Relación entre la cantidad y el tipo de alcohol (destilado versus fermentado) consumido y el riesgo de aparición de deterioro cognitivo compatible con un síndrome demencial en personas mayores de 60 años: revisión sistemática / Relationship between the amount and type of alcohol (distilled versus fermented) consumed and the risk of cognitive impairment compatible with a dementia syndrome in people over 60 years of age: A systematic review

Introducción: el alcohol es la sustancia más consumida en la cultura occidental y su consumo es un factor causal en más de 200 enfermedades y trastornos. El objetivo fue conocer la relación entre la cantidad y el tipo de alcohol (destilado o fermentado) consumido en individuos mayores de 60 años y la aparición del deterioro cognitivo compatible con un síndrome demencial como consecuencia de un consumo excesivo y prolongado.Desarrollo: búsqueda en las bases de datos Medline, PsycInfo y Web of Science. Se acotó la búsqueda a artículos publicados entre los años 2010 y 2021, a partir de la combinación de diversos términos relacionados con la demencia, el consumo y tipo de alcohol y la vejez. Se obtuvieron 157 artículos, se eliminaron aquellos repetidos y los no relacionados con el tema, quedando un total de 9 artículos. Esta revisión sistemática se ha llevado a cabo de acuerdo con los criterios de la declaración PRISMA.Conclusiones: la mayoría de los estudios encontrados (7 de 9) sugirieron una asociación entre el consumo de alcohol y la aparición de la demencia. Respecto al tipo de bebidas, todo y la objetivación de algunos resultados poco concluyentes, en general se sugiere que el consumo de vino (bebida fermentada) se asocia a una disminución del deterioro cognitivo y el consumo de licor (bebida destilada) a un aumento del deterioro cognitivo; no queda claro el papel de la cerveza. Por ello se puede concluir que la asociación entre el consumo de alcohol, y el mayor o menor deterioro cognitivo depende tanto del consumo excesivo y prolongado, como también del tipo de bebidas consumidas (destiladas o fermentadas).(AU)

Introduction: Alcohol is the most consumed substance in Western culture and its consumption is a causal factor in more than 200 diseases and disorders. The objective was to determine the relationship between the amount and type of alcohol (distilled or fermented) consumed, in individuals over 60 years of age, and the appearance of cognitive deterioration compatible with a dementia syndrome as a consequence of excessive and prolonged consumption.Development: Search in Medline, PsycInfo and Web of Science databases. The search was limited to articles published between 2010 and 2021, based on the combination of various terms related to dementia, alcohol consumption and type, and old age. 157 articles were obtained, those repeated and those not related to the topic were eliminated, leaving a total of 9 articles. This systematic review has been carried out in accordance with the criteria of the PRISMA statement.Conclusions: Most of the studies found (7 out of 9) suggested an association between alcohol consumption and the onset of dementia. Regarding the type of beverages, everything and the objectification of some inconclusive results, in general it is suggested that the consumption of wine (fermented beverage) is associated with a decrease of cognitive deterioration and the consumption of liquor (distilled beverage) to a increased cognitive decline; the role of beer is not clear. Therefore, it can be concluded that the association between alcohol consumption and greater or lesser cognitive impairment depends both on excessive and prolonged consumption, as well as on the type of beverages consumed (distilled or fermented).(AU)

Differentiation and classification of Chinese Luzhou-flavor liquors with different geographical origins based on fingerprint and chemometric analysis.

In order to differentiate and characterize Chinese Luzhou-flavor liquor according to geographical origins, the volatile flavor compounds were analyzed for forty commercial Luzhou-flavor liquor samples from Sichuan, Jiangsu, and Hubei provinces. A total of 113 volatile flavor compounds were quantified; among them, 29 flavor compounds were quantified according to the internal standard method. The differences in flavor composition among different brands of Luzhou-flavor liquor were compared. A data matrix of 64 (flavor components) × 40 (samples) was studied and interpreted using chemometric analysis. The research object could be naturally clustered according to geographical origin (brand) based on the hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA), principal component analysis (PCA) and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) methods. A 100% of predication ability was obtained by the application of K-nearest neighbor model (KNN) for study sample classification. The results demonstrate that the abundance of volatile flavor components in liquors combined with appropriate multivariate statistical methods could be used for the division and traceability of liquors from different geographic origins. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study can provide the basis for the identification of liquor authenticity and the traceability of liquor.

