Search Results (5)

Background: Food image recognition, a crucial step in computational gastronomy, has diverse applications across nutritional platforms. Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are widely used for this task due to their ability to capture hierarchical features. However, they struggle with long-range dependencies and global feature extraction, which are vital in distinguishing visually similar foods or images where the context of the whole dish is crucial, thus necessitating transformer architecture. Objectives: This research explores the capabilities of the CNNs and transformers to build a robust classification model that can handle both short- and long-range dependencies with global features to accurately classify food images and enhance food image recognition for better nutritional analysis. Methods: Our approach, which combines CNNs and Vision Transformers (ViTs), begins with the RestNet50 backbone model. This model is responsible for local feature extraction from the input image. The resulting feature map is then passed to the ViT encoder block, which handles further global feature extraction and classification using multi-head attention and fully connected layers with pre-trained weights. Results: Our experiments on five diverse datasets have confirmed a superior performance compared to the current state-of-the-art methods, and our combined dataset leveraging complementary features showed enhanced generalizability and robust performance in addressing global food diversity. We used explainable techniques like grad-CAM and LIME to understand how the models made their decisions, thereby enhancing the user’s trust in the proposed system. This model has been integrated into a mobile application for food recognition and nutrition analysis, offering features like an intelligent diet-tracking system. Conclusion: This research paves the way for practical applications in personalized nutrition and healthcare, showcasing the extensive potential of AI in nutritional sciences across various dietary platforms. Full article

This paper aims to present a project on the publication of the first edition of food composition tables (FCTs) in Albania. Different organizations in Albania and Kosovo were contacted to provide analytical data on foods. The data for the tables were collected mainly from food labels, with less being collected from scientific papers and laboratory reports, since relevant analytical data were missing. Fifteen products were analysed by the Agricultural University of Tirana. Seventy-five foods were chosen as those most often consumed, produced, and traded in Albania (a few of them being from Kosovo). They included primary foods, pre-prepared foods, processed foods, and five traditional Albanian dishes. The collected data were documented using the Slovak database management system, Daris, v. 1.1.8. Missing values for the final list of foods were borrowed from other food composition databases. The nutritional values of dishes were calculated by using the Slovak nutritional calculation software, Alimenta, v. 4.3e. A list of a total of 48 components was included, consisting of proximates (9), minerals (9), vitamins (11), and fatty acids (19). The FCT contains 2219 records in total. The information related to the analytical methods used for each analysed parameter was described in the FCT. The bilingual (English and Albanian) version of the Albanian FCT is available for free at https://rb.gy/jq8l0s. Printed FCTs were disseminated through an informative seminar to the Food Control Authority, the National Authority of Veterinary and Plant Protection, and to representatives of other governmental agencies, universities, and food business operators, the national library, public health centres, and to researchers, students, and consumers. In Albania, no food composition tables have been published so far. With this first edition of the Albanian FCT, we made an effort to start building a national food composition database. This initiative was conducted in the frame of the project Development Support Programme of the Slovak Republic in Food Composition Area for Central and Eastern Europe based on the agreement between the National Agricultural and Food Centre—Food Research Institute, Slovak Republic and the Agricultural University of Tirana, Albania, during the period of 2018–2022. Full article

The demand for pre-made dishes has increased in China. However, a detailed understanding of residents’ intention to consume pre-made dishes is lacking in the existing studies. This research aims to investigate the consumer motives and intention to consume pre-made dishes. Through in-depth interviews and analysis, this research explores the factors influencing the residents’ intention along the research steps of grounded theory. Fifty-one residents participated in semi-structured interviews via face-to-face or online interviews. Three motives for purchasing pre-made dishes were attitude, subjective norm, and perceived control. These were influenced by external factors, including environmental features and product features. Subjective characteristics are pre-existing characteristics of individuals themselves, including cooking skills, food skills, housework allocation, and eating attitudes, which play a moderating role in the relationship between external factors and consumer motives. Based on the six major categories, this study built a model of the formation mechanism of the consumer intention to consume pre-made dishes. It revealed the psychological attribution of residents’ consumption of pre-made dishes. The finding of this study contributes to the understanding of the internal logic of PMDs’ consumer intention formation. It would be a guide for researchers to map out appropriate business development strategies, and provide evidence for the government in formulating management policies. Full article

The European spruce bark beetle, Ips typographus (L.), is a major pest of Norway spruce. During outbreaks, the beetles can colonize moderately stressed trees via mass attacks mediated by aggregation pheromones, while at endemic population levels, beetles infest trees with impaired defenses. I. typographus introduces ophiostomatoid fungi into the phloem, which can support host colonization. Low-density fungal infections are locally contained by hypersensitive wound reactions; larger necrotic lesions indicate lower tree resistance. Here, we made links between drought stress, susceptibility to fungal infections, and the attractiveness of spruce for host-searching I. typographus males. We sampled bark cores from roofed, non-roofed and untreated control trees of a rainfall exclusion field site. Drought stress was assessed using pre-dawn twig water potentials, and tree defenses were assessed using inoculations with Grosmannia penicillata. Subsequently, we performed Petri dish arena choice tests in the lab, where male beetles could choose between the bark samples of differentially stressed trees. We found that the attractiveness of bark cores increased with drought stress and the extent of hypersensitive wound reactions to fungal infection. Furthermore, beetles stayed longer in those Petri dish sections with the sample of their final choice. The bioassays provide evidence for the primary attraction of male I. typographus to tissues of Norway spruce and preference of beetles for stressed trees. Full article

New products that help make human tissue and organ regeneration more effective are in high demand and include materials, structures and substrates that drive cell-to-tissue transformations, orchestrate anatomical assembly and tissue integration with biology. Marine organisms are exemplary bioresources that have extensive possibilities in supporting and facilitating development of human tissue substitutes. Such organisms represent a deep and diverse reserve of materials, substrates and structures that can facilitate tissue reconstruction within lab-based cultures. The reason is that they possess sophisticated structures, architectures and biomaterial designs that are still difficult to replicate using synthetic processes, so far. These products offer tantalizing pre-made options that are versatile, adaptable and have many functions for current tissue engineers seeking fresh solutions to the deficiencies in existing dental biomaterials, which lack the intrinsic elements of biofunctioning, structural and mechanical design to regenerate anatomically correct dental tissues both in the culture dish and in vivo. Full article