Effects of Multisensory Context on Tofu and Soy Sauce Evaluation and Consumption

We examined the effects of an informative pitch and multisensory contexts as potential factors influencing individuals’ experience of tofu with soy sauce and the amount consumed outside the lab. Two hundred and sixteen participants watched one of two pitches (promoting either vegetarian diets or exercise) and were guided into one of three multisensory contexts (‘sustainable’, ‘meat’, or ‘neutral’ theme). Participants rated the aroma and appearance of soy sauce and the taste of tofu dipped in it using the intuitive ‘one touch’ EmojiGrid valence and arousal measuring tool. Our results showed that the ‘meat’ context increased arousal ratings for soy sauce and the tendency to consume more tofu relative to the other contexts. Pitch did not influence affective ratings or amounts consumed. We conclude that the multisensory context has the potential to positively affect peoples’ choices and perceptions of plant-based and sustainable food and promote its consumption

Electrodermal activity as an index of food neophobia outside the lab

IntroductionUnderstanding how food neophobia affects food experience may help to shift toward sustainable diets. Previous research suggests that individuals with higher food neophobia are more aroused and attentive when observing food-related stimuli. The present study examined whether electrodermal activity (EDA), as index of arousal, relates to food neophobia outside the lab when exposed to a single piece of food.MethodsThe EDA of 153 participants was analyzed as part of a larger experiment conducted at a festival. Participants completed the 10-item Food Neophobia Scale. Subsequently, they saw three lids covering three foods: a hotdog labeled as “meat”, a hotdog labeled as “100% plant-based”, and tofu labeled as “100% plant-based”. Participants lifted the lids consecutively and the area-under-the-curve (AUC) of the skin conductance response (SCR) was captured between 20 s before and 20 s after each food reveal.ResultsWe found a significant positive correlation between food neophobia and AUC of SCR during presentation of the first and second hotdog and a trend for tofu. These correlations remained significant even when only including the SCR data prior to the food reveal (i.e., an anticipatory response).DiscussionThe association between food neophobia and EDA indicates that food neophobic individuals are more aroused upon the presentation of food. We show for the first time that the anticipation of being presented with food already increased arousal for food neophobic individuals. These findings also indicate that EDA can be meaningfully determined using wearables outside the lab, in a relatively uncontrolled setting for single-trial analysis

Some evidence from Japan on the efficiency of land markets

When an investor enters the real-estate market, can he detect a profitable parcel of land simply by observing how its price (or, more realistically, prices of like parcels in its general vicinity) has behaved in the immediate past? For example, if we observe land prices in a certain of a city or even of a country to be rising at a rapid rate, is it reasonable to expect prices there to continue to rise at this rapid rate? If so, the market is said to be 'inefficient'. Current prices in that market do not fully capitalize expected future price changes. This paper asks if the Tokyo land market is inefficient and concludes that it is. If the government data on this market can be trusted, there are wide divergences in mean rates of appreciation across parcels that cannot be explained by differences in risk and that are not being closed through arbitrage. It appears that an investor in land can make an above average return on his funds by discovering where land prices have been rising at an above average rate and by investing in land in this area. If sustained by similar analyses of other land markets, this finding will give quantitative content to land economists' intuition that land markets are different from other speculative markets (for example, the stock and commodities markets), which are well known to be highly efficient.

The compartment structures of the antennal lobe in the ant, Aphaenogaster smythiesi japonica

Pheromones are important cues for social insects such as ants. As a first step in elucidation of pheromonal information processing mechanisms in the myrmicine ant, we investigated the morphological structure of the antennal lobe. Using autofluorescence imaging, labeling of neuronal filamentous actin, and reduced silver impregnation staining, the antennal lobe was found to consist of five compartments that, each received input from a different antennal sensory tract. Two major tracts of projection neurons, the medial and lateral antenno-cerebral tract (m-and l-ACT), originated from a different region of the antennal lobe. The m-ACT originated from the posterior part of the antennal lobe whereas the l-ACT originated from the anterior part. These results demonstrate a spatial segregation of function within the antennal lobe

Erratum: 1,25-Dihydroxyvitamin D₃ Upregulates Functional C-X-C Chemokine Receptor Type 4 Expression in Human Eosinophils

<b><i>Background:</i></b> Epidemiological studies suggest that vitamin D may be protective against the inception and exacerbation of allergic diseases. However, the direct effect of vitamin D on eosinophils, the major effector cells in allergic inflammation, is not known. It has been reported that C-X-C chemokine receptor type 4 (CXCR4) in eosinophils is induced in non-Th2 cytokine milieu or in response to glucocorticoids, recruiting the cell to noninflammatory sites. <b><i>Objectives:</i></b> To test whether 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D₃ [1,25-(OH)₂D₃ or calcitriol], the active metabolite of vitamin D, acts directly on eosinophils to induce upregulation of CXCR4. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> Peripheral blood eosinophils from normal volunteers were isolated by CD16 immunomagnetic beads. Vitamin D receptor (VDR) expression was detected by RT-PCR. Eosinophils were cultured with 1,25-(OH)₂D₃ and the survival and expression of CXCR4 on eosinophils were measured by flowcytometry. Eosinophil migration by CXCL-12/SDF-1 in the presence of 1,25-(OH)₂D₃ was also analyzed. <b><i>Results:</i></b> Eosinophils expressed VDR. 1,25-(OH)₂D₃ prolonged eosinophil survival and upregulated eosinophil surface expression of CXCR4 in a concentration-dependent manner. Interleukin (IL)-5 significantly reduced CXCR4 expression and migration induced by the ligand CXCL-12/SDF-1. 1,25-(OH)₂D₃ reversed the negative effects of IL-5 on the CXCR4-CXCL12 pathway. <b><i>Conclusion:</i></b> 1,25-(OH)₂D₃ regulates CXCR4 expression in eosinophils. The mechanism may be involved in eosinophil recruitment to noninflammatory sites where the ligand of CXCR4 is constitutively expressed