Many studies have explored the relationship of one's alcohol use both to family environment and to the drinking behavior of the parents. However, most of these studies have used clinical samples. The participants in this study were from a non-clinical, college undergraduate sample (N = 206). The sample included 69% females and 31% males who were primarily Caucasian.A causal path model was used to assess the relationships between familial alcohol use, the perceptions of family environment, propensity for substance use, and actual alcohol use. Participants completed the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST) for themselves, their parents, and one sibling. Family environment measures completed by participants included: the Children of Alcoholics Screening Test (CAST) to measure the "experience" of family alcohol use; the Family of Origin Scale (FOS) as a measure of the family affectional environment; and the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Scales (FACES Ill) as a measure of family structural and relational factors. The MacAndrew Scale (MAC) was completed to assess the propensity for substance use.A path analysis of the proposed model indicated that family alcohol use did not exert a significant direct effect on propensity for or actual use of alcohol, nor did it exert any significant effect on the family affectional environment. Each of these is a rather surprising result and contrary to results of previous studies. However, family alcohol use significantly affected the "experience" of living in such a family environment, especially when alcohol use became more problematic. Family alcohol use, mediated by this "experience," had significant effects on family structural components of leadership and control, as measured by FACES III. The "experience" of family alcohol use was significantly and negatively related to the affectional environment of the family. The indirect effects of this "experience" were significant only through the control component of family structure and direct effects this "experience" were significant only for actual use of alcohol. Propensity for use and actual use were also significantly related as was expected.Nearly 50% of the sample indicated a propensity for use (MAC > 24), actual problematic use of alcohol (MAST > 5), or both, when using the standard cutoff scores of these instruments. It appears that further analysis of family influences on these behaviors, especially those behaviors that create difficulties in life, is warranted. Treatment approaches have typically maintained that improved family affective and relational environments are primary treatment goals. That the affectional environment of the family was not significantly affected by familial use of alcohol was another unexpected outcome and also warrants further study. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

Within the past twenty years, an abundant amount of research has been done on how alcohol advertising and alcohol portrayals affect society. The most common studies have examined the influence alcohol advertising and alcohol portrayals have or do not have on adolescents, the relationship between alcohol content and the level of consumption, and how adults and under-age drinkers perceive drinking incidents.The present study is a content analysis examining how four networks- ABC, CBS, FOX, and NBC vary in the amount of alcohol incidents shown in prime-time programming.The two-week study began on Sunday, May 20, 2001 and ended on Saturday, June 2, 2001 from 8 to 11 p.m. each evening. Alcohol incidents were classified as either a physical or verbal reference, as well as an appearance. Physical references were further categorized as the type of theme represented, the venue of the incident, and the type of drink involved.The findings suggest that the FOX and NBC networks air programs that present more alcohol incidents and themes of socialization than ABC and CBS. Therefore the researcher concludes that because of the target audience age is younger for FOX and NBC, these networks are more inclined to show more alcohol incidents and socialization themes versus the ABC and CBS networks, which have an older target viewing audience. / Department of Journalism

There is no abstract available for this dissertation. / Department of Counseling Psychology and Guidance Services

