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Hazardous pollutants released into the real environment mostly own long-lasting cumulative characteristics and have progressively negative impacts on organisms, which are always neglected in laboratory toxicological tests. Here in this study, the different ecotoxicity of Ag nanoparticles (AgNPs) on earthworm Eisenia fetida was compared via various endpoints and transcriptional sequencing between the 28-day progressively repeated (from 60 to 80, final 100 mg/kg) and one-step (directly to 100 mg/kg) exposure. The results showed that earthworms under progressively repeated exposure showed significantly less biomass loss and reproductive inhibition, as well as lower Ag bioaccumulation (15.6 mg/kg) compared with one-step exposure (17.9 mg/kg). The increases in enzyme activities (superoxide enzyme and catalase) and gene expression (metallothionein) also implied higher antioxidant and genetic toxicity in one-step exposed earthworms compared with those from progressively repeated exposure. Furthermore, the transcriptomic analysis identified 582 and 854 differentially expressed genes in the treatments of one-step and repeated exposure respectively compared with the control group. The results of pathway annotation and classification suggested similar enrichments of damage induction but different in toxic stress responses, whereas earthworms from repeated exposure possessed more detoxification-related pathways like translation and multicellular organismal processes. This study innovatively took into account the impacts of processive exposure occurring in the real environment and elucidated distinctions of toxicity and adaptation caused by different exposure patterns, which provided the theoretical basis for real risk identification under the framework and guidance of traditional toxicology, also the implication for the improvement of eco-toxicological risk assessment.

Reproduction is a significant biological process for organisms responding to environmental stresses, however, little is known about the reproductive strategies of invertebrates under long-term exposure to contaminations. In this study, earthworm Metaphire californica (Kinberg, 1867) from contaminated fields with an increased metal gradient were collected to investigate their reproductive responses. The results showed heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Zn, and Pb) induced histological damage to earthworms’ seminal vesicles, including tissue disorders and cavities, and decreases in mature spermatozoa. Sperm morphology analysis indicated deformity rates were up to13.2% (e.g. head swollen or missing) for worms from the most contaminated site, which coincided with DNA damages. Furthermore, the computer-assisted sperm analysis (CASA) system was employed for the evaluation of sperm kinetic traits. Results suggested earthworms exposed to higher contamination showed a lower sperm viability rate but faster sperm velocity after re-exposure with Cd solution (like the curvilinear velocity and straight-line velocity paraments) compared with those from relatively clean sites. The activities of lactate dehydrogenase and sorbitol dehydrogenase showed the highest 32.5% and 12.5% up-regulation respectively with the increased metal gradient. In conclusion, this study elucidated the earthworm reproductive toxicity, underlying reproductive compensation, metal stress-induced damages, and adaptive responses caused by heavy metal exposure, while also providing the possibility of sperm trait analysis (CASA) for related earthworm toxicological studies.

Natural and anthropogenic causes have promoted the rapid increase in environmental selenium (Se) levels, and the complex Se metabolism and dynamic in organisms make it challenging to evaluate the toxicity and ecological risks. In this study, the kinetics of selenite in earthworm Eisenia fetida were investigated based on toxicokinetic (TK) model (uptake-elimination phases: 14–14 days). The results showed the highest sub-tissue Se concentrations in pre-clitellum (PC), post-clitellum (PoC) parts, and total earthworms were 95.71, 70.40, and 79.94 mg/kg, respectively, which indicates the distinctive Se uptake capacities of E. fetida. Se kinetic rates in PCs were faster than that of the total E. fetida for both uptake (Kus = 0.30–0.80 mg/kg/day) and elimination phases (Kee = 0.024–0.056 mg/kg/day). Longer half-life times (LT1/2) were observed in the total earthworms (17.85–47.15 d) than PCs (12.28–29.22 d), while non-significant difference was found for the kinetic Se bioaccumulation factor (BAFk) in PC and total earthworms (12–19), which demonstrates that Se can be efficiently bioaccumulated and eliminated in earthworm PC part. Besides, the significant increase Se concentration in PoC with rapid elimination in PC also illustrates that earthworms can alleviate the Se stress by the transformation strategy of Se from the head to tail tissues. In conclusion, the investigation of Se kinetic accumulation and elimination characteristics in this study is helpful for understanding the metabolism and detoxification processes of Se in earthworms, and also providing a theoretical basis for further Se risk assessment using TK model.

