Sex Differences in Reported Adverse Drug Reactions to Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors

Sex differences in adverse drug reactions (ADRs) associated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEIs) remain poorly understood owing to a lack of sex-specific ADR data from clinical trials. 1 Postmarketing pharmacovigilance data, containing structured and detailed ADR information, may play an important role in such analyses. However, these data are often not corrected for prescription numbers and therefore cannot separate sex differences in ADR risk from sex differences in prescription rates. To investigate whether women report more ACEI-related ADRs than men after correction for sex-specific prescription and describe sex differences in reported ADR types, we combined data from the global pharmacovigilance database VigiBase and the prescription-corrected Dutch pharmacovigilance database Lareb

Across borders: External factors and prior behaviour influence North Pacific albatross associations with fishing vessels

Understanding encounters between marine predators and fisheries across national borders and outside national jurisdictions offers new perspectives on unwanted interactions to inform ocean management and predator conservation. Although seabird–fisheries overlap has been documented at many scales, remote identification of vessel encounters has lagged because vessel movement data often are lacking. Here, we reveal albatrosses–fisheries associations throughout the North Pacific Ocean. We identified commercial fishing operations using Global Fishing Watch data and algorithms to detect fishing vessels. We compiled GPS tracks of adult black-footed Phoebastria nigripes and Laysan Phoebastria immutabilis albatrosses, and juvenile short-tailed albatrosses Phoebastria albatrus. We quantified albatrosses-vessel encounters based on the assumed distance that birds perceive a vessel (≤30 km), and associations when birds approached vessels (≤3 km). For each event we quantified bird behaviour, environmental conditions and vessel characteristics and then applied Boosted Regression Tree models to identify drivers and the duration of these associations. In regions of greater fishing effort short-tailed and Laysan albatrosses associated with fishing vessels more frequently. However, fishing method (e.g. longline, trawl) and flag nation did not influence association prevalence nor the duration short-tailed albatrosses attended fishing vessels. Laysan albatrosses were more likely to approach longer vessels. Black-footed albatrosses were the most likely to approach vessels (61.9%), but limited vessel encounters (n = 21) prevented evaluation of meaningful explanatory models for this species of high bycatch concern. Temporal variables (time of day and month) and bird behavioural state helped explain when short-tailed albatrosses were in close proximity to a vessel, but environmental conditions were more important for explaining interaction duration. Laysan albatrosses were more likely to associate with vessels while searching and during the last 60% (by time) of their trips. Our results provide specific species–fisheries insight regarding contributing factors of high-risk associations that could lead to bycatch of albatrosses within national waters and on the high seas. Policy implications. Given the availability of Global Fishing Watch data, our analysis can be applied to other marine predators—if tracking data are available—to identify spatio-temporal patterns, vessel specific attributes and predator behaviours associated with fishing vessel associations, thus enabling predictive modelling and targeted mitigation measures

Sex Differences in Reported Adverse Drug Reactions to Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors

This cross-sectional study investigates differences by sex in reporting of adverse drug reactions associated with angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors combining global and prescription-corrected databases

Neural Correlates of Visual Motion Prediction

Predicting the trajectories of moving objects in our surroundings is important for many life scenarios, such as driving, walking, reaching, hunting and combat. We determined human subjects’ performance and task-related brain activity in a motion trajectory prediction task. The task required spatial and motion working memory as well as the ability to extrapolate motion information in time to predict future object locations. We showed that the neural circuits associated with motion prediction included frontal, parietal and insular cortex, as well as the thalamus and the visual cortex. Interestingly, deactivation of many of these regions seemed to be more closely related to task performance. The differential activity during motion prediction vs. direct observation was also correlated with task performance. The neural networks involved in our visual motion prediction task are significantly different from those that underlie visual motion memory and imagery. Our results set the stage for the examination of the effects of deficiencies in these networks, such as those caused by aging and mental disorders, on visual motion prediction and its consequences on mobility related daily activities

Genetic variants associated with subjective well-being, depressive symptoms, and neuroticism identified through genome-wide analyses

Very few genetic variants have been associated with depression and neuroticism, likely because of limitations on sample size in previous studies. Subjective well-being, a phenotype that is genetically correlated with both of these traits, has not yet been studied with genome-wide data. We conducted genome-wide association studies of three phenotypes: subjective well-being (n = 298,420), depressive symptoms (n = 161,460), and neuroticism (n = 170,911). We identify 3 variants associated with subjective well-being, 2 variants associated with depressive symptoms, and 11 variants associated with neuroticism, including 2 inversion polymorphisms. The two loci associated with depressive symptoms replicate in an independent depression sample. Joint analyses that exploit the high genetic correlations between the phenotypes (|ρ^| ≈ 0.8) strengthen the overall credibility of the findings and allow us to identify additional variants. Across our phenotypes, loci regulating expression in central nervous system and adrenal or pancreas tissues are strongly enriched for association.</p

Collaborative recall of details of an emotional film

Collaborative inhibition refers to the phenomenon that when several people work together to produce a single memory report, they typically produce fewer items than when the unique items in the individual reports of the same number of participants are combined (i.e., nominal recall). Yet, apart from this negative effect, collaboration may be beneficial in that group members remove errors from a collaborative report. Collaborative inhibition studies on memory for emotional stimuli are scarce. Therefore, the present study examined both collaborative inhibition and collaborative error reduction in the recall of the details of emotional material in a laboratory setting. Female undergraduates (n = 111) viewed a film clip of a fatal accident and subsequently engaged in either collaborative (n = 57) or individual recall (n = 54) in groups of three. The results show that, across several detail categories, collaborating groups recalled fewer details than nominal groups. However, overall, nominal recall produced more errors than collaborative recall. The present results extend earlier findings on both collaborative inhibition and error reduction to the recall of affectively laden material. These findings may have implications for the applied fields of forensic and clinical psychology

Conceptualizing fear of progression in cardiac patients: Advancing our understanding of the psychological impact of cardiac illness

Background: An emerging area of psycho-cardiology explores fear of disease progression in cardiac patients, following extensive research of this topic in psycho-oncology. Novel interventions that target cardiac fear of progression(FoP) may be valuable in bridging the gap between the high psychological support needs in cardiac care and limitations surrounding the efficacy of standard psychosocial treatments. However, there appears to be limited research characterizing FoP in cardiac patients with which to inform potential interventions. Aims: Using a mixed methods approach in two inter-related studies, we aimed to develop a preliminary conceptualization of cardiac-FoP. Methods: Study 1 involved a scoping review of existing qualitative research to identify the range of fears relating to disease progression reported by cardiac patients. Study 2 investigated the prevalence and distress levels associated with a selection of fears identified in Study 1 through a quantitative study of 194 cardiac patient admissions at two Australian hospitals. Results: Study 1 conceptualized cardiac-FoP in two ways, by the content of the fears and by the behavioral responses to the fears. Fears were categorized into seven broad domains: fears associated with death, health, interpersonal relationships, treatment, accessing help, role responsibilities, and physical activity. Five categories of behavioral responses were identified: avoidance, hyperawareness, symptom misattribution, seeking help, and lifestyle changes. Study 2 indicated a high prevalence of fear, with an average endorsement of 40.9%. When fear was endorsed, an average of 45.2% of cardiac patients experienced moderate-to-severe distress. Discussion: This paper provides an initial conceptualization of FoP in cardiac patients, providing preliminary evidence of the rates of fear and associated distress in this population. Drawing on this conceptualization, unique measurement tools and interventions should be developed to identify and address FoP in cardiac patients

The American Dream Down South

Presented at Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting in April 201