Childhood obesity: should primary school children be routinely screened? A systematic review and discussion of the evidence

Background: Population monitoring has been introduced in UK primary schools in an effort to track the growing obesity epidemic. It has been argued that parents should be informed of their child's results, but is there evidence that moving from monitoring to screening would be effective? We describe what is known about the effectiveness of monitoring and screening for overweight and obesity in primary school children and highlight areas where evidence is lacking and research should be prioritised. Design: Systematic review with discussion of evidence gaps and future research. Data sources: Published and unpublished studies ( any language) from electronic databases ( inception to July 2005), clinical experts, Primary Care Trusts and Strategic Health Authorities, and reference lists of retrieved studies. Review methods: We included any study that evaluated measures of overweight and obesity as part of a population-level assessment and excluded studies whose primary outcome measure was prevalence. Results: There were no trials assessing the effectiveness of monitoring or screening for overweight and obesity. Studies focussed on the diagnostic accuracy of measurements. Information on the attitudes of children, parents and health professionals to monitoring was extremely sparse. Conclusions: Our review found a lack of data on the potential impact of population monitoring or screening for obesity and more research is indicated. Identification of effective weight reduction strategies for children and clarification of the role of preventative measures are priorities. It is difficult to see how screening to identify individual children can be justified without effective interventions.

Comportamento de três protetores auriculares tipo concha, em ambientes com ruídos em baixa freqüência

Esta dissertação consiste no estudo comparativo entre três tipos básicos de protetores auriculares do tipo concha (modelo simples de baixo preço e baixo NRR, modelo sofisticado, de maior custo e com NRR elevado, e modelo ativo com circuito eletrônico de cancelamento de ruído), tanto quanto ao conforto quanto às reais atenuações oferecidas pelos mesmos, num ambiente industrial com elevados níveis de ruído e de baixa freqüência (com predominância na faixa de 500 Hz). Para a análise dos protetores foram utilizadas a técnica MIRE (Miniature Microphone in Real-Ear, ou Microfone Miniatura no Ouvido Real) de avaliação do nível de atenuação, o uso de questionários de conforto, e medições de cortisol urinário, para a avaliação do estresse no trabalho. Os resultados indicaram que o protetor ativo não apresentou os resultados esperados em termos de atenuação, o que não justifica o seu elevado custo, e apresentou a pior condição de conforto entre os três tipos estudados. As medições do cortisol urinário, por sua vez, não apresentaram resultados que pudessem ser úteis na escolha do melhor modelo de protetor tipo concha.

Substance use disorder treatment programs in Switzerland and the USA: Program characteristics and 1-year outcomes

AIM: This study compared matched samples of substance use disorder (SUD) patients in Swiss and United States (US) residential treatment programs and examined the relationship of program characteristics to patients' substance use and psychosocial functioning at a 1-year follow-up. DESIGN AND SETTING: The study used a prospective, naturalistic design and a sample of 10 public programs in the German-speaking part of Switzerland and 15 US public treatment programs. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 358 male patients in Swiss programs were matched on age, marital status and education with 358 male patients in US programs. A total of 160 Swiss and 329 US patient care staff members also participated. MEASUREMENT: Patients completed comparable inventories at admission, discharge and 1-year follow-up to assess their substance use and psychological functioning and receipt of continuing care. Staff members reported on program characteristics and their beliefs about substance use. FINDINGS: Compared to Swiss patients, US patients had more severe substance use and psychological problems at intake and although they did not differ on abstinence and remission at follow-up, had somewhat poorer outcomes in other areas of functioning. Swiss programs were longer and included more individual treatment sessions; US programs included more group sessions and were more oriented toward a disease model of treatment. Overall, length of program, treatment intensity and 12-step orientation were associated with better 1-year outcomes for patients in both Swiss and US programs. CONCLUSIONS: The sample of Swiss and US programs studied here differed in patient and treatment characteristics; however, in general, there were comparable associations between program characteristics and patients' 1-year outcomes. These findings suggest that associations between treatment processes and patients' outcomes may generalize from one cultural context to another.

Die Wahrheit ist untödlich. Berner Täufer in Geschichte und Gegenwart

Das Buch enthält Vorträge, die im Vorfeld des Täuferjahrs 2007 an der Christkatholischen und Evangelischen Theologischen Fakultät der Universität Bern gehalten wurden. Im geschichtlichen Teil kommt das frühe Berner Täufertum aufgrund neuer Quellen in seinem schweizerischen Umfeld in den Blick. Daneben ist das aktuelle Leben von Mennoniten-gemeinden Gegenstand des Buches. Ein Beitrag befasst sich mit dem modernen Täufertum zwischen Pluralität, Gemeindeautonomie und Tradition bewegt, ein weiterer mit den Mennoniten als einer Friedenskirche in der Ökumene, und in vier Voten wird das Thema «Täufer und Reformierte heute» aus kirchlich und individuell unterschiedlicher Perspektive beleuchtet. Der Band enthält schliesslich zwei Vorträge, die anlässlich des 475-Jahrjubiläums des „Berner Synodus“ von 1532 gehalten wurden. Der reich illustrierte Band knüpft an die seit langem vergriffenen Standardwerke zum Bernischen und Schweizerischen Täufertum von Ernst Müller und Samuel Henri Geiser an. Er beruht auf neuen Quellen und verbindet Wissenschaftlichkeit mit Allgemeinverständlichkeit. Er richtet sich an eine breite Leserschaft sowie an die wissenschaftliche Täuferforschung.

Exkursionen in Sophies zweiter Welt. Neue Beiträge zum Thema des Wirklichkeitstransfers aus psychologischer und medienwissenschaftlicher Sicht

Die Theorie des Wirklichkeitstransfers beschreibt ein besonderes Verhalten der Rezipienten während dem Medienkonsum: nämlich ein Abdriften oder Entrücken in eine Scheinwelt der Medienfiktion – in eine zweite Welt eben. Im vorliegenden Band werden die psychischen Vorgänge beim Rezipienten während des Transfers näher ergründet. Zudem soll mittels Aussagenanalyse dem Potenzial von Fernsehsendungen, den Zuschauer in eine sekundäre, mediale Realität zu versetzen, nachgegangen werden. Der Erfolg von Onlinespielen wie «Second Life» und «World of Warcraft», aber auch der stetig steigende Konsum von fiktionalen Inhalten an Fernsehen und Spielkonsolen zeigen, dass die Theorie des Wirklichkeitstransfers immer aktueller wird.

Peritelus griseus Oliv., ein neuer Schädling am Hopfen aus der Familie der Rüsselkäfer

Von R. Störmer

Supplement to Arthur's Manual of the rusts in United States and Canada.

Mode of access: Internet.

Supersonic inlet diffusers and introduction to internal aerodynamics.

Includes bibliography.

Die vergleichende osteologie der Columbiformes unter besonderer berücksichtigung von Didunculus strigirostris. Ein beitrag zur stammgeschichte der tauben.

Jena Zool. Jahrb. Abth. System. Bd. 20. Heft 3. S. 167-352. 1904.

Dorfwanderungen : die interessantesten Bauernhaus-typen Süddeutschlands; in Aufnahmen nach der Natur.

Mode of access: Internet.

Friedrich Nietzsche; eine Gesamtschilderung.

Mode of access: Internet.