Sensitivity to change of the Beach Questionnaire to behaviour, attitudes and knowledge related to sun exposure: quasi-experimental before-after study

Background: Health questionnaires must present accredited measurement properties such as validity, reliability and sensitivity to change, the latter being essential for interventions to be planned and for evaluating their effectiveness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sensitivity to change of a Beach Questionnaire.Methods: Quasi-experimental before-after study carried out in 2011, for a study population of adolescents attending schools in the Costa del Sol. First, the questionnaire was administered to the adolescents, after which a multicomponent educational intervention was carried out; finally, three months later, the same questionnaire was re-administered to the same adolescents. Changes were assessed in the categories of each item, using the McNemar test, and the changes in the scores, standardised to a range of 0–100, using the Student t test for paired samples, and including the mean of the differences and the 95% confidence interval. The level of statistical significance was set at p < 0.05.Results: 228 adolescents, aged 14–17 years, and 55.3% were girls. Statistically significant changes were observed in sunburn experiences, exposure to the sun at mid-day and attitudes to sun exposure and suncreams. For the seven items related to knowledge about sun exposure, a higher rate of correct answers was observed. The analysis of changes, within the standardised range, revealed a significant improvement in the scores for sun exposure habits (MD 4.33; CI 95% 2.2-6.5), attitudes to sun exposure (MD 2.22; CI 95% 1.2-3.2) and knowledge (MD 9.10; CI 95% 7.1-11.1), but not in those for sun-protection practices (MD 0.23; CI 95% -1.2-1.7).Conclusions: The Beach Questionnaire on behaviour, attitudes and knowledge related to sun exposure is the first such instrument in Spanish language to provide sufficient sensitivity to change. It constitutes a useful tool for epidemiologic research into photoprotection and for skin cancer prevention programmes.The authors would like to acknowledge support from the Research Department of the Costa del Sol Hospital

Bone turnover in elderly men: relationships to change in bone mineral density

BACKGROUND: It is not clear whether bone turnover markers can be used to make inference regarding changes in bone mineral density (BMD) in untreated healthy elderly men. The present study was designed to address three specific questions: (i) is there a relationship between bone turnover markers and femoral neck BMD within an individual; (ii) is there a relationship between baseline measurements of bone turnover markers and subsequent change in BMD; and (iii) is there a relationship between changes in bone turnover markers and changes in femoral neck BMD? METHODS: The present study was part of the on-going Dubbo Osteoporosis Epidemiology Study, which was designed as a prospective investigation. Men who had had at least 3 sequential visits with serum samples available during follow-up were selected from the study population. Serum C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (sICTP), N-terminal propeptide of type I collagen (sPINP) and femoral neck BMD were measured by competitive radioimmunoassays. Femoral neck bone mineral density (BMD) was measured by a densitometer (GE Lunar Corp, Madison, WI). Various mixed-effects models were used to assess the association between the markers and changes in BMD. RESULTS: One hundred and one men aged 70 ± 4.1 years (mean ± SD) met the criteria of selection for analysis. On average, sPINP decreased by 0.7% per year (p = 0.026), sICTP increased by 1.7% per year (p = 0.0002), and femoral neck BMD decreased by 0.4% per year (p < 0.01). Within-subject analysis indicated that changes in BMD were significantly associated with changes in sPINP (p = 0.022), but not with changes in sICTP (p = 0.84). However, neither baseline sPINP (p = 0.50) nor baseline sICTP (p = 0.63) was associated with subsequent changes in BMD. Moreover, changes in BMD were not significantly associated with previous changes in sPINP (p = 0.13) or sICTP (p = 0.95). CONCLUSION: These results suggest that in elderly men of Caucasian background, changes in sPINP were inversely related to changes in BMD within an individual. However, neither sPINP nor sICTP was sufficiently sensitive to predict the rate of change in BMD for a group of individuals or for an individual

Genetic Interaction of Centrosomin and Bazooka in Apical Domain Regulation in Drosophila Photoreceptor

Cell polarity genes including Crumbs (Crb) and Par complexes are essential for controlling photoreceptor morphogenesis. Among the Crb and Par complexes, Bazooka (Baz, Par-3 homolog) acts as a nodal component for other cell polarity proteins. Therefore, finding other genes interacting with Baz will help us to understand the cell polarity genes' role in photoreceptor morphogenesis. mutation on developing eyes to determine its role in photoreceptor morphogenesis. We found that Cnn is dispensable for retinal differentiation in eye imaginal discs during the larval stage. However, photoreceptors deficient in Cnn display dramatic morphogenesis defects including the mislocalization of Crumbs (Crb) and Bazooka (Baz) during mid-stage pupal eye development, suggesting that Cnn is specifically required for photoreceptor morphogenesis during pupal eye development. This role of Cnn in apical domain modulation was further supported by Cnn's gain-of-function phenotype. Cnn overexpression in photoreceptors caused the expansion of the apical Crb membrane domain, Baz and adherens junctions (AJs). photoreceptor

Centrioles: active players or passengers during mitosis?

Centrioles are cylinders made of nine microtubule (MT) triplets present in many eukaryotes. Early studies, where centrosomes were seen at the poles of the mitotic spindle led to their coining as “the organ for cell division”. However, a variety of subsequent observational and functional studies showed that centrosomes might not always be essential for mitosis. Here we review the arguments in this debate. We describe the centriole structure and its distribution in the eukaryotic tree of life and clarify its role in the organization of the centrosome and cilia, with an historical perspective. An important aspect of the debate addressed in this review is how centrioles are inherited and the role of the spindle in this process. In particular, germline inheritance of centrosomes, such as their de novo formation in parthenogenetic species, poses many interesting questions. We finish by discussing the most likely functions of centrioles and laying out new research avenues

Association between vitamin D receptor gene polymorphisms and tubular citrate handling in calcium nephrolithiasis

Hypocitraturia is a risk factor for calcium nephrolithiasis. 1,25(OH)2D3 influences renal citrate handling and enhances citraturia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between vitamin D receptor (VDR) allelic variant and urinary citrate excretion in recurrent stone formers (SF) patients

Osteocyte transcriptome mapping identifies a molecular landscape controlling skeletal homeostasis and susceptibility to skeletal disease

Osteocytes are master regulators of the skeleton. We mapped the transcriptome of osteocytes from different skeletal sites, across age and sexes in mice to reveal genes and molecular programs that control this complex cellular-network. We define an osteocyte transcriptome signature of 1239 genes that distinguishes osteocytes from other cells. 77% have no previously known role in the skeleton and are enriched for genes regulating neuronal network formation, suggesting this programme is important in osteocyte communication. We evaluated 19 skeletal parameters in 733 knockout mouse lines and reveal 26 osteocyte transcriptome signature genes that control bone structure and function. We showed osteocyte transcriptome signature genes are enriched for human orthologs that cause monogenic skeletal disorders (P = 2.4 × 10−22) and are associated with the polygenic diseases osteoporosis (P = 1.8 × 10−13) and osteoarthritis (P = 1.6 × 10−7). Thus, we reveal the molecular landscape that regulates osteocyte network formation and function and establish the importance of osteocytes in human skeletal disease