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Sensory analysis methodologies are performed in sensory booths designed to minimise external stimuli, lacking ecological validity. Immersive environments are used to introduce contextual cues, but there is a lack of studies using mixed reality systems. The main goal of this study was to evaluate an augmented virtuality (AV) system where participants are inserted into a virtual environment and evaluate a real product, being able to interact with both dimensions. A panel of 102 consumers evaluated five samples of commercial peach nectars in three sessions, each in a different environment: public food court, living room (AV environments), and laboratory (traditional sensory booth). Consumers rated overall liking, followed by open comments, and also answered an Engagement (EQ) and a Presence Questionnaire (PQ). The type of environment only affected hedonic discrimination among samples, with the laboratory setting being the only one with sample discrimination. Nonetheless, each sample was not evaluated differently across the different environments. Concerning engagement, the environment only significantly influenced the EQ's 'Affective Value' factor, being higher when using an AV system. The level of presence in the virtual environment was significantly higher in the public food court, being significantly correlated with the EQ factor scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Design thinking (DT) has been a subject of extensive debate and application across diverse knowledge domains, including the realm of food; nonetheless, its precise definition remains unclear. This systematic review comprised two components. Firstly, it examined the evolving understanding of DT by aggregating pertinent studies selected based on their representativeness, determined by the volume of citations. This process was deployed using citation mapping software, complemented by an analysis of the most pertinent reviews within this domain. Secondly, it investigated the Food Design Thinking (FDT) approach. The review encompassed a total of 22 references and reviews in the first segment and 27 studies in the second segment. In Part 1, the results revealed the emergence of two principal areas of investigation, namely education and management, stemming from the foundational DT theory. Furthermore, the findings highlighted that DT has assimilated the knowledge gathered from these domains. In Part 2, the outcomes illustrated the utilisation of FDT to address a multitude of food-related issues, including education, sustainability, health and wellbeing, and the development of food products. From this analysis, it is notable that this approach presents contextual variations while emphasising the notion of integration of the consumers throughout the FDT process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current consumption drivers, particularly those related to health and wellbeing, have been influencing trends for the lower consumption of cereals, particularly rice, due to their typical high glycaemic index (GIs) and consequent impacts on obesity. To satisfy this consumer concern, more food innovations that promote healthy eating habits are required. Such innovations must be consumer-oriented to succeed, understanding the dynamics of consumer habits and responding to consumer expectations. This study explored these habits, from acquisition to consumption practices, and the expectations of the European market from the perspective of the major European consumer, Portugal, to obtain insights that support the development of low glycaemic index (GI) rice products. A mixed-methods approach was applied. For the first quantitative questionnaire, 256 Portuguese rice consumers aged 18–73 years were recruited. Twenty-four individuals were selected according to their gender and rice consumption profiles for in-depth interviews. The results confirmed that rice was the main side dish for the participants and was mainly consumed at home, cooked from raw milled rice. The drivers of consumption differ according to the provisioning process stage. In the acquisition stage, participants reported benefits from the rice's dynamic market by comparing products on price, brand, and rice types. In the preparation stage, participants reported the adequacy of the recipe and occasion, while in the consumption stage, participants enhanced their sensory preferences, depending on the rice dish. Although the GI concept was unknown to half of the participants, it was perceived as interesting and positive for healthy eating. Consumers showed concern about the taste and naturalness of the product, preferring it to be as close to a homemade dish as possible. The negative perceptions we verified were interpreted to be due to a lack of knowledge about the GI concept. Therefore, awareness actions and informative campaigns are recommended to promote low-GI rice products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cork is a sustainable natural material widely used as a wine stopper. However, some other uses, such as wall coverings, flooring, bags and shoes, face UV damage. To mitigate this issue, we explored the deposition of TiO2 and ZnO thin films via magnetron sputtering on glass and cork substrates. Both films displayed uniformity and the lack of any discernible cracks or voids, remained transparent in the visible region, and offered UV