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Porous foams from cellulose nanofibres (CNF) and poly-vinyl alcohol CNF/PVA were prepared by uni-directional freezing to create a homogeneous pore structure. The CNF was derived from paper mills sludge (PMS), a by-product of paper manufacturing waste-water treatment. Sodium tetraborate decahydrate (borax) was used as a crosslinking agent. The density of the CNF/PVA foams were 0.03 g cm−3 with a compressive strength of 116 kPa at 20% strain. The foams were competitive to commercial expanded polystyrene (EPS) foam.

Paper-structured fibrous composites with micrometer-sized pores were prepared using a papermaking technique, followed by in situ synthesis of Pd nanoparticles in the paper matrix using a facile impregnation method. The Pd-containing paper-structured catalysts showed high catalytic activities in solvent-free benzyl alcohol oxidation in a flow reaction system. Highly selective oxidation was achieved using the porous paper-structured catalysts set inside a gas–liquid–solid multiphase reactor. Kinetic and mechanistic studies of various reactions showed that the catalytic activity and selectivity were associated with microfluidic behavior in the fiber-network pores. A uniform distribution of the liquid-phase substrate, i.e., benzyl alcohol, provided high catalytic activity. High selectivity for the oxidation pathways can be attributed to efficient gas–liquid–solid mass transfer toward the thin liquid layer formed at the interface between the alcohol and Pd catalyst inside the porous fiber networks.

A deinking agent for regenerating waste paper, which comprises a reaction product obtained by reacting a compound having an OH group, which is represented by the following (A) or (B) with a dicarboxylic acid or an anhydride thereof as an active ingredient: (A) a compound obtained by adding ethylene oxide and propylene oxide to a higher fatty acid having 8 to 22 carbon atoms in such a manner as to control the molar ratio of ethylene oxide/propylene oxide to from 1 to 4 and to control the total amount of the added ethylene oxide and propylene oxide to from 10 to 50 moles on average; or (B) an incomplete ester of a polyhydric alcohol, to which ethylene oxide and propylene oxide have been added in such a manner as to control the molar ratio of ethylene oxide/propylene oxide to from 1 to 4 and to control the total amount of the added ethylene oxide and propylene oxide to from 10 to 50 moles per OH group on average, and a higher fatty acid having 8 to 22 carbon atoms; is disclosed. With the use of this deinking agent, a deinked pulp having a high degree of whiteness and a small residual ink number can be obtained.

Higher alcohol (C5/C6 alcohol) blended with diesel or bio-diesel is a promising alternative clean fuel for the compression ignition engine. The most important puzzle is the technology development of biomass to higher alcohol fuels. In this paper, a novel approach of hydrothermal conversion of biomass into C5/C6 higher alcohol fuels was proposed. High yield of higher alcohol fuels was obtained from the real biomass with the C5/C6 alcohol selectivity of 77% under the mild hydrothermal conditions. The properties of the produced higher alcohol fuels are similar to that of 0# diesel. The exhaust emission of compression ignition engine decreased vigorously by blending the higher alcohol fuels with diesel at weight ratio of 20/80.

Nowadays, ethanol (ethyl alcohol, bioethanol) is one of the most commonly used liquid biofuels, playing a vital role in industrial development. There are some advanced technologies available to produce ethanol by fermentation of agricultural wastes, fruit wastes, municipal and industrial wastes. Herein, the dried carrot pulp as a source of raw material has been utilized for the production of bioethanol by using the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and beet molasses inoculated at 28 °C for 72 h. The results have revealed that the highest amount of alcohol (10.3 ml (40.63 g/l)) has been obtained in a sample containing 50 ml of inoculum, 150 ml of water, and 10 g of dried waste. This study has proved the potential of dried carrot pulp to be converted into a value-added product such as ethanol.

The conversion of ethanol to n-butanol and higher alcohols is carried out in a continuous fixed bed reactor over a Ni/La2O3/γ-Al2O3 catalyst at 210–250 °C and 100 bar. At these conditions, the reaction mixture is a condensed, near-critical phase that facilitates higher reaction rates than corresponding vapor phase reactions. Combined selectivity to n-butanol and C6+ higher alcohols reached 74% at 41% ethanol conversion. A process concept is presented in which n-butanol and mixed C6+ alcohols are produced as saleable products; ethanol is recycled to achieve nearly 100% overall conversion and minor byproducts are burned to provide process energy. A process design is conducted using Aspen Plus V8.4 process simulation software, and economic analyses are carried out for several cases of ethanol conversion and alcohol selectivities. Several additional cases involving permutations of the base process configuration are also examined in attempts to improve process economics. At n-butanol selectivities achieved experimentally, a facility producing 75 million kg n-butanol per year has a total capital cost of $38.1 million with a required n-butanol selling price of $1.55/kg to $1.60/kg for typical values of expected return on investment.

Two biotrickling filters and a bioscrubber system, equipped with different package materials and inoculums, were compared in regard of performance in treatment of a VOC mixture containing 70 v% of tert-butyl alcohol (TBA) and 30 v% of acetone. The average absolute elimination capacity at highest test loadings was 80.2 g C m−3 h−1 for the bioscrubber (BIOdek® and BIO-NET® as package material; Mycobacterium austroafricanum TBA100 and Aquincola tertiaricarbonis TBA200 as inoculum) and 25.2–27.5 g C m−3 h−1 for the biotrickling filters (configuration I, Bio-airSPHERES®, no further inoculation; configuration II, HilfowTM rings, Mycobacterium austroafricanum TBA100 as inoculum). However, normalizing elimination capacities to either biomass or the cell count of TBA degraders the biotrickling filter of configuration I ranked first (2.75 g C g oDM−1 h−1 and 12.91 g C 1012 cells−1 h−1) and the bioscrubber last, due to a largely sized regeneration unit (0.13 g C g oDM−1 h−1 and 0.40 g C 1012 cells−1 h−1). Even though TBA is hardly biodegradable, its biodegradation could be done without expensive formation of inoculums using Bio-airSPHERES® as composite package material. Performance levels were enhanced and stabilized by repetitive dosage of fertilizer in all systems. This is both the first report about biodegradation of a waste gas containing TBA and application of Bio-airSPHERES® for biodegradation of high VOC concentrations.

