Similar Taste Research Articles

Evolutionary Social Poisson Factorizationfor Temporal Recommendation

Preference-based recommendation systems analyze user-item interactions to reveal latent factors that explain our latent preferences for items and form personalized recommendations based on the behavior of others with similar tastes. Most of the works in the recommendation systems literature have been developed under the assumption that user preference is a static pattern, although user preferences and item attributes may be changed through time. To achieve this goal, we develop an Evolutionary Social Poisson Factorization (EPF_Social) model, a new Bayesian factorization model that can effectively model the smoothly drifting latent factors using Conjugate Gamma–Markov chains. Otherwise, EPF_Social can obtain the impact of friends on social network for user’ latent preferences. We studied our models with two large real-world datasets, and demonstrated that our model gives better predictive performance than state-of-the-art static factorization models.

Research on drinking water purification technologies for household use by reducing total dissolved solids (TDS).

This study, based in San Bernardino County, Southern California, collected and examined tap water samples within the area to explore the feasibility of adopting non-industrial equipment and methods to reduce water hardness and total dissolved solids(TDS). We investigated how water quality could be improved by utilizing water boiling, activated carbon and sodium bicarbonate additives, as well as electrolysis methods. The results show that heating is effective at lower temperatures rather than long boils, as none of the boiling tests were lower than the original value. Activated carbon is unable to lower TDS, because it is unable to bind to any impurities present in the water. This resulted in an overall TDS increase of 3.5%. However, adding small amounts of sodium bicarbonate(NaHCO3) will further eliminate water hardness by reacting with magnesium ions and improve taste, while increasing the pH. When added to room temperature tap water, there is a continuous increase in TDS of 24.8% at the 30 mg/L mark. The new findings presented in this study showed that electrolysis was the most successful method in eliminating TDS, showing an inverse proportion where an increasing electrical current and duration of electrical lowers more amounts of solids. This method created a maximum decrease in TDS by a maximum of 22.7%, with 3 tests resulting in 15.3–16.6% decreases. Furthermore, when water is heated to a temperature around 50°C (122°F), a decrease in TDS of around 16% was also shown. The reduction of these solids will help lower water hardness and improve the taste of tap water. These results will help direct residents to drink more tap water rather than bottled water with similar taste and health benefits for a cheaper price as well as a reduction on plastic usage.

EBCR: Empirical Bayes concordance ratio method to improve similarity measurement in memory-based collaborative filtering.

Recommender systems aim to provide users with a selection of items, based on predicting their preferences for items they have not yet rated, thus helping them filter out irrelevant ones from a large product catalogue. Collaborative filtering is a widely used mechanism to predict a particular user’s interest in a given item, based on feedback from neighbour users with similar tastes. The way the user’s neighbourhood is identified has a significant impact on prediction accuracy. Most methods estimate user proximity from ratings they assigned to co-rated items, regardless of their number. This paper introduces a similarity adjustment taking into account the number of co-ratings. The proposed method is based on a concordance ratio representing the probability that two users share the same taste for a new item. The probabilities are further adjusted by using the Empirical Bayes inference method before being used to weight similarities. The proposed approach improves existing similarity measures without increasing time complexity and the adjustment can be combined with all existing similarity measures. Experiments conducted on benchmark datasets confirmed that the proposed method systematically improved the recommender system’s prediction accuracy performance for all considered similarity measures.

Identification and Estimation of Endogenous Peer Effects Using Partial Network Data from Multiple Reference Groups

There has been a considerable amount of interest in the empirical investigation of social influence in the marketing and economics literature in the last decade or so. Among the many different empirical models applied for such investigations, the most common class of model is the linear-in-means model. These models can be used to examine whether social influence is truly a result of agents affecting each other through their choices simultaneously (endogenous effect) or of having similar taste and characteristics (homophily). However, the two effects are not separately identified in general in the standard linear-in-means model unless data on all members of an individual’s network are available. With data on a sample of individuals from a network, these effects are not identified. In this research, we leverage a very natural aspect of social settings, namely that consumers are usually part of multiple—as opposed to single—networks. We discuss the sufficient conditions for identification when the standard linear-in-means model is extended to allow for multiple sources of social influence. We also show how the additional variation generated by more than one source of social influence actually allows estimation of endogenous effects with sample data. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach via simulation and on the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health data, which has been used in a number of studies examining social influence. Our approach is, therefore, likely to be useful in typical marketing settings. This paper was accepted by Matthew Shum, marketing.

