Effects of interval aerobic training combined with strength exercise on body composition,glycaemic and lipid profile and aerobic capacity of obese rats

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of interval aerobic training combined with strength exercise in the same training session on body composition, and glycaemic and lipid profile in obese rats. Sixteen lean Zucker rats and sixteen obese Zucker rats were randomly divided into exercise and sedentary subgroups (4 groups, n = 8). Exercise consisted of interval aerobic training combined with strength exercise in the same training session. The animals trained 60 min/day, 5 days/week for 8 weeks. Body composition, lipid and glycaemic profiles and inflammatory markers were assessed.

Results showed that fat mass was reduced in both lean and obese rats following the exercise training (effect size (95% confidence interval (CI)) = 1.8 (0.5–3.0)). Plasma low-density lipoprotein–cholesterol and fasting glucose were lower in the exercise compared to the sedentary groups (d = 2.0 (0.7–3.2) and 1.8 (0.5–3.0), respectively). Plasma insulin was reduced in exercise compared to sedentary groups (d = 2.1 (0.8–3.4)). Some exercise × phenotype interactions showed that the highest decreases in insulin, homeostatic model assessment-insulin resistance, fasting and postprandial glucose were observed in the obese + exercise group (all, P < 0.01). The findings of this study suggest that interval aerobic training combined with strength exercise would improve body composition, and lipid and glycaemic profiles, especially in obese rats.     

Equity and social exclusion measures in EU lifelong learning policies

ABSTRACT

The aim of this article is to examine how EU lifelong learning policies are trying to reach the vulnerable by looking at what measures against social exclusion they offer and how equitable these measures are. It is a qualitative study that focuses on policy documents that form the European Union’s legal and political frameworks of reference in the lifelong learning area since 1992. The document analysis has been complemented by semi-structured interviews with EU lifelong learning experts. The findings show that early school leavers and migrants are the main target groups in the policies, leaving many other groups at risk of being excluded from learning opportunities. There is not enough attention to measures addressing wider social phenomena. There is also an overemphasis on basic skills which are understood in a very narrow way as literacy and numeracy when referring to the vulnerable. We argue that a greater variety of measures as well as better targeted measures are needed to address the multiple and complex needs of the vulnerable. Such measures would allow a broader understanding of lifelong learning where those that are hardest to reach are offered learning opportunities independent of their personal and social circumstances     

The contribution of PISA to the convergence of education policies in Europe

The international comparative studies on students’ outcomes have initiated analyses that have had a growing influence on national and sub‐national education policies in industrialised and developing countries. It is particularly the case of the OECD's Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) which started in 2000 and has organised surveys every 3 years, so that the 2015 survey was the 6^th. Its influence has been particularly important for several reasons: 1) it assesses the basic competences in reading literacy, maths and science of 15 year‐olds students, i.e. around the end of compulsory education in many countries; 2) the assessment is based on a reliable methodology and the tests are completed by qualitative surveys and studies; 3) and the results lead to recommendations and are amplified by the media in most countries. However, it is not easy to evaluate the real impact of PISA because of the existence of other international studies such as IEA's TIMSS and, particularly in Europe, the influence of the recommendations and benchmarks of the EU that has been growing steadily in the last 25 years. Our analysis of the impact of PISA and EU policy focuses on the evolution of the education policy in France, but also studies its evolution in a few other European countries. Finally, we underline the limits of the influence of PISA and international standards in education towards a convergence of education systems because of the importance of their specific historic and cultural contexts.     

SITUATIONS D'INITIATION AU RAISONNEMENT DÉDUCTIF

We examine classroom situations which allow the learning of rules of mathematical reasoning. Drawing on an epistemological analysis and G. Brousseau's theory of situations, we define a priori theoretical characteristics which such situations must possess. We then use this analysis, and hypotheses about the cognitive functioning of pupils of this age, to establish learning situations for the rule of the excluded middle, and for the use of the figure in geometry. We report the results of experimentation with two of thses situations and show that, through the study of a mathematical problem, debate about these rules can be generated amongst students aged twelve to thirteen. We explain why, in our opinion, for epistemological reasons linked to the two particular rules concerned, it is necessary for the teacher to conclude the debate, and we examine our cognitive hypotheses against the actual results of experimentation.     

