In view of the high content of fluorine in the water in Guangdong pro-vince,we detected the serum fluorine level in rabbits died of drowning andcompared with that obtained from rabbits immersed in water after deathfrom hanging.The fluorine content in water is about 15 folds higher than normal whilein control cases the serum fluorine values are slightly lower than normal.The fluorine content in human serum is similar with that of rabbits.Itsuggests that detection of serum fluorine content might be a valuable methodfor the diagnosis of drowning in those areas where there are high waterfluorine content.

For the purpose of timing of wounds,the measurement of K~+/Na~+ ratio of 36specimens of wister rat's muscles taken from the local burn area by the atomicabsorption spcetrophometry was carried out.The results showed that K~+/Na~+ ratio in specimens of burn formed 15,30,60minutes before death and 20 minutes after death reduced 47～82%(mean 71%),56～89%(mean 77%),69～94%(mean 86%)and 4～38%(mean 27%)respectively ascompared with the control muscles.Reduction rate of K~+/Na~+ ratio in ante-mortem group was more obvious than the postmortem ones.With the prolongationof the antemortem interval,the reduction of K~+/Na~+ ratio becomes more marked.We believe that this method is a simple and reliable method in timing woundsand it is valuable in forensic medicine practice.

Objective To study the characteristics of patients with low body mass index (BMI) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease(COPD). Methods A total of 38 clinically stable patients with moderate-to-severe COPD were enrolled. They were divided into two groups: underweight (UW) group (n=16,BMI<20);normal weight(NW) group(n=22, 20≤BMI<26). Body height and weight, smoking indexs, and six minutes walk distance (6MWD) were assayed. The British Medical Research Council (MRC) dyspnea scale was used to assess the degree of dyspnea. St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ) and Short Form 36 item Questionnaire (SF-36) were used for health-related quality of life (HRQoL) evaluation. The serum concentrations of leptin and ghrelin were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Results Compared with the NW group, the inspiratory eapacity(IC), forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV), vital capacity (VC) ,most ventilate volume (MVV) and peak expiratory flow(PEF) were lower(P<0. 05) in the UW group. Residual volume-to-total lung capacity ratio (RV/TLC), smoking indexs and MRC score were higher (all P<0. 05) and 6MWD was significantly lower (P<0. 05) in the UW group than in NW group. Activity scores,impact scores and total scores of SGRQ showed significant deterioration in the UW group (P<0. 05). SF-36 also showed significantly worse scores for the parameters of the emotional and social functioning (P < 0. 05 ). Serum leptin was significantly lower ( P< 0.01 ) and ghrelin was higher in UW group than in NW group (P<0. 05). Stepwise multiple regression analyse showed that lC,mental health(MH) and physical function (PF) of SF-36, leptin,6MWD and smoking indexs were independently correlated with BMI. Conchtsions The pulmonary function, nutritional status, PF and life quality of COPD patients with low BMI were more deteriorative. The most significant influencing factor for BMI in COPD patients was IC. M H,exercise capacity,leptin level and smoking indexs were independently correlated with BMI in COPD patients. It is important to retrieve low BMI in the management of COPD patients.

