Objective To explore the effects of high background radiation on the expressions of miR-16, miR-106b, miR-449a, miR-34a and let-7g in peripheral blood plasma of the residents .Methods Totally 110 healthy female long-term local residents aged over 50 years were randomly selected from the high background radiation area and the control area , while their age, body mass index(BMI) and other indicators were surveyed .The relative expression levels of miRNAs in peripheral blood plasma of these women were quantitatively detected by real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR ( RT-PCR) .Then t-test was used to analyze the cumulative dose , age and BMI between the high background and control group .Mann-Whitney U-test was used for statistical analysis of miRNA expression levels between two groups , and the multiple regression analysis was used finally .Results Compared with the control group , the cumulative dose of individuals in the high background group was about four times higher (t=42.803, P<0.05), and the levels of miR-16 and miR-106b in plasma of high background group were down-regulated, while the level of miR-449a was up-regulated ( Z =4.180, 2.422, 2.794, P <0.05 ).After controlling of confounding factors such as age and BMI , the expression levels of miR-16 and miR-106b were negatively correlated with the cumulative dose of individuals (P<0.05).On the contrary, no significant correlation was observed between the levels of miR-449a, miR-34a, let-7g and the individual cumulative dose (P>0.05).Conclusions miR-16 and miR-106b may serve as biomarkers for the early stage of low dose radiation health effects .

Objective:To analyze the dose range distribution of abnormal result, the distribution of occupational categories, the incidence of abnormal result of different occupational categories, the causes of abnormal result and the factors influencing abnormal values, on the basis of investigated abnormal result of individual monitoring for occupationally external exposure, in order to provide the scientific basis for the formulation of the relevant regulations and standards and the hospital radiation protection management.Methods:The abnormal result of 389 radiation workers in medical institutions receiving annual individual doses each exceeding 1.25 mSv, reported in 2017 in 19 provinces, were collected and analyzed.Results:Dose distribution range of abnormal result were mainly between 1.25 and 5 mSv; diagnostic radiology workers accounted for the highest fraction, 59.64% of the totals; and interventional radiology workers had the highest incidence, 4.17‰ of abnormal result. The abnormal result was mainly caused by improper wearing or operating personal dosimeters; the abnormal values in the eastern regions were higher than those in other regions, with a median of 6.41 mSv; the abnormal values in the cause-unknown group was higher than those in other groups, with a median of 10.32 mSv.Conclusions:The publicity and training of radiation protection knowledge should be further strengthened to improve the protection awareness of radiation workers. The occupational exposure of interventional radiology workers should receive special attention.

Objective To investigate the prevalence and relative factors of cognitive disfunction among the community- dwelling old adults. Methods 766 participants over 60 years old dwelling in Luzhou, Sichuan, China were enrolled with Multi-stage stratified sampling. Information about sociodemographic characteristics, lifestyle, health condition, nutrition were interviewed, and their cognitive function was evaluated with Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Results The prevalence of cognitive disfunction was 19.7% among them. Gender (male vs. female, OR=0.577), age (over 90 years vs. 60- 64 years, OR=29.857), administrator (administrator vs. not administrator, OR= 0.360), farmer (farmer vs. not farmer, OR=2.121), nutrition (malnutrition vs. eutrophia, OR=2.460), body weight (underweight vs. normal weight, OR=3.222), living status (UN-Habitat vs. living alone, OR=0.658), marital status (widowed vs. not widowed, OR=2.208), education attainment (junior college vs. illiteracy, OR=0.328), income (over 1000 yuan vs. no income, OR=0.596) significantly related with cognitive disfunction (P<0.05). Multiple Logistic regression analysis showed that old age, occupation (farmer) and malnutrition were independent risk factors for cognitive disfunction. Conclusion The cognitive disfunction related with multi-factors, and need more effective and available intervention in the old adults.

Objective:To investigate the allocation of radiation protection equipment and status of radiological protection management for radiation workers in hospitals nationwide.Methods:A descriptive analysis was conducted of the data reported from the investigated hospitals based the data for 2019 available from the National Radiological Health Information Platform.Results:A total of 3 806 hospitals were investigated in 2019, including 609 tertiary hospitals, 1 421 secondary hospitals, 1 776 primary and ungraded hospitals. Large differences had been shown in the number of radiation workers in different grade hospitals. The average number of radiation workers were found to be, respectively, 99 in tertiary hospitals, 19 in secondary hospitals, 2 in primary and/or ungraded hospitals. Interventional radiology and nuclear medicine workers were equipped seperately with 0.40 and 0.43 pieces of lead apron, 0.27 and 0.31 lead caps, 0.38 and 0.45 lead rubber neck sleeves, 0.18 and 0.08 pairs of lead rubber gloves and 0.31 and 0.22 pairs of lead glasses. No personal alarming dosimeter was available in 15.25% hospitals where radiotherapy was performed, nor radiation surveillance meter in 27.90% such hospitals. In the hospitals considered, 88.13% workers were granted the Radiation Worker Cetificate and 83.69% received the on-the-job radiation protection training. The number of monitored workers accounted for 99.20%, of which 0.40% received the personal annual dose Hp(10)≥20 mSv. The occupational health surveillance files that had been completed reached 98.05% of the total and the on-the-job radiation workers who had passed the occupational health examination made up to 96.00%. It was advised that, of 76 627 radiation workers who received the 2019 health examination, 0.88% should get out of radiation work for the being time and 0.11% should not continue for this work. Conclusions:The considerably large proportion of radiation workers in China have received individual dose monitoring and occupational health examination. Radiological diagnosis and therapy departments should enlarge the allocation of radiation monitoring and personal protection equipment for radiaton workers in their hospitals.

