptom score on days 1 and 3 in the plateau, R. rosea and G. biloba were superior to the placebo or no treatment [MD(95% CI):-0.98(-1.71,-0.25),-2.05(-3.14,-0.95), respectively]. The other 14 Chinese patent medicines were evaluated in a single trial, and the majority of the results were negative. The subgroup analysis showed that the effect of R. rosea was related to the intervention time, way of ascending, and altitude.Conclusion: R. rosea and G. biloba were effective in improving AMS symptoms but had no effect in reducing the AMS incidence. There was insufficient evidence to support the use of other TCM patent drugs to prevent AMS. More randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trials are warranted to evaluate and screen effective Chinese patent medicines for AMS prevention.

Effects of cultivation of Osr HSA transgenic rice on functional diversity of microbial communities in the soil rhizosphere

With the widespread cultivation of transgenic crops, there is increasing concern about unintended effects of these crops on soil environmental quality. In this study, we used the Biolog method and ELISA to evaluate the possible effects of Osr HSA transgenic rice on soil microbial utilization of carbon substrates under field conditions. There were no significant differences in average well-color development(AWCD) values, Shannon–Wiener diversity index(H), Simpson dominance indices(D) and Shannon–Wiener evenness indices(E) of microbial communities in rhizosphere soils at eight samplings between Osr HSA transgenic rice and its non-transgenic counterpart. The main carbon sources utilized by soil microbes were carbohydrates, carboxylic acids, amino acids and polymers. The types,capacities and patterns of carbon source utilization by microbial communities in rhizosphere soils were similar throughout the detection period. We detected no Osr HSA protein in the roots of Osr HSA transgenic rice. We concluded that Osr HSA transgenic rice and the r HSA protein it produced did not alter the functional diversity of microbial communities in the rhizosphere.

Theoretical Basis of Gene Splitting Technique and Its Application in the Control of Transgene Flow

Transgenic safety issues cause more and more controversies with the planting area of transgenie crops increased year by year. Gene flow from transgenie crops to wild relatives through pollen dispersal is one of the focus problems. Gene splitting technique provides a new strategy for the control of transgene flow by bio-logical containment. The construction of gene splitting technique is based on protein trans-splicing mediated by intein. Currently, it has been proved in Arabidopsis, tabaoco, wheat, etc. that active and functional proteins can be reassembled by intein mediated protein trans-splicing after gene splitting, which provides theoretical basis and experimental supporting for the limit of transgene flow by gene splitting technique. The theoretical basis of gene splitting technique and research progresses of its application on the control of transgene flow were reviewed in this paper.

Does the traditional Chinese medicine theory of five circuits and six qi improve treatment effectiveness?A systematic review of randomized controlled trials

Objective:To evaluate whether the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)theory of five circuits and six qi(FCSQ)is beneficial in terms of improving clinical effectiveness.Methods:Randomized controlled trials(RCTs)evaluating the clinical value of FCSQ theory were reviewed.Multiple databases(China Network Knowledge Infrastructure,Chinese Scienti fic Journals Database,Wanfang Data,SinoMed,Cochrane Library,PubMed,and Embase)weresystematically searched from inception to June 12,2018.Two authors independently extracted the data and performed a methodological quality assessment of the RCTs.RevMan 5.3 software was used for the data analysis.The effect sizes for the primary outcome measures were expressed as relative risks or mean differences with 95%confidence intervals.Results:A total of 13 RCTs were selected,involving 12 types of diseases and 4695 patients.The methodological quality of the RCTs was generally low.Five studies compared the effectiveness of TCM treatments guided by FCSQ theory with conventional TCM therapies,and the remaining eight studies compared the effectiveness of TCM treatments guided by FCSQ theory with biomedical treatments.All of the RCTs reported that the effectiveness of the treatment intervention was better than that of the intervention in the control group.Conclusion:Because of many methodological problems in existing clinical studies,it remains impossible to definitively conclude that FCSQ theory can improve clinical effectiveness.It is difficult to unify the clinical application of FCSQ theory.The feasibility and repeatability of FCSQas an intervention should be given more attention in future clinical research.Future work should also follow international norms for clinical research implementation and reporting to provide high-quality evidence for evaluating the clinical value of FCSQ theory.