Person-based design and evaluation of MIA, a digital medical interview assistant for radiology.

Introduction: Radiologists frequently lack direct patient contact due to time constraints. Digital medical interview assistants aim to facilitate the collection of health information. In this paper, we propose leveraging conversational agents to realize a medical interview assistant to facilitate medical history taking, while at the same time offering patients the opportunity to ask questions on the examination. Methods: MIA, the digital medical interview assistant, was developed using a person-based design approach, involving patient opinions and expert knowledge during the design and development with a specific use case in collecting information before a mammography examination. MIA consists of two modules: the interview module and the question answering module (Q&A). To ensure interoperability with clinical information systems, we use HL7 FHIR to store and exchange the results collected by MIA during the patient interaction. The system was evaluated according to an existing evaluation framework that covers a broad range of aspects related to the technical quality of a conversational agent including usability, but also accessibility and security. Results: Thirty-six patients recruited from two Swiss hospitals (Lindenhof group and Inselspital, Bern) and two patient organizations conducted the usability test. MIA was favorably received by the participants, who particularly noted the clarity of communication. However, there is room for improvement in the perceived quality of the conversation, the information provided, and the protection of privacy. The Q&A module achieved a precision of 0.51, a recall of 0.87 and an F-Score of 0.64 based on 114 questions asked by the participants. Security and accessibility also require improvements. Conclusion: The applied person-based process described in this paper can provide best practices for future development of medical interview assistants. The application of a standardized evaluation framework helped in saving time and ensures comparability of results.

Consumers' familiarity with wine increased their acceptance of pasta sauce containing grape pomace.

Grape pomace (GP) is a waste product of the winemaking process and has been proposed as a nutritionally beneficial ingredient, as it contains phenolic compounds, dietary fiber, and antioxidant activity. It can be a polarizing ingredient due to its flavor components. Familiarity has been found to influence consumers' preferences and sensory perception of food. A sensory test was conducted to evaluate the acceptance, sensory perception, and emotional response to pasta sauces containing GP (3% [3GP], 6% [6GP], 9% [9GP] by volume and control without GP addition). The sensory trials included wine consumers (n = 44) and nonconsumers of wine (n = 58) to determine how consumers' familiarity with the flavor properties of GP influenced their perception of the pasta sauce. Overall, the addition of GP decreased the liking scores of the GP-containing sauces, but the wine consumers' hedonic scores for the control, 3GP, and 9GP were significantly higher than the nonconsumers. Both consumer groups identified that the samples with a higher amount of GP addition were associated with sour, bitter, astringency, grainy, and gritty attributes. However, the wine consumers used more positive emotions to describe their emotional response to the GP-containing samples. The study identified that GP led to off-flavors and textures in the pasta sauces. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: GP is currently a waste product, but it has many nutritional benefits. Consumers are increasingly looking for nutritional benefits from their food. When incorporated into pasta sauces, GP decreased the acceptance of the pasta sauce and negatively impacted the flavor and texture. Familiarity has been found to impact consumer acceptance, and wine consumers had a more positive emotional response and higher hedonic scores in response to the GP-containing pasta sauce than nonconsumers of wine.

Identification of Compounds That Contribute to Consumer Aroma Liking of Roasted American-European Hybrid Hazelnuts.

New interspecific hybrid hazelnut crosses between American (Corylus americana) and European (Corylus avellana) hazelnuts are being developed to support a commercial industry in the Midwest region of the United States. In this study, volatile compounds that impact consumer aroma liking of roasted hybrid hazelnuts (C. americana × C. avellana) were investigated by targeted and nontargeted GC/MS flavoromics. Chemical profiles from 10 roasted hybrid hazelnut samples were modeled with consumer aroma liking scores by orthogonal partial least-squares with good fit and predictive performance (R2 ≥ 0.92, Q2 ≥ 0.82, RMSECV = 0.2). Top ranked predictors positively correlated with liking included 12 aroma compounds and 4 profiled volatiles for the targeted and nontargeted methods, respectively. Sensory recombination testing of hazelnut samples with addition of the 12 predictive odorants was preferred by consumers (p < 0.001, Δ aroma liking = 2.2 on 9-point scale) and perceived as more roasty, nutty, and sweet compared to the control (p < 0.05). Addition of the 4 predictive volatiles at subthreshold levels also was preferred (p = 0.02) and perceived as less earthy and mushroom like than the control (p < 0.05).