Association between preference for using alcohol beverage-named e-liquids and alcohol use among high school youth.

BACKGROUND: There are thousands of e-liquid flavors available, and some are named after alcohol beverages (e.g., "pina colada"). It is unclear whether use of e-liquids with alcohol beverage names is associated with adolescent alcohol use. E-cigarettes and alcohol are co-used in adolescents; therefore, it is important to investigate these associations. METHODS: Eight Southeastern Connecticut high schools were surveyed in Spring 2015 (N = 7045). We examined the association between preference for using e-liquid flavors and alcohol drinking status (i.e., no past month alcohol use, past month alcohol use but no binge drinking, and past month binge drinking) in ever e-cigarette users (N = 1311). RESULTS: Among ever e-cigarette users who preferred using e-liquids with alcohol beverage names (N = 111), 30.6 % had no past month alcohol use, 19.8 % had past month alcohol use but did not binge drink in the past month, and 49.5 % binge drank in the past month. Multinomial logistic regression (controlling for demographics and including other e-cigarette flavors that were highly endorsed, i.e., fruit and candy) revealed that the preferences of alcohol beverage-named-e-liquid (OR: 2.84, CI: 1.70-4.75) and fruit flavored e-liquids (OR: 1.55, CI: 1.14-2.11), but not candy flavored e-liquids was associated with past-month binge drinking compared to no past-month alcohol use. CONCLUSION: This evidence suggests that the preference for using alcohol beverage- and fruit-named e-liquid flavors is associated with past-month binge drinking among adolescents. Understanding the associations between alcohol beverage-named e-liquids and alcohol use in adolescents may help inform tobacco regulatory strategies that aim to decrease the use/appeal of e-cigarettes.

How much are we exposed to alcohol in electronic media? Development of the Alcoholic Beverage Identification Deep Learning Algorithm (ABIDLA).

BACKGROUND: Evidence demonstrates that seeing alcoholic beverages in electronic media increases alcohol initiation and frequent and excessive drinking, particularly among young people. To efficiently assess this exposure, the aim was to develop the Alcoholic Beverage Identification Deep Learning Algorithm (ABIDLA) to automatically identify beer, wine and champagne/sparkling wine from images. METHODS: Using a specifically developed software, three coders annotated 57,186 images downloaded from Google. Supplemented by 10,000 images from ImageNet, images were split randomly into training data (70 %), validation data (10 %) and testing data (20 %). For retest reliability, a fourth coder re-annotated a random subset of 2004 images. Algorithms were trained using two state-of-the-art convolutional neural networks, Resnet (with different depths) and Densenet-121. RESULTS: With a correct classification (accuracy) of 73.75 % when using six beverage categories (beer glass, beer bottle, beer can, wine, champagne, and other images), 84.09 % with three (beer, wine/champagne, others) and 85.22 % with two (beer/wine/champagne, others), Densenet-121 slightly outperformed all Resnet models. The highest accuracy was obtained for wine (78.91 %) followed by beer can (77.43 %) and beer cup (73.56 %). Interrater reliability was almost perfect between the coders and the expert (Kappa = .903) and substantial between Densenet-121 and the coders (Kappa = .681). CONCLUSIONS: Free from any response or coding burden and with a relatively high accuracy, the ABIDLA offers the possibility to screen all kinds of electronic media for images of alcohol. Providing more comprehensive evidence on exposure to alcoholic beverages is important because exposure instigates alcohol initiation and frequent and excessive drinking.

Effects of Restricting High Alcohol Content Beverages on Crime in California.

