Effects of Deletion of ERα in Osteoblast-Lineage Cells on Bone Mass and Adaptation to Mechanical Loading Differ in Female and Male Mice.

Estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) has been implicated in bone's response to mechanical loading in both males and females. ERα in osteoblast lineage cells is important for determining bone mass, but results depend on animal sex and the cellular stage at which ERα is deleted. We demonstrated previously that when ERα is deleted from mature osteoblasts and osteocytes in mixed-background female mice, bone mass and strength are decreased.

In vivo axial loading of the mouse tibia.

Noninvasive methods to apply controlled, cyclic loads to the living skeleton are used as anabolic procedures to stimulate new bone formation in adults and enhance bone mass accrual in growing animals. These methods are also invaluable for understanding bone signaling pathways. Our focus here is on a particular loading model: in vivo axial compression of the mouse tibia.

Female mice lacking estrogen receptor-alpha in osteoblasts have compromised bone mass and strength.

Reduced bioavailability of estrogen increases skeletal fracture risk in postmenopausal women, but the mechanisms by which estrogen regulates bone mass are incompletely understood. Because estrogen signaling in bone acts, in part, through estrogen receptor alpha (ERα), mice with global deletion of ERα (ERαKO) have been used to determine the role of estrogen signaling in bone biology. These animals, however, have confounding systemic effects arising from other organs, such as increased estrogen and decreased insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) serum levels, which may independently affect bone.

Dropout from Internet-based treatment for psychological disorders.

Purpose: The purpose of this review was to present an in-depth analysis of literature identifying the extent of dropout from Internet-based treatment programmes for psychological disorders, and literature exploring the variables associated with dropout from such programmes.

Methods: A comprehensive literature search was conducted on PSYCHINFO and PUBMED with the keywords: dropouts, drop out, dropout, dropping out, attrition, premature termination, termination, non-compliance, treatment, intervention, and program, each in combination with the key words Internet and web. A total of 19 studies published between 1990 and April 2009 and focusing on dropout from Internet-based treatment programmes involving minimal therapist contact were identified and included in the review.

Measuring self-efficacy in gambling: the Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire.

This paper reports on the development and psychometric properties of a Gambling Refusal Self-Efficacy Questionnaire (GRSEQ). Two hundred and ninety-seven gamblers from both normal and clinical populations completed an initial set of 31-items of which 26 were selected for inclusion in the final version of the GRSEQ. A series of factor analyses showed four clear factors accounting for 84% of the variance.

Psychological treatment dropout among pathological gamblers.

Premature dropout from treatments for pathological gambling is potentially of significant importance, if it occurs before substantial progress has been made in addressing the problem. A systematic review of current research on dropout from psychological treatments for pathological gambling identified 12 studies from five countries. Dropout ranged from 14% to 50%, with a median of dropout 26%.