Increased Varietal Aroma Diversity of Marselan Wine by Mixed Fermentation with Indigenous Non-Saccharomyces Yeasts

The common use of commercial yeasts usually leads to dull wine with similar aromas and tastes. Therefore, screening for novel indigenous yeasts to practice is a promising method. In this research, aroma discrepancies among six wine groups fermentated with indigenous yeasts were analyzed. Three Saccharomyces yeasts (FS36, HL12, YT28) and three matched non-Saccharomyces yeasts (FS31, HL9, YT2) were selected from typical Chinese vineyards. The basic oenological parameters, aroma compounds, and sensory evaluation were analyzed. The results showed that each indigenous Saccharomyces yeast had excellent fermentation capacity, and mixed-strain fermentation groups produced more glycerol, contributing to sweeter and rounder taste. The results from GC-MS, principal components analysis (PCA), and sensory evaluation highlighted that the HL mixed group kept the most content of Marselan varietal flavors such as calamenene and β-damascone hereby ameliorated the whole aroma quality. Our study also implied that the indigenous yeast from the same region as the grape variety seems more conducive to preserve the natural variety characteristics of grapes.

How migrants’ food tastes shape international agro-food trade

ABSTRACT We identify and quantify the effect of food tastes on international trade flows. Based on a novel data set including all ingredients in the national dishes of 171 countries, we construct a measure for similarity in food tastes between countries. We identify the effect of tastes on bilateral food trade flows by exploiting that migrants’ tastes differ from the tastes of their host country. Our results show that the effect of migration on trade decreases the more similar tastes are between a migrant’s country of origin and her host country. Thus, we can show that tastes do matter for international trade flows, and are able to quantify their effect.

Pengaruh Jenis Kemasan Terhadap Sifat Organoleptik Tape Singkong

Abstrak bahasa Inggris: Cassava tape is originally local food from Indonesia. This product is fermented resulting different sensory properties. The application of various packaging to wrap cassava when making tape; however, there is no research, which compares the effect of several packaging to organoleptic properties of cassava tape. This research aims to figure out the effect of different packaging to organoleptic characteristic of cassava tape. The result was designed using completely randomized design (RAL) and analysed by variant analysis (Anova). Duncan Multiple Range Test (DMRT )was used to test significant results. According to the analysis, there was a significant difference in different packaging used to the organoleptic perception of cassava tape, especially in flavor, taste, sweetness level, and texture. There was a strong alcoholic flavor, a very liked taste, high sweetness level, and soft texture. The use of plastic jar tends to trigger no alcoholic flavor, unliked taste, no sweetness, and hard texture. When using a plastic bag it had almost similar flavor, color and taste to the tape wrapped with banana leave; however, it has less sweetness and less soft texture. In conclusion, based on the result it is recommended to pack the cassava with banana leave to obtain greater sensory properties according to what consumers’ desire.

Using locally available fertilisers to enhance the yields of swidden farmers in Papua New Guinea