The development of a scum in a commercial sports drink is of concern because the product would be of poor quality, which may result in financial losses due to consumer rejection of the product and hence a decrease in the firm’s market share. The scum could be harmful to health and as such the firm could be litigated. Several factors, including microbial proliferation, may be the cause of the development of a scum in sports drink, but the actual cause seems not to have been established. The aim of this study was to characterise the scum in sports drink and determine the effects of preservation factors (pasteurisation, chemical preservatives and refrigeration) on its development. Samples of the sports drink were taken at different stages of processing to determine the effect of preservatives, pasteurisation and storage temperature on scum development. Some samples were kept at room temperature (approx. 25°C) and others were kept in the refrigerator (approx. 4ºC) during the study. A total of 150 samples were analysed over a period of four months. The structural characteristics of the scum that developed in the sports drink were determined by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental analysis. The sports drink samples were analysed for their microbial load and microbial types. Consumer acceptability of pasteurised and non-pasteurised drink was compared by conducting sensory evaluation using a consumer panel of 60 panellists. Customer complaints recorded by the sports drink manufacture that were due to scum development in the drink were also reviewed to establish the impact of scum development on consumer acceptability of the drink. The results of the study indicated that scum development was due to microbial contamination of the drink. The causative organism of the scum was identified as Acinetobacter baumanii. Acinetobacter baumanii is a gram negative non-spore forming coccobacilli and does not ferment sucrose. Acinetobacter baumanii forms the scum in sports drink as a means of protection from environmental stresses. The scum was found to be a compound of C, Si and O. The non-pasteurised samples were slightly more acceptable to consumers compared to the pasteurised samples. The consumer acceptability of pasteurised drink samples was negatively affected by the loss of aroma and flavour during pasteurisation. The preservation factors (chemical preservatives, pasteurisation and refrigeration) had no effect on scum development. To prevent post pasteurisation contamination, it is recommended that the pasteurisation process be done at the filling stage instead of at the holding stage. The frequency of changing rubbers and gaskets on the filling line should be at least every two months. The drink is pasteurised at 90ºC for 20 seconds, this needs to be reduced to a level where it will not have an influence on the loss of taste and aroma of the pasteurised drink, but without reducing the effectiveness of pasteurisation. / Thesis (M.Sc.Agric.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

Introduction: Consuming alcohol mixed with energy drinks (AmED) has become a growing and popular trend among young adults worldwide. Although there have been some mixed findings, generally AmED use is associated with heavy drinking, risky behaviours and more negative outcomes, compared to alcohol use alone. Little research has been done outside of college samples and few researchers have investigated motivations for consuming AmED. Purpose: The purpose of the current research was to expand on previous research by investigating motivations for AmED use and the associations between AmED use and heavy drinking, alcohol use disorders, risky behaviours, and negative outcomes in community samples, while controlling for potentially important third variables, like sensation seeking. Methods: Using multivariate regression analyses the associations between AmED use and other variables were investigated in a randomly selected Canadian sample (n = 13,615) and a Canadian community young adult sample (n = 456). As well, an in-depth qualitative investigation of university students’ (n = 465) reported motivations for AmED and energy drink use was investigated using content analysis. Results: Compared to alcohol only, AmED use was found to be associated with heavy alcohol use, increased risk for alcohol use disorders, and increased risky behaviours and negative consequences (e.g., being a passenger in a vehicle with a drunk driver; drinking and driving; being involved in physical aggression; having harmful effects on relationships, health, employment) in both the Canadian and community samples. More frequent AmED use (e.g., weekly or more) was associated with ever having had a sexually transmitted infection. These relationships remained significant even after controlling for demographic variables and sensation seeking personality in the Canadian community sample. The most commonly reported motivations for AmED use were due to the taste of the beverage, enjoyment of a particular AmED (e.g., Jagerbomb), for increased stimulation (e.g., wakefulness, energy, alertness) while drinking, to facilitate “partying” or staying out late when drinking, to counteract the depressant effects of alcohol, for social purposes, and because of ease of availability (e.g., purchased by others/ given for free). Conclusions: This research has contributed to a better understanding of the relationships between AmED use and personality traits, drinking behaviours, and risk behaviours in two relatively large community samples. It has contributed to a better understanding of the motivations for AmED use and how these motivations may be related to heavy drinking and risky behaviours. Taken together, this research indicates that there may be something about AmED use which puts people at an increased risk of drinking heavily, engaging in risky behaviours, and experiencing harms, compared to alcohol use alone. Along with the accumulating research in this area, the current research could be valuable for directing and planning future research studies which are designed to investigate causative relationships and for formulating effective policies and intervention programs. / Graduate / 0621 / 0573 / kbrache@uvic.ca

