BACKGROUND: It is inaccurate to reflect the level of dust exposure through working years. Furthermore, identifying a predictive indicator for lung function decline is significant for coal miners. The study aimed to explored whether club cell secretory protein (CC16) levels can reflect early lung function changes. METHODS: The cumulative respiratory dust exposure (CDE) levels of 1,461 coal miners were retrospectively assessed by constructed a job-exposure matrix to replace working years. Important factors affecting lung function and CC16 were selected by establishing random forest models. Subsequently, the potential of CC16 to reflect lung injury was explored from multiple perspectives. First, restricted cubic spline (RCS) models were used to compare the trends of changes in lung function indicators and plasma CC16 levels after dust exposure. Then mediating analysis was performed to investigate the role of CC16 in the association between dust exposure and lung function decline. Finally, the association between baseline CC16 levels and follow-up lung function was explored. RESULTS: The median CDE were 35.13 mg/m³-years. RCS models revealed a rapid decline in forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in the first second (FEV₁), and their percentages of predicted values when CDE exceeded 25 mg/m³-years. The dust exposure level (<5 mg/m³-years) causing significant changes in CC16 was much lower than the level (25 mg/m³-years) that caused changes in lung function indicators. CC16 mediated 11.1% to 26.0% of dust-related lung function decline. Additionally, workers with low baseline CC16 levels experienced greater reductions in lung function in the future. CONCLUSIONS CC16 levels are more sensitive than lung indicators in reflecting early lung function injury and plays mediating role in lung function decline induced by dust exposure. Low baseline CC16 levels predict poor future lung function.
Uteroglobin/blood* ; Humans ; Dust/analysis* ; Occupational Exposure/analysis* ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Adult ; Retrospective Studies ; Lung Injury/chemically induced* ; Coal Mining ; Biomarkers/blood* ; China/epidemiology* ; Air Pollutants, Occupational ; Female

In China, the crude oil supply is highly dependent on overseas countries, and thus strengthening crude oil self-sufficiency has become an important issue of the national energy security. Tertiary oil recovery, especially polymer flooding, has been widely applied in large oil fields in China, which can increase the recovery rate by 15%-20% compared with water flooding. However, the widely used oil flooding polymers show poor thermal stability and salinity tolerance, complicated synthesis ways of monomers, and environmental unfriendliness. Moreover, the polymer flooding induces problems including pore plugging, heterogeneity intensification, high dispersion of remaining oil resources, pressure rise in injection wells, and low efficiency circulation of injection medium, which restrict the subsequent recovery of old oil fields. Here, we systematically review the developing and current situations of polymer flooding, introduce the innovative biomanufacturing of oil flooding polymers and their monomers or precursors as well as low-cost bio-based chemical raw materials for multiple compound flooding. The comprehensive study of the relationships between microbial fermentation metabolites and polymer flooding will reveal the green and low-carbon paths for polymer flooding. Such study will enable the application of enzymes produced by microorganisms in polymer production and polymer plugging removal after polymer flooding as well as the application of microbial metabolites such as biosurfactants, organic acids, alcohols, biogas, and amino acids in enhancing oil recovery. This review suggests that incorporating biomanufacturing into polymer flooding will ensure the high productivity and stability for crude oil production in China.
Polymers/metabolism* ; China ; Petroleum ; Oil and Gas Fields

Petroleum hydrocarbon pollution has become one of the global environmental problems, posing a serious threat to the environment and human health. Microbial remediation plays an important role in the remediation of petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated environment. Nevertheless, the stress factors present in the environment polluted by petroleum hydrocarbons limit the effectiveness of microbial remediation. This paper reviews the common stress factors in petroleum hydrocarbon-polluted environment and the response mechanisms of microorganisms to these factors. Furthermore, we introduce the methods to improve microbial tolerance, such as irrational modification, rational modification based on systems biology tools or tolerance mechanisms, and the construction of microbial consortia. The application of these methods is expected to improve the viability and remediation efficiency of microorganisms in petroleum hydrocarbon-contaminated environment and provide new perspectives and technical support for environmental remediation.
Biodegradation, Environmental ; Petroleum/metabolism* ; Hydrocarbons/isolation & purification* ; Bacteria/genetics* ; Environmental Pollutants/isolation & purification* ; Petroleum Pollution

