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Effective teaching and learning mathematics is important to achieve good results during an academic and professional career. This is especially difficult for visually impaired students because of difficulties in managing structural information included in maths formulae. The extended multimedia alternative method, including the problem of decomposition and knowledge vector, were presented and compared to the classical teaching method. A qualitative method to evaluate motivation during the process of teaching and learning maths for impaired students, which includes eleven detailed motivators, has been developed. The alternative teaching method offers statistically significant improvements in four of the eleven proposed assessment categories: success in progress – adjusting the difficulties of learning, presentation of the material, approval: group/individual and alternative presentation of mathematic materials. The experiments carried out allowed the authors to increase the knowledge about the limitations and challenges occurring in the process of maths education among visually impaired students and their motivation. Based on the experiments and research results, it can be concluded that applying the proposed method of decomposition together with evaluation procedure based on the vector of knowledge in the process of teaching and learning of mathematics by visually impaired may increase their motivation positively. The key aspects of the alternative method of presenting math formulae are included in the bellow points: • It increases the availability of materials containing structured information (mathematical formulae) for the blind. • It limits the importance of communication barriers in math education: the possibility of self-study, reducing costs – by reducing the number of individual tutorials. • It contributes to the development of universal rules for the structural presentation of information • It increases the independence of the student from the teacher. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: The etiopathogenesis of AN (anorexia nervosa) is multifactorial. At the beginning of the disease numerous factors (individual, psychological, environmental, familial, cultural) play role. Among available literature reviews the publications concerning social causes of AN are not numerous. Mainly they concern the populations of western Europe. The aim of the study was evaluation of social-economical factors including demographic factors, parents education, economical status of the family on anorexia nervosa occurrence in girls as compared to healthy girls in a defined Polish population. Material and methods: 146 girls with AN (mean age: 14.7 yrs) hospitalized in Zabrze (n=116), Kielce (n=20) and łódź (n=10) in the last 5 years were examinated. Control group consisted of 166 healthy subjects (mean age: 17.1 yrs) from secondary schools. A questionnaire on demographic (parental age, family, place of living and grade of education), social-economical status and relationships inside the family was addressed to parents. Results: Parental age, number of members in the family, place of living were similar in AN and control group. The percentage of split up families and conflicts in the families was higher in patients with AN. Conclusions: 1. Girls with AN come from families typical for the examined Polish population. 2. Higher than average economical status of the family may impact on anorexia nervosa occurrence, although this conclusion demands more detailed and objective sociological analysis. 3. Impaired relationships in families of girls with anorexia nervosa encourage more research on this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Thyroid, adrenal glands and gonadal hormones play a role in maintaining metabolic homeostasis of the body via the receptors located in the adipose tissue. The correlations between serum resistin (RES) and function of other hormonal axes in patients with AN have not been established, yet. Therefore, the aim of this study is: 1) assessment of concentrations of thyroid hormones (FT4, TSH), adrenal hormones (ACTH, cortisol), sex hormones (LH, FSH, estradiol, testosterone); 2) establishing their relationship with BMI and 3) analysis of correlations between examined hormones and RES serum concentrations in adolescent female patients with AN., Design and Setting: Serum RES (ELISA) and fT4, TSH, ACTH, LH, FSH, estradiol and testosterone (ECLIA) concentrations have been assayed in 195 adolescent girls: 87 with restrictive AN, 17 with not otherwise specified eating disorders (NOS), 30 with simple obesity (OB) and 61 healthy (H) subjects., Results: Mean serum FT4, LH and estradiol concentrations were significantly lower (p=0.015; p<0.0001; p<0.0001, respectively) in AN than in OB group, and cortisol increased (p<0.001) compared to OB and H subjects. In all examined subjects BMI correlated positively (p<0.0001) with LH (r=0.61) and estradiol (r=0.30), and negatively with cortisol (r=-0.35; p=0.008). Also the significant positive relationship between serum RES and FT4 (r=0.34), LH (r=0.57) as well as estradiol (r=0.28) was observed, whereas serum cortisol correlated negatively with RES (r=-0.40)., Conclusion: Changes in resistin serum concentrations in eating disorders may be involved in the altered regulation of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal, thyroid and gonadal axes.

Objectives: There are only few studies available on blood resistin (RES) levels in patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), which revealed scarce results, however it has been demonstrated that RES mRNA expression in adipose tissue of these patients is increased. The aim of this study is: 1) the evaluation of serum resistin levels in girls with AN and determination a threshold value differentiating these patients from healthy subjects; 2) analysis of the relationship between serum resistin levels and BMI in examined subjects., Design and Setting: Serum RES concentration has been assayed using ELISA kit in 195 adolescent girls: 87 with restrictive AN (mean BMI-SDS: -2.65 ± 0.2), 17 with not otherwise specified eating disorders (NOS) (mean BMI-SDS: -1.4 ± 0.68), 30 with simple obesity (OB) (mean BMI-SDS: 6.91 ± 1.23) and 61 healthy (mean BMI-SDS: -0.18 ± 0.54)., Results: Mean serum RES concentration in AN (2.8 ± 0.6 ng/ml) and NOS (3.1 ± 0.9 ng/ml) were significantly lower (p<0.0001) than in OB and H groups (4.8 ± 0.5 and 4.1 ± 0.4 ng/ml respectively). After corrected for BMI, RES values in AN were similar as in H subjects, but significantly higher (p<0.005) in comparison to OB group. ROC curve analysis revealed that 3.87 ng/ml is the threshold value of RES serum concentration differentiating AN from H girls (specificity 100%, sensitivity 80%). No significant correlations between BMI and serum resistin concentration are found in AN group, although a significant positive correlation has been established for all examined subjects., Conclusion: Additional adaptive mechanisms may be involved in regulation of RES levels in adolescent girls with AN.