protection. Thus, TiO2 and ZnO blocked UV light with a wavelength of up to 310 nm (Eg = 4 eV) and 370 nm (Eg = 3.3 eV), respectively. Exposure tests, under a sun simulator lamp, revealed that the uncoated cork showed noticeable color changes, even when located under a glass substrate. The TiO2 coating did not prevent cork discoloration, while ZnO prevented it. This study highlights ZnO thin films as a durable solution to safeguard cork materials from UV damage and extend their usability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chefs often say, "You eat with your eyes first." This means that, while taste, smell, and vision are distinct senses, visual stimuli generate expectations through learned associations, and these expectations exert cognitive top–down influences that can and sometimes do alter assessments of taste and flavour. This study investigates the intangible values associated with the visual assessment of high-end pastry cakes among individuals from diverse food cultures. Using word association, the study explored the emotions, sensations, and impressions evoked by the visual representation of five high-end pastry cakes. Thematic content analysis was conducted to interpret and group the evoked words into dimensions. Across all cultures, "Organoleptic properties" emerged as the most highly rated dimension, aligning with expectations for food product visual assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice is an important source of γ-oryzanol (GO) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA), which are bioactive compounds that may benefit blood lipid and pressure control. Both GO and GABA can be improved by germination and fermentation. Fermentation with A. oryzae produces Koji, a rice-based starter for Amazake, a naturally sweet beverage. Germinated rice (brown and milled rice), were tested to improve those bioactive compounds during the fermentation process. The resulting Koji was optimised to GO and GABA through a response surface methodology; α-amylase activity and starch content were also assessed. The different rice matrix resulting from the germination largely impacted the biosynthesis of GABA, α-amylase and starch contents. Amazake, obtained by germinated rice, has increased GO and GABA contents when compared to the one obtained from milled rice (from a non-detectable value to 27.65 ± 0.23 mg/100 g for GO and from 163.95 ± 24.7 to 271.53 ± 5.7 mg/100 g for GABA). A panel of 136 Portuguese consumers tasted the beverage in a blind overall tasting test followed by an informed test, using 9-point scales. The consumer scores had a mean value of 4.67 ± 1.9 and 4.9 ± 1.8, meaning that cultural differences may play an important role with regard to liking and accepting Amazake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The world is facing a great technological transformation towards fully autonomous vehicles, where optimists predict that by 2030 autonomous vehicles will be sufficiently reliable, affordable, and common to displace most human driving. To cope with these trends, reliable perception systems must enable vehicles to hear and see all their surroundings, with light detection and ranging (LiDAR) sensors being a key instrument for recreating a 3D visualization of the world in real time. However, perception systems must rely on accurate measurements of the environment. Thus, these intelligent sensors must be calibrated and benchmarked before being placed on the market or assembled in a car. This article presents an Evaluation and Testing Platform for Automotive LiDAR sensors, with the main goal of testing both commercially available sensors and new sensor prototypes currently under development in Bosch Car Multimedia Portugal. The testing system can benchmark any LiDAR sensor under different conditions, recreating the expected driving environment in which such devices normally operate. To characterize and validate the sensor under test, the platform evaluates several parameters, such as the field of view (FoV), angular resolution, sensor's range, etc., based only on the point cloud output. This project is the result of a partnership between the University of Minho and Bosch Car Multimedia Portugal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The consumption of edible insects (EI) is traditional in many parts of the world, but not in others. In fact, despite globalization and the multiple advantages pointed out about the consumption of EI, there are still many countries where entomophagy is seen with disgust and aversion. This systematic review aimed to examine the motivations that influence the consumption of EI in diverse cultures and understand if there are differences between Western countries (WC) and insect-eating countries (IEC). It further evaluated whether the degree of acceptability was influenced by the form of consumption of the insects (eating whole insects or foods containing insects). This literature review was conducted in November 2021 within three databases, Web of Science, PubMed and Scopus, according to the Preferred Reporting of Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analysis and using PRISMA directives. From a total of 245 studies, 31 were selected to be included in this review, based on the inclusion criteria defined: only original research articles, from 2010 or beyond, and written in English. The results indicated that the main motivations that determine the