By using the E.B.M model, this research sets the traditional tea consumer behavior for dependent variable, demographics and life style variables for independent variable to form the research structure. We ran a statistic analysis for the data that is proceeding purposive sampling to the traditional tea drinkers and examed it. The research mainly discusses the concern with the life style and tea consumer behavior in Kaohsiung area. The results show that the life style factors of Kaohsiung tea drinkers consist of ¡§strict budgeting¡¨¡B¡§traditional home¡¨¡B¡§fashion & extrovert¡¨¡B¡§health & leisure¡¨. By the result of factor analysis, we devided the Kaohsiung tea drinkers to four groups: ¡§canny & balance ¡¨¡B¡§conservative & traditional¡¨¡B¡§sensitive ¡¨¡B¡§casual ¡¨. Each cluster has a significant difference between marriage status¡Bsex¡Bage¡Baveragely monthly income¡Beducation and occupation. According to those five parts of consumer behavior, the business can adjust its marketing strategies by aiming at what the consumers are most interested in. For example, the business can supply different tastes of tea for different groups and satisfy a large number of consumers to increase the sales volume. The promotion of ¡§ tea art¡¨ attracts consumers and creates higher consumer demand. Business can take advantage of mass media to reinforce marketing channel and make the business go up. According to the analysis result, there are some suggestions for different groups. Consumers who are married, over 30 years old, income of 10 to 50 thousand dollars, education under collage, most of them belong to a group which has more sensitive and higher willing for bargaining and the firm should always focus on the pricing strategy. Consumers who are unmarried, under 30 years old, income under 10 thousand dollars, education of collage and above, belong to the group which named casual. Consumers of this group care about to have good interpersonal relationship and healthy lives more than other groups. Consumers who are 21 to 30 years old, income over 80 thousand dollars, education of collage, occupation of self-employment, sex of male, belong to the group which named ¡§canny & balance ¡¨. Consumers of this group care about all the items equally. Consumers who are unmarried, 21 to 30 years old, income of 30 to 50 thousand dollars or under 10 thousand dollars, education of collage, sex of female, belong to the group which named ¡§conservative & traditional¡¨. Consumers of this group are used to go to the same store for purchasing and they have higher brand loyalty than other groups. To sum up, the business should make different marketing strategies for different clusters.

The latest data reveals, in 2008, the total market value of tea beverage in Taiwan exceeded 20 billion NT dollars. Because the tea beverage market is extremely large, there are dozens of brands in the market. When a customer wants to choose a product from kinds of choices, what factors does he/she consider? According to former research, we know that the factors include price, brand, package design, sales promotion and advertisement. However, we still didn¡¦t know how they affect consumers buying tea beverage. Consequently, this study researched that if both package design and brand image have notable influences on consumers¡¦ purchase intention for packaged tea by regression analysis. The major results for the research are as follows: 1.Approximate 90% of respondents usually buy packaged tea in convenient stores. Half of them indicate that their motivations of buying packaged tea are thirst-quenching. More than half of respondents buy Uni-president most frequently, and then is Vitalon. 2.This study uses two tea brands as subjects to test the hypothesis repeatedly. The results revealed that package design have notable influence on purchase intention. So, manufacturers should change the package design irregularly and try to analyze the merits and drawbacks to improve the package. 3.The results also revealed that brand image have notable influence on purchase intention. It represents that brand image play a significant role in a consumer¡¦s purchasing process. Manufacturers should pass through the basic threshold, or their products would not be acceptant by consumers.

Thesis (M.A.)--Guo li Taiwan da xue. / Reproduced from typescript. Appendix (p. 217): Qing xi li dui zhao biao (1860-1895) eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. 880-04 Includes bibliographical references (p. 209-216).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Oregon State University, 2010. / Printout. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 102-115). Also available on the World Wide Web.

