Purpose: This study was performed to determine the prognostic value of lymphocyte-to-CRP ratio after curative resection for hepatocellular carcinoma. Methods: Between July 2010 and October 2021, 173 consecutive patients (144 male, 29 female) who underwent surgical resection for pathologically confirmed hepatocellular carcinoma were included in this retrospective study. Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between clinicopathological characteristics and recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival (OS). A P-value of <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The patients (mean age, 71 years) were stratified into high (≥9,500, n = 108) and low (<9,500, n = 65) lymphocyteto-CRP ratio groups. The low lymphocyte-to-CRP ratio group had significantly worse RFS and OS. Low lymphocyte-toCRP ratio (hazard ratio [HR], 1.865; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.176–2.960; P = 0.008), multiple tumors (HR, 3.333; 95% CI, 2.042–5.343; P < 0.001), and microvascular invasion (HR, 1.934; 95% CI, 1.178–3.184; P = 0.009) were independently associated with RFS, whereas low albumin-to-globulin ratio (HR, 2.270; 95% CI, 1.074–4.868; P = 0.032), α-FP of ≥25 ng/mL (HR, 2.187; 95% CI, 1.115–4.259; P = 0.023), and poor tumor differentiation (HR, 2.781; 95% CI, 1.041–6.692; P = 0.042) were independently associated with OS. Lymphocyte-to-CRP ratio had a higher area under the curve (0.635) than other inflammation-based markers (0.51–0.63). Conclusion Lymphocyte-to-CRP ratio is superior to other inflammation-based markers as a predictor of RFS in patients with surgically resected hepatocellular carcinoma.

Objective: We conducted a two-way crossover trial to investigate the effects of a personal air-conditioning system on fatigue induced by mental load. Design: Sixteen healthy volunteers performed mental fatigue-inducing tasks that consisted of a 2-back task for 30 min and the A, B, and C tasks of the advanced trail making test (ATMT) for 30 min on four occasions (4-hour mental load) with or without the personal air-conditioning system with a 1-week interval. We evaluated work performance by mean reaction time, number of errors, total trial number, and reaction time from the previous task to the next task in the ATMT and subjective fatigue sensation by the visual analogue scale (VAS). Results: The mean reaction time, the number of errors, and reaction time from the previous task to the next task were significantly lower, and the total trial number was significantly higher when the personal air-conditioning system was used. On the other hand, the personal air-conditioning system did not affect fatigue sensation in VAS. Conclusion: We found that the personal air-conditioning system attenuated mental fatigue and increased the subjects’ motivation.