Recognition Of Food Research Articles

A study to identify the factors promoting slow food tourism in South Asian countries

Shift in popular perception about the connection between food and aspects of regional and cultural identity has given rise to the idea of slow food. The growing trend of nutrition-conscious eating practices combined with the growing concern over sustainability and preservation of local cultures has given boost to slow food movement. Lately, the practice of slow food has been adopted by tourism sector, in recognition of food's ability to reflect regional culture and heritage. Slow food tourism thus serves to promote local culture and tourism, while helping the nation's economy and sustainability. The present study employs use of empirical studies across four major South Asian countries namely; India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Nepal, as well as theoretical research, to recognise and list five factors that impact the status of slow food tourism in a country.

A study to identify the factors promoting slow food tourism in South Asian countries

Shift in popular perception about the connection between food and aspects of regional and cultural identity has given rise to the idea of slow food. The growing trend of nutrition-conscious eating practices combined with the growing concern over sustainability and preservation of local cultures has given boost to slow food movement. Lately, the practice of slow food has been adopted by tourism sector, in recognition of food's ability to reflect regional culture and heritage. Slow food tourism thus serves to promote local culture and tourism, while helping the nation's economy and sustainability. The present study employs use of empirical studies across four major South Asian countries namely; India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Nepal, as well as theoretical research, to recognise and list five factors that impact the status of slow food tourism in a country.

Recognition of Food with Monotonous Appearance using Speeded-Up Robust Feature (SURF)

Recognition of Food with Monotonous Appearance using Speeded-Up Robust Feature (SURF)

Recognition of Chinese food using convolutional neural network

Food recognition is the first step for dietary assessment. Computer vision technology is being viewed as an effective tool for automatic food recognition for monitoring nutrition intake. Of the many food recognition algorithms in the literature, Bag-of-Features model is a proven approach that has shown impressive recognition accuracy. In this paper, we propose a small and efficient convolutional neural network architecture for Chinese food recognition, which is more applicable for resources limited platforms. Our network architecture is designed to model and perform a pipeline of processing similar to the Bag-of-Features approach. The main advantage of the proposed architecture, like other convolutional neural networks, is its ability to unifiedly optimize the entire network through back propagation, which is critical to recognition accuracy. We further compare and correlate our architecture with the traditional Bag-of-Features model in an attempt to investigate the similarities between them and identify factors that influence the recognition accuracy. The proposed architecture with a 5-layer deep convolutional neural network achieves the top-1 accuracy of 97.12% and the top-5 accuracy of 99.86% on a newly created Chinese food image dataset that is composed of 8734 images of 25 food categories. Our experimental result demonstrates the feasibility of applying the proposed compact CNN architecture to a challenging problem and achieve real-time performance.

'HighChest': An Augmented Freezer Designed for Smart Food Management and Promotion of Eco-Efficient Behaviour.

This paper introduces HighChest, an innovative smart freezer designed to promote energy efficient behavior and the responsible use of food. Introducing a novel human–machine interface (HMI) design developed through assessment phases and a user involvement stage, HighChest is state of the art, featuring smart services that exploit embedded sensors and Internet of things functionalities, which enhance the local capabilities of the appliance. The industrial design thinking approach followed for the advanced HMI is intended to maximize the social impact of the food management service, enhancing both the user experience of the product and the user’s willingness to adopt eco- and energy-friendly behaviors. The sensor equipment realizes automatic recognition of food by learning from the users, as well as automatic localization inside the deposit space. Moreover, it provides monitoring of the appliance’s usage, avoiding temperature and humidity issues related to improper use. Experimental tests were conducted to evaluate the localization system, and the results showed 100% accuracy for weights greater or equal to 0.5 kg. Drifts due to the lid opening and prolonged usage time were also measured, to implement automatic reset corrections.

A Study on Recognition, Preference and Popularization of Temple Food - Among Local and Foreign Restaurant Visitors

Objectives: This study was conducted to identify factors that influence the consumption of temple food and to find systematic methods improving the popularization of temple food. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire was applied to 304 temple food restaurant visitors, including 232 local and 72...

