Table 2.

Sputum cell profiles in subjects^a exposed to mining dust or diesel exhaust

	Cell Numbersb
Cell types	Baseline	OSc	DEd
Inflammatory cells (X106/ml)
Total	7.98 ± 1.68	12.53 ± 3.28	20.29 ± 7.65*
Macrophages	6.53 ± 1.32	10.00 ± 2.61	16.10 ± 5.57*
Neutrophils	1.29 ± 0.49	2.23 ± 0.68	4.05 ± 2.32
Lymphocytes	0.15 ± 0.05	0.22 ± 0.07	0.21 ± 0.08
Epithelial cells (X103/ml)	2.80 ± 0.823	9.34 ± 5.27*	12.43 ± 7.98*

^aEleven healthy subjects underwent three evaluations, at least one week apart, at a non-exposure (baseline) day, a dust, non-DE, exposure (OS) day, and a DE exposure (DE) day;

^bCell number analysis was performed with Diff-Quik® (Dade Behring AG, Switzerland) on a microscope slide;

^cMining particles sample were collected on pre-weighed PVC filters and analyzed by gravimetric analysis;

^dDE exposure levels were measured by elemental carbon according to NIOSH method 5040;

^*p < 0.05 when compared to Baseline (N = 11).