consumption of EI are related to gender, age, sustainability, nutritional value, sensory attributes, tradition/culture, food neophobia, disgust and familiarity/past experiences. Moreover, whereas in IEC, there is a greater focus on factors related to sensory attributes, availability, affordability and preferences, in WC, there is a bigger emphasis on determinants such as nutritional value, sustainability, benefits, familiarity/past experience, tradition/culture, food neophobia and disgust. Finally, it was observed that people in WC are more willing to accept food products containing insects rather than the whole insect, which is one of the most promising points to be addressed in the future. Overall, this review highlights that there are numerous factors influencing the consumption of edible insects, and differences between WC and IEC are clear in what concerns the motivations of consumers. Hence, targeting market segments and consumers' characteristics has to be present when designing strategies to incentivize the consumption of EI in WC as a part of a global strategy for sustainability of food systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice and cereal consumption has become a concern for consumers due to usually high glycaemic indexes (GI), which is a critical issue for a balanced and healthy diet. Therefore, the development of new products with low GI is an important target of the industry, particularly in countries with high consumption. This study assesses consumers' perceptions about "rice" and "rice with low GI" and evaluates the effect of consumers' rice consumption profiles through the application of a free word association technique in a structured self-administered electronic questionnaire with 256 Portuguese consumers (the European market with the highest per capita consumption of rice by far). The frequency of rice consumption was evaluated, and the consumption profile was determined through a hierarchical cluster analysis, with 9% identified as daily consumers. The response words were categorized by the triangulation technique, and the association between the word categories and dimensions, sociodemographic characteristics, and consumption profile were determined. Respondents most frequently associated "rice" with rice dishes, its sensory attributes, and nutrition, highlighting the satisfaction of nutritional and hedonic needs. Consumers revealed positive expectations in relation to the functionality of "rice with low GI". The consumers' rice consumption profiles, sex, age, and educational levels influenced their perception towards "rice" and "rice with low GI". This study provides important insights for the industry to develop a consumer-oriented, low GI rice product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thinking of the present gastronomic trends is inevitable when talking about innovation in haute pastry. Launching a successful product that meets consumers' high expectations despite the rising demand for new creations is increasingly complex. For this reason, sensory analysis studies are more and more interested in studying the emotional response evoked by these products to better understand and improve user experiences. The main goal of this work was to conduct a study to analyze the emotional arousal of consumers after the visualization of five haute patisserie cakes. An online questionnaire with the EsSense Profile® scale and CATA methodology were used for data collection. The EsSense Profile® is a predefined and validated scale that measures food-related emotions, which includes 39 terms. When analyzing the emotions expressed by all the participants, 22 were statistically significant, of which 14 were classified as positive, 6 as neutral, and only 2 were negative. By analyzing the responses by gender, we observed differences in the number of elicited emotional terms: females showed significant differences between cakes for 18 emotion terms compared to 8 terms for males. The results obtained support the importance of the emotional profile to understand consumers' expectations and behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Synthetic vitamin E is commonly used in aquafeeds to prevent oxidative stress in fish and delay feed and flesh oxidation during storage, but consumers' preferences tend towards natural antioxidant sources. The potential of vegetable antioxidants-rich coproducts, dried tomato (TO), carrot (CA) and coriander (CO) was compared to that of synthetic vitamin E included in diets at either a regular (CTRL; 100 mg kg−1) or reinforced dose (VITE; 500 mg kg−1). Natural antioxidants were added at 2% to the CTRL. Mixes were then extruded and dried, generating five experimental diets that were fed to European sea bass juveniles (114 g) over 12 weeks. Vitamin E and carotenoid content of extruded diets showed signs of degradation. The experimental diets had very limited effects on fish growth or body composition, immunomodulatory response, muscle and liver antioxidant potential, organoleptic properties or consumer acceptance. Altogether, experimental findings suggest that neither a heightened inclusion dose of 500 mg kg−1 of vitamin E, nor a 2% inclusion of natural antioxidants provided additional antioxidant protection, compared to fish fed diets including the regular dose of 100 mg kg−1 of vitamin E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The amount of information preserved in Portuguese