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'Human neural stem cells' jointly drafted and agreed upon by experts from the Chinese Society for Stem Cell Research, is the first guideline for human neural stem cells (hNSCs) in China. This standard specifies the technical requirements, test methods, test regulations, instructions for use, labelling requirements, packaging requirements, storage requirements, transportation requirements and waste disposal requirements for hNSCs, which is applicable to the quality control for hNSCs. It was originally released by the China Society for Cell Biology on 30 August 2022. We hope that publication of the guideline will facilitate institutional establishment, acceptance and execution of proper protocols, and accelerate the international standardization of hNSCs for clinical development and therapeutic applications., (© 2023 The Authors. Cell Proliferation published by Beijing Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Human midbrain dopaminergic progenitors (mDAPs) are one of the most representative cell types in both basic research and clinical applications. However, there are still many challenges for the preparation and quality control of mDAPs, such as the lack of standards. Therefore, the establishment of critical quality attributes and technical specifications for mDAPs is largely needed. "Human midbrain dopaminergic progenitor" jointly drafted and agreed upon by experts from the Chinese Society for Stem Cell Research, is the first guideline for human mDAPs in China. This standard specifies the technical requirements, test methods, inspection rules, instructions for usage, labelling requirements, packaging requirements, storage requirements, transportation requirements and waste disposal requirements for human mDAPs, which is applicable to the quality control for human mDAPs. It was originally released by the China Society for Cell Biology on 30 August 2022. We hope that the publication of this guideline will facilitate the institutional establishment, acceptance and execution of proper protocols, and accelerate the international standardization of human mDAPs for clinical development and therapeutic applications., (© 2023 The Authors. Cell Proliferation published by Beijing Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine and John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

In recent years, the influx of business capital to rural areas, land transfer and adjustment in planting structure have led to the widespread of "non-grain production" of cultivated land in China, which threatens the "1.8 billion mu of arable land protection red line" as well as national food security. Both tillage layer stripped and unstripped are examples of "non-grain production" of cultivated land, which are detrimental to long-term food security because they might reduce soil fertility to varied degrees. In the former case, the original topsoil has been destroyed and the tillage layer is gone. In the latter, there may be impediments such as acidification and salinization. Domestic and international scholars have conducted extensive research on the improvement of degraded soils, including measures with guest soil and soil replacement, the reduction of soil barrier factors, biological fertilization and other measures. There are no systematic research results on the remediation of "non-grain production" of cultivated land. Using data from the National Statistical Yearbook data and literature analysis, we systematically summarized current status of "non-grain production" of cultivated land and key technologies for land improvement, recultivation and fertilization in China, and put forward future directions in this area.

