[Reliability and validity of DSSI-23 scale in a rural elderly population].

OBJECTIVE: To determine the reliability and validity of the Duke Social Support Index (DSSI)-23 scale in a rural elderly population. METHODS: A stratified cluster random sampling strategy was adopted to select 702 rural participants aged 60 years or over in Guangyuan. Those with severe hearing disorders or mental problems were excluded. The reliability and validity of DSSI-23 scale were evaluated using internal consistency, split-half reliability,content validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity and structure validity. RESULTS: The DSSI-23 had a Cronbach's alpha efficient of 0.881 and 0.918 split-half reliability. Item-scale correlation coefficients exceed 0.35 (P<0.01), except for item three. Satisfactory (100%) convergent validity and discriminant validity were found. Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) demonstrated unsatisfactory fit with the theoretical model of the scale: chi2/df = 6.884, CFI=0.807, GFI=0.850, RMSEA=0.092. CONCLUSION: DSSI-23 scale has good reliability in the elderly population, but unsatisfactory validity. Further adjustments of the scale are needed.

Glycyrrhetinic acid extracted from Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. induces the expression of Toll-like receptor 4 in Ana-1 murine macrophages.

Glycyrrhetinic acid (GA) is an active component of licorice root that has long been used as a herbal medicine for the treatment of peptic ulcer, hepatitis, and pulmonary and skin diseases in Asia and Europe. In this study, we analyzed the effect of GA extracted from Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch. on the expression of Toll-like receptors (TLRs) that play key roles in regulating the innate immune response against invading pathogens. Stimulation of Ana-1 murine macrophages with GA induced a significant dose-dependent expression of TLR-4, and its mRNA expression that increased from 3-h post-treatment was approximately fivefold over the level in the mock-treated cells. No endotoxin contamination contributed to the GA-induced TLR-4 expression, because polymyxin B treatment did not alter the upregulated expression of TLR-4 in GA-treated cells. Several molecules, such as myeloid differentiation factor 88, interferon-ß, and interleukin-6, which are involved in the TLR-4 downstream signaling pathway, were upregulated significantly in response to GA stimulation. Our findings demonstrate that GA is able to induce the expression of TLR-4 and activate its downstream signaling pathway.