OBJECTIVE: Recent studies have overturned the traditional concept of the lung as a "sterile organ" revealing that pulmonary microbiota dysbiosis and abnormal surfactant proteins (SPs) expression are involved in the progression of silicosis. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between abnormal SPs expression and dysbiosis of lung microbiota in silica-induced lung fibrosis, providing insights into mechanisms of silicosis. METHODS: Lung pathology, SPs expression, and microbiota composition were evaluated in silica-exposed mice. A mouse model of antibiotic-induced microbiota depletion was established, and alveolar structure and SPs expression were assessed. The roles of the lung microbiota and SPs in silicosis progression were further evaluated in mice with antibiotic-induced microbiota depletion, both with and without silica exposure. RESULTS: Silica exposure induced lung inflammation and fibrosis, along with increased expression of SP-A expression. Antibiotics (Abx)-induced microbiota depletion elevated SP-A and SP-D expression. Furthermore, silica exposure altered lung microbiota composition, enriching potentially pathogenic taxa. However, antibiotic-induced microbiota depletion prior to silica exposure reduced silica-mediated lung fibrosis and inflammation. CONCLUSION Lung microbiota is associated with silica-induced lung injury. Overproduction of SP-A and SP-D, induced by Abx-induced microbiota depletion, may enhance the resistance of mouse lung tissue to silica-induced injury.
Animals ; Silicosis/prevention & control* ; Lung/metabolism* ; Mice ; Anti-Bacterial Agents/pharmacology* ; Microbiota/drug effects* ; Silicon Dioxide/toxicity* ; Mice, Inbred C57BL ; Male ; Pulmonary Surfactant-Associated Proteins/genetics*

Silicon-based microring resonator (SMRR), as a typical application of label-free detection in optical biosensors, performs advantages such as small size, high sensitivity, and ease of integration, making it suitable for detecting physical, chemical, and biological signals. Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder with high concealment, while early intervention can effectively slow its progression. For early diagnosis of AD, optical detection platforms based on SMRR can effectively overcome the challenges posed by low-abundance biomarkers and interfering factors in blood screening, demonstrating the potential for ultra-sensitive detection with low false positives. However, the clinical application of SMRR in AD detection is currently limited due to significant differences in optimized designs, the lack of commercial off-the-shelf chips and unified detection platforms, and high costs. Additionally, the biomarkers for early AD diagnosis are controversial, limiting their diagnostic utility. This paper reviews the sensing principles of SMRR and summarizes its research progress in the biomedical field. With AD as the research focus, we have discussed the main application limitations of SMRR-based detection technology and its clinical potential in early AD diagnosis. In the future, the standardization, integration, and universal applicability of silicon-based microring resonator technology may emerge as key development directions, aiming to develop mature commercial detection instruments and promote their widespread application in clinical diagnosis.
Silicon/chemistry* ; Biosensing Techniques/methods* ; Humans ; Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis* ; Biomarkers/analysis*

Humans ; Nutrition Assessment ; Prognosis ; Silicosis/prevention & control* ; Occupational Diseases ; China/epidemiology* ; Occupational Exposure ; Silicon Dioxide

OBJECTIVE: To explore the influence of the thickness of mixed cardboard on the compressive strength of glass ionomer cement and the associated factors. METHODS: Three different types of glass ionomer cements were mixed on the top of 60, 40, 20 and 1 pieces of paper (P60, P40, P20 and P1), respectively. The compressive strength of the materials was tested after solidification, and the bubble rate was calculated with the assistance of scanning electron microscope. RESULTS: (1) Compressive strength: ① ChemFil Superior glass ionomer (CF): The average compressive strength of P1 group was the highest, which was significantly different from that of P40 and P60 groups (P values were 0.041 and 0.032 respectively); ② To Fuji IX GP glass ionomer (IX): The average compressive strength of P1 group was the highest, which was statistically different from that of P40 and P60 groups (P values were 0.042 and 0.038 respectively); ③ Glaslonomer FX-Ⅱ glass ionomer cement (FX): The average compressive strength of P1 group was the highest, which was statistically different from that of P20, P40 and P60 groups (P values were 0.031, 0.040 and 0.041 respectively), but there was no statistical difference among the other groups. All the three materials showed that the compressive strength of glass ions gradually increased with the decrease of the thickness of the blended paperboard, and the two materials had a highly linear negative correlation, the correlation coefficients of which were CF-0.927, IX-0.989, FX-0.892, respectively. (2) Scanning electron microscope: P1 group had the least bubbles among the three materials. CONCLUSION It indicates that the thickness of mixed cardboard has a negative correlation with the compressive strength of glass ions. The thicker the mixed cardboard is, the greater the elasticity is. Excessive elasticity will accelerate the mixing speed when the grinding glass ions. Studies have shown that the faster the speed of artificial mixing is, the more bubbles is produced.The thicker ther mixed cardboard is, the more bubblesn are generated by glass ionomer cement, and the higher the compressive strength is. Using one piece of paper board to mix glass ionomer cement has the least bubbles and can obtain higher compressive strength.
Compressive Strength ; Materials Testing ; Glass Ionomer Cements ; Silicon Dioxide

