CRP,but not TNF-α or IL-6, decreases after weight loss in patients with morbid obesity exposed to intensive weight reduction and balneological treatment

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate the concentrations of C-reactive protein (CRP), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-6 (IL-6), and the degree of homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) in patients with morbid obesity exposed to a three-week low-calorie diet and balneotherapy.

Methods

The study included 33 patients (25 females and 8 males; mean age 46 years) with body mass index (BMI) values of >40 kg/m². Evaluations of CRP, IL-6, TNF-α, lipid profile, HOMA-IR, and fasting glucose were carried out before (baseline data) and three weeks after the treatment. The control group consisted of 20 healthy volunteers (15 females and 5 males) with a mean age of 39 years and BMI values of ≤24.9 kg/m².

Results

In the blood of patients with morbid obesity we found significantly elevated levels of CRP, TNF-α, triglycerides, HOMA-IR and fasting glucose, but a decreased level of high density lipoprotein (HDL)-cholesterol, compared with the healthy individuals. The treatment resulted in about a 9.4% reduction in body weight from 122.5 to 111.0 kg and a significant decrease in the concentration of CRP, but no change in TNF-α or IL-6. HOMA-IR was significantly reduced.

Conclusion

The decrease in CRP level without changes in TNF-α or IL-6 concentrations after the low-calorie diet and balneological treatment, suggests that an essential amount of adipose tissue must be removed before proper adipocyte function is restored. The decrease in HOMA-IR indicates an improvement in insulin sensitivity, which is beneficial in obese patients.

     

(1) U.S.A.

The authors of this study assess the attitudes and perceptions of academic librarians at three university libraries in China regarding library services for international students and scholars. The study directs particular focus on librarians at Shaanxi Normal University in Xi’an, Fudan University in Shanghai, and Wuhan University of Technology, China, and follows logically upon a study conducted in 2008 that explored the perceptions of international students at two Chinese universities regarding the effectiveness of library services and collections for their research needs. In particular, this study documents information about Chinese academic librarian perceptions regarding services for international students and attitudes toward future outcomes. The ultimate goal of the study is to lay a foundation for developing strategies for improving library services and resources for international students and scholars in Chinese academic libraries in particular, which in turn can serve to improve services for international students world-wide. The results support the assumption that academic librarians in China are strongly interested in improving services for international students and scholars while continuing to face challenges and trying to find ways to fulfill the information needs of international students and scholars.     

THE DEVELOPMENT OF A MEDICAL STUDENT INTEREST GROUP IN GERIATRICS

As society ages, there is an increasing demand for knowledge and skills to care for the elderly. Innovative ways to stimulate the interest of medical students in geriatric medicine present an important challenge to medical schools today. This article discusses the value of a student interest group in meeting this challenge. In 1988, the Department of Geriatrics at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York City initiated a student interest group in geriatrics. Over the ensuing years, this group has provided medical students with a forum for pursuing research interests in geriatrics, networking with other students, and interacting with faculty role models interested in geriatric medicine.     

Test–retest reliability of the parent behavior importance questionnaire‐revised and the parent behavior frequency questionnaire‐revised

This study evaluated the test–retest reliability of two parenting measures: the Parent Behavior Importance Questionnaire‐Revised (PBIQ‐R) and Parent Behavior Frequency Questionnaire‐Revised (PBFQ‐R). These self‐report parenting behavior assessment measures may be utilized as pre‐ and post‐parent education program measures, with parents as well as nonparent respondents. The questionnaires are based on the parent development theory, with the parenting behaviors corresponding to theory and current parenting literature. Thus, respondents' relative weighting of importance (PBIQ‐R) or frequency (PBFQ‐R) of positive, supportive parenting as well as negative behaviors may be determined through questionnaire responses. Test–retest reliability estimates suggest psychometric strength. Results are discussed relative to parenting theory and research, as well as school psychology policy and practice. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The submergence and re-emergence of gender in undergraduate accounts of university experience

Gender distinction has been shown to characterise both undergraduate experiences and outcomes. Yet research recounted in this article supports work that shows that young people are often unaware of such trends, subscribing instead to individualist perspectives that foreground equality of opportunity and agency. This article examines the gender continuities and divergences in 64 undergraduate students' accounts of their experiences, and constructions of peers and lecturers, in higher education. Concepts of heteroglossia and monoglossia are applied to gender to explain how students submerged ‘structure’ and inequality in their accounts, but how discourses that presented the genders as distinct (and in which the masculine is elevated over the feminine) nevertheless ‘bubbled up’ in their articulations. The students tended to reject the notion that gender and other structural differences impact their experiences and outcomes; yet their broader discussions frequently reflected (often stereotypical) monoglossic constructions of gender difference. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings for the sociology of education and for higher-education pedagogy.     

Factors that influence teachers learning to do interviews to understand students' mathematical understandings

Understanding students' understanding of mathematical ideas can inform mathematics teaching, and task-based interviews are one way in which teachers can learn more about their students' understandings. The CIME project was designed to empower mathematics teachers to use interviews to understand their students' mathematical understandings as well as to prepare teachers to use technology-intensive curricula. This study examined the influences on three high school mathematics teachers as they learned to use task-based interviews to understand students' mathematical understandings. The areas of teacher knowledge and conceptions that influenced the teachers we studied were: teachers' mathematical understandings and knowledge of technology and the perceived importance of curriculum topics; teachers' views of knowing mathematics; teachers' perceptions of students' characteristics and needs; and teachers' perceptions of interviewing and the role of questioning in interviews. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.