Researching the decline in adolescent drinking: The need for a global and generational approach

Adolescent alcohol consumption has been in decline across many high-income countries since the early to mid-2000s. This is a significant public health trend, with few documented examples from history where such a global downward shift in alcohol consumption has occurred primarily among the adolescent segment of the population. In this commentary we describe the nature and breadth of the trend; reflect on the environmental, social and policy factors that have been proffered; and argue that to adequately understand and support the maintenance of these trends, three important methodological considerations are needed for future research. Firstly, longitudinal panel and qualitative studies are needed to complement and inform continuing cross-sectional research. Secondly, a collaborative cross-cultural approach is needed to contextualise the international scale of the trend and thirdly, future research must be situated within a historical and generational perspective to understand declines in adolescent drinking in the context of a broader shift in adolescent behaviours

Alcohol Co-Administration Changes Mephedrone-Induced Alterations of Neuronal Activity

Mephedrone (4-MMC), despite its illegal status, is still a widely used psychoactive substance. Its effects closely mimic those of the classical stimulant drug methamphetamine (METH). Recent research suggests that unlike METH, 4-MMC is not neurotoxic on its own. However, the neurotoxic effects of 4-MMC may be precipitated under certain circumstances, such as administration at high ambient temperatures. Common use of 4-MMC in conjunction with alcohol raises the question whether this co-consumption could also precipitate neurotoxicity. A total of six groups of adolescent rats were treated twice daily for four consecutive days with vehicle, METH (5 mg/kg) or 4-MMC (30 mg/kg), with or without ethanol (1.5 g/kg). To investigate persistent delayed effects of the administrations at two weeks after the final treatments, manganese-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging brain scans were performed. Following the scans, brains were collected for Golgi staining and spine analysis. 4-MMC alone had only subtle effects on neuronal activity. When administered with ethanol, it produced a widespread pattern of deactivation, similar to what was seen with METH-treated rats. These effects were most profound in brain regions which are known to have high dopamine and serotonin activities including hippocampus, nucleus accumbens and caudate-putamen. In the regions showing the strongest activation changes, no morphological changes were observed in spine analysis. By itself 4-MMC showed few long-term effects. However, when co-administered with ethanol, the apparent functional adaptations were profound and comparable to those of neurotoxic METH.Peer reviewe

The efficiency and effectiveness of utilizing diagrams in interviews: an assessment of participatory diagramming and graphic elicitation

Abstract Background This paper focuses on measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of two diagramming methods employed in key informant interviews with clinicians and health care administrators. The two methods are 'participatory diagramming', where the respondent creates a diagram that assists in their communication of answers, and 'graphic elicitation', where a researcher-prepared diagram is used to stimulate data collection. Methods These two diagramming methods were applied in key informant interviews and their value in efficiently and effectively gathering data was assessed based on quantitative measures and qualitative observations. Results Assessment of the two diagramming methods suggests that participatory diagramming is an efficient method for collecting data in graphic form, but may not generate the depth of verbal response that many qualitative researchers seek. In contrast, graphic elicitation was more intuitive, better understood and preferred by most respondents, and often provided more contemplative verbal responses, however this was achieved at the expense of more interview time. Conclusion Diagramming methods are important for eliciting interview data that are often difficult to obtain through traditional verbal exchanges. Subject to the methodological limitations of the study, our findings suggest that while participatory diagramming and graphic elicitation have specific strengths and weaknesses, their combined use can provide complementary information that would not likely occur with the application of only one diagramming method. The methodological insights gained by examining the efficiency and effectiveness of these diagramming methods in our study should be helpful to other researchers considering their incorporation into qualitative research designs

Supranational changes in drinking patterns: factors in explanatory models of substantial and parallel social change

Background: That there have been ‘long waves’ of consumption in parallel in different societies has previously been noted. Now there is a sustained drop in drinking among youth in most of Europe, Australia and North America. Can such changes be understood in a common frame? In terms of inexorable historical phenomena or forces, like Kondratieff waves? In terms of generational shifts, with a younger generation reacting against the habits of an older? Method: Such conceptual models for understanding the dynamics of social change are examined in terms of their potential contribution in explaining when and how substantial changes in levels of consumption occur roughly in concert in different societies, with particular reference to the decline in drinking and heavy drinking in current youth cohorts. Results and Conclusion: Timing tends to rule out economic change as a factor in the current widespread decline in youth drinking. The technological revolution of the electronic web and the smart phone seems a primary explanation, with the widespread change in social presentation and interaction — in habitus — between parents and children also involved. Directions for further research are suggested