Is the Term "Food Consistency" Used Consistently in Consumer Science? An Exploratory Study of Consumer Association and Conceptualization.

The post-pandemic context has changed the modes for collecting data in sensory and consumer science. The objectives of this research were to analyze consumers' associations of food consistency and to study two virtual modes of the Free Word Association test (FWA). This test was administered to 209 consumers (180 women, 29 men, 18-45 years old) asynchronously (i.e. self-administered) and synchronously (i.e. face to face interviews). The Cognitive Salience Index (CSI) was calculated, and the structure of the social representation was analyzed. Correspondence analysis showed that food consistency was a mixture of concepts related to structure, hardness and several aspects of auditory (e.g., Crunchy, Crispy), tactile (e.g. Smooth, Spreadable) and oral texture (e.g., Creamy, Gummy). Slightly consistent food was associated with something soft, liquid or semisolid, and very consistent food to something hard and resistant. Consistent food was more related to "very" than to "slightly consistent." The CSI depended on the stimulus presented (p < 0.05). Regarding the social representation structure, the central core had the highest CSI for all stimuli (CSI ≥ 0.13, p < 0.05). Consumers defined "very consistent, consistent and slightly consistent food" by naming more foods in the synchronous mode than in the asynchronous one. In the asynchronous mode, consumers took more time to complete the test. The virtual FWA test (asynchronous or synchronous) showed some differences in the associations of term consistency, due to the lack of spontaneity in the first minute. It is important to adjust the methodologies to standardize the times in both modes.

Evaluation of research co-design in health: a systematic overview of reviews and development of a framework.

BACKGROUND: Co-design with consumers and healthcare professionals is widely used in applied health research. While this approach appears to be ethically the right thing to do, a rigorous evaluation of its process and impact is frequently missing. Evaluation of research co-design is important to identify areas of improvement in the methods and processes, as well as to determine whether research co-design leads to better outcomes. We aimed to build on current literature to develop a framework to assist researchers with the evaluation of co-design processes and impacts. METHODS: A multifaceted, iterative approach, including three steps, was undertaken to develop a Co-design Evaluation Framework: 1) A systematic overview of reviews; 2) Stakeholder panel meetings to discuss and debate findings from the overview of reviews and 3) Consensus meeting with stakeholder panel. The systematic overview of reviews included relevant papers published between 2000 and 2022. OVID (Medline, Embase, PsycINFO), EBSCOhost (Cinahl) and the Cochrane Database of Systematic reviews were searched for papers that reported co-design evaluation or outcomes in health research. Extracted data was inductively analysed and evaluation themes were identified. Review findings were presented to a stakeholder panel, including consumers, healthcare professionals and researchers, to interpret and critique. A consensus meeting, including a nominal group technique, was applied to agree upon the Co-design Evaluation Framework. RESULTS: A total of 51 reviews were included in the systematic overview of reviews. Fifteen evaluation themes were identified and grouped into the following seven clusters: People (within co-design group), group processes, research processes, co-design context, people (outside co-design group), system and sustainment. If evaluation methods were mentioned, they mainly included qualitative data, informal consumer feedback and researchers' reflections. The Co-Design Evaluation Framework used a tree metaphor to represent the processes and people in the co-design group (below-ground), underpinning system- and people-level outcomes beyond the co-design group (above-ground). To evaluate research co-design, researchers may wish to consider any or all components in the tree. CONCLUSIONS: The Co-Design Evaluation Framework has been collaboratively developed with various stakeholders to be used prospectively (planning for evaluation), concurrently (making adjustments during the co-design process) and retrospectively (reviewing past co-design efforts to inform future activities).

Forging green Horizons: Revealing Catalysts of pro-environmental behavior in emerging market.

In recent years, environmental pollution has started to threaten global economies. The understanding of consumer behavior within the context of sustainable development has become increasingly important to deal with this growing ecological complexity. Urbanization has accelerated in Pakistan, resulting in urban consumers raising more environmental concerns and promoting eco-friendly products. These concerns have demonstrated their commitment to sustainability and pro-environmental behaviors, such as reducing waste materials (e.g., plastics) and pollutants (i.e., smoke, dust, etc.), thus supporting eco-friendly behaviors. Today, Pakistan's urban consumers are well-aware of environmental complexities. As such, environmental knowledge is the driver of consumers' pro-environmental behavior, affective commitment and social capital also compel individuals to acquire ecological knowledge to enhance consumer behavior. This research considers customers' environmental knowledge and affective commitment, both of which actively contribute to pro-environmental activity. It explores the relationship between environmental knowledge, affection commitment, social capital, and environmental behavior in Pakistan. Data was gathered from Pakistan's urban customers and analyzed using Covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM). The results indicate that affective commitment and social capital have a positive and significant effect on environmental knowledge and behavior. Notably, the relationship between social capital, affective commitment, and environmental behavior is mediated by knowledge of environmental issues. Through its findings, this study fosters an understanding of environmental behavior and explains the sense of responsibility and greater commitment in individuals, which thus leads them toward sustainability.