Reliable skin cancer diagnosis models play an essential role in early screening and medical intervention. Prevailing computer-aided skin cancer classification systems employ deep learning approaches. However, recent studies reveal their extreme vulnerability to adversarial attacks -- often imperceptible perturbations to significantly reduce the performances of skin cancer diagnosis models. To mitigate these threats, this work presents a simple, effective, and resource-efficient defense framework by reverse engineering adversarial perturbations in skin cancer images. Specifically, a multiscale image pyramid is first established to better preserve discriminative structures in the medical imaging domain. To neutralize adversarial effects, skin images at different scales are then progressively diffused by injecting isotropic Gaussian noises to move the adversarial examples to the clean image manifold. Crucially, to further reverse adversarial noises and suppress redundant injected noises, a novel multiscale denoising mechanism is carefully designed that aggregates image information from neighboring scales. We evaluated the defensive effectiveness of our method on ISIC 2019, a largest skin cancer multiclass classification dataset. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed method can successfully reverse adversarial perturbations from different attacks and significantly outperform some state-of-the-art methods in defending skin cancer diagnosis models., Comment: Accepted by Computers in Biology and Medicine

Wanzai County in southern China has undergone a remarkable evolution since 2000. The commitment of the local government has made Wanzai into one of China’s most important organic agricultural production zones. Institutions and government support are vital for the development of organic agriculture. This article shows how the Wanzai County government changed from driver to guide in the process. Governments at the county, township and village levels formalised and institutionalised financial and technical support, mediating between farmers and enterprises and attracting investments to broaden organic market channels. Their experiences could be a reference for other remote areas with similar environmental and economic conditions.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Organic agriculture can sustain rural development and ease poverty. However, whether it could be a viable pathway to improve the livelihoods of small-scale farmers in the context of urbanisation and demographic change has been less studied. To understand this, household surveys were conducted in 2007 and 2014 in Wanzai, Jiangxi Province China, where organic farming started in 2000. The results show that organic farming did contribute to higher farm incomes for small-scale farmers (< 1 ha land) compared to those practicing conventional agriculture, regardless of whether the profitability is measured on a per land unit or per household basis. The annual farmers household net income increased from 2007 to 2014, however, the farm income of small-scale farmers only makes up a minor part of total household income and its percentage becomes less and less over time. For medium-scale organic farmers (> 1 ha land), the proportion of income from farming was higher (56% in 2007 and 77% in 2014), leading to average farm incomes of USD16,108 in 2014. Among organic farmers, cooperatives members performed better economically than those not in cooperatives. Organic agriculture can ensure stable and sustainable alternative livelihoods, especially in a situation where available land offers opportunities for scaling up.

Yuhui Qiao, Baoling Zhu, Aiju Tian, Zijian Li Department of Cardiology, Institute of Vascular Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory Peptides, Ministry of Health, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education and Beijing Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Receptors Research, Beijing, People’s Republic of China Abstract: Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are widely used as a drug delivery vehicle, which can accumulate in the heart through blood circulation. Therefore, it is very important to understand the effect of AuNPs on the heart, especially under pathological conditions. In this study, we found that PEG-coated AuNPs attenuate β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR)-mediated acute cardiac hypertrophy and inflammation. However, both isoproterenol, a non-selective β-AR agonist, and AuNPs did not induce cardiac function change or cardiac fibrosis. AuNPs exerted an anti-cardiac hypertrophy effect by decreasing β1-AR expression and its downstream ERK1/2 hypertrophic pathway. Our results indicated that AuNPs might be safe and have the potential to be used as multi-functional materials (drug carrier systems and anti-cardiac hypertrophy agents). Keywords: AuNPs, cardiac hypertrophy, β-adrenergic receptor, ERK1/2 signaling pathway

Yuhui Qiao, Baoling Zhu, Aiju Tian, Zijian Li Department of Cardiology, Institute of Vascular Medicine, Peking University Third Hospital, Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Molecular Biology and Regulatory Peptides, Ministry of Health, Key Laboratory of Molecular Cardiovascular Sciences, Ministry of Education and Beijing Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular Receptors Research, Beijing, People’s Republic of China Abstract: Gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) are widely used as a drug delivery vehicle, which can accumulate in the heart through blood circulation. Therefore, it is very important to understand the effect of AuNPs on the heart, especially under pathological conditions. In this study, we found that PEG-coated AuNPs attenuate β-adrenergic receptor (β-AR)-mediated acute cardiac hypertrophy and inflammation. However, both isoproterenol, a non-selective β-AR agonist, and AuNPs did not induce cardiac function change or cardiac fibrosis. AuNPs exerted an anti-cardiac hypertrophy effect by decreasing β1-AR expression and its downstream ERK1/2 hypertrophic pathway. Our results indicated that AuNPs might be safe and have the potential to be used as multi-functional materials (drug carrier systems and anti-cardiac hypertrophy agents). Keywords: AuNPs, cardiac hypertrophy, β-adrenergic receptor, ERK1/2 signaling pathway

