With technological advancement and the growing demand for renewable energy, research and applications of new energy materials are becoming increasingly widespread. Typical new energy materials include lithium-ion battery materials, nanomaterials, nuclear energy materials and magnetic materials, etc., each of which has special toxicological characteristics. These materials may pose potential toxicological risks in the process of resource exploitation, production, transportation, usage, recycling or disposal, which have negatively impact on human health and the ecological environment. Occupational exposure is the main route of energy materials exposure, with potential health hazards on workers during the processes of production, transportation, recycling, and disposal. Among them, the disassembled batteries in the recycling or waste disposal process requires quality control, which is the high-risk position of occupational hazards. At present, the toxicology study of typical new energy materials mainly focuses on the potential impact of lithium-ion battery materials and nanomaterials on human health and the environment, but there are still limitations and challenges. In the future, it is necessary to further strengthen the human health risk management and prevention and control of new energy materials to protect human health and sustainable development.

ObjectiveTo explore the role of lead exposure in the phenotypic transformation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC), and to provide new insights for the mechanism of lead impact on vascular lesions. MethodsMouse aortic smooth muscle cells (MOVAS) were divided into a control group (0 μmol·L^-1), low concentration lead groups (0.1, 1, 5, and 10 μmol·L^-1), and high concentration lead groups (15, 25, and50 μmol·L^-1). MTT assays were used to assess the proliferation of the cells, and scratch assays were implicated to measure migration ability of the cells. Fluorescence quantitative PCR was employed to determine levels of mRNA expression for smooth muscle actin α (α⁃SMA), smooth muscle 22 alpha (SM22α), synthetic phenotype-related genes osteopontin (OPN), matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9), and the transcription factor SOX9. Immunoblotting was used to determine levels of protein expression for α-SMA, OPN, and MMP9. ResultsProliferation of MOVAS was observed under the lead ions concentrations of 0‒50 µmol·L^-1, with a significant increase of proliferation compared to the control group at the concentrations of 5‒50 µmol·L^-1 (all P<0.05). The migration ability of cells gradually increased at the concentrations of 0‒10 µmol·L^-1, with a significant increase at 5 (q=4.574, P=0.003) and 10 µmol·L^-1 (q=10.570, P<0.001) compared to the control group. The 10 µmol·L^-1 lead ions significantly reduced the levels of mRNA expression for vascular smooth muscle contractile phenotype genes α⁃SMA (q=7.426, P<0.001) and SM22α (q=4.766, P=0.001), while significantly increasing the levels of mRNA expression for OPN (q=11.330, P<0.001), MMP9 (q=7.842, P<0.001), and SOX9 (q=11.120, P<0.001) genes. Furthermore, the 10 µmol·L^-1 lead ions significantly reduced the levels of protein expression for the vascular smooth muscle contractile phenotype marker α-SMA protein (q=2.897, P=0.049), while significantly increasing the levels of protein expression for the synthetic markers OPN (q=3.188, P=0.031) and MMP9 (q=3.292, P=0.026), compared to the control group. ConclusionTreatment with lead in vitro induced VSMC to differentiate from contractile phenotype to synthetic phenotype, indicating that a certain dose of lead exposure might be detrimental to the cardiovascular system.

With the development of clinical related disciplines, the update and establishment of relevant standards/guidelines at home and abroad, GBZ 185-2006 Diagnostic Criteria for Occupational Medicamentose-like Dermatitis due to Trichloroethylene (hereinafter referred to as “GBZ 185-2006”) was unable to meet clinical needs. Therefore, the GBZ 185-2006 was revised based on the principles of evidence-based medicine, in accordance with relevant laws/regulations and relevant standards/guidelines in combination with review of research data on occupational medicamentose-like dermatitis due to trichloroethylene (OMDT) home and abroad, and the development of clinical practice and clinical related disciplines. The main modifications include: adding terms and definitions of OMDT, modifying the description of clinical manifestations of the diagnostic principles, adjusting the description of latency, deleting the diagnostic requirement of the incidence probability, adding the specific allergen patch test as the etiological diagnostic index, standardizing the application scope, operating procedure and precautions of the specific allergen patch test. In addition, the relevant content of “Basic Characteristics and Clinical Types of Skin Damage of Medicamentose-like Dermatitis due to Trichloroethylene” in Appendix A is improved, the treatment principles are revised, and the content of new progress in treatment, artificial liver application, are added. The revised GBZ 185-2024 Diagnostic Standard for Occupational Medicamentose-like Dermatitis due to Trichloroethylene is more scientific and practical, and can provide technical basis for the standardized diagnosis and treatment of OMDT in medical and health institutions.

