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Background: The textile industry, rooted in agriculture, stands as Pakistan's second-largest employer. Within this sector, home-based textile production plays a significant role, albeit largely unregulated and undocumented, resulting in substandard working conditions. Workers in this setting are frequently exposed to cotton dust, posing serious health risks alongside other occupational hazards. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of respiratory symptoms, particularly chest tightness and chronic cough, among home-based textile industry workers in Jhang, Pakistan, underscoring the importance of preventive measures. Methodology: A cross-sectional study was conducted from September 1, 2017, to February 28, 2018. A sample of 300 participants with over 20 years of work experience was selected from 10 home-based textile units. Data collection utilized a structured questionnaire and analysis was performed using SPSS 25. Results: The study revealed that 23% of workers reported chest tightness and 18.7% reported chronic cough. These symptoms were notably prevalent among workers aged 45 and above, those with limited formal education, non-users of masks during work, and those directly exposed to cotton dust. Conclusion: Workers in the home-based textile industry face respiratory symptoms due to exposure to cotton dust. This underscores the necessity of health education and the enforcement of protective measures, such as mask usage and dust control, to safeguard their respiratory health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of particulate matters and gaseous pollutant present in the power loom textile industry which causes the respiratory symptoms, pulmonary function, and its associated factors among power loom workers in Tamil Nadu, India. A total of 159 (97 exposed and 62 unexposed) respondents were included in this study. A modified British Medical Research Council questionnaire and spirometry were employed to assess the occupational-related respiratory symptoms and pulmonary function. Odd ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and p values ≤ 0.05 were used to identify the variables with significant associations. The experimental results measured using wireless air quality monitoring system revealed that the concentration of particulate matters (PM2.5, PM10) and total volatile organic compounds (TVOC) were exceeded the NAAQS and OSHA threshold limits. Prevalence of respiratory symptoms was about 30.8% reported cough, 14.9% dry cough, 20.2% phlegm, 22.8% wheezing, 23.6% chest tightness, 7.1% chest pain, and 32.4% sneezing for the past 12 months. Regarding lung function of power loom workers, 81.4% had decline lung function, of which 86.07% had restrictive pulmonary abnormality and 13.9% had obstructive lung abnormality. The average FEV1, FEV1/FVC, PEFR, and FEF25-75% did not significantly differ between workers who currently engaged with cotton or synthetic fibres. Although, employees currently working with synthetic fibres had much lower FVC than cotton workers. There was a significant association between PM2.5 and PM10 concentration and abnormality of FVC% and FEV1% among loom workers. The current study demonstrated that employees exposed to indoor airborne dust and gaseous pollutants more prevalence to lower lung function, and workers who handle cotton and synthetic fibres were more likely to affect by the respiratory symptoms than controls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Work in the textile sector has been recognized as an occupational danger for than 300 years. Byssinosis is the most frequent and well-studied disease affecting cotton textile workers; nevertheless, additional symptom complexes such as mill fever, weaver's cough, and mattress-maker's cough also affect textile workers. Objectives 1. To Evaluate the Health Hazards of the cotton Mattress workers after prolonged expose to cotton dust. 2. To assess the spirometric Profile in these cotton mattress workers. 3. To examine the relationship of the degree of impairment of lung functions with duration of exposure. Material & Methods. Study Design: Community based prospective cross-sectional study. Study Area: Department of Physiology and Department of General Medicine. Siddhartha medical college, Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh. Study Period: 1 year. Study Population: cotton mattress workers are enrolled in to the present study to evaluate, spirometric profile. Sample Size: 30 males cotton mattress workers are enrolled in to the present study to evaluate, spirometric profile and 15 cases of control group were evaluated. Sampling Technique: Simple Random technique. Study Tools and Data Collection Procedure: 30 male cotton mattress workers, along with control group of 15 male cases were taken, belonging to different areas of Vijayawada city. A detailed History & Clinical examination was done, other coexisting lung diseases like DM/HTN and smokers were excluded, spirometric (Pulmonary Function Test) evaluation done with the aid of Medispiror, Spirometer. Results are analyzed. Results: Analysis shows that there was a significant variation between cotton mattress workers and non-cotton mattress workers as far as FVC, FEV1 are concerned, in these two tests, t-test values are -3.71327, -3.4394 respectively, and the corresponding pvalues were 0.000866234, 0.001787 respectively and factor FEF25-75 shows significant decrement in seen as t-est value is -1.60617 corresponding p-value are 0.119072 respectively However the factors FEV1% and PEF shows no significant decrement or Increase In cotton mattress workers and others (t-test values -3.37492, 0.045478). Conclusion: All the subjects with more than 5 years exposure are symptomatic (cough-100%, chest tightness 21%, S.0.B 21%). Sneezing is the predominant upper Respiratory symptom (80%). The occupation of cotton mattress making has