Looking Beyond the Marketing Claims of New Beverages: Health Risks of Consuming Sports Drinks, Energy Drinks, Fortified Waters, and Other Flavored Beverages

Consumption of several new categories of beverages has increased significantly in recent years. Sold in cans and bottles in many venues and heavily marketed as health and strength enhancing, these beverages have become popular among children and adolescents as well as adults. Energy drinks, sports drinks, fruit drinks, flavored waters, and sweetened teas and coffees are known collectively as fortified beverages due to the natural and artificial ingredients that are added in the processing of their main ingredient, water. In view of their rising popularity, it is important to assess the healthfulness of these beverages and the implications of their consumption by the general public. Consumption by youth, to whom marketing is often targeted, is of particular interest in view of children's potentially increased vulnerability to chemicals and other added substances. Further, the possible contribution of these beverages to the high prevalence of childhood obesity merits attention.This report will discuss the major categories of fortified beverages, presenting data on their nature, their ingredients, their similarities and differences, the possible effects on children of their consumption, and areas for further research

Die Funktion neutrophiler Granulozyten im Aszites von Patienten mit dekompensierter Leberzirrhose ist signifikant vermindert, jedoch reversibel nach Inkubation mit autologem Patientenplasma

Patienten mit einer dekompensierten Leberzirrhose besitzen ein hohes Risiko bakterielle Infektionen zu entwickeln. Besonders häufig kommt es dabei zu einer spontan bakteriellen Peritonitis, wobei die Letalität bis heute noch immer bei bis zu 50 % liegt. Ein wesentlicher Grund für das generelle Infektionsrisiko besteht in der Zirrhose-assoziierten systemischen Immunparalyse als Folge einer andauernden Immunstimulation. Es ist allerdings ungeklärt warum bei Patienten mit Leberzirrhose die SBP die häufigste Infektion ist, wohingegen Patienten mit malignem Aszites dafür nicht empfänglich sind. Daher war das Ziel dieser Arbeit, die Funktionseinschränkung von PMNs im Aszites von Patienten mit Leberzirrhose zu evaluieren und dafür die Fähigkeit zur Phagozytose und stimuliertem oxidativen Burst in Aszites- und korrespondierenden Blutproben zu untersuchen

Women’s Internalization of Sexism: Predictors and Antidotes

Not only men, but also many women take an active part in maintaining the current gender system by “doing gender” and by endorsing sexist beliefs. Recent research has identified several psychological factors as predictors of women’s acceptance of sexist attitudes, but a coherent parsimonious theoretical model was still missing. Accordingly, the first purpose of the present research (Manuscript #1) was to shed light on the seemingly paradoxical phenomenon that, even though women belong to the target group of gender discrimination, many of them support the gender hegemony. Based on Social Identity Theory (Tajfel & Turner, 1979) and Social Role Theory (Eagly & Wood, 1999), the Gender Identity Model was developed to explain this phenomenon. Results of a correlational study and two experiments provided clear evidence for the usefulness of the Gender Identity Model to explain differences in women’s endorsement of subtle sexist beliefs and engagement in collective action: Women reject Benevolent, Hostile and Modern Sexism and participate in collective action in particular when they are highly identified with the category women and have, at the same time, internalized progressive identity contents. In contrast, gender role preference has weaker or no effects on sexist beliefs and willingness to engage in collective action when women are low identified with their gender in-group. As a direct consequence of advancing knowledge about predictors to explain endorsement of sexist beliefs, the second part of the present research focused on ways to reduce endorsement of these beliefs (Manuscript #2). So far, no research work has yet investigated a method to reduce subtle sexist beliefs, and only little research has so far analyzed changes in other gender-related concepts which were caused by long-term teaching projects. The second part of the present dissertation (Manuscript #2) therefore aimed at identifying factors which help to reduce subtle sexist beliefs. It was posited that many individuals lack awareness of the prevalence of sexism and the harm experienced by the targets of gender discrimination. A heightened knowledge about the prevalence of sexism was predicted to reduce endorsement of modern sexist beliefs, whereas a heightened sensitivity for the harm of sexism was predicted to result in decreased endorsement of benevolent sexist beliefs. These effects were predicted to be moderated by gender identification. Results of three experimental studies provided strong support for the reduction of prejudice through heightened knowledge about the prevalence and harm of sexism and partial evidence for the moderating role of gender identification: In the first experiment using a daily diary-method, we demonstrated that attending to sexism in everyday life leads to rejection of modern, neo-, and benevolent sexist beliefs in women. In the second experiment, we showed that a heightened sensitivity towards the prevalence of sexism resulted in rejection of modern sexist beliefs, whereas a heightened sensitivity towards harm experienced by the targets of discrimination resulted in rejection of benevolent sexist beliefs. Findings of the third experiment demonstrated that the prejudice reducing effects of the information were consistently stronger for women who are more identified and men who are less identified with their gender in-group. Across all studies, we found that rejection of sexist beliefs generalized to rejection of system justification beliefs

THE CHALLENGES WITH THE STANDARDIZATION OF AYURVEDIC DRUGS

The use of Traditional medicinal products continues to grow rapidly across all over the world while the safety of these products has been raised. As the last century saw a predominance of communicable disorders this century can be considered as a century of Non communicable Diseases. The main issue here is people consuming traditional medicine along with contemporary with a preoccupied thought that these medicines are free from adverse effects. But all traditional systems are not like that. Ayurveda which is a complete and ancient system with the present aim of accomplishment of physical, mental, social and spiritual well being at a global front. Even though substitution, adulteration, improper focus on quality is pulling down the popularity of Ayurveda, hence purity and safety of Ayurvedic medicines along with strict Standardization is need of an hour

Interview of Robert S. Lyons, Jr.