Organic agriculture world-wide offers the promise of a future to produce and distribute food and other farm products in a healthy, ecologically sound, truly sustainable and fair way. The full benefits of organic agriculture are just now being realized—from ecosystem services to the provision of healthier food - yet, to reach its full potential organic farming needs to address many challenges. While organic agriculture has grown in strength and is in the most favorable position it has ever been in with respect to market conditions, government policies and international institutional support, it still does not have adequate resources to continue its expansion. The Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM (TIPI) has developed a vision and an agenda to advance organic agriculture through research, development, innovation and technology transfer. TIPI’s vision recognizes that current technologies based on heavy use of external inputs that are toxic and pollute the environment come with a price. Investments in ecosystem services and the development of technologies that are productive, stable, adaptable, resilient, and fairly shared are much more likely to sustain the world’s population in a rapidly changing environment. Sustainable pathways to innovation will require engagement of all stakeholders in a science driven multi-disciplinary approach. Such an approach seeks to (1) Empower rural areas, (2) Provide eco-functional intensification that produces food and ecosystem services, and (3) Provide food for the health and well-being available to all. Organic agriculture must build the capacity to fulfill the world’s food needs for the entire population if it is to fulfill its mission. The new paradigm proposed by TIPI is founded upon a whole systems approach, the engagement of farmers, researchers and other practitioners in a co-innovative approach; and open access technologies that are readily adapted to local conditions. While there are barriers and bottlenecks that will ne

Organic agriculture world-wide offers the promise of a future to produce and distribute food and other farm products in a healthy, ecologically sound, truly sustainable and fair way. The full benefits of organic agriculture are just now being realized—from ecosystem services to the provision of healthier food - yet, to reach its full potential organic farming needs to address many challenges. While organic agriculture has grown in strength and is in the most favorable position it has ever been in with respect to market conditions, government policies and international institutional support, it still does not have adequate resources to continue its expansion. The Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM (TIPI) has developed a vision and an agenda to advance organic agriculture through research, development, innovation and technology transfer. TIPI’s vision recognizes that current technologies based on heavy use of external inputs that are toxic and pollute the environment come with a price. Investments in ecosystem services and the development of technologies that are productive, stable, adaptable, resilient, and fairly shared are much more likely to sustain the world’s population in a rapidly changing environment. Sustainable pathways to innovation will require engagement of all stakeholders in a science driven multi-disciplinary approach. Such an approach seeks to (1) Empower rural areas, (2) Provide eco-functional intensification that produces food and ecosystem services, and (3) Provide food for the health and well-being available to all. Organic agriculture must build the capacity to fulfill the world’s food needs for the entire population if it is to fulfill its mission. The new paradigm proposed by TIPI is founded upon a whole systems approach, the engagement of farmers, researchers and other practitioners in a co-innovative approach; and open access technologies that are readily adapted to local conditions. While there are barriers and bottlenecks that will ne

Organic agriculture world-wide offers the promise of a future to produce and distribute food and other farm products in a healthy, ecologically sound, truly sustainable and fair way. The full benefits of organic agriculture are just now being realized—from ecosystem services to the provision of healthier food - yet, to reach its full potential organic farming needs to address many challenges. While organic agriculture has grown in strength and is in the most favorable position it has ever been in with respect to market conditions, government policies and international institutional support, it still does not have adequate resources to continue its expansion. The Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM (TIPI) has developed a vision and an agenda to advance organic agriculture through research, development, innovation and technology transfer. TIPI’s vision recognizes that current technologies based on heavy use of external inputs that are toxic and pollute the environment come with a price. Investments in ecosystem services and the development of technologies that are productive, stable, adaptable, resilient, and fairly shared are much more likely to sustain the world’s population in a rapidly changing environment. Sustainable pathways to innovation will require engagement of all stakeholders in a science driven multi-disciplinary approach. Such an approach seeks to (1) Empower rural areas, (2) Provide eco-functional intensification that produces food and ecosystem services, and (3) Provide food for the health and well-being available to all. Organic agriculture must build the capacity to fulfill the world’s food needs for the entire population if it is to fulfill its mission. The new paradigm proposed by TIPI is founded upon a whole systems approach, the engagement of farmers, researchers and other practitioners in a co-innovative approach; and open access technologies that are readily adapted to local conditions. While there are barriers and bottlenecks that will ne