Objectives: Larval indices have been used for Ae. albopictus surveillance for many years, while there is limited use in assessing dengue transmission risk and adult mosquito emergence. This study is aimed to explore the relationships between larval indices and the Ae. albopictus density captured by BG-mosquito trap (BG-trap) method, with considering the meteorological factors., Methods: Data on larval density, adult mosquito density and meteorology factors were collected in an entomological survey carried out in Quzhou City, Zhejiang Province of China in 2018. The Spearman's rank correlation and Pearson correlation were used for the analysis on the correlation of density indices. Generalized additive models were established to analyze the influencing factors of mosquito density., Results: Breteau index (BI), House index (HI) and Container index (CI) were highly correlated with each other (r>0.7, p<0.05). The Ae. albopictus density was significantly correlated with CI (rs = 0.260, p<0.05), CI pre one week (rs = 0.259, p<0.05), and CI pre three weeks (rs = 0.329, p<0.05). BI was correlated with female Ae. albopictus density pre 4 weeks (r = -0.299, p<0.05). Female Ae. albopictus density was correlated with CI pre 3 weeks (rs = 0.303, p<0.05). The influencing factors of BI were average wind speed pre 1 week, average temperature and female Ae. albopictus density pre 4 weeks. The influencing factors of CI were average humidity pre 3 weeks and average temperature. The influencing factors of HI were average temperature and precipitation pre 4 weeks. The influencing factor of Ae. albopictus density and female Ae. albopictus density was temperature., Conclusions: The adult Ae. albopictus density had low correlation with certain larval indices. Some of the meteorology factors played significant roles in the density of adult Ae. albopictus and larva with or without a time lag., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Thousand Island Lake (TIL) is a typical fragmented landscape and an ideal model to study ecological effects of fragmentation. Partial fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene of 23 island populations of Dendrolimus punctatus in TIL were sequenced, 141 haplotypes being identified. The number of haplotypes increased significantly with the increase in island area and shape index, whereas no significant correlation was detected between three island attributes (area, shape and isolation) and haplotype diversity. However, the correlation with number of haplotypes was no longer significant when the 'outlier' island JSD (the largest island) was not included. Additionally, we found no significant relationship between geographic distance and genetic distance. Geographic isolation did not obstruct the gene flow among D. punctatus populations, which might be because of the high dispersal capacity of this pine moth. Fragmentation resulted in the conversion of large and continuous habitats into isolated, small and insular patches, which was the primary effect on the genetic diversity of D. punctatus in TIL. The conclusion to emphasize from our research is that habitat fragmentation reduced the biological genetic diversity to some extent, further demonstrating the importance of habitat continuity in biodiversity protection.

Many mutations in the retinoschisis (RS1) gene have been identified, but there are limited clinical data relating to the different genotypes. This study investigated the genotype, clinical phenotype and therapies for X-linked juvenile retinoschisis (XLRS) patients in China to evaluate the effects of gene mutations and therapies on the prognosis of the disease. Thirty patients were recruited in the study. Genetic examination identified 8 novel RS1 gene mutations. Twenty-four patients were identified as missense mutation, which was the most common gene mutation in XLRS patients. Amino acids 102 and 209 were the most common mutation areas, accounting for a total 35.7% of all patients. Mutations affecting amino acid 102 were associated with poor results on the flash electroretinogram (ERG). Sixteen patients had various complications. Anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) drugs were given to four patients with hemorrhage or other complications, and serious adverse events did not occur. Our outcome demonstrates that missense mutation was the leading cause of XLRS and more than half of the patients with this missense had various complications. Anti-VEGF drugs may be an effective and safe way to prevent deterioration of XLRS with certain complications. There is wide genotypic and phenotypic variability in Chinese patients with XLRS.

The selection and breeding of pollution-safe cultivars (PSCs) is a practicable and cost-effective approach to minimize the influx of heavy metal to the human food chain. In this study, both pot-culture and field experiments were conducted to identify and screen out cadmium pollution-safe cultivars (Cd-PSCs) from 50 pakchoi (Brassica rapa L. ssp. chinensis) cultivars for food safety. When treated with 1.0 or 2.5 mg/kg Cd, most of the pakchoi cultivars (>70%) showed greater or similar shoot biomass when compared with the control. This result indicates that pakchoi has a considerable tolerance to soil Cd stress. Cd concentrations in the shoot varied significantly (P<0.05) between cultivars: in two Cd treatments (1.0 and 2.5 mg/kg), the average values were 0.074 and 0.175 mg/kg fresh weight (FW), respectively. Cd concentrations in the shoots of 14 pakchoi cultivars were lower than 0.05 mg/kg FW. In pot-culture experiments, both enrichment factors (EFs) and translocation factors (TFs) of six pakchoi cultivars were lower than 1.0. The field studies further confirmed that the Hangzhouyoudonger, Aijiaoheiye 333, and Zaoshenghuajing cultivars are Cd-PSCs, and are therefore suitable for growth in low Cd-contaminated soils (≤1.2 mg/kg) without any risk to food safety.

