Time to sputum culture conversion and its associated factors among drug-resistant tuberculosis patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the sputum culture conversion time of DR-TB patients and its related factors. METHODS: PubMed, The Cochrane Library, Embase, CINAHL, Web of Science, CNKI, Wan Fang, CBM and VIP databases were electronically searched to collect studies on sputum culture conversion time in patients with DR-TB. Meta-analysis was performed by using the R 4.3.0 version and Stata 16 software. RESULTS: A total of 45 studies involving 17373 patients were included. Meta-analysis results showed that the pooled median time to sputum culture conversion was 68.57 days (IQR 61.01,76.12). The median time of sputum culture conversion in patients with drug-resistant tuberculosis was different in different WHO regions, countries with different levels of development and different treatment schemes. And female (aHR = 0.59,95%CI: s0.46,0.76), alcohol history (aHR = 0.70,95%CI:0.50,0.98), smoking history (aHR = 0.58,95%CI:0.38,0.88), history of SLD use (aHR = 0.64,95%CI:0.47,0.87), BMI < 18.5 kg/m2 (aHR = 0.69,95%CI:0.60,0.80), lung cavity (aHR = 0.70,95%CI:0.52,0.94), sputum smear grading at baseline (Positive) (aHR = 0.56,95%CI:0.36,0.87), (grade 1+) (aHR = 0.87,95%CI:0.77,0.99), (grade 2+) (aHR = 0.81,95%CI:0.69,0.95), (grade 3+) (aHR = 0.71,95%CI:0.61,0.84) were the related factor of sputum culture conversion time in patients with DR-TB. CONCLUSION: Patients with DR-TB in Europe or countries with high level of economic development have earlier sputum culture conversion, and the application of bedaquiline can make patients have shorter sputum culture conversion time. Female, alcohol history, smoking history, history of SLD use, BMI < 18.5 kg/m2, lung cavity, sputum smear grading at baseline (Positive, grade 1+, grade 2+, grade 3+) may be risk factors for longer sputum culture conversion time. This systematic review has been registered in PROSPERO, the registration number is CRD42023438746.

Lymphocyte-based challenge DNA-repair assays for personalized health risk assessment.

Combinations of genetic and environmental factors are responsible for the development of many human diseases, such as cancer, as demonstrated using various biomarkers. Within this scenario, DNA repair holds a gate-keeper position which determines outcomes after appearance of DNA damage and, therefore, adverse cellular consequences, e.g., initiation of carcinogenesis. DNA repair deficiency and some of the subsequent events can be validated from studies using live cells from cancer patients. However, these deficiencies/events are difficult to demonstrate in live cells from normal individuals because individual variations in DNA repair capacities (DRC) are too low to be measured easily. Such lack of information has been hindering progress in developing personalized disease prevention and intervention protocols, especially among exposed populations. However, using a variety of challenge assays as biomarkers, variations in individual's DRC can be amplified in live cells and be determined. Furthermore, evidence indicates that DRC are not only inherited but can also be modified by environmental factors (e.g., nutritional status and exposure to genotoxic substances). Using these challenge assays, e.g., in live lymphocytes, individual's DRC can be holistically and functionally determined as well as quantitated. With the more precise information, assessment of health risk can be better determined on an individual rather than on a population basis. This review provides a succinct summary on the development and application of recent challenge assays in lymphocytes which can provide measurements of individuals' DRC, and on the latest data for more precise disease prevention and intervention.

Occupational Health Risk Assessment of Benzene, Toluene, and Xylene in Shanghai.

OBJECTIVE: This study was designed to conduct a retrospective and systematic occupational health risk assessment (OHRA) of enterprises that used benzene, toluene, and xylene (BTX) in Shanghai, China. METHODS: All data for the study were obtained from 1,705 occupational health examination and evaluation reports from 2013 to 2017, and a semiquantitative model following Chinese OHRA guidelines (GBZ/T 298-2017) was applied for the assessment. RESULTS: The selected enterprises using BTX were mainly involved in manufacturing of products. Using the exposure level method, health risk levels associated with exposure to BTX were classified as medium, negligible, or low. However, the risk levels associated with benzene and toluene were significantly different according to job types, with gluers and inkers exhibiting greater health risks. For the same job type, the health risk levels assessed using the comprehensive index method were higher than those using the exposure level method. CONCLUSION: Our OHRA reveals that workers who are exposed to BTX still face excessive health risk. Additionally, the risk level varied depending on job categories and exposure to specific chemicals. Therefore, additional control measures recommended by OHRA guidelines are essential to reduce worker exposure levels.

BurnCalc assessment study of computer-aided individual three-dimensional burn area calculation.

