Food Preferences and Dark-side Personality Traits

This study investigated the association between a variety of taste preferences and the Dark Triad personality traits. We noted over twenty studies that linked personality to taste/beverage preference and experience. In this study just under 200 participants completed a personality and food preference questionnaire. Results demonstrated that dark side traits accounted for around ten percent of the variance in tastes, including bitter and sweet as well as alcohol and coffee strength preferences. For a number of the taste preference measures sensation seeking and harm aversive personality traits were particularly influential in determining taste preferences. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Sweet Taste Preference: Relationships with Other Tastes, Liking for Sugary Foods and Exploratory Genome-Wide Association Analysis in Subjects with Metabolic Syndrome

Taste perception and its association with nutrition and related diseases (type 2 diabetes, obesity, metabolic syndrome, cardiovascular, etc.) are emerging fields of biomedicine. There is currently great interest in investigating the environmental and genetic factors that influence sweet taste and sugary food preferences for personalized nutrition. Our aims were: (1) to carry out an integrated analysis of the influence of sweet taste preference (both in isolation and in the context of other tastes) on the preference for sugary foods and its modulation by type 2 diabetes status; (2) as well as to explore new genetic factors associated with sweet taste preference. We studied 425 elderly white European subjects with metabolic syndrome and analyzed taste preference, taste perception, sugary-foods liking, biochemical and genetic markers. We found that type 2 diabetic subjects (38%) have a small, but statistically higher preference for sweet taste (p = 0.021) than non-diabetic subjects. No statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) in preferences for the other tastes (bitter, salty, sour or umami) were detected. For taste perception, type 2 diabetic subjects have a slightly lower perception of all tastes (p = 0.026 for the combined “total taste score”), bitter taste being statistically lower (p = 0.023). We also carried out a principal component analysis (PCA), to identify latent variables related to preferences for the five tastes. We identified two factors with eigenvalues >1. Factor 2 was the one with the highest correlation with sweet taste preference. Sweet taste preference was strongly associated with a liking for sugary foods. In the exploratory SNP-based genome-wide association study (GWAS), we identified some SNPs associated with sweet taste preference, both at the suggestive and at the genome-wide level, especially a lead SNP in the PTPRN2 (Protein Tyrosine Phosphatase Receptor Type N2) gene, whose minor allele was associated with a lower sweet taste preference. The PTPRN2 gene was also a top-ranked gene obtained in the gene-based exploratory GWAS analysis. In conclusion, sweet taste preference was strongly associated with sugary food liking in this population. Our exploratory GWAS identified an interesting candidate gene related with sweet taste preference, but more studies in other populations are required for personalized nutrition.

Psychological Effects of Sweet Taste and Sweet Taste Preference

This review summarizes current studies on the psychological effects of sweet taste and its role in overweight and obesity. Recent psychological studies demonstrate intriguing relationships between the experience of sweet taste and social perceptions and behavior. For example, studies show that experiencing sweet taste affects “helping behavior” or interest in initiating a romantic relationship. Furthermore, given that the role of sweet taste in obesity has been suggested, we reviewed studies on the relationship between sweet taste preference and eating behavior, thereby examining the role of sweet taste (and the preference for it) in the global rise of overweight and obesity in adults and children. Finally, we provide an outlook on future research perspectives on the psychological effects of sweet taste, and suggest some fundamental issues that future research should address to help provide a comprehensive understanding of how sweet taste and sweet taste preference affect our thinking and eating behaviors.

Parametric modelling & digital manufacturing for better bra fit

<p>This research focuses on developing an overall system for a more accurate bra design and fit. The bra, consequently, becomes part of a life-long service system that is able to adapt to both physical and personal desires of different types of bra wearers. Due to the symbiotic relationship between bra fit and bra design, a parametric system has also been designed in order to digitize the measuring process. This process explores the possibility of bringing the bra into a product-service- system framework. Individuality will not only be in the form of taste, preference, attitude, and aesthetics, but also through one’s inherent breast shape, structure, contours, and asymmetry. Under this paradigm, the designed bra system should not operate independently of its intended users and must always connect back to individual needs at every stage. For instance, to understand what makes a good fit cannot merely rely on the knowledge gained from literature or industry standards. To understand what makes a good fit, bra wearers themselves must be invited to offer their input. Therefore, this research could also be considered part of a human-centered design methodology. As such, this work was conducted as a mixed-methods approach with a combination of qualitative and quantitative processes. Unlike traditional bra fitting methods, this system utilizes advanced technologies and digital manufacturing techniques. Using technologies such as 3D scanning, to consider additional factors that are not currently considered, such as breast outline, shape, and asymmetry. This research also investigated the role of 3D knitting to fill the gap of customization and individualization at a mass production level, as well as serving as an innovative approach to respond to bra fitting and design issues. The data accumulated helped influence unique bra designs in order to ensure better individual bra fit, whilst also acting as a medium to give the bra wearer a better understanding of their breast measurements, and how the bra fits on them. Finally, the thesis compares, contrasts and identifies gaps within current methods for bra fitting and bra design, a parametric modelled measuring system, and final designed bra prototypes. Overall, it resulted in an effective parametric measuring system, which is able to adapt to individual 3D scans. Additionally, it was suggested that the 3D knitted prototype bra provided improved alternatives to a traditional bra, such as a seamless knitted underwire, which provides a more comfortable and flexible fit. Furthermore, our hope is to increase consumer engagement and awareness about their own breasts and individual bra fit. After all, if the necessary information can be provided to the consumer regarding how to achieve a good bra fit, then this could help the consumer’s ability for self-selecting better bra fit and enhance the satisfaction they receive from all bras. Therefore, the research might have a broad positive impact on a large size of the population.</p>

