The objective of this study was to clarify whether the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and the platelet-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) are significant prognostic markers in patients with resectable colorectal cancer (CRC). A total of 200 patients who underwent curative resection for CRC were enrolled. The NLR and PLR were positively correlated (p < 0.001). Both the NLR and PLR were shown to be good prognostic biomarkers of overall survival (OS) (p=0.002 and p=0.001, respectively). The PLR was an independent prognostic factor of OS based on multivariate analysis (hazard ratio, 1.971; 95% confidence interval, 1.102-3.335; p=0.021).

ObjectiveTwo tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα) antagonists were recently licensed in the US. Infliximab was licensed in 1998 for the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD), and since 1999, it has been licensed in combination with methotrexate for treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Etanercept was licensed in 1998 for treatment of RA and, more recently, for juvenile RA and psoriatic arthritis. Because of potential immunosuppression related to use of anti‐TNFα agents, we sought to identify postlicensure cases of opportunistic infection, including histoplasmosis, in patients treated with these products.MethodsThe US Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) passive surveillance database for monitoring postlicensure adverse events was reviewed to identify all reports received through July 2001 of histoplasmosis in patients treated with either infliximab or etanercept.ResultsTen cases of Histoplasma capsulatum (HC) infection were reported: 9 associated with infliximab and 1 associated with etanercept. In patients treated with infliximab, manifestations of histoplasmosis occurred within 1 week to 6 months after the first dose and typically included fever, malaise, cough, dyspnea, and interstitial pneumonitis. Of the 10 patients with histoplasmosis, 9 required treatment in an intensive care unit, and 1 died. All patients had received concomitant immunosuppressive medications in addition to infliximab or etanercept, and all resided in HC‐endemic regions.ConclusionPostlicensure surveillance suggests that acute life‐threatening histoplasmosis may complicate immunotherapy with TNFα antagonists, particularly infliximab. Histoplasmosis should be considered early in the evaluation of patients who reside in HC‐endemic areas in whom infectious complications develop during treatment with infliximab or etanercept.

A novel transfer-printing method for high-performance all-plastic transparent electrodes is demonstrated. A solution process using H2 SO4 not only dramatically enhances the electrical conductivity of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(4-styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) over 4000 S cm(-1) but also chemically modifies its adhesion properties, thereby enabling expeditious "pick-and-place" transfer onto arbitrary surfaces using elastomeric stamps. Flexible and transparent optoelectronic devices with transferred PEDOT:PSS electrodes show superb performances.

The Relationship of Indoor, Outdoor and Personal Air (RIOPA) study was designed to investigate residential indoor, outdoor and personal exposures to several classes of air pollutants, including volatile organic compounds, carbonyls and fine particles (PM 2.5 ). Samples were collected from summer, 1999 to spring, 2001 in Houston (TX), Los Angeles (CA) and Elizabeth (NJ). Indoor, outdoor and personal PM 2.5 samples were collected at 212 nonsmoking residences, 162 of which were sampled twice. Some homes were chosen due to close proximity to ambient sources of one or more target analytes, while others were farther from sources. Median indoor, outdoor and personal PM 2.5 mass concentrations for these three sites were 14.4, 15.5 and 31.4 mg/m 3 , respectively. The contributions of ambient (outdoor) and nonambient sources to indoor and personal concentrations were quantified using a single compartment box model with measured air exchange rate and a random component superposition (RCS) statistical model. The median contribution of ambient sources to indoor PM 2.5 concentrations using the mass balance approach was estimated to be 56% for all study homes (63%, 52% and 33% for California, New Jersey and Texas study homes, respectively). Reasonable variations in model assumptions alter median ambient contributions by less than 20%. The mean of the distribution of ambient contributions across study homes agreed well for the mass balance and RCS models, but the distribution was somewhat broader when calculated using the mass balance model with measured air exchange rates.