ObjectiveTo assess the capacity of health emergency drills for poisoning emergencies at the municipal level in Guangdong Province. Methods A total of 21 municipal teams from cities in Guangdong Province participated in the health emergency drill competition, which included comprehensive tests and practical assessments. Results The pass rate for the total score, comprehensive tests, practical assessments of 21 municipal teams was 66.7%, 33.3%, 66.7%, respectively. The pass rate of the comprehensive tests was lower than that of practical assessments (P<0.01). The pass rate for the total score, comprehensive tests, and practical assessments of team from the Pearl River Delta region was higher than those in non-Pearl River Delta regions (88.9% vs 50.0%, 55.5% vs 16.7%, 88.9% vs 50.0%). For the four comprehensive test items, the highest pass rate was for personal protective principles against chemical poisoning (57.1%). For the five practical assessment items, the highest pass rate was for the selection and matching of personal protective equipment and practice of poisoning detection (both 71.4%). Conclusion It is urgent to improve the capacity of health emergency drills at the municipal level in Guangdong Province. Emphasis should be placed on strengthening capacity building in teams from non-Pearl River Delta regions.

Objective To analyze the epidemic status of newly diagnosed occupational diseases in Guangdong Province during the “13th Five-Year Plan” period, and scientifically evaluate the critical risk factors for occupational disease prevention and control. Methods The data of newly diagnosed occupational diseases reported by internet in Guangdong Province from 2016 to 2020 was collected from Report Card of Occupational Diseases using Occupational Diseases and Health Hazard Factors Monitoring Information System under China Disease Prevention and Control Information System. Data was used to determine the epidemic status and identify key risk factors. Results A total of 4 846 cases of occupational diseases were reported in Guangdong Province during the “13th Five-Year Plan”period, with an increase rate of 39.13% compared with the “12th Five-Year Plan” period (3 483 cases). The annual distribution of newly diagnosed occupational disease cases showed a trend of increasing and then declining. The top five percentage on types of occupational diseases were occupational noise-induced deafness, occupational silicosis, occupational chronic benzene poisoning, other occupational pneumoconiosis and occupational hand-arm vibration disease, accounting for 45.23%, 16.28%, 11.52%, 7.92% and 4.60%, respectively. Cases from the Pearl River Delta region accounted for 92.76%, while five non-Delta cities had “zero reported cases”. Regarding industry sector, cases were primarily concentrated in manufacturing, construction, and mining, accounting for 84.21%, 5.49% and 3.59%, respectively. Regarding industry categories, cases were concentrated in metal products, non-metallic mineral products, manufacturing of cultur, education, art, sports and entertainment goods, manufacturing of computer, communication and other electric devices, and manufacturing of specialized equipment, accounting for 11.70%, 10.17%, 8.60%, 7.82%, and 4.81%, respectively. A total of 196 enterprises (accounting for 7.39%) reported an average of three or more new cases per year, while 19 enterprises (accounting for 0.72%) reported an average of ten or more cases per year. Conclusion The epidemic status of occupational diseases in Guangdong Province showed a “triple concentration” characteristic in disease types, regions, and industries during the “13th Five-Year Plan” period. Particular attention should be paid to epidemic status of occupational noise-induced deafness, occupational silicosis, occupational chronic benzene poisoning, other occupational pneumoconiosis, and occupational hand-arm vibration disease, and also pay special attention to the prevention and control of occupational diseases in the Pearl River Delta region, cities with “zero reported cases”, manufacturing industry and occupational disease-prone enterprises.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is malignant tumor with the fourth incidence rate and the second mortality rate in China, and patients with advanced stage have lost the chance of surgical treatment, short survival period and extremely poor prognosis. Histopathological biopsy is the gold standard for clinical diagnosis of malignant tumors, but histopathological biopsy is not only invasive, but also obtains fewer tissue samples, which does not reflect the heterogeneity of tumors, and makes it difficult to dynamically monitor the progression of tumors or the efficacy of treatment. Therefore, it is clinically important to find new non-invasive strategies for early detection of HCC and to monitor the efficacy of HCC. Circulating tumor DNA is a non-invasive liquid biopsy method with simple sampling and can dynamically monitor the genomic changes of tumors, which has great application value in early diagnosis, therapeutic efficacy monitoring, and prognostic evaluation of HCC.

