Investigation and analysis on pneumoconiosis in migrant workers without liability subject in Hunan Province / 中国职业医学

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of pneumoconiosis among migrant workers without liability subject(hereinafter referred to as Pneumoconiosis without Liability Subject) in Hunan Province. METHODS: The cases of pneumoconiosis without liability subject from 2017 to 2019 in Hunan Province were selected as the research subjects using typical sampling method. They were clinical diagnosis by occupational disease diagnostic institutions. The distributions of age, gender, length of service, area, type of work, type of pneumoconiosis, pneumoconiosis stage and the situation of poor households with filing and registration card were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 18 870 cases of pneumoconiosis without liability subject were clinically diagnosed in Hunan Province from 2017 to 2019. The patients were mainly males(accounting for 99.8%), with the age ranged 50-65 years old(64.7%). Most of them had dust exposure service length of 5-29 years(78.4%). The cases of stage Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ pneumoconiosis accounted for 32.2%, 26.0% and 41.8% respectively. The main types of disease were coal workers′ pneumoconiosis and silicosis(accounted for 99.3%). The first five geographical distributions were Chenzhou City, Zhuzhou City, Hengyang City, Yiyang City and Shaoyang City, accounting for 17.9%, 14.6%, 14.1%, 11.8% and 9.2% respectively. The distribution of work types were mainly mine-related jobs(91.3%). There were 1 774 cases who had complications(9.4%), of which the top three complications were emphysema, pulmonary and bronchial infection and tuberculosis. There were 3 662 cases with poor households archives and cards(19.4%). CONCLUSION: The hazards of pneumoconiosis among migrant workers in Hunan Province should not be ignored. In 2017, Hunan Province took the lead in launching a large-scale basic medical treatment and rescue operation for migrant workers with pneumoconiosis, which helped solve the problem of pneumoconiosis in migrant workers who had no professional history certification and responsible employer.

MicroRNA‑185 is a novel tumor suppressor by negatively modulating the Wnt/β‑catenin pathway in human colorectal cancer.

OBJECTIVE: The deregulation of microRNA‑185 (miR‑185) has been showed to be associated with many cancers and act as a tumor suppressor in many types of human malignancies. We hence tried to find out its role in human colorectal cancer (CRC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: miR‑185 expression was investigated by real‑time quantitative polymerase chain reaction. We carried out transfections to overexpress or knockdown of miR‑185 by mimics or inhibitor, respectively. Functional study like cell counting kit‑8 assay was performed to evaluate the proliferation. For addressing the impact of miR‑185 on Wnt/β‑catenin signaling, we further applied luciferase reporter assay and Western blotting for specific proteins in this pathway. RESULTS: miR‑185 was decreased in CRC cell lines when compared with corresponding control cell line. We also proved that its overexpression in LoVo cells could remarkably suppress cell proliferation whereas knocked it down in SW480 cells has the opposite effect in vitro. Mechanically, we demonstrated that miR‑185 could suppress the Wnt/β‑catenin signaling and modulate the transcription and translation level of downstream molecules of this pathway, including MYC and CCND1. CONCLUSION: Taken together, these results suggested that miR‑185 exerts its tumor suppressor activities probably through a negative modulation of the Wnt/β‑catenin pathway.

Ultrasonic guided percutaneous ethanol injection with or without combined radiofrequency ablation for hepatocellular carcinomas.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this retrospective study was to evaluate whether radiofrequency ablation (RFA) combined percutaneous ethanol injection (PEI) in the management of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) improves treatment outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We retrospectively included 66 HCC patients who received RFA or RFA plus PEI from February 2011 to January 2014 in Jingmen No. 1 People’s Hospital. Moreover, 31 cases received RFA plus PEI as the experiment group and 35 subjects treated with RFA aloe as the control group. The overall survival and treatment related complications were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: For RFA group, the 1‑year, 2‑year, and 3‑year survival rate were 82.0%, 69.3%, and 30.7%, respectively, with the median survival time of 27.1 months. For RFA plus PEI group, the 1‑year, 2‑year, and 3‑year survival rate were 97.1%, 73.9%, and 37.5%, respectively, with the median survival time of 33.6 months. The overall survival of the two groups was not statistical different with the hazard ratio of 1.48 (P > 0.05); three cases of treatment associated complications were found in RFA group with 1 abscess, 1 pleural effusion, and 1 portal vein thrombosis. Moreover, 2 cases of complication were recorded in RFA plus PEI group with 1 pleural effusion and 1 portal vein thrombosis. The complicated incidence rate was not statistical different between the two groups (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The combination treatment of HCC was safe and had a slightly higher primary effectiveness rate than RFA alone.