Trilaciclib prior to gemcitabine plus carboplatin for metastatic triple-negative breast cancer: phase III PRESERVE 2.

Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is an aggressive malignancy for which cytotoxic chemotherapy remains the backbone of treatment. Trilaciclib is an intravenous cyclin-dependent kinase 4/6 inhibitor that induces transient cell cycle arrest of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells and immune cells during chemotherapy exposure, protecting them from chemotherapy-induced damage and enhancing immune activity. Administration of trilaciclib prior to gemcitabine plus carboplatin (GCb) significantly improved overall survival (OS) compared with GCb alone in an open-label phase II trial in patients with metastatic TNBC, potentially through protection and direct activation of immune function.

ROBUST: A Phase III Study of Lenalidomide Plus R-CHOP Versus Placebo Plus R-CHOP in Previously Untreated Patients With ABC-Type Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma.

Purpose: Patients with the activated B-cell-like (ABC) subtype of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) historically showed inferior survival with standard rituximab plus cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (R-CHOP). Phase II studies demonstrated that adding the immunomodulatory agent lenalidomide to R-CHOP improved outcomes in ABC-type DLBCL. The goal of the global, phase III ROBUST study was to compare lenalidomide plus R-CHOP (R2-CHOP) with placebo/R-CHOP in previously untreated, ABC-type DLBCL.

Direct detection of Corynebacterium striatum, Corynebacterium propinquum, and Corynebacterium simulans in sputum samples by high-resolution melt curve analysis.

Background: Pulmonary infections caused by non-diphtheriae corynebacteria are increasing. However, rapid identification of Corynebacterium species poses a challenge due to the low genetic variation within the genus.

Methods: Three reference strains and 99 clinical isolates were used in this study.

Effects of Hot Extrusion Temperature on Mechanical and Corrosion Properties of Mg-Y-Zn-Zr Biological Magnesium Alloy Containing W Phase and I Phase.

The previous study conducted on the as-cast Mg-2Y-1Zn-0.6Zr alloy showed that the tensile strength, yield strength and elongation of the as-cast alloy were 245 MPa, 135 MPa and 14.4%, respectively.

An immunoproteomic approach to identify antigenic proteins in Nocardia farcinica IFM 10152.

Nocardia farcinica is the etiological agent of nocardiosis, leading to serious pulmonary or systemic infections. To uncover virulence factors and early diagnostic markers, secreted proteins of N. farcinica IFM 10152 were analyzed using an immunoproteome-based approach.

A novel isothermal amplification-based method for detection of Corynebacterium striatum.

Corynebacterium striatum is an emerging multidrug-resistant pathogen causing increasing numbers of infections and nosocomial outbreaks worldwide. Thus, a simple, rapid and accurate method for C. striatum is urgently required for improving diagnosis efficiency.

Whole-Genome Sequencing Reveals a Prolonged and Persistent Intrahospital Transmission of Corynebacterium striatum, an Emerging Multidrug-Resistant Pathogen.

is an emerging multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogen that occurs primarily among immunocompromised and chronically ill patients. However, little is known about the genomic diversity of , which contributes to its long-term persistence and transmission in hospitals. In this study, a total of 192  isolates obtained from 14 September 2017 to 29 March 2018 in a hospital in Beijing, China, were analyzed by antimicrobial susceptibility testing and pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).

Long-term use of lenalidomide and low-dose dexamethasone in Chinese patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: MM-024 Extended Access Program.

Background: The efficacy and safety of lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone (Rd) in Chinese patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) was demonstrated in a phase 2, multicenter trial (MM-021). MM-024 was an Extended Access Program (EAP) that allowed responding patients in the MM-021 trial to continue to receive Rd, and to provide additional safety and efficacy data with longer follow-up.

Methods: Chinese patients with RRMM who completed ≥ 1 year of Rd therapy in MM-021 and who remained progression-free under Rd entered the Treatment Phase of the MM-024 EAP, continuing Rd at the same dose and schedule.

Lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone in Chinese patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma and renal impairment.

Lower starting doses of lenalidomide (LEN) are recommended for patients with renal impairment (RI). In the present study, we conducted a subgroup analysis of the MM-021 registration trial to investigate the efficacy and safety of LEN plus low-dose dexamethasone (LoDEX) in Chinese patients with advanced relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM) based on levels of RI. Patients received LEN+LoDEX until disease progression or discontinuation.

Co-circulation of multiple hemorrhagic fever diseases with distinct clinical characteristics in Dandong, China.

Hemorrhagic fevers (HF) caused by viruses and bacteria are a major public health problem in China and characterized by variable clinical manifestations, such that it is often difficult to achieve accurate diagnosis and treatment. The causes of HF in 85 patients admitted to Dandong hospital, China, between 2011-2012 were determined by serological and PCR tests. Of these, 34 patients were diagnosed with Huaiyangshan hemorrhagic fever (HYSHF), 34 with Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS), one with murine typhus, and one with scrub typhus.

Identifying high-risk areas of bacillary dysentery and associated meteorological factors in Wuhan, China.

Spatial distribution of bacillary dysentery incidence was mapped at the district level in Wuhan, China. And a generalized additive time series model was used to examine the effect of daily weather factors on bacillary dysentery in the high-risk areas, after controlling for potential confounding factors. Central districts were found to be the high-risk areas.

Factors that influence health-related quality of life in newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma aged ≥ 65 years treated with melphalan, prednisone and lenalidomide followed by lenalidomide maintenance: results of a randomized trial.

