Impulsiveness Mediates the Association between \u3ci\u3eGABRA2\u3c/i\u3e SNPs and Lifetime Alcohol Problems

Genetic variants in GABRA2 have previously been shown to be associated with alcohol measures, electroencephalography (EEG) β waves and impulsiveness-related traits. Impulsiveness is a behavioral risk factor for alcohol and other substance abuse. Here, we tested association between 11 variants in GABRA2 with NEO-impulsiveness and problem drinking. Our sample of 295 unrelated adult subjects was from a community of families with at least one male with DSM-IV alcohol use diagnosis, and from a socioeconomically comparable control group. Ten GABRA2 SNPs (single-nucleotide polymorphisms) were associated with the NEO-impulsiveness (P \u3c 0.03). The alleles associated with higher impulsiveness correspond to the minor alleles identified in previous alcohol dependence studies. All ten SNPs are in linkage disequilibrium (LD) with each other and represent one effect on impulsiveness. Four SNPs and the corresponding haplotype from intron 3 to intron 4 were also associated with Lifetime Alcohol Problems Score (LAPS, P \u3c 0.03) (not corrected for multiple testing). Impulsiveness partially mediates (22.6% average) this relation between GABRA2 and LAPS. Our results suggest that GABRA2 variation in the region between introns 3 and 4 is associated with impulsiveness and this effect partially influences the development of alcohol problems, but a direct effect of GABRA2 on problem drinking remains. A potential functional SNP rs279827, located next to a splice site, is located in the most significant region for both impulsiveness and LAPS. The high degree of LD among nine of these SNPs and the conditional analyses we have performed suggest that all variants represent one signal

Emotion moderates the association between \u3ci\u3eHTR2A\u3c/i\u3e (rs6313) genotype and antisaccade latency

The serotonin system is heavily involved in cognitive and emotional control processes. Previous work has typically investigated this system’s role in control processes separately for cognitive and emotional domains, yet it has become clear the two are linked. The present study, therefore, examined whether variation in a serotonin receptor gene (HTR2A, rs6313) moderated effects of emotion on inhibitory control. An emotional antisaccade task was used in which participants looked toward (prosaccade) or away (antisaccade) from a target presented to the left or right of a happy, angry, or neutral face. Overall, antisaccade latencies were slower for rs6313 C allele homozygotes than T allele carriers, with no effect of genotype on prosaccade latencies. Thus, C allele homozygotes showed relatively weak inhibitory control but intact reflexive control. Importantly, the emotional stimulus was either present during target presentation (overlap trials) or absent (gap trials). The gap effect (slowed latency in overlap versus gap trials) in antisaccade trials was larger with angry versus neutral faces in C allele homozygotes. This impairing effect of negative valence on inhibitory control was larger in C allele homozygotes than T allele carriers, suggesting that angry faces disrupted/ competed with the control processes needed to generate an antisaccade to a greater degree in these individuals. The genotype difference in the negative valence effect on antisaccade latency was attenuated when trial N-1 was an antisaccade, indicating top-down regulation of emotional influence. This effect was reduced in C/C versus T/_ individuals, suggesting a weaker capacity to downregulate emotional processing of task-irrelevant stimuli

The COVID-19 Wellbeing Study: Examining perceived coercion and psychological wellbeing during the COVID-19 pandemic by means of an online survey, asynchronous virtual focus groups and individual interviews – a protocol

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in many countries applying restrictive measures, such as lockdown, to contain and prevent further spread. The psychological impact of lockdown and working as a healthcare worker on the frontline has been chronicled in studies pertaining to previous infectious disease pandemics that have reported the presence of depressive symptoms, anxiety, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. Potentially linked to psychological well-being and not yet studied is the possibility that lockdown and working on the frontline of the pandemic are associated with perceptions of coercion. Methods and analysis: The present study aimed to examine perceived coercion in those who have experienced COVID-19-related lockdown and/or worked as a frontline healthcare worker across three European countries. It aimed to describe how such perceptions may impact on psychological well-being, coping and posttraumatic growth. It will employ an explanatory mixedmethods research methodology consisting of an online survey and online asynchronous virtual focus groups (AVFGs) and individual interviews. χ2 tests and analyses of variance will be used to examine whether participants from different countries differ according to demographic factors, whether there are differences between cohorts on perceived coercion, depression, anxiety and post-traumatic growth scores. The relationship between coercion and symptoms of distress will be assessed using multiple regression. Both the AVFGs and the narrative interviews will be analysed using thematic narrative analysis. Ethics and dissemination: The study has been approved by University College London’s Research Ethics Committee under Project ID Number 7335/004. Results will be disseminated by means of peer-reviewed publications and at national and/or international conferences

Birth Cohort Differences in Features of Antisocial Alcoholism among Men and Women