Organic agriculture world-wide offers the promise of a future to produce and distribute food and other farm products in a healthy, ecologically sound, truly sustainable and fair way. The full benefits of organic agriculture are just now being realized—from ecosystem services to the provision of healthier food - yet, to reach its full potential organic farming needs to address many challenges. While organic agriculture has grown in strength and is in the most favorable position it has ever been in with respect to market conditions, government policies and international institutional support, it still does not have adequate resources to continue its expansion. The Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM (TIPI) has developed a vision and an agenda to advance organic agriculture through research, development, innovation and technology transfer. TIPI’s vision recognizes that current technologies based on heavy use of external inputs that are toxic and pollute the environment come with a price. Investments in ecosystem services and the development of technologies that are productive, stable, adaptable, resilient, and fairly shared are much more likely to sustain the world’s population in a rapidly changing environment. Sustainable pathways to innovation will require engagement of all stakeholders in a science driven multi-disciplinary approach. Such an approach seeks to (1) Empower rural areas, (2) Provide eco-functional intensification that produces food and ecosystem services, and (3) Provide food for the health and well-being available to all. Organic agriculture must build the capacity to fulfill the world’s food needs for the entire population if it is to fulfill its mission. The new paradigm proposed by TIPI is founded upon a whole systems approach, the engagement of farmers, researchers and other practitioners in a co-innovative approach; and open access technologies that are readily adapted to local conditions. While there are barriers and bottlenecks that will ne

Organic agriculture world-wide offers the promise of a future to produce and distribute food and other farm products in a healthy, ecologically sound, truly sustainable and fair way. The full benefits of organic agriculture are just now being realized—from ecosystem services to the provision of healthier food - yet, to reach its full potential organic farming needs to address many challenges. While organic agriculture has grown in strength and is in the most favorable position it has ever been in with respect to market conditions, government policies and international institutional support, it still does not have adequate resources to continue its expansion. The Technology Innovation Platform of IFOAM (TIPI) has developed a vision and an agenda to advance organic agriculture through research, development, innovation and technology transfer. TIPI’s vision recognizes that current technologies based on heavy use of external inputs that are toxic and pollute the environment come with a price. Investments in ecosystem services and the development of technologies that are productive, stable, adaptable, resilient, and fairly shared are much more likely to sustain the world’s population in a rapidly changing environment. Sustainable pathways to innovation will require engagement of all stakeholders in a science driven multi-disciplinary approach. Such an approach seeks to (1) Empower rural areas, (2) Provide eco-functional intensification that produces food and ecosystem services, and (3) Provide food for the health and well-being available to all. Organic agriculture must build the capacity to fulfill the world’s food needs for the entire population if it is to fulfill its mission. The new paradigm proposed by TIPI is founded upon a whole systems approach, the engagement of farmers, researchers and other practitioners in a co-innovative approach; and open access technologies that are readily adapted to local conditions. While there are barriers and bottlenecks that will ne

This report is the result of a network project which was established to discuss the potential for collaboration on development of systemic approaches to pest management without pesticides between Chinese and Danish researchers. The focus is on systemic approaches rather than input substitution of synthetic chemicals with agents of natural origin, however, the latter is considered as an integrated tool for the development and design of systemic approaches. The discussions were, furthermore, limited to management of invertebrate pests as well as diseases, while other pests such as weeds have not been included in the discussions. The discussions took place at two workshops and were based on presentations of research from the two countries and field visits in China and Denmark. After the first workshop that took place in China, it was agreed that Chinese and Danish researchers in this particular field had mutual interests and priorities and that there was a potential for creating collaboration that could yield results beneficial for the agricultural/horticultural sectors in both countries. It was also agreed that in spite of the many differences between variation in climate and ecosystems, as well as in farming systems and their organization in China and Denmark, there were many similarities in the production of high-value crops in the two countries, such as vegetables, fruit and berries and, therefore, an obvious focus for joint research efforts. It was also agreed that joint research efforts could aim at specific crops as well as aiming at the development of specific research approaches. Based on the observations and the agreements of the first workshop, the second workshop, which took place in Denmark, focused more specifically on the development of a research framework with specified research questions/topics. Two groups were formed – one working with vegetables and one with fruit and berries working in parallel – both looking into what kind of research is needed fo

