Preference Mapping of Fresh Tomatoes Across 3 Stages of Consumption

Tomatoes (Solanum lycoperiscum) are a popular produce choice and provide many bioactive compounds. Consumer choice of tomatoes is influenced by flavor and visual appearance and external texture cues including hand firmness and sliceability. The objective of this study was to determine drivers of liking for fresh tomatoes across 3 stages of consumption. Seven tomato cultivars were ripened to a 6 on the USDA color chart. Trained panelists documented appearance, flavor, and texture attributes of tomatoes in triplicate. Tomato consumers (n = 177) were provided with knives and cutting boards and evaluated tomatoes across 3 stages: appearance (stage 1), slicing (stage 2), and consumption (stage 3). Consumers evaluated overall liking at each stage. Analysis of variance and external preference mapping were conducted. Overall liking was highest during the appearance portion of the test and lowest during the consumption portion (P < 0.05). Drivers of liking at stage 1 were color intensity, even outside color, and overall aroma. Drivers of liking at stage 2 were wetness/juiciness and overall aroma. Wetness/juiciness, seed presence, ripe flavor, and sweet and umami tastes were drivers of liking for tomatoes at consumption (stage 3). Four separate clusters of tomato consumers were identified. Cluster 1 preferred tomatoes with even color, higher color intensity, and flavor intensity. Cluster 2 preferred firm tomatoes. Cluster 3 preferred tomatoes that were soft and at peak ripeness; this cluster also had the highest liking scores for all tomatoes. Cluster 4 consumers generally consumed tomatoes in sandwiches rather than as‐is and preferred tomatoes with even and intense color. Tomato growers can utilize these results to target cultivars that are well liked by consumers.     

Improving brain B0 shimming using an easy and accessible multi-coil shim array at ultra-high field

Object

Improve shimming capabilities of ultra-high field systems, with addition of an accessible low-complexity B₀ shim array for head MRI at 7 T.

Materials and methods

An eight channel B₀ shim coil array was designed as a tradeoff between shimming improvement and construction complexity, to provide an easy to use shim array that can be employed with the standard 7 T head coil. The array was interfaced using an open-source eight-channel shim amplifier rack. Improvements in field homogeneity for whole-brain and slice-based shimming were compared to standard second-order shimming, and to more complex higher order dynamic shimming and shim arrays with 32 and 48 channels.

Results

The eight-channel shim array provided 12% improvement in whole brain static shimming and provided 33% improvement when using slice-based shimming. With this, the eight-channel array performed similar to third-order dynamic shimming (without the need for higher order eddy current compensation). More complex shim arrays with 32 and 48 channels performed better, but require a dedicated RF coil.

Discussion

The designed eight-channel shim array provides a low-complexity and low-cost approach for improving B₀ field shimming on an ultra-high field system. In both static and dynamic shimming, it provides improved B₀ homogeneity over standard shimming.

     

Exercise training-induced adaptations in the coronary circulation

This paper focuses on a subset of homosexual boys whose mixed gender experience moves beyond the conventional categories of masculinity and femininity, and who are often labeled as pathological due to a reluctance to recognize the reality of gender variance and cross-gendered identifications within the domain of mental health. Clinical examples are offered to highlight the need for a theory of gender that accounts for the interweaving of gender and psychic structure as they co-evolve and reflect the chaos inherent in human subjectivity.     

Analyzing test structure by multidimensional scaling.

Multidimensional scaling was used to analyze item response data for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) to uncover the dimensions underlying the test. Four dimensions were identified for samples varying in native language and level of English proficiency: 3 corresponded to the test's sections and 1 was an end-of-test phenomenon. Dimensions were predominantly defined by easy items and were most important for low-scoring examinees. The dimensions' importance did not differ across language groups, except for the end-of-test dimension. Major conclusions were that (a) the TOEFL measures the intended constructs; (b) the test assesses the same constructs in each language group, but the constructs are more differentiated for low-scorers; and (c) easy and difficult items differ in what they measure. Multidimensional scaling appears to be a useful method for item-level analyses of test structure. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of the field-dependent and field-independent cognitive styles in academic evolution: A longitudinal study.

To assess hypotheses derived from field-dependence theory about the role of cognitive styles in students' academic development, a group of 1,548 students was followed longitudinally from college entry into graduate/professional school. The Group Embedded Figures Test was administered at college entry. 1,422 Ss were followed through their college careers, and 831 Ss were identified as having applied to graduate or professional school and 550 as having enrolled. In their preliminary choices at college entry, final college majors and graduate/professional school specialties, relatively field-independent students favored impersonal domains requiring cognitive restructuring skills (e.g., sciences) and relatively field-dependent students favored interpersonal domains which do not emphasize such skills (e.g., elementary education). Ss whose college-entry choices were incongruent with their cognitive styles tended to shift to more compatible domains by college graduation or graduate school; Ss with congruent choices tended to remain with their choices. Some tendency was found for students to do better in domains compatible with their cognitive styles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hadron shower energy and direction measurements using drift chambers

We report energy and angle resolutions for hadron showers produced in the CCFR iron target-calorimeter. The measurements were made using drift chambers instrumented with FADC readout; showers were produced using a momentum-analyzed hadron test beam from the Fermilab Tevatron at energies of 40, 70, 100, 150, and 200 GeV. Shower energy measurements are compared to measurements using scintillation counters in the same target.     

Electromagnetically coupled microstrip dipoles

A new class of printed circuit radiator consisting of a microstrip dipole electromagnetically coupled to a microstrip feed line is described. Several configurations which differ in bandwidth, efficiency, and construction simplicity are presented. A geometry which has been found to be optimum for many applications is noted. Radiation characteristics of both isolated elements and arrays of elements are examined. Experimental and theoretical results are presented.     

Consumer Attitudes and Preferences for Fresh Market Tomatoes

This study established attractive attributes and consumer desires for fresh tomatoes. Three focus groups (n = 28 participants) were conducted to explore how consumers perceived tomatoes, including how they purchased and consumed them. Subsequently, an Adaptive Choice Based Conjoint (ACBC) survey was conducted to understand consumer preferences toward traditional tomatoes. The ACBC survey with Kano questions (n = 1037 consumers in Raleigh, NC) explored the importance of color, firmness, size, skin, texture, interior, seed presence, flavor, and health benefits. The most important tomato attribute was color, then juice when sliced, followed by size, followed by seed presence, which was at parity with firmness. An attractive tomato was red, firm, medium/small sized, crisp, meaty, juicy, flavorful, and with few seeds. Deviations from these features resulted in a tomato that was rejected by consumers. Segmentations of consumers were determined by patterns in utility scores. External attributes were the main drivers of tomato liking, but different groups of tomato consumers exist with distinct preferences for juiciness, firmness, flavor, and health benefits.     

The imprint of psychological differentiation on kinetic behavior in varying communicative contexts.

Evaluated kinetic behavior in 24 female undergraduates using a scoring system of object- and body-focused hand movements. Field independent (F-I) and field dependent (F-D) Ss were observed under 3 videotaped interview conditions: cold association, warm association, and warm interchange. Gestural behavior distinguished F-I and F-D groups within each of the 3 conditions: (a) during cold association, F-D Ss engaged in more hand-to-hand body-focused movements (p