Robert S. Lyons, Jr. (1939-2013) graduated from La Salle College in 1961. The following is his obituary from McGhee Funeral Home: Robert S. Lyons, Jr., of Upper Southampton, died Wednesday, June 5, 2013. He was 73. Born June 29, 1939, in Philadelphia, PA, Bob was the son of the late Robert and Catharine Lyons. Bob is survived by his; beloved wife Joan M. Lyons (nee Lang); children, Joanne Jenkins (Ken), Robert P., M.D. (Renee), Richard (Leanne), David (Julie), and Gregory. He will also be missed by his 11 grandchildren. Bob Lyons, the author of Palestra Pandemonium: A History of the Big 5, and On Any Given Sunday: A Life of Bert Bell, and co-author of The Eagles Encyclopedia (with Ray Didinger) and Big Al: Fifty Years of Adventures in Sports Broadcasting (with Al Meltzer) has been president of his own suburban-Philadelphia-based editorial services and public relations firm, since 1995. He has provided professional services to a variety of organizations including the Associated Press, Brandywine Global Investment Management, La Salle University, Merrill Lynch, Elf Atochem, Princeton University, and Philadelphia’s WHYY-TV, among others. Before forming his consulting firm, Lyons served in a number of capacities at La Salle University including director of the News Bureau, editor of LA SALLE, the university’s alumni quarterly magazine, and lecturer in the Communication Department, teaching courses in journalism, public relations, and advertising. A 1961 graduate of La Salle, Lyons joined the university in 1962 as the school’s first sports information director. During his seven-year tenure as SID, La Salle’s basketball media brochure was honored four times for excellence as the best publication in Dis-trict II (East) by the United States Basketball Writers Association. Lyons has also worked as a commercial advertising and public relations account executive, a news and sports reporter for The (former) Philadelphia Bulletin, and the public relations consultant for Abington (PA) Township. He was a sports correspondent for the Associated Press for more than 35 years before retiring in 2011. He has contributed free lance articles to numerous national publications including The Saturday Evening Post, Christian Science Monitor, Nation’s Business, Delta SKY Magazine, The Sporting News, and Baseball Digest, among others. The past president and former chairman of the board of the Philadelphia Public Relations Association, Lyons has also served on the boards of the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association and La Salle University Alumni Association, as well as the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame selection committee. A native of Philadelphia and a 1957 graduate of Northeast Catholic High School, he was a Democratic Committeeman in the 23rd Division of the 50th Ward in the northwest section of the city from 1964 to 1971. He has also been a lector at St. Raymond of Penafort and Our Lady of Good Counsel Churches. https://mcgheefuneralhome.com/book-of-memories/1599831/lyons-robert/obituary.ph

Surpassing Simple Aggregation: Advanced Strategies for Analyzing Contextual-Level Outcomes in Multilevel Models

This article introduces two advanced analytical strategies for analyzing contextual-level outcomes in multilevel models: the multilevel SEM and the two-step approach. Since these strategies are seldom used in comparative survey research, we first discuss their methodological and statistical advantages over the more commonly applied approach of group mean aggregation. We then illustrate these advantages in an empirical analysis of the effect of citizens' support for democratic values at the individual level on a contextual-level outcome - the persistence of democracy - drawing on data from the World Values Survey and the Quality of Government project. Whereas we found no significant effect of support for democratic values in the model using simple group mean aggregation, citizens' support for democratic values was a significant predictor of democracies' estimated survival rate when applying latent aggregation in multilevel SEM and the two-step approach. The article corroborates previous concerns with simple aggregation and demonstrates how researchers can improve the validity of their analyses of contextual-level outcomes by using alternative strategies of aggregation

Leitliniengestützte Interventionsstudie zur Verbesserung von Entscheidungen zur Therapiebegrenzung

