Background: Workplace heat exposure can cause a series of heat-related illnesses and injuries. Protecting workers especially those undertake work outdoors from the risk of heat strain is a great challenge for many workplaces in China under the context of climate change. The aim of this study is to investigate the perceptions and adaptation behaviors of heat exposure among construction workers and to provide evidence for the development of targeted heat adaptation strategies nationally and internationally. Methods: In 2020, we conducted a cross-sectional online questionnaire survey via WeChat Survey Star in China, using a purposive snowball sampling approach. A total of 326 construction workers submitted completed questionnaires. The perceptions of workplace heat exposure were measured using seven indicators: concerns over high temperature, perception of high temperature injury, attitudes towards both heat-related training and regulations, adjustment of working habits during heat, heat prevention measures in the workplace, and reduction of work efficiency. Bivariate and multivariate regression analyses were used to identify the factors significantly associated with workers’ heat perceptions and behavioral responses. Results: 33.3% of the respondents were moderately or very concerned about heat exposure in the workplace. Less than half of the workers (43.8%) were worried about heat-related injuries. Workers who have either experienced work-related injuries (OR = 1.30, 95% CI 1.03–1.62) or witnessed injuries to others during high temperatures (OR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.02–1.27) were more concerned about heat exposure compared to other workers. Most respondents (63.5%) stated that their work efficiency declined during extremely hot weather. The factors significantly associated with a reduction of work efficiency included undertaking physically demanding jobs (OR = 1.28, 95% CI 1.07–1.54) and witnessing other workers’ injuries during high temperatures (OR = 1.26, 95% CI 1.11–1.43). More than half of the workers were willing to adjust their work habits to adapt to the impact of high temperatures (81.6%). The internet was the most common method to obtain heat prevention information (44.7%), and the most frequently used heat prevention measure was the provision of cool drinking water (64.8%). Conclusions: Chinese construction workers lack heat risk awareness and are not well prepared for the likely increasing heat exposure in the workplace due to global warming. Therefore, there is a need to improve their awareness of heat-related injuries, strengthen high temperature related education and training, and update the current heat prevention policies to ensure compliance and implementation.

As the most commonly used plasticizer, Di-(2-ethylhexyl)-phthalate (DEHP) exists everywhere in the environment due to the widespread use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in human life, and it is also a recognized environmental pollutant. Studies have proved the hepatotoxicity of DEHP, however the mechanism has not been adequately explored, especially the role of the reactive oxygen species (ROS) in it. In the present study, 21 day-old ICR mice were administered DEHP with dose of 0, 125, 250, and 375 mg/kg/day for 28 days by intragastrical gavage. After contamination, histopathology displayed that liver tissue were damaged mildly with the effect of DEHP; a significant increase of the serum liver function index (including aspartate transaminase (AST) and alanine transaminase (ALT)) were observed. Additionally, the level of lipid peroxidation markedly rise, especially ROS and malondialdehyde (MDA), but the activation of superoxide dismutase (SOD) was obviously decreased in mice liver. In addition, DEHP promoted the phosphorylation of JNK and p38MAPK proteins in mice liver, as well as increased the expression of p53 protein and decreased the level of DNA methylation in the p53 gene promoter region. These results indicated that the hepatotoxicity of mice caused by DEHP may be through activating the JNK/p38MAPK/p53 signaling pathway and further promoting the generation of ROS to induce lipid peroxidation in liver, and the role of DNA methylation may be inevitable.

Background: Serum trace elements have for some time been suggested to influence the development of gastric cancer, but evidence is still lacking. Methods: All newly diagnosed patients with gastric cancer were compared with healthy controls 1:1 matched by sex, age (± 3 years), and place of residence during 2013– 2015. The serum concentration of all trace elements was analyzed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Heliobacter pylori infections in cases were diagnosed using the rapid urease test, while in controls were detected using the colloidal gold method. Results: A total of 122 cases of gastric cardia cancer (GCC) and 177 gastric noncardia cancer (NCGC), and 299 matched healthy controls were included. Positive associations were found between serum copper and copper/zinc ratio and risk of overall gastric cancer (OR_{4th vs 1st quartile}: 2.42, 95% CI: 1.10– 5.32 for copper; OR_{4th vs 1st quartile}: 11.7, 95% CI: 3.83– 35.6 for copper/zinc ratio), and for both GCC and NCGC subtypes. Serum selenium was inversely associated with the risk of NCGC (OR_{4th vs 1st quartile}: 0.18, 95% CI: 0.07– 0.51), while molybdenum seems to reduce the risk of GCC (OR_{4th vs 1st quartile}: 0.12, 95% CI: 0.03– 0.47). Strong inverse associations were also detected between serum calcium and risk of all groups of gastric cancer (all p for trend< 0.05). Conclusion: The current study indicated statistically significant positive associations between serum copper, copper/zinc ratio, and gastric cancer, as well as inverse associations among selenium, molybdenum, and calcium. The results shall be carefully interpreted before further in vivo animal studies show definitive evidence.