This report is the result of a network project which was established to discuss the potential for collaboration on development of systemic approaches to pest management without pesticides between Chinese and Danish researchers. The focus is on systemic approaches rather than input substitution of synthetic chemicals with agents of natural origin, however, the latter is considered as an integrated tool for the development and design of systemic approaches. The discussions were, furthermore, limited to management of invertebrate pests as well as diseases, while other pests such as weeds have not been included in the discussions. The discussions took place at two workshops and were based on presentations of research from the two countries and field visits in China and Denmark. After the first workshop that took place in China, it was agreed that Chinese and Danish researchers in this particular field had mutual interests and priorities and that there was a potential for creating collaboration that could yield results beneficial for the agricultural/horticultural sectors in both countries. It was also agreed that in spite of the many differences between variation in climate and ecosystems, as well as in farming systems and their organization in China and Denmark, there were many similarities in the production of high-value crops in the two countries, such as vegetables, fruit and berries and, therefore, an obvious focus for joint research efforts. It was also agreed that joint research efforts could aim at specific crops as well as aiming at the development of specific research approaches. Based on the observations and the agreements of the first workshop, the second workshop, which took place in Denmark, focused more specifically on the development of a research framework with specified research questions/topics. Two groups were formed – one working with vegetables and one with fruit and berries working in parallel – both looking into what kind of research is needed fo

This report is the result of a network project which was established to discuss the potential for collaboration on development of systemic approaches to pest management without pesticides between Chinese and Danish researchers. The focus is on systemic approaches rather than input substitution of synthetic chemicals with agents of natural origin, however, the latter is considered as an integrated tool for the development and design of systemic approaches. The discussions were, furthermore, limited to management of invertebrate pests as well as diseases, while other pests such as weeds have not been included in the discussions. The discussions took place at two workshops and were based on presentations of research from the two countries and field visits in China and Denmark. After the first workshop that took place in China, it was agreed that Chinese and Danish researchers in this particular field had mutual interests and priorities and that there was a potential for creating collaboration that could yield results beneficial for the agricultural/horticultural sectors in both countries. It was also agreed that in spite of the many differences between variation in climate and ecosystems, as well as in farming systems and their organization in China and Denmark, there were many similarities in the production of high-value crops in the two countries, such as vegetables, fruit and berries and, therefore, an obvious focus for joint research efforts. It was also agreed that joint research efforts could aim at specific crops as well as aiming at the development of specific research approaches. Based on the observations and the agreements of the first workshop, the second workshop, which took place in Denmark, focused more specifically on the development of a research framework with specified research questions/topics. Two groups were formed – one working with vegetables and one with fruit and berries working in parallel – both looking into what kind of research is needed fo

This report is the result of a network project which was established to discuss the potential for collaboration on development of systemic approaches to pest management without pesticides between Chinese and Danish researchers. The focus is on systemic approaches rather than input substitution of synthetic chemicals with agents of natural origin, however, the latter is considered as an integrated tool for the development and design of systemic approaches. The discussions were, furthermore, limited to management of invertebrate pests as well as diseases, while other pests such as weeds have not been included in the discussions. The discussions took place at two workshops and were based on presentations of research from the two countries and field visits in China and Denmark. After the first workshop that took place in China, it was agreed that Chinese and Danish researchers in this particular field had mutual interests and priorities and that there was a potential for creating collaboration that could yield results beneficial for the agricultural/horticultural sectors in both countries. It was also agreed that in spite of the many differences between variation in climate and ecosystems, as well as in farming systems and their organization in China and Denmark, there were many similarities in the production of high-value crops in the two countries, such as vegetables, fruit and berries and, therefore, an obvious focus for joint research efforts. It was also agreed that joint research efforts could aim at specific crops as well as aiming at the development of specific research approaches. Based on the observations and the agreements of the first workshop, the second workshop, which took place in Denmark, focused more specifically on the development of a research framework with specified research questions/topics. Two groups were formed – one working with vegetables and one with fruit and berries working in parallel – both looking into what kind of research is needed fo

