Independence of Odor Quality and Absolute Sensitivity in a Study of Aging

Young, middle-aged, and senior subjects performed tasks designed to examine whether odor quality discrimination varies independently of sensitivity. One task entailed detection of 2-heptanone and the others AB-X discrimination of quality for sets of 2-heptanone and homologues or 2-heptanone and non-ketones. Subjects sought to discriminate either at intensity-matched concentrations far above threshold, but fixed across subjects, or at levels adjusted to neutralize differences in sensitivity. The young and middle-aged groups manifested the same absolute sensitivity, but the senior group poorer sensitivity. Performance in quality discrimination, however, declined progressively. Performance lacked an association with absolute sensitivity, no matter how examined. These data, in conjunction with converging findings from patients with neurological damage, studies of brain imaging, and the relation between concentration and quality discrimination in younger persons, suggest largely independent processing of odor quality and intensity

Consumer insight and user-producer interaction : tussenrapportage

Binnen de groep Consumer Science van Food & Biobased Research doet men onderzoek aan het ontwikkelen van productconcepten en interventieconcepten om de keuze en inname van gezond en duurzaam geproduceerd voedsel te stimuleren. Bij dit onderzoek wordt gekozen voor een consumentgedreven benadering. De informatie uit dergelijke projecten – het zogenaamde consumer insight – is voor producenten zeer interessant. Daarnaast bieden de onderzoeksfaciliteiten (zoals het sensorisch lab en het Restaurant van de Toekomst) en de onderzoeksmethoden (zoals stage-gate procedures en motives and barriers studies) producenten de mogelijkheid om snel een productie-test-cylcus te doorlopen. Dergelijke user-producer interactie leidt tot een efficiënte productontwikkeling. In dit project richten we ons op het gestructureerd inventariseren en ontsluiten van de opgedane kennis en conclusies

Dynamics of autonomic nervous system responses and facial expressions to odors

Why we like or dislike certain products may be better captured by physiological and behavioral measures of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) than by conscious or classical sensory tests. Responses to pleasant and unpleasant food odors presented in varying concentrations were assessed continuously using facial expressions and responses of the ANS. Results of 26 young and healthy female participants showed that the unpleasant fish odor triggered higher heart rates and skin conductance responses, lower skin temperature, fewer neutral facial expressions and more disgusted and angry expressions (p <0.05). Neutral facial expressions differentiated between odors within 100 ms, after the start of the odor presentation followed by expressions of disgust (180 ms), anger (500 ms), surprised (580 ms), sadness (820 ms), scared (1020 ms), and happy (1780 ms) (all p-values <0.05). Heart rate differentiated between odors after 400 ms, whereas skin conductance responses differentiated between odors after 3920 ms. At shorter intervals (between 520 and 1000 ms and between 2690 and 3880 ms) skin temperature for fish was higher than that for orange, but became considerable lower after 5440 ms. This temporal unfolding of emotions in reactions to odors, as seen in facial expressions and physiological measurements supports sequential appraisal theories

ANS Responses and Facial Expressions Differentiate between the Taste of Commercial Breakfast Drinks

The high failure rate of new market introductions, despite initial successful testing with traditional sensory and consumer tests, necessitates the development of other tests. This study explored the ability of selected physiological and behavioral measures of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) to distinguish between repeated exposures to foods from a single category (breakfast drinks) and with similar liking ratings. In this within-subject study 19 healthy young adults sipped from five breakfast drinks, each presented five times, while ANS responses (heart rate, skin conductance response and skin temperature), facial expressions, liking, and intensities were recorded. The results showed that liking was associated with increased heart rate and skin temperature, and more neutral facial expressions. Intensity was associated with reduced heart rate and skin temperature, more neutral expressions and more negative expressions of sadness, anger and surprise. Strongest associations with liking were found after 1 second of tasting, whereas strongest associations with intensity were found after 2 seconds of tasting. Future studies should verify the contribution of the additional information to the prediction of market success

Dealing with consumer differences in liking during repeated exposure to food; typical dynamics in rating behavior

Consumers show high interindividual variability in food liking during repeated exposure. To investigate consumer liking during repeated exposure, data is often interpreted on a product level by averaging results over all consumers. However, a single product may elicit inconsistent behaviors in consumers; averaging will mix and hide possible subgroups of consumer behaviors, leading to a misinterpretation of the results. To deal with the variability in consumer liking, we propose to use clustering on data from consumer-product combinations to investigate the nature of the behavioral differences within the complete dataset. The resulting behavioral clusters can then be used to describe product acceptance. To test this approach we used two independent data sets in which young adults were repeatedly exposed to drinks and snacks, respectively. We found that five typical consumer behaviors existed in both datasets. These behaviors differed both in the average level of liking as well as its temporal dynamics. By investigating the distribution of a single product across typical consumer behaviors, we provide more precise insight in how consumers divide in subgroups based on their product liking (i.e. product modality). This work shows that taking into account and using interindividual differences can unveil information about product acceptance that would otherwise be ignored

Activation of pyruvate kinase as therapeutic option for rare hemolytic anemias:Shedding new light on an old enzyme

Novel developments in therapies for various hereditary hemolytic anemias reflect the pivotal role of pyruvate kinase (PK), a key enzyme of glycolysis, in red blood cell (RBC) health. Without PK catalyzing one of the final steps of the Embden-Meyerhof pathway, there is no net yield of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) during glycolysis, the sole source of energy production required for proper RBC function and survival. In hereditary hemolytic anemias, RBC health is compromised and therefore lifespan is shortened. Although our knowledge on glycolysis in general and PK function in particular is solid, recent advances in genetic, molecular, biochemical, and metabolic aspects of hereditary anemias have improved our understanding of these diseases. These advances provide a rationale for targeting PK as therapeutic option in hereditary hemolytic anemias other than PK deficiency. This review summarizes the knowledge, rationale, (pre)clinical trials, and future advances of PK activators for this important group of rare diseases.</p

