Mesothelioma among seamen: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: Navy personnel and seafarers live and work 24 h per day in the shipboard environment and they are exposed to asbestos fibers released into the confined spaces aboard ships. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to quantify the mesothelioma risk of seamen working aboard ships, either commercial or naval vessels, as compared to that of the general population. METHODS: We carried out a literature search in MEDLINE through PubMed and EMBASE, from inception to 31 December 2021, of all studies on seamen working aboard ships, either commercial or naval vessels, characterized by exposure to asbestos and providing mesothelioma risk estimates. The Newcastle-Ottawa Scale was used to assess the quality of the studies included. The pooled standardized mortality ratio (SMR) was computed across eligible studies. The study protocol was registered on PROSPERO and reporting followed the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines. RESULTS: A total of 10 studies published from 1990 to 2020 were considered eligible and included in the systematic review and meta-analysis. All the included studies were of good quality, with a median score of seven out of nine. Overall, there were 235 mesothelioma cases/deaths in the included studies versus 115.6 expected, with a pooled SMR of 2.11 (95% confidence intervals, 1.70-2.62), in the absence of a significant between-study heterogeneity (I2 = 39%, P = 0.11). CONCLUSION: A more than double excess risk for mesothelioma among seamen working aboard ships emerged from our meta-analysis.

The changes and correlation of IL-6 and oxidative stress levels in RAW264.7 macrophage cells induced by PAHs in PM2.5.

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of anthracene (Ant) with 3 rings, benzo[a]anthracene (BaA) with 4 rings and benzo[b]fluoranthene (BbF) with 5 rings in fine particulate matter (PM2.5) at different exposure times (4 h and 24 h) and low exposure levels (0 pg/mL, 0.1 pg/mL, 1 pg/mL, 100 pg/mL and 10,000 pg/mL) on RAW264.7 cells. The changes of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and oxidative stress levels in RAW264.7 cells were investigated by methyl-thiazolyl-tetrazolium (MTT) and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Pearson correlation analysis was used to analyze the correlation between variables. Ant, BaA and BbF induced the secretion of IL-6 and the occurrence of oxidative stress in RAW264.7 cells. The inflammatory effect and oxidative damage were exacerbated with prolonged exposure time, increasing exposure concentration and increasing number of PAH rings. At the same time, IL-6 was found to have a certain correlation with the levels of ROS, MDA and SOD. Exposure to atmospheric PAHs at low concentrations can also produce toxic effects on cells, IL-6 and oxidative stress work together in cell damage. The study is expected to provide a theoretical and experimental basis for air pollution control and human health promotion.

Selenium nanoparticles: Properties, preparation methods, and therapeutic applications.

Selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) are a unique type of nano-sized elemental selenium that have recently found wide application in biomedicine. It has been shown that the properties of SeNPs can be varied by different fabrication methods. Moreover, SeNPs have various therapeutic effects in medical applications due to their excellent biological and adaptable physical properties. At the same time, SeNPs can be used as a carrier medium for various therapeutic substances, which can bring out the full curative effects of the drugs. In this review, the differences in bioactivity properties of SeNPs prepared from different substances were reviewed; the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of SeNPs in cancer, inflammation, neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, reproductive diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and other diseases were discussed; and the importance of the development of SeNPs was further emphasized.

A scoping review on the risk of tuberculosis in specific population groups: can we expand the World Health Organization recommendations?

Since 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) has recommended prioritising testing and treatment of tuberculosis (TB) infection (TBI) in 11 high-risk groups. With new options emerging for TB preventive treatment, we conducted a scoping review, in consultation with the WHO's Global Tuberculosis Programme, to explore the evidence for other population groups at potentially high risk of progression to active TB. We searched six databases for preprints and articles published between 2000 and August 2022. 18 out of 33 668 screened records were included (six meta-analyses and 12 original research studies). Most were observational studies reporting the incidence of active TB in a risk group versus control. Glomerular diseases had the strongest association with active TB (standardised incidence ratio 23.36, 95% CI 16.76-31.68) based on an unpublished study. Other conditions associated with increased risk of active TB included hepatitis C, malignancies, diabetes mellitus, rheumatoid arthritis and vitamin D deficiency. Corticosteroid use was also associated with increased risk in several studies, although heterogeneous definitions of exposure and indications for use challenge interpretation. Despite methodological limitations of the identified studies, expanding the recommendations for TBI screening and treatment to new risk groups such as those reported here should be considered. Further group-specific systematic reviews may provide additional data for decision-making.