Printing Cationized Cotton with Direct Dyes
This paper investigates improved direct dye printing of cotton by cationization. For the cationization, a 100% cotton woven fabric is pretreated with 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethyl-ammonium chloride by a cold pad-batch method. All printing conditions are constant, and four different direct dyes are used to print both unmodified and cationized cotton fabrics. The effects of cationic reagent concentration, steaming time, dye concentration, color yields, colorimetric properties, fastness properties, staining of the white ground, and penetration behavior are evaluated. This research reveals that printing with direct dyes on cationic cotton is a very simple, cost effective printing method with high wet fastness properties.
Direct dyes are generally inexpensive, simple to apply, and available in a full range of shades. They are also tinctorially stronger than other cellulose dyes, and very dark shades can be obtained economically with low dye concentrations. Furthermore, some direct dyes have very good light fastness [2, 4, 24].
The major drawbacks of direct dyes are their low to moderate wet fastness properties and lack of brilliant shades. Current wet fastness requirements for textiles are more stringent, so direct dye use has gradually declined [2]. There are additional drawbacks with respect to printing with direct dyes. Long steaming times are required for maximum color yields, and white backgrounds stain significantly during after-washing [13, 15, 18, 20-21]. In addition to these problems, direct dyes have historically been used for low quality cotton prints [15, 20]. Because direct dye printed cotton fabrics cannot meet today’s consumer quality requirements, their application for printing is very limited [4, 20].
Chemical modification of cotton with cationic agents in order to improve dyeability is a well-known process. Anionic dyes, such as direct, acid, reactive, and solubilized sulfur dyes, are attracted by the cationic charges imparted to fibers by the cationic agent [23].
Several researchers have investigated the effect of cationization on dyeing properties of cotton with direct dyes. Various chemicals have been used for cationization, and a dramatic increase in wash fastness, reduced or no salt use, reduced washing procedure, and very high fixation levels were obtained [6, 9, 12, 14, 16, 19, 22-23, 27-28]. However, there is only limited research on printing cationic cotton with direct dyes. In a recent study, cotton modified by a polymeric cationic after treatment agent was printed with acid and direct dyes and pigments. The study showed that cationization of cotton enhances printing properties with direct dyes [7].
In this study, we use a nonpolymeric cationic reactant, 2,3-epoxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride (EPTAC), to cationize cotton fabric. As a result of this cationization, the cotton fibers have positive charges independent of pH, and these positive charges strongly attract anionic dyes. Earlier work has shown that cationization with EPTAC can significantly enhance cotton dyeability with direct dyes in terms of wet fastness and dye yield [6, 8-10, 12, 22]. Our goals in this study are to improve direct dye print quality and to develop a cost effective printing method by means of cationization.
Experimental
We used a scoured, bleached, and mercerized, optical brightener-free, woven twill 3:1, 100% cotton fabric with a weight of 235 g/m^sup 2^ and a density of 46 threads/cm in the warp and 20 threads/cm in the weft direction throughout this study.
The cationic reagent was a commercially available 69% solution of 3-chloro-2-hydroxypropyltrimethylammonium chloride (a precursor of EPTAC) in water [5]. The dyes were C.I. Direct Yellow 106, C.I. Direct Red 83.1, C.I. Direct Blue 85, and C.I. Direct Black 22. All dyes were Solophenyl brand and came from Ciba. A depolymerized nonionic guar thickener (LV-Guar, SNP) and a mild oxidizing agent, sulfonic acid sodium salt (Rezerv E Salt Flake, Ciba), were used for the printing pastes. A naphthalene sulphonate based anionic surfactant (Ruco-Tex KST 150, Rudolf-Duraner) was used to wash the printed samples. Other chemicals in this study were commercially available sodium hydroxide (50% w/w), urea, and acetic acid (97%).
METHODS
Cationization Process
Cationization involved the cold pad-batch method [25] and a Mathis HVF padder. The cationic reagent was used at concentrations of 50, 75, 100, and 125 g/l with correspending sodium hydroxide concentrations of 31.0, 46.5, 62.0, and 77.5 g/1, respectively. Sodium hydroxide concentrations were calculated according to the method optimized by Tabba [25].
The fabrics were padded through cationization baths to approximately 100% wet pickup, wrapped in plastic, and stored at room temperature for 24 hours. After removal from the plastic, the fabrics were rinsed with warm water at 40°C, neutralized with 2 g/l acetic acid at 40°C, cold rinsed, and then dried on a conveyor-type drying machine (Precision Screen Machines Inc.) at 100°C.
Obituary: Myron Jon Dye, Jr.
Our beloved and courageous husband, father, and grandfather, Myron Jon Dye Jr., age 62, returned to his Heavenly Father on Nov 17th, 2004.