Background: Policy restrictions on malt liquor sales have been adopted in several cities throughout the United States in an effort to reduce crime around off-premise alcohol outlets. Although California has implemented the most restrictions on malt liquor sales, no studies in the published literature have evaluated the effects of these policies on reducing crime. Objectives: We evaluated the effectiveness of malt liquor restrictions on reducing crime around off-premise alcohol outlets in six California cities. We hypothesized that adoption of malt liquor policies would be significantly associated with decreases in crime within areas surrounding targeted outlets. Methods: We used an interrupted time-series design with control areas to examine the relationship between malt liquor policies and crime reduction. We compared crime rates three years prior and following adoption of malt liquor policies. Results: Malt liquor policies were associated with modest decreases in crime, largely Part II or less serious crimes such as simple assaults. The effectiveness of malt liquor policies varied by city, with reductions in crime greatest in Sacramento where policies were more restrictive than in other cities. Malt liquor policies were also associated with small increases in nuisance crime, especially in San Francisco. Conclusion: Results suggest that malt liquor policies may have modest effects on reducing crime when they include strong restrictions on the sale of malt liquor products. Results may be informative to other cities considering whether to maintain or change their malt liquor policies as well as cities considering placing restrictions on other high content beverages.

Characterization of Key Aroma Compounds in a Commercial Rum and an Australian Red Wine by Means of a New Sensomics-Based Expert System (SEBES)-An Approach To Use Artificial Intelligence in Determining Food Odor Codes.

Although to date more than 10 000 volatile compounds have been characterized in foods, a literature survey has previously shown that only 226 aroma compounds, assigned as key food odorants (KFOs), have been identified to actively contribute to the overall aromas of about 200 foods, such as beverages, meat products, cheeses, or baked goods. Currently, a multistep analytical procedure involving the human olfactory system, assigned as Sensomics, represents a reference approach to identify and quantitate key odorants, as well as to define their sensory impact in the overall food aroma profile by so-called aroma recombinates. Despite its proven effectiveness, the Sensomics approach is time-consuming because repeated sensory analyses, for example, by GC/olfactometry, are essential to assess the odor quality and potency of each single constituent in a given food distillate. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to develop a fast, but Sensomics-based expert system (SEBES) that is able to reliably predict the key aroma compounds of a given food in a limited number of runs without using the human olfactory system. First, a successful method for the quantitation of nearly 100 (out of the 226 known KFOs) components was developed in combination with a software allowing the direct use of the identification and quantitation data for the calculation of odor activity values (OAV; ratio of concentration to odor threshold). Using a rum and a wine as examples, the quantitative results obtained by the new SEBES method were compared to data obtained by applying an aroma extract dilution analysis and stable isotope dilution assays required in the classical Sensomics approach. A good agreement of the results was found with differences below 20% for most of the compounds considered. By implementing the GC × GC data analysis software with the in-house odor threshold database, odor activity values (ratio of concentration to odor threshold) were directly displayed in the software pane. The OAVs calculated by the software were in very good agreement with data manually calculated on the basis of the data obtained by SIDA. Thus, it was successfully shown that it is possible to characterize key food odorants with one single analytical platform and without using the human olfactory system, that is, by "artificial intelligence smelling".

GUITAR-enhanced facile discrimination of aged Chinese Baijiu using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy.

The presented research demonstrated a method to evaluate aged Chinese Baijiu by measuring their electrochemical impedance spectrums (EIS) according to the distinctive colloidal impedance phenomena of verities' aged Baijiu. Graphite from the University of Idaho Thermolyzed Asphalt Reaction (GUITAR) electrode was employed for EIS data collection to achieve enhanced resolution. The obtained EIS Nyquist plots were simulated with the corresponding equivalent circuit to extract the numerical values of parameters which characterize the physicochemical properties of aged Baijiu. The curve fitting data were dimensionally reduced with principle components analysis (PCA). PCA score image originated from GUITAR electrode EIS measurement showed a more defined clustered profile in comparison to glassy carbon electrode. These results implicate GUITAR electrode based EIS is potentially available to develop a household device for aged Baijiu classification.

An Innovative Metabolomic Approach for Golden Rum Classification Combining Ultrahigh-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Orbitrap Mass Spectrometry and Chemometric Strategies.

A comprehensive fingerprinting strategy for golden rum classification considering different categories such as fermentation barrel, raw material, and aging is provided, using a metabolomic fingerprinting approach. A nontarget fingerprinting of 30 different rums using liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry (Exactive Orbitrap mass analyzer, LC-HRMS) was applied. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to assess the overall structure of the data and to identify potential outliers. Different chemometric analyses such as partial least-squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) were used. A variable importance in projection (VIP) selection method was applied to identify the most significant markers that allow group separation. Compounds related to aging and fermentation processes such as furfural derivates (e.g., hydroxymethylfurfural) and sugars (e.g., glucose, mannitol) were found as the most discriminant compounds (VIP threshold value >1.5). Suitable separation according to selected categories was achieved, and a classification ability of the models of close to 100% was achieved.

