Hopelessness the ‘active ingredient’? : associations of hopelessness and depressive symptoms with Interleukin-6.

Objective: Previous research has revealed a relationship of depressive symptoms and hopelessness with cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) which are associated with elevated levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6). The objective of this study was to explore whether depressive symptoms and hopelessness are independent predictors of IL-6 levels. Method: Hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and IL-6 were measured in 45 Swedish adults (26 women and 19 men; age range: 31-65 years). Two separated linear regressions were conducted with hopelessness and depressive symptoms serving as individual predictors of IL-6. Another regression analysis examined whether the two predictors predict IL-6 when controlling for each other. The regression coefficients of the models with one predictor and with both predictors were compared. Results: As predicted, after adjusting for age, BMI, illness, smoking, and gender, more depressive symptoms and more hopelessness predicted higher IL-6 levels in independent regressions. When controlling for each other, hopelessness, but not depressive symptoms, predicted IL-6 levels. Finally, when controlling for hopelessness, the regression between depressive symptoms and IL-6 level was significantly reduced; however, there was no significant change in the regression between hopelessness and IL-6 level when controlling for depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Thus, these results suggest that depressive symptoms and hopelessness are not independent predictors of IL-6 levels. Future research should explore the interplay of hopelessness and depressive symptoms on other risk factors of CVDs

Granskning av pedagogisk skicklighet – utmaningar för sakkunniga

Bedömning av pedagogisk och vetenskaplig skicklighet ska göras med lika stor omsorg vid tjänstetillsättningar. Trots att detta har varit lagstadgat i Sverige sedan 1960-talet visar forskning att det finns utmaningar förknippade med granskning av pedagogisk skicklighet. Svårigheten att göra kvalificerade bedömningar gäller inte bara vid anställning och befordran. De allt vanligare systemen för belöning av pedagogisk skicklighet vid svenska lärosäten har ytterligare satt fokus på behovet av kompetenta bedömare. Behovet har bland annat bemötts genom en nationell utbildning i sakkunniggranskning av pedagogisk skicklighet som genomförts som ett samarbete mellan ett flertal svenska lärosäten. Under tre utbildningsomgångar, mellan 2017 och 2020, fick deltagarna svara på frågor om upplevda utmaningar vid granskning av pedagogisk skicklighet. Svaren analyserades med tematisk innehållsanalys som resulterade i fem teman med fokus på: organisatorisk legitimitet, reliabilitet, validitet, konstruktivitet och professionalitet. Resultaten ger underlag för utveckling av lärosätenas granskningsprocesser, kan ge stöd till sakkunniga och personer som ska fatta beslut om anställning, befordran eller pedagogisk meritering och även för de som arbetar med att sammanställa en pedagogisk portfölj.  ENGLISH ABSTRACT Assessment of teaching portfolios – challenges for reviewers Assessment of teaching and scientific competence should be done with equal care at appointments. Despite the fact that this has been legislated in Sweden since the 1960s, research shows that there are challenges associated with reviewing teaching portfolios. The difficulty in making qualified judgments does not only apply to hiring and promotion. As systems for awarding pedagogical competence at Swedish higher education institutions have increased, an accentuated need for competent assessors have followed. The need has been met, among other things, through a national training in peer review of pedagogical competence conducted as a collaboration between several Swedish higher education institutions. During three cohorts of the course, between 2017 and 2020, participants were asked to answer questions about perceived challenges when reviewing teaching portfolios. The responses were analyzed using thematic content analysis which resulted in five themes focusing on: organizational legitimacy, reliability, validity, constructivity and professionalism. The results provide a basis for the development of the higher education institutions’ review processes, and can provide support to experts and people who have to make decisions about employment, promotion or educational qualification and also for those who work on compiling a teaching portfolio

Increased hepatic insulin sensitivity in mice lacking inhibitory leptin receptor signals

