Clinical statistics analysis on the characteristics of pneumoconiosis of Chinese miner population

Measuring the Health Related Quality of Life and Economic Burden of Illness Among Migrant Workers With Pneumoconiosis

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study is to evaluate the living status of migrant workers with pneumoconiosis (MWP) in China with regard to health-related quality of life (QOL) and economic burden of illness.

METHODS

An on-site investigation of 685 respondents in 7 provinces is conducted. Quality of life scores are derived using the self-made scale, and human capital method and disability-adjusted life year are applied to value the economic loss. Multiple linear regression and K-means clustering analysis are performed for further investigation.

RESULTS

Respondents have an overall lower QOL of 64.85 ± 7.04 and significant average loss of Ұ344.5 thousand per capita, where age and provincial heterogeneity generally exist. Pneumoconiosis stage and assistance condition are 2 significant predictors affecting MWP's living conditions.

CONCLUSIONS

The evaluation of QOL and economic loss would contribute to the formulation of targeted countermeasures for MWP to enhance their well-being.

Proportions distribution of pneumoconiosis stages in China: a study based on a meta-analysis and field investigation

Occupational pneumoconiosis is the most serious work-related disease in China. In this paper, pneumoconiosis stages distribution was obtained to study the stages severity of occupational pneumoconiosis patients in China. A meta-analysis was conducted among screening the published literature on the pneumoconiosis epidemiology in China by Stata 15.0. Moreover, a field survey was conducted on 510 migrant workers suffering from pneumoconiosis in four provinces of China, and the results were analyzed by simple linear analysis and ordinal logistic regression analysis. The stage I, II and III pneumoconiosis accounted for 0.71, 0.21, 0.08, respectively, by the results of meta-analysis. The publication bias of these articles is not obvious based on the Egger's test and funnel plots. There was no significant linear correlation between the distribution of pneumoconiosis stages and the economic status and medical conditions in this study. Migrant workers pneumoconiosis stage I, II and III accounted for 0.14, 0.2, 0.66 respectively, which was significantly correlated with length of work and provinces. In China, migrant workers lack effective occupational health protection so that they have higher occupational health risks than urban workers. Therefore, occupational health protection for migrant workers in the occupational health management system needs to be strengthened.

Research on the wetting mechanism of coal dust by different surfactants: combination of experimental characterization and molecular dynamics simulation

Surfactants can reduce the surface tension of water and improve the efficiency of spray dust reduction, but the synergistic mechanism of composite surfactant solutions wetting coal dust remains unclear. In this study, sodium dodecyl sulfonate (SDDS)/sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate (SDBS) solution and SDDS/primary alcohol ethoxylate (AEO-9) solution were prepared to wet three types of coal with different deterioration degrees. The surface tension, contact angle, and functional group composition were measured. The results show that SDDS/AEO-9 solution had lower surface tension and critical micelle concentration than SDDS/SDBS solution at the same mixing ratio. When the ratio of SDDS: SDBS was 2:1, it had the best wetting effect on coal dust. It is found that for SDDS/SDBS solutions, aliphatic hydrocarbons and surface tension have a positive correlation with the contact angle, and hydroxyl groups have a negative correlation with the contact angle. For SDDS/AEO-9 solution, only the surface tension and contact angle show a significant linear relationship. The main factors that affect the wetting change with the combination of surfactants. AEO-9 has an electrostatic shielding effect on SDDS, while SDBS increases the electrostatic repulsion between SDDS solution and electronegative functional groups of coal. The synergism among these surfactants plays an important role in the process of wetting coal.

