Objectives We evaluated the effect of time intervals between the initiation of antiretroviral therapy (ART) and tuberculosis (TB) treatment on clinical outcomes in HIV-TB co-infected patients in an Asian regional cohort. Methods Adult HIV-TB co-infected patients in an observational HIV cohort database who had a known date of ART initiation and history of TB treatment were eligible for study inclusion. The time intervals between the initiation of ART and TB treatment were categorized as follows: TB diagnosed while on ART, early ART (<90 days after TB treatment), delayed ART (>90 days after TB treatment), and ART not started. Outcomes were assessed using survival analyses. Results A total of 768 HIV-TB co-infected patients were included in this study. Median CD4 T-cell count at TB diagnosis was 100 (IQR 40–208) cells/µL. The treatment outcomes between early ART and delayed ART initiation were not significantly different. Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that mortality was highest for those diagnosed with TB while on ART (3.77 deaths per 100 person-years), and the prognoses of other groups were not different (in deaths per 100 person-years: 2.12 early ART, 1.46 delayed ART, and 2.94 ART not started). In a multivariate model, the interval between ART initiation and TB therapy did not significantly impact all-cause mortality. Conclusions The negative impact of delayed ART in patients co-infected with TB was not observed in this observational cohort of moderately to severely immunosuppressed patients. The broader impact of earlier ART in actual clinical practice should be monitored more closely.

【Background】Recent studies reported that patients with coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) might have liver injury. However, few data on the combined analysis and change patterns of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and total bilirubin (TBil) have been shown.【Methods】 This is a single-center retrospective study. A total of 105 adult patients hospitalized for confirmed COVID-19 in Beijing Ditan Hospital between January 12, and March 17, 2020 were included, and divided into mild and severe groups. We compared liver functional test results between the two groups. Category of ALT change during the disease course was also examined.【Results】 56.2% of the patients had unnormal ALT, AST, or total TBil throughout the course of the disease, but in 91.4% cases the level of ALT, AST or TBil ≤ 3 fold of the upper normal range. The overall distribution of ALT, AST, and TBil were all significantly difference between mild and severe group (p<0.05).The percentage of the patients with both elevated ALT and AST was 12.7% in mild cases vs. 46.2% in severe cases (p = 0.001). 34.6% severe group patients started to have abnormal ALT after admission，and 73.4% of all patients had normal ALT before discharge.【Conclusion】Elevated liver function index is very common in patients with COVID-19 infection, and the level were less than 3 × ULN，but most are reversible. The abnormality of 2 or more indexes is low in the patients with COVID-19, but it is more likely to occur in the severe group.

The molecular genetics of indole-3-acetic (IAA) synthesis and regulation in Azospirillum brasilense was investigated in this study. Tn5 mutagenesis was performed and five mutants with decreased IAA production were isolated. Five Tn5-inserted genes from these mutants were cloned and sequenced. Four genes were reported for the first time to be involved in IAA production, namely, atrA, ftsA, omaA and aldA that code for GntR-family transcriptional regulator, iron-binding protein component of ABC-type Fe(3+) transport system, outer membrane protein, and aldehyde dehydrogenase, respectively. In addition, two genes atrB and atrC, with predicted proteins that showed high homology to aminotransferases, were cloned from the downstream of atrA in this bacterium. Studies also showed that complementation of atrA, ftsA and omaA were able to restore the IAA production of the corresponding IAA(-) mutants. Comparison of Fe(3+) concentrations in culture supernatants of the wild-type strain, the ftsA mutant and the complemented strain revealed that the iron-uptake ability of the ftsA mutant was highly reduced. This result also points to the necessity of iron as a metal ion in IAA synthesis. Statistical analysis showed no significant difference in the IAA accumulated in cells between the omaA mutant and the wild-type strain, suggesting the omaA might not affect IAA secretion but be involved in IAA production in other unknown ways.

