Characterization of particle exposure during tunnel excavation by tunnel boring machines.

Tunnel boring machines (TBMs) are used to excavate tunnels in a manner where the rock is constantly penetrated with rotating cutter heads. Fine particles of the rock minerals are thereby generated. Workers on and in the vicinity of the TBM are exposed to particulate matter (PM) consisting of bedrock minerals including α-quartz.

A study of inflammatory biomarkers in crystalline silica exposed rock drillers.

Background: Crystalline silica (CS) exposure can cause serious lung disease in humans, but mechanisms of pulmonary toxicity have not been completely elucidated.

Aims: To assess pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory biomarkers and biomarkers related to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and fibrosis in serum of rock drillers exposed to CS.

Methods: Rock drillers (N = 123) exposed to CS and non-specified particulate matter (PM) were compared to 48 referents without current or past exposure to PM in a cross-sectional study.

A Randomized Controlled Neuroimaging Trial of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Fibromyalgia Pain.

Objective: Fibromyalgia (FM) is characterized by pervasive pain-related symptomatology and high levels of negative affect. Mind-body treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) appear to foster improvement in FM via reductions in pain-related catastrophizing, a set of negative, pain-amplifying cognitive and emotional processes. However, the neural underpinnings of CBT's catastrophizing-reducing effects remain uncertain.

Brain-to-brain mechanisms underlying pain empathy and social modulation of pain in the patient-clinician interaction.

Social interactions such as the patient-clinician encounter can influence pain, but the underlying dynamic interbrain processes are unclear. Here, we investigated the dynamic brain processes supporting social modulation of pain by assessing simultaneous brain activity (fMRI hyperscanning) from chronic pain patients and clinicians during video-based live interaction. Patients received painful and nonpainful pressure stimuli either with a supportive clinician present (Dyadic) or in isolation (Solo).

The variability of arsenic in blood and urine of humans.

Background: Humans are exposed to inorganic and organic arsenic. The total arsenic (As) concentration in urine is a commonly used biomarker of exposure. However, little is known about variability of As in biological fluids and the diurnal variation of As excretion.

Exposure to Particulate Matter and Respirable Crystalline Silica in Tunnel Construction Workers Using Tunnel Boring Machines.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the exposure to a selection of aerosols and gases in the work environment for workers performing tunnel construction using tunnel boring machines (TBMs), to identify determinants of exposure based on the information available and to calculate robust estimates of exposure using a statistical model. The focus was particulate matter (PM) and respirable crystalline silica (RCS). In addition, concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), elemental carbon (EC), and oil mist were assessed.

High aspect ratio nanomaterial-induced macrophage polarization is mediated by changes in miRNA levels.

Introduction: Inhalation of nanomaterials may induce inflammation in the lung which if left unresolved can manifest in pulmonary fibrosis. In these processes, alveolar macrophages have an essential role and timely modulation of the macrophage phenotype is imperative in the onset and resolution of inflammatory responses. This study aimed to investigate, the immunomodulating properties of two industrially relevant high aspect ratio nanomaterials, namely nanocellulose and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNT), in an alveolar macrophage model.

Urinary iodine excretion and optimal time point for sampling when estimating 24-h urinary iodine.

Iodine deficiency may cause thyroid dysfunction. The iodine intake in a population is measured by urinary iodine concentration (UIC) in spot samples or 24-h urinary iodine excretion (24UIE). 24UIE is considered the gold standard and may be estimated using an equation including UIC, urinary creatinine concentration, sex and age (e24UIE).

Association between personality traits and placebo effects: a preregistered systematic review and meta-analysis.

Placebo effects are ubiquitous yet highly variable between individuals and therefore strongly affect clinical trial outcomes such as pain relief. It is unclear whether dispositional psychological traits influence responsiveness to placebo. This preregistered meta-analysis and systematic review synthesized the literature investigating the association between personality traits and placebo effects.

Occupational Exposure among Electronic Repair Workers in Ghana.

Electronic repair workers may be exposed to lead, mercury, cadmium and other elements including rare earth elements used in electronic equipment. In this study, repair work took place in small repair shops where, e.g.

Physicochemical characterization of particulate matter in a cement production plant.

Employees working in cement production plants are exposed to airborne particulate matter (PM) which may lead to lung function impairments and airway symptoms. The PM consists of raw materials, clinker and additives which vary depending on cement blend. The aim of this work was to characterize the thoracic fraction of PM with regard to size, phase composition and mixing state.

Variability of lead in urine and blood in healthy individuals.

Background: Lead is a non-essential toxic trace element. Lead in blood (BPb) is the most common biomarker of lead exposure but lead in urine (UPb) has also been used. There is, however, limited data on the variability of UPb in the general population and the association with BPb.

A study of pneumoproteins in crystalline silica exposed rock drillers.

The objective was to assess serum concentrations of club cell protein 16 (CC-16) and the surfactant proteins A (SPs-A) and D (SP-D) in male rock drillers ( = 123) exposed to crystalline silica and in 48 occupationally non-exposed. The arithmetic mean (AM) duration of exposure was 10.7 years.