Effect of Cowpea and Pumpkin Powders on the Physicofunctional Properties, Total Phenolic Content, Antioxidant Activity, and Consumer Acceptability of Soup.

Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata) and pumpkin (Cucurbita maxima) play a pivotal role as affordable, nutritious food sources for humans. Low-income households can significantly benefit from supplementing their diet with nutritious and cost-effective locally available ingredients. The aim of this research was to develop a cost-effective soup formulation using ingredients that are readily available from a household garden and suitable for use in the kitchens of families with limited financial resources. The effect of cowpea and pumpkin powders on physicofunctional properties, total phenolic content (TPC), antioxidant activity (AA), and consumer acceptability of the soup were determined. Three composite soup mixes were prepared using various parts of cowpea and pumpkin at a ratio of 1:1. A control soup sample was developed, and the experimental soups were prepared by supplementing the control soup with 5%, 10%, or 15% of each composite soup mix, respectively. The physical properties, functional properties, TPC, AA, and consumer acceptability of soup were determined. The control soup had an appealing golden brown colour. Formulations 1 and 3 showed the highest relative viscosity (80.67-88.91 cP). All the experimental soup formulations had higher rehydration ratios (8-14.7 g/g) and water absorption capacities of 185.7-263.3 g/g compared to the control at 7.7 g/g and 65.7 g/g, respectively. The TPC of Formulation 2 (F2) (0.32-0.54 mg of gallic acid equivalent (GAE)/100 g powder) and Formulation 3 (F3) (0.54-0.63 mg GAE/100 g powder) was higher than Formulation 1 (F1) (0.25-0.32 mg GAE/100 g powder) and the control (0.44 mg GAE/100 g powder). Overall, the cowpea seed powder plus pumpkin fruit powder added at 10% in F2 appeared nearly optimal as a soup mix. It produced an attractive golden brown soup with increased swelling power (SP) and viscosity to assist in swallowing. Soup F1 and F2 scored high in appearance (7.27 and 7.0), aroma (7.1 and 6.7), taste (6.6 and 6.3), and overall acceptability (6.5 and 6.4). Despite having TPC and AA lower compared to F3, F2 containing 15% cowpea seed powder and pumpkin fruit has the potential to be further developed and commercialised due to the relatively high overall consumer acceptability and high acceptability in all sensory attributes.

Quality of Male and Female Medical Content on English-Language Wikipedia: Quantitative Content Analysis.

BACKGROUND: Wikipedia is the largest free online encyclopedia and the seventh most visited website worldwide, containing >45,000 freely accessible English-language medical articles accessed nearly 1.6 billion times annually. Concerns have been expressed about the balance of content related to biological sex on Wikipedia. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to categorize the top 1000 most-read (most popular) English-language Wikipedia health articles for June 2019 according to the relevance of the article topic to each sex and quality. METHODS: In the first step, Wikipedia articles were identified using WikiProject Medicine Popular Pages. These were analyzed on 13 factors, including total views, article quality, and total number of references. In the second step, 2 general medical textbooks were used as comparators to assess whether Wikipedia's spread of articles was typical compared to the general medical coverage. According to the article's content, we proposed criteria with 5 categories: 1="exclusively female," 2="predominantly female but can also affect male individuals," 3="not sex specific or neutral," 4=predominantly male but can affect female individuals," and 5="exclusively male." RESULTS: Of the 1000 Wikipedia health articles, 993 (93.3%) were not sex specific and 67 (6.7%) were sex specific. There was no statistically significant difference in the number of reads per month between the sex-specific and non-sex-specific articles (P=.29). Coverage of female topics was higher (50/1000, 5%) than male topics (17/1000, 1.7%; this difference was also observed for the 2 medical textbooks, in which 90.2% (2330/2584) of content was not sex specific, female topics accounted for 8.1% (209/2584), and male topics for accounted for 1.7% (45/2584; statistically significant difference; Fisher exact test P=.03). Female-category articles were ranked higher on the Wikipedia medical topic importance list (top, high, or mid importance) than male-category articles (borderline statistical significance; Fisher exact test P=.05). Female articles had a higher number of total and unique references; a slightly higher number of page watchers, pictures, and available languages; and lower number of edits than male articles (all were statistically nonsignificant). CONCLUSIONS: Across several metrics, a sample of popular Wikipedia health-related articles for both sexes had comparable quality. Wikipedia had a lower number of female articles and a higher number of neutral articles relative to the 2 medical textbooks. These differences were small, but statistically significant. Higher exclusively female coverage, compared to exclusively male coverage, in Wikipedia articles was similar to the 2 medical textbooks and can be explained by inclusion of sections on obstetrics and gynecology. This is unlike the imbalance seen among biographies of living people, in which approximately 77.6% pertain to male individuals. Although this study included a small sample of articles, the spread of Wikipedia articles may reflect the readership and the population's content consumption at a given time. Further study of a larger sample of Wikipedia articles would be valuable.

