Scrub typhus is a mite-borne infectious disease caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi. Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is a serious complication of scrub typhus. This study retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 72 patients diagnosed with scrub typhus from January 1998 to August 2006 in Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital in Taiwan. Eight of 72 scrub typhus patients with ARDS were included in the study; the other patients without ARDS were used as controls. The mortality rate for the scrub typhus patients with ARDS was 25%. The eight patients seldom had underlying diseases. Initial presentations of dyspnea and cough, white blood cell count, hematocrit, total bilirubin, and delayed used of appropriate antibiotics use were significant predictors of ARDS. Multivariate analysis showed that albumin, prothrombin time, and delayed use of appropriate antibiotics were independent predictors of ARDS. Identification of these relative risk factors may help clinicians evaluate clinical cases of scrub typhus with ARDS.

The aim of this study was to assess the significance of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and their association with IL-6 in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC). We examined the percentage of CD11b+CD14+HLA-DR− myeloid cells and the levels of IL-6 in the peripheral blood of 50 patients with esophageal SCC and 12 healthy controls. Moreover, we evaluated the relationship between MDSC recruitment, IL-6 levels, and tumor progression by adding 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide (4-NQO) to the drinking water of mice to induce esophageal tumors. Here we demonstrated that circulating CD11b+CD14+HLA-DR− cells were significantly increased in esophageal SCC patients compared with healthy people, and this was associated with the clinical stage, treatment response and circulating IL-6 levels. In a 4-NQO-induced esophageal tumor animal model, MDSC recruitment was associated with invasive esophageal tumors and with increased IL-6 levels. IL-6 stimulated reactive oxygen species, arginase 1 and p-STAT3 in MDSCs. Blockade of IL-6 prevented induction of MDSCs and the incidence of 4-NQO- induced invasive tumors. In conclusion, the levels of MDSCs and IL-6 predicted the prognosis of patients with esophageal SCC. Moreover, we suggest inhibition of IL-6 as a potential strategy for the treatment of esophageal SCC.

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The thermal stability of electrochemically delithiated Li0.1Ni0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 (NCA), FePO4 (FP), Mn0.8Fe0.2PO4 (MFP), hydrothermally synthesized VOPO4, LiVOPO4, and electrochemically lithiated Li2VOPO4 is investigated by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and thermogravimetric analysis, coupled with mass spectrometry (TGA-MS). The thermal stability of the delithiated materials is found to be in the order of NCA < VOPO4 < MFP < FP. Unlike the layered oxides and MFP, VOPO4 does not evolve O2 on heating. Thus, VOPO4 is less likely to cause a thermal run-away phenomenon in batteries at elevated temperature and so is inherently safer. The lithiated materials LiVOPO4, Li2VOPO4, and LiNi0.8Co0.15Al0.05O2 are found to be stable in the presence of electrolyte, but sealed-capsule high-pressure experiments show a phase transformation of VOPO4 → HVOPO4 → H2VOPO4 when VOPO4 reacts with electrolyte (1 M LiPF6 in EC/DMC = 1:1) between 200 and 300 °C. Using first-principles calculations, we confirm that the charged VOPO4 cathode is indeed predicted to be marginally less stable than FP but significantly more stable than NCA in the absence of electrolyte. An analysis of the reaction equilibria between VOPO4 and EC using a multicomponent phase diagram approach yields products and reaction enthalpies that are highly consistent with the experiment results.