A study on the effect about recognition of traditional food for menu development and job satisfaction : Focused on cooks at K Hotel in Gangwon-do

향토음식은 한 나라 혹은 한 지역을 대표하는 문화상품이라고 할 수 있는데, 오랜 시간의 흐름 속에서 자연스레 형성되어 그 지방의 특징을 잘 나타내는 관광자원으로서의 가치를 갖기 때문이다. 이러한 음식의 특징에도 불구하고 강원도 향토음식이 전국적으로 사랑받지 못 하는 이유가 무엇인지 또한 그 근본적인 원인이 무엇인지를 발견하기 위해서는 강원 지역만의 차별화되고 대중적인 향토음식 메뉴 개발이 시급하다고 사료된다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 조리사를 대상으로 향토음식메뉴개발과 인식도를 실증분석을 통해서 연구하여 강원 지역 향토음식의 특징을 파악해 강원도 음식의 고유한 맛과 멋에 대한 긍지를 심어주고 강원 지역 향토음식의 대중적인 발전, 나아가 독창적인 메뉴개발에 보탬이 되는데 의의를 두고자 한다. 연구의 목적을 달성하기 위해 문헌연구와 실증연구의 2가지 연구를 병행하였다. 문헌연구에서는 향토음식에 대한 이론적 고찰과 강원도 향토음식에 대한 특징과 종류 및 메뉴개발에 관한 선행연구를 하였고 관련 서적, 인터넷을 이용한 자료 수집을 했고, 국내외 학위논문 및 학술지를 이용하여 조사하였다. 자료 분석방법은 SPSS 18.0 통계 패키지를 이용해 표본의 일반적 특성을 파악하기 위하여 빈도분석을 실시하였으며 측정변수에 대하여 요인분석 및 신뢰도분석을 실시하였다. 조사변수간의 차이를 알아보기 위해서 교차분석과 분산분석을 실시하였다. 유의한 경우에는 Duncan의 사후검증을 실시하였으며, 또한 가설검증을 위해 회귀분석을 실시하였다. 이 중 요인분석 결과는 향토음식의 인식(발전방향, 인식)은 3개 요인으로 추출하였으며 메뉴개발(상품성, 소득 증대2성)은 2개 요인으로 추출하였고 직무만족도는 하나의 요인으로 추출되었다. 본 연구의 구체적인 목적을 제시하면 다음과 같다. 첫째, 조리사의 향토음식에 대한 인식도를 높여 메뉴개발에 활기찬 참여를 유도한다. 둘째, 조리사의 메뉴개발 참여로 강원도 향토음식 메뉴개발의 활성화에 보탬이 되도록 한다.

An inside look at the sensory biology of triatomines

Although kissing bugs (Triatominae: Reduviidae) are perhaps best known as vectors of Chagas disease, they are important experimental models in studies of insect sensory physiology, pioneered by the seminal studies of Wigglesworth and Gillet more than eighty years ago. Since then, many investigations have revealed that the thermal, hygric, visual and olfactory senses play critical roles in the orientation of these blood-sucking insects towards hosts. Here we review the current knowledge about the role of these sensory systems, focussing on relevant stimuli, sensory structures, receptor physiology and the molecular players involved in the complex and cryptic behavioural repertoire of these nocturnal insects. Odours are particularly relevant, as they are involved in host search and are used for sexual, aggregation and alarm communication. Tastants are critical for a proper recognition of hosts, food and conspecifics. Heat and relative humidity mediate orientation towards hosts and are also important for the selection of resting places. Vision, which mediates negative phototaxis and flight dispersion, is also critical for modulating shelter use and mediating escape responses. The molecular bases underlying the detection of sensory stimuli started to be uncovered by means of functional genetics due to both the recent publication of the genome sequence of Rhodnius prolixus and the availability of modern genome editing techniques.

