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Depression is associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Abdominal obesity is also a high risk factor for these diseases. Therefore, symptoms of depression and anxiety were examined in relation to abdominal obesity. A total of 59 middle-aged men volunteered for measurements with the Hamilton Depression Scale (HDS), the Montgomery–A˚sberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS), the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAS). These results were examined in relation to body mass index (BMI), waist/hip ratio (WHR) and sagittal abdominal diameter, a measurement of intra-abdominal fat mass, and metabolic variables. Men with WHR>1.0 (n=26) in comparison with men with normal WHR (<1.0, n=33) showed significantly higher sum scores in all the scales used. There were positive correlations between the sum scores of all the depression scales and the WHR or the sagittal abdominal diameter. BMI correlated comparatively weakly only with the HDS. The correlations with the WHR remained when the influence of BMI was eliminated, suggesting that obesity is less involved than centralization of body fat. Insulin and glucose were significantly related to the HDS. Morning cortisol levels were negatively related to the BDI and (borderline) to the MADRS, suggesting perturbations of the regulation of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis. We conclude that men with abdominal obesity have symptoms of depression and anxiety. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This article presents a qualitative study of the ways in which 25 Hungarian children aged 5-9 who were blind dealt with different types of elementary mathematical problems. The study found that the children dealt with numbers in five ways and experienced numbers in four ways. Furthermore, although the children went through the same stages of development as do sighted children, their ways of dealing with numbers had some specific characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article we investigate educational leadership as a site of practice, utilising the notion of 'practice architectures' as our lens. The latter shifts Etienne Wenger's more individualising notion of 'learning architectures' to a broader study of the systems and organisations that prefigure educational practices and potentially, leading praxis. Drawing on three forms of educational leadership in Australia, Norway and Sweden, we explore how possibilities for changes to the practice conditions of schools and universities may be engendered in ways that are nurturing of 'leading praxis'. We critically examine what practice architectures as a concept may reveal about leadership practice and in turn, praxis. We argue that leadership and educational leaders are particularly important to investigate, for as the key 'architects of practice architectures' they are in a position to influence the conditions in which praxis may flourish or be constrained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]