Intake of food rich in saturated fat in relation to subclinical atherosclerosis and potential modulating effects from single genetic variants

The relationship between intake of saturated fats and subclinical atherosclerosis, as well as the possible influence of genetic variants, is poorly understood and investigated. We aimed to investigate this relationship, with a hypothesis that it would be positive, and to explore whether genetics may modulate it, using data from a European cohort including 3,407 participants aged 54–79 at high risk of cardiovascular disease. Subclinical atherosclerosis was assessed by carotid intima-media thickness (C-IMT), measured at baseline and after 30 months. Logistic regression (OR; 95% CI) was employed to assess the association between high intake of food rich in saturated fat (vs. low) and: (1) the mean and the maximum values of C-IMT in the whole carotid artery (C-IMTmean, C-IMTmax), in the bifurcation (Bif-), the common (CC-) and internal (ICA-) carotid arteries at baseline (binary, cut-point ≥ 75th), and (2) C-IMT progression (binary, cut-point > zero). For the genetic-diet interaction analyses, we considered 100,350 genetic variants. We defined interaction as departure from additivity of effects. After age- and sex-adjustment, high intake of saturated fat was associated with increased C-IMTmean (OR:1.27;1.06–1.47), CC-IMTmean (OR:1.22;1.04–1.44) and ICA-IMTmean (OR:1.26;1.07–1.48). However, in multivariate analysis results were no longer significant. No clear associations were observed between high intake of saturated fat and risk of atherosclerotic progression. There was no evidence of interactions between high intake of saturated fat and any of the genetic variants considered, after multiple testing corrections. High intake of saturated fats was not independently associated with subclinical atherosclerosis. Moreover, we did not identify any significant genetic-dietary fat interactions in relation to risk of subclinical atherosclerosis

BacHBerry: BACterial Hosts for production of Bioactive phenolics from bERRY fruits

BACterial Hosts for production of Bioactive phenolics from bERRY fruits (BacHBerry) was a 3-year project funded by the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) of the European Union that ran between November 2013 and October 2016. The overall aim of the project was to establish a sustainable and economically-feasible strategy for the production of novel high-value phenolic compounds isolated from berry fruits using bacterial platforms. The project aimed at covering all stages of the discovery and pre-commercialization process, including berry collection, screening and characterization of their bioactive components, identification and functional characterization of the corresponding biosynthetic pathways, and construction of Gram-positive bacterial cell factories producing phenolic compounds. Further activities included optimization of polyphenol extraction methods from bacterial cultures, scale-up of production by fermentation up to pilot scale, as well as societal and economic analyses of the processes. This review article summarizes some of the key findings obtained throughout the duration of the project

Suomalaiset saavat polyfenolit pääosin kahvista, teestä ja viljasta

vokBEL/BM

Identification and Quantification of Phenolic Compounds in Berries of Fragaria

High-performance liquid chromatography combined with diode array and electrospray ionization mass spectrometric detection was used to study soluble and insoluble forms of phenolic compounds in strawberries, raspberries (red and yellow cultivated and red wild), arctic bramble, and cloudberries. Hydroxycinnamic acids were present as free forms in cloudberries and mainly as sugar esters in the other berries. Quercetin 3-glucuronide was the typical flavonol glycoside in all of the berries studied. The composition of the predominant anthocyanins can be used to distinguish the studied red Rubus species from each other since cyanidin was glycosylated typically with 3-sophorose (56%) in cultivated red raspberry, with 3-sophorose (30%) and 3-glucose (27%) in wild red raspberry, and with 3-rutinose (80%) in arctic bramble. Ellagic acid was present as free and glycosylated forms and as ellagitannins of varying degrees of polymerization. Comparable levels of ellagitannins were obtained by the analysis of soluble ellagitannins as gallic acid equivalents and by the analysis of ellagic acid equivalents released by acid hydrolysis of the extracts