Traditional and commercial alcohols and esophageal cancer risk in Kenya.

Squamous cell esophageal cancer is common throughout East Africa, but its etiology is poorly understood. We investigated the contribution of alcohol consumption to esophageal cancer in Kenya, based on a hospital-based case-control study conducted from 08/2013 to 03/2018 in Eldoret, western Kenya. Cases had an endoscopy-confirmed esophageal tumor whose histology did not rule out squamous cell carcinoma. Age and gender frequency-matched controls were recruited from hospital visitors/patients without digestive diseases. Logistic regression was used to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) adjusting for tobacco (type, intensity) and 6 other potential confounders. A total of 422 cases (65% male, mean at diagnosis 60 (SD 14) years) and 414 controls were included. ORs for ever-drinking were stronger in ever-tobacco users (9.0, 95% CI: 3.4, 23.8, with few tobacco users who were never drinkers) than in never-tobacco users (2.6, 95% CI: 1.6, 4.1). Risk increased linearly with number of drinks: OR for >6 compared to >0 to ≤2 drinks/day were 5.2 (2.4, 11.4) in ever-tobacco users and 2.1 (0.7, 4.4) in never-tobacco users. Although most ethanol came from low ethanol alcohols (busaa or beer), for the same ethanol intake, if a greater proportion came from the moonshine chang'aa, it was associated with a specific additional risk. The population attributable fraction for >2 drinks per day was 48% overall and highest in male tobacco users. Alcohol consumption, particularly of busaa and chang'aa, contributes to half of the esophageal cancer burden in western Kenya.

Alcohol Intake and Colorectal Cancer Risk in the Multiethnic Cohort Study.

To investigate the association of alcohol intake with colorectal cancer risk according to race/ethnicity as well as sex, lifestyle-related factors, alcoholic beverage type, and anatomical subsite, we analyzed data from 190,698 black, Native Hawaiian, Japanese-American, Latino, and white persons in Hawaii and California in the Multiethnic Cohort Study, with 4,923 incident cases during a 16.7-year follow-up period (1993-2013). In multivariate Cox regression models, the hazard ratio was 1.16 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.01, 1.34) for 15.0-29.9 g/day of alcohol and 1.28 (95% CI: 1.12, 1.45) for ≥30.0 g/day among men, and 1.06 (95% CI: 0.85, 1.32) and 1.15 (95% CI: 0.92, 1.43), respectively, among women, compared with nondrinkers (P for heterogeneity according to sex = 0.74). An increased risk was apparent among Native Hawaiians, Japanese Americans, Latinos, and white persons and among individuals with body mass index <25.0 (calculated as weight (kg)/height (m)2), never-users of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, and those with lower intake of dietary fiber and folate. Beer and wine, but not liquor, consumption was positively related to colorectal cancer risk. The association was stronger for rectum and left-colon tumors than for right-colon tumors. Our findings suggest that the positive association between alcohol and colorectal cancer varies according to race/ethnicity, lifestyle factors, alcoholic beverage type, and anatomical subsite of tumors.

Comparisons between context-specific and beverage-specific quantity frequency instruments to assess alcohol consumption indices: Individual and sample level analysis.

There are many survey instruments to determine drinking patterns and alcohol consumption levels in the general population. This study aims to compare the context-specific quantity-frequency (CSQF) and beverage-specific quantity-frequency (BSQF) methods to estimate alcohol consumption indices at individual and sample levels. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted among a population aged 15 years and older in Songkhla Province, Thailand. The BSQF and CSQF questionnaires with a 3-month retrospective time frame and in random order were applied to each participant. The CSQF was developed to ask more about the drinking contexts. The questions elicited information on location, partner, beverage, quantity, and frequency for five common drinking situations. Among 804 participants, 183 drank alcohol in the last three months. At the individual level, total alcohol consumption of almost all types of beverage by the CSQF was higher than the BSQF in approximately 50% of current drinkers and was mainly accounted for by the higher report of average quantity. At the sample level, there were no significant differences in the average daily intake, 3-month intake per drinker or per capita consumption between instruments. The interview duration and burden of answering the questions by the participants for the CSQF were not significantly higher than those for the BSQF. In summary, the fuller picture of drinking behaviors from the CSQF has several valuable methodological advantages and provides information allowing alcohol policies to be more directly specific to certain target populations or situations. The CSQF is a prototype questionnaire and forms the basis for a contextual approach. However, additional methodological studies need to be explored.