This report is the result of a network project which was established to discuss the potential for collaboration on development of systemic approaches to pest management without pesticides between Chinese and Danish researchers. The focus is on systemic approaches rather than input substitution of synthetic chemicals with agents of natural origin, however, the latter is considered as an integrated tool for the development and design of systemic approaches. The discussions were, furthermore, limited to management of invertebrate pests as well as diseases, while other pests such as weeds have not been included in the discussions. The discussions took place at two workshops and were based on presentations of research from the two countries and field visits in China and Denmark. After the first workshop that took place in China, it was agreed that Chinese and Danish researchers in this particular field had mutual interests and priorities and that there was a potential for creating collaboration that could yield results beneficial for the agricultural/horticultural sectors in both countries. It was also agreed that in spite of the many differences between variation in climate and ecosystems, as well as in farming systems and their organization in China and Denmark, there were many similarities in the production of high-value crops in the two countries, such as vegetables, fruit and berries and, therefore, an obvious focus for joint research efforts. It was also agreed that joint research efforts could aim at specific crops as well as aiming at the development of specific research approaches. Based on the observations and the agreements of the first workshop, the second workshop, which took place in Denmark, focused more specifically on the development of a research framework with specified research questions/topics. Two groups were formed – one working with vegetables and one with fruit and berries working in parallel – both looking into what kind of research is needed fo

This report is the result of a network project which was established to discuss the potential for collaboration on development of systemic approaches to pest management without pesticides between Chinese and Danish researchers. The focus is on systemic approaches rather than input substitution of synthetic chemicals with agents of natural origin, however, the latter is considered as an integrated tool for the development and design of systemic approaches. The discussions were, furthermore, limited to management of invertebrate pests as well as diseases, while other pests such as weeds have not been included in the discussions. The discussions took place at two workshops and were based on presentations of research from the two countries and field visits in China and Denmark. After the first workshop that took place in China, it was agreed that Chinese and Danish researchers in this particular field had mutual interests and priorities and that there was a potential for creating collaboration that could yield results beneficial for the agricultural/horticultural sectors in both countries. It was also agreed that in spite of the many differences between variation in climate and ecosystems, as well as in farming systems and their organization in China and Denmark, there were many similarities in the production of high-value crops in the two countries, such as vegetables, fruit and berries and, therefore, an obvious focus for joint research efforts. It was also agreed that joint research efforts could aim at specific crops as well as aiming at the development of specific research approaches. Based on the observations and the agreements of the first workshop, the second workshop, which took place in Denmark, focused more specifically on the development of a research framework with specified research questions/topics. Two groups were formed – one working with vegetables and one with fruit and berries working in parallel – both looking into what kind of research is needed fo

This report is the result of a network project which was established to discuss the potential for collaboration on development of systemic approaches to pest management without pesticides between Chinese and Danish researchers. The focus is on systemic approaches rather than input substitution of synthetic chemicals with agents of natural origin, however, the latter is considered as an integrated tool for the development and design of systemic approaches. The discussions were, furthermore, limited to management of invertebrate pests as well as diseases, while other pests such as weeds have not been included in the discussions. The discussions took place at two workshops and were based on presentations of research from the two countries and field visits in China and Denmark. After the first workshop that took place in China, it was agreed that Chinese and Danish researchers in this particular field had mutual interests and priorities and that there was a potential for creating collaboration that could yield results beneficial for the agricultural/horticultural sectors in both countries. It was also agreed that in spite of the many differences between variation in climate and ecosystems, as well as in farming systems and their organization in China and Denmark, there were many similarities in the production of high-value crops in the two countries, such as vegetables, fruit and berries and, therefore, an obvious focus for joint research efforts. It was also agreed that joint research efforts could aim at specific crops as well as aiming at the development of specific research approaches. Based on the observations and the agreements of the first workshop, the second workshop, which took place in Denmark, focused more specifically on the development of a research framework with specified research questions/topics. Two groups were formed – one working with vegetables and one with fruit and berries working in parallel – both looking into what kind of research is needed fo

This report is the result of a network project which was established to discuss the potential for collaboration on development of systemic approaches to pest management without pesticides between Chinese and Danish researchers. The focus is on systemic approaches rather than input substitution of synthetic chemicals with agents of natural origin, however, the latter is considered as an integrated tool for the development and design of systemic approaches. The discussions were, furthermore, limited to management of invertebrate pests as well as diseases, while other pests such as weeds have not been included in the discussions. The discussions took place at two workshops and were based on presentations of research from the two countries and field visits in China and Denmark. After the first workshop that took place in China, it was agreed that Chinese and Danish researchers in this particular field had mutual interests and priorities and that there was a potential for creating collaboration that could yield results beneficial for the agricultural/horticultural sectors in both countries. It was also agreed that in spite of the many differences between variation in climate and ecosystems, as well as in farming systems and their organization in China and Denmark, there were many similarities in the production of high-value crops in the two countries, such as vegetables, fruit and berries and, therefore, an obvious focus for joint research efforts. It was also agreed that joint research efforts could aim at specific crops as well as aiming at the development of specific research approaches. Based on the observations and the agreements of the first workshop, the second workshop, which took place in Denmark, focused more specifically on the development of a research framework with specified research questions/topics. Two groups were formed – one working with vegetables and one with fruit and berries working in parallel – both looking into what kind of research is needed fo

