Rocks and Hard Places: Exploring Educational Psychologists’ Perspectives on “Off-Rolling” or Illegal Exclusionary Practices in Mainstream Secondary Schools in England

Research being undertaken by the Universities of Exeter and Plymouth is exploring educational psychologists’ knowledge of, and perspectives on, exclusionary practices in schools in England, particularly illegal practices referred to as “off-rolling”. Preliminary findings from the survey element of a mixed methods research project are reported here. The role of business models in the provision of educational psychology services to schools is considered through the conceptual lens of Giroux, Agamben and Ball to highlight ambiguities around the client relationship and to recast individualised ethical dilemmas as systemic features that inhibit direct challenges to school practices relating to inclusion. It is suggested that traded and privatised services risk implicating educational psychologists in schools’ management of the (in)visibility of “off-rolling” and the manufactured legitimacy of varied exclusionary practices

Non‐Insulin Dependent Diabetes Mellitus and Alveolar Bone Loss Progression Over 2 Years

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141702/1/jper0076.pd

Association Analysis of Variation in/Near FTO, CDKAL1, SLC30A8, HHEX, EXT2, IGF2BP2, LOC387761, and CDKN2B With Type 2 Diabetes and Related Quantitative Traits in Pima Indians

OBJECTIVE—In recent genome-wide association studies, variants in CDKAL1, SLC30A8, HHEX, EXT2, IGF2BP2, CDKN2B, LOC387761, and FTO were associated with risk for type 2 diabetes in Caucasians. We investigated the association of these single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and some additional tag SNPs with type 2 diabetes and related quantitative traits in Pima Indians

Children's understandings of obesity, a thematic analysis

Childhood obesity is a major concern in today’s society. Research suggests the inclusion of the views and understandings of a target group facilitates strategies that have better efficacy. The objective of this study was to explore the concepts and themes that make up children’s understandings of the causes and consequences of obesity. Participants were selected from Reception (4-5 years old) and Year 6 (10-11 years old), and attended a school in an area of Sunderland, in North East England. Participants were separated according to age and gender, resulting in four focus groups, run across two sessions. A thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2006) identified overarching themes evident across all groups, suggesting the key concepts that contribute to children’s understandings of obesity are ‘‘Knowledge through Education,’’ ‘‘Role Models,’’ ‘‘Fat is Bad,’’ and ‘‘Mixed Messages.’’ The implications of these findings and considerations of the methodology are discussed in full

Elevated Depression Symptoms, Antidepressant Medicine Use, and Risk of Developing Diabetes During the Diabetes Prevention Program

OBJECTIVE—To assess the association between elevated depression symptoms or antidepressant medicine use on entry to the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and during the study and the risk of developing diabetes during the study. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—DPP participants (n = 3,187) in three treatment arms (intensive lifestyle [ILS], metformin [MET], and placebo [PLB]) completed the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and reported their use of antidepressant medication at randomization and throughout the study (average duration in study 3.2 years). RESULTS—When other factors associated with the risk of developing diabetes were controlled, elevated BDI scores at baseline or during the study were not associated with diabetes risk in any arm. Baseline antidepressant use was associated with diabetes risk in the PLB (hazard ratio 2.25 [95% CI 1.38–3.66]) and ILS (3.48 [1.93–6.28]) arms. Continuous antidepressant use during the study (compared with no use) was also associated with diabetes risk in the same arms (PLB 2.60 [1.37–4.94]; ILS 3.39 [1.61–7.13]), as was intermittent antidepressant use during the study in the ILS arm (2.07 [1.18–3.62]). Among MET arm participants, antidepressant use was not associated with developing diabetes. CONCLUSIONS—A strong and statistically significant association between antidepressant use and diabetes risk in the PLB and ILS arms was not accounted for by measured confounders or mediators. If future research finds that antidepressant use independently predicts diabetes risk, efforts to minimize the negative effects of antidepressant agents on glycemic control should be pursued

Genetic Predictors of Weight Loss and Weight Regain After Intensive Lifestyle Modification, Metformin Treatment, or Standard Care in the Diabetes Prevention Program