Highlights • Socio-demographic risk factors were sex, financial constraints and employment status. • Behaviour factors associated were being a non-drinker, problem drinking and smoking. • Psycho-social factors were not having enough people to confide in and life events. • Large effect size and dose-response for financial constraints, problem drinking and life events. • Employment status was more strongly related to depressive symptoms in men than women., Background Russia has a high burden of suicide and alcohol-attributable mortality. However there have been few studies of the epidemiology of depression. Methods The study population was 5077 men and women aged 35-69 years from a cross-sectional population based survey in the cities of Arkhangelsk and Novosibirsk (2015-17). Moderate depression was defined as Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) score≥10. Risk factors considered were socio-demographic factors (age, sex, marital status, living alone, education, employment status, financial constraints); health behaviours (smoking, alcohol use) and psycho-social factors (life events and social support). Results After mutual adjustment for all other factors, there was evidence that PHQ-9≥10 was associated with sex (higher in women), financial constraints, employment status, being a non-drinker, problem drinking, smoking, not having enough people to confide in and the number of life events in the past 6 months. Employment status was more strongly associated in men (OR 1.84 (95%CI 1.17, 2.88)) than women (OR 1.15 95% CI 0.86, 1.55). The effect size was particularly striking for financial constraints (odd ratio over 3 times higher in those with not enough money for food and clothes compared to no financial constraints), problem drinking (OR 1.72 (1.12, 2.65) among drinkers with CAGE score of 2 and 2.25 (95% CI 1.42, 3.57) in those with score ≥3 compared to zero) and life events (85% higher odds in those experiencing one life event and over 4 times higher odds in those experiencing 3 or more life events) all of which demonstrated a dose-response with PHQ-9>=10. Limitations The study was cross-sectional in nature therefore temporal relationships could not be assessed. Conclusions We have identified here a range of risk factors for depression among the Russian general population consistent with findings from other populations. The strikingly strong association with financial constraints indicates the importance of social inequality for the burden of depression.

Highlights • Validated tools are needed to evaluate alcohol-reduction interventions in low income countries. • Among young Ugandans ACASI-administered 30-day and 12-month-AUDIT have good diagnostic properties. • Self-reported AUDIT provides an efficient means of assessing alcohol misuse., Background Validated tools for assessing alcohol use among young people in low-income countries are needed to estimate prevalence and evaluate alcohol-reduction interventions. We validated Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) against Timeline Follow Back (TLFB), Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) and phosphatidylethanol (PEth); and the 30-day-AUDIT against the 12-months-AUDIT among young Ugandans. Methods In 2018, we collected retrospective data on 30-day and 12-month AUDIT, TLFB and DSM-5 in a cross-sectional study of 15–24 year old residents of Ugandan fishing communities. AUDIT was administered by Audio Computer Assisted Self-Interviewing (ACASI) and DSM-5 and TLFB by psychiatric nurses. We determined PEth16:0/18:1 levels from dried blood spots using liquid chromatography tandem-mass spectrometry (heavy usage, ≥210 ng/mL) and calculated sensitivity and specificity of AUDIT against the other measures. Results Among 1281 participants (52.7% male, mean age 20 years), half (n = 659; 51.4%) reported ever drinking alcohol, 19.4% had 12-month-AUDIT ≥ 8 (21.5% men; 17.0% women), and 24.2% had 30-day-AUDIT ≥ 8 (29.0% men; 18.9% women). Twenty percent of participants had detectable PEth with 55 (4.3%) classified as heavy drinkers; 50.7% reported ≥ 2 symptoms on DSM-5 and 6.3% reported binge drinking in the previous month based on TLFB (8.9% men, 3.5% women). The 30-day-AUDIT ≥ 8 had sensitivity 86.7%, 95%CI: 81.8%–90.7% and specificity 90.9%, 95%CI:89.0%–92.6% versus 12-month-AUDIT ≥ 8. Both 30-day and 12-month-AUDIT ≥ 8 were sensitive and specific markers of heavy drinking by PEth (12-month-AUDIT sensitivity = 80.0%; 95%CI:67.0%–89.6%; specificity = 83.3%; 95%CI:81.1%–85.3%). The 30-day-AUDIT was a sensitive and specific marker of binge drinking based on TLFB (sensitivity = 82.7%; 95%CI:72.7%–90.2%, specificity = 79.8%; 95%CI:77.4%–82.1%); 12-month-AUDIT had lower sensitivity. Both 30-day and 12-month AUDIT ≥ 8 were highly specific but insensitive markers of having DSM-5 ≥ 2 symptoms. Conclusion Among young people in Uganda, ACASI-administered 30-day and 12-month-AUDIT have good diagnostic properties compared to PEth, DSM-5 and TLFB. Self-reported AUDIT provides a quick and valid means of assessing alcohol misuse in these communities.

Background Multiple measures are utilized to assess alcohol craving, often interchangeably. Little is known about the relationship between tonic and phasic craving. This study fills this gap in the literature by examining the association between tonic levels of alcohol craving and phasic craving for alcohol that is provoked by alcohol administration. Methods Forty-three non-treatment seeking problem drinkers underwent an initial interview and two laboratory testing sessions, where either alcohol or a saline placebo was administered intravenously. Tonic craving was assessed via the Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS) and Obsessive Compulsive Drinking Scale (OCDS) at the initial interview. Phasic craving was assessed during the laboratory sessions (i.e., alcohol and saline administrations, single blinded) at baseline and at 3 subsequent breath alcohol concentrations (0.02, 0.04, and 0.06 g/dl). Results There was a main effect of PACS in predicting phasic craving across both saline and alcohol administration conditions (p 0.10), predicted phasic craving during alcohol, as compared to saline administration. Conclusion In sum, tonic craving captured by the OCDS was predictive of phasic craving during alcohol administration whereas the PACS more generally captured the increase in phasic craving. Therefore, these measures of tonic craving may function differently in capturing the experience of phasic craving. Implications for the utilization of the PACS and OCDS as well as assessments of craving in alcoholism research are discussed., Highlights • Many measures are utilized, often interchangeably, to assess alcohol craving. • Little is known about the relationship between provoked, phasic craving and long-term, tonic craving. • Results indicated that the PACS predicted phasic craving, regardless of alcohol condition. • The OCDS predicted phasic craving when alcohol was administered.

Background Scholastic works suggest that those at risk for exercise addiction are also often addicted to illicit drugs, nicotine, and/or alcohol, but empirical evidence is lacking. Aims The aim of the present work was to examine the co-occurrence of illicit drug, nicotine, and alcohol use frequency (prevalence of users) and severity (level of problem in users) among exercisers classified at three levels of risk for exercise addiction: (i) asymptomatic, (ii) symptomatic, and (iii) at-risk. Methods A sample of 538 regular exercisers were surveyed via the Qualtrics research platform. They completed the (i) Drug Use Disorder Identification Test, (ii) Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence, (iii) Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test, and (iv) Exercise Addition Inventory. Results A large proportion (n = 59; 10.97%) of the sample was found to be at risk for exercise addiction. The proportion of drug and alcohol users among these participants did not differ from the rest of the sample. However, the incidence of nicotine consumption was lowest among them. The severity of problematic substance use did not differ across the groups. Conclusions These findings suggest that substance addiction and the risk for exercise addiction are unrelated. In fact, those at risk for exercise addiction exhibited the healthiest profile related to the prevalence of smoking., Highlights • Exercise addiction is unrelated to greater prevalence of alcohol or substance use. • Problematic alcohol or substance use is not a characteristic of exercise addiction. • The risk for exercise addiction is related to a lower prevalence of nicotine use.

