Facing the growing prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D), the development of nutritionalinterventions allowing not only optimal glycemic control but also promoting postprandial satietyand overall satisfaction constitutes an interesting therapeutic avenue. This study was carried outin two parts, with the first part informing the second one.The first part was conducted in 61 middle-aged adults with or without prediabetes orT2D and aimed to assess the influences of gender/sex and health status on the relative rankingof the importance of eight common determinants of food choices as well as the sensoryevaluation and the frequency of consumption of almonds, pistachios, avocados, oatmeal, andeggs. Data analysis showed that 1) participants perceived “taste and own food preferences” ashaving the greatest influence on their food choices, 2) women attributed more importance to their“own food-related health beliefs” (p=0.040), while men reported a higher influence of the“recommendations of a health professional” (p=0.065), 3) almonds’ and pistachios’ taste wasrated the highest, and 4) taste ratings of pistachios (β=0.323, p=0.018) and avocados (β=0.604,p<0.001) were positively associated with their frequency of consumption by participants.Based on the sensory evaluation of the five foods, almonds were included in the testmeal of the second part of this study. The latter was conducted in 7 middle-aged men with T2Dand aimed to assess the effects of the types of macronutrient subtypes contained in isocaloricmacronutrient-matched meals on the postprandial glycemic, hormonal (insulin and glucagon-likepeptide-1 (GLP-1)) and appetite responses. The control meal contained white bread, butter andcheese, and the test meal contained white bread and almonds. Data analysis showed that thetest meal was associated with 1) lower postprandial glycemia (p=0.014), 2) higher postprandialGLP-1 serum concentrations (p=0.044) as well as 3) decreased hunger (p=0.032) and increasedfullness (p=0.014). There were no meal-associated differences in postprandial serum insulinconcentrations.Results highlight the importance of taste and food preferences and point out somegender/sex-related differences in the determinants of food choices. They also support thebeneficial effects of almonds, a food that seemed well appreciated by men and women, on keytherapeutic targets of T2D management.

Since 2011, California has been under drought conditions. These conditions have not only affected water availability for farmers, but also production. California’s second most valuable crop, almonds, has been affected by drought conditions. This study used three models (Model 1-3) to describe almond yield variability from year to year and almond yield variability within a year in Kern County, CA. The study evaluated 185 almond farms that were classified in three locations (east side, west side and north west side). The years of the study were 2011 (wet year) and 2013-2015 (drought condition years). Model 1 determined a functional regression between almond yield and annual evapotranspiration during the 4 years of the study. The R2was 7.9%, meaning low association between both variables and high unexplained variability (92.1%). Model 2 evaluated year to year variation. A regression function between almond yield and annual evapotranspiration after adjusting for location, precipitation, chilling hours and year was made. The R2of this model 62.6%, and all the variables used had a p2was higher than Model 1; however, there was high unexplained variability (47.4%). Model 3 evaluated within-year variation. A regression function between almond yield and annual evapotranspiration after adjusting for tree age and location (east, west and northwest side) was made for each year (2011 and 2013 -2015). Coefficient of variation of evapotranspiration and soil available water storage were analyzed as additional variables in Model 3; however, they were not introduced in Model 3 due to the low increase in R2 in each year (2 of Model 3 for each year were, 60.4%, 49.7%, 53.8% and 53.2% for the years 2011, 2013-2015, respectively. Model 3 also had high unexplained almond yield variability in each year (39.6%-50.3%). This high unexplained variability leads to introduce additional variables to the functional regression model for further studies. Identifying these additional variables and having a functional regression model with high R2 would lead to understand howlow evapotranspiration could potentially lead to a positive response on yield in drought conditions; thus, making farmers improve water use efficiency and hence, lowering production cost. However, the high unexplained variability clearly indicates that evapotranspiration is only one of many factors that influence yield. If improved yield is an important outcome, future studies must examine large- scale almond-producing farms with multiple agricultural system variables.

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