A partnership development process assessment scale for public health nurses in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to develop and test a Partnership Development Process Assessment (PDPA) scale for content and construct validity and internal consistency reliability. This is needed to document and evaluate community health partnership development processes between public health nurses and community-based organizations in Japan. DESIGN: The study was conducted in three phases. Ten semi-structured interviews were conducted to generate items for a new scale. Thirty items were generated and reviewed by an expert panel for content validity and item refinement. A national postal survey of public health nurses was conducted to determine the scale's internal structure, evaluate its reliability, and explore its construct and criterion validity. MEASURES: Validity and reliability testing of the PDPA scale using a content validity index and analysis of correlations with an existing scale were performed. RESULTS: Twenty-six items were selected and grouped into four factors: activities to share roles to manage community health issues, platform activities to support partnerships, activities to evaluate partnership practices, and activities to share information regarding community health issues. After factor analysis, 23 items were retained. CONCLUSION: The PDPA scale is a valid and reliable instrument for public health nurses to assess partnership development activities.

Endogenous prostaglandins E2 and F 2alpha serve as an anti-apoptotic factor against apoptosis induced by tumor necrosis factor-alpha in mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes.

Adipocytes can function as endocrine cells secreting a variety of adipocytokines including tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha. Treatment of cultured mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes with TNF-alpha induced apoptosis, as was evident from increases in nuclear condensation and caspase-3 activity, but differentiated adipocytes during the maturation phase showed resistance to apoptosis by TNF-alpha. Antioxidants effectively reduced TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis in preadipocytes, indicating the involvement of reactive oxygen species. Exposure of preadipocytes to calcium ionophore A23187 reduced TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis, which was accompanied by increased production of prostaglandins (PGs) E2 and PGF 2alpha. TNF-alpha preferentially promoted gene expression of cyclooxygenase (COX)-2 without affecting that of COX-1. Consistently, NS-398, a COX-2 inhibitor, stimulated TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis, which was reversed by exogenous PGE2 and PGF 2alpha. These results indicate that endogenous PGE2 and PGF 2alpha synthesized by preadipocytes through the induction of COX-2 can serve as anti-apoptotic factors against apoptosis by TNF-alpha.

Control of life cycle of mouse adipogenic 3T3-L1 cells by dietary lipids and metabolic factors.

Adipocytes function not only as in the storage and mobilization of lipids but also as endocrine cells by secreting tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), free fatty acids, and other cytokines. To study the effects of dietary lipids and metabolic factors on the control of the life cycle of adipocytes, we utilized mouse 3T3-L1 preadipocytes that could be induced to differentiate into adipocytes. To evaluate the role of endogenous prostaglandins (PGs) in the adipogenic changes, we examined the effect of specific inhibitors of cyclooxygenase (COX). SC-560, a specific COX-1 inhibitor, suppressed adipogenesis dose dependently, suggesting a role of constitutive COX-1 in the endogenous synthesis of PGs, including PGJ2 derivatives formed by mature adipocytes with the ability to promote adipogenesis. NS-398, a COX-2 inhibitor, had little influence on the maturation processes. Both COX inhibitors were effective in stimulating apoptosis of preadipocytes induced by TNF-alpha, indicating that both PGE2 and PGF2alpha produced by preadipocytes through the action of both COX isoforms serve as survival factors. However, the effect of both inhibitors was negligible for the proliferation of preadipocytes. Moreover, conjugated linolenic acid from bitter gourd at lower concentrations that was without effects by itself synergistically stimulated TNF-alpha-induced apoptosis. Therefore, dietary lipid factors are capable of controlling the life cycle of adipocytes together with metabolic factors.

Effect of neuronal PC12 cells on the functional properties of intestinal epithelial Caco-2 cells.

The effect of neuronal cells on the functional properties of intestinal epithelial cells was examined by using an in vitro coculture system. Two cell lines, Caco-2 and PC12, were respectively used as intestinal epithelial and enteric neuronal cell models. Coculture of differentiated Caco-2 cells with PC12 caused a significant decrease in the transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) value of the Caco-2 monolayer. The permeability to lucifer yellow (LY) was also significantly increased, suggesting that the tight junction (TJ) of the Caco-2 monolayers was modulated by coculturing with PC12. To identify the TJ-modulating factor presumably secreted from PC12, the effects of the major neurotransmitters on the TER value and LY transport were examined, but no influence was apparent. The TJ-modulating effect of PC12 was prevented by exposing PC12 to cycloheximide, suggesting that new protein synthesis in PC12 was necessary for this regulation.