Emotional Impact of Dishes versus Wines on Restaurant Diners: From Haute Cuisine Open Innovation

Haute cuisine is emblematic in the world of tourism and is of fundamental importance in the economic and social life in most countries worldwide. Haute cuisine gastronomic experiences play with the senses, involving the diner, thus generating a unique experience for the customer. This empirical study aims to analyze the influence on the consumer of the characteristic stimuli of a high-level gastronomic experience in a restaurant with two Michelin stars. Using neuromarketing biometrics, combined with a qualitative research technique, the objective of this research was to determine the emotional impact of the presentation and tasting of dishes compared to wines and to draw conclusions about each variable in the general experience. The results indicate that the dishes have a greater influence on the level of interest than the wines, and both have a different emotional impact at different moments of the experience due to its duration

Towards assessing open source communities' health using SOC concepts

Quality of an open source software ecosystem (OSS ecosystem) is key for different ecosystem actors such as contributors or adopters. In fact, the consideration of several quality aspects(e.g., activeness, visibility, interrelatedness, etc.) as a whole may provide a measure of the healthiness of OSS ecosystems. The more health a OSS ecosystem is, the more and better contributors and adopters it will gather. Some research tools have been developed to gather specific quality information from open source community data sources. However, there exist no frameworks available that can be used to evaluate their quality as a whole in order to obtain the health of an OSS ecosystem. To assess the health of these ecosystems, we propose to adopt robust principles and methods from the Service Oriented Computing field.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Silvopastoral system for sustainable cattle production in the tropics of Mexico

2017 Fall.Includes bibliographical references.Traditional production system has exhausted natural resources and depleted soil nutrients reducing farm productivity and forcing farmers to expand farm lands, which, increases deforestation and pollution. Global warming and an increasing global population pose additional strain to the already fragile global food security, making it urgent for innovative production systems to be developed. Such systems, adapted to local circumstances and designed to reduce deforestation and increase food production, must emerge to provide an expanding global food demand while enabling preservation of natural resources. In Mexico, a five-year research project, derived from a national initiative has proposed a silvopastoral model for the Tepalcatepec valley, in the State of Michoacan, as an alternative to conventional livestock ranching in the tropics. The primary objective for this research project was to characterize the advantages and disadvantages of an alternative livestock farming model, the silvopastoral system. One hundred and fifteen farmers in the Tepalcatepec valley were surveyed to characterize their farms, their family demographics, main cattle breed, crops farmed, cattle diet, measures of animal performance (productivity) commercialization (marketing practices) and animal health management practices. An analysis of the progress of the various national SPS initiatives was also performed in order to identify gaps in research, collaboration, stakeholder education, and application of SPS farming in Mexico. A systems analysis was conducted on the research project using the information compiled from the team of scientists surveyed. Components related to carbon capture, biodiversity, soil quality, nutrient recycling, and larger-scale cycles such as water cycle need to be incorporated into future research. An accurate measure of the true economic and ecological impact of SPS farming is an essential goal. Improved communication among scientists, government agencies, and stakeholders is also essential for successful research into SPS farming. The animal health component of the five-year Mexican national SPS project is the focus of this dissertation. Traditional livestock health practices on participating small farms were characterized, and common health problems of cattle were identified. A community based livestock syndromic surveillance system was developed, implemented, and observed for two years on five selected farms. Observations from farmers and veterinarians were triangulated to validate data on animal health collected by laypeople. For each farm under study, monthly cumulative incidence per animal category (calf, grower or adult), the most frequent disease syndrome, and the syndrome that carried the greatest economic impact were calculated. Most Rho correlation coefficients for farmer's and veterinarian's observations were high. Farmers that implemented the silvopastoral model were considered typical of those who practiced this farming method elsewhere within the region. Because participating farms shared production system, husbandry, livestock health status, disease preventive measures, products, and commercialization channels, they were considered an epidemiological compartment for quantitative risk analysis. Six different scenarios were created and analyzed using the software @Risk™ to measure the risk of introduction of bovine tuberculosis into this epidemiological compartment. The Mexican national program for control and eradication of bovine tuberculosis norm, regional prevalence on bovine tuberculosis, and current cultural practices in Tepalcatepec valley were considered for this analysis. The introduction of replacement heifers or sires into the farms, and the probability of the introduction of at least one infected animal was estimated. The least probable scenario for the introduction of tuberculosis into this compartment was the introduction of at least one infected animal, despite the prevalence of source herd, after applying tuberculin caudal fold test and cervical comparative test in parallel. Although some farmers are aware that the silvopastoral system is profitable, environmental friendly, and socially acceptable, initial investment appears to be the first barrier for adoption. Alternatives for funding SPS development are needed such as preferable interest rates, credit, and loans; notably, an accurate assessment of the costs for establishment of SPS should be more thoroughly studied. The initial three years of SPS implementation have the highest amount on investment; for those years, special attention should be placed on recording the contributions of timber and/or fruit to financial returns, since these products may be the key for offsetting the cost of SPS implementation Further research is needed to more accurately measure the economic, ecological, animal health, and human health impact of the silvopastoral model of farming in the tropics. An ample variety of species combinations, suitable for silvopastoral production, should be studied and different arrays proposed to encourage scaling up the model. Research funding is scarce; however, public awareness of the need for a change in production practices and the allure of environmental friendly-produced animal products can produce a market-driven change in these small-scale food production operations. This could engender greater research support from industry and government sources, as well as non-governmental organizations dedicated to promoting sustainable agricultural practices in a changing global environment