archives has increased over the years. These documents represent a national heritage of high importance, as they portray the country's history. Currently, most Portuguese archives have made their finding aids available to the public in digital format, however, these data do not have any annotation, so it is not always easy to analyze their content. In this work, Named Entity Recognition solutions were created that allow the identification and classification of several named entities from the archival finding aids. These named entities translate into crucial information about their context and, with high confidence results, they can be used for several purposes, for example, the creation of smart browsing tools by using entity linking and record linking techniques. In order to achieve high result scores, we annotated several corpora to train our own Machine Learning algorithms in this context domain. We also used different architectures, such as CNNs, LSTMs, and Maximum Entropy models. Finally, all the created datasets and ML models were made available to the public with a developed web platform, NER@DI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cercospora brachiata is a phytopathogenic fungus. To know more about the metabolites produced by this fungus, the objective of this work was to identify, isolate and characterize sub- stances present in extracts of the growth broth and mycelium, using gas chromatography with mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). It was also objective to evaluate the antibacterial activity of the extracts. Among the compounds identified, fatty acids, esters, and steroids can be highlighted. The main compounds identified are 9-hexadecenoic, hexadecenoic, oleic, octade- canoic, lauric, myristic, palmitic, doceno-13-enoic, stearic, linoleic, and nonadecanoic acids present in almost all extracts. For the antibacterial activity, the broth microdilution method was used. The ethyl acetate extract of the mycelium presented inhibitory concentrations (MICs) against the bacterium Actinomyces naeslundii (100 μg mL−1) and Streptococcus sanguinis (200 μg mL−1). Finally, two steroids were isolated and identified in the hexane extract of mycelium: ergosta-6,22-dien-3β,5α,8α-triol and brassicasterol. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The seasonal chemical composition of essential oils from Inga laurina was determined by GC/MS. In the stem bark's essential oil extracted during the dry season, the presence of terpenoids (30.05%) stood out, and phytol (9.76%) was the major compound identified. For the stem bark oil obtained during the rainy season, in addition to terpenoids (26.63%), a large amount of fatty acids (46.84%) were identified, in particular palmitic acid (25.40%). Regarding the leaves' essential oil obtained in the dry season, esters (42.35%) were the main components. The main ester present was (Z)-hex-3-enyl benzoate (10.15%) and the major compound of this oil was (Z)-hex-3-en-1-ol (14.23%). Terpenoids (33.84%), long-chain alkanes (27.04%) and fatty acids (21.72%) were the main components of the essential oil from leaves in the rainy season. Phytol (33.21%), nonacosane (21.95%) and palmitic acid (15.20%) were the major compounds identified. The antimicrobial activity against aerobic and anaerobic oral bacteria was evaluated by the microdilution broth method and cytotoxic activity was carried out with Vero cells. The essential oils from the rainy season showed a better inhibition of the bacterial growth with Minimal Inhibitory Concentrations (MIC) values of 25 or 50 μg∙mL-1 for aerobic bacteria, and high selectivity against bacteria was observed. The large amount of fatty acids in rainy season oils may be related to the better inhibitory effects observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical composition of the essential oils from leaves, bark and wood of Cassia bakeriana Craib. was determined by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Alcohols, aldehydes and fatty acids were the major components in leaf and bark oil, while wood essential oil was rich in fatty acids. Terpenes such as linalool, (E)-nerolidol and phytol were present in low concentrations. The antimicrobial activity against aerobic and anaerobic oral bacteria was evaluated using the microdilution method, as was the cell viability test carried out with Vero cells. The oils from leaves and bark showed high antimicrobial activity, with minimum inhibitory concentrations between 62.5 and 125 μg.mL-1 for most of the tested bacteria, including Streptococcus mutans, the main etiological agent of dental caries. Leaves oil displayed the lowest cytotoxic effect (EC50 of 153 μg.mL-1), while wood oil exhibited the highest toxicity to Vero cells. C. bakeriana oils are thus a source of biologically active compounds against aerobic and anaerobic oral microorganisms. This study is the first report on the chemical composition, antimicrobial activity and cytotoxicity of C. bakeriana. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Every year, agri-food industries in industrialised countries produce approximately 1.3 billion tonnes of food loss and waste. The adoption of a circular economy policy has received special attention by the agri-food industries, allowing for the creation and development of new food products made of by-products that would otherwise be wasted or used for secondary applications. The present work, of an exploratory nature, aims to assess how consumers conceptualise the circular economy in order to identify consumer recognition of the use of by-products from the food industry to upcycle food products and to evaluate attitudes towards the circular economy. To this end, a mixed-methodology was applied to 340 participants. The first part was qualitative and used free word association to evaluate consumers' conceptualisation of the circular economy and use of by-products as foods. Data were analysed by grouping the responses into exclusive and exhaustive categories and a correspondence analysis was also performed to originate perceptual maps. Additionally, a questionnaire was designed to evaluate major concepts and attitudes correlated with the circular economy. Data were reduced by principal component analysis (PCA) and participants grouped through clustering. Results showed that consumers understand circular economy as related mainly into Sustainability, Economy, and Circularity dimensions. Participants had great difficulty identifying the by-products used as foods or as food ingredients. From the quantitative data, four groups were identified based on the associations to the six principal components originated by the PCA. However, the results highlighted a very low association with all clusters of the Food Valorisation dimension within the concept of the circular economy, and also a lack of a clear understanding of consumers' attitudes towards food products from the circular economy. Greater promotion and dissemination by the competent entities aimed at the general public may contribute towards greater integration, participation and acceptance of the circular economy concept for the upscaling of food by-products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article aims to review the current literature pertaining to the effects of eating local seasonal food on sustainable consumption. To this end, we examined definitions of seasonal and local food, the methodological approaches adopted to study the impact of seasonal consumption on sustainability, and sustainability dimensions investigated in journal articles. Highlighting what seasonal and local means, it is crucial to evaluate the effect of the consumption of these foods on sustainability. A systematic review of the literature was conducted using Scopus and Clarivate's Web of Science database in line with the recommendations from the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Our findings suggest that the concept of local seasonality provides relevant information to the study of sustainable consumption. However, for better use of this concept, it is crucial to define what is local. At this point, regulation of labels based on geographic proximity or political boundaries proves pertinent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sandwiches are the most common "casual-food" consumed by all age groups in Spain. Due to the importance of visual appearance to promote unplanned or impulse buying, foodservice and hospitality companies focus on improving the visual impression of their food menus to create an expectation that satisfies both sensory and hedonic consumer experiences. To provide a list of attributes about the visual appearance of sandwiches, 25 students were recruited from a university and were invited to participate in two nominal group technique (NGT) sessions. To understand whether a sandwiches' appearance can influence the expectation of consumers, 259 participants completed an online survey specially designed from the results of the NGT sessions. Data were analyzed using conjoint, internal preference mapping and cluster analysis; the interaction effect by gender was also studied. The conjoint results indicate that visual perception about the filling (vegetal or pork based) plays the most key role overall in consumer expectation. When consumers choose vegetables as the filling, the consumers' perceived sandwiches as healthier, but the pork filling was perceived as more attractive and satiating. Interaction effect by gender was observed in filling when females perceived pork filling as less healthy than vegetable. By acceptance, consumers were segmented into three groups. The first cluster (n = 80) selected the pork filling. The smaller group (cluster 3, n = 36) prioritized the vegetal filling, and the most numerous cluster 2 (n = 140) liked sandwiches with multigrain bread. These results may help companies to build tailor-made marketing strategies to satisfy consumer segments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spray pyrolysis was used to deposit indium sulfide (In2S3) films, with or without silver doping. The films are polycrystalline, and the inclusion of Ag in the In2S3 structure leads to the formation of a solid solution, with the crystallite size of the order of tens of nanometers. In2S3 films exhibit a semiconductive behavior, and the incorporation of Ag leads to an increase of the charge carrier concentration, enhancing the electrical conductivity of the films. The small polaron hopping mechanism, deduced by the fittings according to the double Jonscher variation, explains the evolution of the direct current (dc) conductivity at high temperature of the Ag-doped indium sulfide. From impedance spectroscopy, it was found that the doped film presents dielectric relaxation, and Nyquist diagrams indicate the importance of the grain and