Objectives The aim of this study was to assess the effects of coexposure to job strain and shift work on mental health in railway workers. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting One Railway Bureau Group in China. Participants A total of 1270 front-line railway workers. Outcome measures The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised questionnaire was used to measure general mental health. Job strain variables were derived from the Job Content Questionnaire. Based on the records of the work schedule 3 months prior to the survey, the following three shift types were identified: fixed day, fixed night and rotating night shifts. Risks associated with mental health were assessed by carrying out logistic regression analysis which was adjusted for age, job tenure, smoking and exercise. Additionally, a crossover analysis was employed for the combined effects. Results High levels of job strain were linked to a higher risk of poor mental health (OR=1.53, 95% CI: 1.10 to 2.11). After adjusting for confounding factors, night shifts and rotating night shifts were significant risk factors for mental health (OR=2.21, 95% CI: 1.60 to 3.07; OR=2.36, 95% CI: 1.73 to 3.22). Compared with participants who experienced a low level of job strain and day shifts, those with a high level of job strain and who worked rotating shifts were at the highest risk of poor mental health (OR=4.68, 95% CI: 2.91 to 8.04), whereas the influence of a low level of job strain and rotating night shifts was not statistically significant. Conclusion Job strain and night shifts among workers were associated, both independently and in combination, with an increased risk of poor mental health. Our data suggest that job strain contributes to the risk of poor mental health by means of a combined effect with shift work.

The interactive effects between particulate matter (PM) and heat waves on circulatory mortality are under-researched in the context of global climate change. We aimed to investigate the interaction between heat waves and PM on circulatory mortality in Fuzhou, a city characterized by a humid subtropical climate and low level of air pollution in China. We collected data on deaths, pollutants, and meteorology in Fuzhou between January 2016 and December 2019. Generalized additive models were used to examine the effect of PM on circulatory mortality during the heat waves, and to explore the interaction between different PM levels and heat waves on the circulatory mortality. During heat waves, circulatory mortality was estimated to increase by 8.21% (95% confidence intervals (CI): 0.32–16.72) and 3.84% (95% CI: 0.28–7.54) per 10 μg/m³ increase of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, respectively, compared to non-heat waves. Compared with low-level PM_2.5 concentration on non-heat waves layer, the high level of PM_2.5 concentration on heat waves layer has a significant effect on the cardiovascular mortality, and the effect value was 48.35% (95% CI: 6.37–106.89). Overall, we found some evidence to suggest that heat waves can significantly enhance the impact of PM on circulatory mortality.

Xianyou county of Fujian province, located on the southeast coastal of China, has higher gastric cancer mortality. Chronic inflammation plays an important role in the occurrence of gastric cancer, in which the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway of the inflammatory reaction begins and plays an important role in the amplification process. Studies have found that a single-nucleotide polymorphism of nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway molecules encoding genes is associated with gastric cancer, but the combined effect of the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway gene has not been explained nor has been cardia and non-cardia gastric cancer risk factors and genetic susceptibility loci. New gastric cancer cases of the Fujian Xianyou Hospital were the research object. They were divided into cardia and non-cardia cancer in order to study a single-nucleotide polymorphism of the nuclear factor-κB signaling pathway important node molecules P50 and I kappa B encoding genes NFKB1 and NFKBIA by desorption ionization time of flight mass spectrometry analysis and by matrix-assisted laser mass spectrometry. The results showed that NFKB1 and NFKBIA single-nucleotide polymorphisms and gastric cancer are related and that the combined effects of polymorphisms in two genes and the NFKBIA gene monomer increased the risk of gastric cancer, and it was found that in different types of gastric cancer (the cardia and non-cardia cancer), susceptible polymorphism sites and combined effects are different.