In this study, the effects of product separation on the distribution of liquid products and the energy efficiency of sewage sludge liquefaction in supercritical alcohol and supercritical alcohol–water mixtures were investigated. While considering alcohol participation in the liquefaction reaction (6–47 wt%), the effects of process parameters such as temperature (300–400 °C), residence time (10–120 min), concentration (9.1–25.0 wt%), and type of supercritical fluid (water, methanol, ethanol, water–alcohol mixture) on the yield and properties of bio-oils were examined. Accounting for alcohol participation and product separation allowed the bio-oil yield, energy recovery, and energy efficiency to be newly defined. Application of the new separation protocol developed in this study realized a 10–25 wt% increase in bio-oil yield because light fractions were efficiently captured. When supercritical methanol was used, the light fractions consisted primarily of methylated short-chain esters, whereas ketones and alcohols were the major species when supercritical ethanol was used. Liquefaction at 400 °C and 20 wt% sewage sludge in a mixture of water–methanol (80:20, v/v) resulted in a bio-oil with a high calorific value (35.8 MJ kg−1), achieving 155% energy recovery and 106% energy efficiency. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) analysis of bio-oil combustion conducted in a commercial boiler demonstrated that cofiring with a mixture of petroleum heavy oil and bio-oil resulted in a high firing temperature of 1570 °C and a heat transfer rate, which were comparable to that obtained from conventional heavy oil firing.

Background The delineation of the behavioral neurobiological mechanisms underlying the heterogeneous pathways for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) is ostensibly imperative for the development of more cost-effective treatments predicated on better understanding of this complex psychopathology. Methods 1) Forty-eight high anxiety sensitive (HAS) and high sensation seeking (HSS) psychopathology-free emerging adults (mean (SD) age: 20.4 (1.9) years) completed a Face Emotion Processing Task and a social stress paradigm (Montreal Imaging Stress Task) during functional magnetic resonance imaging sessions with and without alcohol ingestion (1 ml/kg of 95% USP alcohol, p.o.). Drug and alcohol use was reassessed during follow-up interviews 2–3 years later. Outcomes The effects of alcohol (versus placebo) ingestion depended upon the task and risk group. In response to negative (versus neutral) faces, alcohol diminished amygdala (AMYG) activations in HAS but not HSS subjects. In response to psychosocial evaluative stress, alcohol enhanced activations of the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC), perigenual anterior cingulate cortex, and nucleus accumbens in HAS male subjects (HASMS), but decreased mOFC activity in HSS male subjects (HSSMS). At follow-up, a greater alcohol versus placebo differential for threat-related AMYG activations predicted escalating drinking and/or illicit drug use among HAS but not HSS participants, whereas a greater differential for mOFC activations during acute social stress predicted escalating substance use among HSS but not HAS participants. Interpretation This double dissociation provides evidence of distinct neurobiological profiles in a priori identified personality trait-based risk groups for AUDs, and links these signatures to clinically relevant substance use outcomes at follow-up. AUD subtypes might benefit from motivationally and personality-specific ameliorative and preventative interventions., Highlights • HASSS and HSSS showed distinct brain activation patterns in response to different stressors and to alcohol by stressor. • Escalation into drug use at a 2-3 year follow-up was predicted by distinct personality-based neural vulnerability patterns, above and beyond other measured risk factors. The present study clearly demonstrates that the abuse of alcohol and risk thereof is related to distinctive correlative and likely causative factors that are going to require totally different therapeutic approaches and that singular ubiquitous interventions, be they preventative or rehabilitative, are simply inappropriate.

Despite the World Health Organization’s assertion that communities need to become involved in\ud reducing alcohol harm, evidence of community engagement in alcohol licensing decision-making in\ud England remains limited. The evaluation of the Communities in Charge of Alcohol (CICA)\ud programme offers policymakers, Licensing Authorities and public health practitioners, evidence\ud regarding a specific volunteer-led, place-based approach designed to enable community engagement\ud in licensing with the aim of reducing localised alcohol harm. The study explored factors affecting the\ud sustainable involvement of volunteers in alcohol licensing decision-making from six Licensing\ud Officers' perspectives, through semi-structured interviews. Routinely collected crime, disorder, and\ud hospital admissions data were reviewed for further context as proxies for alcohol-related harm.\ud Licensing Officers perceived sustainable engagement to be impacted by: (i) the extent of alignment\ud with statutory requirements and local political support; (ii) the ability of Licensing Officers to\ud operationalise CICA and support local assets, and; (iii) the opportunity for, and ability of, volunteers\ud to raise licensing issues. The perspectives of Licensing Officers indicate complexities inherent in\ud seeking to empower residents to engage in licensing decision-making at a community level. These\ud relate to statutory and political factors, funding, social norms regarding engagement in licensing\ud decision-making, and the need for networks between critical actors including Responsible Authorities\ud and communities. The evidence indicates that after increasing community capacity to influence\ud alcohol availability decision-making at local level, communities continue to struggle to influence\ud statutory processes to affect alcohol availability where they live and work. More understanding of\ud how to enable effective community engagement is required.