Abstract As part of the human environment, ionizing radiation can produce adverse tissue reactions known as determinist- ic effects at sufficiently high exposure levels, and cause stochastic effects (cancer and genetic diseases), where single cells with mutations can trigger somatic or genetic effects, even at low exposure levels. Given the unfavorable health effects of ra- diation, a comprehensive technical report is warranted to address the measurement and control of radiation exposure levels. The Assessment of Prospective Cancer Risks from Occupational Exposure to Ionizing Radiation published by the Internation- al Atomic Energy Agency fills this gap. This paper outlines the methodology of prospective cancer risk assessment for work- ers occupationally exposed to radiation, which provides a flexible framework based on radiobiology, risk modeling, and epi- demiological data and a new tool for managing occupational radiation exposure and assessing potential risks from occupa- tional radiation exposure.

Objective:To analyze distributions of dose range, occupational category, and causes of abnormal dose values from individual dose monitoring of radiation workers and to provide recommendations for improving the quality of individual monitoring data and occupational health management in medical institutions.Methods:The data of individual dose monitoring result exceeding 1.25 mSv in a single monitoring cycle, collected by Occupational Health System for Radiology Facilities’ on National Radiological Health Information Platform, was analyzed.Results:A total of 1 113 abnormal dose values were detected in 31 provinces in 2020, with an abnormal rate of 2.48‰, of which workers of diagnostic radiology and interventional radiology accounted for 68.01% and 18.78%, respectively. The dose distribution of abnormal dose values was mainly between 1.25 and 5 mSv. The abnormal dose values were mainly caused by improperly wearing or using personal dosimeters, accounting for 63.88%. Workers for whom the dose values was abnormal due to increased workload accounted for 12.32%, with an average annual individual dose of 5.14 mSv. There was no statistically significant difference in annual individual dose among radiation workers between different occupational groups( P>0.05). Conclusions:Education and training on radiation protection for radiation workers should be strengthened, and a specific and feasible system for radiation protection management, as well as a reward and punishment system, should be established in order to reduce the occurance of the improper wearing of personal dosimeters. Great attention should be paid to occupational exposure of workers in diagnostic radiology and interventional radiology, and a work shift system should be conducted to reduce individual dose levels. It is recommended that standard verification procedures for abnormal dose values from individual dose monitoring should be developed to improve the quality of individual monitoring data.

Objective:To understand the non-uranium miners′ awareness of radon and health risks in China and analyze the relevant influencing factors, in order to provide research basis for radiological protection institutions and employers to carry out radon health education.Methods:Male miners in 32 typical non-uranium mines from 11 provinces were selected by using cluster random sampling method from June 2020 to December 2021. The awareness of radon and health risks was investigated, and the influencing factors were analyzed by binary logistic regression model.Results:A total of 1 184 non-uranium miners were investigated, and the radon awareness rate of them was 19.17%. 36.56% of the non-uranium miners heard about radon knew the radon health risks accurately, and 18.06% could identify the measures to reduce radon concentration correctly. Univariate analysis showed that the radon awareness rate of non-uranium miners varied with different education levels, labor relations, post categories, and regions ( χ2=55.92, 21.89, 64.31, 11.26, P<0.05 ). The result of logistic regression analysis showed that a bachelor degree or above, regular employee, administrative personnel and technical personnel were influencing factors of the radon awareness level ( χ2=12.81, 6.58, 5.66, 21.44, P<0.05 ). There was no statistically significant difference of radon awareness rate in different ages, working years, regions, and smoke groups ( P>0.05 ). Conclusions:The awareness level of radon and health risks of non-uranium miners was relatively low in China. Radiological protection institutions and employers should strengthen education and training of radon related knowledge in non-uranium miners through mass media, on-duty training, contract notification and workplace publicity board notification, so as to improve their personal protection consciousness.

