Comparison of immune responses and intestinal flora in epicutaneously sensitized BALB/c or C57BL/6 mouse models of food allergy

Cutaneous exposure to food allergens through a disrupted skin barrier is recognized as an important cause of food allergy,and the cutaneous sensitized mouse model has been established to investigate relevant allergic disorders.However,the role of different genetic backgrounds of mice on immune responses to food allergens upon epicutaneous sensitization is largely unknown.In this study,two strains of mice,i.e.,the BALB/c and C57BL/6 mice,were epicutaneously sensitized with ovalbumin on atopic dermatitis(AD)-like skin lesions,followed by intragastric challenge to induce IgE-mediated food allergy.Allergic outcomes were measured as clinical signs,specific antibodies and cytokines,and immune cell subpopulations,as well as changes in intestinal barrier function and gut microbiota.Results showed that both strains of mice exhibited typical food-allergic symptoms with a Th2-skewed response.The C57BL/6 mice,rather than the BALB/c mice,were fitter for establishing an epicutaneously sensitized model of food allergy since a stronger Th2-biased response and severer disruptions in the intestinal barrier and gut homeostasis were observed.This study provides knowledge for selecting an appropriate mouse model to study food-allergic responses associated with AD-like skin lesions and highlights the role of genetic variations in the immune mechanism underlying pathogenesis of food allergy.

Impacts of Aggregation Methods and Trophospecies Number on the Structure and Function of Marine Food Webs

Aggregation of species with similar ecological properties is one of the effective methods to simplify food web researches.However,species aggregation will affect not only the complexity of modeling process but also the accuracy of models’outputs.Selection of aggregation methods and the number of trophospecies are the keys to study the simplification of food web.In this study,three aggregation methods,including taxonomic aggregation(TA),structural equivalence aggregation(SEA),and self-organizing maps(SOM),were analyzed and compared with the linear inverse model–Markov Chain Monte Carlo(LIM-MCMC)model.Impacts of aggregation methods and trophospecies number on food webs were evaluated based on the robustness and unitless of ecological net-work indices.Results showed that aggregation method of SEA performed better than the other two methods in estimating food web structure and function indices.The effects of aggregation methods were driven by the differences in species aggregation principles,which will alter food web structure and function through the redistribution of energy flow.According to the results of mean absolute percentage error(MAPE)which can be applied to evaluate the accuracy of the model,we found that MAPE in food web indices will increase with the reducing trophospecies number,and MAPE in food web function indices were smaller and more stable than those in food web structure indices.Therefore,trade-off between simplifying food webs and reflecting the status of ecosystem should be con-sidered in food web studies.These findings highlight the importance of aggregation methods and trophospecies number in the analy-sis of food web simplification.This study provided a framework to explore the extent to which food web models are affected by dif-ferent species aggregation,and will provide scientific basis for the construction of food webs.

Farm buildings and agri-food transitions in Southern France:Mapping dynamics using a stakeholder-based diagnosis

This study's goal is to present a dynamic portrait of the farm-buildings environment in Occitania,in Southern France,in order to better identify the transitions underway in agri-food chains.To this end,we undertook a ter-ritorial diagnosis based on actor statements,using 28 semi-structured interviews across Occitania.This diagnosis was enriched by graphic modelling,which enabled the spatialization of the dynamics described.We show that the process of standardisation of farm buildings prevails in the majority of the territories studied.This phenomenon has intensified in recent years with the development of vast photovoltaic-roofed sheds,accentuating the farm-land conversion and soil sealing.At the same time,in areas with strong environmental,landscape and heritage contexts,a'new adventure in farm buildings'(2022 survey)is taking shape.It is primarily driven by local short food chains,which rely on self-construction,repurposing and refurbishment,the sharing of tools and equipment,and which favour the use and reuse of local resources.This study shows that farm-buildings dynamics crystallise many challenges confronting the reterritorialisation of agriculture and food production.

A Comparative Study on Factors Influencing Food Security in China and India

This paper analyzes and compares the key factors influencing food security in two populous countries(China and India),and cate-gorizes them into three types:agricultural production,economic development and income level,and income distribution.Using the prevalence of undernourishment as an indicator of food security,the paper empirically tests the degree of impact of various factors on food security in both countries using Tobit regression and Newey regression methods.The study finds that improving the level of economic development can significantly enhance food security in both countriesꎻreducing the Gini coefficient has a significant impact on India,but not on Chinaꎻincreasing the agricultural production per capita has a much greater effect on China than on India.Therefore,both countries should take measures that are both similar and different according to their national conditions to improve their food security level.