This report is the result of a network project which was established to discuss the potential for collaboration on development of systemic approaches to pest management without pesticides between Chinese and Danish researchers. The focus is on systemic approaches rather than input substitution of synthetic chemicals with agents of natural origin, however, the latter is considered as an integrated tool for the development and design of systemic approaches. The discussions were, furthermore, limited to management of invertebrate pests as well as diseases, while other pests such as weeds have not been included in the discussions. The discussions took place at two workshops and were based on presentations of research from the two countries and field visits in China and Denmark. After the first workshop that took place in China, it was agreed that Chinese and Danish researchers in this particular field had mutual interests and priorities and that there was a potential for creating collaboration that could yield results beneficial for the agricultural/horticultural sectors in both countries. It was also agreed that in spite of the many differences between variation in climate and ecosystems, as well as in farming systems and their organization in China and Denmark, there were many similarities in the production of high-value crops in the two countries, such as vegetables, fruit and berries and, therefore, an obvious focus for joint research efforts. It was also agreed that joint research efforts could aim at specific crops as well as aiming at the development of specific research approaches. Based on the observations and the agreements of the first workshop, the second workshop, which took place in Denmark, focused more specifically on the development of a research framework with specified research questions/topics. Two groups were formed – one working with vegetables and one with fruit and berries working in parallel – both looking into what kind of research is needed fo

This report is the result of a network project which was established to discuss the potential for collaboration on development of systemic approaches to pest management without pesticides between Chinese and Danish researchers. The focus is on systemic approaches rather than input substitution of synthetic chemicals with agents of natural origin, however, the latter is considered as an integrated tool for the development and design of systemic approaches. The discussions were, furthermore, limited to management of invertebrate pests as well as diseases, while other pests such as weeds have not been included in the discussions. The discussions took place at two workshops and were based on presentations of research from the two countries and field visits in China and Denmark. After the first workshop that took place in China, it was agreed that Chinese and Danish researchers in this particular field had mutual interests and priorities and that there was a potential for creating collaboration that could yield results beneficial for the agricultural/horticultural sectors in both countries. It was also agreed that in spite of the many differences between variation in climate and ecosystems, as well as in farming systems and their organization in China and Denmark, there were many similarities in the production of high-value crops in the two countries, such as vegetables, fruit and berries and, therefore, an obvious focus for joint research efforts. It was also agreed that joint research efforts could aim at specific crops as well as aiming at the development of specific research approaches. Based on the observations and the agreements of the first workshop, the second workshop, which took place in Denmark, focused more specifically on the development of a research framework with specified research questions/topics. Two groups were formed – one working with vegetables and one with fruit and berries working in parallel – both looking into what kind of research is needed fo

This report is the result of a network project which was established to discuss the potential for collaboration on development of systemic approaches to pest management without pesticides between Chinese and Danish researchers. The focus is on systemic approaches rather than input substitution of synthetic chemicals with agents of natural origin, however, the latter is considered as an integrated tool for the development and design of systemic approaches. The discussions were, furthermore, limited to management of invertebrate pests as well as diseases, while other pests such as weeds have not been included in the discussions. The discussions took place at two workshops and were based on presentations of research from the two countries and field visits in China and Denmark. After the first workshop that took place in China, it was agreed that Chinese and Danish researchers in this particular field had mutual interests and priorities and that there was a potential for creating collaboration that could yield results beneficial for the agricultural/horticultural sectors in both countries. It was also agreed that in spite of the many differences between variation in climate and ecosystems, as well as in farming systems and their organization in China and Denmark, there were many similarities in the production of high-value crops in the two countries, such as vegetables, fruit and berries and, therefore, an obvious focus for joint research efforts. It was also agreed that joint research efforts could aim at specific crops as well as aiming at the development of specific research approaches. Based on the observations and the agreements of the first workshop, the second workshop, which took place in Denmark, focused more specifically on the development of a research framework with specified research questions/topics. Two groups were formed – one working with vegetables and one with fruit and berries working in parallel – both looking into what kind of research is needed fo