ContextSwidden agriculture (a type of small-scale agriculture) is crucial to the livelihood and food security of millions of people in tropical regions. Social-ecological changes, including population growth and anti-swidden policies, are putting pressure on the existing swidden system to increase agricultural productivity in a sustainable way. Enhancing soil fertility is a promising option for increasing crop yields and extending lifetimes of agricultural fields, thereby reducing the demand to clear new land. However, there is limited information on how swidden farmers can best maintain soil fertility. ObjectiveOur aim was to investigate whether using locally available fertilisers can increase soil quality, crop yields and lifetimes of swidden fields. MethodsWe established experimental gardens on the land of swidden farmers in the Lowlands of Papua New Guinea, where the majority of the population depends on swidden agriculture. Gardens were set up on two types of sites; five were established on new sites that had just been prepared for gardening by cutting and burning vegetation after a fallow period, whereas another five were prepared on garden sites that were just being fallowed. We applied three treatments; i) compost consisting of decaying banana peels, ii) chicken manure, and iii) NPK fertiliser to different plots within each garden; and tracked soil quality and yields of sweet potato over 12 months (three post-intervention cropping periods). We also conducted in-depth interviews with local farmers to understand their perspective on soil management. Results and conclusionsFew farmers typically used compost, chicken manure or NPK fertiliser. Many were keen to try these fertilisers, provided they had more information. The performance of treatments depended on the type of garden with chicken manure increasing tuber yields in fallowed gardens but not new gardens, and banana peel compost also increasing tuber yields in fallowed gardens although not significantly. NPK fertiliser was the best option because it was the only fertiliser that increased yields in both new and fallowed gardens, produced tubers of similar quality and taste to control plots and was financially profitable. Treatments affected yield through increasing available nitrogen and reducing soil moisture. We also found that farmers fallow their gardens despite adequate sweet potato yields, so whether using fertilisers can enhance the lifetime of fields will depend on additional factors such as labour input needed. SignificanceOur work shows how swidden agriculture can potentially be adapted so that it continues to be a sustainable way of farming and living.

From parvenu to "highbrow" tastes: The rise of cultural capital in China's intergenerational elites.

A new generation of elites distinguished by their cultural endowments has emerged in China. Unlike the older generation of elites who signaled status through the display of wealth but shared similar tastes, the new generation of cultured elites has sophisticated, often Western-oriented "highbrow" tastes in their cultural consumption. By comparing the upbringings and the tastes of interviewees from various backgrounds, this study suggests a widening taste-chasm between the elites and the underclasses in urban cities. The social process behind this is argued to be the rapid formation of cultural capital in China, in which parental privileges accumulated in the market economy converted into cultural privileges in the new generation of new elites.

Taste Sensitivity and Taste Preference among Malay Children Aged 7 to 12 Years in Kuala Lumpur-A Pilot Study.

The taste and food preferences in children can affect their food intake and body weight. Bitter and sweet taste sensitivities were identified as primary taste contributors to children’s preference for consuming various foods. This pilot study aimed to determine the taste sensitivity and preference for bitter and sweet tastes in a sample of Malaysian children. A case–control study was conducted among 15 pairs of Malay children aged 7 to 12 years. Seven solutions at different concentrations of 6-n-propylthiouracil and sucrose were prepared for testing bitterness and sweet sensitivity, respectively. The intensity of both bitter and sweet sensitivity was measured using a 100 mm Labelled Magnitude Scale (LMS), while the taste preference was rated using a 5-point Likert scale. The participants were better at identifying bitter than sweet taste (median score 6/7 vs. 4/7). No significant differences were detected for both tastes between normal-weight and overweight groups (bitter: 350 vs. 413, p = 0.273; sweet: 154 vs. 263, p = 0.068), as well as in Likert readings (bitter 9 vs. 8: p = 0.490; sweet 22 vs. 22: p = 0.677). In this sample of Malay children, the participants were more sensitive to bitterness than sweetness, yet presented similar taste sensitivity and preference irrespective of their weight status. Future studies using whole food samples are warranted to better characterize potential taste sensitivity and preference in children.

Electronic Nose for the Classification of Honeys of Different Floral Origins

The electronic nose contributes, together with other chemical analyses, to identify botanical and geographical origin of honey. Two different honey samples were analysed: Italian Sainfoin (Sulla coronaria (L.) Medik.) and Eucalyptus (Eucalyptus camaldulensis Dehnh.). Aromatic profiles were evaluated using an electronic nose with a sensor array made up of 10 metal oxide semiconductor sensors (MOS). The maximum value for each sensor was used to plot data on a radar graph and for Principal Component Analysis (PCA). The PCA plot revealed a clear separation of samples.A complementary analysis of the volatile species in honeys was carried out using the head space solid phase microextraction coupled to gas chromatography and mass spectroscopy (HS-SPME-GC-MS) and the chemical profile of each sample was derived. Chemical data were compared to the results obtained with the electronic nose and confirmed the assignment of the different unifloral samples.The results showed that the electronic nose, combined with chemical identification of the volatile species, allows to classify and discriminate the different types of honey and to assign them to groups that have similar taste and aroma characteristics.