the grain boundaries' contributions to the transport phenomena. The physical characteristics of the films have an influence on the photocatalytic performance, achieving photodegradation efficiency above 80% (85.5% in the case of Ag doping), and on the antibacterial activity. The obtained results indicate that indium sulfide films are good candidates for environmental and biological applications, confirming a multifunctional nature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work aimed to adapt the EsSense Profile® emotions list to the discrimination of herbal infusions, aiming to evaluate the effect of harvesting conditions on the emotional profile. A panel of 100 consumers evaluated eight organic infusions: lemon verbena, peppermint, lemon thyme, lemongrass, chamomile, lemon balm, globe amaranth and tutsan, using a check-all-that-apply (CATA) ballot with the original EsSense Profile®. A set of criteria was applied to get a discriminant list. First, the terms with low discriminant power and with a frequency mention below 35% were removed. Two focus groups were also performed to evaluate the applicability of the questionnaire. The content analysis of focus groups suggests the removal of the terms good and pleasant, recognized as sensory attributes. Six additional terms were removed, considered to be too similar to other existing emotion terms. Changes in the questionnaire, resulting in a list of 24 emotion terms for the evaluation of selected herbal infusions, were able to discriminate beyond overall liking. When comparing finer differences between plants harvested under different conditions, differences were identified for lemon verbena infusions, yielding the mechanical cut of plant tips as the one leading to a more appealing evoked emotions profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this multi-campus research was to investigate the relationships of food type and personal factors with food choice, consumption, and waste behaviors of college students at all-you-care-to-eat dining facilities. The amount of food taken and wasted was indirectly measured in units relative to the plate size using before and after photos taken by the diners themselves. Animal protein and mixed dishes (e.g., stir fry, sandwich) took up more of diners' plate space and these items were correlated to both greater hedonic appeal as well as a higher likelihood of the item being pre-plated. Greater confidence in liking an item before choosing it was correlated to a larger portion being taken. Finally, increased satisfaction with the meal and frequency of visiting the dining commons was correlated to less food waste. Understanding these potential food choice drivers can help dining facilities better target healthier meals to diners while reducing food waste. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Massive, Africanized honeybee attacks have increased in Brazil over the years. Humans and animals present local and systemic effects after envenomation, and there is no specific treatment for this potentially lethal event. This study evaluated the ability of a new Apilic antivenom, which is composed of F(ab')2 fraction of specific immunoglobulins in heterologous and hyperimmune equine serum, to neutralize A. mellifera venom and melittin, in vitro and in vivo, in mice. Animal experiments were performed in according with local ethics committee license (UFRJ protocol no. DFBCICB072-04/16). Venom dose-dependent lethality was diminished with 0.25–0.5 μL of intravenous Apilic antivenom/μg honeybee venom. In vivo injection of 0.1–1 μg/g bee venom induced myotoxicity, hemoconcentration, paw edema, and increase of vascular permeability which were antagonized by Apilic antivenom. Cytotoxicity, assessed in renal LLC-PK1 cells and challenged with 10 μg/mL honeybee venom or melittin, was neutralized by preincubation with Apilic antivenom, as well the hemolytic activity. Apilic antivenom inhibited phospholipase and hyaluronidase enzymatic activities. In flow cytometry experiments, Apilic antivenom neutralized reduction of cell viability due to necrosis by honeybee venom or melittin. These results showed that this antivenom is effective inhibitor of honeybee venom actions. Thus, this next generation of Apilic antivenom emerges as a new promising immunobiological product for the treatment of massive, Africanized honeybee attacks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Despite food waste occurring along the entire food supply chain, a significant proportion occurs in domestic settings. Large quantities of domestic food waste have been attributable to consumer behaviors during buying, cooking, consumption, and disposal. The main objective of this research was to understand the major determinants of household food waste from families in the north of Portugal. A convenience sample was used, which was drawn from households in the Greater Porto Area. Data were collected through a self-reported questionnaire that included three groups of structured questions related to perceived behavior and attitudes towards food consumption, leftover usage, and food waste. Exploratory data analysis was used to identify underlying dimensions. No relationships were found between socio-demographic data and food waste, buying behavior, or destination/use of leftovers. The majority of the participants reported a high level of planning of their grocery shopping. Fruits and vegetables