Conjoint analysis on the purchase intent for traditional fermented soy product (natto) among Japanese housewives

Abstract: The effect of sensory and extrinsic attributes on consumer intentions to purchase the Japanese traditional fermented soybean product natto was evaluated using conjoint analysis. Six attributes with 2 levels each were chosen and manipulated: price (high compared with low), the country of origin of the soybeans (domestic compared with imported), stickiness (strong compared with moderate), smell (rich compared with moderate), attached seasonings (attached compared with no attached seasonings), and the environmental friendliness of the packaging (high compared with low). A fractional factorial design was applied and 8 hypothetical product labels were produced. A sample of 479 Japanese housewives ranked these product labels based on their purchase intentions. Overall purchase intention was affected by country of origin, attached seasonings, and price; those attributes accounted for 81.0%, while the sensory attributes of the product accounted for 19.0% of purchase intents. In order to estimate market segments for the natto products based on consumer preference, a cluster analysis was performed. It identified 4 segments of consumers: 1 oriented to attached seasonings, another conscious of the price, and the other 2 oriented to origins. The behavioral and demographic characteristics of the respondents had a limited influence on segment membership. Practical Application: This research was conducted to understand how consumers valuate various sensory and nonsensory product attributes based on their assessment of the overall product in the case of Japanese fermented soy product (natto). The data of this research would be of great importance both in understanding consumer behavior and in designing strategies for product development.     

Experience with the rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap with vascularized hard tissue for immediate orbitofacial reconstruction

We have previously reported (Badolato, R., J.M. Wang, W.J. Murphy, A. R. Lloyd, D.F. Michiel, L.L. Bausserman, D.J. Kelvin, and J.J. Oppenheim. 1994. J. Exp. Med. 180:203; Xu, L., R. Badolato, W.J. Murphy, D.L. Longo, M. Anver, S. Hale, J.J. Oppenheim, and J.M. Wang. 1995. J. Immunol. 155:1184.) that the acute phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA) is a potent chemoattractant for human leukocytes in vitro and mouse phagocytes in vivo. To identify the signaling mechanisms, we evaluated patterns of cross-desensitization between SAA and other leukocyte chemoattractants. We found that the chemotactic bacterial peptide, N-formyl- methionyl-leucyl-phenylalanine (fMLP), was able to specifically attenuate Ca2+ mobilization in human phagocytes induced by SAA, but only at very high concentrations, suggesting that SAA uses a low affinity fMLP receptor. Here we demonstrate that SAA selectively induced Ca2+ mobilization and migration of HEK cells expressing FPRL1, a human seven-transmembrane domain phagocyte receptor with low affinity for fMLP, and high affinity for lipoxin A4. Furthermore, radiolabeled SAA specifically bound to human phagocytes and FPRL1-transfected 293 cells. In contrast, SAA was not a ligand or agonist for FPR, the high affinity fMLP receptor. Thus, SAA is the first chemotactic ligand identified for FPRL1. Our results suggest that FPRL1 mediates phagocyte migration in response to SAA.     

Package images modulate flavor perception for orange juice

Most food packages contain images as well as textual information. While the influence of textual information on flavor evaluation has been well studied, the influence of images remains unexplored. Thus, this study investigated how the valence and congruency of images on juice packages influence flavor evaluations. There were 85 participants divided between four experimental conditions: (1) pleasant/congruent, with pleasant orange pictures; (2) unpleasant/congruent, with unpleasant orange pictures; (3) pleasant/incongruent, with pictures of pleasant non-food objects; and (4) unpleasant/incongruent, with pictures of unpleasant non-food objects. In each condition, pictures were attached to cups filled with juice. The participants rated the palatability, goodness of aroma, sweetness, bitterness, sourness, richness, freshness, and artificiality of 6 samples of the same juice. Juices presented with pleasant images were rated as more palatable and fresh. Juices presented with congruent images were rated with better aromas. This data shows that images on juice packages influence flavor evaluation.     

Package images modulate flavors in memory: Incidental learning of fruit juice flavors

The effect of package images on incidental flavor memory for fruit juice was investigated. Ninety-two participants were allocated to three experimental conditions: (1) apple-label, (2) peach-label, and (3) control-label. In each condition, participants tasted a target flavor stimulus, a 1:1 mixture of 100% pure apple juice and 100% pure peach juice with pictures attached to the cups. Ten minutes later, participants were confronted with samples consisting of varying ratios of 100% peach to 100% apple juice, and were asked to rate their similarity to the target stimuli. Participants were also asked to rate how congruent the juice flavor and the image were at the initial tasting. Apple images modulated memories of the flavors of target stimuli: they shifted toward that of apples. This modulation occurred in participants who perceived the label and flavor as congruent. Peach images did not modulate memories, possibly because the subjects had significantly less experience of drinking peach juice than apple juice. These results reveal that flavor memory can be biased toward that of the image labels during initial tasting. However, memory bias depends on the perceived congruency between labels and flavors, and tasters’ prior experiences.     