A pot experiment was conducted to study the differences in cadmium (Cd) absorption and accumulation of sixty Brassica varieties on the soils added with different concentration of Cd. The results showed that when the soil Cd concentration was 0.6 mg x kg(-1) and 1.2 mg x kg(-1), the percentage of test Brassica varieties whose Cd content exceeded the National Edible Standard was 8.33% and 66.67%, respectively, suggesting that Brassica was easy to be Cd-polluted. The shoot Cd content of all test varieties was below the National Edible Standard, and the biomass of the varieties Changgengbaicai, Shanghaiqing, Aijisuzhouqing, Qingyou 4, Aijiaokuipianheiyebaicai, Zhouyeheiyoudonger, Gaohuaqinggengbaicai, Zaoshenghuajing, Jinguanqingjiangbai, Xiawangqinggengcai, Lifengqinggengbaicai, and Hangzhouyoudonger was not affected. These 12 Brassica varieties could be planted on the soils with light Cd pollution.

Background: The number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is increasing. However, there have been few systematic assessments of the quality of reporting of these trials., Objective: This study was undertaken to evaluate the quality of reporting of RCTs in TCM journals published in mainland China from 1999 to 2004., Methods: Thirteen TCM journals were randomly selected by stratified sampling of the approximately 100 TCM journals published in mainland China. All issues of the selected journals published from 1999 to 2004 were hand-searched according to guidelines from the Cochrane Centre. All reviewers underwent training in the evaluation of RCTs at the Chinese Centre of Evidence-based Medicine. A comprehensive quality assessment of each RCT was completed using a modified version of the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) checklist (total of 30 items) and the Jadad scale. Disagreements were resolved by consensus., Results: Seven thousand four hundred twenty-two RCTs were identified. The proportion of published RCTs relative to all types of published clinical trials increased significantly over the period studied, from 18.6% in 1999 to 35.9% in 2004 (P < 0.001). The mean (SD) Jadad score was 1.03 (0.61) overall. One RCT had a Jadad score of 5 points; 14 had a score of 4 points; and 102 had a score of 3 points. The mean (SD) Jadad score was 0.85 (0.53) in 1999 (746 RCTs) and 1.20 (0.62) in 2004 (1634 RCTs). Across all trials, 39.4% of the items on the modified CONSORT checklist were reported, which was equivalent to 11.82 (5.78) of the 30 items. Some important methodologic components of RCTs were incompletely reported, such as sample-size calculation (reported in 1.1% of RCTs), randomization sequence (7.9%), allocation concealment (0.3 %), implementation of the random-allocation sequence (0%), and analysis of intention to treat (0%)., Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that the quality of reporting of RCTs of TCM has improved, but remains poor.

Background: Compound salvia pellet (CSP), consisting of active herbal ingredients extracted from Danshen (salvia miltiorrhiza), Sanqi (panax notoginseng), and Borneol (Cinnamomum camphora), is taken most frequently by patients with angina pectoris in China. To determine the efficacy and safety of CSP for the treatment of stable angina pectoris (SAP), a meta-analysis was undertaken., Material/methods: An extensive search including MEDLINE, EMBASE, BA, Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM), and Chinese Cochrane Centre Controlled Trials Register from 1994 to 2004 was performed. Data were extracted independently from the included trials by two reviewers. Statistical software (RevMan 4.1) provided by the Cochrane Collaboration was applied., Results: Twenty-seven randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (n=3722), regardless of language or publication status, were identified. Generally, the methodological quality of the trials, assessed by the Jadad scale, was low, except for one with 3 points. Statistical pooling of the results showed that, compared with nitrates, CSP treatment had significant effect on the improvement of angina symptoms (RR=1.13, 95%CI=[1.07, 1.20]), showed greater increased effect on the improvement of electrocardiogram (ECG) results (RR=1.39, 95%CI=[1.28, 1.50]), and the percentage of patients with adverse events was significantly decreased in the treatment of CSP in comparison with nitrates (2.4% vs. 29.7%)., Conclusions: CSP has significant effect on the improvement of angina symptoms and ECG results with few adverse events. However, the methodological quality of clinical trials with CSP for SAP needs to be improved, and the outcome measures should include mortality, quality of life, and other end-points.