Health perception and food attributes

Consumers’ perception of health related to food products, characteristics, ingredients and attributes is measured in a qualitative and quantitative approach. Cognitive aspects as well as affective aspects are taken in consideration. In the perspective of health perception consumers talk in terms of unprocessed, nutritious, fresh, and natural attributes, as well as affective aspects like appetizing, happy and enjoy. Different groups of consumers have their own perception of health. Depending the target group and the product the health perception of consumers is correlated to specific attributes and affective aspects

Deliverable 5.2 Study report on consumer motivations and behaviours for fruits and fruit products in the Balkans

It is unclear whether fruit consumption in Western Balkan countries (WBC) meets recommended levels from a health perspective. A better understanding consumers' perception of health and motives and barriers of fruit is necessary to get insight in the fruit consumption. The aim of WP 5 is therefore to explore, analyze and understand perceptions, motivations and barriers of consumers in WBC towards fruit and fruit products and their nutritional balance. In this WP 5 the focus is on consumption of fruit in everyday life, which means that fresh fruit as well as dried and processed fruit are studied

Virtualness:a new organisational dimension

In current literature a new organisational form is presented, the virtual organisation (VO). ms organisational form is a co-operation between a number of companies who combine their strengths to develop a new service or product. The current VO literature is ambiguous about the definition and characteristics of VOs. Furthermore, few empirical studies have been performed about the organisational structure, the internal communication and the consequences of virtual settings to knowledge and learning. In the literature it is assumed that knowledge is developed and transferred between the involved parties. However, little is mentioned how this knowledge is transferred and to who it is transferred. In this research the VO is not defined as a new organisation structure, but virtualness is an organisational dimension. The main research question is to investigate the relationshp between virtualness and knowledge development and transfer. Several dimensions are important in this respect: (a) the degree of virtualness; @) the context dependent indicators that indirectly influence virtualness; (c) knowledge development and transfer and (d) the consequences of different degrees of virtualness (and context dependent indicators) for knowledge development and transfer. It is assumed that knowledge development and transfer are affected by a high degree of virtualness. These questions are investigated with help of three case studies

Towards Chemical Imaging of Living Cells: Design and Application of a Confocal Raman Microscope

Raman microspectroscopy is a technique that can be used to obtain\ud information about the chemical composition of a very small measurement\ud volume (0.5 fl) in a (biological) sample. Molecules present in the sample\ud can be identified based on their scattering characteristics and no special\ud treatment or preparation of the samples is necessary. Therefore, biological\ud samples can be measured under physiological conditions and reactions in\ud living cells can be monitored.\ud We have developed a Confocal Direct Imaging Raman Microscope\ud (CDIRM) which enables the measurement of both Raman microspectra of\ud a small measurement volume and of Raman images which show the\ud distribution of a specific compound over the sample. The CDIRM is the\ud first example in literature of a confocal microscope which is based upon\ud direct imaging. All currently used confocal Raman microscopes work with\ud image reconstruction. Direct imaging has several advantages among which\ud the shorter measurement times that can be used in most applications.\ud In chapter 2 the design of the system has been discussed and its mains\ud characteristics, like resolution and image quality have been described. The\ud resolution of the set up as determined with a 0.282 μm sphere appeared to\ud be 0.37 μm in the lateral direction and 1.2 μm in the axial direction (Full\ud Width at Half Maximum (FWHM)). The resolution for a 275 nm layer was\ud determined to be 1.4 μm in the axial direction. We have demonstrated that\ud high resolution Raman images of biological samples can be made with the\ud CDIRM. Raman images have been measured of the DNA and protein\ud distribution in a polytene chromosome. These images illustrate the\ud capability of our system to make Raman images of a sample with a\ud relatively weak Raman signal: only 0.1 photons/(second×pixel) were\ud detected. Further, we have shown that our system can be used to make 3-\ud dimensional Raman images of biological samples. 3-dimensional images of\ud the distribution of a drug in a living cell and of cholesterol in an eye lens\ud slice have been presented.\ud Raman microspectroscopy is one of the few techniques that enables the\ud monitoring of processes in single living cells, without chemical treatment\ud of the sample which might disturb the cellular system. In chapter 3 Raman\ud measurements on single activated human neutrophilic and eosinophilic\ud granulocytes have been shown. The granulocytes were activated by\ud addition of the soluble activator Phorbol Myristate Acetate or by\ud opsonized particles. Raman spectra were measured in the cytoplasm and\ud the phagosome of activated granulocytes. The resulting spectra were\ud y\ud 123\ud compared with spectra of the native cells and clear differences could be\ud recognized. The results indicated an intracellular reduction of both\ud Myeloperoxidase and cytochrome b558, two heme-proteins which are\ud known to play a role in the human immune system.\ud An important advantage of Raman imaging compared to fluorescence\ud imaging is that no extrinsic labels have to be introduced to distinguish\ud specific molecules. However, in samples with a low concentration of weak\ud Raman scattering molecules it can be advantageous to introduce extrinsic\ud labels. These Raman labels should bind specifically to the molecules of\ud interest and have a relatively large Raman scattering cross section. In\ud certain applications it can be preferable to use such Raman labels instead\ud of fluorescent labels, because of their much narrower bandwidth, which\ud allows the detection of many more different labels in a limited wavelength\ud range and because they do not bleach. In chapter 4 two examples of\ud extrinsic Raman labeling have been demonstrated: the use of the\ud cholesterol specific label filipin for visualizing the cholesterol distribution\ud in an eye lens and the application of antibody coated polystyrene spheres\ud to distinguish different phenotypes of human leukocytes. Further, a\ud discussion is given about which molecules and structures can be used in\ud the development of other suitable Raman labels

Development of imaging-based response predictors for personalized radiotherapy in head and neck cancer

Tumor response to chemoradiotherapy is heterogeneous in patients with head and neck cancer. At the same time, head and neck radiotherapy can lead to significant toxicity in treated patients. Personalization of treatment could improve response to treatment while minimizing side effects. The largest bottleneck to employ personalization approaches are the lack of methods for response and toxicity prediction. In this thesis we therefore provide improved approaches for response prediction. In part one, we present improved MRI techniques to measure response before and early during treatment. In part two we present dose response models for osteoradionecrosis of the mandible incorporating key spatial information and the equivalent uniform dose as a generalizable dose variable across different fractionation schemes. The presented MRI techniques and dose response models can now be validated in larger groups of patients, after which they could contribute to personalized treatment planning and decision making processes

Development of imaging-based response predictors for personalized radiotherapy in head and neck cancer

Tumor response to chemoradiotherapy is heterogeneous in patients with head and neck cancer. At the same time, head and neck radiotherapy can lead to significant toxicity in treated patients. Personalization of treatment could improve response to treatment while minimizing side effects. The largest bottleneck to employ personalization approaches are the lack of methods for response and toxicity prediction. In this thesis we therefore provide improved approaches for response prediction. In part one, we present improved MRI techniques to measure response before and early during treatment. In part two we present dose response models for osteoradionecrosis of the mandible incorporating key spatial information and the equivalent uniform dose as a generalizable dose variable across different fractionation schemes. The presented MRI techniques and dose response models can now be validated in larger groups of patients, after which they could contribute to personalized treatment planning and decision making processes