Objective. Tumor necrosis factor ␣ (TNF␣) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of certain inflammatory diseases. Two TNF␣-neutralizing agents are licensed in the US. Infliximab is licensed for the treatment of Crohn's disease (CD) and, when used with methotrexate, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Etanercept is licensed for the treatment of RA, including juvenile RA, and, more recently, was licensed for the treatment of psoriatic arthritis. Because of the potential for decreased host resistance to infectious agents due to treatment with anti-TNF␣ agents, we sought to evaluate postlicensure cases of opportunistic infection, including Listeria monocytogenes, in patients treated with these products.Methods. The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System, a passive monitoring system, was reviewed to identify all reports of adverse events (through December 2001) associated with L monocytogenes infection in patients treated with infliximab or etanercept.Results. Fifteen cases of L monocytogenes infection associated with infliximab or etanercept treatment were identified. In 14 of these cases, patients had received infliximab. The median age of all patients was 69.5 years (range 17-80 years); 53% were female. Six deaths were reported. Among patients for whom an indication for use was reported, there were 9 patients (64%) with RA and 5 patients (36%) with CD (information was not reported for 1 patient). All patients for whom information was reported were receiving concurrent immunosuppressant drugs. Conclusion.Postlicensure surveillance suggests that L monocytogenes infection may be a serious complication of treatment with TNF␣-neutralizing agents, particularly infliximab.

Moreover, sulfide SEs in contact with an inactive component of conductive carbon additives are oxidatively decomposed at the entire range of operating voltages of Li [Ni,Mn,Co]O 2 , leading to the lowered initial Coulombic efficiency (ICE) and gradual capacity fading upon cycling. [49] Owing to the incompressible feature of SEs, electrochemomechanical effects on the performance are also critical for allsolid-state batteries. [37,50,51] Even slight volumetric strains of a few percentages in LiMO 2 during charge and discharge induces loosening and/or loss of interfacial ionic contacts. [18,37,38,52] Moreover, very recently, our group demonstrated that commercial-grade LiNi 0.80 Co 0.10 Mn 0.10 O 2 , consisting of randomly oriented grains, was susceptible to severe disintegration of the secondary particles even at the initial charge and discharge due to the anisotropic volumetric strains, which led to poor electrochemical performance of low ICE and degradation of cycling retention. [37] In this regard, recently emerging research directions for cathodes in advanced LIBs based on LEs, the development of cracking-free single-crystalline Ni-rich layered oxides, [30,[53][54][55][56][57][58] could be in the same vein for the development of practical ASLBs.The recent discovery of halide SEs (Li 3 YX 6 (X = Cl, Br)) with Li + conductivities of over 10 −4 S cm −1 has opened new opportunities due to their excellent electrochemical oxidation stability (>4 V vs Li/Li + ) and much better chemical stability (more oxygen-resistant and no H 2 S evolution), compared to sulfide SEs, as well as deformability. [59,60] By exploration of the Li 3 YX 6 analogs, highly Li + conductive halide SEs of Li 3 InCl 6 (1.5 mS cm −1 ), [61] Li 3 ErCl 6 (0.33 mS cm −1 ), [62] Li 3 ScCl 6 (3.0 mS cm −1 ), [63,64] and Li 3−x M 1−x Zr x Cl 6 (M = Y, Er, 1.4 mS cm −1 ), [65] Li 2+x Zr 1−x Fe x Cl 6 (max. ≈ 1 mS cm -1 ) [66] were identified. By employing these new halide SEs, uncoated LiCoO 2 electrodes showed good electrochemical performance, which was attributed to their high electrochemical oxidation stability. [65,66,67] To date, reports on the application of halide SE for Ni-rich layered oxides are scarce. [64,66] The aforementioned advances in understanding the failure modes of Ni-rich layered oxides in terms of electrochemical and electrochemo-mechanical stabilities, advanced Ni-rich layered oxides with electrochemo-mechanically compliant microstructures, and new halide SEs led us, herein, to the rigorous investigation of all-solid-state cells with variations in Ni-rich layered oxides (single-crystalline LiNi 0.88 Co 0.11 Al 0.01 O 2 (single-NCA) vs conventional polycrystalline LiNi 0.88 Co 0.11 Al 0.01 O 2 (poly-NCA)) and SEs (halide SE Li 3 YCl 6 (LYC) vs conventional sulfide SE Li 6 PS 5 Cl 0.5 Br 0.5 (LPSX)). Notably, several critical counteracting pros and cons of two sets of NCAs and SEs, summarized in Figure 1a, pose intriguing questions on the type of factors that are critical from the viewpoint of designing ASLBs. First, compared to poly-...

A single intravenous administration of erythropoietin and an iron supplement 1 day before surgery significantly reduced the perioperative transfusion requirement in anemic patients undergoing valvular heart surgery, implicating its potential role as a blood conservation strategy.

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