a statistically significant cause-effect relationship with regard to ventilatory defect. FEV1 and FVC showed negative correlation with duration of exposure and that with increased duration exposure FEV1 and FVC values are decreasing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The textile industry consists of several units that engage different processes namely ginning, spinning, weaving, dyeing, printing, and several other processes which required for converting raw cotton fiber into finished fabrics. Exposure to cotton dust, endotoxin, chemicals, noise, and musculoskeletal disorders causes several health-related hazards to textile workers. This review article aims to study the health issues due to various risk factors associated with the working environment in detail and its impacts on workers' health. This review article also reports dust and endotoxin concentrations in indoor environments of textile industries, as well as discusses the association between workplace exposure to cotton dust, endotoxin, and the prevalence of respiratory disorders. In this review, the focus is also given to the prevalence of indoor pollutants like Particulate Matter (PM), Carbon dioxide (CO2), Carbon monoxide (CO), and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs), Formaldehyde (HCHO) in the workplace and its effects on human health. The study expands to other aspects that influence human comfort and health during working hours like occupational noise, musculoskeletal disorders, and eyesight problems. In addition, the advanced technologies for monitoring indoor air quality for control and reduction of pollutants indoor environment the current regulatory limits of cotton dust and indoor pollutants, and suggestions to enhance the occupational safety and health conditions in textile sectors are also pointed out. In conclusion, the current study stresses the need to regulate and apply international standards in the textile sector to prevent short- and long-term occupational illness.

Introduction: Monitoring changes in the levels of immune markers is of great significance in evaluating the effectiveness of treatment in patients with allergic rhinitis. Objectives: Determine the change in the concentration of immune markers after treatment in patients with allergic rhinitis caused by cotton dust. Methods : A descriptive, single-group, comparative before and after intervention study on 52 patients with allergic rhinitis caused by cotton dust. Comparison of immunological markers results before and after 36 months of treatment. Results: Total IgE concentration after treatment decreased, the median decreased from 1227.756 U/mL to 676.805 UI/mL. Serum levels of IgG, IgG4, and IgG1 in patients after treatment increased compared to before (p< 0.001). The cytokines also changed in the direction of no longer responding toward allergy. Median IL-17 decreased from 1.752 mg/dL to 0.417 mg/dL. Conclusion: In patients with allergic rhinitis after specific sublingual desensitization treatment, IgE levels and cytokines such as IL-6 and IL-17 are significantly reduced and IgG, IgG4 and IgG1 levels are increased after treatment.

Background: Cotton dust is generated during various textile manufacturing processes. Only a few studies from Pakistan assessed cotton dust exposure and explored the relationship of duration of work in the textile industry with respiratory health outcomes. We aimed to assess cotton dust exposure and its association with lung function and respiratory symptoms among textile workers in Pakistan. Methods: We report findings from the baseline survey of the larger study, MultiTex, among 498 adult male textile workers from six mills conducted between October 2015-March 2016 in Karachi, Pakistan. Data collection included the use of standardized questionnaires; spirometry, and area dust measurements through UCB-PATS. Multivariable logistic and linear regression models were developed to assess the association of risk factors with respiratory symptoms and illnesses. Results: We found the mean age of workers to be 32.5 (±10) years; around 25% were illiterate. The prevalence of COPD, asthma, and byssinosis was 10%, 17%, and 2%, respectively. The median cotton dust exposure was 0.33 mg/m³ (IQR: 0.12-0.76). Increased duration of work among non-smokers was associated with a decline in lung function, FVC (-245 ml; 95% CI: -385.71, -104.89) and FEV1 (-200 ml; 95% CI: -328.71, -841.1). Workers with certain job titles (machine operators, helpers, and jobbers), those with greater duration of work, and higher dust exposure, were more likely to report respiratory symptoms and illnesses. Conclusion: We report a high prevalence of asthma and COPD and a low prevalence of byssinosis. Cotton dust exposure and duration of employment were associated with respiratory health outcomes. Our findings highlight the need for preventive interventions in the textile industry in Pakistan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Eastern Mediterranean Health Journal is the property of World Health Organization and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract Background Cotton dust induced respiratory disorders are dramatically increased over the globe, especially the problem is serious in developing countries. Respiratory symptoms, such as cough, phlegm, wheezing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, chronic bronchitis, and byssinosis are common among workers exposed to cotton dust. However, in Ethiopia, the magnitude of the problem is not well known and information is limited about the risk factors. Therefore, this study was aimed to assess the prevalence of respiratory symptoms and associated factors. Methods A Comparative cross-sectional study design was employed. A total of 413 (276 exposed and 137 unexposed) participants were included in the study. Stratified and simple random sampling techniques were used to select exposed and unexposed groups to cotton