Die Nicht-alkoholische Steatohepatitis (NASH), gehörig zu der Gruppe der chronischen Lebererkrankungen als eine schwere Form der Nicht-alkoholischen Fettleber-erkrankungen (NAFLD), nimmt in ihrer Prävalenz ständig zu. Gründe dafür sind u.a. eine gesteigerte Nahrungsaufnahme sowie Veränderungen der Nahrungszusammen-setzung. Es kommt zur Ausbildung einer Steatose, die sich unter Mitwirkung verschie-dener Einflussfaktoren zur Steatohepatitis weiterentwickeln kann, wobei die Pathoge-nese noch nicht genau verstanden ist. Die Nicht-alkoholische Steatohepatitis geht oft einher mit Insulinresistenz und starkem Übergewicht. Die Folgen für die Leber sind Funktionseinschränkungen und –verlust, hervorgerufen durch eine massive Akkumula-tion von Triglyzeriden in den Hepatozyten, Entzündungsprozesse sowie einem fibro-tischen Umbau der Leber. Im fortgeschritten Stadium wird eine Lebertransplantation unausweichlich, die jedoch aufgrund des zunehmenden Mangels an Spenderorganen oft nicht möglich ist. Eine Alternative bietet die Transplantation mesenchymaler Stammzellen (MSC). MSC können in vitro in leberzellähnliche Zellen differenziert wer-den und weisen dabei essentielle hepatozytäre Eigenschaften auf, wodurch sie als möglicher Ersatz bzw. als Überbrückungstherapie bis zur Lebertransplantation in Frage kommen. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigte sich mit dieser Fragestellung. Dazu wur-de ein Tiermodell der NASH mittels Methionin-Cholin-defizienter Diät (MCD-Diät) etab-liert und die Transplantation von hepatozytär differenzierten MSC durchgeführt. An-hand spezifischer zellulärer und biochemischer Marker der NASH konnte die Wirkung des Zelltransplantats auf die Empfängerleber analysiert werden. Es hat sich gezeigt, dass die MSC einen anti-inflammatorischen, anti-fibrotischen und pro-proliferativen Einfluss auf das Empfängerparenchym hatten und somit zur Verbesserung der Symptomatik der NASH beitrugen.

Coffee consumption has consistently been associated with a reduction in risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), although the mechanism for this association remains unknown. Sub-clinical inflammation, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and lipoprotein abnormalities characterize and predict T2DM. Limited evidence suggests that coffee may have a beneficial role in these disorders but further investigation is warranted. Our aim therefore was to investigate the associations of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee with markers of inflammation, liver injury, and lipoproteins, in a non-diabetic cohort. No significant associations of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee with inflammatory markers or lipoproteins were identified. Caffeinated coffee consumption however was inversely associated with alanine aminotransferase (β= -0.09, p= 0.0107) and aspartate aminotransferase (β= -0.05, p= 0.0161) in multivariate analysis. Decaffeinated coffee was not associated with liver enzymes. These analyses suggest that caffeinated coffee’s beneficial impact on NAFLD may be a potential mechanism for its inverse association with T2DM.

Coffee consumption has consistently been associated with a reduction in risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), although the mechanism for this association remains unknown. Sub-clinical inflammation, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and lipoprotein abnormalities characterize and predict T2DM. Limited evidence suggests that coffee may have a beneficial role in these disorders but further investigation is warranted. Our aim therefore was to investigate the associations of caffeinated and decaffeinated coffee with markers of inflammation, liver injury, and lipoproteins, in a non-diabetic cohort. No significant associations of caffeinated or decaffeinated coffee with inflammatory markers or lipoproteins were identified. Caffeinated coffee consumption however was inversely associated with alanine aminotransferase (β= -0.09, p= 0.0107) and aspartate aminotransferase (β= -0.05, p= 0.0161) in multivariate analysis. Decaffeinated coffee was not associated with liver enzymes. These analyses suggest that caffeinated coffee’s beneficial impact on NAFLD may be a potential mechanism for its inverse association with T2DM.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sci.)--University of Waikato, 2007. / Title from PDF cover (viewed March 31, 2008) Includes bibliographical references (p. 128-135)

Lic.-avh. (sammanfattning) Stockholm : Karolinska institutet, 2006. / Härtill 3 uppsatser.