In order to evaluate chronic effects of long-term exposure to cotton dust on respiratory health, and the role of dust and endotoxin, longitudinal changes in lung function and respiratory symptoms were observed prospectively from 1981 to 2001 in 447 cotton textile workers, along with 472 silk textile controls.The results from five surveys conducted over the 20-yr period are reported, including standardised questionnaires, pre-and post-shift spirometric measurements, work-area inhalable dust sample collections and airborne Gram-bacterial endotoxin analysis.Cotton workers had more persistent respiratory symptoms and greater annual declines in forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity as compared with silk workers. After exposure cessation, in the final 5-yr period, the rate of FEV1 decline tended to slow in nonsmoking males, but not in nonsmoking females. Workers who reported byssinotic symptoms more persistently suffered greater declines in FEV1. Chronic loss in lung function was more strongly associated with exposure to endotoxin than to dust.In conclusion, the current study suggests that long-term exposure to cotton dust, in which airborne endotoxin appears to play an important role, results in substantial adverse chronic respiratory effects.

Aims: To determine chronic effects of long term exposure to cotton dust and endotoxin on incidence of respiratory symptoms and the effect of cessation of exposure. Methods: Respiratory health in 429 Chinese cotton textile workers (study group) and 449 silk textile workers (control group) was followed prospectively from 1981 to 1996. Byssinosis, chest tightness, and non-specific respiratory symptoms were assessed by means of identical standardised questionnaires at four time points. Exposures to cotton dust and endotoxin were estimated using area samples collected at each survey. Incidence and persistence of symptoms were examined in relation to cumulative exposure and exposure cessation using generalised estimating equations (GEE). Results: Among cotton workers, the cumulative incidence of byssinosis and chest tightness was 24% and 23%, respectively, and was significantly more common in smokers than in non-smokers. A high proportion of symptoms was found to be intermittent, rather than persistent. Among silk workers, no typical byssinosis was identified; the incidence of chest tightness was 10%. Chronic bronchitis, cough, and dyspnoea were more common and persistent in the cotton group than in the silk group. Significantly lower odds ratios for symptoms were observed in cotton workers who left the cotton mills; risk was also related to years since last worked. Multivariate analysis indicated a trend for higher cumulative exposure to endotoxin in relation to a higher risk for byssinosis. Conclusion: Chronic exposure to cotton dust is related to both work specific and non-specific respiratory symptoms. Byssinosis is more strongly associated with exposure to endotoxin than to dust. Cessation of exposure may improve the respiratory health of cotton textile workers; the improvement appears to increase with time since last exposure.

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We present a probabilistic generative model of entity relationships and textual attributes; the model simultaneously discovers groups among the entities and topics among the corresponding text. Block models of relationship data have been studied in social network analysis for some time, however here we cluster in multiple modalities at once. Significantly, joint inference allows the discovery of groups to be guided by the emerging topics, and vice-versa. We present experimental results on two large data sets: sixteen years of bills put before the U.S. Senate, comprising their corresponding text and voting records, and 43 years of similar data from the United Nations. We show that in comparison with traditional, separate latent-variable models for words or block structures for votes, our Group-Topic model's joint inference improves both the groups and topics discovered. Additionally, we present a non-Markov continouous-time group model to capture shifting group structure over time.

Chromatic confocal technology is increasingly applied in industries that require high-precision geometric measurements such as aerospace, naval ordnance, and medical electronics owing to its advantages in testing accuracy, real-time performance, anti-interference, and no damage to tested workpieces. This paper introduces the measurement principle of chromatic confocal technology and the structure of chromatic confocal sensors, and enumerates several typical application scenarios of the technology from the aspects of thickness measurement, profile, 3D topography scanning, roughness measurement, and wafer comprehensive parameter measurement. It also looks into potential development directions of chromatic confocal technology.

Eating rate by sheep differs among cultivars of subterranean clover in the vegetative stage of growth (Dynes et al, 1993, Proc N Z Soc Anim Prod, 53, 7-9

Introduction Community-acquired pneumonia remains a common condition worldwide. It is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. The aim of this study was to evaluate conditions that could predict a poor outcome. Design Retrospective analyse of 69 patients admitted to the ICU from 1996 to 2003. Demographic data included age, sex and medical history. Etiologic agents, multiorgan dysfunction, nosocomial infections, SAPS II and PORT scores were recorded for each patient. For statistical analysis we used a t test, chi-square test and Mann-Whitney U test on SPSS ® . A value of P less than 0.05 was considered significant. Results Forty-seven patients were male and 22 patients were female. Mean age was 52 years. Sixty-seven percent had serious pre-morbid conditions including pulmonary disease (34.8%), cardiac problems (36.2%), diabetes (13%) and chronic liver disease (5.8%); 40.6% were smokers, drug abusers or alcohol dependents. Sixtyeight patients required invasive mechanical ventilation. The average length of ventilation was 13.5 days, median 8 days. The mean SAPS II score was 40.14 and the mean PORT score was 141. The mortality rate was 27.5% (SAPS II estimated mortality, 35%). Complications reported were ARDS (40.6%), septic shock (34.8%), acute renal failure (2.9%), cardiac arrest (8.7%) and nosocomial infeccions (46.4%). Mortality rates were higher for previous hepatic (75%) and metabolic (33%) diseases. We found a close association between crude mortality and SAPS II score (P = 0.003) and development of complications (P = 0.0028). Respiratory dysfunction (P = 0.006) and septic shock (P = 0.022) were most significantly related to mortality. No significant differences were founded regarding age, comorbidities, PORT score, etiologic agents, nosocomial infections and length of invasive mechanical ventilation. Conclusions Previous hepatic chronic disease was strictly related to higher mortality as well as isolation of MRSA. ARDS and septic shock predicted a poor outcome. SAPS II score was the best severity indicator of mortality. Objective It is known that the closed tracheal suction system (CTSS) produces less hemodynamic and gasometric deterioration than an open tracheal suction system (OTSS). Use is limited because no decrease in the incidence of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) was found and also because it is more expensive. But, is daily periodic change of the CTSS necessary? The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence of VAP using a CTSS without periodic change versus an OTSS. Methods It is a prospective study of ICU patients from 1 January 2004 to 31 October 2004. Patients who required mechanical ventilation (MV) were randomized into two groups: one group was suctioned with CTSS without periodic change and another group with OTSS. An aspirate tracheal swab and a throat swab on admission and afterwards twice weekly were taken. VAP was classified based on throat flora in endogenous and exogenous samples. The statistical analysis was performed by chi-square test and Student's t test, and w...

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