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of novel bioactive glasses (BG) including PSC with high phosphorus component and FBG with fluorine-doped element on promoting remineralization of artificial dentin caries. METHODS: (1) BGs were used in this study as follows: PSC (10.8%P₂O₅-54.2%SiO₂-35.0%CaO, mol.%) were synthesized using phytic acid as the phosphorus precursor through sol-gel method. FBG (6.1%P₂O₅-37.0%SiO₂-53.9%CaO-3.0%CaF₂, mol.%) and 45S5(6.0%P₂O₅-45.0%SiO₂-24.5%CaO-24.5%Na₂O, mol.%) were synthesized by traditional melt method. (2) The above BGs were soaked in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 24 hours. Then X-ray diffraction (XRD) was used to analyze the formation of hydroxyapatite (HA) crystals. (3) Prepared 1 mm thick dentin slices were soaked in 17% ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) for 1 week to demineralize the dentin. Then the dentin slices treated by BG were soaked in SBF for 1 week. Field emission scanning electron micro-scopy (FE-SEM) was used to observe the surface morphology of the dentin slices. (4) Four cavities were prepared to 1 mm depth in each 2 mm thick dentin slice, then were treated with lactic acid for 2 weeks to form the artificial dentin caries. Wax, mineral trioxide aggregate (MTA), PSC and FBG were used to fill four cavities as blank control group, MTA group, PSC group and FBG group respectively. Then the spe-cimens were soaked in SBF for 4 weeks. The changes of depth and density of demineralized dentin were analyzed using Micro-CT before filling and after 2 and 4 weeks filling. RESULTS: (1) PSC and FBG promoted mineral formation on the surfaces of the demineralized dentin. And the speed was faster and crystallinity was higher in PSC group than the FBG and 45S5 groups. (2) The increased mineral density of artificial dentin caries in PSC group were (185.98 ± 55.66) mg/cm³ and (213.64 ± 36.01) mg/cm³ 2 and 4 weeks after filling respectively, which were significantly higher than the control group [(20.38 ± 7.55) mg/cm³, P=0.006; (36.46 ± 10.79) mg/cm³, P=0.001]. At meanwhile, PSC group was also higher than MTA group [(57.29 ± 10.09) mg/cm³; (111.02 ± 22.06) mg/cm³], and it had statistical difference (P=0.015; P=0.006). The depth of remineralized dentin in PSC group were (40.0 ± 16.9) μm and (54.5 ± 17.8) μm 2 and 4 weeks respectively, which were also statistically different from the control group (P =0.010;P=0.001). There were no statistical differences between the control group and MTA group. The above effects of FBG group were between PSC and MTA. CONCLUSION PSC has advantages in the speed, quality and depth of mineral deposition in the demineralized layer of artificial dentin caries. It would be expected to be an ideal material to promote the remineralization of dentin caries.
Dentin ; Silicon Dioxide/pharmacology* ; Dental Caries Susceptibility ; Minerals/pharmacology* ; Phosphorus/pharmacology* ; Tooth Remineralization/methods*

