Objective To explore the prognostic factors of intensive care unit (ICU) patients. Methods A retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinical data of patients admitted to ICU of Beijing Geriatric Hospital from January 2005 to December 2016 were collected. According to the prognosis, the patients were divided into death group and survival group, and the mortality trend with time and age was observed. Survival and death were treated as dependent variables, while the gender, age, reason of ICU admission, acute physiology and chronic health evaluation Ⅱ (APACHEⅡ) score, whether undergoing invasive mechanical ventilation (MV), invasive MV reason, duration of invasive MV, whether successful weaning, whether ICU nosocomial infection, hospital acquired pneumonia (HAP), central line-associated bloodstream infection (CLABSI), acute kidney injury (AKI) occurred, whether undergoing continuous blood purification (CBP), whether septic shock occurred, whether undergoing invasive hemodynamic monitoring or blood transfusion and length of ICU stay were used as the independent variables. First, the clinical data was analyzed by univariate analysis. Second, the independent variables influencing the dependent variable were analyzed by logistic regression analysis to screen out prognostic factors of ICU patients. Results During the study period, 1325 patients were treated, 26 patients with missing data, 1299 patients in final group, 865 patients in survival group, and 434 in death group. The proportion of men in the patients was larger (67.7%), and the age span was larger (16-105 years old). The mortality rate in different years showed no significant difference (χ2 = 16.712, P = 0.117), and with the increase of age, the mortality rate of ICU showed an upward trend (χ2 = 16.399, P = 0.022). The univariate analysis showed that ICU deaths were unrelated to gender, but associated with age, APACHE Ⅱ score, invasive MV, invasive MV reason, duration of invasive MV, successful weaning, ICU nosocomial infection, HAP, CLABSI, AKI, septic shock, whether CBP or invasive hemodynamic monitoring, blood transfusion, the reason of ICU admission and the length of ICU stay (all P < 0.05). The relevant factors with statistical difference found in univariate analysis were analyzed in logistic regression analysis, which showed that whether successful weaning [odds ratio (OR) = 0.016, 95% confidence interval (95%CI) = 0.010-0.025], and whether AKI (OR = 3.917, 95%CI = 2.331-6.582) or septic shock occurred (OR = 2.808, 95%CI = 1.604-4.915) were the dependent variables of death or survival (all P = 0.000). Regression coefficient (β value) of successful weaning was -4.155, suggesting that unsuccessful weaning patients were likely to die. The β value of AKI and septic shock was 1.365 and 1.033, suggesting that the patients with AKI or septic shock were more likely to die. Conclusions Whether the success of weaning, whether the occurrence of AKI or septic shock are independent prognostic factors for the prognosis of ICU patients. Measures for the prevention of the above three aspects could improve the prognosis of ICU patients.

With the development of industrial technology, dust explosion accidents have increased, causing serious losses of people's lives and property. With the development of economy, we should lay further emphasis on causation, prevention, and treatment of dust explosion. This article summarizes the background, mechanism, prevention, and treatment of dust explosion, which may provide some professional knowledge and reference for the treatment of dust explosion.
Dust ; Explosions ; prevention & control ; Humans

Silica and silicates may disturb immune functions such as autoimmunity and tumor immunity, because people who are exposed to the materials sometimes develop autoimmune and malignant diseases, respectively. Although silica-induced disorders of autoimmunity have been explained as adjuvant-type effects of silica, more precise analyses are needed and should reflect the recent progress in immunomolecular findings. A brief summary of our investigations related to the immunological effects of silica/asbestos is presented. Recent advances in immunomolecular studies led to detailed analyses of the immunological effects of asbestos and silica. Both affect immuno-competent cells and these effects may be associated with the pathophysiological development of complications in silicosis and asbestos-exposed patients such as the occurrence of autoimmune disorders and malignant tumors, respectively. In addition, immunological analyses may lead to the development of new clinical tools for the modification of the pathophysiological aspects of diseases such as the regulation of autoimmunity or tumor immunity using cell-mediated therapies, various cytokines, and molecule-targeting therapies. In particular, as the incidence of asbestos-related malignancies is increasing and such malignancies have been a medical and social problem since the summer in 2005 in Japan, efforts should be focused on developing a cure for these diseases to eliminate the nation wide anxiety about these malignancies.