Background: This study examines the relations between birth cohort, gender, and family history of alcohol problems on alcohol dependence, and on the endorsement of alcohol abuse/dependence symptoms related to antisocial behavior. Methods: Men (n = 1365) and women (n = 625) were recruited from the community, hospitals, and other treatment sites and were given a structured diagnostic interview. Data were analyzed by using logistic regression. Results: Age of first regular alcohol use was lower in more recent birth cohorts for both men and women, with those born in the most recent cohort reporting earliest regular use. The decline across cohort was more dramatic in women than in men. For those participants with a diagnosis of alcohol dependence, being born in a more recent cohort was associated with increased risk of dependence onset before age 25. Among those participants with onset of alcohol dependence before age 25 (nmen = 400; nwomen = 51), being born in a more recent cohort was associated with increased risk of fights while drinking, police involvement, and drunk driving trouble as well as with increased risk for a diagnosis of abuse or dependence on another drug. Conclusions: These results suggest that the prevalence of antisocial alcoholism may be increasing for both men and women. These data exemplify how societal change may affect expression of underlying vulnerability for traits thought to be genetically influenced

Nexus of Despair: A Network Analysis of Suicidal Ideation among Veterans

The objective of this study was to estimate a network model of risk and resilience factors of suicidal ideation among veterans. Two network models of suicidal ideation among Operation Iraqi Freedom/ Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation New Dawn veterans (N = 276) incorporated key disorders, traumatic stress, and resilience constructs to contextualize suicidal ideation. Childhood trauma was positively connected with suicidal ideation and harassment and inversely connected with social support and distress tolerance. This exemplifies long-lasting associations between childhood trauma and revictimization, emotion regulation, and ability to form supportive social relationships. A subsequent model including lower-order facets indicated that combat trauma was predominantly associated with posttraumatic stress disorder–intrusion symptoms. This study highlights the importance of addressing both risk and resilience to reduce suicide risk among veterans and increases understanding of factors that contribute to suicidal ideation

PTSD Symptoms and Alcohol-Related Problems among Veterans: Temporal Associations and Vulnerability

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with elevated risk of both alcohol use disorder (AUD) and related conduct problems, which are associated with behavioral and emotional dysregulation. We conducted an intensive longitudinal burst design study with 10 weeks of experience sampling over the course of 1.5 years with 250 veterans of recent conflicts. We tested time-series models of daily associations between posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS), alcohol dependence syndrome, and conduct problems. Exacerbations of PTSS predicted higher dependence syndrome and conduct problems the next day. This effect was significant after controlling for both concurrent (i.e., same-day) associations between drinking and the outcomes as well as the strength of associations between the outcomes from one day to the next (i.e., autoregression). Affect lability and disinhibition were hypothesized vulnerability factors increasing the strength of within-person predictors of dependence syndrome and conduct problems. Lability and disinhibition were associated with greater dependence syndrome symptoms and conduct problems over the follow-up period. Consistent with expectation, lability rather than disinhibition increased the association between drinking and dependence syndrome as well as the strength of association between dependence syndrome symptoms from one day to the next. Moderating effects of disinhibition in the conduct problems model were not significant. Importantly, results indicated reciprocal associations over time. Lability potentiated the association between dependence syndrome symptoms and next-day PTSS, whereas disinhibition potentiated the association between conduct problems and next-day PTSS. Results demonstrate complex dynamic associations between PTSS, AUD symptoms, and conduct problems over time indicative of broad regulatory impairments

Effects of Prairie Dogs and Cattle on Vegetation Disappearance on Prairie Dog Towns in Mixed-Grass Prairie

Quantitative data is lacking on competition between prairie dogs and cattle for forage on mixed-grass prairie pastures. The objective of this study was to determine the disappearance of vegetation attributable to cattle and prairie dogs on pastures with prairie dog towns. During the summers of 2002 and 2003, biomass estimates were made periodically on three mixed-grass prairie pastures in south central South Dakota that had varying degrees of prairie dog town coverage (percent of pasture area). Two types of grazing exclosures were established. Cattle exclosures allowed grazing by prairie dogs only. Cattle/prairie dog exclosures excluded both herbivores. Permanent plots outside cages were established that allowed grazing by both species. Biomass estimates on individual vegetation species were obtained both inside the exclosures and on permanent plots outside the exclosures two times in 2002 and 2003. Forage removed was estimated and compared for cattle alone, prairie dogs alone, and cattle and prairie dogs together in each year. Forage removed by prairie dogs on the on-town sites was nearly three times as great as forage removed by cattle on the on-town sites for the June and July sampling periods. Cattle removed two times more forage on off-town sites than on on-town sites. Total forage removed on on-town sites (cattle + prairie dogs) was almost two times greater than on off-town sites. Livestock forage was significantly reduced on prairie dog towns compared to unoccupied sites. Classic carrying capacity calculations overestimate forage availability when prairie dog towns are present. Stocking rates on pastures with prairie dog towns should be adjusted to account for forage disappearance due to prairie dogs

Agrárpiaci Jelentések Gabona és ipari növények

Kiadványunk a következő témákban ad információkat: biodízel, bioetanol, bioüzemanyag, búza, cukor, gabona határidős jegyzések, ipari növény kereskedelem, kereslet-kínálat, kikötői ár, kukorica kínálat, napraforgó nemzetközi árinformációk, növényi olaj piac, piaci jelentések, repce, takarmány termelés, termelői ár, tőzsde, világpiac, árpa átlagár, értékesítési ár, külkereskedelmi ár