BACKGROUND: Accurate estimation of a burned area is crucial to decisions about fluid resuscitation, surgical options, nutritional support, and prognosis. Widely used clinical methods to estimate a burn area are two-dimensional. They do not consider age, sex, body mass, physical deformities, or other relevant factors. Computer-aided methods have improved the accuracy of estimating burned areas by including data analysis and reducing subjective differences. Three-dimensional (3D) scanning allows us to determine body dimensions rapidly and reproducibly. We describe an individualized, cost-efficient, portable 3D scanning system, BurnCalc, that can create an individual 3D model and then calculate body surface area (BSA) and the burn area accurately and quickly. METHODS: The BurnCalc system was validated by verifying the accuracy and stability of BSA calculation. We measured 10 regular objects in experiment 1, using Student's t-test and the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) in the analysis. In experiment 2, artificial paper patches of known dimensions were attached to various parts of the body of 40 volunteers. Their sizes were then calculated using BurnCalc. The BurnCalc data were compared to actually measured values to verify accuracy and stability. Total BSAs of these 40 volunteers were also calculated by BurnCalc and compared to those derived from an accepted formula. In experiment 3, four experts using Chinese Rule-of-Nines or Rule-of-Palms methods calculated the percentages of the total BSA in 17 volunteers. Student's t-test and ICC, respectively, were used to compare the results obtained with the BurnCalc technique. RESULTS: Statistically, in experiment 1, p = 0.834 and ICC = 0.999, demonstrating that there was no difference between the BurnCalc and real measurements. Also, the hypothesis of null difference among measures (experiment 2) was true because p > 0.05 and ICC = 0.999, indicating that calculations of the total BSA and the burn area were more accurate using the BurnCalc technology. The reliability of the BurnCalc program was 99.9%. In experiment 3, only the BurnCalc method exhibited values of p > 0.05 (p = 0.774) and ICC = 0.999. CONCLUSIONS: BurnCalc technology produced stable, accurate readings, suggesting that BurnCalc could be regarded as a new standard clinical method.

[The assessment of reliability and validity of musculoskeletal questionnaire].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the reliability and validity of musculoskeletal questionnaire. METHODS: A self-administered modified musculoskeletal questionnaire was used to investigate 12 098 workers from eight occupations, i.e. coal mining, petroleum, metallurgical, mechanical manufacturing, chemical, garment and railroad transportation industries and education. The Cronbach's α coefficient, analysis of covariance and multiple logistic regression were used to assess the reliability and validity of musculoskeletal questionnaire. RESULTS: The consistent test between total items of Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and each factor showed that the range of Cronbach's α was 0.52 ∼ 0.92, except from vibration factor, other Cronbach's α was more than 0.7. All 55 items of Musculoskeletal Questionnaire were subjected to factor analysis, and ten latent factors were identified, which explained 55.17% of the total variance. The potentially hazardous working conditions could be categorized into seven dimensions (force, dynamic load, static load, repetitive load, climate factors, vibration exposure and environmental ergonomic factor), which consisted with the theory model. The results of covariance analysis indicated that there were significant difference among 7 dimension indices in different jobs (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: The modified Musculoskeletal Questionnaire is a valid and reliable tool for measuring musculoskeletal workload.

Assessment of the cell-mediated immunity induced by alphavirus replicon-vectored DNA vaccines against classical swine fever in a mouse model.

We have previously shown that an alphavirus replicon-vectored DNA vaccine (pSFV1CS-E2) encoding the E2 glycoprotein of classical swine fever virus (CSFV) completely protected the immunized pigs from lethal challenge. These animals developed only low or moderate level viral-specific antibody titers before challenge, implying that cell-mediated immunity (CMI) probably played an important role in the protective immunity against CSFV conferred by the DNA vaccine. In this study, the CMI induced by pSFV1CS-E2 and its derivative pSFV1CS-E2-UL49 encoding a fusion protein of CSFV E2 and pseudorabies virus (PRV) VP22 was evaluated in a mouse model by lymphoproliferation assays based on CFSE or WST-8, intracellular cytokine staining, and cytokine ELISA. The results showed that both vaccines induced CSFV-specific lymphoproliferative responses and cytokine production, and pSFV1CS-E2-UL49 induced stronger lymphoproliferative responses and higher cytokine levels than pSFV1CS-E2. These findings suggest that the alphavirus replicon-delivered DNA vaccines are capable of inducing CMI, and PRV VP22 is able to enhance the immunogenicity of the co-delivered antigen.

[Relationship of occupational injuries with social and economic factors].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship of occupational injuries with social and economic factors in chemical industry during 2000.01 - 2001.12. METHOD: 1:2 paired case-control study, univariable logistic regression analysis, principal component analysis, and multiple logistic regression analysis were used in this study. RESULTS: Univariable analysis showed that occupational injuries had significant relationship with age, sex, education, employment pattern, technology, workplace, work changing, wage, family income, enterprise scale, enterprise proprietorship, projective device, operation rules, and training rules of work safety. The extracted four principal components (PC(1), PC(2), PC(3) and PC(4), ranked by contribution) gave good expressions to the initial 11 variables. The cumulative proportion of the four principal components reached 77.36%. PC(1) was the indicative factor of occupational injuries, which represented 46.69% information of initial variables. PC(2) was the kinetic factor of occupational injuries. PC(3) was the stable factor of occupational injuries. PC(4) was the sex factor of occupational injuries. The results of multiple conditional logistic regression analysis showed that occupational injuries had statistically significant relationship with PC(1) and PC(2). Among the initial variables, sex, employment pattern, income, scale of enterprise, and property of enterprise were more prominent. CONCLUSION: Occupational injuries are related with multiple social and economic factors, which often interact on each other. The prevention and control of occupational injuries should require a comprehensive approach, including training and education of work safety, improving workers' consciousness of self-protection, and enhancing proprietors' consciousness of work safety.