This study tested the precision and accuracy of a triethanolamine (TEA) absorbent in the OgawaTM Passive Sampling Device (PSD) for detection of ambient hydrogen fluoride (HF). The project was initiated to develop a method to verify compliance with emissions regulations for Coronet. Field and laboratory trials were conducted. Mixed cellulose ester filters were saturated with 70% TEA and placed in the PSDs. Aermod ISCT3 modeled ambient HF concentrations at Coronet to guide deployment of PSDs at 28 sampling stations, 3 PSDs per station, 500 to 3500 meters from Coronet. After 30 days of sampling, ambient HF concentrations were calculated from ion chromatographic (IC) analysis (NIOSH Method 7906/AS14 column) results to be in the low parts per billion (ppb) range. Concentration increased with proximity to Coronet as predicted by Aermod ISCT3. Average precision for collocated PSDs was less than 5%. Laboratory validation of the method used a HF permeation tube in a Teflon and high density polyethylene (HDPE) sampling train with silica-dried ultra zero air and crushed sodium hydroxide (NaOH) reference samplers. PSD accuracy was a constant 23% average and average precision was 32%, dropping 50% with minor procedural improvements. Validated field results verified compliance with HF emissions regulations for Coronet.

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences

The overall objective of this thesis was to test the hypothesis that maternal overnutrition has adverse effects on the expression of central metabolic regulators in offspring but could be offset by supplementing green tea extract (GTE) to the dams during gestation and/or lactation. This thesis focuses on two aspects of central metabolic regulation: the leptin signaling that links to appetite regulation and the sirtuin 1(SIRT1)/oxidative stress pathway that links to insulin sensitivity (IS). This study was initiated based on previous findings of this laboratory that via developmental programming energy intake of offspring born to dams given GTE during lactation was suppressed and that IS was improved in offspring of dams supplemented with GTE during gestation and/or lactation. The diets used included low fat (LF), high-fat (HF), and HF diet added with 0.75% or 1%GTE (GT1, GT2). In experiment 1, female rats were given the respective diet 8 weeks prior to mating till the end of lactation. Male offspring were weaned to the HF, GT1 or GT2 diet for 10 weeks forming the LF/HF, HF/HF, GT1/HF, GT2/HF, HF/GT1 and HF/GT2 groups. Maternal and postweaning GTE supplementation increased hypothalamic leptin receptor (OB-Rb) and signal transducer activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) mRNA suggestive of enhanced leptin signaling but pro-opiomelanocortin (POMC) mRNA expression, an appetite inhibitor was only elevated in the HF/GT1 group which was associated with reduction in food intake in this group. Central oxidative status was improved in GT1/HF and GT2/HF offspring through enhanced hypothalamic SIRT1 and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha (PGC-1α) expression compared with the HF/HF group. These improvements coincided with better IS in the HF offspring born of GTE supplemented dams. Experiment 2 was designed to determine the relative importance of gestation and lactation as the critical period for GTE supplementation. Female rats were assigned to LF, HF or GT1 diet 9 weeks prior to mating till the end of pregnancy. During lactation half of the HF and GT1 dams had the diet switched to GT1 and HF, respectively. Male offspring were fed the LF or HF diet until 22 weeks of age forming 10 offspring groups: LF/LF/LF, LF/LF/HF, HF/HF/LF, HF/HF/HF, HF/GT1/LF, HF/GT1/HF, GT1/HF/LF, GT1/HF/HF, GT1/GT1/LF, and GT1/GT1/HF. Consistent with a reduction in energy intake in offspring born to dams receiving GTE supplementation during lactation, there was an increase in melanocortin 4 receptor (MC4R) expression in the hypothalamus (P<0.05). Regardless of postweaning diet, offspring of dams given GTE during gestation and/or lactation had elevated hypothalamic PGC-1α and reduced protein phosphorylation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase-1 when compared with offspring of unsupplemented dams(P<0.05) which was associated with improved IS. Hence, leptin signaling and appetite regulators in the offspring were selectively affected by GTE supplementation during lactation whereas offspring exhibited improved ability to handle oxidative stress if dams received GTE supplementation during gestation and/or lactation. Collectively, these results support the notion that central mechanisms with roles in appetite control and oxidative status are susceptible to the programming phenomenon triggered by maternal nutritional status. / published_or_final_version / Biological Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy

Risks of metabolic syndrome including cardiovascular disease and diabetes are significantly affected by maternal nutrition. This concept of developmental programming had been investigated in our laboratory and in an earlier study, it was established that maternal high-fat diet predisposed rat offspring to insulin resistance and higher triglyceride in serum, liver, skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. These abnormalities, however, were ameliorated by supplementing green tea extract to dam’s diet throughout gestation and lactation. The overall objective of this thesis was to examine lipid metabolism, oxidative stress and inflammatory responses in heart of offspring born to dams receiving high-fat diet with or without green tea supplementation during pregnancy and lactation. Female Sprague-Dawley rats were fed an obesogenic diet which was a high-fat diet (HF,30%), low-fat diet (LF,7%) or HF diet containing 0.75% green tea extract prior to conception and throughout gestation. During lactation, half of the dams had their diet switched from HF to GT and vice versa. Pups were weaned to the HF or LF diet, forming 10 offspring groups (gestation/lactation/postweaning): LF/LF/LF, LF/LF/HF, HF/HF/LF, HF/HF/HF, HF/GT/LF, HF/GT/HF, GT/GT/LF, GT/GT/HF, GT/HF/LF and GT/HF/HF. Except a larger fibrotic area, maternal HF diet did not affect lipid accumulation, oxidative status and inflammatory response in the heart of offspring. Analysis of variance revealed different, and even opposite, effects of GT supplementation during gestation and lactation. In offspring born to dams receiving GT supplementation during gestation, they had suppressed fatty acid oxidation (FAO) and higher triglyceride (TG) level in the heart. In contrast, when GT was supplemented to dams during lactation, offspring had elevated heart TG, cholesterol and free fatty acid levels but up-regulated FAO. Since FAO is associated with reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, modulation of FAO is believed to affect cellular stress responses in heart. Consistent with FAO, cardiac stress, apoptotic and inflammatory biomarkers including B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP), bcl 2 associated-x (bax) and interleukin-1β (IL1b) were down-regulated in offspring born to dams given GT during gestation, whereas GT supplementation during lactation increased the expression of pro-apoptotic markers: bax and caspase-3 (Cas3) concurrent with activation of antioxidant defense system: catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) as adaptive mechanism against increased ROS. Uncoupling protein 2 (UCP 2) and subsequent higher bcl 2 /bax ratio has been reported to stimulate apoptosis. In agreement with this, mRNA expression of BNP, bax and Cas3 were found to correlate with that of UCP 2. This suggests UCP 2may play an important role in apoptosis under the impact of maternal GT supplementation. The present data suggest that the effect of maternal high-fat diet is organ specific causing apparently lesser damage to the heart. When GT is given in conjunction with a high-fat diet to dams during gestation, there is no clear cut advantage to the offspring. However, potential adverse effects could not be ruled out when GT is supplemented to dams during lactation possibly due to higher catechin exposure via milk. Future study should focus on establishing the benefits and safety use of GT during gestation. / published_or_final_version / Biological Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy

alpha-TEA (alpha-tocopherol ether linked acetic acid) has been shown to induce apoptosis in human prostate, ovarian and breast cancer cells in culture and in xenograft models by promoting pro-apoptotic pathways and inhibiting anti-apoptotic pathways. Studies investigated the ability of alpha-TEA to induce apoptosis in human hematological malignant cell lines Jurkat, Raji and U266, representing T cell leukemia, B cell lymphoma and multiple myeloma, respectively. The three cell lines were cultured in the presence of different concentrations of alpha-TEA for different time periods, and examined for apoptosis by annexin V – FITC analyses, DAPI staining, and western blotting for poly (ADP-ribose) polymerase cleavage. alpha-TEA induced apoptosis in all three cell lines in a dose and time dependent manner. Levels of pro-apoptotic molecules DR5, c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase (JNK), C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP), caspase 9, and caspase 3 were upregulated in alpha-TEA treated cells in comparison to vehicle controls. Caspase 8 was activated in Jurkat and U266 cells but not in Raji cells. Apoptosis and pro-death signaling mediators were blocked by ceramide inhibitor, desipramine. The anti-apoptotic nuclear factor kappa B (NF-[kappa]B) signaling pathway was down-regulated in alpha-TEA treated Raji and U266 cells. Combinations of omega-3 fatty acid docosahexaenoic (DHA) and alpha-TEA significantly enhanced apoptosis in Jurkat cells in comparison to single treatments and vehicle control. In summary, alpha-TEA induced apoptosis in the malignant hematological cell lines is via shared and distinct pathways. ASMase/ceramide-mediated JNK activation and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress mitochondrial dependent apoptosis are involved in alpha-TEA induced apoptosis in the three cell lines; however, the cell lines exhibit cell type-specific responses to alpha-TEA: activation of death receptor/caspase 8 pathway is involved in Jurkat cells, suppression of NF-[kappa]B signaling is involved in Raji cells, and the U266 cells share both of these pathways for the induction of apoptosis. / text

published_or_final_version / Medical Sciences / Master / Master of Medical Sciences