Socioeconomic Status, Occupational Disease, and Psychological Well-Being: Evidence from People with Pneumoconiosis in China

Background: Pneumoconiosis is one of the most prevalent occupational diseases in China. The present study aims to examine the status, needs, and challenges of people with pneumoconiosis from a socioeconomic perspective and to reveal the mechanisms by which the disease is linked to their psychological well-being. This study also examines the association of the social security subsidy to such mechanism. Methods: A questionnaire survey of 1134 respondents from seven cities or districts in China was conducted from 2014 to 2016. Generalized Structural Equation Modeling (GSEM) was employed to complete the analysis using Stata 16. Results: Respondents with poor socioeconomic status engaged longer in dusty work and had higher stages of pneumoconiosis, complications, and aggravation. These, in turn, were linked to their socioeconomic status due to high treatment expenditure and loss of the ability to work, which were negatively associated with their psychological well-being. Social security assistance and subsidies could help improve their socioeconomic status. Conclusions: This study provides evidence for the mechanism of social factors linking to physical health and further to psychological well-being among people with pneumoconiosis. Social security assistance and subsidies should be urgently provided for them to improve their socioeconomic status and their psychological well-being.

Bronchioloalveolar lung tumors induced in “mice only” by non-genotoxic chemicals are not useful for quantitative assessment of pulmonary adenocarcinoma risk in humans

Chemicals classified as known human carcinogens by International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) show a low level of concordance between rodents and humans for induction of pulmonary carcinoma. Rats and mice exposed via inhalation for 2 years show a low level of concordance in both tumor development and organ site location. In 2-year inhalation studies using rats and mice, when pulmonary tumors are seen in only male or female mice or both, but not in either sex of rat, there is a high probability that the murine pulmonary tumor has been produced via Clara cell or club cell (CC) metabolism of the inhaled chemical to a cytotoxic metabolite. Cytotoxicity-induced mitogenesis increases mutagenesis via amplification of the background mutation rate. If the chemical being tested is also negative in the Ames Salmonella mutagenicity assay, and only mouse pulmonary tumors are induced, the probability that this pulmonary tumor is not relevant to human lung cancer risk goes even higher. Mice have a larger percentage of CCs in their distal airways than rats, and a much larger percentage than in humans. The CCs of mice have a much higher concentration of metabolic enzymes capable of metabolizing xenobiotics than CCs in either rats or humans. A principal threat to validity of extrapolating from the murine model lies in the unique capacity of murine CCs to metabolize a significant spectrum of xenobiotics which in turn produces toxicants not seen in rat or human pulmonary pathophysiology.

Bioinformatics methods for identifying differentially expressed genes and signaling pathways in nano-silica stimulated macrophages

The incidence of disease relating to nanoparticle exposure has been rising rapidly in recent years, for which there is no effective treatment. Macrophage is suggested to play a crucial role in the development of pulmonary disease. To investigate the changes in macrophage after being stimulated by nanometer silica dust and to explore potential biomarkers and signaling pathways, the gene chip GSE13005 was downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus database, which contained 21 samples: 3 samples per group and 7 groups in total. Macrophages in the control group were cultured in serum-free medium, while the experimental groups were treated with nanometer silica dust in different sizes and concentrations, respectively. To identify the differentially expressed genes and explore their potential functions, we adopted the gene ontology analysis and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway enrichment analysis and also constructed protein-protein interaction network. As a result, 1972 differentially expressed genes were identified from 22,690 microarray data in the gene chip, 1069 genes were upregulated and 903 genes were downregulated. Results of the gene ontology analysis indicated that the differentially expressed genes were widely distributed in intracellular and extracellular regions, regulating macrophage apoptosis, inflammatory response, and cell differentiation. The Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes pathway analysis showed that the majority of differentially expressed genes were enriched in cytokine-cytokine receptor interaction, cancer or phagosome transcriptional misregulation. The top 10 hub genes, S100a9, Nos3, Psmd14, Psmd4, Lck, Atp6v1h, Jun, Foxh1, Pex14, and Fadd were identified from protein-protein interaction network. In addition, Nos3, Psmd14, Atp6v1h, and Jun were clustered into module M2 (r_c = 0.74, p < 0.01), which mainly regulates cell carcinogenesis and antivirus process. In conclusion, differentially expressed genes screened from this study may provide new insights into the exploration of mechanisms, biomarkers, and therapeutic targets for diseases relating to nanoparticle exposure.