Truth is Beauty, Beauty is Truth the Philosophy of John Keats Selected Odes

Life can never be completely free of problems and pain. This is perhaps because no two people think alike, work alike or have similar taste. Problems and pain will be there when two persons live. So there are bounds to be differences and judgements born there of and create disharmony and conflicts. The natural inclination of human mind to get rid of pain and problems of life wanders for a different world. The romantic poet John Keats philosophically searched for such a place and wanted to escape. And escaping into the world of imagination helped him to get rid of pain and problems of life and discovers anything true is beautiful as beauty dwells in truth. Manifestation of god in all the objects of nature magnetically attracts Keats’s mind as it serves as a therapy to contemplate in the serene and isolated space he sought for. Human being and Nature are interrelated, meaning the harmonious unity of Man and Nature are interrelated as both assume qualities of the other as they born and die, ashes go into the lap of Mother Nature as the very essence of human being, the structure is made up of the elements of Nature. The serene, calm and quiet Nature provides a kind of nourishment to Keats’ mind to discover the beauty, provides him joy and it is a truth. Longing of every soul is to be away from the problems of life.

Proposing improved meta-heuristic algorithms for clustering and separating users in the recommender systems

To offer an appropriate recommendation to customers in recommender systems, the issue of clustering and separating users with different tastes from the rest of people is of significant importance. The MkMeans + + algorithm is a technique for clustering and separating users in collaborative filtering systems. This algorithm utilizes a specific procedure for selecting the initial centroids of the clusters and has a better function compared with its similar algorithms such as kMeans + + . In this paper, MkMeans + + algorithm is combined with Firefly, Cuckoo, and Krill algorithms and new algorithms called FireflyMkMeans + + , CuckooMkMeans + + , and KrillMkMeans + + are introduced in order to specify the optimal centroid of the cluster, better separate users, and avoid local optimals. In the proposed hybrid clustering approach, the initial population of firefly, cuckoo, and krill algorithms is initialized through the solutions generated by MkMeans + + algorithm, and it makes use of the benefits of MkMeans + + as well as firefly, cuckoo, and krill algorithms. Results and implementations on both MovieLens and FilmTrust datasets indicate that the proposed algorithms can perform better than their similar algorithms in clustering and separating users with different tastes (graysheep users), and enhance the quality of clusters and the accuracy of recommendations for users with similar tastes (white users).

Functional and sensory properties of jam with different proportions of pineapple, cucumber, and Jatropha leaf

Introduction. Fruits and vegetables are vital for healthy food consumption. Conservation is the only option to prolong their shelf life. Nigeria is currently experiencing an increase in production of fruit jams that incorporate vegetables. Cucumbers, Jatropha tanjorensis L. leaf, and pineapples have a lot of health benefits, which makes them very promising for jam making. The present research featured the effect of cucumber, pineapple, and Jatropha leaf in different proportions on the functional and sensory properties of composite jam.
 Study objects and methods. The technology of jam making followed standard procedures. Pineapple jam without cucumbers and Jatropha leaf served as control (pineapple:cucumber:Jatropha leaf = 100:0:0). The experimental jam samples had increasing amounts of Jatropha leaf (J), decreasing amounts of pineapple pulps (P), and a constant amount of cucumber (C), i.e. P:C:J = 85:10:5, 80:10:10, 75:10:15, and 70:10:20. The functional analysis involved chemical and proximate aspects, whereas the sensory evaluation involved appearance, aroma, taste, spreadability, and overall liking.
 Results and discussion. The experimental samples showed a significant difference (P < 0.05) in vitamins, minerals, total titratable acidity, pH, Brix, and total soluble solids. The control sample (P:C:J = 100:0:0) had significantly lower (P < 0.05) contents of moisture, protein, ash, fat, and fiber than the experimental ones. However, the pH and total titratable acidity of the experimental samples 85:10:5 and 80:10:10 appeared to be quite similar (P > 0.05). Compared to the control sample, the sensory properties of the experimental samples differed significantly (P < 0.05) by appearance, aroma, and spreadability but were of similar (P > 0.05) taste and overall liking.
 Conclusion. The obtained functional and sensory data proved that the new pineapple jam with cucumber and Jatropha leaf is a promising functional product.