He was born in Idaho Falls, Idaho, to Myron Jon and Lucy Jensen Dye and grew up in Firth, Idaho. Jon served a mission to Colorado and New Mexico, attended Ricks College and graduated from BYU. He taught school for several years and then served many years for the LDS Church as a custodian and later as a supervisor at Deseret Industries.
He was married to Barbara Jean Mitchell and later divorced. Jon married Marilyn Fitzgerald on October 23, 1981, in the Salt Lake Temple
He is survived by his devoted wife Marilyn and children, Melanie R. (Steve) Sida, Myron Jon Dye III, Thomas R. (LuAnnie) Dye, Brett J. (Emily) Dye, and a father to Nathan and Amanda. His grandchildren, Rileigh, Austin, Renden, Preston and Payton were the apple of his eye. He was a younger brother to Gerald, Keith, Ruth, Norman (deceased), Larry (deceased) and their families.
We will miss Jon’s contagious smile that lit up our lives and lifted our hearts.
A viewing will be held Sunday, Nov. 21st, from 6-8 p.m. in the Walker Sanderson Funeral Home, 646 N. 800 W., Orem. Funeral services will be Mon., November 22, at 12 noon in the Provo Park 2nd Ward, 1066 West 200 North, Provo. A viewing will start at 10:45 a.m. prior to the services at the church. Interment will take place at the American Fork Cemetery.
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Injury to thumb has slowed Dye
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla.–Just looking at Jermaine Dye swing on Wednesday night, it was evident something was wrong. He was 0-for-5, struck out four times and didn’t have many good cuts.
Indeed, something was wrong. Dye revealed afterward he sprained his thumb two weeks ago in Minnesota trying to catch a flyball on the artificial turf.
The injury wasn’t enough to keep him out of the lineup as Dye always wants to play.
But after the swings Wednesday night, Oakland Athletics manager Ken Macha made an executive decision and sat Dye on Friday in the opener of a three-game weekend series at Tropicana Field.
“(Dye) was obviously in pain,” Macha said. “We talked (Friday afternoon), and he wants to be in there. But we agreed we’ll give him a few days here. Watching him take (batting practice), he’s swinging the bat great. But in game speed, you need to be real quick.”
Dye is 6-for-12 with two home runs against John Halama, who starts tonight, so he’ll probably start tonight. Depending on how he swings, he could get another day of rest Sunday.
When Dye does return, Macha has considered moving him out of the cleanup spot. He’s reluctant because Dye is the only right-handed power threat in the middle of the A’s order, and Macha doesn’t want to make his lineup susceptible to a tough left-handed reliever.
Dye, who said it doesn’t matter where he bats in the lineup, is hitting just .184 (19-for-103) since July 19. He didn’t blame the injury though.
“No excuses,” Dye said. “I’m just fighting through it. It will be with me the rest of the year.”
RHODES’ RETURN: Reliever Arthur Rhodes made his first appearance since coming off the disabled list on Tuesday.
Entering in the seventh inning, with two outs and the tying run in the on-deck circle and facing the heart of the Tampa Bay lineup, Rhodes retired all four batters he faced.
“He came in with good command, and he got their lefties out,” Macha said. “It was nice to get him back into a game. I like having an extra pitcher out there. Arthur was a contributor tonight.”
ONE-HOPPERS: Reliever Chad Bradford struck out two in a scoreless eighth inning Thursday for Triple-A Sacramento. … The submariner, sidelined with back spasms, will throw no more than 25 pitches tonight in a second rehab stint, and should be activated from the disabled list Monday. … Like most catchers this time of year, Damian Miller has a lot of nagging injuries, with his hamstring the biggest nag. … Miller didn’t start Friday but should tonight. … Third baseman Eric Chavez hit multiple homers in a game Friday for the second time this year and 11th in his career. … The A’s have hit 11 home runs in their past three games.
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The role of work for wives of alcoholics
The evolution of the research and professional literature on wives of alcoholics covers a continuum of theories from a psychoanalytic orientation regarding the psychopathology of wives, to a sociological approach describing the stress encountered while living while an alcoholic, to a focus on family systems and interaction patterns within the alcoholic family. The Disturbed Personality Hypothesis was the first attempt to describe the behaviors of wives of alcoholics. This hypothesis viewed the wife as an inadequate, dependent woman who married an alcoholic to meet her unconscious personality needs[1-4]. The Decompensation Hypothesis added that attempts by the alcoholic to reduce or stop drinking would result in the personality decompensation of the wife [5-7]Jackson[8] expanded the focus from wives of alcoholics to the adjustment of the total family and the stress of living with alcoholism. She posited that the family passes through seven identifiable stages in attempts to cope with an alcoholic member, while the wife’s personality changes to accommodate the drinking of the alcoholic. Jackson and others who expanded on her work[9-12] concluded that the behavior of wives is specific to the external stressful environment of alcoholism rather than a reflection of the wife’s personality inadequacies. More recently, Moos et al.[13] compared spouses of recovered and relapsed alcoholics to community controls, reporting no increased incidence of disturbed personality or dysfunctional behavior among spouses of recovered alcoholics.
