Peanut and corn are two major crops in the tri-state area of the southeast USA, an area encompassing north Florida, southwest Georgia, and southeast Alabama. Sharecroppers in this region apply higher amount of input in crop production than the average farmers. We analyzed the behavior of sharecroppers in this region with regard to their fertilizer application decisions. Two hypotheses were form...

1.1 Iron deficiency – The problem Iron (Fe) is an essential micronutrient for plants, humans and other animals. An adequate uptake of Fe is needed to ensure proper growth and development, as well as good health of organisms (Marschner, 1995; Vasconcelos and Grusak, 2007). When provided with insufficient quantities of Fe, organisms will suffer from Fe deficiency symptoms. Fe deficiency is a worl...

Background: Aflatoxins (AFs) are natural toxins produced by fungus belonging to genus Aspergillus. These toxins are the secondary metabolites, which may cause teratogenic, mutagenic, and carcinogenic effects due to contamination of food. Peanut is an economically important crop, grown in many parts of the world. The main aim of this survey was to detect AFs in peanut oils marketed in Peshawar, ...

Comparing lymphocyte responses to allergenic and nonallergenic foods could reveal the differences between pathogenic and normal immune responses to foods. Defining the cytokine-producing phenotypes of peanut-specific lymphocytes from peanut-allergic children, children who outgrew peanut allergy, and children who have always tolerated peanuts may be useful for understanding the mechanisms of foo...

Methods We included 60 subjects in different groups: Group 1, peanut and peach allergy; Group 2, peanut allergy and good tolerance to peach; Group 3, peach allergy and good tolerance to peanut; Group 4, good tolerance to peach and peanut. The diagnostic was performed by clinical history, skin prick test and/or double blind placebo controlled food challenge. BAT to Arah1, Arah2, Arah3, Arah6, rA...

Inadvertent exposure to peanut in foods poses health risks for peanut-allergic individuals that can be reduced by improving detection systems for allergen contaminants in food products and manufacturing processes. Detection of peanut in chocolate has been especially difficult. We report the optimization of conditions for measuring a major peanut allergen, Ara h 1, in chocolate with the use of a...

One of the assumptions underlying efforts to convert cropping land, especially marginal crop land, to plantations is that there will be a net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, with a gas "sink" replacing a high energy system in which the breakdown of biomass is routinely accelerated to prepare for new crops. This research, based on case studies in Kingaroy in southeast Queensland, compares...

Samples of food crops (peanut, peeled pistachio, unpeeled pistachio, rice, and corn) and feed (barley, bran, corn) were autoclave-sterilized, and inoculated with 10(6) of spore suspension of an isolate of Aspergillus flavus fungus known to produce aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) . Following a 10-day period of incubation at 27 C to allow for fungal growth, food and feed samples were irradiated with gamma ra...

Methods DBPCFC was performed with increasing concentrations of peanut allergen (1 mg to 5 g of peanut) in 42 children with suspected IgE-mediated peanut-allergy. Blood samples were taken for analyses of CD-sens and quantification of IgE-antibodies to peanut and Ara h 1-3, 8-9. Basophils were stimulated in vitro with peanut allergen in descending doses until the threshold sensitivity was reached...

BACKGROUND The relative contribution and the relation between individual peanut allergens in peanut allergic responses is still matter of debate. We determined the individual contribution of peanut proteins to B, T cell and allergic effector responses in a mouse model for peanut allergy. METHODS Mice were immunized and challenged by oral gavage with peanut protein extract or isolated allergen...