Using Force: Australian Newspaper Depictions of Contacts Between the Police and Persons Experiencing Mental Illness

The media creates and sustains knowledge about socially relevant issues such as crime, mental illness, and policing. Past research suggests that while the media portrayal of the police is undoubtedly complex, their portrayal of people experiencing mental illness remains mainly negative. The depiction of their encounters in the mass media is of considerable interest because of the influential role the media has on public opinion and debate; however, there is a lack of current research in this area. This study aimed to examine media items in the major newspapers across Australia between January 2006 and December 2007 (n = 77) to investigate their portrayal of this interface. The dominant themes encountered in the initial analysis depicted people experiencing mental illness as dangerous and a threat to the public, where the mental health system has failed to manage them adequately. Further analyses found that people experiencing mental illness were stigmatised in a third of the media items reviewed and were represented significantly more negatively in these encounters than the police. Implications of these findings and some suggestions regarding possible strategies that could improve socially responsible media reporting and public discourse on mental illness are proposed.     

Paradoxical excitation on diphenhydramine may be associated with being a CYP2D6 ultrarapid metabolizer: three case reports

Diphenhydramine is a widely used antihistaminic that is frequently included in over-the-counter medications. Due to its sedating properties, diphenhydramine is used in some hypnotic preparations. Occasionally, patients respond to diphenhydramine with paradoxical excitation. There are no studies on the prevalence of paradoxical excitation in healthy subjects. Diphenhydramine appears to cause mild inhibition of the cytochrome P450 (CYP) 2D6 enzyme. This can be interpreted as competitive inhibition, suggesting that diphenhydramine may be a CYP2D6 substrate. When subjects have at least three active copies of the CYP2D6 gene, they are called ultrarapid metabolizers (UMs) and present high metabolic capacity for CYP2D6 substrates. In the United States, CYP2D6 UMs may account for approximately 1% to 2% of the population. We describe three CYP2D6 UMs who reported paradoxical excitation on diphenhydramine. These cases suggest that in CYP2D6 UMs, diphenhydramine may be converted to a compound that causes excitation due to the abnormally high CYP2D6 activity. Therefore, such individuals may be at higher risk for excitation. Although these are only three anecdotal cases of paradoxical excitation from three CYP2D6 UMs, the reports illustrate the need for larger, more formal studies of diphenhydramine responses in CYP2D6 UMs and of diphenhydramine metabolism.     

熟悉性对外群体同质性效应的影响

两个实验考查了年龄和性别群体中是否存在外群体同质性效应以及熟悉性对该种效应的影响。结果表明：1．年龄群体中存在明显的外群体同质性效应,这与青年群体和老年群体彼此不够熟悉有关;2．性别群体中不存在外群体同质性效应,这与青年男女群体彼此较为熟悉有关。