OBJECTIVE: To study microstructure, friction and wear behaviors of silicon-lithium spray coating on the surface of zirconia ceramics and to preliminarily evaluate its esthetic so as to provide support and guidance for the clinical application. METHODS: Zirconia ceramic specimens were randomly divided into three groups: coating group (two subgroups), polishing group (two subgroups), and glazing group (four subgroups), with 10 samples in each subgroup. The two subgroups of coating group were the zirconia ceramics with the untreated and preliminary polishing surfaces sprayed with silicon-lithium coating, respectively. The two subgroups of polishing group were preliminary polishing and fine polishing of zirconia ceramics, respectively. The four subgroups of glazing group were preliminarily polished zirconia ceramics glazed with Biomic and Stain/Glaze products, respectively; and untreated zirconia ceramics glazed with Biomic and Stain/Glaze products, respectively. The above 8 subgroups of zirconia ceramic specimens were used as friction pairs with 80 steatite ceramics for 50 000 chewing cycles under 50 N vertical load and artificial saliva lubrication using chewing simulation. Scanning electron microscope was used to observe the microstructure of the surface and section of the coating group, and the thickness of the coating and glazing were measured. The linear roughness of the coating and polishing groups was mea-sured using a laser confocal scanning microscope. Vickers hardness was measured using a microhardness tester and the esthetic of zirconia ceramic full crown sprayed with silicon-lithium coating was preliminarily evaluated. White light interferometer was used to measure the width, the maximum depth and the volume of the wear scars of each group, and the wear depth of steatite ceramics and wear rate of zirconia ceramic specimens were calculated. Kruskal-Wallis nonparametric test and Dunn's multiple comparisons test were used to analyze the wear depth of each group (α=0.05). RESULTS: The microstructures of the silica-lithium spray coatings on the untreated and preliminarily polished zirconia ceramic surfaces showed the protruding defects, and the line roughness of coating group was larger than that of the polishing group. The median thickness of the silica-lithium spray coating on the preliminarily polished zirconia ceramic was 13.0 μm (interquartile range, IQR: 11.6, 17.9), while that of the silica-lithium spray coating on the untreated zirconia ceramic was 4.4 μm (IQR: 4.1, 4.7). The Vickers hardness and wear rate of the coating group were between the polishing group and the glazing group. The wear depths of the wear scars of steatite ceramics were the glazing group, coating group, and polishing group in descending order, and there was statistically significant difference between glazing and polishing groups (P < 0.05). With the increase of polishing procedure, the wear depth of steatite ceramics decreased in each subgroups. The orders of maximum depth and volume of wear scars of zirconia ceramic were the glazing group, coating group, and polishing group in descending order, and there was statistically significant difference in the maximum depth of wear scars between glazing and polishing groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION The silica-lithium spray coating on the zirconia ceramic, can be used as a new method for zirconia ceramic surface treatment, because it can increase the esthetic of zirconia ceramics compared with polishing and reduce the wear of steatite ceramics compared with glazing.
Humans ; Silicon ; Materials Testing ; Friction ; Lithium ; Cicatrix ; Surface Properties ; Silicon Dioxide ; Zirconium/chemistry* ; Ceramics ; Dental Porcelain

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 prepare customized porous silicone orbital implants using embedded 3D printing and assess the effect of surface modification on the properties of the implants. METHODS: The transparency, fluidity and rheological properties of the supporting media were tested to determine the optimal printing parameters of silicone. The morphological changes of silicone after modification were analyzed by scanning electron microscopy, and the hydrophilicity and hydrophobicity of silicone surface were evaluated by measuring the water contact angle. The compression modulus of porous silicone was measured using compression test. Porcine aortic endothelial cells (PAOECs) were co-cultured with porous silicone scaffolds for 1, 3 and 5 days to test the biocompatibility of silicone. The local inflammatory response to subcutaneous porous silicone implants was evaluated in rats. RESULTS: The optimal printing parameters of silicone orbital implants were determined as the following: supporting medium 4% (mass ratio), printing pressure 1.0 bar and printing speed 6 mm/s. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the silicone surface was successfully modified with polydopamine and collagen, which significantly improved hydrophilicity of the silicone surface (P < 0.05) without causing significant changes in the compression modulus (P > 0.05). The modified porous silicone scaffold had no obvious cytotoxicity and obviously promoted adhesion and proliferation of PAOECs (P < 0.05). In rats bearing the subcutaneous implants, no obvious inflammation was observed in the local tissue. CONCLUSION Poprous silicone orbital implants with uniform pores can be prepared using embedded 3D printing technology, and surface modification obviously improves hydrophilicity and biocompatibility of the silicone implants for potential clinical application.
Animals ; Rats ; Swine ; Silicon ; Orbital Implants ; Endothelial Cells ; Porosity ; Silicones ; Printing, Three-Dimensional