Systems theory, as developed by Steinglass and colleagues[14-16], introduced an interactional framework which helped identify the role of alcohol in stabilizing the family and meeting the needs of its members. By examining family processes within the alcoholic system, it was observed that couples responded to the drinking in a manner that has adaptive consequences for the family. Current models of family dysfunction, spearheaded by adult children of alcoholics proponents, combine a sociological and family systems perspective to focus on the generational transmission of alcoholism[17-21].
However, these theories provide researchers and the treatment community with limited empirical data. The literature on alcoholic families, as noted in recent articles[22, 23], is characterized by narrow conceptual frameworks, anecdotal rather than empirical approaches, and small numbers of subjects. In addition, the majority of studies of the alcoholic family have overlooked the potential value of the work role and its effect in family dynamics. This has been particularly true in the case of the wife of the alcoholic who has been described almost exclusively within the domain of the home. Wives’ employment, if considered, was seen by many as one of several transitory coping responses associated with male alcoholism[8, 9, 11, 24). Even Marital Interaction Theory, which examines family processes within the alcoholic family, did not assess the role of work and its impact on family interactions.
Consideration must be given to the role of work when examining the dynamics of alcoholic families. Work is often viewed as an organizer of daily life. Work contributes to one’s sense of self and gives stability and continuity to that sense once it has been established. Work, then, is a central element in achieving and maintaining a sense of personal identity[25]. Work has been recognized within the social science literature as an important source of social support[26]. Employment could be seen as a long-term role, creating new strains as well as new opportunities for support networks. It also is acknowledged that women do not work solely for financial reasons although that is a common motivator[27]. With the current emphasis on self-development and personal growth, many women view their job as a career which offers significant self-fulfillment[28].
Further, the alcoholism literature needs to recognize the changing nature of the American family and how the movement of women into the work world has fundamentally reshaped the nature of family, work, and society. The number of women in the work force increased 173% from 1947 to 1980[29], with women accounting for 45% of civilians in the labor force today[30]. By the turn of the twenty-first century, women are expected to constitute more than three-fifths of new entrants into the labor force[31]. Family structure, interactions, roles, and behaviors have been markedly influenced by the increasing numbers of women who consider work to be a significant factor in their lives.
Therefore, this study attempted to improve understanding of the dynamics of alcoholism in families as well as the effects of dual employment on the interactions of the family. Both direct and indirect measures were utilized to evaluate the effect of husband’s alcoholism on wives’ work performance, as well as wives’ physical and psychological morbidity.
METHOD
Subjects
The data reported here are part of a larger study of 91 men admitted for inpatient alcoholism treatment. Subjects were participants in three residential treatment programs for substance abuse with an average length of stay of 14 days. Husbands ranged in age from 26 to 63 with a mean age of 42 years. Inclusion criteria were being married or cohabitating for at least the past 3 years, having alcoholism as a primary diagnosis, having no severe psychiatric disorder, and being employed full-time. Consecutive admissions who met the study criteria, who agreed to participate, and whose wives agreed to participate became research subjects. Informed consent was given by all respondents. This paper focuses on those 60 wives of alcoholics who were employed. The wives ranged in age from 23 to 62 years with a mean of 40 years, as shown in Table 1. Ninety-five percent of the wives were high school graduates, with 29% having completed college. These women were typically Catholic and White. Most of the wives were married for the first time, with a median length of marriage at 12 years. The mean number of children living at home was just less than 2, with a range from 0 to 8. None of the women reported problems of alcohol or drug dependence, but half identified themselves as children of alcoholics. This figure is extraordinarily high, given that recent surveys found a lifetime prevalence in only 11.5 to 15.7% of American adults[32].