Objective To introduce inhaled inactivated-mycobacterium phlei on prevention and treatment of moderate bronchial asthma to observe the clinical effect. Method This study was a prospective and controlled study. The patients diagnosed with asthma in our out-patient from March 2009 to December 2010 were collected, who met the following conditions were included in the study: age≥ 14 years; met the criteria of moderate chronic persistent bronchial asthma in Global Initiative for Asthma (GINA) in 2008; suspended receiving systemic corticosteroids, Montelukast, ketotifen and other anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic drugs in one month; no significant respiratory tract infections; and other serious illnesses or abnormalities known.A total of 100 patients with asthma were selected, including 37 males and 63 females, age (32.11 ± 12.95 )years. The patients were randomly(random number) divided into two groups: A group(treatment group; 16males and 34 females, age 33.56 ± 14.23 years) and B group (control group; 21 males and 29 females,age 30.66 ± 11.50 years); 50 in each group. No significant difference was noted between the two groups on age and gender composition. The patients in A group were treated with inhaled inactivated-mycobacterium phlei F. U. 36 Injection 1.72 μg/mL × 2 that adding 3 mL normal saline, once a day for 5 days. The patients in B group were treated with salmeterol xinafoate and fluticasone propionate powder for inhalation (50/100 μg), twice daily for sustainable use. The patients in the two groups were observed for one month. During this course, the patients in the two groups could inhale the salbutamol sulphate aerosol as need to relieve symptoms. And the number of using was recorded. Pulmonary function test and asthma provocative test were carried out on the Day O, 6 and 31. ACT scores were measured before and after the treatment. Results On Day 6 and 31 after treatment, the negative conversion rates of asthma provocative test of the patients in A group were 82% and 78% respectively, B group were 84% and 90% respectively. Provocative test of the patients in the two groups were negative conversion significantly before and after treatment. There was no significant difference between the two groups by chi-square test (P ＞ 0. 05 ). Completely random designed data was analyzed by analysis of variance. The analysis showed that the accumulated doses of methacholine of the patients in the two group increased significantly ( P ＜ 0. 05 ), but no difference between the two groups.There was a improvement trend on forced expiratory volume in one second( FEV1 )of the patients in A group after treatment, but no difference. FEV1 of the patients in B group increased significantly higher ( P ＜0.05), which was significantly higher than A group on the 31th day (P ＜0. 05); Peak expiratory flow (PEF) of the patients in the two group increased significantly on Day 6 and 31 after treatment (P ＜0.05 ).On Day 31, B group was significantly higher than A group ( P ＜ 0. 05 ); Scores of asthma control test (ACT)of the patients in the two group were significantly increased, and the number of using of salbutamol sulfate aerosol was significantly reduced (P ＜0.01 ). B group was obvious than group A (P ＜0.05 ). During treatment, there were only two adverse reaction cases of transient low fever; most obvious was on the third day.Conclusions Inhaled inactivated-mycobacterium phlei would inhibit the airway hyperresponsiveness of the patients with moderate bronchial asthma in short time, improve the symptoms, reduce the acute exacerbation, and reduce the use of rescue medication, which has the roles of prevention and treatment of moderate asthma in a certain period of time.

Objective: To investigate the effect of combined exposure to four heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic, mercury) on early kidney injury in occupational population. Methods: A total of 384 workers exposed to combined heavy metals in a non-ferrous metal smelting plant in Guangdong Province were selected as the research subjects using judgment sampling method. The levels of blood lead, urinary cadmium and urinary arsenic were detacted by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, while urinary mercury levels were measured using cold atomic absorption spectroscopy (acidic tin chloride reduction method). The levels of biomarkers such as urinary β₂-microglobulin (β₂-MG), kidney injury molecule-1 (Kim-1) and neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (NGAL) were detected by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Spearman correlation analysis, linear regression, weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression and Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models were used to analyze the association between the exposure to the four heavy metals and early kidney injury biomarkers. Results: The median of blood lead, urinary cadmium, urinary arsenic and urinary mercury were 0.47 μmol/L and 4.450, 27.790 and 0.520 μg/gCr, respectively. The median of urinary β₂-MG, Kim-1 and NGAL were 62.960, 1.130 and 18.150 μg/gCr, respectively. Spearman correlation analysis showed that urinary levels of β₂-MG, Kim-1, and NGAL were weakly correlated with blood lead and urinary mercury levels (all P<0.01), but not correlated with urinary cadmium and urinary arsenic (all P>0.05). The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that urinary mercury was positively correlated with urinary β₂-MG, Kim-1 and NGAL (all P<0.01), urinary arsenic was positively correlated with urinary β₂-MG level (P<0.01), and blood lead was negatively correlated with urinary β₂-MG and Kim-1 (all P<0.05). The WQS regression analysis showed that the combined effect of the four heavy metals was positively correlated with urinary β₂-MG, Kim-1 and NGAL (all P<0.01), with mercury having the highest impact and lead the lowest. BKMR model analysis showed the increasing trend in urinary β₂-MG, Kim-1 and NGAL with the increasing levels of the combined exposure to the four heavy metals. Urinary β₂-MG, Kim-1 and NGAL decreased when urinary mercury level increased from the 25th percentile to the 75th percentile and the other metals were correspondingly fixed at a certain level. When the blood exposure levels of other metals remained at the corresponding median levels, urinary β₂-MG, Kim-1 and NGAL levels were positively correlated with urinary arsenic level, but no significant linear dose-response relationship was observed with the other three heavy metals. Conclusion: sLead, arsenic, and mercury are independently associated with early kidney injury biomarkers in occupational population from non-ferrous metal smelting. The four heavy metals had positive combined effects on urinary β₂-MG, Kim-1 and NGAL, with mercury having the greatest impact.

