Using sexually transmitted infection biomarkers to validate reporting of sexual behavior within a randomized, experimental evaluation of interviewing methods

This paper examines the reporting of sexual and other risk behaviors within a randomized experiment using a computerized versus face-to-face interview mode. Biomarkers for sexually transmitted infection (STI) were used to validate self-reported behavior by interview mode. As part of a parent study evaluating home versus clinic screening and diagnosis for STIs, 818 women aged 18-40 years were recruited in 2004 at or near a primary care clinic in S?o Paulo, Brazil, and were randomized to a face-to-face interview or audio computer-assisted self-interviewing. Ninety-six percent of participants were tested for chlamydia, gonorrhea, and trichomoniasis. Reporting of STI risk behavior was consistently higher with the computerized mode of interview. Stronger associations between risk behaviors and STI were found with the computerized interview after controlling for sociodemographic factors. These results were obtained by using logistic regression approaches, as well as statistical methods that address potential residual confounding and covariate endogeneity. Furthermore, STI-positive participants were more likely than STI-negative participants to underreport risk behavior in the face-to-face interview. Results strongly suggest that computerized interviewing provides more accurate and reliable behavioral data. The analyses also confirm the benefits of using data on prevalent STIs for externally validating behavioral reporting.     

Energy intake variability in free-living young children

It has been suggested that young children regulate their daily energy intake very closely with highly stable day-to-day total energy intake. This hypothesis was developed on the basis of an experimental study of 15 children aged 26 to 62 months, which reported a within-subject coefficient of variation (CV) in daily energy intake of 10.4%. We tested the hypothesis that free-living energy intakes were highly stable on a day-to-day basis in a sample of free-living young children from Glasgow, Scotland. In 101 children (47 boys) aged 2.6-6.8 years, energy intake was measured using multiple-pass 24-h recalls. Within-subject CV was 19.2%, which was significantly higher than the 10.4% reported by previously Birch and colleagues (p<0.0001). In addition, we identified four other studies on free-living children with within-subject CVs ranging from 16.1-28.7%. This evidence indicates that young children show a wide intra-individual variation in day-to-day regulation of energy intake in a free-living environment.     

Methylation-mediated silencing and tumour suppressive function of <Emphasis Type="Italic">hsa-miR-124</Emphasis> in cervical cancer

Background  

A substantial number of microRNAs (miRNAs) is subject to epigenetic silencing in cancer. Although epigenetic silencing of tumour suppressor genes is an important feature of cervical cancer, little is known about epigenetic silencing of miRNAs. Since DNA methylation-based silencing of hsa-miR-124 occurs in various human cancers, we studied the frequency and functional effects of hsa-miR-124 methylation in cervical carcinogenesis.     

Prevalence of serum autoantibodies and paraproteins in patients with glaucoma

PURPOSE: To investigate the possible link between normal tension glaucoma (NTG) and autoimmunity.METHODS: We studied the serum of 95 patients: 31 with NTG, 32 with primary open-angle glaucoma (POAG), and 32 age- and sex-matched controls. Blood was drawn from each patient and serum was examined for the presence of antinuclear antigens (ANA), autoantibodies to extractable nuclear antigens (ENA), anti-double-strand DNA, serum protein electrophoresis, and immunoglobulin (IgG, IgA, and IgM) levels.RESULTS: In the NTG group, the relative risks for ANA and ENA positivity were 2.5 and 4.4 times, respectively, that of the control group. There was a statistically significant difference between IgA levels in the NTG and control group (P=0.024), but there was no statistically significant difference between both groups regarding IgM or IgG levels. In the POAG group, the relative risks for ANA and ENA positivity were 0.77 and 2.9 times, respectively, that of the control group. The relative risk for detection of paraprotein in the POAG group was 0.97 times that of the control group. Also, there was a statistically significant difference between IgA levels in the POAG and control group (P=0.011), but there was no statistically significant difference between both groups regarding IgM or IgG.CONCLUSION: These results support the hypothesis that humoral immune mechanisms may have a role in the pathogenesis of NTG.