3079 Background: The study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of sintilimab, a PD-1 blockade, plus IBI305, a biosimilar candidate of bevacizumab, in patients (pts) with advanced hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Methods: Adults with histocytologically confirmed advanced or metastatic HCC were enrolled in this two-part study. Part 1 was dose escalation trial, with initial dose of sintilimab 200 mg plus IBI305 7.5 mg/kg, q3w (low-dose group). If tolerable, IBI305 was escalated to 15 mg/kg (high-dose group). In part 2 for extension, at least 20 pts were enrolled to each tolerable dose group. Results: As data cutoff (Jan. 7, 2020), 50 pts were enrolled, 29 in low-dose group and 21 in high-dose group. 41 patients were systemic treatment naïve. The median treatment cycle was 4 (range: 1-19) in low-dose group and 11 (range: 1-16) in high-dose group. Most TRAEs were G1-2 with the most common being hypertension (28.0%) and pyrexia (26.0%). Totally, the grade 3 or more TRAEs were occurred in 6 (12.0%) pts, including hypertension occurred in 2 (4%) pts. The objective response rate (ORR) per RECIST v1.1 was 24.1% (95%CI: 10.3 - 43.5) in low-dose group, and 33.3% (95% CI:13.3 - 59.0) in high-dose group. As with the cutoff date, the median PFS has not been reached and the 6-month PFS rates were 60.5% (95%CI 36.1, 78.0) and 75.8% (95% CI: 47.3, 90.2), respectively. Conclusions: The combination of sintilimab and IBI305 showed promising efficacy and favourable safety profile in advanced HCC in both low-dose and high-dose groups. The preliminary result of this study warrant further exploration of dose selection for anti-VEGF/VEGFR agent when combined with PD-1/PD-L1 antibody. Clinical trial information: NCT04072679 . [Table: see text]

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Nowadays, the regular recommended dose of decitabine for the treatment of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is 20 mg/m²/day for 5 consecutive days with a relatively high incidence of treatment-related morbidities and costs. In this study, a retrospective and multicenter analysis was performed to explore the very-low-dose decitabine schedule for the treatment of patients with IPSS intermediate- or high-risk MDS. A total of 31 newly diagnosed MDS cases from 14 hospitals in Beijing received decitabine monotherapy (decitabine 6 mg/m²/day intravenously for 7 consecutive days, repeated every 4 weeks). With a medium follow-up of 4 months, 10 patients achieved complete remission (32.3%), 8 (25.8%) partial remission, and 3 (9.7%) hematological improvement. The overall response rate (ORR) was 67.7%. Rates of 21.7% for severe infections and 11.6% for severe bleedings were observed among all courses. The median cost of each course was USD 5,300, 3,000, 2,900, and 2,000, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified bone marrow blast cells ≥10% and a Charlson comorbidity index ≥1 as 2 independent factors for efficacy. In conclusion, very-low-dose decitabine showed relatively good efficacy, good tolerance, and low medical cost in the treatment of intermediate- or high-risk MDS. Elderly patients with more than 1 complication or patients with a higher proportion of blast cells may be the most suitable candidates for this regimen.

Our findings offer insights into the cellular response of P. putida to high naphthalene concentrations at the protein level.

Background The proportion of people living with HIV/AIDS in the ageing population (>50 years) is increasing. We aim to explore the relationship between older age and treatment outcomes in HIV-positive persons from the Asia-Pacific region. Methods Patients from the Australian HIV Observational Database (AHOD) and the TREAT Asia HIV Observational Database (TAHOD) were included in the analysis. We used survival methods to assess the association between older age and all-cause mortality, as well as time-to treatment modification. We used regression analyses to evaluate changes in CD4 counts after combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) initiation and determined the odds of detectable viral load, up to 24 months of treatment. Results A total of 7142 patients were included in these analyses (60% TAHOD, 40% AHOD), of which, 25% were >50 years old. In multivariable analyses those aged >50 were at least twice as likely to die as those aged 30-39 years [HR (50-59 years): 2.27, 95% CI: 1.34-3.83; HR (>60years) 4.28, 95% CI: 2.42-7.55]. The effect of older age on CD4 count changes was insignificant (p-trend=0.06). The odds of detectable viral load after cART initiation decreased with age (p-trend=<0.0001). The effect of older age on time-to first treatment modification was insignificant (p-trend=0.21). We found no statistically significant differences in outcomes between AHOD and TAHOD participants for all endpoints examined. Conclusion The associations between older age and typical patient outcomes in HIV-positive patients from the Asia-Pacific region are similar in AHOD and TAHOD. Our data indicate that ‘age-effects’ traverse the resource-rich and resource-limited divide and indicate that future ageing-related findings might be applicable to each setting.