Evaluating Patient-Reported Adherence And Safety for Oral Contraception Treatment in Women via a Direct-To-Consumer Prescription Platform: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background: The acceptance of telemedicine in the German health care system is growing. This also extends to gynecological applications such as the prescription of contraceptives. This study investigates the contraceptive use and adherence of patients using a direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription platform for oral contraception. Methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was conducted using anonymized data obtained from a DTC prescription platform between May 2021 and March 2023. The patient-reported outcome was evaluated after 3 months through a follow-up questionnaire. Results: In total, 8,065 patient records were available and 1,008 patients responded to the follow-up questionnaire. Patients were mostly taking combined oral contraceptives (COCs) and only 6% were taking a progestin-only pill (POP). Even in patient populations at higher risk, such as smokers and obese women, the proportion of POP users was less than 20%. Over 90% of users reported that they took the pill without any intake errors, with the main intake error being forgotten intake. Overall, 23% of patients reported adverse events while taking the pill, with POP users reporting more adverse events than COC users (36.7% vs. 22.2%). Over 70% of patients regularly attended cervical screening. Conclusions: Users of a DTC prescribing platform exhibit strong adherence, with over 90% successfully taking oral contraceptive pills. The platform effectively identifies absolute contraindications but could enhance recommendations for contraceptives in the presence of relative contraindications. For healthy women familiar with pill usage, DTC platforms offer a viable and convenient alternative to traditional doctor's office prescriptions.

The role of culture in the representation of probiotic foods.

Functional foods, and specifically probiotics, are important products present in retail worldwide. Probiotics comprise "live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, can confer a health benefit on the host". This study aimed to investigate the effect of culture on probiotic foods social representation. A total of 818 consumers from seven countries (Argentina, Brazil, Honduras, Mauritius, Mexico, Peru, and Slovenia) participated in the study. A free word association task was performed with the inductor term "probiotic food," followed by lemmatization, categorization, and prototypical analysis of the social representation. The results indicated that the term health was common in all countries studied, as well as other positive aspects such as benefits, well-being, and functional foods. This study helped to shed light and better understand the role of culture in the social representation of probiotics.

Study of starch molecular structure-property relations provides new insight into slowly digested rice development.

White rice consumption has been regarded as a potential risk factor for non-communicable diseases including obesity and type 2 diabetes. Thus, increasing attention has been paid to develop slowly digested rices with acceptable palatability. As the most abundant component of rice kernels, the fine molecular structure of starch controls not only the texture & aroma, but also the digestion properties of cooked rice. A large number of studies have been conducted to see what molecular structural features control the digestibility and palatability of cooked rice, which further could be connected to starch biosynthesis to enable rices with targeted functionalities to be chosen in non-empirical ways. Nonetheless, little progress has been made because of improper experimental designs. For example, the effects of starch fine molecular structure on cooked rice digestibility and palatability has been rarely studied within one study, resulting to various digestion results. Even for the same sample, it is hard to obtain consistent conclusions and sometimes, the results/coclusions are even controversy. In this review paper, starch fine molecular structural effects on the texture, aroma and starch digestion properties of cooked white rice were summarized followed by a detailed discussion of the relations between the fine molecular structures of amylopectin and amylose to deduce a more general conclusion of starch molecular structure-cooked rice property relations. It is expected that this review paper could provide useful information in terms of how to develop slowly digested rices with acceptable palatability.

