We argue that tastes can be understood as the result of utility maximizing behavior in the distant past. This previous maximizing behavior may have long-lived consequences, which we usually take as tastes or preferences. As the old maximization problem depends critically on old relative prices, we use old relative prices to endogenize tastes, overcoming many of the criticisms of the taste forma...

Many animals extract, synthesize and refine chemicals for colour display, where a range of compounds and structures can produce a diverse colour palette. Feather colours, for example, span the visible spectrum and mostly result from pigments in five chemical classes (carotenoids, melanins, porphyrins, psittacofulvins and metal oxides). However, the pigment that generates the yellow colour of pe...

Penguins have been recently identified as useful bioindicators of mercury (Hg) transfer to food webs in the Southern Ocean over different spatial and temporal scales. Here, feather Hg concentrations were measured in adults and chicks of all the seven penguin species breeding in the southern Indian Ocean, over a large latitudinal gradient spanning Antarctic, subantarctic and subtropical sites. H...

Background:Adolescent obesity has become a serious public health challenge in the 21st century.The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a participatory training program on the control of overweight and obesity in female adolescents. Methods:One hundred female participants aged 12 to 14 years with overweight or obesity were recruited from four ...

BACKGROUND Over-reliance on convenience foods, including ready-meals, has been suggested as one contributor to obesity. Little research has systematically explored the nutritional content of supermarket ready-meals. We described the nutritional content and cost of UK supermarket ready-meals. METHODS We conducted a survey of supermarket own-brand chilled and frozen ready-meals available in bra...

CONTEXT Esophageal dysphagia is the sensation that the ingested material has a slow transit or blockage in its normal passage to the stomach. It is not always associated with motility or transit alterations. OBJECTIVES To evaluate in normal volunteers the possibility of perception of bolus transit through the esophagus after swallows of liquid and solid boluses, the differences in esophageal ...

Production of gluten-free pasta is offered. A new food product for a special purpose has been developed - made from whole-grain amaranth flour, which will be able to provide the daily rate fiber consumption. An analysis latest research and publications was conducted it found that Ukrainian foreign scientists are investigating use raw materials in technologies functional products. On basis analy...

Data on the microbial quality of food service kitchen surfaces and ready-to-eat foods were collected over a period of 10 years in Rutgers University dining halls. Surface bacterial counts, total aerobic plate counts, and total and fecal coliform counts were determined using standard methods. Analysis was performed on foods tested more than 50 times (primarily lunch meats and deli salads) and on...