Drive-Thru Hot Beverages: Still a Risk?

Stella Liebeck brought to light the risk for operators who serve hot beverages through their drive-thru windows when she successfully sued McDonald’s in 1994 for the burns she received when coffee spilled in her lap. The current study replicated 1998 research on a national level, where 1,585 coffee temperatures collected from drive-thru windows were analyzed to determine if operators had lowered their coffee temperatures as a result of this widely-publicized case.

Determination of Arsenic Species in Water and Grape-Based Beverages

Arsenic is a human carcinogen that has been found in various waters and wines throughout the world. Therefore, close examination of these liquids is necessary to prevent the intoxication of animals and humans. Wines and waters often contain significant amounts of toxic arsenic species. The source of arsenic in wines and waters is generally believed to be the result of arsenic-based pesticides and herbicides. Recent studies have also shown that toxic arsenic may be used in the cultivation and acceleration of the ripening process of fruit, ultimately contaminating fruit-based beverages. The determination of total arsenic can be found by using several methods, including AFS or ICP/MS. No pretreatment of water is necessary, except for filtering by means of a Fisherbrand PTFE 0.45 connected to a Becton-Dickinson 10 mL syringe to filter particles from water. The pretreatment of the wine includes ethanol evaporation and an addition of 0.1% nitric acid. A number of commercial drinking waters and regional lake water were analyzed. Since we have confirmed the presence of arsenic in a variety of waters and wines from different countries, we decided to test a number of commercially available beverages for the presence of arsenic. The focus ofthis project is to establish the presence of arsenic in various commercially available beverages. ICP-MS was used to determine total arsenic using certified standards. Internal standards Indium and Yttrium were also used to verify the concentration readings, which varied from 0- 20 ppb.

Eastern Orthodox Christian fasting in northeastern Pennsylvania

The purpose of this research was to examine the fasting practices of Eastern Orthodox Christians (EOCs) in northeastern Pennsylvania. Fasting, according to Eastern Orthodox Church doctrine, is primarily abstinence from meat, dairy products, fish and certain other foods during Easter Lent and other periods, for approximately 180 days annually. Goals were to discern what EOCs consider their fasting rules to be, their actual fasting practices, what factors influence this practice and the relationship of fasting to nutrition. Methodology included 29 months of ethnographic fieldwork at local parishes, content analysis of local written materials and semi-structured interviews of 58 core church members. A pile sort was conducted whereby subjects classified various foods according to fasting or non-fasting status and then sorted the fasting foods into a hierarchy of avoidance. Data were analyzed using ANTHROPAC and NVivo software. Results included identification of a cognitive hierarchy of avoidance, with meat the most important to avoid, followed by dairy and alcoholic beverages. An important finding was the differences in subjects' knowledge of Church doctrine and a wide variation in their actual fasting practices. Contrary to Church doctrine, fish was not usually perceived as a food to abstain from. A historic Byzantine Catholic presence in the area (with a different fasting doctrine), family members who did not fast, and health concerns were some factors that affected fasting practices. A conclusion is that while meat, dairy and alcoholic beverages were usually categorized as foods to avoid during fasts, it is not possible to generalize with regard to actual practices or the impact of fasting on nutrition, due to individual variation. It was demonstrated that qualitative data could provide information that can be crucial to know prior to conducting quantitative nutrition research or counseling. Findings of this study suggest that one cannot assume subjects who belong to a given religion that has prescribed food avoidance practices are following them homogeneously and/or according to official doctrine. ^

Managers' Perception of Alcohol Service Training Programs

In order to serve alcoholic beverages in a responsible manner, most managers turn to alcohol server training programs to provide effective standardized training for the alcohol server. Whether or not the programs are perceived by hospitality managers as effective has not been established. The author presents the results of a study of Oklahoma hospitality managers who perceive alcohol server training as becoming less effective.

Current Status of Collectibility of Gaming-Related Credit Dollars

In her piece entitled - Current Status Of Collectability Of Gaming-Related Credit Dollars - Ruth Lisa Wenof, Graduate Student at Florida International University initially states: “Credit is an important part of incentives used to lure gamblers to gaming establishments. However, a collection problem exists in casinos retrieving gaming-related credit losses of individuals living in states where gambling is illegal. The author discusses the history of this question, citing recent cases related to Atlantic City.” This author’s article is substantially laden with legal cases associated with casinos in New Jersey; Atlantic City to be exact. The piece is specific to the segment of the gaming industry that the title suggests, and as such is written in a decidedly technical style. “Legalized casino gaming, which was approved by the citizens of New Jersey on November 8, 1976, has been used as a unique tool of urban redevelopment for Atlantic City,” Wenof says in providing some background on this ‘Jersey shore municipality. “Since Resorts International opened its casino…revenues from gambling have increased rapidly. Resorts' gross win in 1978 was $134 million,” Wenof says. “Since then, the combined gross win of the city's 11 casinos has been just shy of $7.5 billion.” The author points out that the competition for casino business is fierce and that credit dollars play an integral role in soliciting such business. “Credit plays a most important part in every casino hotel. This type of gambler is given every incentive to come to a particular hotel,” says the author. “Airplanes, limousines, suites, free meals, and beverages all become a package for the person who can sign a marker. The credit department of a casino is similar to that of a bank. A banker who loans money knows that it must be paid back or his bank will fail. This is indeed true of a casino,” Wenof warns in outlining the potential problem that this article is fundamentally designed around. In providing further background on credit essentials and possible pitfalls, Wenof affords: “…on the Casino Control Act the State Commission of Investigation recommended to the legislature that casinos should not be allowed to extend credit at all, by reason of a concern for illicit diversion of revenues, which is popularly called skimming within the industry…” Although skimming is an after-the-fact problem, and is parenthetic to loan returns, it is an important element of the collective [sic] credit scheme. “A collection problem of prime importance is if a casino can get back gaming-related credit dollars advanced by the casino to a gambler who lives in a state where gambling is illegal,” is a central factor to consider, Wenof reveals. This is a primary focus of this article. Wenof touches on the social/societal implications of gambling, and then continues the discussion by citing a host of legal cases pertaining to debt collection.

