Lack of conformation of the association of reovirus 3 and biliary atresia: Methodological differences
Published Nov 1, 1990 · W. Brown
Hepatology
6
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0
Influential Citations
Abstract
flavoring, are usually served in 3 ounce glasses that contain 2.5 to 3.0 ounces of gin and 5 to 15 ml of wine. For those who merely pass the cork of the vermouth bottle over the cocktail glass these drinks contain 3 full ounces of “hard” liquor. Thus, a single martini may represent two or three units. Happily, the very dry, double martini, which was largely a figment of movie directors’ imaginations, is no longer a popular way for private citizens to vent their frustrations or for private detectives to prepare to do battle with the mob. Robert Redford, Paul Newman and Sean Connery all tend to prepare for combat with a glass of Chablis. It’s worth keeping in mind that beer in Europe may contain 6% alcohol or more and when served in pints, as it is in Great Britain, provides more alcohol than in the U.S. On the continent 6% beer is often served in 8 ounce bottles, which contain the traditional 12 gm of alcohol (i.e., 1 unit). In Mexico, pulque, a fermented cactus beer, usually contains about 4% alcohol, but this beverage, which is high in calories, is used as a pacifier for Mexican children. Although virtually unknown in the United States, pulque, which has an almost unacquirable taste for American palates, is big business in Mexico City where 1 million liters are consumed every day. There has also been an attempt in the U.S. to increase the size of cans of beer from the standard 12 ounces to 16 ounces, a trend that has caught on with some blue collar workers but not with the majority of beer drinkers. In fact, at present 7 ounce bottles of beer are becoming popular among those who prefer to satisfy rather than drown their thirst. In Utah and Kansas beer contains 3.2% alcohol, so that beer drinkers in those states must drink harder (19 American units per day) to achieve the CD,,, which in the other 48 states requires only 16 units per day. The introduction of light alcohol beer, which contains 2.3% alcohol, has gained only a very small market share. Bars that serve draft beer tend to serve 6 to 8 ounce glasses. These “~hor t” beers are often used as chasers by whiskey drinkers who order a shot and a beer, known as a “boilermaker,” which are almost invariably drunk by men with macho images and large livers. Sweet, fortified wines such as MD, also known on the street as “Mad Dog” or “Mogen David” 20:20 have alcohol concentrations as high as 20%. These wines are purchased by hard core drinkers for their alcohol content, low cost and rapid action rather than for their enologic properties. They have no loyalty to a specific beverage or brand when the price is right. It is interesting to note that the consumption of whiskey and wine in Canada and elsewhere appears to be inversely related to its cost (5). For those patients who report their alcohol consumption in bottles, rather than in ounces or glasses, one must use simple conversion factors. Those who drink pints per day or quarts per week are easy. A “fifth” of whiskey (i.e., one-fifth of a gallon or four-fifths of a quart) contains 25 to 26 American units. Bottles of wine usually contain about 750 ml(25 ounces) and, therefore, are equivalent to 6 or 7 units. Quarts of beer, therefore, are equal to more than 2% units. A corollary to this observation is that alcoholic patients usually buy their alcohol in small bottlesusually half-pints or pints. Aside from the fact that small bottles are less conspicuous and require a smaller capital investment, patients occasionally verbalize that the purchase of multiple, small, relatively expensive bottles of alcohol is self-protective. As some patients confide, “If I bought a quart, I wouldn’t stop until I had drunk it all.” Although it now seems clear that women are more susceptible to the hepatotoxic effects of alcohol, it seems equally clear that difficulties in taking accurate alcohol histories slowed our recognition of this enhanced susceptibility. Now, it is essential that accurate alcohol histories in relationship to alcohol-induced injury be taken for men and for women. Such information, obtained both retrospectively and prospectively, may permit us to determine for the first time precise estimates of the range of hepatotoxic amounts of alcohol for both men and women.