Lexical-semantic deficits in processing food and non-food items

The study of category specific deficits in brain-damaged patients has been instrumental in explaining how knowledge about different types of objects is organized in the brain. Much of this research focused on testing putative semantic sensory/functional subsystems that could explain the observed dissociations in performance between living things (e.g., animals and fruits/vegetables) and non-living things (e.g., tools). As neuropsychological patterns that did not fit the original living/non-living distinction were observed, an alternative organization of semantic memory in domains constrained by evolutionary pressure was hypothesized. However, the category of food, that contains both living-natural items, such as an apple, and nonliving-manufactured items as in the case of a hamburger, has never been systematically investigated. As such, food category could turn out to be very useful to test whether the brain organizes the knowledge about food in sensory/functional subsystems, in a specific domain, or whether both approaches might need to be integrated. In the present study we tested the ability of patients with Alzheimer dementia (AD) and with Primary Progressive Aphasias (PPA) as well as healthy controls to perform a confrontation naming task, a categorization task, and a comprehension of edible (natural and manufactured food) and non edible items (tools and non-edible natural things) task (Tasks 1–3). The same photographs of natural and manufactured food were presented together with a description of food’s sensory or functional property that could be either congruent or incongruent with that particular food (Task 4). Patients were overall less accurate than healthy individuals, and PPA patients were generally more impaired than AD patients, especially on the naming task. Food tended to be processed better than non-food in two out of three tasks (categorization and comprehension tasks). Patient groups showed no difference in naming food and non-food items, while controls were more accurate with non-food than food (controlling for the linguistic variables and calorie content). AD patients named manufactured food more accurately than natural food (with PPA and controls showing no difference). Recognition of food and, to some extent, of manufactured food seems to be more resilient to brain damage, possibly by virtue of its survival relevance. Furthermore, on Task 4 patients showed an advantage for the sensory-natural pairs over sensory-manufactured combination. Overall, findings do not fit an existing model of semantic memory and suggest that properties intrinsic to the food items (such as the level of transformation and the calorie content) or even to the participants like the Body Mass Index (as shown in another study reviewed here) should be considered.

Anti-food and anti-microbial IgG subclass antibodies in inflammatory bowel disease

Objectives: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), particularly Crohn’s disease (CD), is associated with increased microbial-specific IgG and IgA antibodies, whereas alterations of anti-food antibodies are still disputed. The knowledge about IgG subclass antibodies in IBD is limited. In this study we analysed IgG subclass antibodies specific for nutritional and commensal antigens in IBD patients and controls.Methods: Serum IgG1, IgG2, IgG3 and IgG4 specific for wheat and milk extracts, purified ovalbumin, Escherichia coli and Bacteroides fragilis lysates and mannan from Saccharomyces cerevisiae were analysed by ELISA in patients with CD (n = 56), ulcerative colitis (UC; n = 29), acute gastroenteritis/colitis (n = 12) as well as non-inflammatory controls (n = 62).Results: Anti-Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) of all IgG subclasses and anti-B. fragilis IgG1 levels were increased in CD patients compared to UC patients and controls. The discriminant validity of ASCA IgG2 and IgG4 was comparable with that of ASCA pan-IgG and IgA, whereas it was inferior for ASCA IgG1/IgG3 and anti-B. fragilis IgG1. Complicated CD defined by the presence of perianal, stricturing or penetrating disease phenotypes was associated with increased ASCA IgG1/IgG3/IgG4, anti-B. fragilis IgG1 and anti-E. coli IgG1 levels. Anti-food IgG subclass levels were not different between IBD patients and controls and did not correlate with food intolerance. In contrast to anti-microbial Abs, food-specific IgG responses were predominately of the IgG4 isotype and all food-specific IgG subclass levels correlated negatively with age.Conclusion: Our study supports the notion that the adaptive immune recognition of food and commensal antigens are differentially regulated.

Effects of narrative medicine on diabetic foot knowledge level and metabolic parameters of patients with middle or high risks for diabetic foot

Objective To discuss the effects of narrative medicine on diabetic foot knowledge level and metabolic parameters of patients with middle or high risks for diabetic foot. Methods We selected 90 patients with mid-and-high risks for diabetic foot who accorded with the inclusion criteria from October 2012 to May 2013. All patients were given a questionnaire about knowledge of diabetic foot to evaluate the degree of patients′ mastery level of diabetic foot knowledge and after routine education, patients were randomly divided into experimental group and control group by random number table. The patients of control group received conventional education, while the patients of experimental group were intervened with narrative medicine education. We compared patient′s foot related knowledge level and metabolic parameters after 6 months. Results A total of 87 patients completed the whole study. Forty-three patients were in the control group, and forty-four patients were in the experimental group. After interventions, patient′s systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, 2 h postprandial blood sugar, and glycosylated hemoglobin in the experimental group were lower than that of the control group (P<0.05). After interventions, the scores of the questionnaire were higher than that of the control group (P<0.05). After interventions, the basic information of diabetes knowledge, recognition of diabetic food, food nursing, correct knowledge of wearing shoes and socks, knowledge of avoiding food injuries, total score of food knowledge questionnaire in the experimental group were compared with those of control group with statistical significance (P<0.05). Conclusions Narrative medicine can improve middle or high risks diabetic foot patient′s foot related knowledge level and metabolic parameters. Key words: Diabetic foot; Health education; Metabolism; Narrative medicine