Consumo de alcohol cuantificado versus percibido en trabajadores españoles / Quantified alcohol consumption versus perception in spanish work population

Introducción: el consumo de alcohol preocupa en Salud Pública por sus efectos y repercusiones familiares, personales, sociales y laborales entre consumidores habituales o de riesgo. Objetivos: establecer la prevalencia de consumo de alcohol en trabajadores del sector servicios de la administración pública, perfil de consumo y concordancia entre el consumo cuantificado y el percibido, así como la influencia de variables sociodemográficas y laborales. Material y Método: estudio transversal en 1.180 trabajadores del sector servicios de la administración pública en el área mediterránea de España desde enero a diciembre de 2011, analizando variables sociodemográficas, laborales y cuantificando el consumo de alcohol en UBE y la percepción mediantes AUDIT. Resultados: el 81,78% ha consumido alcohol en el último mes, mayoritariamente hombres y en niveles de consumo moderado-severo. Son variables que influyen: nivel cultural, clase social y tipo de trabajo desempeñado. Existen discrepancias entre la percepción del consumo con el AUDIT y el consumo registrado con UBE. Conclusiones: la percepción de consumo de riesgo es baja frente al riesgo cuantificado en UBE por lo que se plantea la utilidad de campañas de Promoción de la Salud en las empresas orientadas hacia un adecuado conocimiento del riesgo del consumo de alcohol

Introduction: alcohol consumption is a global concern in Public Health for its effects and impact on family, personal and working lives of ordinary consumers or in excess. Objectives: to assess the prevalence of alcohol consumption in public service sector workers, to assess a consumption profile and the concordance between quantified and perceived consumption, as well as the influence of sociodemographic and labor variables. Material and Method: cross-sectional study of 1.180 public administration services sector workers in Spanish Mediterranean area from January to December 2011. Sociodemographic and labor variables and quantifying alcohol consumption UBE and AUDIT perception are analysed. Results: 81.78% had consumed alcohol in the last month, mainly men and in levels of moderate-severe consumption. Alcohol consumption is related to: cultural level, social class and type of work performed. There are discrepancies between the perception of alcohol consumption measured by the AUDIT, and consumption recorded calculated by the UBE. Conclusions: the perception of risk consumption is low compared to the quantified risk. Training campaigns and Health Promotion are recommenced in companies oriented toward an adequate knowledge of alcohol consumption risk

High-alcohol-content flavored alcoholic beverages (supersized alcopops) should be reclassified to reduce public health hazard.

In the US, underage drinkers often consume supersized alcopop - a high-alcohol-content, ready-to-drink flavored alcoholic beverage that is currently regulated as beer. However, calculations in this paper illustrate how the high alcohol by volume and low price of supersized alcopops suggest that they rely on a larger proportion of additives for their alcohol content than permitted to meet the legal definition for beer. From a public safety perspective, it is urgently important that the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau assess the formulation of supersized alcopops - specifically, the percent of alcohol in the finished product that is derived from additives. Appropriate reclassification of supersized alcopops as distilled spirits would reduce youth access by resulting in increased price and reduced availability at the retail locations where youth most often obtain alcohol.

Alcohol Warnings and Moderate Drinking Patterns among Italian University Students: An Exploratory Study.