Objective: Differential flora and differential metabolites shared by the intestinal and respiratory tracts of rats were screened to analyze the possible role of changes in intestinal flora and metabolites in the progression of pneumoconiosis in rats. Methods: In April 2020, 18 SD rats were randomly divided into three groups (control group, coal mine dust group and silica group, 6 in each group) , rats in the coal mine dust group and silica group were perfused with 1 ml of 50 mg/ml coal mine well dust suspension and silica suspension by nontracheal exposure, respectively. While rats in the control group were perfused with an equal dose of sterilized normal saline. Twenty four weeks after dust staining, rat feces, throat swabs, and lung lavages were collected. 16SrDNA gene sequencing and UHPLC-QTOF-MS untargeted metabolomics were used to analyze the flora and metabolites in feces, throat swabs and lung lavage fluid of rats in each group, to screen for shared differential flora and shared differential metabolites in intestinal and respiratory tract, and the correlation analysis between the differential flora and metabolites was performed using Spearman's statistics. Results: Compared with the control group, a total of 9 species shared differential flora between intestinal and respiratory tract were screened at phylum level, and a total of 9 species shared differential genus between intestinal and respiratory tract were screened at genus level in the coal mine dust group, mainly Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, Streptococcus, Lactobacillus, etc. Compared with the control group, a total of 9 shared differential flora were screened at the phylum level, and a total of 5 shared differential genus were screened at the genus level in the silica group, mainly Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Allobactera, Mucilaginibacter, etc. Compared with the control group, a total of 7 shared differential metabolites were screened for up-regulation of Stigmatellin, Linalool oxide and Isoleucine-leucine in both intestinal and respiratory tract in the coal mine dust group. Compared with the control group , a total of 19 shared differential metabolites werescreened in the silica group, of which Diethanolamine, 1-Aminocyclopropanecarboxylic acid, Isoleucine-leucine, Sphingosine, Palmitic acid, D-sphinganine, 1, 2-dioleoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidylcholine, and 1-Stearoyl-2-oleoyl-sn-glycerol 3-phosphocholine were up-regulated in both the intestinal and respiratory tract. Conclusion: There is a translocation of intestinal and respiratory flora in pneumoconiosis rats, and rats have an imbalance of lipid metabolism during the progression of pneumoconiosis.
Rats ; Animals ; Isoleucine ; Leucine ; Coal Mining ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Pneumoconiosis ; Dust/analysis* ; Silicon Dioxide ; Coal

Objective: In order to understand the dust concentration in the workplace of dust exposure enterprises in Shenxian. To evaluate the degree of occupational hazard factors of dust exposure enterprises. And provide basis for the formulation of occupational protection standards and management system of dust exposure enterprises. Methods: In February 2022, the dust concentration monitoring data of 89 dust exposure enterprises from 2017 to 2020 by the Shenxian Center for Disease Control and Prevention were collected, and the qualified rates of dust concentration detection of dust exposure enterprises in different years, dust types and enterprise sizes were analyzed. Results: A total of 89 dust enterprises were monitored from 2017 to 2020, 2132 dust samples were collected, and 1818 qualified samples were taken, with a total qualified rate of 85.3%. From 2017 to 2020, the dust detection qualified rates showed a year-by-year increase trend, 78.7% (447/568), 84.1% (471/560), 88.6% (418/472) and 90.6% (482/532), respectively, with statistically significant differences (χ(2)=36.27, P=0.003). The differences in the qualified rates of dust detection samples of silicon dust (66.1%, 41/62), grain dust (86.7%, 1549/1786), cotton dust (84.1%, 106/126) and wood dust (77.2%, 122/158) were statistically significant (χ(2)=29.66, P=0.002). The qualified rate of dust samples in large and medium-sized enterprises (95.1%, 1194/1256) was higher than that of small-sized enterprises (71.2%, 624/876), and the difference was statistically significant (χ(2)=1584.40, P=0.001) . Conclusion: The qualified rate of dust concentration monitoring results of dust exposure enterprises in Shenxian showed an increase trend year by year, while the pualified rate of dust concentration monitoring in small-sized enterprises was low, and the occupational hazard of silica dust was still severe.
Dust ; Silicon ; Wood ; Workplace