Objective To investigate the effect of spleen on hepatic macrophages mediated activation of hepatic stellate cells(HSCs)in mice with liver fibrosis.Methods Eighteen male C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into three groups.Mice in Group A and Group B were injected intraperitoneally with CCl4 to establish liver fibrosis mouse model,while those in Group C were injected with corn oil as normal control.Four weeks later,mice with liver fibrosis received splenectomy(Spx)or sham operation(Sham),respectively.After continuous injection for 2 weeks,liver homogenates(L-Homo)were prepared and liver cells were isolated from the three groups.Expressions of IL-1β,IL-13,TGF-β,TNF-α,PDGF-β and VEGF in the liver homogenates of the three groups were detected by Luminex multifactor analysis.The expressions of these cytokines in liver macrophages(L-Mψ)and other non-parenchymal cells of Sham and Spx mice were analyzed by Real-time quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR)and flow cytometry.Macrophage cell line RAW264.7 or bone marrow-derived macrophages(BMDMs)were treated with liver homogenates from the Sham and Spx groups.Then the differently treated RAW264.7 cells were analyzed for mRNA expressions of cytokines and glutamine metabolism-related molecules by RT-qPCR,or transwell co-cultured with hepatic stellate cell line JS1.After co-culture,the survival and extracellular matrix expression of JS1 cells were analyzed.For comparison,Student's t test(between two groups)or one-way analysis of variance(among multiple groups)were used.Results Compared with normal control group,the concentrations of IL-1β,IL-13,TGF-β and TNF-α in the L-Homo of model group were significantly increased and showed higher levels in Sham group than in Spx group.Moreover,the hepatic macrophages were indicated as the major source of these cytokines.Consistently,macrophages treated with liver homogenate of Sham mice had increased expressions of IL-1β,TGF-β and TNF-α and glutaminase(GLS).After co-culture with macrophages treated with liver homogenate of Sham group rather than Spx group,JS1 expressed higher expressions of α-SMA and collagens.Conclusion The spleen is involved in regulating the secretion of cytokines by hepatic macrophages and enhancing their ability to activate hepatic stellate cells.

