Kaolin is removed from underground seams in the mining area to a processing area, where it is sliced, dried, and pulverised to make the finished product. A study was undertaken to determine the dust concentrations in various work areas and to assess the prevalence of radiographic and pulmonary function abnormalities in 65 workers at a Georgia kaolin mine. Respirable dust concentrations were hig...

The intestinal mucosa protects the body from a large reservoir of intraluminal pathogenic bacteria and endotoxins. This mucosal barrier is disrupted by the inflammation and ulceration of inflammatory bowel disease and may permit the absorption of toxic bacterial products. Systemic endotoxaemia has been demonstrated in ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease and correlates with the extent and act...

Objective Aquaporin (AQP) is a recently discovered protein that regulates water homeostasis. The present study examines changes in AQP 1 and 4 in kaolin induced experimental hydrocephalic rats to elucidate the pathophysiology of water homeostasis in the disease. Methods Hydrocephalus was induced by percutaneous intracisternal injection of kaolin. The brain parenchyma and choroid plexus were o...

pistacia vera l., a member of anacardiaceae family, has been used for sedation and analgesia in traditional medicine. in this study, the antinociceptive and anti-inflammatory effects as well as acute toxicity of the aqueous and ethanolic extracts of p. vera leaves were investigated in mice. the antinociceptive activity was studied using hot plate and writhing tests. the effect of the extracts a...

Acute inflammation is a rapid response to an injurious agent that serves to deliver mediators of host defense—leukocytes and plasma proteins—to the site of injury. Acute inflammation has three major components: (1) alterations in vascular caliber that lead to an increase in blood flow; (2) structural changes in the microvasculature that permit plasma proteins and leukocytes to leave the circula...

Wound healing is a complex series of biochemical and cellular events. Optimally, functional material design addresses the overlapping acute and inflammatory stages of wound healing based on molecular, cellular, and bio-compatibility issues. In this paper the issues addressed are uncontrolled hemostasis and inflammation which can interfere with the orderly flow of wound healing. In this regard, ...

Hydrogen sulfide (H(2)S) is an endogenous gaseous mediator with the ability to modulate tissue inflammation and pain. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of an H(2)S donor (Na(2)S) on leukocyte-endothelium interactions, blood flow, and pain sensation in acutely inflamed knee joints. Acute arthritis was induced in urethane anesthetized C57bl/6 mice by intra-articular injection of k...

Motion sickness in rodents could be induced with vestibular stimulation from rotation [1]. However, rats and mice could not nauseate and vomit due to the powerful barrier between the stomach and the esophagus [2]. Instead, they exhibit pica behavior (eating of kaolin), which has already been thought as an alternative to nausea and vomiting in rats [3]. Nonetheless, no significant increase in ka...