Application of in vitro and in vivo models in the study of food allergy

Food allergy is one of the most important food safety problems that has attracted increasing attention.The food allergy experimental models provide not only the accurate allergen detection and evaluation methods but also the powerful approaches for mechanism investigations.In this paper,we reviewed the common food allergy cell models including mast cell,basophil granulocyte and basophil,as well as the animal models of BALB/c mouse,C3H/HeJ mouse,and BN rat.We also introduced zebrafish,a promising model organism for investigating immunity though lacking direct applications in food allergy to date,and focused on traumatic inflammation,bacterial infection and viral infection models.In addition,we also summarized the clinical diagnostic research methods for food allergy.The elucidation of these topics will help researchers to understand the characteristics and mechanisms of various models and thus select the proper models for particular study,so as to support further investigations of food allergy.

A dynamic food-chain model and program for predicting the consequences of nuclear accident

A dynamic food chain model and program, DYFOM 95, for predicting the radiological consequences of nuclear accident has been developed, which is not only suitable to the West food chain but also to Chinese food chain. The following processes, caused by accident release which will make an impact on radionuclide concentration in the edible parts of vegetable were considered: dry and wet deposition interception and initial retention, translocation, percolation, root uptake and tillage. Activity intake rate of animals, effects of processing and activity intake of human through ingestion pathway ware also considered in calculations. The effects of leaf area index LAI of vegetable were considered in dry deposition model. A method for calculating the contribution of rain with different period and different intensity to total wet deposition was established. The program contains 1 main code and 5 sub codes to calculate dry and wet deposition on surface of vegetable and soil, translocation of nuclides in vegetable, nuclide concentration in the edible parts of vegetable and in animal products and activity intake of human and so on.

Studies on BN rats model to determine the potential allergenicity of proteins from genetically modified foods

AIM: To develop a Brown Norway (BN) rat model to determine the potential allergenicity of novel proteins in genetically modified food.METHODS: The allergenicity of different proteins were compared, including ovalbumin (OVA), a potent respiratory and food allergen, bovine serum albumin (BSA), a protein that is considered to have a lesser allergenic potential,and potato acid phosphatase (PAP), a non-allergenic protein when administered to BN rats via different routes of exposure (intraperitoneally or by gavage). IgG and IgE antibody responses were determined by ELISA and PCA,respectively. An immunoassay kit was used to determine the plasma histamine level. In addition, possible systemic effect of allergens was investigated by monitoring blood pressure.RESULTS: OVA provoked very vigorous protein-specific IgG and IgE responses, low grade protein-specific IgG and IgE responses were elicited by BSA, while by neither route did PAP elicit anything. In either routes of exposure,plasma histamine level in BN rats sensitized with OVA was higher than that of BSA or PAP. In addition, an oral challenge with BSA and PAP did not induce any effect on blood pressure, while a temporary drop in systolic blood pressure in few animals of each routes of exposure was found by an oral challenge with OVA.CONCLUSION: BN rat model might be a useful and predictive animal model to study the potential allergenicity of novel food proteins.

Stability and Neimark-Sacker bifurcation analysis of a food-limited population model with a time delay

In this paper,a kind of discrete delay food-limited model obtained by the Euler method is investigated,where the discrete delay τ is regarded as a parameter.By analyzing the associated characteristic equation,the linear stability of this model is studied.It is shown that Neimark-Sacker bifurcation occurs when τ crosses certain critical values.The explicit formulae which determine the stability,direction,and other properties of bifurcating periodic solution are derived by means of the theory of center manifold and normal form.Finally,numerical simulations are performed to verify the analytical results.

Mathematical Modeling of a Metabolic Network to Study the Impact of Food Contaminants on Genomic Methylation and DNA Instability

Environmental contamination of food is a worldwide public health problem. Folate mediated one- carbon metabolism plays an important role in epigenetic regulation of gene expression and mutagenesis. Many contaminants in food cause cancer through epigenetic mechanisms and/or DNA instability i.e. default methylation of uracil to thymine, subsequent to the decrease of 5-methylte- trahydrofolate (5 mTHF) pool in the one-carbon metabolism network. Evaluating consequences of an exposure to food contaminants based on systems biology approaches is a promising alternative field of investigation. This report presents a dynamic mathematical modeling for the study of the alteration in the one-carbon metabolism network by environmental factors. It provides a model for predicting “the impact of arbitrary contaminants that can induce the 5 mTHF deficiency. The model allows for a given experimental condition, the analysis of DNA methylation activity and dumping methylation in the de novo pathway of DNA synthesis.

Deterministic and Stochastic Fractional-Order Hastings-Powell Food Chain Model

In this paper,a deterministic and stochastic fractional-order model of the tri-trophic food chain model incorporating harvesting is proposed and analysed.The interaction between prey,middle predator and top predator population is investigated.In order to clarify the characteristics of the proposed model,the analysis of existence,uniqueness,non-negativity and boundedness of the solutions of the proposed model are examined.Some sufficient conditions that ensure the local and global stability of equilibrium points are obtained.By using stability analysis of the fractional-order system,it is proved that if the basic reproduction number R_(0)<1,the predator free equilibrium point E_(1) is globally asymptotically stable.The occurrence of local bifurcation near the equilibrium points is investigated with the help of Sotomayor’s theorem.Some numerical examples are given to illustrate the theoretical findings.The impact of harvesting on prey and themiddle predator is studied.We conclude that harvesting parameters can control the dynamics of the middle predator.A numerical approximation method is developed for the proposed stochastic fractional-order model.