Patient-clinician brain concordance underlies causal dynamics in nonverbal communication and negative affective expressivity.

Patient-clinician concordance in behavior and brain activity has been proposed as a potential key mediator of mutual empathy and clinical rapport in the therapeutic encounter. However, the specific elements of patient-clinician communication that may support brain-to-brain concordance and therapeutic alliance are unknown. Here, we investigated how pain-related, directional facial communication between patients and clinicians is associated with brain-to-brain concordance.

Dynamic Functional Brain Connectivity Underlying Temporal Summation of Pain in Fibromyalgia.

Objective: Abnormal central pain processing is a leading cause of pain in fibromyalgia (FM) and is perceptually characterized with the psychophysical measure of temporal summation of pain (TSP). TSP is the perception of increasingly greater pain in response to repetitive or tonic noxious stimuli. Previous neuroimaging studies have used static (i.

Particle characterisation and bioaccessibility of manganese in particulate matter in silico- and ferromanganese smelters.

The aim of this study was to characterise particulate matter (PM) collected in the furnace area during SiMn and high carbon (HC)-FeMn production in terms of single particle analysis and to determine the bioaccessibility of Mn in the PM in a simulated lung fluid. Airborne PM was collected with Sioutas cascade impactors and respirable cyclones in the breathing zone of tappers and crane operators. Stationary samples were collected from the furnace area with a nanoMOUDI cascade impactor and an ESPnano electrostatic particle collector.

3D magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging reveals links between brain metabolites and multidimensional pain features in fibromyalgia.

Background: Fibromyalgia is a centralized multidimensional chronic pain syndrome, but its pathophysiology is not fully understood.

Methods: We applied 3D magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI), covering multiple cortical and subcortical brain regions, to investigate the association between neuro-metabolite (e.g.

Essential and non-essential elements in biological samples of inhabitants residing in Nenets Autonomous Okrug of the Russian Arctic.

Exposure of Arctic residents to environmental pollutants is an emerging public health problem receiving little global attention. The objective of this study was to assess whole blood concentrations of nine selected essential (Co, Cu, Mn, Se, Zn) and non-essential (As, Cd, Hg, Pb) elements among Nenets and non-Nenets adult residents of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (NAO) living in seven coastal and inland settlements. Urine was collected in two settlements for assessment of iodine status.

Occupational Exposure during Asphalt Paving-Comparison of Hot and Warm Mix Asphalt in Field Experiments.

Objectives: Several studies have demonstrated an increased risk of adverse health effects, including reduced lung function and lung cancer among asphalt pavers, which has been related to occupational exposure to contaminants during asphalt paving. Consequently, occupational exposure among asphalt pavers must be reduced. The aim of this study was to compare the impact of hot mix asphalt (HMA) and warm mix asphalt (WMA) paving on occupational exposure levels during road paving in field experiments.

Normal variability of 22 elements in 24-hour urine samples - Results from a biobank from healthy non-smoking adults.

Background: Urine is often used for biomonitoring the exposure to elements. However, most studies report concentrations in spot urine samples, which may not accurately mirror the "gold standard" of complete 24-h (24 h) urine samples. There are relatively few data published for 24 h samples, and little information on the within- and between person variability.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Human Serum Samples of Selected Populations from Ghana.

The aims of this study were to assess serum concentrations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in selected populations from Ghana, including workers engaged in the repair of electronic equipment (ERWs), and to elucidate PFAS concentrations in relation to blood mercury concentrations (B-Hg) as a biomarker of seafood consumption. In all, 219 participants were recruited into the study, of which 26 were women and 64 were ERWs. Overall, the PFAS concentrations were low.

Increased Salience Network Connectivity Following Manual Therapy is Associated with Reduced Pain in Chronic Low Back Pain Patients.

Chronic low back pain (cLBP) has been associated with changes in brain plasticity. Nonpharmacological therapies such as Manual Therapy (MT) have shown promise for relieving cLBP. However, translational neuroimaging research is needed to understand potential central mechanisms supporting MT.

A picture is worth a thousand words: linking fibromyalgia pain widespreadness from digital pain drawings with pain catastrophizing and brain cross-network connectivity.

Pain catastrophizing is prominent in chronic pain conditions such as fibromyalgia and has been proposed to contribute to the development of pain widespreadness. However, the brain mechanisms responsible for this association are unknown. We hypothesized that increased resting salience network (SLN) connectivity to nodes of the default mode network (DMN), representing previously reported pain-linked cross-network enmeshment, would be associated with increased pain catastrophizing and widespreadness across body sites.

Dynamic brain-to-brain concordance and behavioral mirroring as a mechanism of the patient-clinician interaction.

The patient-clinician interaction can powerfully shape treatment outcomes such as pain but is often considered an intangible "art of medicine" and has largely eluded scientific inquiry. Although brain correlates of social processes such as empathy and theory of mind have been studied using single-subject designs, specific behavioral and neural mechanisms underpinning the patient-clinician interaction are unknown. Using a two-person interactive design, we simultaneously recorded functional magnetic resonance imaging (hyperscanning) in patient-clinician dyads, who interacted via live video, while clinicians treated evoked pain in patients with chronic pain.