dust respectively. Multivariable binary logistic regression analyses was performed to identify variables associated with respiratory symptoms and adjusted odds ratio (AOR) was used to determine the strength of associations. Significance level was obtained at 95% confidence interval (CI) and p-value ≤0.05. Results The prevalence of self-reported respiratory symptoms was 47.8% (95% CI: 41.3, 53.7%) and 15.3% (95% CI: 9.6, 22.3%) among exposed and control groups respectively. Sex (AOR = 2.1, 95% CI: 1.29, 3.45), service year (AOR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.19, 4.71) and ventilation (AOR = 2.4, 95% CI: 1.17, 4.91) were factors significantly associated with respiratory symptoms. Furthermore, working department such as; ginning (AOR = 5.1, 95% CI: 2.13, 12.16), spinning (AOR = 4.96, 95% CI: 2.18, 11.29), weaving (AOR = 5.9, 95% CI: 2.46, 14.27) and blowing working departments (AOR = 5.14, 95% CI: 1.4, 18.94) were significantly associated with respiratory disorders. Conclusions The prevalence of self-reported respiratory symptoms was higher among workers exposed to cotton dust than unexposed workers. Sex, service year, working department and work unit ventilation were predictor variables for respiratory symptoms. Thus, reducing exposure to dust, adequate ventilation and improving the hygiene of working departments are needed to reduce respiratory symptoms.

Background: Cotton industry workers are exposed to various hazards in the different departments of textile factories. The major health problems associated with cotton dust are respiratory problems, byssinosis, bronchitis and asthma. Objective: To study the effect of cotton dust exposure on pulmonary function and respiratory symptoms. Settings and Design: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted at cotton mill in the Ahmedabad city. Materials and Methods: One hundred cotton mill workers of the weaving and spinning area participated in this study while 100 age- and gender-matched male subjects living in the residential area served as the control group. A questionnaire was used to inquire about respiratory symptoms and spirometry was done in both the groups. Statistical Analysis Used: Student's t-test was used to find the difference between spirometric parameters, and Chi-square test was used to find the difference between respiratory symptoms. Results: Respiratory symptoms were statistically significantly more common in the cotton mill workers compared to control group. Cotton mill workers group also showed significant (P < 0.0001) decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), ratio of FEV1 and forced vital capacity (FVC) and peak expiratory flow rate, and no significant difference of FVC between groups. There was an association of duration of exposure and symptoms with spirometric abnormality. Conclusion: Cotton mill workers showed a significant decrease in spirometric parameters and increase in respiratory symptoms. As the duration of exposure and symptoms increased, spirometric abnormality increased.

Objectives: Respiratory disorder is one of the major health threats to textile workers as they are highly exposed to garment dust for persistently. Therefore, the garment factory workers are engaged in the textile industry shows highly significant morbidity of bronchial airway obstruction than among those who are not working in textile industries. Materials and Methods: A clinical investigation of the disease knowledge and adherence among garment unit in a 600 bedded hospital revealed that factory employers are complained of respiratory challenges include tightness of the chest cavity, continues cough, and breathing difficulties. The main of this observational study was access to the pervasiveness of bronchial symptoms and asthmagens concertation in garment industries. The obtained report was compared with the different follow-ups. All workers are responded the asthma control test questionnaire. Results: The textile workers (n = 346, including male 588 and female758). The training level was underneath the optional dimension in 47% of patients and middle school 32%; 56% of patients were fat, and 20% of patients had mild persistent, 19% had mid intermittent, 28% of patients had moderate persistent, and 33% had severe persistent and extreme steady asthma. 31%, of patients, had family atopy; 15% of Kongu Nadu garment workers had cotton dust allergies. Conclusion: Knowledge of asthma was low in older patients and regular asthma care was to a great extent lacking. These discoveries propose that asthma instruction projects ought to be produced for more seasoned grown-ups in view of their instruction level and clinical asthma qualities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the processing and mechanical characterization of cotton dust waste and jute (CDW&JT) fibers reinforced epoxy based hybrid composites and cotton dust waste and E-glass (CDW&EG) fibers reinforced epoxy based hybrid composites. In this experimental investigation, two new series of hybrid composites have been prepared by varying the proportions of natural and glass fibers with a total fiber content of 35% and resin content of 65%. The composites are prepared by hand layup method with untreated and alkali treated natural fibers. The mechanical properties such as tensile strength, flexural strength and impact strength are evaluated and compared. The results show that alkali treatment of fibers has improved the mechanical properties. By selecting the proper fiber proportions, cotton dust waste and jute (CDW&JT) fibers reinforced epoxy composites can be substituted for cotton dust waste and E-glass (CDW&EG) fibers reinforced epoxy composites. Hence, the glass fibers can be replaced by natural fibers without losing mechanical properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ubiquitous Gram-negative bacterium Pantoea agglomerans (synonyms: Enterobacter agglomerans , Erwinia herbicola ) is known both as an epiphytic microbe developing on the surface of plants and as an endophytic organism living inside the plants. The bacterium occurs also abundantly in plant and animal products, in the body of arthropods and other animals, in water, soil, dust and air, and occasionally in humans. From the human viewpoint, the role of this organism is ambiguous, both deleterious and beneficial: on one side it causes disorders in people exposed to inhalation of organic dusts and diseases of crops, and on the other side it produces substances effective in the treatment of cancer and other diseases of humans and animals, suppresses the development of various plant pathogens, promotes plant growth, and appears as a potentially efficient biofertilizer and bioremediator. P. agglomerans was identified as a predominant bacterium on cotton plant grown all over the world, usually as an epiphyte, rarely as pathogen. It is particularly numerous on cotton bract after senescence. During processing of cotton in mills, bacteria and their products are released with cotton dust into air and are inhaled by workers, causing respiratory and general disorders, usually defined as byssinosis. The most adverse substance is endotoxin, a heteropolymer macromolecule present in the outermost part of the cell wall, consisting of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a major constituent, phospholipids and protein. The numerous experiments carried out in last quarter of XXth century on laboratory animals and human volunteers supported a convincing evidence that the inhaled endotoxin produced by P. agglomerans causes numerous pathologic effects similar to those elicited by cotton dust, such as influx of free lung cells into airways and activation of alveolar macrophages which secrete mediators (prostaglandins, platelet-activating factor, interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor) that cause accumulation of platelets in pulmonary capillaries initiating an acute and chronic inflammation resulting in endothelial cell damage and extravasation of cells and fluids into the lung interstitium. These changes cause bronchoconstriction, the decrement of lung function expressed as reduction of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and/or diffusion capacity, increase in the airway hyperreactivity and subjective symptoms such as fever, airway irritation and chest tightness. The conclusions from these experiments, performed mostly 2-3 decades ago, did not loose their actuality until recently as so far no other cotton dust component was identified as a more important work-related hazard than bacterial endotoxin. Though also other microbial and plant constituents are considered as potential causative agents of byssinosis, the endotoxin produced by Pantoea agglomerans and other Gram-negative bacteria present in cotton dust is still regarded as a major cause of this mysterious disease.

The ubiquitous Gram-negative bacterium Pantoea agglomerans (synonyms: Enterobacter agglomerans, Erwinia herbicola) is known both as an epiphytic microbe developing on the surface of plants and as an endophytic organism living inside the plants. The bacterium occurs also abundantly in plant and animal products, in the body of arthropods and other animals, in water, soil, dust and air, and occasionally in humans. From the human viewpoint, the role of this organism is ambiguous, both deleterious and beneficial: on one side it causes disorders in people exposed to inhalation of organic dusts and diseases of crops, and on the other side it produces substances effective in the treatment of cancer and other diseases of humans and animals, suppresses the development of various plant pathogens, promotes plant growth, and appears as a potentially efficient biofertilizer and bioremediator. P. agglomerans was identified as a predominant bacterium on cotton plant grown all over the world, usually as an epiphyte, rarely as pathogen. It is particularly numerous on cotton bract after senescence. During processing of cotton in mills, bacteria and their products are released with cotton dust into air and are inhaled by workers, causing respiratory and general disorders, usually defined as byssinosis. The most adverse substance is endotoxin, a heteropolymer macromolecule present in the outermost part of the cell wall, consisting of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a major constituent, phospholipids and protein. The numerous experiments carried out in last quarter of XXth century on laboratory animals and human volunteers supported a convincing evidence that the inhaled endotoxin produced by P. agglomerans causes numerous pathologic effects similar to those elicited by cotton dust, such as influx of free lung cells into airways and activation of alveolar macrophages which secrete mediators (prostaglandins, platelet-activating factor, interleukin-1, tumor necrosis factor) that cause accumulation of platelets in pulmonary capillaries initiating an acute and chronic inflammation resulting in endothelial cell damage and extravasation of cells and fluids into the lung interstitium. These changes cause bronchoconstriction, the decrement of lung function expressed as reduction of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and/or diffusion capacity, increase in the airway hyperreactivity and subjective symptoms such as fever, airway irritation and chest tightness. The conclusions from these experiments, performed mostly 2-3 decades ago, did not loose their actuality until recently as so far no other cotton dust component was identified as a more important work-related hazard than bacterial endotoxin. Though also other microbial and plant constituents are considered as potential causative agents of byssinosis, the endotoxin produced by Pantoea agglomerans and other Gram-negative bacteria present in cotton dust is still regarded as a major cause of this mysterious disease.