Relevance of a standard food model in combination with electronic jaw movement recording on human mastication pattern analysis

The aim of this paper is to describe the possibilities of analyzing human mastication. The development of a standardized food model is presented. Based on the findings of a systematic literature search an elastic food model was created with the aim of standardizing size and elastic properties. Three different eatable jellied products were chosen, created by a changing of the amount of gelatin (260 Blooms) related to the total mass of the standard jellied food. The different hardness were classified in soft, medium and hard, flavored identically, but stained with different colors: soft-green, medium-yellow, hard-red. A cylindrical form was chosen with a height of 1 cm and a diameter of 2 cm. A standard protocol for analyzing chewing patterns in men was created. The condylographic data off several patients are described in details to demonstrate the possible clinical implementation. The newly developed standard food model (SFM) showed the capability to serve in experimental settings to analyze human mastication, although only a few patients have been examined. In addition, strength and size of the newly developed SFM load the masticatory system in an extent;it should be possible to disclose subclinical symptoms of patients within a short time of examination. The diagnostic procedure of temporo-mandibular disorder (TMD) should be endorsed by this new method. The condylographic data created by a standardized protocol should have the ability to enhance the clinical functional analysis of patients previous to restorative dental procedures.

Finding Food Security through Changing the Agricultural Model to Sustain Insect Biodiversity

Worldwide biodiversity is being threatened by human activities to a greater level wherein the natural ecosystems are reaching the verge of collapsing. We are faced with four major interrelated challenges namely a changing climate, biodiversity loss, human population growth and food production for this growing population. Agricultural intensification contributes significantly to biodiversity loss. The agricultural model for our current food production systems is mainly based on the Green Revolution, which promoted the cultivation of crops in extensive monoculture fields and intensified external inputs of agrochemicals. This model resulted in biodiversity loss, particularly in insect populations. A model based on ecological intensification as an alternative to agricultural intensification with minimized use of agro-inputs may slow the rate of biodiversity loss resulting in more sustainable agricultural ecosystems.

Innovative Business Model Canvas for Foreign Entrepreneurship in Food Service Industry

This study aims to utilize the business model canvas to explore foreign entrepreneurial strategies in Taiwan.The contribution of business model canvas is expected to assist entrepreneurs to build up more effective decisions and judgements as well as increase the probability of success.This study is divided into three major phases.First,the research framework and interview outline were established on the basis of relevant literatures review.Next,this paper used semi-structured interviews for six foreign entrepreneurs.Through the content analysis of interview results,a new 10 building blocks of business model canvas in the food service industry for foreign entrepreneurship was thereafter developed.The results of the analysis would enable foreign entrepreneurs who would like to establish business in Taiwan to review as potential strategies,as well as a further reference to attract foreigners who would like to start new business ventures in Taiwan.

Fractional Order for Food Gums: Modeling and Simulation

Fractional order calculus can represent systems with high-order dynamics and complex nonlinear phenomena using few coefficients, since the arbitrary order of the derivatives provides an additional degree of freedom to fit a specific behavior. Numerous mathematicians have contributed to the history of fractional calculus by attempting to solve a fundamental problem to the best of their understanding. Each researcher sought a definition and therefore different approaches, which has led to various definitions of differentiation and anti-differentiation of non-integer orders that are proven equivalent. Although all these definitions may be equivalent, from one specific standpoint, i.e., for a specific application, some definitions seem more attractive. Furthermore, it is well known that food gums are complex carbohydrates that can suit for a wide variety of functions in the context of food engineering. The viscoelastic behavior of food gums is crucial for these applications and formulations of new or improved food products. Small progress has been made to understand the viscoelastic behavior of food gums and there are few studies in the literature about these models. In this paper, we applied the Riemann-Liouville approach and the Fourier transform in order to obtain numerical simulations results of a fractional derivative model based on previous literature that to make a quantitative description of the viscoelastic properties behavior for a food gum. The results reveal that the fractional model shows good simulation capability and can be an attractive means for predicting and to elucidate the dynamic viscoelastic behavior of food gums.

Did weekly economic index and volatility index impact US food sales during the first year of the pandemic?