Recent Animal Models of Alcoholism
Animal models on alcohol preference have a long-standing tradition in biomedical research on alcoholism. However, these models allow only limited conclusions regarding alcohol addiction. Therefore, during the past 15 years, researchers have developed new animal models that mimic different aspects of human alcohol addiction, such as craving, relapse, and loss of control over drinking. These models include the reinstatement model, the alcohol deprivation model, and the point-of-no-return model. Some of these models have been pharmacologically validated with anticraving compounds that are used clinically for treating alcoholics. The detailed behavioral characterization of these new models and their pharmacological validation also allow researchers to study the neurochemical and molecular bases of addictive behavior. KEY WORDS: animal model; trend; research; AOD (alcohol or other drug) preference; AODD (AOD use disorder); relapse; AOD craving; AOD abstinence; anti-alcohol-craving agents; A AOD-seeking behavior
Researchers have known since 1940 that some rodents voluntarily consume alcohol in a laboratory setting. [1] One can also assume that voluntary alcohol consumption by rodents and other mammals occurs in the wild, because some mammals, including rodents, occasionally consume large amounts of rotten fruits and exhibit abnormal behavioral patterns that may result from intoxication. Consequently, voluntary alcohol consumption, which is often observed in combination with palatable food or fluid intake, can be considered a part of the normal behavioral repertoire of rodents. These observations position rats and mice as ideal subjects for studying various aspects of human alcohol use, including alcohol reinforcement. [2] One commonly used approach to modeling human alcohol consumption in rodents are alcohol preference studies, in which the animals are given a choice between water and alcohol solutions and the investigators measure the amount consumed of each fluid. In comparison to other behavioral studies (e.g., anxiety tests), data on alcohol consumption levels obtained by such alcohol preference experiments show little variation, even when conducted in different laboratories (Crabbe et al. 1999) and different settings. Moreover, because alcohol reinforcement is mediated by brain structures that have been strongly conserved during evolution (i.e., subcortical structures), rodent studies have an enormous potential for further elucidating the neurobiological basis of alcohol consumption and alcohol reinforcement processes in humans.
This article presents several rodent models that have been used in recent years to study various aspects of alcohol addiction. The article first reviews traditional alcohol preference models and their limitations. It then describes newer models aimed at helping researchers investigate the rodent equivalent of complex human behaviors, such as craving, relapse, and loss of control over drinking. These models have been validated in pharmacological studies and have provided some insight into the neurochemical and cellular changes underlying addictive behaviors.
ALCOHOL PREFERENCE MODELS
As mentioned previously, researchers have conducted numerous alcohol preference studies in which the animals were offered a free choice between water and alcohol solutions of various concentrations. These studies found that when offered low alcohol concentrations (i.e., up to 6 percent weight/volume), which have a “sweet” taste, rats and mice generally drink more alcohol than water. At higher alcohol concentrations, however, at which the taste of the solution usually is aversive to rodents, large differences exist among individuals and among strains in alcohol preference. These observations suggest that animals primarily prefer alcohol because of such factors as taste, rather than because of its stimulatory effect on the central nervous system. Only a few animals exhibit an alcohol preference that results from alcohol’s pharmacological (e.g., reinforcing) effects.
The large variability in alcohol preference among individual animals and strains has allowed researchers to selectively breed rats for differential alcohol preference, generating pairs of animal strains that are characterized by particularly low or high alcohol consumption levels. The best studied pairs of lines were generated in Finland, the United States, and Sardinia. The Finnish model–called Alko Alcohol (AA) and Alko Nonalcohol (ANA) rats–comprises two strains of albino rats that based on their selection or rejection of a 10-percent alcohol solution and water, were selectively bred starting in 1963 (Eriksson 1968). The alcohol-preferring (P) rats, originally bred in Indiana, voluntarily consume 5-8 grams of alcohol per kilogram of body weight per day (g/kg/day), attaining blood alcohol concentrations of 50-200 mg/100 mL, whereas the non-alcohol-preferring rats (NP) consume less than 0.5 g/kg/day alcohol (McBride and Li 1998). The Sardinian alcohol-preferring (sP) rats also have been selectively bred f or high alcohol preference and consumption for more than 20 years (Colombo 1997). These models have been used as a tool for characterizing the behavioral, neurochemical, and molecular correlates of differential voluntary alcohol consumption and preference.
Future Directions in Alcoholism Research
Alcohol affects the process by which genes direct the synthesis of proteins (i.e., expression). Therefore, patterns of gene expression in the presence of alcohol can help scientists identify the specific molecular sites of alcohol’s actions within the brain. New technologies can detect and quantify changes in the expression of thousands of genes simultaneously by scanning microscopic gene arrays applied to glass or silicon chips an inch or so square. However, genes whose activity is altered in the presence of alcohol may either be contributing to alcoholism development or may be reacting to alcohol’s presence. This question can be researched by observing the effects of manipulating the level of specific gene products. One way to accomplish this end is by means of viruses that have been engineered to express a specific gene in infected cells. This technique has been applied successfully in studying addictive behaviors. It is suggested that patterns of gene expression may become a diagnostic tool, with differen t disease states being characterized by distinct expression profiles. KEY WORDS: gene expression; protein synthesis; genome; virus; mRNA; hippocampus; ventral tegmental area; animal model
Polonged or repeated exposure to alcohol can lead to long-term changes in the function of nerve cells (i.e., neurons) within the brain. Researchers believe that these changes underlie certain manifestations of addictive behavior, such as tolerance, withdrawal, and the persistent craving for alcohol that appears to provoke relapse after prolonged abstinence. The molecular mechanisms underlying these long-term neurological changes largely involve specific brain proteins that play various roles in communication among neurons.