Manager's Perceptions of Alcohol Server Staffing and Training Methods

Over-consumption of alcoholic beverages is a concern of managers of hotels and motels with a club/lounge, restaurant, and tavern. The authors surveyed members of two industry associations in Oklahoma to ascertain alcohol server training methods and managers' perception of the value of such programs.

Beverage Ethics: Education for Alcohol Responsibility

The study looked at the processes in the development of an alcohol responsibility program for post-secondary students in the service management major at the University of Tennessee: he program has been certified by the State of Tennessee to satisfy the Alcohol Beverage Commission requirement for server training related to the handling and service of alcoholic beverages. A managerial viewpoint was adopted so as to provide the greatest benefit to service management graduate.

Adult Alternatives for Social Drinking: A Direction

In their survey/study - Adult Alternatives for Social Drinking: A Direction - by John Dienhart and Sandra Strick, Assistant Professors, Department of Restaurant, Hotel and Institutional Management, Purdue University, Dienhart and Strick begin with: “Changes in consumer habits have brought about a change in the business of selling alcoholic drinks and have impacted upon hotel food and beverage operations. The authors surveyed a sample of hotel corporate food and beverage directors to ascertain how they are handling this challenge.” Dienhart and Strick declare that the alcoholic beverage market, sale and consumption thereof, has taken a bit of a hit in contemporary society. “Even to the casual observer, it's obvious that the bar and beverage industry has undergone a great deal of change in the past few years,” say the authors. “Observations include a change in the types of drinks people are ordering, as well as a decrease in the number of drinks being sold,” they qualify. Dienhart and Strick allude to an increase in the federal excise tax, attacks from alcohol awareness groups, the diminished capacity of bars and restaurants to offer happy hours, increased liability insurance premiums as well as third-party liability issues, and people’s awareness of their own mortality as some of the reasons for the change. To quantify some empirical data on beverage consumption the Restaurant, Hotel, and Institutional Management Department of Purdue University conducted a study “… to determine if observed trends could be documented with hard data.” In regards to the subject, the study asks and answers a lot of interesting questions with the results presented to concerned followers via percentages. Typical of the results are: “When asked whether the corporation experienced a change in alcoholic sales in the past year, 67 percent reported a decrease in the amount of alcohol sold.” “Sixty-two percent of the respondents reported an increase in non-alcoholic sales over the past year. The average size of the increase was 8 percent. What Dienhart and Strick observe is that the decrease in alcoholic beverage consumption has resulted in a net increase for non-alcoholic beverage consumption. What are termed specialty drinks are gaining a foothold in the market, say the authors. “These include traditional cocktails made with alcohol-free products, as well as creative new juice based drinks, cream based drinks, carbonated beverages, and heated drinks,” say Dienhart and Strick by way of citation . Another result of the non-alcoholic consumption trend is the emergence of some novel marketing approaches by beer, wine, and spirits producers, including price increases on their alcohol based beverages as well as the introduction of faux alcoholic drinks like non-alcoholic beer and wine. Who or what is the big winner in all of this? That distinction might go to bottled water!

Comparison of coronary heart disease risk factors in foreign -born and United States-born Afro Caribbean Americans and African Americans in south Florida