NEW BLOOD PRESSURE TARGETS IN NON-DIABETIC PATIENTS AND INSULIN RESISTANCE IN BRAIN.

The eighth JNC committee raised the target of systolic blood pressure to less than 150 mmHg for patients older than 60 years. Recently, results from a randomized controlled trial from the SPRINT Research Group have shown that among non-diabetic people with hypertension and other cardiovascular risk factors, reducing systolic blood pressure to less than 120 mmHg resulted in lower incidence of major cardiovascular events and deaths from any cause. In limited area of the human brain, insulin acts in modulation of body weight by food intake and modification of metabolism: hypothalamus (the central regulator of whole- body energy homeostasis and of food intake), prefrontal cortex (inhibitory control of eating), hippocampus (memory) and the fusiform gyrus (recognition of food, positive emotions, reward). Pregnancy, obesity, increasing age and also with some common genetic variants in the genes of IRS1, FTO, MC4R, CNR2, APOE are linked with insulin resistance in the brain.

Ingestion and digestion studies in Tetrahymena pyriformis based on chemically modified microparticles

Recognition of food and, in consequence, ingestion of digestible particles is a prerequisite for energy metabolism in Tetrahymena pyriformis. Understanding why some particles are ingested and digested, whereas others are not, is important for many fields of research, e.g. survival of pathogens in single-celled organisms or establishment of endosymbiotic relationships. We offered T. pyriformis synthetical bovine-serum-albumin (BSA)-methacrylate microparticles of approximately 5.5μm diameter and studied the ciliates’ ingestion and digestion behaviour. Different staining techniques as well as co-feeding with a transformant strain of Escherichia coli revealed that T. pyriformis considers these particles as natural food source and shows no feeding preference. Further, they are ingested at normal rates and may serve as sole food source. A pivotal advantage of these particles is the convenient modification of their surface by binding different ligands resulting in defined surface properties. Ingestion rate of modified microparticles either increased (additional BSA, enzymes) or decreased (amino acids). Furthermore, we investigated glycosylation patterns by lectin binding. By binding different substances to the surface in combination with various staining techniques, we provide a versatile experimental tool for elucidating details on food recognition and digestion that may allow to study evading digestion by pathogens or potential endosymbionts, too.

DietCam: Multiview Food Recognition Using a Multikernel SVM.

Food recognition is a key component in evaluation of everyday food intakes, and its challenge is due to intraclass variation. In this paper, we present an automatic food classification method, DietCam, which specifically addresses the variation of food appearances. DietCam consists of two major components, ingredient detection and food classification. Food ingredients are detected through a combination of a deformable part-based model and a texture verification model. From the detected ingredients, food categories are classified using a multiview multikernel SVM. In the experiment, DietCam presents reliability and outperformance in recognition of food with complex ingredients on a database including 15,262 food images of 55 food types.

Variability in the Recognition and Management of Food Induced Anaphylaxis in Pediatric Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centers

Variability in the Recognition and Management of Food Induced Anaphylaxis in Pediatric Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centers