Background Arsenic, cobalt, barium, and other individual metal exposure have been confirmed to be associated with the incidence of kidney stones. However, there are few studies on the association between mixed metal exposure and kidney stones, especially in occupational groups. Objective To investigate the association between mixed metal exposure and kidney stones in an occupational population from a metal smelting plant. Methods A questionnaire survey was conducted to collect sociodemographic characteristics, medical history, and lifestyle information of 1158 mixed metal-exposed workers in a metal smelting plant in Guangdong Province from July 2021 to January 2022. Midstream morning urine samples were collected from the workers, the concentrations of 18 metals including lithium, vanadium, chromium, manganese, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, arsenic, selenium, strontium, molybdenum, cadmium, cesium, barium, tungsten, titanium, and lead were measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and the urinary mercury levels were measured by cold atomic absorption spectroscopy. Based on predetermined inclusion criteria, a total of 919 mixed metal-exposed workers were included in the study, including 117 workers in the kidney stone group and 802 workers in the non-kidney stone group. With a detection rate of urinary metals greater than 80% as entry criterion, 16 eligible metals were finally included for further analysis. Parametric or non-parametric methods were used to compare the differences between continuous or categorical variables of the non-kidney stone group and the kidney stone group. Logistic regression models were constructed to explore the association between individual metal exposures and kidney stones. Weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression models were used to evaluate the association between mixed metal exposure and kidney stones, as well as the weights of each metal on kidney stones. Then Bayesian kernel machine regression (BKMR) models were used to explore the overall effect of mixed metal exposure on renal calculi and the potential interactions between metals. Results We found that there were significant differences in sex, age, length of service, and body mass Index (BMI) between the non-kidney stone group and the kidney stone group (P<0.05). The urinary concentrations of molybdenum and barium in the kidney stone group were higher than those in the non-kidney stone group, and the differences were statistically significant (P<0.05). The logistic regression models demonstrated that urinary cobalt, arsenic, molybdenum, and barium were positively correlated with the risk of kidney stones (P_trend<0.05). The WQS regression models showed that the mixed exposure to vanadium, cobalt, arsenic, molybdenum, and barium was positively associated with the risk of kidney stones (P<0.05). Among them, molybdenum, arsenic, and barium accounted for 0.391, 0.337, and 0.154, respectively. The BKMR results revealed a positive association between metal mixture exposure and the risk of kidney stones (P<0.05). When other metals were fixed at the 25th, 50th, or 75th percentile, arsenic, molybdenum, cobalt, and barium exhibited significant positive effects on the risk of kidney stones (P<0.05), while vanadium showed a significant negative effect (P<0.05). The interaction analysis demonstrated interactions between barium and cobalt, as well as between vanadium and cobalt (P<0.05). Conclusion In the occupational population of this smelter, occupational mixed metal exposure could increase the risk of kidney stones, and the main metals are molybdenum, arsenic, barium, and cobalt.

Background Occupational exposure to lead, cadmium, or arsenic is a potential risk factor for blood pressure elevation. Current studies mainly focus on the relationship between a single metal and blood pressure. However, mixed metal exposure often exists in the actual working environment, and the interactive effects of polymetallic interactions on blood pressure and the dose-effect relationship remain unclear yet. Objective To explore the influence proportion of occupational exposure to lead, cadmium, or arsenic on blood pressure and their interactive effects. Methods From January to December 2021, workers from a smelter in southern China were selected. Demographic characteristics, height, weight, and blood pressure of workers were collected through questionnaire and physical examination. At the same time, their urine samples were collected and the levels of urinary lead, urinary cadmium, and urinary arsenic were detected by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and corrected by urinary creatinine (Cr). Linear regression and logistic regression were used to analyze the relationship between urinary lead, cadmium, and arsenic and blood pressure. Weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression was applied to evaluate the dose-effect relationship between urinary lead, cadmium, and arsenic exposures and blood pressure and the effect weight of each metal on blood pressure. Generalized linear regression and additive/multiplicative scaling were used to identify interactive effects of the three metals on blood pressure. Results A total of 1075 workers were included in this study, with a mean age of (44.68±5.11) years and mean working seniority of (24.66±5.23) years. There were 891 males (88.9%) and 184 were females (17.1%); 24.7% workers were drinkers and 45.7% workers were smokers; 302 workers (28.1%) reported hypertension and 37 of them were taking antihypertensive drugs. The P₅₀ (P₂₅, P₇₅) levels of urinary lead, urinary cadmium, and urinary arsenic were 6.11 (3.71, 11.08), 3.88 (2.68, 5.44), and 26.04 (19.99, 35.11) μg·g⁻¹, respectively. After adjusting for gender, age, working seniority, body mass index, smoking, drinking, and the usage of antihypertensive drugs, systolic and diastolic blood pressure increased by 0.772 and 0.418 mmHg respectively for 10% increase in lead, cadmium, and arsenic mixed exposure. Urinary cadmium, among the three single exposures, had the greatest effect on systolic and diastolic blood pressure, weight (w)=0.523 and 0.551 respectively. The interaction of urinary lead and urinary cadmium was positively correlated with the occurrence of hypertension, multiplicative interaction OR (OR_int)=1.88 (95%CI: 1.09, 3.63), attributable proportion due to interaction (AP)=1.19 (95%CI: 0.40, 8.18). Conclusion This study shows that mixed exposure to lead, cadmium, and arsenic has a positive relationship with blood pressure, in which cadmium plays a major role. Co-exposure to lead and cadmium has a positive interactive effect on hypertension development and systolic blood pressure elevation.