The introduction of health warnings on labels to correct externalities associated with alcohol consumption is heavily debated and has been explored from different perspectives. The current paper aims to analyse the interest and attitudes of Italian university students regarding health warnings on alcoholic beverages and to verify the existence of segments that differ in terms of attitudes towards such warnings. Our results show that young consumers consider health warnings quite important, although the degree of perceived utility differs in relation to the type of warning. Cluster analysis shows the existence of three groups of young consumers with different degrees of attention and perceived utility of warnings on alcoholic beverages, but also in relation to drinking behaviour and awareness of social and health risks related to alcohol consumption. In brief, Italian young adults with moderate consumption behaviour view label warnings positively, while this attitude is weaker among younger adults and those with riskier consumption behaviours. Our findings, albeit limited and based on stated and not revealed data, support the need for appropriate tools to improve the availability of information among young adults on the risks of excessive alcohol consumption and increased awareness of the importance of moderate drinking.

Alcoholic beverage preference and diabetes incidence across Europe: the Consortium on Health and Ageing Network of Cohorts in Europe and the United States (CHANCES) project.

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: It is unknown if wine, beer and spirit intake lead to a similar association with diabetes. We studied the association between alcoholic beverage preference and type 2 diabetes incidence in persons who reported to consume alcohol. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Ten European cohort studies from the Consortium on Health and Ageing: Network of Cohorts in Europe and the United States were included, comprising participant data of 62 458 adults who reported alcohol consumption at baseline. Diabetes incidence was based on documented and/or self-reported diagnosis during follow-up. Preference was defined when ⩾70% of total alcohol consumed was either beer, wine or spirits. Adjusted hazard ratios (HRs) were computed using Cox proportional hazard regression. Single-cohort HRs were pooled by random-effects meta-analysis. RESULTS: Beer, wine or spirit preference was not related to diabetes risk compared with having no preference. The pooled HRs were HR 1.06 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.93, 1.20) for beer, HR 0.99 (95% CI 0.88, 1.11) for wine, and HR 1.19 (95% CI 0.97, 1.46) for spirit preference. Absolute wine intake, adjusted for total alcohol, was associated with a lower diabetes risk: pooled HR per 6 g/day was 0.96 (95% CI 0.93, 0.99). A spirit preference was related to a higher diabetes risk in those with a higher body mass index, in men and women separately, but not after excluding persons with prevalent diseases. CONCLUSIONS: This large individual-level meta-analysis among persons who reported alcohol consumption revealed that the preference for beer, wine, and spirits was similarly associated with diabetes incidence compared with having no preference.

[Alcoholism at the end of 1980-s and beginning of 2010-s]. / Alkogolizm v kontse 1980-kh i nachale 2010-kh godov.

AIM: To study the 20-years' clinical alteration and alcoholism basing on the changes in its clinical symptoms and course. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 527 alcoholics with formed alcohol withdrawal syndrome: 181 alcoholics were examined in 1988-1990 (Group 1) and 346 alcoholics in 2011-2012 (Group 2). RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: In Group 1, vodka consumption dominated at all stages of alcoholism. Group 2 included 172 alcoholics with the domination of vodka consumption and 174 alcoholics with mixed consumption. It was shown that in comparison with Group 1 (1988-1990 patients) patients from Group 2 (2011-2012) had slower and mild development of alcoholism, especially those in the mixed consumption group. The authors suggest that the change of the clinical pattern in Group 2 was due to the change in the composition of consumed alcoholic beverages.

Replication Improves Sorting-Task Results Analyzed by DISTATIS in a Consumer Study of American Bourbon and Rye Whiskeys.

In consumer food-sensory studies, sorting and closely related methods (for example, projective mapping) have often been applied to large product sets which are complex and fatiguing for panelists. Analysis of sorting by Multi-Dimensional Scaling (MDS) is common, but this method discards relevant individual decisions; analysis by DISTATIS, which accounts for individual differences, is gaining acceptance. This research posits that replication can improve DISTATIS analysis by stabilizing consumer sensory maps, which are often extremely unstable. As a case study a fatiguing product set was sorted: 10 American whiskeys-5 bourbons and 5 ryes-were sorted into groups by 21 consumers over 2 replications. These products were chosen because American whiskeys are some of the most important distilled beverages in today's market; in particular, "bourbon" (mashbill more than 50% corn) and "rye" (more than 50% rye) whiskeys are important and assumed to be products with distinct sensory attributes. However, there is almost no scientific information about their sensory properties. Data were analyzed using standard and aggregated DISTATIS and MDS. No significant relationship between mashbill and consumer categorization in whiskeys was found; instead, there was evidence of producer and aging effects. aggregated DISTATIS was found to provide more stable results than without replication, and DISTATIS results provided a number of benefits over MDS, including bootstrapped confidence intervals for product separation. In addition, this is the first published evidence that mashbill does not determine sensory properties of American whiskey: bourbons and ryes, while legally distinct, were not separated by consumers.

