Consumers sensory evaluation of melon sweetness and quality

CONSUMERS SENSORY EVALUATION OF MELON SWEETNESS AND QUALITY Agulheiro Santos, A.C, Rato, A.E., Laranjo, M. and Gonçalves, C. Departamento de Fitotecnia, Escola de Ciências e Tecnologia, Instituto de Ciências Agrárias e Ambientais Mediterrânicas (ICAAM), Instituto de Investigação e Formação Avançada (IIFA), Universidade de Évora, Polo da Mitra, Ap.94, 7002-554 Évora, Portugal. ABSTRACT The sensory quality of fruits is made of a range of attributes like sweetness, acidity, aroma, firmness, color. Taste perception and perception threshold of these attributes are variable according to the psychological and cultural development of individuals. To better understand the quality evaluation of melon by consumers, consumers were invited to taste melon samples, in supermarkets in Évora (South region), Lisbon (Central region) and Vila Nova de Gaia (North region). The present work explored the importance given by consumers to sweetness in order to classify the overall quality of melon. Furthermore, the relationship of the chemical evaluation of Total Soluble Solids (TSS) with sweetness of melon was studied. Fruits from the variety Melão branco picked randomly from those that were exposed for sale in supermarkets were used for analysis. Fruits were chinned along the equatorial zone and only the central part of the fruit, opposite to the part that leaned on the soil, was used to obtain homogeneous samples. Consumers were invited to taste four small pieces of each fruit, previously referenced with a code number, and answer a questionnaire with two questions related to sweetness and overall quality. Each question had five possible levels, identified from “Nothing sweet”, to “Extremely sweet”, in one case, and from “Poor” to “Excellent” in the other. Simultaneously, the values of TSS (measured in ºBrix) for each melon used in the study were evaluated by refractometry. This sensory analysis allowed us to point out the following findings: first of all, there is good agreement between the results obtained to classify “Sweetness” and “Overall Quality” (Cohen’s Kappa=53.1%, p<0.001), which means, for example, that fruits with excellent quality are in general extremely sweet. Moreover, fruits with less than 9.6 °Brix are considered of poor quality and nothing sweet, whereas fruits with values between 10 °Brix and 12 °Brix are considered good in terms of overall quality. It seems that the thresholds for the stimulus/intensity of sweetness lied between 10 °Brix to 14 °Brix for this melon variety. Acknowledgments This work was support by national funds through Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) under the Strategic Project Pest-OE/AGR/UI0115/2014 and co-funded by FEDER funds through the COMPETE Program.

A randomized controlled trial on the effects of combined aerobic-resistance exercise on muscle strength and fatigue, glycemic control and health-related quality of life of type 2 diabetes patients

Aim: to evaluate the effects of a 12-weeks combined aerobic-resistance exercise therapy on fatigue and isokinetic muscle strength, glycemic control and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in moderately affected type 2 diabetes (T2DM) patients. Methods: a randomized controlled trial design was employed. Forty-three T2DM patients were assigned to an exercise group (n = 22), performing 3 weekly sessions of 60 minutes of combined aerobic-resistance exercise for 12-weeks; or a no exercise control group (n = 21). Both groups were evaluated at a baseline and after 12-weeks of exercise therapy for: 1) muscle strength and fatigue by isokinetic dynamometry; 2) plasma glycated hemoglobin A1C (HbA1C); and 3) HRQoL utilizing the SF-36 questionnaire. Results: the exercise therapy led to improvements in muscle fatigue in knee extensors (-55%) and increased muscle strength in knee flexors and extensors (+15 to +30%), while HbA1C decreased (-18%). In addition, the exercising patients showed sizeable improvements in HRQoL: physical function (+53%), vitality (+21%) and mental health (+40%). Conclusion: 12-weeks of combined aerobic-resistance exercise was highly effective to improve muscle strength and fatigue, glycemic control and several aspects of HRQoL in T2DM patients. These data encourage the use of aerobic and resistance exercise in the good clinical care of T2DM.

UT Austin | Portugal Workshop on Nonlinear Mechanics and Applications in Life Sciences

This is a CoLab Workshop organized as an initiative of the UT Austin | Portugal Program to reinforce the Portuguese competences in Nonlinear Mechanics and in complex problems arising from applications to the mathematical modeling and simulations in the Life Sciences. The Workshop provides a place to exchange recent developments, discoveries and progresses in this challenging research field. The main goal is to bring together doctoral candidates, postdoctoral scientists and graduates interested in the field, giving them the opportunity to make scientific interactions and new connections with established experts in the interdisciplinary topics covered by the event. Another important goal of the Workshop is to promote collaboration between members of the different areas of the UT Austin | Portugal community.