In a cross-sectional study design, risk factors for coronary heart disease (CHD) were evaluated in three groups: 66 Afro Caribbeans (FBCA) living in the US for less than 10 years, 62 US-born Afro Caribbean (USBCA) and 61 African American (AA) adults (18–40 years), with equal numbers of males and females in each group. Socio-demographic, dietary, anthropometric and blood pressure data were collected. Fasting blood glucose, blood lipids and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) were determined. ^ The USBCA and AA participants compared to the FBCA participants consumed significantly (p < 0.05) more mean total fat (g) (66.3 ± 41.7 and 73.0 ± 47.8 vs. 52.8 ± 32.3), saturated fat (g) (23.1 ± 14.9 and 24.9 ± 15.8 vs. 18.6 ± 11.5), percent energy from fat (%) (33.1 ± 6.5 and 31.4 ± 6.4 vs. 29.3 ± 6.8), fat servings (1.8 ± 1.2 and 1.5 ± 1.0 vs. 1.2 ± 0.9), dietary cholesterol (mg) (220.4 ± 161.9 and 244.1 ± 155.0 vs. 168.8 ± 114.0) and sodium (mg) (2245.2 ± 1238.3 and 2402.6 ± 1359.3 vs. 1838.0 ± 983.4) and less than 2 servings of fruits per day (%) (86.9 and 94.9 vs. 78.5). These differences were more pronounced in males compared to females and remained after correcting for age. Also, the percentages of USBCA and AA participants who were obese (17.1% and 23.0%, respectively) were significantly (p < 0.05) higher compared to FBCA (7.6%) participants. More USBCA and AA than FBCA individuals smoked cigarettes (4.8% and 6.6% vs. 0.0%) and consumed alcoholic beverages (29.0% and 50.8% vs. 24.2%). The mean hs-CRP level of the AA participants (2.2 ± 2.7 mg/L) was significantly (p < 0.01) higher compared to the FBCA (1.1 ± 1.3 mg/L) and USBCA (1.3 ± 1.6 mg/L) participants. ^ The FBCA participants had a better CHD risk profile than the USBCA and AA participants. Focus should be placed on the ethnic and cultural differences in a population to better understand the variations in health indicators among different ethnic groups of the same race. This focus can provide healthcare professionals and policy planners with the opportunity to develop culturally sensitive programs and strategies for the improvement of health outcomes. ^

Psychological and cognitive factors that influence post -exercise energy intake in normal weight and overweight sedentary males

Physical activity is recommended to facilitate weight management. However, some individuals may be unable to successfully manage their weight due to certain psychological and cognitive factors that trigger them to compensate for calories expended in exercise. The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of moderate-intensity exercise on lunch and 12-hour post-exercise energy intake (PE-EI) in normal weight and overweight sedentary males. Perceived hunger, mood, carbohydrate intake from beverages, and accuracy in estimating energy intake (EI) and energy expenditure (EE) were also assessed. The study consisted of two conditions, exercise (treadmill walking) and rest (sitting), with each participant completing each condition, in a counterbalanced-crossover design on two days. Eighty males, mean age 30 years (SD=8) were categorized into five groups according to weight (normal-/overweight), dietary restraint level (high/low), and dieting status (yes/no). Results of repeated measures, 5x2 ANOVA indicated that the main effects of condition and group, and the interaction were not significant for lunch or 12-hour PE-EI. Among overweight participants, dieters consumed significantly (p<0.05) fewer calories than non-dieters at lunch (M=822 vs. M=1149) and over 12 hours (M=1858 vs. M =2497). Overall, participants’ estimated exercise EE was significantly (p<0.01) higher than actual exercise EE, and estimated resting EE was significantly (p<0.001) lower than actual resting EE. Participants significantly (p<0.001) underestimated EI at lunch on both experimental days. Perceived hunger was significantly (p<0.05) lower after exercise (M=49 mm, SEM=3) than after rest (M=57 mm, SEM=3). Mood scores and carbohydrate intake from beverages were not influenced by weight, dietary restraint, and dieting status. In conclusion, a single bout of moderate-intensity exercise did not influence PE-EI in sedentary males in reference to weight, dietary restraint, and dieting status, suggesting that this population may not be at risk for overeating in response to exercise. Therefore, exercise can be prescribed and used as an effective tool for weight management. Results also indicated that there was an inability to accurately estimate EI (ad libitum lunch meal) and EE (60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise). Inaccuracies in the estimation of calories for EI and EE could have the potential to unfavorably impact weight management.

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and high-performance liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) for the analysis of date rape drugs

The drugs studied in this work have been reportedly used to commit drug-facilitated sexual assault (DFSA), commonly known as "date rape". Detection of the drugs was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet detection (HPLC/UV) and identified with high performance-liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (HPLC/MS) using selected ion monitoring (SIM). The objective of this study was to develop a single HPLC method for the simultaneous detection, identification and quantitation of these drugs. The following drugs were simultaneously analyzed: Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), scopolamine, lysergic acid diethylamide, ketamine, flunitrazepam, and diphenhydramine. The results showed increased sensitivity with electrospray (ES) ionization versus atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) using HPLC/MS. HPLC/ES/MS was approximately six times more sensitive than HPLC/APCI/MS and about fifty times more sensitive than HPLC/UV. A limit of detection (LOD) of 100 ppb was achieved for drug analysis using this method. The average linear regression coefficient of correlation squared (r2) was 0.933 for HPLC/UV and 0.998 for HPLC/ES/MS. The detection limits achieved by this method allowed for the detection of drug dosages used in beverage tampering. This method can be used to screen beverages suspected of drug tampering. The results of this study demonstrated that solid phase microextraction (SPME) did not improve sensitivity as an extraction technique when compared to direct injections of the drug standards.