Use of laptop computers in an academic medical library

Who borrows laptop computers in an academic health sciences library? Why do they choose to check out laptops? In a survey, laptop computer users responded that the laptops were used most frequently to do class-related work. Laptops were most often checked out because they could be taken to a quiet area of the library or to where the user had more room to work. The majority of such borrowers were satisfied or very satisfied with the laptops and the service from the library. The majority of those completing the survey were medical school students and graduate students. The circulation of laptop computers at this academic health sciences library is a very successful and popular program.     

Can public arts education replace arts subsidization?

The debate about whether the arts should be supported or not is far from new, and most governments support the arts in one way or the other. The literature considers several arguments in favor of such interventions. Public education may seem to be an action which could, in the long run, lead to possible reductions of subsidies. Surveys show that those who have been exposed to the arts when young participate more when adult. However, the “non-market” transmission from parents to children generates an external effect, which has to be taken into account to reach first-best situations. We construct an overlapping generations model in which young consumers are exposed to both public education toward the arts and to non-altruistic transmission of such a taste from their parents. We show that the first-best can be reached only if there is both public cultural education and subsidization of arts consumption. Therefore, education cannot be considered as a substitute for subsidies to arts consumption. However, as is often the case in European countries, government intervention is usually below the first-best level. Using a model calibrated on French data, we show that it is then preferable to subsidize education, while consumption, especially of the older generations, should be taxed rather than subsidized.

Experiences of Danish Business Expatriates in Russia: Power Distance in Organizational Communication

Rapid globalization of business processes stimulates many companies to dispatch their employees – business expatriates – on overseas assignments. Russia differs markedly from many other cultures in terms of specific communication norms and rules. Understanding such differences in organizational life is crucial for the success of business expatriates working there. This study employs in-depth interviews with eight Danish business expatriates who worked in Russia and examines the differences between the Danes and the Russians in terms of communication characteristics related to Hofstede’s cultural dimension power distance. This work enhances scholars’ empirical knowledge of power distance, which has rarely been investigated qualitatively.     

Concordance of apolipoprotein B concentration with the Friedewald,Martin-Hopkins,and Sampson formulas for calculating LDL cholesterol

IntroductionTwo new formulas, the Martin-Hopkins and the Sampson formula, were recently developed to overcome shortcomings of the Friedewald formula for calculating LDL-cholesterol. We aimed to compare the concordance of the two formulas with apolipoprotein B (apoB), a surrogate marker of the number of LDL particles.Materials and methodsIn a study of serum lipid data of 1179 patients who consulted the AZ St-Jan Hospital Bruges for cardiovascular risk assessment, the correlation and concordance of the Friedewald, Martin-Hopkins and Sampson formulas with apoB concentration, measured by immunonephelometry, were determined and compared.ResultsThe Martin-Hopkins formula showed significantly higher correlation coefficient than the Friedewald formula with apoB in the entire dataset and in patients with low LDL-cholesterol < 1.8 mmol/L. Both Martin-Hopkins and Sampson formulas yielded > 70% concordance of LDL-cholesterol with regard to treatment group classification based on population-equivalent thresholds of apoB in hypertriglyceridemic patients (2-4.5 mmol/L), with the highest concordance (75.6%) obtained using Martin-Hopkins formula vs. 60.5% with Friedewald formula.ConclusionThe Martin-Hopkins (and, to a lesser extent, Sampson) formula is more closely associated with the number of LDL particles than Friedewald formula. This, in combination with literature evidence of lesser accuracy of the Friedewald formula, is an argument to switch from Friedewald to a modified, improved formula.