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Food allergy (FA) is a global public health issue with growing prevalence. Increasing evidence supports the strong correlation between intestinal microbiota dysbiosis and food allergies. Probiotic intervention as a microbiota-based therapy could alleviate FA effectively. In addition to improving the intestinal microbiota disturbance and affecting microbial metabolites to regulate immune system, immune responses induced by the recognition of pattern recognition receptors to probiotic components may also be one of the mechanisms of probiotics protecting against FA. In this review, it is highlighted in detail about the regulatory effects on the immune system and anti-allergic potential of probiotic components including the flagellin, pili, peptidoglycan, lipoteichoic acid, exopolysaccharides, surface (S)-layer proteins and DNA. Probiotic components could enhance the function of intestinal epithelial barrier as well as regulate the balance of cytokines and T helper (Th) 1/Th2/regulatory T cell (Treg) responses. These evidences suggest that probiotic components could be used as nutritional or therapeutic agents for maintaining immune homeostasis to prevent FA, which will contribute to providing new insights into the resolution of FA and better guidance for the development of probiotic products.

As the “first responders” of the immune system, mast cells immediately respond to invading pathogens via TLR2-mediated recognition of pathogens and play an important role in the host's immune responses required to clear the infection. Imidacloprid is a neonicotinoid agent that can suppress immune responses in mice. However, limited information is available on its impact on TLR-mediated mast cell activation at the beginning of an infection. In this study, the effects of imidacloprid on TLR2-activated rat mast cell/basophil cell line RBL-2H3 (RBL-2H3 cells) and TLR2-induced skin inflammation in BALB/c mice were determined, after which we measured the release of allergic mediators, Ca2+ influx, production of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), and neutrophil infiltration. The results showed that 10−3 to 10−5 M imidacloprid significantly decreased TNF-α and IL-6 production in TLR2-dependent activation of RBL-2H3 cells. Moreover, 10−3 to 10−4 M imidacloprid in 100 μL of vehicle suppressed cytokine production and neutrophil infiltration in a TLR2-dependent skin inflammation model of BALB/c mice. Our work indicates that imidacloprid poses a possible health risk to hosts as it may inhibit the hosts’ immune responses via the suppression of TLR2-mediated mast cell activation, leading to a less effective immune response in hosts at the beginning of an infection.

Xinjiang is a high‐risk area for celiac disease (CD) regardless of genetic or environmental factors. However, no case has been reported yet in people living in Xinjiang. This study aims to explore the potential connection between diet and occurrence of CD in the Xinjiang population. To this end, the levels of T‐cell stimulatory epitopes in 164 accessions of Xinjiang wheat were tested by using Western blot with monoclonal antibodies against α‐gliadin epitopes Glia‐α9 and Glia‐α20. Three wheat varieties with remarkably low amounts of T‐cell stimulatory epitopes were obtained. Western blot and R5 competitive ELISA were performed for the assessment of potential toxicity related to CD of naan. Results showed a reduction of gluten toxicity after wheat flour was processed into naan, suggesting it may have the potential to help to reduce the risk of CD for the genetically predisposed individuals.

This study investigated the effect of fermentation on the physicochemical properties of β-glucans in oat sourdough. Sourdoughs were produced from oat using homo-fermentative lactic acid bacteria, Lactobacillus plantarum 22134. The contents of total β-glucan and soluble β-glucan, the molecular weight (MW) of β-glucan and the viscosity of the extracted β-glucans were determined at 0, 4, 8, 10 and 12 h of fermentation. The total β-glucan content decreased from 4.89% to 4.23% after 12 h of fermentation. The soluble β-glucan concentration increased from 1.89% to 2.18% and then decreased to 1.97% after 8 h of fermentation. The content of β-glucans with MW > 105 decreased from 0 to 4 h of fermentation, followed by an increase and then a decrease after 8 h. The oat sourdough fermented for 8 h had high viscosity, which could be more beneficial for health and bread texture quality, especially for gluten-free breads. International Journal of Food Science and Technology

Oxalic acid, one of the common organic acids secreted by microorganisms, was used to modify the biochar of sludge (SB) and rice husk (RB), and the adsorption function of biochar was combined with the reductive property of oxalic acid to repair Cr(VI). The biochar materials were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and Fourier transform attenuated total reflection infrared spectroscopy (ATR-IR), and the mechanism of chromium hexavalent removal was studied. Adsorption experiments showed that the removal rate of Cr(VI) with the modified SB and RB was 1.68 and 2.19 mg/g within 4h, which was 7.4 and 33 times of that before modification. Oxalic acid modification can enhance the repair of Cr(VI) by biochar in three aspects: 1. increases the BET surface area (109.34-174.13%) and decrease the average pore width (86.3-93.7%) of biochar, which increases the adsorption sites. 2. the addition of reducing oxygen-containing functional groups improves biocahr reduction performance. 3. improve reduced and unreduced Cr ion forms stable minerals on the surface of biochar. Therefore, oxalic acid can not only improve the adsorption and reduction of Cr(VI) by biochar, but also further improve the fixation/passivation of Cr ion after reduction and reduce the migration of Cr ion

Using active (Ca) and slow (Cs) soil organic carbon (SOC) pools to simulate changes in SOC stocks has been determined to be a major improvement over treating SOC as a single, homogeneous pool. However, regional patterns and primary controls of the mean residence times of the Ca (MRTa) and Cs (MRTs) pools in China’s croplands are largely unknown. In this study, a total of 373 samples from six regions were analysed based on a 100-d incubation experiment. The data from acid hydrolysis-incubation experiments were fitted to a three-pool first-order kinetics model that estimated MRTa = 1/Ka and MRTs = 1/Ks (Ka and Ks represent the decomposition rate constants of the Ca and Cs pools, respectively). The results showed that significant regional differences were found in the MRTa and MRTs in the surface upland soils (0–20 cm) across China, in which the longest MRTa and MRTs values were 72 d in the north China and 24.0 yr in the northeast China, the shortest MRTa and MRTs values were 12 d and 4.7 yr, respectively, both in the south-central China, while relatively small regional differences were observed in the values of the surface paddy soils (0–20 cm). Both the MRTa and the MRTs in upland soils (average: 30 d and 13.5 yr) were longer than the corresponding values in the paddy soils (average: 11 d and 5.4 yr), especially in the southwest China. Thus, the carbon sequestration potential of paddy soils needs to be revalued. The climate could partly explain the regional distribution of the MRTa and MRTs in the surface upland and paddy soils in China; however, as Chinese agricuture intensified from 1980 to 2010, the regional variabilities of MRTa and MRTs in the surface upland and paddy soils were primarily dominated by the soil texture. Therefore, more attention should be paid to the destruction of mechanical composition caused by land-use change or conventional tillage methods when faced with future carbon sequestration in croplands.