Temporal dominance of Sensations: Do different concepts of "dominance" affect the results?

The purpose of this study was to understand the role of "dominance" definitions in the results of TDS applied to consumers. This study compared two temporal dominance of sensations (TDS) approaches - TDS-I - that attracts the most attention and TDS-II - most intense/strongest sensation - in the context of evaluating artisanal Minas cheeses from the Serra da Canastra and chocolate with different cocoa concentrations samples. TDS curves were constructed and a trajectory-based principal component analysis (PCA) was performed dominance rates at ten equally spaced time points. Additionally, difference curves, multiple factor analysis (MFA) and regression vector coefficient (RV coefficient) were performed to compare the two approaches. The findings showed that the two approaches produced similar results, suggesting that consumers interpret the terms dominant and intense in a similar way during TDS evaluations, the results were even closer at the chocolate study than at the cheese study. However, in both approaches were observed low dominance rates and differences between the sensation perception time, mainly in the evaluation of cheese flavor. This variability may be attributed to the complexity of the cheese's flavor and the varied interpretations of dominance among evaluators. Despite these differences, the approaches showed similar characterizations across the same samples, demonstrating high reproducibility and a strong ability to differentiate between samples. This study demonstrates that the choice between the terms dominant (which captures more attention) or intense (stronger) to guide consumers in performing the sensory test does not significantly influence the results. Consequently, it is possible to adopt greater freedom and flexibility in the terminology used to instruct participants in conducting the test.

Consumers' Categorizations of Dairy Products and Plant-Based Milk, Yogurt, and Cheese Alternatives.

Plant-based dairy alternatives have many benefits in terms of sustainability, animal welfare, and health, but they can only be successful in the market if consumers perceive them as suitable substitutes for conventional dairy. Consumers' expectations for new products are strongly influenced by the food categories into which they place these products. The present study aims to reveal consumers' categorizations of plant-based dairy products to gain insights into their potential as dairy substitutes. In a free sorting task, 100 participants from the German-speaking part of Switzerland sorted a variety of plant-based and conventional animal-based dairy products into groups, indicating their spontaneous similarity perceptions. Additionally, we assessed the participants' characteristics and attitudes toward plant-based dairy products to test potential differences in categorization strategies among consumer groups. Multidimensional scaling and cluster analysis showed that consumers' mental representations of plant-based dairy and conventional animal-based dairy were clearly separated across a wide range of product types. This pattern was even observed among consumers who ate less meat, had higher exposure to vegan dietary styles, and had less negative attitudes toward dairy alternatives. The results suggest that taxonomic distinctions based on plant or animal origin dominate consumers' perceptions and are likely to hinder the substitution of dairy with plant-based dairy. Nevertheless, they also imply that plant-based products that manage to emphasize shared goals and functional properties akin to conventional dairy products are more likely to form a common goal-derived category in consumers' minds and thus have better prospects as substitutes.

Isolation, identification, and antibiotic susceptibility profile of bacterial isolates from unused diapers sold in major markets in Enugu Metropolis: Clinical and policy perspectives.

Diapers, being one of the most used items for infant care, it is imperative that they are always free of contamination from microorganisms. The objective of this study is to determine the rate of bacterial contamination and the antibiotics profile of isolated bacteria from unused diapers sold in markets in Enugu Metropolis, southeast Nigeria. The study also investigated the effectiveness of the Nigerian Consumer protection laws towards maintaining the standard of care for infants and toddlers. Fifty pieces of different brands of diapers were sampled for bacterial contamination using standard bacteriological procedures. The results show that out of 50 samples analyzed, bacterial growths were identified in 9 (18%), of which five different bacterial species were isolated. The most prevalent being Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus 3 (33.3%). Other bacteria isolated were Lactobacillus spp, Klebsiella spp, and Streptococcus spp 1 (11.1%). There was no statistically significant difference in the distribution of the bacterial contamination of diapers across the different brands(p>0.05). We conclude that baby diapers sold in markets in Enugu metropolis are prone to contamination with bacteria.We recommend that appropriate measures should be taken during the manufacturing process to reduce or prevent the incidence of bacterial contamination of diapers.