In the MM-015 trial, melphalan-prednisone-lenalidomide followed by lenalidomide maintenance (MPR-R) significantly prolonged progression-free survival versus melphalan-prednisone (MP) in newly diagnosed patients with multiple myeloma aged ≥ 65 years. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), a secondary endpoint of MM-015, was also improved with MPR-R. This sub-analysis evaluated the impact of individual predictive factors on HRQoL.

A multicenter, open-label, phase 2 study of lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone in Chinese patients with relapsed/refractory multiple myeloma: the MM-021 trial.

Background: There is an unmet need for treatment options in Chinese patients with relapsed or refractory multiple myeloma (RRMM). Lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone is effective and generally well tolerated in Caucasian RRMM patients, but no previous study has evaluated this regimen in Chinese RRMM patients.

Methods: MM-021 is a phase 2, multicenter, single-arm open-label registration trial conducted to assess the efficacy, safety, and pharmacokinetics of lenalidomide plus low-dose dexamethasone in Chinese patients with RRMM.

Contribution of follicular dendritic cells to persistent HIV viremia.

HIV-1 infections cannot be completely eradicated by drug therapy, as the virus persists in reservoirs. Low-level plasma viremia has been detected in patients treated for over 7 years, but the cellular compartments that support this low-level viremia have not been identified. The decay of HIV-1 during treatment appears to occur in four phases, with the 3rd and 4th phases occurring when the virus is below the limit of detection of conventional assays.

Modeling the acute and chronic phases of Theiler murine encephalomyelitis virus infection.

Theiler murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV) infection of a mouse's central nervous system is biphasic: first the virus infects motor neurons (acute phase), and this is followed by a chronic phase in which the virus infects glial cells (primarily microglia and macrophages [M]) of the spinal cord white matter, leading to inflammation and demyelination. As such, TMEV-induced demyelinating disease in mice provides a highly relevant experimental animal model for multiple sclerosis. Mathematical models have proven valuable in understanding the in vivo dynamics of persistent virus infections, such as HIV-1, hepatitis B virus, and hepatitis C virus infections.

Lenalidomide, melphalan, and prednisone, followed by lenalidomide maintenance, improves health-related quality of life in newly diagnosed multiple myeloma patients aged 65 years or older: results of a randomized phase III trial.

The MM-015 trial assessed the effect of lenalidomide-based therapy on health-related quality of life. Patients (n=459) with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma aged 65 years or over were randomized 1:1:1 to nine 4-week cycles of lenalidomide, melphalan, and prednisone, followed by lenalidomide maintenance; or lenalidomide, melphalan, and prednisone, or melphalan and prednisone, with no maintenance therapy. Patients completed health-related quality of life questionnaires at baseline, after every third treatment cycle, and at treatment end.

An outbreak of Mycoplasma pneumoniae caused by a macrolide-resistant isolate in a nursery school in China.

Eighteen out of 45 children were reported to have a respiratory illness during an outbreak at a temporary dormitory in a nursery school in China in 2011. To study the outbreak and to determine the risk factors for infection, an epidemiological investigation was performed. A standardized questionnaire was completed for a total of 45 children with the help of their guardians and parents.

Investigation of anaplasmosis in Yiyuan County, Shandong Province, China.

Objective: To investigate the situation of anaplasmosis in Yiyuan county, Shandong Province.

Methods: A total of 26 blood samples from febrile patients suspected of anaplasmosis, 48 blood samples from healthy farmers, 8 from dogs, and 10 from goats and 170 ticks were collected in the same area during 2005-2007, and detected by serological and molecular methods.

Results: Eight confirmed cases and 6 probable cases were determined using serologic and molecular methods.

Fever with thrombocytopenia associated with a novel bunyavirus in China.

Background: Heightened surveillance of acute febrile illness in China since 2009 has led to the identification of a severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS) with an unknown cause. Infection with Anaplasma phagocytophilum has been suggested as a cause, but the pathogen has not been detected in most patients on laboratory testing.

Methods: We obtained blood samples from patients with the case definition of SFTS in six provinces in China.

Multilocus outbreak of foodborne botulism linked to contaminated sausage in Hebei province, China.

In 2007, an outbreak of foodborne botulism occurred in Hebei province, China. An epidemiological investigation and laboratory detection studies showed that sausage contaminated by type A Clostridium botulinum caused this outbreak of food poisoning. Its clinical and epidemiological features were different from previous reports of food poisoning.

Optimality of mutation and selection in germinal centers.

The population dynamics theory of B cells in a typical germinal center could play an important role in revealing how affinity maturation is achieved. However, the existing models encountered some conflicts with experiments. To resolve these conflicts, we present a coarse-grained model to calculate the B cell population development in affinity maturation, which allows a comprehensive analysis of its parameter space to look for optimal values of mutation rate, selection strength, and initial antibody-antigen binding level that maximize the affinity improvement.

Scrub typhus in previously unrecognized areas of endemicity in China.

Scrub typhus, caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi, has emerged recently in areas of northern China where the disease had not been known to exist. We analyzed epidemiological, clinical, and laboratory data for 104 patients who were admitted to a hospital in Fuyang City between 26 September and 1 November 2008. We showed that the major clinical manifestations of the patients were fever (100%), headache (82%), myalgias (77%), eschar (67%), rash (52%), and unusual facial flushing (62%).

Seroprevalence of human granulocytotropic anaplasmosis in central and southeastern China.

Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) is an emerging tick-borne infectious disease. To determine the prevalence of HGA in central and southeastern China, a total of 323 human sera were collected from individuals at high risk for exposure to ticks and animals. The IgG antibody against the etiologic agent of HGA, Anaplasma phagocytophilum was detected with indirect immunofluorescence assay.