Interventies in het aanbod van voedsel : aangrijpingspunten voor overheidsbeleid om het aanbod van gezonde voedselproducten structureel te verbeteren

In opdracht van de ministeries van LNV en VWS geeft dit rapport een aantal aanbod- en productgeoriënteerde interventies die door overheden toegepast kunnen worden om Nederlandse consumenten te verleiden tot gezonder eet- en leefgedrag. Achterliggend doel is om met kwalitatief beter voedsel en een beter consumptiepatroon een bijdrage te leveren aan de algemene gezondheidstoestan

Farming and the geography of nutrient production for human use: a transdisciplinary analysis

Background: Information about the global structure of agriculture and nutrient production and its diversity is essential to improve present understanding of national food production patterns, agricultural livelihoods, and food chains, and their linkages to land use and their associated ecosystems services. Here we provide a plausible breakdown of global agricultural and nutrient production by farm size, and also study the associations between farm size, agricultural diversity, and nutrient production. This analysis is crucial to design interventions that might be appropriately targeted to promote healthy diets and ecosystems in the face of population growth, urbanisation, and climate change. Methods: We used existing spatially-explicit global datasets to estimate the production levels of 41 major crops, seven livestock, and 14 aquaculture and fish products. From overall production estimates, we estimated the production of vitamin A, vitamin B₁₂, folate, iron, zinc, calcium, calories, and protein. We also estimated the relative contribution of farms of different sizes to the production of different agricultural commodities and associated nutrients, as well as how the diversity of food production based on the number of different products grown per geographic pixel and distribution of products within this pixel (Shannon diversity index [H]) changes with different farm sizes. Findings: Globally, small and medium farms (≤50 ha) produce 51–77% of nearly all commodities and nutrients examined here. However, important regional differences exist. Large farms (>50 ha) dominate production in North America, South America, and Australia and New Zealand. In these regions, large farms contribute between 75% and 100% of all cereal, livestock, and fruit production, and the pattern is similar for other commodity groups. By contrast, small farms (≤20 ha) produce more than 75% of most food commodities in sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia, south Asia, and China. In Europe, west Asia and north Africa, and central America, medium-size farms (20–50 ha) also contribute substantially to the production of most food commodities. Very small farms (≤2 ha) are important and have local significance in sub-Saharan Africa, southeast Asia, and south Asia, where they contribute to about 30% of most food commodities. The majority of vegetables (81%), roots and tubers (72%), pulses (67%), fruits (66%), fish and livestock products (60%), and cereals (56%) are produced in diverse landscapes (H>1·5). Similarly, the majority of global micronutrients (53–81%) and protein (57%) are also produced in more diverse agricultural landscapes (H>1·5). By contrast, the majority of sugar (73%) and oil crops (57%) are produced in less diverse ones (H≤1·5), which also account for the majority of global calorie production (56%). The diversity of agricultural and nutrient production diminishes as farm size increases. However, areas of the world with higher agricultural diversity produce more nutrients, irrespective of farm size. Interpretation: Our results show that farm size and diversity of agricultural production vary substantially across regions and are key structural determinants of food and nutrient production that need to be considered in plans to meet social, economic, and environmental targets. At the global level, both small and large farms have key roles in food and nutrition security. Efforts to maintain production diversity as farm sizes increase seem to be necessary to maintain the production of diverse nutrients and viable, multifunctional, sustainable landscapes. Funding: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, CGIAR Research Programs on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security and on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health funded by the CGIAR Fund Council, Daniel and Nina Carasso Foundation, European Union, International Fund for Agricultural Development, Australian Research Council, National Science Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, and Joint Programming Initiative on Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Change—Belmont Forum

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Contains fulltext : 154215.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)BACKGROUND: The Control of Allergic Rhinitis and Asthma Test (CARAT) monitors control of asthma and allergic rhinitis. AIMS: To determine the CARAT's minimal clinically important difference (MCID) and to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Dutch CARAT. METHODS: CARAT was applied in three measurements at 1-month intervals. Patients diagnosed with asthma and/or rhinitis were approached. MCID was evaluated using Global Rating of Change (GRC) and standard error of measurement (s.e.m.). Cronbach's alpha was used to evaluate internal consistency. Spearman's correlation coefficients were calculated between CARAT, the Asthma Control Questionnaire (ACQ5) and the Visual Analog Scale (VAS) on airway symptoms to determine construct and longitudinal validity. Test-retest reliability was evaluated with intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC). Changes in pollen counts were compared with delta CARAT and ACQ5 scores. RESULTS: A total of 92 patients were included. The MCID of the CARAT was 3.50 based on GRC scores; the s.e.m. was 2.83. Cronbach's alpha was 0.82. Correlation coefficients between CARAT and ACQ5 and VAS questions ranged from 0.64 to 0.76 (P < 0.01). Longitudinally, correlation coefficients between delta CARAT scores and delta ACQ5 and VAS scores ranged from 0.41 to 0.67 (P < 0.01). Test-retest reliability showed an ICC of 0.81 (P < 0.01) and 0.80 (P < 0.01). Correlations with pollen counts were higher for CARAT than for ACQ5. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first investigation of the MCID of the CARAT. The CARAT uses a whole-point scale, which suggests that the MCID is 4 points. The CARAT is a valid and reliable tool that is also applicable in the Dutch population