Highlights • Unhealthy alcohol use is prevalent among women attending STI clinics. • We tested whether CBI or CBI-IVR-TM, reduced alcohol use among women in this setting. • Neither CBI nor CBI-IVR-TM reduced alcohol use more than control. • 2/3 of women had an alcohol use disorder, 65% substance use, 28% depressive symptoms. • CBI is insufficient for alcohol reduction in this high severity, high comorbidity setting., Objective We sought to determine if a computer delivered brief alcohol intervention (CBI) with or without interactive voice response counseling and text messages (CBI-IVR-TM), reduced alcohol use and sexual risk behaviors compared to attention control. Methods We conducted a 3-arm RCT among women (n = 439) recruited from Baltimore City Sexually Transmitted Infection (STI) Clinics. Eligibility included: 1) consumption of >7 drinks per week or 2) ≥2 episodes of heavy episodic drinking or ≥2 episodes of sex under the influence of alcohol in the prior three months. Research assessments conducted at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months included a 30-day Timeline Followback querying daily alcohol use, drug use, and sexual activity. We used the MINI International Neuropsychiatric Interview-DSM-IV to ascertain drinking severity. Primary alcohol outcomes included: drinking days, heavy drinking days, drinks per drinking day. Secondary sexual risk outcomes included number of sexual partners, days of condomless sex, and days of condomless sex under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Results Median age was 31 (IQR 25–44 years), 88% were African American, 65% reported current recreational drug use, and 26% endorsed depressive symptoms. On the MINI 66% met criteria for alcohol use disorder (49% alcohol dependence, 18% abuse). At follow-up, all three groups reduced drinking days, heavy drinking days, drinks per drinking day and drinks per week with no significant differences between study arms. There was no difference in sexual risk outcomes among the groups. Conclusions Among women attending an urban STI clinic single session CBI with or without IVR and text message boosters was insufficient to reduce unhealthy alcohol use or sexual risk behaviors beyond control. The high severity of alcohol use and the prevalence of mental health symptoms and other substance use comorbidity underscores the importance of developing programs that address not only alcohol use but other determinants of STI risk among women.

Traditional alcoholic beverage has become common because of economic issue. This work was aimed to improve production process of alcoholic beverage based maize and banana extract and to evaluate sensory parameters of the obtained alcoholic beverage. Three formulations were tested with different quantity of banana pulp as adjunct (2v/3v, 2.5v/2.5v, and 3v/2v; wort/banana pulp labeled F1, F2 and F3 respectively). De-pectinized banana pulp was added to wort and the mixture was fermented in anaerobic condition, at ambient temperature of about 25 °C for 72 h in presence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Samples of alcoholic beverage obtained had light alcohol content from 4.63±0.7% for F1, 4.05±0.4% for F2, 3.32±0.3% for F3. The alcohol content of samples was proportional to the quantity of banana added. The evaluation of banana extract performance in alcohol yield showed a perfect link between the quantity of alcohol produced and the brix degree of the mixture before fermentation, with the regression coefficient of 1. Sensory analysis showed that the 3 formulations had a dark color, a poor taste, an average odor for F1 and F2. Only F3 had a very good aroma. According to the sensory evaluation, F3 was the best formulation.

Nowadays, alternative fuels to fossil-based ones are emerging, one of them consisting in the use of oxygenated fuels, i.e. short-chain alcohols. Their main advantage is that alcohols may be produced by renewable processes. In the present work, diesel engine exhaust and acoustic emissions using different short-chain alcohols (ethanol and 1-propanol)/diesel fuel blends have been analyzed. For this purpose, nine engine steady-state operating conditions at moderate loads, covering the most used quarter of the engine map, have been selected. The effect of the increase of alcohol in the blend provided a reduction of nitrogen oxides (NOx) and soot emissions, while soluble organic fraction (SOF), total hydrocarbons (THC) and carbon monoxide (CO) emissions increased. Moreover, a rise of noise was observed with the increase of the amount of alcohol in the blend. It may be concluded, from this field trial, that at similar concentration of alcohol blended with diesel fuel (10% v/v), propanol showed better behavior in terms of global exhaust and noise emissions than ethanol.

Using alcohol-based disinfectants is an effective method for preventing the spread of COVID-19. However, non-traditional manufacturers of alcohol-based disinfectants, such as ethanol plants, need to undergo additional treatment to curb their impurities to limits set by the Food and Drug Association (FDA) to produce alcohol-based disinfectants. To transform them to disinfectant-grade alcohol, 17 process streams in a dry-mill ethanol plant were analyzed to determine the quality parameters for acetaldehyde, acetal, propanol, methanol, and water, including chemical oxygen demand, total suspended solids, and nutrients. Results suggest that the process stream generated by the distillation column requires further treatment because the acetaldehyde and acetal concentrations are significantly higher than the impurity limit set by the FDA. The addition of a second distillation column could be a potential method for addressing impurities and it will have minimal influence on hazardous air pollutant generation and water use., Graphical abstract Image 1

Background: In response to COVID-19, government-mandated health directives including widespread lockdowns were implemented. Changes in alcohol purchasing were reported, with growing concern that alcohol may be consumed as a way to cope with pandemic-associated stressors. Hitherto, there have been limited studies examining alcohol-related harms, including acute harms requiring an ambulance, and their relationship to government announcements or policies related to COVID-19. Methods: Analyses were conducted between January and September 2020, with matched months in 2019, using Victorian data from the National Ambulance Surveillance System in Australia. Interrupted time series (ITS) models with odds ratios (OR) were used to map alcohol-related harms as a function of government policies for both metropolitan and regional areas. Findings: A total of 43,003 alcohol intoxication-related ambulance attendances occurred between January 2019 and September 2020. Attendances in the home increased in 2020 by 9% compared to matched 2019 months. The most socioeconomically advantaged cases showed the highest percentage change. ITS models showed decreased odds of alcohol-related attendances at the beginning of each COVID-19 wave in metropolitan (OR:0•77; 95%CI: 0•71-0•83; p

Solubilisation de l'heptanol et des alcanediols dans des micelles de bromure d'hexadecyltrimethylammonium et dodecylsulfate de sodium

This paper concerns techno-economic optimization of the production process of raw ethanol in a continuous distillation column as a part of the plant for production of rectified alcohol. Optimization was performed in order to determine the optimal ethanol concentration in the residue, which provides the minimum total production costs of existing plant. Total production costs are determined on the basis of experimental data, investment and operating costs and the estimated working life of the plant. It was found that ethanol concentration in the residue is significantly higher than values that can be found in the open literature.

Highlights • A multimedia campaign encouraging men to drink less produced changes in alcohol use. • Men appreciated the straightforward message and friendly tone of the campaign. • There is also a need to develop the necessary behavioural skills for behaviour change., The aim of the mixed-methods study reported here was to evaluate the impact of a “gain-framed”, multimedia campaign to encourage heavier drinking men aged 45–64 years to drink less. Quantitative analyses were based on pre-intervention panel surveys of 3057 men in intervention regions and 500 in the control region, and post-intervention panel surveys of 1508 men in intervention regions and 219 in the control region. Qualitative analyses entailed thematic analysis of interviews with 14 men: five who had reduced their drinking after seeing the campaign, four who had considered reducing but did not, and five who did not consider changing. Interviews focused on men’s responses to the campaign, and their ideas for how to improve it. In quantitative analyses, the campaign was associated with significant changes in alcohol consumption, and significant increases in readiness to change and likelihood of using moderate drinking strategies. In qualitative analyses, men appreciated the friendly, non-threatening tone and that the message was straightforward, meaningful, achievable, and was gain-framed - i.e., emphasised the benefits of drinking less rather than the harms of drinking too much. However, the men who did not change their behaviour also identified several barriers to responding in ways encouraged by the message. It would be important to address their views of their drinking as not problematic, as pleasurable, and as socially expected, and also their sense of not feeling empowered to initiate or maintain behaviour change.