Background: To investigate the association of lung cancer with occupational exposure to textile dust and specifically to cotton dust in the population‐based case‐control study ICARE. Methods: Lifelong occupational history of 2926 cases and 3555 controls was collected using standardized questionnaires, with specific questions for textile dust exposure. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) were estimated using unconditional logistic regression models controlling for confounding factors including smoking and asbestos exposure. Results: An inverse association between textile dust exposure and lung cancer was found among workers exposed ≥5% of their work time (OR = 0.80, 95%CI = 0.58‐1.09), more pronounced for distant exposures (40+ years; up to a 56% reduced risk, statistically significant). The OR of lung cancer was significantly decreased among workers exposed to cotton fibers (OR = 0.70, 95%CI = 0.48‐0.97). Conclusions: Our results provide some evidence of a decreased risk of lung cancer associated with exposure to textile dust, particularly cotton. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effect of cotton dust as filler on the mechanical and thermal properties of polypropylene composites was investigated and the results were compared with the properties of wood plastic composites. Cotton dust was obtained from the dust filtration system located in a textile manufacturing unit. Different mixtures of cotton dust (30 to 60 wt%) or wood flour (30 to 60 wt%) were compounded with polypropylene with a coupling agent (maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene 3 wt%) in a twin-screw co-rotating extruder. The test specimens were produced by injection molding machine. The tensile strength and flexural modulus of the specimens improved with the increase in the filler content. There was no significant difference in the strength and modulus values between the cotton dust and wood flour filled composites. The highest thermal stability was found to be in the composites produced with 40 wt% of cotton dust according to the results of differential scanning calorimetry analysis. Based on the findings obtained from the present study, the optimum mechanical and thermal properties for the filled polypropylene composites were found to be a 50/50/3 formulation of cotton dust, polypropylene, and maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lipopolysaccharide (LPS) endotoxin contained in cotton dust may cause airway inflammation and decline of lung function when inhaled, which eventually leads to respiratory symptoms. The objective of this research is to analyze the correlation of the exposure of LPS endotoxin in cotton dust with the increase of TNFα level and the decline of lung function after one day's work. This study applies analytical observation method and prospective cohort approach. Main participants of this study were the workers of a cotton spinning factory located in Tulangan District, Sidoarjo Regency, East Java Province. Sixteen samples from cotton factory were taken as study group, and twenty three samples from village administrators were taken as control group. Data collection involves several techniques: spirometry, laboratory test, and interview. Results showed that concentration of personal dust has a significant relationship with the decline of FVC, %FVC, FEV1, and %FEV1, with Pearson correlation test showing p0.05. The research concludes that the level of LPS endotoxin was strongly related to the increase of blood serum TNFα and the decline of lung function. Development of more effective preventive measures such as stronger enforcement of worker's health maintenance regulations and use of personal protective equipment is needed to ensure the best protection of cotton workers' health.

Background: Most workers of carpet factory and sawmills suffer from non-specific lung diseases and ventilatory disorders. There is so many such industries operative in Lalitpur district and so far not many studies have been reported on pulmonary function in these workers. Method: A brief clinical sheet regarding age, occupational particulars, smoking habits and presence or absence of major complaints was recorded for each worker. Spirometric parameters were recorded using an electronic (MEDSPIROR) spirometer. The groups consisted of control subjects not exposed to industrial dusts (n=50) for each group of workers (carpet factory, n=50 and saw mill, n=50). Result: This study indicated an overall reduction in pulmonary function parameters; in particular FVC, FEV1 and FEV1/FVC % in carpet factory workers and FEV1 and FEV1/FVC % in saw mill workers. Comparison of pulmonary function parameters between carpet factories workers and sawmill workers revealed a significant reduction in FEV1 and MVV in carpet workers. Conclusion: Exposure to cotton dust and wood dust leads to combined type of spirometric deficit revealing obstructive or restrictive lung diseases. Workers exposed to industrial dusts also suffer from various upper or lower respiratory symptoms.