Information encoded in a cell’s genetic material directs the synthesis of a given protein. Thus, in whole organisms, the coordinated control of genes determines an individual’s basic structure. Minor variations among genes account for the normal range of inherited differences between individuals in a population. Conversely, major genetic variation may underlie an individual’s vulnerability to disease. At its most basic level, a dormant gene may become active in response to chemical messengers that signal a cell’s increased need for the gene’s particular protein product. The genetic information contained in the DNA is transcribed in the cell’s nucleus into a form that can be interpreted by the protein-synthesizing components of the cell called messenger RNA (mRNA). The process by which a gene changes its activity in directing the synthesis of its specific mRNA and the resulting protein is called expression.
Research indicates that alcohol affects gene expression (Bachtell et al. 1999). Furthermore, the pattern of gene expression in the presence of alcohol provides evidence for scientists to deduce the specific molecular sites of alcohol’s action within the brain (Miles 1995). This article focuses on two new approaches for analyzing gene expression that show potential for use in aspects of alcoholism research.
GENE EXPRESSION
Differential Expression
The differential expression approach detects and quantifies alterations in gene expression by indirectly measuring mRNA levels. Using this approach, Chen and colleagues (1997) studied differential expression in male rats after long-term (14-day) administration of alcohol. The investigators determined the total RNA content of specific brain regions. One significant difference detected in the alcohol-exposed rats was a striking elevation of a specific mRNA in the hippocampus that lasted up to 48 hours after withdrawal from alcohol (Chen et al. 1997). The hippocampus is involved in learning and memory and may play a role in alcohol-induced memory blackouts as well as seizures that often accompany the acute withdrawal syndrome following cessation of heavy drinking. The specific mRNA was determined to play a role in the synthesis of an enzyme crucial to energy metabolism in mitochondria. Mitochondria are structures within cells where most of the cell’s energy is produced. Based on these considerations, the results of the experiment of Chen and colleagues supports the idea that alcohol exposure causes defects in mitochondria that may also play a role in such health consequences as alcohol-induced liver disease.
In a comparison study of human brain tissue obtained post mortem from alcoholics and nonalcoholics, Fan and colleagues (1999) measured levels of different types of mRNA obtained from different brain regions. Levels of a specific mRNA were higher in the nucleus accumbens of alcoholic brains compared with nonalcoholic brains. This differentially expressed mRNA is known to play a role in the final stages of mitochondrial protein synthesis. The nucleus accumbens is a center of motivation and stress response and is implicated in the development of alcoholism. Taken together, these results are consistent with the possibility that alcohol-induced activation of energy metabolism in the nucleus accumbens plays a role in alcoholism development.
Physician recognition and treatment of alcoholism
The morbidity, mortality, property damage and lost productivity attributable to alcoholism and alcohol abuse are enormous. Approximately 10 percent of adults entering a physician’s office are likely to have an alcohol problem. Little information exists about whether physicians’ attitudes, beliefs or other characteristics affect their likelihood of recognizing or treating alcoholism. Linn and Yager surveyed internists, family physicians and psychiatrists associated with a major university hospital regarding clinical experiences in assessing and treating alcohol abuse. Practice characteristics, political and religious beliefs, attitudes toward substance abuse, beliefs about the efficacy of treatment, personal experiences with substance abuse and socioeconomic variables were studied.
All full-time physician faculty in medicine and psychiatry were asked to complete self-report questionnaires. In addition, clinical faculty affiliated with the departments of general internal medicine, family medicine, gastroenterology and psychiatry were sent the same questionnaire. Of the 629 questionnaires sent, 303 were completed and returned.
Respondents had the following characteristics: 91 percent were white, 87 percent were men, 85 percent were married and 39 percent were academically based fulltime faculty. About 50 percent were board-certified in internal medicine, 24 percent in psychiatry and 14 percent in family practice; 12 percent were not board-certified. Nonrespondents were somewhat more likely to have been in full-time community-based practice than in a full-time academic setting.
The physician sample reported wide variation in attention to and treatment of alcoholism. Although most (62 percent) of the physicians reported seeing four or more patients over the previous year whose drinking had seriously interfered with their health, physician involvement with diagnosis, treatment or referral was considerably less. Nearly 30 percent of the sample reported never having diagnosed an alcohol problem in a patient who had not previously been diagnosed by another physician. About one-third neither regularly counseled patients about alcohol problems nor had referred anyone for outpatient rehabilitation. About half (52 percent) had not referred a patient for inpatient treatment of alcoholism during the year prior to the study.