To explore the differences in biological gas production in the waterlogged zone of a coal seam fire-affected area, in this study the in-situ gas production experiment was conducted with the mine water from aquitard layers in coal seam fire zones in Xinjiang. The results showed that the biogas production first increased and then decreased with the increase in distance, and the highest gas production reached 216.55 mL. The changes in key metabolic pathways during the anaerobic fermentation of coal were analyzed, which showed that as the distance from the aquitard layer in the coal seam fire zone increased, the methanogenesis pathways gradually shifted from acetic acid decarboxylation and carbon dioxide reduction to acetic acid decarboxylation and methylamine methanogenesis. The significant variability in the in-situ mine water reservoir conditions contributed to the differences. In addition, the reservoir pressure and temperature increased as the distance from the fire zone became longer, and the salinity of the farthest mine water in the reverse fault was the highest due to the lack of groundwater supply. Pearson correlation analysis revealed significant correlations of microbial communities with key functional genes and the types and concentrations of ions. The ions significantly influencing microbial enzymatic metabolic activities included Al³⁺, Fe²⁺, Co²⁺, Ni²⁺, Cu²⁺, Zn²⁺, Mg²⁺, PO₄^3-, and Mo⁶⁺. The differences in metabolic pathways were attributed to the integrated effects of a co-occurring environment with multiple ions. The gas production simulation experiments and metagenomic analyses provide data support for the practical application of in-situ biogas experiments, laying a foundation for engineering applications.
Biofuels ; Coal ; Methane/biosynthesis* ; Fires ; Groundwater ; Coal Mining ; Fermentation ; China ; Anaerobiosis

Humans ; Vascular Stiffness ; Coal Mining ; Occupational Diseases/epidemiology* ; Risk Factors ; Coal ; Miners

Objective: To understand the exposure level of dust and noise in the mining industry and provide data support for revising policy for the prevention and control of occupational diseases. Methods: In May 2022, Data was collected through the National Surveillance Program for Occupational Hazards in the Workplace. Descriptive analysis was conducted for dust and noise levels by industry type and enterprise size from 7, 679 enterprises in the mining industry among 29 provincial regions nationwide. Results: The enterprises in the mining industry included in the National Surveillance Program for Occupational Hazards in the Workplace are mainly small and micro, accounting for 47.97% (3684/7679) and 30.00% (230/7679) respectively. The industry is mainly compred of employers in the non-metallic ming and beneficiation industry, accounting for 50.25% (3859/7679). Among the enterprises with silica dust, coal dust, and noise hazards, the proportion of enterprises where total dust concentration and noise intensity exceed the standard is higher than 50%. 30% of the posts are with an exposure level of silica dust, coal dust, and noise that exceeds the standard. The exceedance rate and the median of the time-weighted average concentration of total coal dust among large and medium-sized enterprises are higher than those among small and micro-sized enterprises (P<0.05) . Conclusion: The dust and noise hazards in the mining industry are lower than in the past in China, but more than 25% of workers are still at a high risk of occupational pneumoconiosis and noise deafness. Therefore, intervention and surveillance strategies should be strengthened in the future.
Humans ; Dust/analysis* ; Occupational Exposure/analysis* ; Occupational Health ; Coal ; Silicon Dioxide/analysis* ; Coal Mining

Objective: To understand the social security situation of current cases of pneumoconiosis in non-coal mine industries in Jiangsu Province, and to provide reference for the treatment and security work of pneumoconiosis patients. Methods: From January to October 2020, a follow-up survey was conducted on 4038 cases of pneumoconiosis in non-coal mine industries of the province from October 1949 to December 2019. The age, type of pneumoconiosis, industry type, and social security status of the patients were collected. Namely, work-related injury insurance, employer compensation, basic medical insurance for urban and rural residents, major illness insurance, etc. SPSS 19.0 was used for statistical description and analysis. Results: The cases of pneumoconiosis in non-coal mine industries in Jiangsu Province ranged in age from 36 to 105 (70.78±8.43) years old, and had been exposed to dust for 1 to 55 (19.27±9.29) years. Silicosis was the main form (3875 cases, 95.96%), and non-metallic mining and dressing industry was the main form (2618 cases, 64.83%). A total of 3991 cases (98.84%) of pneumoconiosis patients enjoyed social security, most of them were urban and rural residents with basic medical insurance (3624 cases, 89.75%), but there were still 47 patients without any social security. 15 cases (0.37%) enjoyed the subsistence allowance, with the monthly allowance amount ranging from 104 to 3960 yuan, with the average amount of 954.87 yuan/month. Conclusion: In Jiangsu Province, the proportion of pneumoconiosis patients in non-coal mine industries enjoying social security is relatively high, but there are still patients who do not enjoy any social security, and the difference in the amount of subsistence allowance is slightly larger. It is necessary to further improve the medical security of pneumoconiosis patients and improve their quality of life.
Humans ; Adult ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Social Security ; Prevalence ; Quality of Life ; Pneumoconiosis/epidemiology* ; Silicosis/epidemiology* ; Etoposide ; Ifosfamide ; Mesna ; Coal Mining ; China/epidemiology*