Influence of physicochemical properties and starch fine structure on the eating quality of hybrid rice with similar apparent amylose content

In this study, we compared the physicochemical properties and starch structures of hybrid rice varieties with similar apparent amylose content but different taste values. In addition to the apparent amylose content, gel permeation chromatography analysis showed that the higher proportions of amylopectin short chains and relatively lower proportions of amylopectin long chains, which could lead to higher peak viscosity and breakdown value, as well as a softer and stickier texture of cooked rice, were the key factors in determining the eating quality of hybrid rice. High-performance anion-exchange chromatography analyses showed that the proportion of amylopectin short chains (degree of polymerization 6–10) and intermediate chains (degree of polymerization 13–24), which might affect the gelatinisation enthalpy and crystallinity, also contributed greatly to the eating quality of hybrid rice. Moreover, this study indicated that a greater diversity of forms and sizes of starch granules might influence the eating quality of hybrid rice.

Effect of brewing time and temperature on the physical properties, antioxidant activities and sensory of the kenaf leaves tea.

Kenaf (Hibiscus cannabinus L.), an annual herbaceous plant in the Malvaceae family, has become a multifunctional crop in Malaysia due to its large number of industrial applications for its fibrous stem. Recently, its kenaf leaves that have high antioxidant properties are getting more attention to be developed into tea. Therefore, this research aims to determine the best brewing time and temperature based on the physical properties, antioxidant activities and sensory of kenaf leaves tea (KLT). The kenaf leaves powder which was infused in hot (80°C or 100°C; 5min or 10min) or cold water (room temperature; 60min or 120min) were analysed. Results demonstrated that the KLT brewed at 80°C for 10min and 100°C for 10min showed the highest antioxidant activities in most of the antioxidant analysis conducted. Moreover, the colour of cold-brewed KLT was much lighter than the hot-brewed KLT and the cold-brewed KLT (room temperature; 120min) can likely be a new trend for the consumer since it contained high antioxidising capabilities. However, the pH, greenness, yellowness, sensory results in KLT were not affected significantly by both brewing time and temperature (p > 0.05). The antioxidant test was correlated positively with the phytochemical contents but insignificant relationship with most of the colour parameters. Overall, the optimum temperature and time for brewing KLT was 80°C at 10min because it saved energy and extracted the highest amount of antioxidants while retaining similar sensory taste with other brewing conditions.

Identification and Estimation of Endogenous Peer Effects in the Presence of Multiple Reference Groups

There has been a considerable amount of interest in the empirical investigation of social influence in the marketing and economics literature in the last decade or so. Among the many different empirical models applied for such investigations, the most common class of model is the linear-in-means model. These models can be used to examine whether the social influence is truly due to agents affecting each other through their choices simultaneously (endogenous effect) or due to having similar taste and characteristics (homophily). However, the two effects are not separately identified in general in the standard linear-in-means model unless data on all members of an individual’s network are available. With data on a sample of individuals from a network, these effects are not identified. In this research, we leverage a very natural aspect of social settings viz. that consumers are usually part of multiple, as opposed to a single, networks. We discuss the sufficient conditions for identification when the standard linear-in-means models is extended to allow for multiple sources of social influence. We also show how the additional variation generated by more than one source of social influence actually allows estimation of endogenous effects with sample data. We demonstrate the feasibility of our approach via simulation and on the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health data, which has been used in a number of studies examining social influence. Our approach is therefore likely to be useful in typical marketing settings.