Objective To analyze the characteristics of newly-diagnosed occupational diseases among female workers in Foshan City from 2013 to 2023. MethodsClinical data of newly-diagnosed occupational diseases among female workers in Foshan City from 2013 to 2023 were collected from the "Occupational Disease and Hazardous Detection Information System" subsystem of the "China Disease Prevention and Control Information System", and their distribution characteristics were analyzed using descriptive epidemiology. Results A total of 218 cases of newly-diagnosed occupational diseases among female workers in Foshan City were reported from 2013 to 2023, categorized into seven categories and 17 types. The median age and median length of exposure to occupational hazards among female workers were 45.1 and 7.8 years, respectively. The top three categories of newly-diagnosed cases were occupational diseases of the ear, nose, throat, and oral cavity (90 cases, all related to occupational noise-induced hearing loss), occupational chemical poisoning (61 cases), and occupational pneumoconiosis and other respiratory diseases (51 cases, including 50 cases with occupational pneumoconiosis). The newly-diagnosed cases were concentrated in Nanhai District, Shunde District, and Gaoming District, accounting for 75.2%. The newly-diagnosed cases were found in non-metallic mineral products manufacturing industry, metal products industry, and electrical machinery and equipment manufacturing industry, accounting for 50.9%. Enterprises of newly-diagnosed cases were mainly distributed in private enterprises and foreign-invested enterprises, accounting for 80.3%. The scale of enterprises of newly-diagnosed cases was mainly small- and medium-sized, accounting for 79.4%. Among the 218 cases, there were 21 cluster cases, involving 16 cases of occupational silicosis and five cases of occupational acute n-hexane poisoning, involving six manufacture industries, with 81.3% cases worked in sanitary ceramic products industry. Conclusion Occupational noise-induced deafness should be listed as a key occupational disease for female workers in Foshan City. Attention should be paid to the prevention of occupational diseases among middle-aged female workers in the non-metallic mineral products industry and small and medium-sized enterprises, and the cluster outbreaks of occupational pneumoconiosis.

Objective:To investigate the change of collagen fibers in locally recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after radical chemoradiotherapy and the discrepancy of adverse effects and survival outcomes among groups with different salvage treatments, provide references for the options of salvage therapy.Methods:Medical records of 137 patients with esophageal squamous cell carcinoma who received radical chemoradiotherapy and had local recurrence admitted to Cancer Center of Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University from January 2015 to September 2022 were retrospectively collected. The expression of collagen fibers in paraffin samples of cases with different recurrence time was determined by Masson staining, and the differences of the average optical density were calculated. According to the salvage treatment after local recurrence, all cases were divided into the salvage surgery group, second-course chemoradiotherapy group and immunochemotherapy group. The differences of survival outcomes and incidence rates of esophageal tracheal fistula, hemorrhage, pericardial effusion, radiation pneumonitis, radiation esophagitis were analyzed among the three groups. The differences of survival rates were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method and compared by log-rank test among groups.Results:The expression of collagen fibers in recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma was significantly higher than that in primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. Collagen fiber expression was gradually down-regulated with the prolongation of recurrence time. The expression of collagen fibers in recurrent cases after 7 years was similar to that of primary esophageal squamous cell carcinoma. The 1-, 2- and 3-year survival rates of patients in the salvage surgery group, the second-course chemoradiotherapy group and the immunochemotherapy group were 47%, 30%, 20%; 50%, 27%, 15% and 72.5%, 50%, 50%, respectively; Immunochemotherapy was more effective in salvage treatment for recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma, but there was no statistical difference.Conclusions:Collagen fibers are abundant in recurrent esophageal squamous cell carcinoma after radical chemoradiotherapy. With prolongation of recurrent interval, the expression of collagen fibers is down-regulated. The survival outcomes of patients in the immunochemotherapy group, salvage surgery group and second-course chemoradiotherapy group were comparable.

