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SP 2 sp Postgraduate Program in Engineering, Tecnológico Nacional de México/IT Durango, Blvd. Felipe Pescador 1830 Ote., Durango 34080, Mexico; 10040780@itdurango.edu.mx SP 3 sp BioMath Research Group, Postgraduate Program in Engineering Sciences, Tecnológico Nacional de México/IT Tijuana, Blvd. Alberto Limón Padilla s/n, Tijuana 22454, Mexico SP 4 sp Department of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Tecnológico Nacional de México/IT Durango, Blvd. Felipe Pescador 1830 Ote., Durango 34080, Mexico; omrutiaga@itdurango.edu.mx * Correspondence: ysalazar@itdurango.edu.mx (Y.S.); Paul.valle@tectijuana.edu.mx (P.A.V.) Author Contributions Conceptualization, Y.S., O.M.R.-Q. and R.R.-H.; methodology, Y.S. and E.R.; software, P.A.V.; validation, Y.S., B.E.G. and P.A.V.; formal analysis, Y.S. and P.A.V.; investigation, E.R. and A.C.F.-G.; resources, B.E.G.; data curation, B.E.G.; writing - original draft preparation, Y.S. and E.R.; writing - review and editing, P.A.V.; visualization, Y.S. and P.A.V.; supervision, Y.S. and P.A.V.; project administration, Y.S. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. Adriana C. Flores-Gallegos, O. Miriam Rutiaga-Quiñones and Raul Rodriguez-Herrera were not included as authors in the original publication. [Extracted from the article]

Background: A considerable number of pollen-allergic patients develops allergy to plant foods, which has been attributed to cross-reactivity between food and pollen allergens. The aim of this study was to analyze the differences among pollen-allergic patients with and without plant food allergy. Methods: Eight hundred and six patients were recruited from 8 different hospitals. Each clinical research group included 100 patients (50 plant food-allergic patients and 50 pollen-allergic patients). Diagnosis of pollen allergy was based on typical case history of pollen allergy and positive skin prick tests. Diagnosis of plant-food allergy was based on clear history of plant-food allergy, skin prick tests and/or plant-food challenge tests. A panel of 28 purified allergens from pollens and/or plant foods was used to quantify specific IgE (ADVIA-Centaur® platform). Results: Six hundred and sixty eight patients (83%) of the 806 evaluated had pollen allergy: 396 patients with pollen allergy alone and 272 patients with associated food and pollen allergies. A comparison of both groups showed a statistically significant increase in the food and pollen allergy subgroup in frequency of: (1) asthma (47 vs. 59%; p < 0.001); (2) positive skin test results to several pollens: Plantago,Platanus,Artemisia,Betula,Parietaria and Salsola (p < 0.001); (3) sensitization to purified allergens: Pru p 3, profilin, Pla a 1 – Pla a 2, Sal k 1, PR-10 proteins and Len c 1. Conclusion: Results showed relevant and significant differences between both groups of pollen-allergic patients depending on whether or not they suffered from plant-derived food allergy. Copyright © 2010 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Predictive models may be considered a tool to ensure food quality as they provide insights that support decision making on the design of processes, such as fermentation. Objective: To formulate a mathematical model that describes the growth of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) in batch fermentation. Methodology: Based on real-life experimental data from eight LAB strains, we formulated a primary model in the form of a third-degree polynomial function that successfully describes the four phases observed in LAB growth, i.e., lag, exponential, stationary, and death. Our cubic mathematical model allows us to understand the fundamental nonlinear dynamics of LAB as well as its time-variant dependencies. Parameters of the model are written in terms of initial biomass, maximum biomass, maximum growth rate, and lag phase duration. Further, a statistical analysis was performed to compare our cubic primary model with the ones proposed by Gompertz, Baranyi, and Vázquez-Murado by computing the coefficient of determination R 2 , the residual sum of squares R S S , and the Akaike Information Criterion A I C . Results: The average statistical results from the cubic model are as follows: R 2 = 0.820 providing a better fit than the other three models, R S S = 0.658 and A I C = − 6.499 , where both values are lower than the other models considered in this study. Conclusion: The cubic primary model formulated in this work describes the behavior of biomass as it accurately represents the four phases of biomass growth in batch fermentation process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Study Objective: To examine the baseline factors influencing the occurrence and magnitude of immediate- and late-phase responses in asthmatic patients after an allergen-induced bronchial provocation test (A-BPT).Design: Cross-sectional analysis in a homogenous group of 31 mild, Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus-allergic patients with asthma.Setting: Allergy Department, Hospital Virgen del Camino, Pamplona, Spain.Interventions and Measurements: Patients completed an asthma symptom questionnaire and underwent skin tests, sputum induction, and methacholine bronchial provocation test. The A-BPT was performed on a separate day. Sputum cell profile and eosinophil cationic protein (ECP), tryptase, albumin, and interleukin-5 levels were quantified in the entire sputum supernatant. Assays were done for eosinophils in blood, and/or ECP, and total and specific IgE levels in serum. Exposure to D pteronyssinus major allergens (Der p1 and Der 2) was measured by an assay based on monoclonal antibodies.Results: A-BPT findings were positive in all patients, and late-phase responses were detected in 29%. Late responders were exposed to higher levels of Der p1 (p = 0.028), had greater levels of ECP (p = 0.007) and albumin (p = 0.019) in sputum, and showed a trend toward higher lymphocyte numbers (p = 0.053) in sputum than isolated early responders. The allergen-induced provocative dose that induced a fall in FEV(1) values > or =20% from the postdiluent values correlated with bronchial hyperresponsiveness (r = 0.36). The late-phase response magnitude correlated with Der p1 exposure (r = 0.49) and showed a trend toward correlation with sputum ECP levels (r = 0.38).Conclusion: Factors involved in the development of allergen-induced immediate- and late-phase responses are different. Allergen natural exposure might prime the infiltration of the airway by activated inflammatory cells enhancing the appearance and the severity of late-phase responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]