Background Evidence is sparse on the association between alcohol intakes in the lower range and risk of atrial fibrillation (AF). We aimed to investigate self-reported low and moderate alcohol intakes and subsequent risk of incident AF among current drinkers. Methods Norwegian population-based health examination surveys assessing self-reported daily alcohol intake (mean grams per day) were linked to health and population registers. Hazard ratios (HR) (95% confidence interval) for time to incident (first) hospitalization with AF by alcohol intake level were assessed by Cox regression, with adjustment for educational level and cardiovascular risk factors except blood pressure. Results The study population included 234,392 participants (49% men). Incident hospitalization with AF was identified in 5043 (2.2%) persons during a mean follow-up of 9 years. Compared to a very low alcohol intake of

Background Mitochondrial dysfunction and bioenergetic stress play an important role in the etiology of alcoholic liver disease. Previous studies from our laboratory show that the primary methyl donor S-Adenosylmethionine (SAM) minimizes alcohol-induced disruptions in several mitochondrial functions in the liver. Herein, we expand on these earlier observations to determine whether the beneficial actions of SAM against alcohol toxicity extend to changes in the responsiveness of mitochondrial respiration to inhibition by nitric oxide (NO), induction of the mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) pore, and the hypoxic state of the liver. Methods For this, male Sprague-Dawley rats were pair-fed control and alcohol-containing liquid diets with and without SAM for 5 weeks and liver hypoxia, mitochondrial respiration, MPT pore induction, and NO-dependent control of respiration were examined. Results Chronic alcohol feeding significantly enhanced liver hypoxia, whereas SAM supplementation attenuated hypoxia in livers of alcohol-fed rats. SAM supplementation prevented alcohol-mediated decreases in mitochondrial state 3 respiration and cytochrome c oxidase activity. Mitochondria isolated from livers of alcohol-fed rats were more sensitive to calcium-mediated MPT pore induction (i.e., mitochondrial swelling) than mitochondria from pair-fed controls, whereas SAM treatment normalized sensitivity for calcium-induced swelling in mitochondria from alcohol-fed rats. Liver mitochondria from alcohol-fed rats showed increased sensitivity to NO-dependent inhibition of respiration compared with pair-fed controls. In contrast, mitochondria isolated from the livers of SAM treated alcohol-fed rats showed no change in the sensitivity to NO-mediated inhibition of respiration. Conclusion Collectively, these findings indicate that the hepato-protective effects of SAM against alcohol toxicity are mediated, in part, through a mitochondrial mechanism involving preservation of key mitochondrial bioenergetic parameters and the attenuation of hypoxic stress., Graphical abstract, Highlights • Rats were fed control and alcohol diets±S-Adenosylmethionine (SAM) for 5 weeks. • SAM prevented alcohol-induced liver hypoxia. • SAM normalized mitochondrial respiration in alcohol-fed rats. • SAM normalized sensitivity to undergo the mitochondrial permeability transition in alcohol-fed rats. • SAM normalized nitric oxide-mediated respiratory inhibition in alcohol-fed rats.

This study investigates the treatment of the distilleries vinasse using a hybrid process integrating ozone oxidation and granular activated carbons (GAC) in both batch and continuous operation mode. The batch-process studies have been carried out to optimize initial influent pH, GAC doses, the effect of the ozone (O3) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) concentrations on chemical oxygen demand (COD) and color removal of the distilleries vinasse. The continuous process was carried out on GAC and ozone treatment alone as well as the hybrid process comb both methods to investigate the synergism effectiveness of the two methods for distilleries vinasse COD reduction and color removal. In a continuous process, the Yan model described the experimental data better than the Thomas model. The efficiency of ozonation of the distilleries vinasse was more effective for color removal (74.4%) than COD removal (25%). O3/H2O2 process was not considerably more effective on COD and color removal. Moreover, O3/GAC process affected negatively on the removal efficiency by reducing COD and color from distilleries vinasse. The negative effect decreased by increasing pH value of the influent.

Background: Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is the leading cause of postneonatal mortality. Although the rate has plateaued, any unexpected death of an infant is a family tragedy thus finding causes and contributors to risk remains a major public health concern. The primary objective of this investigation was to determine patterns of drinking and smoking during pregnancy that increase risk of SIDS. Methods: The Safe Passage Study was a prospective, multi-center, observational study with 10,088 women, 11,892 pregnancies, and 12,029 fetuses, followed to 1-year post delivery. Subjects were from two sites in Cape Town, South Africa and five United States sites, including two American Indian Reservations. Group-based trajectory modeling was utilized to categorize patterns of drinking and smoking exposure during pregnancy. Findings: One-year outcome was ascertained in 94·2% infants, with 28 SIDS (2·43/1000) and 38 known causes of death (3·30/1000). The increase in relative risk for SIDS, adjusted for key demographic and clinical characteristics, was 11·79 (98·3% CI: 2·59–53·7, p

Background This study examined how risky patterns of alcohol use might be related to the persistence of learned attentional capture during reversal of stimulus–reward contingencies. Methods Participants were 122 healthy adults (mean age 21 years, 66% female) who completed an assessment including a visual search task to measure value-modulated attentional capture, with a reversal phase following a period of initial training. The assessment also included questions about alcohol use. Results Overall, attentional capture was greater for distractors associated with high reward than for those associated with low reward, replicating previous findings of value-modulated attentional capture. When stimulus–reward contingencies were reversed, a higher persistence of learned attentional capture was associated with risky patterns of alcohol use. Conclusion This result highlights how value-modulated attentional capture may persist and is associated with risky alcohol use in a non-clinical sample. Future research (potentially with clinical samples of heavy drinkers) aimed towards understanding the mechanisms that drive these reversal deficits, and their relation to other compulsive behaviours, may provide important insights into the development and maintenance of addictive behaviours., Highlights • Reward-related stimuli can capture our attention and control our behaviour. • The effect of reward on attention is persistent and inflexible in risky drinkers. • Inflexible attention bias towards reward cues may predispose to compulsive behaviours.