Leptin regulates food intake and energy expenditure by activating the long form of the leptin receptor (LepRb). Leptin also regulates glucose homeostasis by improving whole-body insulin sensitivity, but the mechanism remains undefined. Leptin action is mediated by phosphorylation of several tyrosine residues on LepRb. LepRb-Tyr985 plays an important role in the attenuation of LepRb signaling. We determined the contribution of LepRb-Tyr985-mediated signals to leptin action on insulin sensitivity using LepRb-Tyr985 mutant mice (l/l mice). Glucose tolerance and whole-body insulin-mediated glucose utilization were determined in wild-type (+/+) and l/l mice. Glucose tolerance was unaltered between female +/+ and l/l mice but enhanced in the male l/l mice. Serum insulin concentration was decreased at baseline and 15 min after a glucose injection in female l/l vs. +/+ mice (P < 0.05) but unaltered in the male l/l mice. However, basal and insulin-stimulated glucose transport in isolated soleus and extensor digitorum longus muscle was similar between +/+ and l/l mice, indicating skeletal muscle insulin sensitivity in vitro was not enhanced. Moreover, euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps reveal hepatic, rather than peripheral, insulin sensitivity is enhanced in female l/l mice, whereas male l/l mice display both improved hepatic and peripheral insulin sensitivity. In conclusion, signals emanating from leptin receptor Tyr985 control hepatic insulin sensitivity in both female and male l/l mice. Lack of LepRb-Tyr985 signaling enhances whole-body insulin sensitivity partly through increased insulin action on the suppression of hepatic glucose production

Effects of AMPK activation on insulin sensitivity and metabolism in leptin-deficient ob/ob mice

AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK) is a heterotrimeric complex, composed of a catalytic subunit (α) and two regulatory subunits (β and γ), which act as a metabolic sensor to regulate glucose and lipid metabolism. A mutation in the γ3 subunit (AMPKγ3(R225Q)) increases basal AMPK phosphorylation, while concomitantly reducing sensitivity to AMP. AMPKγ3(R225Q) (γ3(R225Q)) transgenic mice are protected against dietary-induced triglyceride accumulation and insulin resistance. We determined whether skeletal muscle-specific expression of AMPKγ3(R225Q) prevents metabolic abnormalities in leptin-deficient ob/ob (ob/ob-γ3(R225Q)) mice. Glycogen content was increased, triglyceride content was decreased, and diacylglycerol and ceramide content were unaltered in gastrocnemius muscle from ob/ob-γ3(R225Q) mice, whereas glucose tolerance was unaltered. Insulin-stimulated glucose uptake in extensor digitorum longus muscle during the euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp was increased in lean γ3(R225Q) mice, but not in ob/ob-γ3(R225Q) mice. Acetyl-CoA carboxylase phosphorylation was increased in gastrocnemius muscle from γ3(R225Q) mutant mice independent of adiposity. Glycogen and triglyceride content were decreased after leptin treatment (5 days) in ob/ob mice, but not in ob/ob-γ3(R225Q) mice. In conclusion, metabolic improvements arising from muscle-specific expression of AMPKγ3(R225Q) are insufficient to ameliorate insulin resistance and obesity in leptin-deficient mice. Central defects due to leptin deficiency may override any metabolic benefit conferred by peripheral overexpression of the AMPKγ3(R225Q) mutation

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

The critical friend – a way to develop as a tutor in problem-based learning groups

Tutors in problem-based learning (PBL) need to reflect on their role, to prevent stagnation. We aimed to explore the learning experiences of tutors gained by being and having a critical friend in a PBL group. Eight teachers, from several professional programs at the Faculty of Medicine of a Swedish university, participated in a cross-program activity involving the being and having a critical friend to improve their skills as PBL group tutors. They were individually interviewed, and the transcriptions were subjected to conventional qualitativecontent analysis. The results revealed that a critical friend from another discipline can be useful and that experiences from both roles, to be and to have a critical friend, is necessary for reflection and learning, and thus optimal results. We conclude that support from the organisation, knowledge sharing, and communication are required to enable a systematic use of critical friends to be implemented with credibility

Folkhälsovetenskap – ett integrerat ämne, och en inriktning i det interprofessionella masterprogrammet vid Medicinsk fakultet, Linköpings universitet