Comparative policy analysis for alcohol and drugs: Current state of the field.

BACKGROUND: A central policy research question concerns the extent to which specific policies produce certain effects - and cross-national (or between state/province) comparisons appear to be an ideal way to answer such a question. This paper explores the current state of comparative policy analysis (CPA) with respect to alcohol and drugs policies. METHODS: We created a database of journal articles published between 2010 and 2014 as the body of CPA work for analysis. We used this database of 57 articles to clarify, extract and analyse the ways in which CPA has been defined. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the CPA methods employed, the policy areas that have been studied, and differences between alcohol CPA and drug CPA are explored. RESULTS: There is a lack of clear definition as to what counts as a CPA. The two criteria for a CPA (explicit study of a policy, and comparison across two or more geographic locations), exclude descriptive epidemiology and single state comparisons. With the strict definition, most CPAs were with reference to alcohol (42%), although the most common policy to be analysed was medical cannabis (23%). The vast majority of papers undertook quantitative data analysis, with a variety of advanced statistical methods. We identified five approaches to the policy specification: classification or categorical coding of policy as present or absent; the use of an index; implied policy differences; described policy difference and data-driven policy coding. Each of these has limitations, but perhaps the most common limitation was the inability for the method to account for the differences between policy-as-stated versus policy-as-implemented. CONCLUSION: There is significant diversity in CPA methods for analysis of alcohol and drugs policy, and some substantial challenges with the currently employed methods. The absence of clear boundaries to a definition of what counts as a 'comparative policy analysis' may account for the methodological plurality but also appears to stand in the way of advancing the techniques.

Unsupervised pattern recognition methods in ciders profiling based on GCE voltammetric signals.

This work presents a complete methodology of distinguishing between different brands of cider and ageing degrees, based on voltammetric signals, utilizing dedicated data preprocessing procedures and unsupervised multivariate analysis. It was demonstrated that voltammograms recorded on glassy carbon electrode in Britton-Robinson buffer at pH 2 are reproducible for each brand. By application of clustering algorithms and principal component analysis visible homogenous clusters were obtained. Advanced signal processing strategy which included automatic baseline correction, interval scaling and continuous wavelet transform with dedicated mother wavelet, was a key step in the correct recognition of the objects. The results show that voltammetry combined with optimized univariate and multivariate data processing is a sufficient tool to distinguish between ciders from various brands and to evaluate their freshness.

ERICA: patterns of alcohol consumption in Brazilian adolescents.

OBJECTIVE To describe the patterns of alcohol consumption in Brazilian adolescents. METHODS We investigated adolescents who participated in the Study of Cardiovascular Risks in Adolescents (ERICA). This is a cross-sectional, national and school-based study, which surveyed adolescents of 1,247 schools from 124 Brazilian municipalities. Participants answered a self-administered questionnaire with a section on alcoholic beverages consumption. Measures of relative frequency (prevalence), and their 95% confidence intervals, were estimated for the following variables: use of alcohol beverages in the last 30 days, frequency of use, number of glasses or doses consumed in the period, age of the first use of alcohol, and most consumed type of drink. Data were estimated for country and macro-region, sex, and age group. The module survey of the Stata program was used for data analysis of complex sample. RESULTS We evaluated 74,589 adolescents, who accounted for 72.9% of eligible students. About 1/5 of adolescents consumed alcohol at least once in the last 30 days and about 2/3 in one or two occasions during this period. Among the adolescents who consumed alcoholic beverages, 24.1% drank it for the first time before being 12 years old, and the most common type of alcoholic beverages consumed by them were drinks based on vodka, rum or tequila, and beer. CONCLUSIONS There is a high prevalence of alcohol consumption among adolescents, as well as their early onset of alcohol use. We also identified a possible change in the preferred type of alcoholic beverages compared with previous research.