Background Studies indicate older adults have increased risk for alcohol-related harms (e.g., risk for falls) that can manifest at lower levels of consumption than younger adults. Specifically, age-related changes in alcohol metabolism, physiology, increased morbidity, and potential interactions with medications to manage chronic conditions increases risk for related harms among older adults. Purpose The present study used cross-sectional data to examine the associations between drinking to cope motives and positive alcohol expectancies, and injunctive drinking norms in older adults. We also explored the interaction between drinking to cope, positive expectancies and injunctive drinking norms on alcohol use. Methods Adults aged 65 and older (N = 98) completed a series of measures assessing drinking to cope motives, positive alcohol expectancies, injunctive drinking norms, and past-month alcohol use. Results Positive alcohol expectancies were positively associated with drinking to cope motives. Drinking norms were not associated with coping motives. Moderating effects of expectancies varied on the link between coping motives and alcohol use. Greater endorsement of coping motives was associated with more alcohol consumption but only for those with low expectancies. Conclusions Better understanding of the complex interplay between drinking to cope motives, positive expectancies, and injunctive drinking norms of proximal as well as distal referents could foster improvement of clinical assessments to screen for risk factors of alcohol abuse and promote development of more age-salient measures of alcohol expectancies, norms, and motives., Highlights • More positive alcohol expectancies associated with greater drinking to cope motives • Perceived approval of drinking by a same-sex peer positively related to motives • Interaction between positive expectancies and coping motives on alcohol use

Introduction The Penn Alcohol Craving Scale (PACS) is one of the most widely used instruments to measure craving for alcohol. Recent research has suggested that scores on the PACS can be used as a “stand in” for the diagnostic criterion of alcohol craving with a proposed cutoff of >20 on the PACS indicating a “positive” alcohol craving symptom. The present study examined the convergence between the PACS and face-to-face diagnostic interview for the assessment of alcohol craving. Method A sample of non-treatment seeking heavy drinkers (N = 338) enrolled in experimental studies of AUD completed the PACS as well as a face-to-face diagnostic interview for AUD, which included the craving item from the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA). Results Using the PACS cut-off score of >20, 12.9% (N = 43) of the sample met criteria for alcohol craving compared to 21% (N = 74) of the sample meeting criteria based on the diagnostic interview. Using the PACS cutoff of >20, sensitivity (i.e., true positive rate) was 41% and specificity (i.e., true negative rate) was 95%. Exploratory analyses suggested that a cut-off score of ≥15 achieved the optimal balance of sensitivity (67%) and specificity (81%) in our sample. Conclusions Advancing the assessment of alcohol craving and the conversion from DSM-IV to DSM-5 diagnostic criteria represents an important research direction. The present study recommends that a PACS score cut off of ≥15 should be used as an indicator of clinically significant alcohol craving in community samples of non-treatment seekers., Highlights • The relationship between self-report and clinician-administered measures of alcohol craving is poorly understood. • Previous studies have used the PACS as a stand-in for diagnostic data, using a score of 20 as a cut off. • Using a PACS of >20, 12.9% of the sample would meet for craving; however, this cut off yielded poor sensitivity. • Exploratory analysis showed a cut off of >15 produced an acceptable balance of sensitivity and specificity in this sample.

More than 85% of the currently marketed hand sanitizer products are alcohol-based products, and the alcohol content is usually about 70% in order to be effective. The high alcohol content can cause dehydration, which is undesirable for sensitive skin, particularly for children. This creates opportunities for the development of innovative hand sanitizer products that are free of alcohol and have green nano-cellulose-based materials as carriers for the antibacterial agents. Good skin affinity and biocompatibility are the special features of the newly developed products, which would satisfy the need of the general public for green products.

Alcoholic liver disease encompasses a wide spectrum of pathogenesis including steatosis, fibrosis, cirrhosis, and alcoholic steatohepatitis. Autophagy is a lysosomal degradation process that degrades cellular proteins and damaged/excess organelles, and serves as a protective mechanism in response to various stresses. Acute alcohol treatment induces autophagy via FoxO3a-mediated autophagy gene expression and protects against alcohol-induced steatosis and liver injury in mice. Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) is a nuclear receptor that regulates cellular bile acid homeostasis. In the present study, wild type and FXR knockout (KO) mice were treated with acute ethanol for 16 h. We found that ethanol treated-FXR KO mice had exacerbated hepatotoxicity and steatosis compared to wild type mice. Furthermore, we found that ethanol treatment had decreased expression of various essential autophagy genes and several other FoxO3 target genes in FXR KO mice compared with wild type mice. Mechanistically, we did not find a direct interaction between FXR and FoxO3. Ethanol-treated FXR KO mice had increased Akt activation, increased phosphorylation of FoxO3 resulting in decreased FoxO3a nuclear retention and DNA binding. Furthermore, ethanol treatment induced hepatic mitochondrial spheroid formation in FXR KO mice but not in wild type mice, which may serve as a compensatory alternative pathway to remove ethanol-induced damaged mitochondria in FXR KO mice. These results suggest that lack of FXR impaired FoxO3a-mediated autophagy and in turn exacerbated alcohol-induced liver injury., Graphical abstract, Highlights • FXR knockout mice are more susceptible to acute ethanol-induced steatosis and liver injury due to defective hepatic autophagy. • FXR knockout mice had decreased FoxO3a activation and reduced expression of autophagy related genes in the liver after acute ethanol treatment. • FXR knockout mice had increased mitochondrial spheroid formation after acute ethanol treatment.

This paper focuses on emissions of 2,2,4-trimethyl-1,3-pentanediol monoisobutyrate (TMPD-MIB) from two latex paints applied to three substrates (aluminum, gypsum board, and concrete). The first 48 h of each experiment involved small chamber testing. Specimens were then maintained in an office environment with intermittent rotation into chambers. Emission rates were observed for periods as long as 15 months, but were relatively low after 150 h. Airborne recoveries of TMPD-MIB were a strong function of the type of paint and substrate. Recoveries in air of approximately 50% (semi-gloss paint) to 90% (flat paint) were observed after 15 months for regular applications to gypsum board, but were less than 25% after 8–15 months for applications to concrete. TMPD-MIB was recovered in the dried paint film and substrate (in the case of gypsum board) with 96±6% mass closure.

The autocatalyzed pulping (without additives) of Eucalyptus globulus with ethanol–water and methanol–water is studied in order to compare the effects of the two more frequently used solvents in Organosolv pulping. The study about the influence of the pulping alcohol on pulp properties (measured as Kappa number, yield and viscosity) is carried out by means of a 2 4 factorial design including the type of alcohol as a categorical variable. The effects for the variables (temperature, time, concentration and type of alcohol) and the interactions among them are determined. The statistical analysis for each response makes it possible to evaluate if the type of alcohol has a significant influence on the properties of the pulp obtained. In the range of temperature, time and solvent concentration studied, methanol yields pulps with lower Kappa number, on average; whereas ethanol provides better delignification at high-intensity cooking conditions. Both alcohols show similar selectivity when pulp total yield is considered, but higher screened yield values can be obtained in ethanol pulping. The viscosity is better for ethanol pulps on average, however, in the 20–30 Kappa number range methanol pulps exhibit higher viscosity.

