Can information affect sensory perceptions? Evidence from a survey on Italian organic food consumers

This paper aims to investigate the influence of information on consumers’ preferences and sensory perceptions of organic food using a sample of 301 Italian organic food consumers. Consumers stated their preferences for “core organic” attributes, labels and information on food products and performed blind and informed tests on strawberry yoghurts and cookies. Data were analysed using descriptive analysis, Mann-Whitney U tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank test. Results revealed that consumers appreciate “core organic” attributes, like artisanal production and variability of sensory attributes. Comparing blind and informed tests, results showed that information affects the overall liking of products and consumers’ perception of product-specific sensory attributes. However, the influence of information on sensory perceptions depends on the product category, sensory attributes and the type of information provided

The Virtual Reality in Olive Oil Industry Occupational Health and Safety: An Integrative Review

The impact of Virtual Reality (VR) on methods and techniques of Occupational Health and Safety is widely considered when high-tech, automatized and human risk-intensive branch involved. VR technologies albeit considered mature, require the expanding from the scientific and merely experimental visualization realm into more multidisciplinary areas especially the OHS in companies. As VR has a significant impact on improvement of occupational health and safety situation at any enterprise, it is to be adopted or absorbed by the so called traditional industries, especially agri-food ones. The VR can provide the simulation and prediction of contingency conditions not included within the risk management approach of the company and to serve for operationalizing and designing future and retrospective analysis of potential or befallen risks and human errors. This paper reviews a sample of conceptual and empirical articles in order to describe and synthesize possible approach to enhance VR use within OHS in Olive Oil industry. The main objective of the integrative study is to build new framework of the VR application in technology-based innovation within the industry. This paper will discuss the issues related to state-of-art of interactive virtual environments, especially Virtual Reality, in processes of Occupational Health and Safety in traditional agri-food industry such as Olive Oil multi-sector (olive farming, oil press, olive pickles). © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

Frequency doubling technology, optical coherence technology and pattern electroretinogram in ocular hypertension

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To assess which of three methods, namely, optical coherence tomography (OCT), pattern electroretinogram (PERG) or frequency-doubling technology (FDT), is the most sensitive and specific for detecting early glaucomatous damage in ocular hypertension (OH).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Fifty-two patients with OH (24 men and 28 women, mean age of 56 ± 9.6 years) with an intraocular pressure (IOP) > 21 mmHg and fifty-two control patients (25 men and 27 women, mean age of 54.8 ± 10.4 years) with IOP < 21 mmHg, were assessed. All the patients had normal visual acuity, normal optic disk and normal perimetric indices.</p> <p>All subjects underwent OCT, FDT and PERG. Data were analyzed with unpaired <it>t</it>-tests, Chi-square test and Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In patients with OH, OCT showed retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thinner than in control group in the superior quadrant (130.16 ± 10.02 vs 135.18 ± 9.27 μm, respectively; p < 0.011) and inferior quadrant (120.14 ± 11.0 vs 132.68 ± 8.03 μm; p < 0.001). FDT showed a significantly higher pattern standard deviation (PSD) (3.46 ± 1.48 vs 1.89 ± 0.7 dB; p < 0.001). With respect to PERG, only the amplitude showed significant differences (p < 0.044) between the two groups. ROC curve analysis revealed a sensitivity and specificity of 92% and 86%, respectively, for FDT-PSD (with an area under the ROC curve of 0.940), whereas with OCT, a sensitivity of 82% and a specificity of 74% was recorded in the inferior RNFL quadrant (with an area under the ROC curve of 0.806) finally with PERG amplitude we found a sensitivity of 52% and specificity of 77% (with an area under the ROC curve of 0.595).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>FDT is the most sensitive and specific method for detecting early glaucomatous damage in eyes with OH, and together with OCT, can be useful in identifying those patients who may develop glaucoma.</p> <p>Trial registration</p> <p>ISRCT number: ISRCTN70295497</p