Creativity and the Handicapped

Abstract

Revisiting Music Education Research

Richard Colwell and Carol Richardson, eds. The New Handbook of Research on Music Teaching and Learning New York: Oxford University Press 1222 pp. $175.00

A Thing of Beauty Is a Joy Forever?

David Kenneth Holt The Search for Aesthetic Meaning in the Visual Arts: The Need for the Aesthetic Tradition in Contemporary Art Theory and Education Bergin &; Garvey Publishers 148 pp. $62.50     

Adrenal androgen biosynthesis by a sesterpene pathway

Rat and human adrenal gland preparations were incubated with radioactive cholesterol and 23,24-dinor-5-cholen-3 beta-ol, the latter being a proposed intermediate in the sesterterpene pathway for steroid biosynthesis. Steroids were isolated, purified by TLC and crystallised to constant specific activity. It was found that rat and human adrenal glands can utilise 23,24-dinor-5-cholen-3 beta-ol to produce androstenedione and dehydroepiandrosterone. Also, it was found that the conversion of 23,24-dinor-5-cholen-3 beta-ol to androgens occurs in the microsomal fraction. It was concluded that the sesterterpene pathway for steroid biosynthesis can function in the rat and human adrenal glands to produce androgens and that the intermediates are converted to androgens in the microsomal fraction.     

Prevalence and Secular Trends in Obesity in Pacific and Indian Ocean Island Populations

Surveys conducted in 10 Pacific island populations and in the multiethnic populations of Mauritius and Rodrigues in the Indian Ocean have provided data on the prevalence of obesity, potential etiological factors and medical hazards associated with obesity. The results indicate that the prevalence of obesity (by body mass index (BMI)) in some of these populations is among the highest in the world. Obesity related to degree of modernization is more common in urban than in rural locations and tends to be found more often in women. In two populations where longitudinal data were available, there were dramatic increases in prevalence over relatively short time periods. Obesity contributed to the risk of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and was associated with other risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) in all populations, but no relationship could be found with total mortality in three ethnic groups for whom data were available. A genetic susceptibility to obesity combined with social pressures that favor high energy intakes and reduced physical activity are believed to be important in these populations. The challenge for the future lies in developing culturally appropriate programs for preventing obesity and thus reducing associated morbidity, while continuing to research its behavioral and genetic determinants.