Taste and Smell Function in Head and Neck Cancer Survivors.

Survivors of head and neck squamous cell cancers (HNSCC) frequently complain of taste dysfunction long after radiation therapy is completed, which contradicts findings from most sensory evaluation studies that predict dysfunction should resolve few months after treatment. Therefore, it remains unclear whether taste and smell function fully recovers in HNSCC survivors. We evaluated HNSCC survivors (n = 40; age 63 ± 12 years, mean ± standard deviation) who received radiation therapy between 6 months and 10 years before recruitment and compared their responses to those of a healthy control group (n = 20) equivalent in age, sex, race, smoking history, and body mass index. We assessed regional (tongue tip) and whole-mouth taste intensity perception using the general Labeled Magnitude Scale and smell function using the University of Pennsylvania Smell Identification Test (UPSIT). To determine possible differences between groups in retronasal smell perception, we used solutions of sucrose with strawberry extract, citric acid with lemon extract, sodium chloride in vegetable broth, and caffeine in coffee and asked participants to rate perceived smell and taste intensities with and without nose clips. We found groups had similar UPSIT and taste intensity scores when solutions were experienced in the whole mouth. However, HNSCC survivors were less likely to identify low concentrations of bitter, sweet, or salty stimuli in the tongue tip relative to healthy controls. Our findings suggest persistent and subtle localized damage to the chorda tympani or to the taste buds in the fungiform papillae of HNSCC survivors, which could explain their sensory complaints long after completion of radiotherapy.

Evaluation of the flavour properties of cooked chicken drumsticks as affected by sugar smoking times using an electronic nose, electronic tongue, and HS-SPME/GC-MS

This study evaluated the effect of different sugar smoking times on the flavour profiles of chicken drumsticks using an electronic nose (E-nose), electronic tongue (E-tongue), and headspace solid-phase microextraction gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (HS-SPME/GC-MS). The moisture content, water activity, pH, and L*-value decreased from 71.26% to 65.23%, 0.987 to 0.979, 6.66 to 5.36, and 61.84 to 52.34, respectively (P < 0.05). The a*-value and b*-value increased from 4.96 to 9.65 and 16.61 to 26.45, respectively (P < 0.05) with the increase in smoking times. Seventy-five volatile compounds were identified, and 18 volatile compounds were identified as key odour compounds and among them seven key volatile compounds with variable importance in projection (VIP) > 1 were detected. Principal component analysis of E-nose, E-tongue, and HS-SPME/GC-MS indicated that 3-, 4-, and 5-min smoking samples had similar odour and taste profiles. Sensory analysis indicated that the 4-min sample had increased overall acceptability. The correlation analysis of E-nose and key volatile compounds with odour activity value > 1 and VIP >1 confirmed that W1C, W3C, and W5C sensors were sensitive to aromatic compounds, and W2S sensor was sensitive to ketones. These results may provide guidance for smoked chicken producers to reasonably control flavour formation.

Effects of different germinated seeds flour on mineral, phytic acid and total phenolic content of cookies

The effects of germination at different germination period (1, 3 and 5 days) on physical, chemical and nutritional properties of three different seeds (wheat, rye and lentil) were investigated. Germination caused significant increase in ash, protein, total phenolic content, minerals (Ca, Mg, Fe, Zn, K, P) and phytic acid loss. As the germination period increased, L* values decreased, a*, b* and SI values increased. Germinated seed flours (GSF) were substituted for wheat flour at different ratios (0, 5, 10 and 15%) in cookie formulation to improve nutritional properties. The addition of GSF in cookie formulation gave lower phytic acid content than the control cookie sample. The highest calcium and magnesium content of the cookies were determined with germinated rye flour (GRF); the highest iron, potassium and zinc value were obtained with germinated green lentil flour (GGLF). The use of 5 % level had caused similar taste values to the control cookie samples.