Caracterización de la microbiota de queso Serpa y selección de cepas nativas con aptitud probiótica

El queso Serpa, una Denominación de Origen Protegida (DOP), es un queso maturado de leche cruda de oveja producido en el sur de Portugal (Alentejo), en un área geográfica de producción establecida en el Decreto Reglamentario Nº 39/87. A pesar de ser un queso muy apreciado e importante en la economía local, no existen datos consistentes sobre la comunidad microbiana indígena involucrada. La presencia de esta microflora es esencial para la calidad final, la seguridad y la autenticidad del producto. Este trabajo tuvo como objetivo estudiar las poblaciones microbianas dominantes que actúan durante la elaboración del queso. Esto se realizó mediante una combinación de cultivo convencional y técnicas moleculares, para establecer las cepas más influyentes. Las cepas identificadas y representativas se caracterizaron en términos de su potencial bioactivo. La cantidad total de bacterias mesófilas al final de la maduración fue de 8,5 log ufc/g, siendo las bacterias del ácido láctico el grupo microbiano predominante, seguido de las enterobacterias y las levaduras. “Lactobacillus paracasei/casei” fue la principal especie entre las primeras y “Hafnia alvei” entre las enterobacterias, mientras que “Debaryomyces hansenii” y “Kluyveromyces marxianus” predominaron entre las levaduras. Los resultados obtenidos por secuenciación de alto rendimiento revelan el género “Lactococcus”, seguido de los géneros “Leuconostoc” y “Lactobacillus”. Teniendo en cuenta las características probióticas estudiadas se seleccionaron tres cepas, “Lb. brevis” C1Lb21, “Lb. plantarum” G1Lb5 y “Lb. pentosus” G4Lb7 porque su seguridad, mostraban buena tolerancia a las condiciones del tracto gastrointestinal (GIT) y la capacidad de colonizar el intestino.Serpa cheese, a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), is a ripened raw ewes milk cheese produced in the south of Portugal (Alentejo), in a geographical area of production established in the Regulatory Decree Nº 39/87. Despite being a highly appreciated cheese and having great importance in the local economy, there is no consistent data, achieved by the use of molecular methods, about the indigenous microbial community involved. The presence of this microflora is essential to the final quality, security and authenticity of the product. Thus, this work aimed to study the dominant microbial populations that act during cheese making. This was done through a combination of conventional cultivation and molecular techniques, in order to establish the most influential strains. The identified and representative strains were characterized in terms of their bioactive potential. The total amount of mesophilic bacteria at the end of ripening was, on average, 8.5 log cfu/g, with lactic acid bacteria being the predominant microbial group, followed by Enterobacteria and yeasts. “Lactobacillus paracasei/casei” were the main species among the former and “Hafnia alvei” among the Enterobacteria, while “Debaryomyces hansenii” and “Kluyveromyces marxianus” predominated among yeasts. The results obtained by high-throughput sequencing reveal the “Lactococcus” genus, followed by the “Leuconostoc” and “Lactobacillus” genres. Considering the probiotic characteristics studied three potential probiotic strains (PPS) namely, “Lb. brevis”, “Lb. plantarum”, “Lb. pentosus” were selected as they were safe, showed good tolerance to stress conditions found in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) and the ability to colonize the intestine.Ministerio de Agricultura y Desarrollo Rural de Portugal; Fondo Europeo Agrícola de Desarrollo Rural (FEDER), a través del acuerdo de asociación Portugal 2020-PDR: proyecto “SerpaFlora - Valorización de la flora nativa del queso Serpa” (PDR2020-101-031017