BackgroundThe incentive sensitization theory posits that in the transition from sporadic to problematic alcohol use, the incentive value of alcohol increases (wanting) while its hedonic effects (liking) do not change or decreases. The effect of the OPRM1 c.118A>G polymorphism, associated with liking and wanting, and the DRD4-VNTR polymorphism, related to wanting, on the relation between attentional bias and alcohol use was investigated.MethodsA total of 195 young adolescents (Study 1) and 86 young adult male heavy drinkers (Study 2) completed a visual probe test. Saliva samples were collected to test both polymorphisms.ResultsIn Study 1, attentional bias was positively associated with adolescent alcohol use only for OPRM1 G-allele carriers. In Study 2, attentional bias was positively associated with problem drinking for carriers of a DRD4 long allele.DiscussionIt is tentatively proposed that an attentional bias for alcohol is related most strongly to liking and wanting in early adolescents, while in young adults, an attentional bias may reflect wanting. In addition, individual differences associated with two both genetic markers should be taken into account when examining the relation between attentional bias and alcohol use.

The removal of molasses-derived colour and chemical oxygen demand from the biodigester effluent of a molasses-based alcohol distillery effluent treatment plant was studied using inorganic coagulants—FeCl 3 , AlCl 3 and polyaluminium chloride (PAC). The coagulation/flocculation yield about 55, 60 and 72% COD reductions and about 83, 86 and 92% colour reductions, with the use of 60 mM/l AlCl 3 , 60 mM/l FeCl 3 and 30 ml/l of polyaluminium chloride, respectively, at their optimum initial pH. The critical pH of the effluent–coagulant mixture plays a very significant role in the coagulation/flocculation process, with pH 0 5.5 being the optimum for PAC. The solid residue, obtained by filtration and drying from the use of PAC has specific energy of 13.4 MJ/kg and can be used as a medium energy fuel material. The filtration characteristics of the flocculated effluent are poor. High COD reduction of the waste water by flocculation with PAC may be a better alternative to the conventional aerobic treatment process of the biodigester effluent.

Two methods to prepare pectin samples from cooking bananas were evaluated by a comparison of pectin molecular weights, levels and solubility. The hot alcohol refluxing method (referred to as hot AIR) caused a reduction in the molecular weight of chelator-soluble pectin in raw banana pulp compared to the method that used cold phenol–acetic acid–water (PAW) to extract the pectin. In addition, the use of hot alcohol resulted in a more than fourfold increase in the amount of water-soluble pectin, and nearly twofold decrease in both chelator- and Na2CO3-soluble pectin in the raw banana pulp tissues compared to the cold PAW method. Using the hot AIR for cell wall fractionation studies to correlate the pectin changes to the thermal softening of banana could lead to misleading conclusions. However, the total content (sum of water-, CDTA- and Na2CO3-soluble pectins) was not altered by these two different preparation methods.

Low volatile organic compound solvents for use with low volatility soy based lithographic printing inks are evaluated for several criteria related to performance and environmental health and safety (EHS) impact. Solvents encompassed the chemical categories of hydrocarbon alcohol mixtures, fatty acid derivatives, hydrocarbon distillates including fatty acids and alkyl benzene sulfonate mixtures, hydrocarbon distillate mixtures (long-chain), and hydrocarbon distillates including alkoxylated alcohols and proplyene glycol ethers. Five different captive printing operations served as on-press evaluation sites and one University teaching laboratory, all running small-frame sheet fed lithographic presses. A two-color negative was used with a standard image, allowing for testing with both red and black soy ink. Solvents were randomly assigned to each of the six presses. On-press evaluations included the Likert ranking of ease of cleaning and wipeability.. Wipeability was evaluated for the black ink only. A total of 120 data measures were evaluated via a Likert scale ranking process, with solvents serving as their own controls. Frequency distributions were calculated on the performance scales. While individual solvents varied somewhat in performance ranking, an analysis of all solvents indicated that 88% of solvents performed at a 3 (scale of 1–5) or better ranking for cleaning effort and 87% of the samples performed at a 3 or better level in terms of wipeability. Subsequent analysis for significance using the Friedman Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance on Ranks underscored the overall good performance of the solvents as significant differences were not found for cleaning effort ( p =0.6) and wipeability ( p =0.2). Performance findings with the on-press evaluations underscored the importance of the subjective health and safety evaluations. These were based on current state of knowledge, were conducted on each of the ten different solvent formulations, and resulted in the categorization of these solvents according to risk to employee health. This ranking was performed according to what is known concerning the major chemical constituents of the solvent mixtures and their health effects. Results from these evaluations are presented in concert with the performance data to provide a final EHS ranking for the solvents. This work will aide technical assistance providers and small scale press operators in reducing dissipative losses to the environment through intelligent product substitution choices.

Current trends in production of fuel ethanol from lignocellulosic materials are reviewed. Particular emphasis has been laid on the microbial synthesis of cellulases, enzymatic hydrolysis, pretreatment of lignocellulosics, and their simultaneous saccharification and fermentation to ethyl alcohol. Some pilot-scale plants producing alcohol from biomass are also presented.

The production of normal butanol by anaerobic fermentation using Clostridium acetobutylicum, i.e the Weizmann process, is a well-known technology. However, due to economic considerations, commercial scale butanol fermentation has been limited in recent times. This survey discusses technical factors which have an impact on prospects for new butanol fermentation capacity. The characteristics of c. acetobutylicum, and the inhibition of cellular growth and butanol production caused by butanol, are discussed together with approaches to moderating butanol toxicity. It is concluded that continued progress in moderating inhibitory effects of butanol on the fermentation and improving the energy efficiency of butanol recovery could help improve the economic feasibility of process. A large increase in n-butanol demand could result if this alcohol were found to be a suitable and economic fuel additive in the context of clean air benefits, and its use were to develop on even a modest basis. (author).

In order to control a pilot plant for multistage fermentation process production of ethanol, we have developed a simple model based only on sugar and alcohol concentrations. Identification reveals a good adequacy for various strains in batch and in continuous fermentation. We study an optimal design of a multistage continuous fermentation fed by the first stage as well for the vessel volumes as for the state variables in every vessel. Come results are given when the ethanol production speed is assumed to be a function of ethanol concentration, only. Then we treat the problem of going from initial to steady state using as feeding policy a fed batch in every vessel in order to maximize the conversion speed of sugar into alcohol.