Objective:To investigate and analyze the eye lens dose to interventional radiology workers in China from 2019 to 2021.Methods:The monitoring data on eye lens dose to interventional radiology workers from 31 province-level units during 2019-2021 were collected through the National Radiological Health Information Platform. The eye lens dose evaluation indicator was Hp(3), with each monitoring period of no more than 3 months. Kusall-Wallis H test was used for the comparison of multiple groups and pairwise. Results:A total of 6 643 interventional radiology workers were investigated from 2019 to 2021. The average annual eye lens dose was 1.03 mSv, with the median of 0.17 mSv and the maximum of 94.88 mSv. The annual eye lens dose to 59 workers exceeded 20 mSv. It was also found that the annual eye lens dose to the doctors in 2019 and 2020 was slightly higher than that to nurses (rank mean difference=118.29, 129.71, P<0.01), and the lens dose to interventional radiology workers who performed cardiac interventions in 2019 was higher than that to workers who performed peripheral vascular interventions (rank mean difference=46.52, P<0.05). Conclusions:The lens dose to interventional radiology workers is lower than the limits given in Chinese national standard currently in effect, but exceed the latest internationally recommended limit for a few ones. In order to protect the occupational health of interventional radiology workers, the monitoring of lens dose should be strengthened.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of chronic intermittent hypoxia (CIH) on liver injury and to examine the expression of liver CXC chemokine ligand-10 (CXCL10) in the rats, and to explore the effect of N-acetylcysteine (NAC).
 METHODS: A total of 21 male SD rats were randomly divided into a control group, a CIH group and a CIH+NAC group (n=7 in each group). The control group exposed to normal gaseous environment, the other 2 groups were exposed to CIH for 5 weeks (8 h/d); the control group and the CIH group were given daily saline lavage, the CIH+NAC group daily received NAC solution. After the end of 5 weeks, the rats were killed, and the MDA content and SOD activity in rat liver tissues were detected. The liver sections were stained with hematoxylin-eosin (HE) and the liver pathology was observed. The expression of CXCL10 in the liver tissues was detected by immunohistochemical method.
 RESULTS: Compared with the control group, the MDA levels in rat liver tissues were increased (P<0.05), and the SOD levels were decreased (P<0.05) in the CIH group and the CIH+NAC group. Compared with the CIH group, the SOD levels in the rat liver tissues were increased (P<0.05), and the MDA levels were decreased in the CIH+NAC group. Compared with the control group, the hepatic steatosis and inflammatory reactions were more severe in the CIH group and the CIH+NAC group (both P<0.01). Compared with the CIH group, the hepatic steatosis and inflammatory reactions were reduced in the CIH+NAC group (P<0.05). The liver damage in the CIH+NAC group was less than that in the CIH group (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the CXCL10 expression in the CIH group and the CIH+NAC group was increased (both P<0.01). The CXCL10 expression in the CIH+NAC group was down-regulated compared with that in the CIH group (P<0.01).
 CONCLUSION CIH can lead to liver injury and induce CXCL10 expression in rat liver tissues. The NAC can alleviate rat liver oxidative stress and inflammation caused by CIH, and in turn to improve the liver injury in rats.
Acetylcysteine ; Animals ; Chemokine CXCL10 ; Fatty Liver ; Hypoxia ; Inflammation ; Male ; Oxidative Stress ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley

To compare clinical features, diagnosis and therapeutic effect between pulmonary histoplasmosis and progressive disseminated histoplasmosis.
 Methods: A retrospective analysis for 12 cases of hospitalized patients with histoplasmosis, who was admitted in Xiangya Hospital, Central South University during the time from February 2009 to October 2015, was carried out. Four cases of pulmonary histoplasmosis and 8 cases of progressive disseminated histoplasmosis were included. The differences of clinical features, imaging tests, means for diagnosis and prognosis were analyzed between the two types of histoplasmosis.
 Results: The clinical manifestations of pulmonary histoplasmosis were mild, such as dry cough. However, the main clinical symptoms of progressive disseminated histoplasmosis were severe, including recurrence of high fever, superficial lymph node enlargement over the whole body, hepatosplenomegaly, accompanied by cough, abdominal pain, joint pain, skin changes, etc.Laboratory examination showed pancytopenia, abnormal liver function and abnormal coagulation function. One pulmonary case received the operation of left lower lung lobectomy, 3 cases of pulmonary histoplasmosis and 6 cases of progressive disseminated histoplasmosis patients were given deoxycholate amphotericin B, itraconazole, voriconazole or fluconazole for antifungal therapy. One disseminated case discharged from the hospital without treatment after diagnosis of histoplasmosis, and 1 disseminated case combined with severe pneumonia and active tuberculosis died ultimately.
 Conclusion: As a rare fungal infection, histoplasmosis is easily to be misdiagnosed. The diagnostic criteria depends on etiology through bone marrow smear and tissues biopsy. Liposomeal amphotericin B, deoxycholate amphotericin B and itraconazole are recommended to treat infection for histoplasma capsulatum.
Abdominal Pain ; etiology ; Amphotericin B ; therapeutic use ; Antifungal Agents ; therapeutic use ; Biopsy ; Cough ; epidemiology ; Death ; Deoxycholic Acid ; therapeutic use ; Diagnostic Errors ; Drug Combinations ; Fever ; etiology ; Hepatomegaly ; etiology ; Histoplasma ; Histoplasmosis ; complications ; diagnosis ; mortality ; therapy ; Humans ; Invasive Fungal Infections ; complications ; diagnosis ; therapy ; Itraconazole ; therapeutic use ; Lung ; microbiology ; surgery ; Lung Diseases, Fungal ; diagnosis ; surgery ; therapy ; Pneumonia ; complications ; mortality ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Splenomegaly ; etiology ; Treatment Outcome ; Tuberculosis ; complications ; mortality