Les couches étant l'un des articles les plus utilisés pour les soins des nourrissons, il est impératif qu'elles soient toujours exemptes de contamination par des micro-organismes. L'objectif de cette étude est de déterminer le taux de contamination bactérienne et le profil antibiotique des bactéries isolées provenant de couches inutilisées vendues sur les marchés de la métropole d'Enugu, dans le sud-est du Nigeria. L'étude a également examiné l'efficacité des lois nigérianes sur la protection des consommateurs pour maintenir le niveau de soins pour les nourrissons et les jeunes enfants. Cinquante morceaux de couches de différentes marques ont été échantillonnés pour détecter toute contamination bactérienne en utilisant des procédures bactériologiques standard. Les résultats montrent que sur 50 échantillons analysés, des croissances bactériennes ont été identifiées dans 9 (18 %), parmi lesquels cinq espèces bactériennes différentes ont été isolées. Les plus répandus sont Escherichia coli et Staphylococcus aureus 3 (33,3 %). Les autres bactéries isolées étaient Lactobacillus spp, Klebsiella spp et Streptococcus spp 1 (11,1 %). Il n'y avait pas de différence statistiquement significative dans la répartition de la contamination bactérienne des couches entre les différentes marques (p>0,05). Nous concluons que les couches pour bébés vendues sur les marchés de la métropole d'Enugu sont sujettes à la contamination bactérienne. Nous recommandons que des mesures appropriées soient prises pendant le processus de fabrication pour réduire ou prévenir l'incidence de la contamination bactérienne des couches.

Recommendations to improve use and dissemination of patient versions of oncological clinical practice guidelines in Germany: results of a multi-stakeholder workshop.

BACKGROUND: Oncological patients have high information needs that are often unmet. Patient versions of oncological clinical practice guidelines (PVG) translate clinical practice guidelines into laypersons' language and might help to address patients' information needs. Currently, 30 oncological PVG have been published in Germany and more are being developed. Following a large multi-phase project on oncological PVGs in Germany, recommendations to improve use and dissemination of PVG were adopted in a multi-stakeholder workshop. METHODS: Organisations representing users of PVGs (patients, medical personnel, and multipliers), creators, initiators/funding organisations of PVGs, and organisations with methodological expertise in the development of clinical practice guidelines or in patient health information were invited to participate. The workshop included a World Café for discussion of pre-selected recommendations and structured consensus procedure for of all recommendations. Recommendations with agreement of > 75% were approved, and in case of ≤ 75% agreement, recommendations were rejected. RESULTS: The workshop took place on 24th April 2023 in Cologne, Germany. Overall, 23 people from 24 organisations participated in the discussion. Of 35 suggested recommendations 28 recommendations reached consensus and were approved. The recommendations referred to the topics dissemination (N = 13), design and format (N = 7), (digital) links (N = 5), digitalisation (N = 4), up-to-dateness (N = 3), and use of the PVG in collaboration between healthcare providers and patients (N = 3). CONCLUSION: The practical recommendations consider various perspectives and can help to improve use and dissemination of oncological PVG in Germany. The inclusion of different stakeholders could facilitate the transfer of the results into practice.

Understanding public perspectives on genetically engineered Brinjal and the adoption of modern biotechnology in Bangladesh.

The agricultural sector in Bangladesh is currently facing numerous challenges. The country is currently endeavoring to adopt modern biotechnological tools, such as genetic engineering, to modify crops with the aim of ensuring food security. Notably, Bt Brinjal represents a significant milestone as the first genetically engineered (GE) food crop commercially cultivated in South Asia. Public perception and awareness are crucial steps forward for accepting and commercializing GE crops within society. The study discussed here aims to assess public perception and awareness regarding modern biotechnology and GE crops, focusing mainly on Bt Brinjal in Bangladesh. A random survey considered demographic factors such as age, gender, hometown, educational qualification, and occupation to explore the public attitudes towards Bt Brinjal and modern biotechnology. Approximately one-third of those surveyed considered Bt Brinjal safe for consumption, and a third expressed a willingness to buy Bt Brinjal, while nearly two-thirds believed it would gain popularity in the market alongside other crops. Most respondents recognized the necessity of utilizing modern biotechnology for crop improvement beyond Bt Brinjal, and respondents with science backgrounds displayed higher awareness and a more positive attitude than those with limited education or non-science backgrounds. This study explores the public perceptions of Bt Brinjal and the adoption of modern biotechnology in Bangladesh by examining factors such as knowledge dissemination, acceptance levels, and concerns related to GE crops, and offers a meaningful perspective that can shape decision-making processes to promote agricultural sustainability and achieve relevant sustainable development goals in Bangladesh.