Many batch fermentation processes are operated throughout the world for the production of alcohol (ethanol) from sugar-based feedstocks but very few truly continuous processes are in operation. This review compares the two modes of operation and some advantages of the continuous processes are examined. Possible markets for continuous processes are identified and some possible explanations for the, as yet, lack of wide acceptance of continuous processes are offered. Seven different commercially available processes are reviewed.

Understanding the nature of, and transitions in, young children's alcohol-related knowledge and attitudes is important to determining the age at which we should start educating children about alcohol and informing our understanding of the focus of such education. This paper aimed to explore current literature on the alcohol-related knowledge, beliefs, attitudes and expectancies of children aged 12 years and under. Electronic databases were searched for papers published from January 2000–August 2016. Further papers were identified by a manual review of reference lists, and contacting corresponding authors of included papers. Papers that reported on children's knowledge or beliefs about alcohol, attitudes towards alcohol and/or expectancies regarding alcohol consumption were included. Seventeen cross-sectional, experimental or observational studies and seven longitudinal studies met the inclusion criteria. Data on key measures was tabulated. From a very young age children are aware of and able to identify alcohol, and have some knowledge of its effects; their attitudes become more positive with increasing age and these shifts appear to precede drinking initiation by some years. The small number of available studies, with different measures of knowledge, attitudes and expectancies, made assessment of bias unfeasible. Only three studies were published in the last five years. Children's knowledge of, and attitudes towards, alcohol form before they initiate alcohol use, and are likely acquired through observation. Alcohol-related education should commence before children begin drinking, and should encourage the delay of alcohol initiation, address social norms, and reduce positive expectancies.

To eliminate the adverse effects of gas coning occurring during the condensate filed exploitation, alcohol-induced salt precipitation was used as the method to mitigate gas channeling. The predecessor’s researches only focused on the ordinary mechanism which is the salt precipitation caused by ethanol inducing, but it was not able to explain a marked decrease in permeability after a long term gas injection. In this paper, a novel theory is presented, the permeability change is the result of two mechanism act synergistically, first is the salt precipitation caused by ethanol inducing, another mechanism also takes an important role in mitigating gas coning which is drying-out mechanism. For lager Peclet, the salt deposition was non homogeneous and accumulated near the surface, the salts distribution in the porosity medium was measured by experiment testing and a simple model calculation. In this paper, the microscopic structure of NaCl crystal grain, distribution of grain size were analyzed by means of SEM, grain size analysis units analyzed by laser particle analyzer. Compared water-gas alternation injection (WGA) and foam injection, the alcohol-induced salt precipitation has some advantages with mitigating gas channeling in gas condensate field which more economic, more efficient and persistence.

Objective:\ud \ud To provide a basis for evaluating post-2007 alcohol policy in Scotland, this paper tests the extent to which pre-2007 policy, the alcohol market, culture or clinical changes might explain differences in the magnitude and trends in alcohol-related mortality outcomes in Scotland compared to England & Wales (E&W).\ud \ud Study design:\ud \ud Rapid literature reviews, descriptive analysis of routine data and narrative synthesis.\ud \ud Methods:\ud \ud We assessed the impact of pre-2007 Scottish policy and policy in the comparison areas in relation to the literature on effective alcohol policy. Rapid literature reviews were conducted to assess cultural changes and the potential role of substitution effects between alcohol and illicit drugs. The availability of alcohol was assessed by examining the trends in the number of alcohol outlets over time. The impact of clinical changes was assessed in consultation with key informants. The impact of all the identified factors were then summarised and synthesised narratively.\ud \ud Results:\ud \ud The companion paper showed that part of the rise and fall in alcohol-related mortality in Scotland, and part of the differing trend to E&W, were predicted by a model linking income trends and alcohol-related mortality. Lagged effects from historical deindustrialisation and socio-economic changes exposures also remain plausible from the available data.\ud \ud This paper shows that policy differences or changes prior to 2007 are unlikely to have been important in explaining the trends. There is some evidence that aspects of alcohol culture in Scotland may be different (more concentrated and home drinking) but it seems unlikely that this has been an important driver of the trends or the differences with E&W other than through interaction with changing incomes and lagged socio-economic effects. Substitution effects with illicit drugs and clinical changes are unlikely to have substantially changed alcohol-related harms: however, the increase in alcohol availability across the UK is likely to partly explain the rise in alcohol-related mortality during the 1990s.\ud \ud Conclusions:\ud \ud Future policy should ensure that alcohol affordability and availability, as well as socio-economic inequality, are reduced, in order to maintain downward trends in alcohol-related mortality in Scotland.

Azeotropic mixtures are impossible to separate by ordinary distillation. Two of the most common methods for separating a binary homogeneous azeotrope are pressure-swing distillation (PSD) and extractive distillation (ED). The PSD process is effective if the azeotropic composition changes significantly with pressure. The ED process is effective if a suitable solvent can be found. This paper compares these two alternatives to separate a mixture made up of 50 mol% of di-n-propyl ether and 50 mol% of n-propyl alcohol by means of a practical case of a plant to treat 12,000 Tm/year of this mixture. The simulation has been carried out satisfactorily by mean of a package of commercial software (Aspen Hysys ® ) using the thermodynamic model UNIQUAC with binary parameters obtained experimentally by us in previous papers. The two processes evaluated have been optimized independently from each other and the best configurations have been evaluated economically. Results show that, for this particular case, the PSD is more attractive than the extractive distillation.

The reaction of carboxylation of alcohols is a sustainable technology for the synthesis of dialkylcarbonates that avoids the use of phosgene. In this paper we describe the behaviour of metal alkoxides of Group 5 elements as homogeneous catalysts in the above reaction, and the isolation and characterization of the active species, i.e. the hemicarbonates formed upon insertion of carbon dioxide into the M–OR bond. Ta and V alkoxo complexes are comparatively discussed with respect to the Nb-analogues, whose synthesis and catalytic properties have been published [M. Aresta, A. Dibenedetto, C. Pastore, Inorg. Chem. 42 (10) (2003) 3256, and references therein]. In this paper, we report for the first time the evidence of insertion of carbon dioxide in tantalum alkoxides [Ta(OR) 5 ] 2 [R = methyl (Me), ethyl (Et)]. The relevant hemicarbonates Ta(OR) 4 [OC(O)OR] have been characterized using spectroscopic techniques (IR and NMR). Tantalum alkoxides and the vanadium compound VO(OR) 3 are shown to be able to catalyze the carboxylation of alcohols at 413 K and 5.5 MPa of CO 2 . The trend of reactivity for the Group 5 alkoxides as catalysts for the carboxylation of alcohols is Nb ≫ Ta > V.