The physicians who reported more diverse experiences diagnosing and treating alcoholism were significantly more likely to be in high-volume, community-based primary care practices and were significantly less likely to be engaged in academic pursuits. A high degree of physician experience with alcoholism correlated with a higher volume of patient care in the previous two weeks. A stronger belief in the efficacy of treating alcoholism, membership in the Republican party and a greater degree of religious beliefs were also associated with breadth of experience in diagnosing and treating alcoholism. Higher levels of physician experience with alcoholism were negatively related to time spent in administrative activities, classroom teaching and research.
Family physicians reported having more diverse experience working with alcoholic patients than board-certified internists or uncertified physicians. Board-certified psychiatrists and subspecialists were significantly less likely to report having such patient experiences. Recognizing and treating alcoholism were unrelated to physicians’ current or previous use of alcohol or marijuana.
The authors believe that teaching hospitals must do more to integrate the diagnosis and treatment of alcoholism into the clinical and academic environments. In addition, the authors suggest that internists, psychiatrists, subspecialists and older physicians need to raise their consciousness about alcoholism and improve their treatment skills. (Western Journal of Medicine, April 1989, vol. 150, p. 468.)
Alcohol Availability and Domestic Violence
According to the distribution of consumption model, increases in per capita alcohol consumption predict increases in the rate of heavy use and alcohol-related health and social consequences (1). Alcohol availability, in mm, is considered a key influence on alcohol sales and consumption (2, 3). Ecological studies of the relationship among alcohol availability, consumption, and consequences have been conducted at various levels of analysis, ranging from city blocks, to municipalities and counties, to states. Few researchers argue that availability alone explains the variation in rates of alcohol-related problems among given geographic units; rather, the issue is whether it adds substantially to the amount of variance in such rates accounted for by sociodemographic variables such as age and gender structure, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. On the one hand, a number of studies have shown that the physical availability of alcohol, usually measured in terms of outlet density or laws and ordinances governing sales, explains a significant amount of additional variance in alcohol-related problems such as motor vehicle crashes, liver disease, and violence (4-7). In contrast, others have found that alcohol outlet density adds little to the explanatory power of models comprised of sociodemographic variables (8-12).
The social and health costs of alcohol use and abuse in the United States are considerable (13). Interest in access and availability, and the development of strategies to affect these, have arisen in recent years as individual-level programs and intervention tend to have little influence on alcohol use (14, 15). The present study focuses on a presumed consequence of alcohol use not considered in previous ecological studies of alcohol availability–namely, domestic violence. Individual-level analyses, based on clinical and survey research, show that heavy alcohol use is associated with increased spousal abuse (16-19). However, as Leonard observes (18), there exists a general paucity of methodologically sound and conceptually driven research that examines the role of alcohol in domestic violence, and we know of no other macrolevel analysis that examines this relationship.
In this study, we examine the relationship among sociodemographic factors, alcohol availability (measured in terms of outlet density), and domestic violence. Specifically, we test whether alcohol outlet density adds significantly to a sociodemographic model to explain variation in rates of domestic violence across the 223 largest municipalities in the state of New Jersey. The sociodemographic variables included in the model have been shown in previous research to be associated with higher rates of domestic and other forms of family violence (20-22). These variables include age, family, ethnic and gender composition, poverty level, and population movement. Conceptually, they are derived from social disorganization theory, with the hypothesis that communities that are more socially disorganized will exhibit higher rates of domestic violence, just as they display higher rates of other social problems such as violent crime and child neglect (20, 23, 24).
METHODS
Data were collected for the 223 municipalities in the state of New Jersey with populations greater than 10,000 in the year 1990. The largest municipality in the sample had a population of 275,221 and the smallest a population of 10,074. The mean population size across the 223 municipalities was 27,931 (SD 29,057). Means and standard deviations of study variables are shown in Table 1 and are described below.