 Hälsoorientering med interprofessionellt och problembaserat lärande har en lång tradition vid den medicinska fakulteten vid Linköpings universitet. Detta utgör också grunden för det interprofessionella masterprogram som startade 2008. Detta har utgångspunkt i behovet av att utveckla en mer hälsofrämjande hälso- och sjukvård för att möta framtidens behov samt utveckla vårdens kvalitet och resultat. Teori och metod för hälsofrämjande, prevention och förbättringskunskap är därför centrala delar för alla professioner på masternivå och inte enbart för folkhälsovetaren. Alla studenter får därmed ett folkhälsovetenskapligt perspektiv i sin ämnesspecifika examen, med möjlighet till fördjupning. Alumni bekräftar att de fått verktyg för att utveckla kvalitet och hälsoorientering av hälso- och sjukvården som de tidigare saknat

Do Depressive Symptoms Mediate the Relationship Between Hopelessness and Diurnal Cortisol Rhythm?

BACKGROUND: Research has revealed a well-established relationship of depressive symptoms and hopelessness with a variety of physical illnesses that are associated with a dysfunction of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to test if depressive symptoms mediate the relationship between hopelessness and cortisol, a measure of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis. METHODS: Hopelessness, depressive symptoms, and diurnal cortisol rhythm were measured in 257 adults (128 women and 129 men; age range, 20-74 years) in this cross-sectional study. To test the hypothesis, two linear regression analyses and asymmetrical confidence intervals around the regression weights were conducted. A second set of analyses was calculated to be able to exclude the possibility of hopelessness as a mediator between depressive symptoms and cortisol. RESULTS: As predicted, after adjusting for age, gender, awakening time, and medication use, more hopelessness predicted more depressive symptoms and more depressive symptoms predicted a flatter diurnal cortisol rhythm. The 95 % confidence intervals revealed that the indirect relationship between hopelessness and diurnal cortisol rhythm was significant. The analyses with hopelessness as a potential mediator revealed that hopelessness does not mediate the association between depressive symptoms and cortisol. CONCLUSIONS: While the relationship between hopelessness and cortisol was mediated by depressive symptoms in this cross-sectional study, many other risk factors of depression have not been examined. Thus, future longitudinal studies should examine the relationships between those risk factors of depression and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal-axis

Academics’ reflections on the use of eportfolio documentation of pedagogical skills : a pilot study

Dėstytojų veiklos įvertinimas jau tapo įprasta praktika daugelyje universitetų. Švedijos aukštojo mokslo įsakyme teigiama: skiriant akademinį personalą, lygiavertis dėmesys turėtų būti teikiamas tiek didaktiniams mokėjimams, tiek ir mokėjimams atlikti tyrimus. Todėl tapo labai svarbu tinkamai apibrėžti ir atitinkamai dokumentuoti didaktinius mokėjimus. Šiuo tyrimu siekiama aprašyti akademinio personalo patirtį sudarant el. portfelį, skirtą didaktiniams mokėjimams dokumentuoti. Penkiolika dėstytojų dalyvavo bandomajame tyrime: jiems reikėjo susikurti asmeninį el. portfelį. Per pokalbius su tiksline grupe paaiškėjo tam procesui svarbiausi dalykai: reikėtų paminėti universiteto aiškiai nurodytus tikslus ir procedūras, lanksčią dokumentavimo struktūrą ir paramą mentoriams, reikalingą viso proceso metu. Susikūrus el. portfelį, susiduriama su dilema, kokia informacija priklauso tik dėstytojui, o ką galima pateikti išorinėms vertinimo sistemoms, renkančioms įrodymus apie mokėjimus.Evaluation of university teachers’ performativity has become a common feature of university policies. The Swedish Higher Education Ordinance states that equal attention should be paid to pedagogical skills and research skills when appointing academic staff. Hence, the definition and documentation of pedagogical skills have become increasingly important. The aim of the present study was to describe academics’ experiences of starting and composing a structure in an ePortfolio for documentation of pedagogical and didactical skills. Fifteen teachers participated in a pilot study in which they were required to develop a personal ePortfolio. Focus group interviews with the participants highlighted factors of importance for the success of establishing a personal ePortfolio: clearly communicated goals and procedures provided by the university, a flexible structure for documentation, and the need for support in the process through mentoring. Keeping an ePortfolio challenges the boundaries of what is teacher-owned content and what becomes visible to the external assessment systems used to collect evidence of skills