This study was conducted on exposure assessment for the prevalence of lung related diseases in cotton ginners. The study included 75 subjects in the age groups of 15-65 years from similar socio-economic status. Fifty subjects were exposed to cotton dust, while 25 were not exposed. The pulmonary function test, peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR) was performed to diagnose the presence of any lung related disorder. The decrease in PEFR showed an obstructive impairment. PEFR values of exposed subjects (M = 272.80 SD = 95.94) were compared with the unexposed subjects (M = 545.00 SD = 101.55). The difference between the two groups was significant, t(df) = -11.360, p = 0.000. The main results revealed that the subjects exposed to cotton dust had more respiratory disorders than unexposed subjects (p<0.01). The prevalence of chronic bronchitis, occupational asthma, inhalation fever, chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases and cough were 42%, 18%, 34%, 6% and 80%, respectively among the exposed vs (0%) among unexposed. It was concluded that 52% cotton ginners had all types of byssinosis while no lung related diseases prevailed among the unexposed subjects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 150 garment factory workers selected with stratified random sampling technique to examine their lung impairment with respect to cotton dust. Vital capacity (VC), forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1), forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1/FVC) and forced expiratory flow (FEF (25%-75%)) were obtained according to American Thoracic Society criteria. Exposure to cotton inhalable dust concentration was measured in accordance with National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health criteria. Mann Whitney U test was used for comparison among target groups and statistical significance of the study was set at p<0.05. Cough, phlegm and dyspnea was observed in 78%, 51% and 44% patients (workers) respectively. Personal exposure of the subjects to cotton inhalable dust was measured in stitching, button hall and special effect sections of the garment processing unit at mean dust levels of .603±.436 mg/m³, .446±.257 mg/m³ and .382±.174 mg/m³ respectively. The exposed group was categorized into three groups having normal, obstructive and restrictive pattern of disease. This study provided evidence for relationship between exposure to cotton dust and other respiratory impairments without any association to smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the occupational risk factors for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) in Hong Kong Chinese. Methods: We conducted a case-referent study with 352 incident cases and 410 referents recruited between June 2010 and December 2012. Full occupational histories were obtained via face-to-face interviews. Unconditional logistic regressions were performed to estimate the odds ratios (ORs) for NPC associated with occupational risk factors. Results: Workers of craft related trades and elementary occupations were at elevated NPC risk with the adjusted ORs of 2.09 [95% confidence interval (CI) 1.09, 4.01] and 2.14 (95% CI 1.04, 4.41), respectively, compared with those clerical support workers as the reference group. Occupational exposures to cotton dust, chemical fumes, and welding fumes were significantly associated with increased NPC risk after adjustment for confounders [adjusted ORs (95% CIs) 1.93 (1.13, 3.28), 13.11 (1.53, 112.17), and 9.18 (1.05, 80.35), respectively]. We also observed significant exposure-response relationship for the duration of exposure to cotton dust ( P for trend = 0.0175). Those with occupational exposure to cotton dust for 15 years or more were at significantly increased risk of NPC (adjusted OR 2.08, 95% CI 1.01, 4.28). Conclusions: This study indicates that employment in craft related trades and elementary occupations, as well as occupational exposures to chemical fumes, welding fumes, and cotton dust may be associated with an increased risk of NPC. Further epidemiological studies remain warranted to clarify the roles of specific occupational risk factors on NPC development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Cotton industry workers are exposed to various hazards in the different departments of textile factories. The major health problems associated with cotton dust are respiratory problems, byssinosis, bronchitis and asthma. Objective: To study the effect of cotton dust exposure on pulmonary function and respiratory symptoms. Settings and Design: This cross-sectional observational study was conducted at cotton mill in the Ahmedabad city. Materials and Methods: One hundred cotton mill workers of the weaving and spinning area participated in this study while 100 age- and gender-matched male subjects living in the residential area served as the control group. A questionnaire was used to inquire about respiratory symptoms and spirometry was done in both the groups. Statistical Analysis Used: Student's t-test was used to find the difference between spirometric parameters, and Chi-square test was used to find the difference between respiratory symptoms. Results: Respiratory symptoms were statistically significantly