Table 1. Means and Standard Deviations for Sociodemographic Variables, Alcohol Availability, and Domestic Violence Rates for the 223 New Jersey Municipalities
Variable Mean SD
Age, family, and gender composition
< 11 years (%) 15.3 2.8
12-17 years (%) 7.3 1.5
18-30 years (%) 18.2 4.8
> 50 years (%) 28.2 7.3
Children per 100 adults 21.1 5.0
Males per 100 females aged 21-64 95.7 5.3
Female-headed households (%) 4.5 3.2
Educational attainment (%)
< High school education 14.1 6.7
University graduates 18.5 9.6
Ethnic composition (%)
Black 9.0 14.6
Latino 6.8 10.6
Poverty
Unemployed (%) 5.1 2.4
Public assistance (%) 4.3 3.6
Median household income ($) 45,646 13,383
Population movement (%)
Current household < 10 years 21.1 4.5
Moved between 1985 and 1990 15.7 4.1
Moved between 1989 and 1990 5.5 2.2
Urbanicity
Population density (per square mile) 4,515 5,270
Alcohol availability
Total outlets per 10,000 population 12.3 8.1
Domestic violence rate (per 10,000 population)
1990 63.5 52.8
1991 70.7 57.9
1992 64.3 54.0
1993 84.7 68.5
1994 92.0 74.7
1995 112.2 91.7
Mean 1990-1995 81.2 63.7
Carotenoid pigments in male house finch plumage in relation to age, subspecies, and ornamental coloration
ABSTRACT.-Like males of many bird species, male House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) have patches of feathers with ornamental coloration that are due to carotenoid pigments. Within populations, male House Finches vary in expression of ornamental coloration from pale yellow to bright red, which previous research suggested was the result of variation in types and amounts of carotenoid pigments deposited in feathers. Here we used improved analytical techniques to describe types and amounts of carotenoid pigments present in that plumage. We then used those data to make comparisons of carotenoid composition of feathers of male House Finches at three levels: among individual males with different plumage hue and saturation, between age groups of males from the same population, and between males from two subspecies that differ in extent of ventral carotenoid pigmentation (patch size): large-patched C. m. frontalis from coastal California and small-patched C. m. griscomi from Guerrero, Mexico. In all age groups and populations, the ornamental plumage coloration of male House Finches resulted from the same 13 carotenoid pigments, with 3-hydroxy echinenone and lutein being the most abundant carotenoid pigments. The composition of carotenoids in feathers suggested that House Finches are capable of metabolic transformation of dietary forms of carotenoids. The hue of male plumage depended on component carotenoids, their relative concentrations, and total concentration of all carotenoids. Most 4-keto (red) carotenoids were positively correlated with plumage redness, and most yellow carotenoid pigments were negatively associated with plumage redness, although the strength of the relationship for specific carotenoid pigments varied among age groups and subspecies. Using age and subspecies as factors and concentration of each component carotenoid as dependent variables in a MANOVA, we found a distinctive pigment profile for each age group within each subspecies. Among frontalis males, hatch-year birds did not differ from adults in mean plumage hue, but they had a significantly lower proportion of red pigments in their plumage, and significantly lower levels of the red piments adonirubin and astaxanthin, but significantly higher levels of the yellow pigment zeaxanthin, than adult males. Among griscomi males, hatch-year birds differed from adults in plumage hue but not significantly in pigment composition, though in general their feathers had lower concentrations of red pigments and higher concentrations of yellow pigments than adult males. Both adult and hatch-year frontalis males differed from griscomi males in having significantly higher levels of most yellow carotenoid pigments and significantly lower levels of most red carotenoid pigments. Variation in pigment profiles of subspecies and age classes may reflect differences among the groups in carotenoid metabolism, in dietary access to carotenoids, or in exposure to environmental factors, such as parasites, that may affect pigmentation. Received 18 January 1999, accepted 11 June 2001.
CAROTENOID PIGMENTS ARE responsible for the bright red, orange, and yellow coloration of plumage. Birds obtain those carotenoids exclusively through their diet. No animal has been shown unequivocally to be capable of in vivo synthesis of carotenoids (Goodwin 1984, 1986; Schiedt 1990). In birds, dietary carotenoids may either be deposited directly into feathers or chemically changed fromingested forms prior to pigment deposition, typically by addition or elimination of oxygen groups to one or both end rings of the molecule (Davies 1985, Goodwin 1986, Tyzckowski and Hamilton 1986a, b; Brush 1990, Schiedt 1990).
The House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) is a sexually dichromatic passerine bird species in which males display bright, carotenoid-based patches of color on their crowns, throats, breasts, and rumps, and male House Finches vary in expression of that ornamental coloration from a bright red to a dull yellow (Michener and Michener 1931, Hill 1990, 1993a). The carotenoid pigments responsible for colorful plumage in the House Finch and the pigmentary basis for variation among males in expression of that coloration were first studied by Brush and Power (1976). They attributed plumage color variation to differences in constituent carotenoids in feathers. Red birds had the most complex assemblage of pigments, consisting of beta-carotene, a group of unidentified mixed xanthophylls, orange isocryptoxanthin, and red echinenone; orange birds had the same subset of carotenoids without echinenone; and yellow birds lacked both echinenone and isocryptoxanthin. Recent analyses of several congeneric finch species of the Palearctic Carduelinae done by Stradi et al. (1995a, b; 1996, 1997), using new analytical techniques, revealed a more complex pattern that differed substantially from that described by Brush and Power (1976).
The proximate basis of variation in carotenoid-based plumage coloration in House Finches is of interest beyond improved understanding of the physiological control of avian pigmentation. Plumage redness in House Finches has been shown to be a primary criterion used by females in choosing mates (Hill 1990, 1991, 1994a). In addition, plumage brightness in male House Finches is correlated with overwinter survival (Hill 1991), nutritional condition during molt (Hill and Montgomerie 1994), parasite load (Thompson et al. 1997, Brawner et al. 2000), and provisioning of females during incubation (Hill 1991). It has been proposed that male plumage brightness is an honest signal of male condition, because carotenoids may be scarce resources in the environment and carotenoid-based color displays may be costly to produce (Hill 1994b, 1996a, 2002). A thorough understanding of the signal content of carotenoid-based ornamental displays can only be achieved, however, through an understanding of the proximate control of variation among males in expression of these displays (Hill 1992, 1996a, 2002).