The impact of hunger on indulgent food choices is moderated by healthy eating concerns.

Research has shown that hungry individuals are more impulsive, impatient, and prone to make indulgent food choices compared to their satiated counterparts. However, the literature is still mixed, with some studies showing such results while others fail to demonstrate hunger effects on consumers' choice behavior. The current cross-sectional study (N = 461) sought to address these inconsistencies by examining whether the link between hunger and people's propensity to make indulgent (vs. virtuous) food choices is moderated by their healthy eating concerns. Our findings revealed a weak but significant association between participants' self-reported hunger levels and their likelihood of making indulgent rather than virtuous food choices (e.g., preferring a chocolate cake instead of a fruit salad). Importantly, this effect was moderated by their healthy eating concerns, such that the link between hunger and choice likelihood of indulgent food options only emerged among participants who scored lower, but not higher, in healthy eating concerns. We also replicated these results in a robustness check that focused on the extent to which participants indicated having a healthy lifestyle (e.g., exercising regularly), with a similar moderating influence of this factor. Together, these findings shed light on the importance of considering certain boundary conditions for establishing a link between hunger and consumers' food choices, thus adding nuance to the growing body of hunger-related literature. The results emphasize the importance of ensuring the availability of healthier snack options in environments wherein foods and beverages can be consumed, particularly at times when consumers tend to be hungry, to promote healthier eating habits.

Exploring the influence of Chinese online patient trust on telemedicine behavior: insights into perceived risk and behavior intention.

As a supplement to medical services, telemedicine is of great significance to alleviate the shortage of health resources in China. Based on the traditional consumer behavior measurement model the Technology Acceptance Mode/Theory of Planned Behavior (TAM/TPB), this paper divides online patient trust into six dimensions: perceived risk, personal trust tendency, doctors' credibility, hospitals' credibility, websites' credibility, and system guarantee. On this basis, a structural equation model (SEM) was used to explore the influence of each dimension of online patient trust on online patient intention, behavior choice, and pre-factors. A total of 582 valid questionnaires were distributed to selected patients with experience in using mobile healthcare services in the vicinity of hospitals and communities, as well as to users who shared their experiences in the discussion forums of mobile healthcare websites. The results show that online patient trust has a significant positive impact on telemedicine behavior intention selection, with a standardized path coefficient being as high as 0.866. Doctors' credibility, system guarantee, and website credibility have significant positive effects on online patient trust, with standardized path coefficients of 0.401, 0.260, and 0.226, respectively. Hospital trustworthiness and personal trust propensity have no significant effect on online patient trust. Perceived risk has a significant negative effect on online patient trust, with a standardized path coefficient of -0.118. The research findings suggest that health departments and mobile healthcare providers can enhance mobile healthcare services by considering the patients' perspectives, elevate their online trust levels, and foster a deeper understanding, safety consciousness, and confidence in telehealth services. On this basis, it can be concluded that only the participation of government, medical subjects, and online patients can effectively reduce perceived risks, improve perceived characteristics of online patients, enhance online patient trust, and promote the real willingness and behavior choice for online medical services, effectively improving the positive role of telemedicine in increasing health benefits to people.

A methodological review in sensory analyses of chicken meat.

The sensory characteristics of poultry products are crucial in defining their quality and widely influence consumer choices. Even though the scientific literature clearly indicates that for muscle foods the sensory profile is relevant in purchase decisions and overall acceptability, sensory evaluation has often been underestimated and considered complementary to instrumental and/or chemical assessments. Sensory analysis includes different types of validated tests (discriminative, descriptive, and affective), applied depending on the purpose of the research study, requiring special attention in the sample preparation phase, in particular for nonhomogeneous products such as poultry meat, requiring reproducible cutting, cooking and presentation to the tasters. The aim of this paper is to review, critically assess and discuss sensory methods, standardized procedures and sample preparation tailored for chicken meat, through the literature from 2000 to 2023, with a section dedicated to ethical aspects that must be carefully considered when designing a sensory protocol. The target readers are both the research and the business communities, as the information can be widely applied for quality control, to develop new food products, to understand or drive preferences or, for example, to assess potential sensory differences among chickens fed with different diets. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this review represents a useful first guide for those approaching the sensory analysis of chicken meat.