more common in the cotton mill workers compared to control group. Cotton mill workers group also showed significant (P < 0.0001) decrease in forced expiratory volume in 1 s (FEV1), ratio of FEV1 and forced vital capacity (FVC) and peak expiratory flow rate, and no significant difference of FVC between groups. There was an association of duration of exposure and symptoms with spirometric abnormality. Conclusion: Cotton mill workers showed a significant decrease in spirometric parameters and increase in respiratory symptoms. As the duration of exposure and symptoms increased, spirometric abnormality increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cellulose is the most abundant polysaccharide in nature and it encompasses a lot of industrial applications; it is from totally renewable resources and it reduces the greenhouse effect. The cotton yarn has an unavoidable loss of 8 % during any textile factory processes. Due to its intrinsic cellulosic nature, this cotton dust waste may be a convenient feedstock for chemical derivatization with diethylaminoethyl groups, thus providing a DEAE-CDW anionic exchange matrix able to adsorb a residual dye, such as Reactive Red 239 (RR239), from textile wastewaters. A factorial design (with such parameters as alkali catalyst and derivatization reagent) and other experiments were performed to investigate the influence of the initial model dye concentration, contact time and presence of common textile salts. A selected DEAE-CDW displayed RR239 dye sorption of 60.00 (column) and 93.41 mg g (batch). A good fit was found for the Langmuir isotherm ( R = 0.9878) drawn from the sorption data. The use of more DEAE reagent in the synthesis step resulted in better DEAE-CDW matrices, with the same being valid for the alkali concentration but with less intensity. The addition of 50 or 100 mmol L NaCl increased RR239 retention by 8.15 %, and the enzymatic cellulolytic degradability of fully dyed DEAE-CDW, compared to dye-free DEAE-CDW, was reduced from 42.57 to 28.15 %. The data support the assumption that the DEAE-CDW matrix is effective in the removal of the recalcitrant residual dye and or its colored degradation products still present in partially precleared textile waste sample and thus this represents an important alternative in the treatment of colored textile effluents. Shortly, a factory problem was converted in a solution for another greater environmental problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total and lobar depositions of fungal particles in the human lung were calculated for the workers in a cotton spin factory using an updated version of the Monte Carlo transport and deposition code IDEAL. The study is based on nasal breathing under light exercises activity with a standard functional residual capacity (FRC) of 3300 ml, tidal volume (VT) of 1250 ml and breathing frequency (f) of 20 min−1. The present calculation is based on our previous measurements of the size distribution of fungal particles in the cotton spin factory using six-stage Andersen impactor as a viable sampler. The measurements were carried out in the two main working departments: carding department (Dept1) as a model for high dust concentration area and spinning department (Dept2) as a model for low dust concentration area. It was found that the total deposition of fungal particles is higher in the carding and blowing department (Dept1) than that in the spinning department (Dept2). For lobar deposition, it was found that the deposition of Aspergillus niger and Penicillium has the highest deposition in the RL and LL lobes. These predictions show two distinct deposition maxima at the bronchial and the acinar regions with the highest deposition being in the acinar region. In all cases, the deposition reaches its maximum at generation 12 in the bronchial region and at generation 22 in the acinar region. The results reveal a positive relationship between the deposition of biological particles and some respiratory diseases.

Abstract Background: Workers who exposed to cotton dust are at risk of some occupational lung diseases such as byssinosis and chronic bronchitis. In general respiratory symptoms like chronic cough, sputum and dyspnea are more common in cotton dust exposed workers. With continuous exposure, progression of disease and pulmonary dysfunction will happen. In this study, we assessed the effect of cotton dust exposure on pulmonary function. Methods: In this survey, 141 textile workers who exposed to cotton dust have been elected as exposed group and data was gathered by ATS,s standard questionnaire, physical exam and spirometry. Spirometric indices such as FVC, FEV1, FEV1/FVC, FEF25-75% and PEFR were measured. Results: Outcomes show that some respiratory symptoms such as cough, sputum and episodic productive cough (chronic bronchitis) have significant increase in cotton dust exposed group and decreased mean of FVC, FEV1, and FEV1/FVC percentage have been seen. These results suggest high prevalence of obstructive airway disease in this group. Conclusion: According to results in our study textile workers are at risk of progression of respiratory symptoms and decreased of pulmonary function. Physical exam and spirometry can detect the disease at early stage.