Food colorings: pigments make fruits and veggies extra healthful
Crop geneticist Charles R. Brown has spent a decade working to make abetter potato. In the beginning, he focused on beefing up the familiar white-fleshed tuber. His strategy was to recapture healthful traits from old-style spuds from the plant’s native range in South America. He examined many yellow, red, and purple potatoes, none of which grows well in a U.S. climate. While cross breeding these imports with their northern cousins, Brown and his coworkers at the U.S. Department of Agriculture laboratory in Prosser, Wash., began hearing about putative health benefits from the type of pigments, called flavonoids, that give the potatoes their color.
Flavonoids include beta-carotene and related carotenoids, which are responsible for many of the yellows, oranges, reds, and greens in produce. Other reds and most of the blues, purples, and blackish tints–especially in berries and potatoes–trace to flavonoids called anthocyanins.
These chemicals are considered antioxidants because they quash free radicals, naturally forming molecular fragments that have several damaging effects. Free radicals can kill cells, transform some of the blood’s cholesterol-toting lipoproteins into agents of atherosclerosis (SN: 4/21/01, p. 245), and induce DNA damage that might foster cancer (SN: 2/22/97, p. 126).
A few years ago, Brown’s group and a few others around the world began developing new lines of crops explicitly for their intense antioxidant pigments. Some early lines of red and purple potatoes are now on the market, and other colorful crops are heading that way.
Probably the most famous example is known as golden rice. It’s enriched with beta-carotene, a yellow chemical from which the body fashions most of its vitamin A. Swiss and German researchers used biotechnology to design this cereal in the late 1990s to improve vitamin-poor diets in developing countries. The golden grain is still being fine-tuned for eventual commercialization.
Philipp Simon and his colleagues at a USDA lab in Madison, Wis., have been developing carotenoid-enhanced, yellow-orange cucumbers and red and anthocyanin-rich, dark-purple carrots (http:///www.sciencenews.org/articles/20041120/food.asp). This team bred some of the carrots now on the market, which retain the traditional orange color but produce 75 percent more beta-carotene than carrots did 25 years ago. In another example of pigment boosting, researchers at Cornell University are breeding wheat with extra flavonoids.
There’s currently evidence that, in addition to fighting inflammation, heart disease, and cancer, flavonoids can counter obesity and elevated blood sugar. Although scientists have presumed that flavonoids’ benefits derive mainly from their antioxidant activity, some research has recently shown that the chemicals facilitate signaling between cells and silence genes that might otherwise foster disease.
Indeed, James A. Joseph of USDA’s Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston says that this basic effect may contribute to flavonoids’ broad range of activities.
With growing recognition of the health-promoting biological activity of plant pigments, many researchers are advocating that consumers expand the palette of colors on their dinner plates. For instance, Joseph wrote a book to guide people in choosing healthful foods by their colors (The Color Code, 2003, Hyperion Books).
Joseph acknowledges that color offers, at best, an imperfect measure of potentially beneficial antioxidant flavonoids. However, by choosing foods exhibiting a range of deep colors, he says, a person can be reasonably sure of getting a broad mix of beneficial flavonoids.
HEART-SPARING HINTS Many studies have linked anticancer benefits and protection against heart disease with diets rich in produce, especially carotenoid-rich green, leafy vegetables.
The most recent of these reports, in the Nov. 3, 2004 Journal of the National Cancer Institute, analyzed dietary and health data for almost 72,000 female nurses and 38,000 male health professionals. The study found significantly less risk of chronic illness, especially heart disease, in study participants eating the most fruits and vegetables. Of all foods analyzed, green leafy vegetables appeared most protective. In fact, for each daily serving of spinach or other greens consumed, an individual’s risk of developing cardiovascular disease fell by 11 percent.
In 2003, Tiina H. Rissanen of the University of Kuopio in Finland and her colleagues reported that the more servings of vegetables and fruits that middle-aged men consumed, the lower their risk of dying from heart disease. The data pointed to berries, in particular, as being protective.
These findings were consistent with others published that year by an Australian team. For 6 weeks, nutrition scientists gave 32 men fruit extracts every morning and vegetable extracts every evening. Several potential heart-disease indicators, such as blood concentrations of homocysteine (SN: 1/4/03, p. 5) and susceptibility of cholesterol to oxidation (SN: 4/21/01, p. 245), were far lower in men taking the supplements than in volunteers who had eaten the same diet minus the supplements.