We explore the impacts of economic and financial dislocations caused by COVID-19 pandemic shocks on food sales in the United States from January 2020 to January 2021.We use the US weekly economic index(WEI)to measure economic dislocations and the Chicago Board Options Exchange volatility index(VIX)to capture the broader stock market dislocations.We validate the NARDL model by testing a battery of models using the autoregressive distributed lags(ARDL)methodology(ARDL,NARDL,and QARDL specifications).Our study postulates that an increase in WEI has a significant negative long-term effect on food sales,whereas a decrease in WEI has no statistically significant(long-run)effect.Thus,policy responses that ignore asymmetric effects and hidden cointegration may fail to promote food security during pandemics.

Ecological controls on biogeochemical fluxes in the western Antarctic Peninsula studied with an inverse foodweb model

Sea ice in the western Antarctic Peninsula （WAP） region is both highly variable and rapidly changing. In the Palmer Station region, the ice season duration has decreased by 92 d since 1978. The sea-ice changes affect ocean stratification and freshwater balance and in turn impact every component of the polar marine ecosystem. Long-term observations from the WAP nearshore and offshore regions show a pattern of chlorophyll （Chl） variability with three to five years of negative Chl anomalies interrupted by one or two years of positive anomalies （high and low Chl regimes）. Both field observations and results from an inverse food-web model show that these high and low Chl regimes differed significantly from each other, with high primary productivity and net community production （NCP） and other rates associated with the high Chl years and low rates with low Chl years. Gross primary production rates （GPP） averaged 30 mmolC.m^-2.d^-1 in the low Chl years and 100 mmolC.m-2.d1 in the high Chl years. Both large and small phytoplankton were more abundant and more productive in high Chl years than in low Chl years. Similarly, krill were more important as grazers in high Chl years, but did not differ from microzooplankton in high or low Chl years. Microzooplankton did not differ between high and low Chl years. Net community production differed significantly between high and low Chl years, but mobilized a similar proportion of GPP in both high and low Chl years. The composition of the NCP was uniform in high and low Chl years. These results emphasize the importance of microbial components in the WAP plankton system and suggest that food webs dominated by small phytoplankton can have pathways that funnel production into NCP, and likely, export.

A DYNAMIC FOOD CHAIN MODEL FOR HONG KONG BASED ON RADFOOD MODEL AND BIRCHALL－JAMES ALGORITHM

Ａ ＤＹＮＡＭＩＣ ＦＯＯＤ ＣＨＡＩＮ ＭＯＤＥＬ ＦＯＲ ＨＯＮＧ ＫＯＮＧ ＢＡＳＥＤ ＯＮ ＲＡＤＦＯＯＤ ＭＯＤＥＬ ＡＮＤ ＢＩＲＣＨＡＬＬ－ＪＡＭＥＳ ＡＬＧＯＲＩＴＨＭＫ．Ｎ．Ｙｕ（余君岳）；Ｋ．Ｐ．Ｎｇ（吴国斌）；Ｔ．Ｃｈｅｕｎｇ（...

生鲜电商平台消费者购菜意愿多元提升路径及适配组态研究

基于南昌市519份调查数据,运用技术接受模型3和期望确认理论模型,采用fsQCA方法对生鲜电商平台消费者购菜意愿进行组态分析,探讨消费者购菜意愿适配组态的要素构成条件及提升策略。结果表明:单一条件变量均不是生鲜电商平台消费者购菜意愿的必要条件,说明变量间可能存在替代作用;存在乐趣性与顾客认可型路径、适应性与情感导向型路径、体验感与顾客评价型路径、个性化与挑战导向型路径、影响力与便利导向型路径等5条产生高购菜意愿的路径;其中,高主观规范和高满意度作为核心条件存在于4条路径中,对生鲜电商平台消费者产生购菜意愿发挥着更普适的作用。基于此,建议整合多元路径,根据组态效应调整购菜意愿提升策略;确保产品质量,提升售后服务,重视满意度的普适性作用;建立良好口碑,发挥社交圈的积极作用,以实现平台发展的良性循环。

Assessment of Household Food Security and Its Determinants in Minjar Shenkora and Ada’a woredas of Central Ethiopia

Food security issues become one of the critical concerns and top priority areas for Ethiopia.This study analyzed rural households’food security status and its determinants in Minjar Shenkora woreda of Amhara Regional State and Ada’a woreda of Oromia Regional State.Data were collected from 240 randomly selected rural farm households.The study employed both descriptive statistics and a binary logistic regression model to estimate the status and determinants of households’food security,respectively.The findings indicated that the average dietary energy available for food secured households was 2,860.6 kilo calorie per day while 1,891.7 kilo calorie per day for the insecure group.According to the findings of the binary logit model,factors such as education level,farm size,livestock ownership,cooperatives membership,off-farm income and credit access have positive and significant effects on household food security.While household size has a negative and significant effect on household food security.The results recommend that interventions should target at improving rural financial services and off-farm activities that increase households’income and focusing on those most significant variables when attempting to enhance household food security.