Eosinophilic Oesophagitis (EoE): An update

EoE is a relatively newly recognised chronic immune mediated disease, which is increasing in incidence and prevalence in western populations. It frequently presents in Caucasian males between the third and fourth decade with a history of atopic disorders. Symptoms are related to oesophageal dysfunction and commonly include dysphagia and food bolus impaction. Recognition of food or aero allergens by the immune system triggers a Th2 response which is mediated by a number of cytokines including IL-5, IL-13 and eotaxins. The resulting eosinophil predominant chronic inflammation leads to oesophageal remodelling and is responsible for the clinicopathological features of the disease. The key histopathological feature of EoE is 15 eosinophils/high power field in the oesophageal mucosa. Endoscopic features, whilst not diagnostic, are nonetheless highly characteristic and include the loss of the normal vascular pattern, fragility of the mucosa and fixed oesophageal rings. Prompt diagnosis and treatment are important, as untreated disease leads to fibrostenotic complications. The mainstay of treatment for EoE is topical steroid therapy which has been proven to be effective in both reducing eosinophilic inflammation and improving symptoms. Long- term use may be needed however; as there is a high relapse rate on discontinuing therapy. Other pharmacological treatments such as sodium cromoglycate and thiopurines are either ineffective, of limited benefit or have insufficient evidence of efficacy. Some patients with EoE respond to PPI therapy and may represent a distinct condition called PPI responsive oesophageal eosinophilia (PPI-REE). The six food elimination diet (SFED) is effective in improving histological appearances and symptoms.

Science and art in the 21st century: on a way toward the unification.

Science and art in the 21st century: on a way toward the unification.

Right to food, right to mine? Competing human rights claims in Bangladesh

The right to food is increasingly evoked by a range of actors, but there is not sufficient critical analysis of distinct interpretations of what this right means in practice. Through examination of a mineral extraction project with agricultural implications, this article explores diverse human rights narratives and illuminates associated corporate efforts to minimize recognition of food as a fundamental right. A British mining company proposes the Phulbari open pit coal mine in an agriculturally important region of Bangladesh. Highly contested by affected populations, clashes in 2006 between the police and protestors turned deadly in the area. In February 2012, a group of UN Special Rapporteurs cautioned the Government of Bangladesh regarding human rights violations associated with the planned mine. They warned that the project would displace hundreds of thousands of people, while destroying fertile agricultural land. In contrast, an ongoing publicity campaign by the corporation attempts to promote their intervention as a positive step, fully compliant with international human rights and corporate social responsibility standards. Taking this case as an exemplar, the article illuminates the pursuit of mining profit and the distinct use of human rights narratives by corporations and UN Special Rapporteurs. These diverse actors represent the layering of voices weighing in on mineral extraction and associated right to food concerns. Collectively, these layered narratives represent a new terrain for the promotion and contestation of mining and highlight the need to scrutinize mining practices in light of social responsibility and human rights claims being voluntary and self-regulated.

Eating tools in hand activate the brain systems for eating action: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study

There is increasing neuroimaging evidence suggesting that visually presented tools automatically activate the human sensorimotor system coding learned motor actions relevant to the visual stimuli. Such crossmodal activation may reflect a general functional property of the human motor memory and thus can be operating in other, non-limb effector organs, such as the orofacial system involved in eating. In the present study, we predicted that somatosensory signals produced by eating tools in hand covertly activate the neuromuscular systems involved in eating action. In Experiments 1 and 2, we measured motor evoked response (MEP) of the masseter muscle in normal humans to examine the possible impact of tools in hand (chopsticks and scissors) on the neuromuscular systems during the observation of food stimuli. We found that eating tools (chopsticks) enhanced the masseter MEPs more greatly than other tools (scissors) during the visual recognition of food, although this covert change in motor excitability was not detectable at the behavioral level. In Experiment 3, we further observed that chopsticks overall increased MEPs more greatly than scissors and this tool-driven increase of MEPs was greater when participants viewed food stimuli than when they viewed non-food stimuli. A joint analysis of the three experiments confirmed a significant impact of eating tools on the masseter MEPs during food recognition. Taken together, these results suggest that eating tools in hand exert a category-specific impact on the neuromuscular system for eating.

The Farmer in Chief: Obama's Local Food Legacy

As criticism over America’s food policy has grown, many scholars have offered suggestions for reform. Complementing this body of scholarship, The Farmer In Chief identifies and assesses recent changes to federal laws and policies as they affect ‘local food’ and describes local farmers’ awareness of and reaction to these changes. These changes and the farmers’ responses show greater recognition of local food by the President and federal government in three ways: increased inclusion of local food in legislation and policy discussions; increased awareness of the benefits of local food production and consumption; and increased consumer access to local food. But the farmers’ responses also highlight areas where improvements can be made. Specifically, farmers need to be better informed about funding opportunities and funding opportunities need to be available to a greater number of farmers.