Parametric modelling & digital manufacturing for better bra fit

<p>This research focuses on developing an overall system for a more accurate bra design and fit. The bra, consequently, becomes part of a life-long service system that is able to adapt to both physical and personal desires of different types of bra wearers. Due to the symbiotic relationship between bra fit and bra design, a parametric system has also been designed in order to digitize the measuring process. This process explores the possibility of bringing the bra into a product-service- system framework. Individuality will not only be in the form of taste, preference, attitude, and aesthetics, but also through one’s inherent breast shape, structure, contours, and asymmetry. Under this paradigm, the designed bra system should not operate independently of its intended users and must always connect back to individual needs at every stage. For instance, to understand what makes a good fit cannot merely rely on the knowledge gained from literature or industry standards. To understand what makes a good fit, bra wearers themselves must be invited to offer their input. Therefore, this research could also be considered part of a human-centered design methodology. As such, this work was conducted as a mixed-methods approach with a combination of qualitative and quantitative processes. Unlike traditional bra fitting methods, this system utilizes advanced technologies and digital manufacturing techniques. Using technologies such as 3D scanning, to consider additional factors that are not currently considered, such as breast outline, shape, and asymmetry. This research also investigated the role of 3D knitting to fill the gap of customization and individualization at a mass production level, as well as serving as an innovative approach to respond to bra fitting and design issues. The data accumulated helped influence unique bra designs in order to ensure better individual bra fit, whilst also acting as a medium to give the bra wearer a better understanding of their breast measurements, and how the bra fits on them. Finally, the thesis compares, contrasts and identifies gaps within current methods for bra fitting and bra design, a parametric modelled measuring system, and final designed bra prototypes. Overall, it resulted in an effective parametric measuring system, which is able to adapt to individual 3D scans. Additionally, it was suggested that the 3D knitted prototype bra provided improved alternatives to a traditional bra, such as a seamless knitted underwire, which provides a more comfortable and flexible fit. Furthermore, our hope is to increase consumer engagement and awareness about their own breasts and individual bra fit. After all, if the necessary information can be provided to the consumer regarding how to achieve a good bra fit, then this could help the consumer’s ability for self-selecting better bra fit and enhance the satisfaction they receive from all bras. Therefore, the research might have a broad positive impact on a large size of the population.</p>

Increased Fat Taste Preference in Progranulin-Deficient Mice

Progranulin deficiency in mice is associated with deregulations of the scavenger receptor signaling of CD36/SCARB3 in immune disease models, and CD36 is a dominant receptor in taste bud cells in the tongue and contributes to the sensation of dietary fats. Progranulin-deficient mice (Grn−/−) are moderately overweight during middle age. We therefore asked if there was a connection between progranulin/CD36 in the tongue and fat taste preferences. By using unbiased behavioral analyses in IntelliCages and Phenomaster cages we showed that progranulin-deficient mice (Grn−/−) developed a strong preference of fat taste in the form of 2% milk as opposed to 0.3% milk, and for diluted MCTs versus tap water. The fat preference in the 7d-IntelliCage observation period caused an increase of 10% in the body weight of Grn−/− mice, which did not occur in the wildtype controls. CD36 expression in taste buds was reduced in Grn−/− mice at RNA and histology levels. There were no differences in the plasma or tongue lipids of various classes including sphingolipids, ceramides and endocannabinoids. The data suggest that progranulin deficiency leads to a lower expression of CD36 in the tongue resulting in a stronger urge for fatty taste and fatty nutrition.

Overlapping Representation of Basic Tastes in the Human Gustatory Cortex

The topological representation is a fundamental property of human primary sensory cortices. The human gustatory cortex (GC) responds to the five basic tastes: bitter, salty, sweet, umami, and sour. However, the topological representation of the human gustatory cortex remains controversial. Through functional magnetic resonance imaging(fMRI) measurements of human responses to the five basic tastes, the current study aimed to delineate the taste representations within the GC. During the scanning, the volunteers tasted solutions of the five basic tastes, then washed their mouths with the tasteless solution. The solutions were then sucked from the volunteers' mouths, eliminating the action of swallowing. The results showed that the bilateral mid-insula activated most during the taste task, and the active areas were mainly in the precentral and central insular sulcus. However, the regions responding to the five basic tastes are substantially overlapped, and the analysis of contrasts between each taste response and the averaged response to the remaining tastes does not report any significant results. Furthermore, in the gustatory insular cortex, the multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) was unable to distinguish the activation patterns of the basic tastes, suggesting the possibility of weakly clustered distribution of the taste-preference neural activities in the human insular cortex. In conclusion, the presented results suggest overlapping representations of the basic tastes in the human gustatory insular cortex.