Conceptualization of food choice motives and consumption among Japanese in light of meal, gender, and age effects

Appropriate choice and consumption of meals are important to optimize diet quality. Nevertheless, the relationship between the conceptualization of food choice motives and consumption has yet to be elucidated. The current study attempts to delineate the effects of meals (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), gender, and age on psychologically defined food properties in three conceptual dimensions, namely, desired-to-be-eaten, ought-to-be-eaten, and actually-consumed foods, based on self-reporting among 100 Japanese participants. Results showed that there were large discrepancies between food choice motives (composed of desired- and ought-food dimensions) and actually-consumed foods. Accordingly, the effects of meal on food properties were examined in each dimension respectively, and meal effects were supported in all dimensions. Although food choice motives did not differ across age groups, people in their 40’s rated the properties of the foods they actually consumed substantially lower than did other age groups. No gender effect was observed. There were higher correlations between desired- and ought-dimensions across meals compared with between desired- and actual- and between ought- and actual-dimensions. In addition, association between dimensions was stronger at dinner compared with breakfast.     

Hemifacial dismasking flap for anterior skull base tumor--technical note

A new approach to malignant tumor in the anterior skull base using a hemifacial dismasking flap is described. A bicoronal incision is extended unilaterally down to the neck, degloving the craniofacial tissue to widely expose the skeleton underneath, allowing easy resection of an extensive tumor without postoperative scarring of the face. This method has been used successfully on five patients.     

Eating habits in childhood relate to preference for traditional diets among young Japanese

The present study investigated whether eating habits during childhood, specifically the type of food eaten for breakfast, is related to later attitudes toward traditional foods among young Japanese. In the experiment, participants were classified into two groups: one consisting of freshmen that habitually ate a Japanese-style breakfast during childhood (n = 28) and the other of freshmen that habitually ate a Western-style breakfast (n = 20). They were asked to complete a personalized implicit association test (IAT) and a self-report questionnaire, both of which measure attitudes toward Japanese and Western foods. Results demonstrated that implicit and explicit associations between Japanese food and attitude in the Japanese-style breakfast group were stronger than those between type of food and attitude in the Western-style breakfast group. Thus, positive attitudes toward traditional diets in young Japanese are likely related to the type of breakfast eaten in childhood.     

Preparation and characterizations of all-biodegradable supramolecular hydrogels through formation of inclusion complexes of amylose

In this study, we found that the hydrogel containing cross-linking points of amylose/PCL graft chain inclusion complexes was obtained by vine-twining polymerization using a water-soluble chitosan-graft-poly(ε-caprolactone) (chitosan-g-PCL). When phosphorylase-catalyzed enzymatic polymerization was performed in the presence of chitosan-g-PCL, the reaction mixture turned into a gel form. The IR spectrum of the sample obtained by lyophilization of the hydrogel indicated that amylose included the PCL graft chains in the intermolecular (chitosan-g-PCL)s to produce cross-linking points. The evaluation of the hydrogels obtained under various conditions was conducted by the shear-viscosity measurement. Because amylose, chitosan, and PCL are known to be enzymatically hydrolyzed, we have investigated enzymatic disruption behaviors of the hydrogels by hydrolysis of these components catalyzed by the corresponding enzymes, i.e., β-amylase, chitosanase, and lipase, respectively. In all cases, the hydrogels were transformed into solution or suspension states, indicating the occurrence of enzymatic disruption of hydrogels. Furthermore, the hydrogel was reproduced when the vine-twining polymerization was carried out in the presence of phosphorylase in the resulting solution by the β-amylase treatment.     

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy for human brain mapping of taste-related cognitive functions

Humans use various higher cognitive processes for taste, including memorization, recollection, and imagination, in our dietary lives, as well as in more specialized situations, such as sensory evaluation used in the food industry. So far, the cognitive aspects of taste processing have been studied mainly with psychological approaches, and their neural bases are not yet well understood. Conventional neuroimaging techniques are being used to converge psychological findings with human brain functions. However, these techniques require subjects to be in a supine position and strictly restrict head movements, narrowing the range of experimental paradigms that can be performed. This is especially true for taste studies; it is difficult to taste samples and perform cognitive tasks on them under conventional neuroimaging conditions. Therefore, we have attempted to use functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), an emerging noninvasive neuroimaging technique, to study human cortical taste cognitive processing. fNIRS, utilizing light to measure cortical hemoglobin concentration changes associated with neural activities, is more tolerant of subject body movement, thus allowing a wider range of experimental tasks for taste. However, it has some shortcomings that needed to be addressed. In this review, we will show how these technical obstacles have been overcome, how fNIRS contributes to the mapping of taste-related brain functions, and further promote the understanding of human taste processing. We propose fNIRS as a potential mediator between psychology and neuroscience.