Objective: To analyze the status of occupational medical examination (OME) institutions in Guangdong Province and the critical control points affecting their future development. Methods: A total of 211 OME institutions registered in Guangdong Province were selected as the research subjects. Their current statue was investigated, and the risk assessment of their future development was carried out based on hazard analysis and critical control point theory. Results: The OME institutions were mainly concentrated in the Pearl River Delta, accounting for 72.0%. The public and private medical and health institutions accounted for 70.6% and 29.4% respectively. The filing rates of different OME categories from high to low in the order were physical factors, chemical factors, dust, other, radiation factors, biological factors (P<0.01), and the filing rates were 89.6%, 88.6%, 84.8%, 63.0%, 7.1% and 1.0%, respectively. The rates of excellence in the field assessment from high to low in the order were hearing atlas analysis personnel, lung function examination operators, chest film reading personnel, chief examination physician, technical director, quality director (P<0.01), and the rates of excellence were 49.4%, 26.2%, 20.6%, 10.8%, 8.2% and 4.6%, respectively. A total of 37 institutions did not submit OME information, of which 23 institutions did not carry out OME work after filing. The required diagnosis rate and confirmed diagnosis rate of suspected occupational diseases in 2020 were 34.3% and 55.3%, respectively. In 2021, the detection rate of suspected occupational diseases was only 1.1‰. Among the institutions with biological monitoring records, 64.1% did not participate in external quality assessment program in laboratory, and the unqualified rate of 38 participating institutions was 55.3%. The risk assessment results show that the future development of OME institutions needs to focus on private institutions, institutions that have not reported OME information, institutions that have missed diagnosis and missed reporting of suspected occupational diseases, institutions that have not participated in external quality assessment program in laboratory and core personnel such as quality managers, technical leaders, and main inspection physicians. Conclusion: OME institutions in Guangdong Province show the characteristics of centralized filing category, centralized filing region and centralized filing institution nature. Combined with the potential risks of OME institutional capacity building, it is necessary to implement classified management, strengthen information construction, supervision and management, implement post responsibilities, and promote the high-quality development of OME institutions.

Early diagnosis of pulmonary diseases is of great significance for their prevention and treatment. Serum Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6) assay can reflect the damage degree of alveolar epithelium and stromal tissue, and is simple, non-invasive and low-cost. Pervious study showed that the serum KL-6 level was higher in patients with various interstitial lung diseases (e.g. idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and connective tissue disease, primary Sjögren's syndrome, rheumatoid arthritis, idiopathic inflammatory myopathy and systemic sclerosis combined with interstitial lung disease), non-small cell lung cancer, various pneumonias and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease compared to healthy controls. Therefore, serum KL-6 has good sensitivity and specificity for the early diagnosis of these diseases. Occupational pneumoconiosis is an interstitial lung disease with a well-established etiology. Pervious study has shown that serum KL-6 level was higher in patients with occupational silicosis, occupational asbestosis, and dust-exposed workers compared to healthy controls. However, due to the limited sample size and the inconsistent findings on different studies, further research is needed to study the role of serum KL-6 in the early diagnosis of pneumoconiosis. Future studies should increase the sample size, improve the detection methods for serum KL-6, explore its feasibility as an early diagnostic biomarker for occupational pulmonary diseases, and investigate the efficacy andvalue of its combined application with other biomarkers in the early diagnosis of various pulmonary diseases, including occupational lung diseases, to fully exploit its predictive role in pulmonary diseases.