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The ubiquitous Gram-negative bacterium Pantoea agglomerans (synonyms: Enterobacter agglomerans, Erwinia herbicola) is known both as an epiphytic microbe developing on the surface of plants, and as an endophytic organism living inside the plants. The bacterium also occurs abundantly in plant and animal products, in the body of arthropods and other animals, in water, soil, dust and air, and occasionally in humans. From the human viewpoint, the role of this organism is ambiguous - both deleterious and beneficial: on one side it causes disorders in people exposed to inhalation of organic dusts and diseases of crops, and on the other it produces substances effective in the treatment of cancer and other diseases of humans and animals, suppresses the development of various plant pathogens, promotes plant growth, and appears as a potentially efficient biofertilizer and bioremediator. P. agglomerans has been identified as a predominant bacterium on cotton plants grown worldwide, usually as an epiphyte, rarely as pathogen. It is particularly numerous on cotton bract after senescence. During the processing of cotton in mills, bacteria and their products are released with cotton dust into the air and are inhaled by workers, causing respiratory and general disorders, usually defined as byssinosis. The most adverse substance is endotoxin, a heteropolymer macromolecule present in the outermost part of the cell wall, consisting of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) as a major constituent, phospholipids and protein. Numerous experiments carried out in last quarter of 20th century on laboratory animals and human volunteers supported convincing evidence that the inhaled endotoxin produced by P. agglomerans causes numerous pathologic effects similar to those elicited by cotton dust, such as the influx of free lung cells into airways and activation of alveolar macrophages which secrete mediators (prostaglandins, platelet-activating factor, interleukin-1, tumour necrosis factor) that cause the accumulation of platelets in pulmonary capillaries, initiating acute and chronic inflammation, resulting in endothelial cell damage and extravasation of cells and fluids into the lung interstitium. These changes cause bronchoconstriction, the decrement of lung function expressed as reduction of forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and/or diffusion capacity, increase in the airway hyper-reactivity and subjective symptoms such as fever, airway irritation and chest tightness. The conclusions from these experiments, performed mostly 20-30 years ago, did not loose their actuality until recently. This was because to-date no other cotton dust component had been identified as a more important work-related hazard than bacterial endotoxin. Although other microbial and plant constituents are also considered as potential causative agents of byssinosis, the endotoxin produced by Pantoea agglomerans and other Gram-negative bacteria present in cotton dust, is still regarded as a major cause of this mysterious disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in North America. Exposure to cotton dust has previously been reported to decrease the risk of lung cancer. Methods: We used data from two large case-control studies conducted in Montreal from 1979-1986 (Study 1) and 1996-2002 (Study 2) respectively, to examine the association between occupational exposure to cotton dust and risk of lung cancer. Cases were diagnosed with incident histologically-confirmed lung cancer (857 in Study 1, 1203 in Study 2). Population controls were randomly selected from electoral lists and frequency-matched to cases by age and sex (533 in Study 1, 1513 in Study 2). Interviews for the two studies used a virtually identical questionnaire to obtain lifetime occupational and smoking history, and several lifestyle covariates. Each participant's lifetime occupational history was reviewed by experts to assess exposure to a number of occupational agents, including cotton dust. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated by unconditional logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders. Results: The lifetime prevalence of exposure to cotton dust was approximately 10%-15% in both studies combined, with some variation by study and by sex. Overall there was no decreased risk of lung cancer among subjects exposed to cotton dust. Rather, among all subjects there was a suggestion of slightly increased risk associated with any lifetime exposure to cotton dust (OR = 1.2, 95% CI: 1.0-1.5). This risk appeared to be concentrated among cases of adenocarcinoma (OR = 1.6, 95% CI: 1.2-2.2), and among moderate and heavy smokers (OR = 1.3, 95% CI: 1.0-1.7). There was no association when restricting to cases of either squamous cell or small cell cancer, or among never smokers and light smokers. An analogous examination of subjects exposed to wool dust revealed neither increased nor decreased risks of lung cancer. Conclusions: There was no evidence that cotton dust exposure decreased risks of lung cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As cotton dust (CD) from spinning textile industry contains considerable amounts of cellulose, it can be used as an alternative secondary material for the production of concrete. This study was performed by replacing cementitious material with incinerated CD. Fresh and hardened cotton dust ash concrete was compared to a reference series. The level of replacement was at 0%, 5%, 10%, 15%, and 20% by weight. Observed results indicated that CD ash concrete had consistently led to improvement in strength performance. It was found that CD ash dosage at 10% by weight gave the ultimate compressive, flexural, and splitting tensile strength of 32.92, 8.36, and 4.84 N/mm², respectively. However, an increase in the percentage replacement of CD ash dosage resulted in an increase in the porosity of concrete. The results evidently exhibited that CD ash can be used for partial replacement of cement in concrete. Thus, the partial substitution of CD ash helps to contribute towards sustainable development in civil engineering practices [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Secondary pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP) is rare but may occur in association with malignancy, certain infections, and exposure to inorganic or organic dust and some toxic fumes. This case report describes the second recorded case of PAP due to exposure to cotton dust. A 24-year-old man developed PAP after working as a spinner for eight years without respiratory protection. He was admitted as an emergency patient with very severe dyspnea for four months and cough for several years. Chest X-ray showed bilateral diffuse alveolar consolidation. He died 16 days later, and a diagnosis of acute pulmonary alveolar proteinosis was made at autopsy. The histopathology demonstrated alveoli and respiratory bronchioles filled with characteristic periodic acid Schiff-positive material, which also revealed birefringent bodies of cotton dust under polarized light. Secondary PAP can be fatal and present with acute respiratory failure. The occupational history and characteristic pathology can alert clinicians to the diagnosis.