Objective: To analyze the clinical diagnostic characteristics of pneumoconiosis patients of migrant workers in Hunan Province, and to provide scientific basis for the prevention and treatment of pneumoconiosis. Methods: In February 2022, through the Hunan Provincial Medical Treatment and Assistance Information Platform for Pneumoconiosis Migrant Workers, the cases of irresponsible subjects with pneumoconiosis that were first diagnosed clinically in Hunan Province from January 2017 to December 2021 were collected, and analyzed their gender, age, length of service, types of pneumoconiosis, stages of pneumoconiosis, and comorbidities. Results: From January 2017 to December 2021, there were a total of 26131 cases of irresponsible pneumoconiosis patients diagnosed clinically in Hunan Province, with males accounting for 99.8% (26072 cases) and an average age of (60.66±8.04) years old. Among the 26131 patients, coal workers' pneumoconiosis and silicosis were the main causes, with 16816 and 9078 cases respectively, accounting for 99.1% of the diagnosed cases. There were 8640 cases (33.1%) of stageⅠpneumoconiosis, 6601 cases (25.2%) of stage Ⅱ pneumoconiosis, and 10890 cases (41.7%) of stage Ⅲ pneumoconiosis. 2051 patients experienced complications. The average age of exposure to dust of 26131 patients was (17.81±9.69) years, and the age of exposure to dust in silicosis patients was (14.60±9.62) years. The working age of coal worker's pneumoconiosis was (19.60±9.26) years. Compared with coal workers' pneumoconiosis patients, silicosis patients had a shorter working time exposed to dust, and the difference was statistically significant (P<0.05) . Conclusion: Coal workers' pneumoconiosis and silicosis are mainly diagnosed for the first time in migrant workers' pneumoconiosis patients in Hunan Province. Pneumoconiosis patients should be diagnosed in time, which is conducive to treatment and rehabilitation.
Male ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Aged ; Child ; Adolescent ; Young Adult ; Adult ; Child, Preschool ; Coal Mining ; Pneumoconiosis/epidemiology* ; Silicosis ; Anthracosis/epidemiology* ; Dust ; Coal ; China/epidemiology*

Plastics are widely used in human daily life, which bring great convenience. Nevertheless, the disposal of a large amount of plastic wastes also brings great pressure to the environment. Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a polymer thermoplastic material produced from petroleum. It has become one of the most commonly used plastics in the world due to its durability, high transparency, light weight and other characteristics. PET can exist in nature for a long time due to its complex structure and the difficulty in degradation, which causes serious pollution to the global ecological environment, and threatens human health. The degradation of PET wastes has since become one of the global challenges. Compared with physical and chemical methods, biodegradation is the greenest way for treating PET wastes. This review summarizes the recent advances on PET biodegradation including microbial and enzymatic degradation of PET, biodegradation pathway, biodegradation mechanisms, and molecular modification of PET-degrading enzymes. In addition, the prospect for achieveing efficient degradation of PET, searching and improving microorganisms or enzymes that can degrade PET of high crystallinity are presented, with the aimto facilitate the development, application and molecular modification of PET biodegradation microorganisms or enzymes.
Humans ; Polyethylene Terephthalates/metabolism* ; Polymers ; Biodegradation, Environmental ; Petroleum

Humans ; Coal ; Dust/analysis* ; Anthracosis ; China/epidemiology* ; Coal Mining ; Occupational Exposure