presented the highest frequency of consumption, followed by sources of carbohydrates and sources of proteins. The storage of cooked food from different food groups presented a single factor, grouping the majority of the individual food leftovers, going from fruits and vegetables to sources of carbohydrates and proteins. The reported levels of wastage of the different food products were grouped into three dimensions: waste of vegetables, waste of protein sources, and waste of sources of carbohydrates. Waste of precooked foods emerged as an independent item, and it was the individual item with the highest frequency. The families studied reported a positive attitude concerning buying, consumption, and wastage, revealing a particular awareness of food waste and its social and environmental impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to evaluate the food choice motives in a sample in Brazil and to identify how socioeconomic characteristics and risk perceptions about chronic diseases and weight gain affect these motives. The Food Choice Questionnaire (FCQ) is an instrument to analyze the motivations for food choice. The FCQ was completed by 525 adult individuals in Brazil. The participants were asked about their perceived risk of gaining weight, developing diabetes, and hypertension. Confirmatory factor analysis led to the rejection of the original FCQ structure, and, after exploratory factor analysis, 30 items of the FCQ were maintained in eight factors: Nutritional Composition, Preparation Convenience, Purchase Convenience, Mood, Sensory Appeal, Health, Price, and Familiarity. Sensory Appeal and Familiarity were, respectively, the most and the least important factors involved in food choices in this sample. A high education level, high income, age, and female sex positively affected FCQ factors (except for the Price factor). On the basis of FCQ scores, we defined five clusters: Health Driven, Practicality Concerned, Shape Concerned, Food Concerned, and Cooking Enthusiasts. In general, individuals were optimistic regarding the risk of developing diabetes, hypertension, and gaining weight, especially those from the Shape Concerned cluster. The differences in food choice motives presented here reinforce the existence of different niches of food consumption. Different types of products can attract specific target groups at the time of choice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Localized surface plasmon resonance (LSPR) gas sensors are gaining increasing importance due to their unique tuneable functional properties. Au-WO3−x nanocomposite coatings, in particular, can be outstandingly sensitive to many different gases. However, a proper understanding of their optical properties and the way in which those properties are correlated to their structure/microstructure, is still needed. In this work, Au-WO3 nanocomposite coatings, with Au contents between 0–11 atomic percent, were grown using reactive magnetron co-sputtering technique and were characterized concerning their optical response. The precipitation of Au nanoparticles in the oxide matrix was promoted through thermal annealing treatments until 500 °C. Along with the Au nanoparticles' morphological changes, the annealing treatments stimulated the crystallization of WO3, together with the appearance of oxygen-deficient WO3−x phases. Through theoretical simulations, we have related the LSPR effect with the different structural and morphological variations (namely, size and distribution of the nanoparticles and their local environment), which were a function of the Au content and annealing temperature. Our results suggest that local voids were present in the vicinity of the Au nanoparticles, for all temperature range, and that they should be present in a wide variety of Au-WO3 nanocomposites. A theoretical study concerning the refractive index sensitivity was carried out in order to predict the optimal coating design parameters for gas sensing experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fortification of maize bread with legume flour was explored in order to increase the protein content of the traditional Portuguese bread 'broa', comprised of more than 50% maize flour. The optimization of legume incorporation (pea, chickpea, faba bean, lentil), considering the influence of different maize flours (traditional-white, traditional-yellow, hybrid-white, hybrid-yellow), on consumer liking and sensory profiling of 'broa' was studied. A panel of 60 naïve tasters evaluated twenty different breads, divided in four sets for each legume flour fortification, each set including four breads with varying maize flour and a control (no legume). Tasters evaluated overall liking and the sensory profile through a check-all-that-apply ballot. Crude protein and water content were also analyzed. There were no significant differences in overall liking between the different types of legumes and maize. The incorporation of chickpea flour yields a sensory profile that most closely resembles the control. The protein content increased, on average, 21% in 'broa', with legume flours having the highest value obtained with faba bean incorporation (29% increase). Thus, incorporation of legume flours appears to be an interesting strategy to increase bread protein content, with no significant impact on consumer liking and the 'broa' bread sensory profile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]