No abstract

The shorter CAG repeat of the AR gene is associated with more severe CAD, which suggests a role for the sensitivity to androgens in the increased frequency of CAD in males. In addition, a protective role of endogenous oestrogen, which is higher in the longAR subgroup, can contribute to the observed difference.

This paper focuses on efficacy beliefs with respect to teaching mathematics; it aims at testing and validating an existing scale for measuring efficacy beliefs in the domain of mathematics, examining the development of preservice teachers' efficacy beliefs in mathematics during fieldwork, and identifying factors that contribute to the development of these beliefs. Exploratory factor analysis applied to longitudinal data collected through a questionnaire administered to almost 90 preservice teachers elicited a two-factor model, reflecting efficacy beliefs in mathematics instruction and classroom management. Using cluster analysis, we found four patterns in the development of preservice teachers' efficacy beliefs regarding these two factors. Our analysis of semi-structured interviews with eight participants representing these four patterns suggested that preservice teachers' efficacy beliefs were mainly informed by experimentation with teaching and interaction with mentors, tutors, peers, and pupils. Based on our findings, we draw implications for mathematics preservice teacher education and provide suggestions for future research.

This study brings together two lines of research on teachers' affective responses toward mathematics curriculum reforms: their concerns and their efficacy beliefs. Using structural equation modeling to analyze data on 151 elementary mathematics teachers' concerns and efficacy beliefs 5 years into a mandated curriculum reform on problem solving, the study provides empirical support to a model integrating teachers' concerns and efficacy beliefs. This model suggests that teachers' concerns of preceding stages inform their concerns of succeeding stages; that teachers' efficacy beliefs about using the reform affect their task and impact concerns and are, in turn, informed by their self concerns; and that efficacy beliefs about employing pre-reform instructional approaches influence all types of teacher concerns. A qualitative analysis of data from 53 teacher logs provided additional insights into teachers' concerns about the reform. We discuss the policy and methodological implications of these findings and offer directions for future studies.

Adult height is determined by genetic and acquired factors. It has been reported that middle-aged patients with impaired glucose tolerance or Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus are short compared with normal control subjects [1,2]. In middle-aged diabetic patients it is, however, difficult to exclude the effect of ageing and long standing metabolic effects on height.There is a lot of evidence that Type II diabetes and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) are both manifestations of the same pathophysiological process, which includes insulin resistance and impaired betacell function [3,4]. Gestational diabetes mellitus is a heterogeneous disorder; it is characterised by hyperglycaemia or glucose intolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. This is usually temporary and affects a younger group of people who have completed their skeletal growth and have not yet suffered age-related bone loss [5]. We considered that pregnant women with various degrees of glucose Diabetologia (1998) Summary Short stature has been associated with various degrees of abnormal glucose tolerance in middle-aged people, where the effects of age and metabolic control would be difficult to exclude. We chose to examine body stature in women with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM), a prediabetic state affecting a young group of people. A sample of 2772 Greek pregnant women, referred for GDM screening was examined. After a 100-g oral glucose tolerance test, 1787 women were classified as normal (N), 300 women were found with one abnormal glucose value (OAV) and 685 women with GDM. Basal insulin resistance was calculated in 640 women by homeostasis model assessment. In addition, 51 pregnant women with pre-existing Type II (non-insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus and 109 with pre-existing Type I (insulin-dependent) diabetes mellitus were included in the study. There was a gradual decrease in mean height (cm) as glucose intolerance became more severe: N: 161.0 ± 6.2, OAV:160.2 ± 6.1, GDM:158.7 ± 6.3, Type II diabetes 158.2 ± 7.0 (p < 0.001, analysis of variance]. Height in Type I diabetes (160.1 ± 5.9) did not differ from the normal group. The difference in height between the normal and GDM groups remained (p < 0.001) when body weight, age, birth before or after 1960 and educational status were also taken into account. An independent correlation was also found between height and insulin resistance (n = 640) adjusted for the above mentioned variables. In conclusion, short stature appears to be associated with glucose intolerance as an independent variable, even when this intolerance is both mild and temporary. The previously unrecognised independent association of stature with basal insulin resistance merits further investigation. [Diabetologia (1998) 41: 997± 1001]