With the rapid development of international production and trade in organic food, organic agriculture is also boosting in China. The milestone of Chinese organic agri-culture was set in 1990 with the first export of a certified organic product (tea) from Lin’an county of Zhejiang Province, China, which marked the launch of organic pro-duction in China. By the end of 2005, there had been about 4.384 million ha organic land, including 1.694 million ha organic, 0.61 million ha conversion as well as 2.08 million ha collection area, about half of which is certified area. About 4.93 million tons organic products and nearly 1600 projects had been certified with 300~400 varieties. According to the above data, now China ranks the 3rd largest country of organic production in the world. In China, organic development mostly is export oriented, the export products include beans, rice, tea, mushroom, vegetable, processed oil and herbs, etc. According to the certifying body COFCC of Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the value of exported organic products increased from 0.3 million USD in 1995 to 0.35 billion USD at the end of the year 2004. Chinese domestic organic market started from 2000. Presently, most of the products sold in domestic markets are certified by COFCC and OFDC in some largest cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Shenzhen, etc. The price of the organic products is often up to 3 times the price of conventional products. Average organic food consumption accounts for 0.08% of the conventional food (LI 2006).

With the rapid development of international production and trade in organic food, organic agriculture is also boosting in China. The milestone of Chinese organic agri-culture was set in 1990 with the first export of a certified organic product (tea) from Lin’an county of Zhejiang Province, China, which marked the launch of organic pro-duction in China. By the end of 2005, there had been about 4.384 million ha organic land, including 1.694 million ha organic, 0.61 million ha conversion as well as 2.08 million ha collection area, about half of which is certified area. About 4.93 million tons organic products and nearly 1600 projects had been certified with 300~400 varieties. According to the above data, now China ranks the 3rd largest country of organic production in the world. In China, organic development mostly is export oriented, the export products include beans, rice, tea, mushroom, vegetable, processed oil and herbs, etc. According to the certifying body COFCC of Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the value of exported organic products increased from 0.3 million USD in 1995 to 0.35 billion USD at the end of the year 2004. Chinese domestic organic market started from 2000. Presently, most of the products sold in domestic markets are certified by COFCC and OFDC in some largest cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Shenzhen, etc. The price of the organic products is often up to 3 times the price of conventional products. Average organic food consumption accounts for 0.08% of the conventional food (LI 2006).

With the rapid development of international production and trade in organic food, organic agriculture is also boosting in China. The milestone of Chinese organic agri-culture was set in 1990 with the first export of a certified organic product (tea) from Lin’an county of Zhejiang Province, China, which marked the launch of organic pro-duction in China. By the end of 2005, there had been about 4.384 million ha organic land, including 1.694 million ha organic, 0.61 million ha conversion as well as 2.08 million ha collection area, about half of which is certified area. About 4.93 million tons organic products and nearly 1600 projects had been certified with 300~400 varieties. According to the above data, now China ranks the 3rd largest country of organic production in the world. In China, organic development mostly is export oriented, the export products include beans, rice, tea, mushroom, vegetable, processed oil and herbs, etc. According to the certifying body COFCC of Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the value of exported organic products increased from 0.3 million USD in 1995 to 0.35 billion USD at the end of the year 2004. Chinese domestic organic market started from 2000. Presently, most of the products sold in domestic markets are certified by COFCC and OFDC in some largest cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Shenzhen, etc. The price of the organic products is often up to 3 times the price of conventional products. Average organic food consumption accounts for 0.08% of the conventional food (LI 2006).

With the rapid development of international production and trade in organic food, organic agriculture is also boosting in China. The milestone of Chinese organic agri-culture was set in 1990 with the first export of a certified organic product (tea) from Lin’an county of Zhejiang Province, China, which marked the launch of organic pro-duction in China. By the end of 2005, there had been about 4.384 million ha organic land, including 1.694 million ha organic, 0.61 million ha conversion as well as 2.08 million ha collection area, about half of which is certified area. About 4.93 million tons organic products and nearly 1600 projects had been certified with 300~400 varieties. According to the above data, now China ranks the 3rd largest country of organic production in the world. In China, organic development mostly is export oriented, the export products include beans, rice, tea, mushroom, vegetable, processed oil and herbs, etc. According to the certifying body COFCC of Ministry of Agriculture (MOA), the value of exported organic products increased from 0.3 million USD in 1995 to 0.35 billion USD at the end of the year 2004. Chinese domestic organic market started from 2000. Presently, most of the products sold in domestic markets are certified by COFCC and OFDC in some largest cities such as Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Nanjing and Shenzhen, etc. The price of the organic products is often up to 3 times the price of conventional products. Average organic food consumption accounts for 0.08% of the conventional food (LI 2006).