OBJECTIVE: We tested genetic associations with weight loss and weight regain in the Diabetes Prevention Program, a randomized controlled trial of weight loss–inducing interventions (lifestyle and metformin) versus placebo. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Sixteen obesity-predisposing single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were tested for association with short-term (baseline to 6 months) and long-term (baseline to 2 years) weight loss and weight regain (6 months to study end). RESULTS: Irrespective of treatment, the Ala12 allele at PPARG associated with short- and long-term weight loss (−0.63 and −0.93 kg/allele, P ≤ 0.005, respectively). Gene–treatment interactions were observed for short-term (LYPLAL1 rs2605100, P$_{lifestyle*SNP}$ = 0.032; GNPDA2 rs10938397, P$_{lifestyle*SNP}$ = 0.016; MTCH2 rs10838738, P$_{lifestyle*SNP}$ = 0.022) and long-term (NEGR1 rs2815752, P$_{metformin*SNP}$ = 0.028; FTO rs9939609, P$_{lifestyle*SNP}$ = 0.044) weight loss. Three of 16 SNPs were associated with weight regain (NEGR1 rs2815752, BDNF rs6265, PPARG rs1801282), irrespective of treatment. TMEM18 rs6548238 and KTCD15 rs29941 showed treatment-specific effects (P$_{lifestyle*SNP}$ < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Genetic information may help identify people who require additional support to maintain reduced weight after clinical intervention

Antidepressant Medicine Use and Risk of Developing Diabetes During the Diabetes Prevention Program and Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study

OBJECTIVE — To assess the association between antidepressant medicine use and risk of developing diabetes during the Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) and Diabetes Prevention Program Outcomes Study (DPPOS). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS — DPP/DPPOS participants were assessed for diabetes every 6 months and for antidepressant use every 3 months in DPP and every 6 months in DPPOS for a median 10.0-year follow-up. RESULTS — Controlled for factors associated with diabetes risk, continuous antidepressant use compared with no use was associated with diabetes risk in the placebo (adjusted hazard ratio 2.34 [95 % CI 1.32–4.15]) and lifestyle (2.48 [1.45–4.22]) arms, but not in the metformin arm (0.55 [0.25–1.19]). CONCLUSIONS — Continuous antidepressant use was significantly associated with diabe-tes risk in the placebo and lifestyle arms. Measured confounders and mediators did not account for this association, which could represent a drug effect or reflect differences not assessed in this study between antidepressant users and nonusers. Diabetes Care 33:2549–2551, 2010 Our earlier report from the DiabetesPrevention Program (DPP) (1) wasthe first to examine antidepressant medicine (ADM)-related diabetes risk in an overweight population with elevated fasting glucose and impaired glucose tol-erance. We found in the placebo and life-style arms that when other factors associated with diabetes risk (age, sex, ed-ucation, fasting plasma glucose at base-line, weight at baseline, weight change during the study, and depression symp-toms at baseline and during the study) were controlled, baseline ADM use and continuous ADM use during the study (compared with no use) were associated with significantly increased diabetes risk; in the lifestyle arm, intermittent ADM use during the study was also associated with increased diabetes risk. Among met-formin arm participants, ADM use was not associated with developing diabetes. The present study extends the dura-tion of follow-up in our previous report by including 7 years of the Diabete

Computer simulation of syringomyelia in dogs

Syringomyelia is a pathological condition in which fluid-filled cavities (syringes) form and expand in the spinal cord. Syringomyelia is often linked with obstruction of the craniocervical junction and a Chiari malformation, which is similar in both humans and animals. Some brachycephalic toy breed dogs such as Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCS) are particularly predisposed. The exact mechanism of the formation of syringomyelia is undetermined and consequently with the lack of clinical explanation, engineers and mathematicians have resorted to computer models to identify possible physical mechanisms that can lead to syringes. We developed a computer model of the spinal cavity of a CKCS suffering from a large syrinx. The model was excited at the cranial end to simulate the movement of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the spinal cord due to the shift of blood volume in the cranium related to the cardiac cycle. To simulate the normal condition, the movement was prescribed to the CSF. To simulate the pathological condition, the movement of CSF was blocked