Hintergrund: Um die häufig als schwierig empfundenen Entscheidungen zur Therapiebegrenzung (TBE) bei fortgeschrittener Tumorerkrankung zu erleichtern, soll eine klinisch-ethische Leitlinie zur Therapiebegrenzung entwickelt und implementiert werden. In einer Vorher-Nachher Erhebung werden die Effekte dieser Leitlinie auf die Entscheidungspraxis untersucht. Hier werden die Ergebnisse aus der ersten Baseline-Erhebung vorgestellt. Methode: In der Medizinischen Klinik III des Klinikum Großhadern wurden in einem für die Baseline-Erhebung wurden entwickelten Dokumentationsbogen TBE anhand verschiedener Informationsquellen erfasst. Insgesamt wurden im Zeitraum von April-September 2012 625 Patienten erfasst. Hiervon wurden 567 Patienten wegen einer Neoplasie behandelt; dieses Patientenkollektiv wurde für die weitere Auswertung herangezogen. Die Messperiode wurde abgeschlossen, als n = 76 Patienten als verstorben erfasst waren. Ergebnisse: Bei 147 (26%) von 567 Patienten wurde eine TBE dokumentiert. Diese wurden während der Behandlung zum Teil verändert bzw verworfen. Bei Abschluss der Erhebung war bei 138 Patienten eine TBE festgelegt worden: bei 62% der Patienten (n = 85) „keine Reanimation“ und „keine Verlegung auf Intensivstation“; bei 37% (n = 51) wurde nur „keine Reanimation“ festgelegt worden. Bei 62 der 76 verstorbenen Patienten (82%) ging dem Tod eine TBE voraus. Auf der Normalstation ereigneten sich 37% (n = 28) der Todesfälle. Nach Verlegung in die Klinik für Palliativmedizin (gleiches Klinikum)/ins Hospiz/in die häusliche Palliativversorgung verstarben 55% (n = 42). Eine TBE wurde auf Normalstation im Median 6 Tage, auf Palliativstation 10,5 Tage vor dem Tod festgelegt. Diskussion: Die Häufigkeit der dokumentierten TBE ist höher als in der Literatur berichtet. Die Entscheidungen fielen im Median eine Woche vor dem Tod und damit eher spät im Erkrankungsverlauf. Die TBE „keine Reanimation“ und keine Verlegung auf Intensivstation“ wurden differenziert wahrgenommen und festgelegt. Eine Einbeziehung der Patienten in die TBE wurde in dieser Studie noch nicht erfasst. Diese wird Gegenstand der fallbezogene Befragung von Ärzten, Pflegenden und Patienten sein

Role of the mitochondrial ATP-dependent Clp protease in mammalian metabolism

Mitochondria are fundamental for cellular metabolism and take center stage in the regulation of systemic energy metabolism. They are origin and target of nutrient intermediates of converging metabolic pathways. Thus, it is essential to maintain mitochondrial homoeostasis. Cells harbor a large set of mitochondrial proteases involved in quality control, including the ATP-dependent Clp protease (CLPP). However, CLPP not only degrades misfolded or damaged proteins, CLPP is also involved in highly regulated proteolytic activities. Many bacterial and mammalian ClpXP substrates have been identified in various metabolic pathways. This study analyzes the role of CLPP in mammalian metabolism using whole body and tissue-specific Clpp knockout mouse models. The ubiquitous loss of CLPP under normal dietary conditions leads to a lean phenotype with enhanced glucose metabolism. The absence of CLPP further facilitates increased energy expenditure in part by WAT browning, despite decreased physical activity. Moreover, CLPP was shown to be involved in fatty acid oxidation by the regulation of its putative substrate VLCAD. In addition, CLPP has a critical role in BAT homeostasis and cold induced thermogenesis. The mild to moderate mitochondrial dysfunction caused by the loss of CLPP in various tissues, induced the expression of the mitokine FGF21. However, using Clpp/Fgf21 double knockout mice, it could be shown that FGF21 is not mediating the metabolic changes observed in CLPP deficient mice. The tissue-specific depletion of CLPP in liver or skeletal muscle and heart revealed a dispensable role for CLPP with regard to whole body metabolism, although tissue restricted mitochondrial dysfunction was present. Finally, ablation of CLPP was demonstrated to protect against HFD induced obesity and insulin resistance. Remarkably, HFD-feeding impaired hepatic mitochondrial translation in the absence of CLPP resulting in decreased complex subunits and decreased supercomplexes levels in an alternate mechanism as previously described for the heart. Thus, mitochondrial CLPP has a critical role in metabolic stress conditions in particular during cold exposure and high fat diet feeding. Therefore, by analyzing CLPP protease function and its link to metabolic stress this study may help to understand pathologies with deregulated Clpp expression

Of profits, transparency, and responsibility:Public views on financing energy system change in Great Britain

Energy transitions in Great Britain (GB) require public engagement and acceptance, but it is not clear how energy system change is to be financed. In this paper we explore public views on responsibility (of the government in Great Britain, energy companies and residents) to pay for costs associated with energy system change and personal acceptance to contribute financially. Five focus groups with 6-9 participants each, were conducted in four locations across GB. Using thematic analysis to examine responsibility and the role of trust we identified three themes relating to 1) views on profits, 2) lack of transparency and 3) the perceived problematic relationship between energy companies and government. Participants assigned greater responsibility to institutional actors and did not believe that these actors were currently contributing sufficiently. Although participants were prepared to accept some additional costs because they were in favour of energy transitions, they also expressed distrust towards the other actors due to concerns over the profit driven energy system, lack of transparency and perceived close connections between the energy industry and government. These concerns could result in reduced public support for transitions if they remain unaddressed; they highlight a demand for a more equal distribution of costs and benefits and fairer processes in the energy system and transitions