Biomolecular condensates are formed through phase separation of biomacromolecules such as proteins and RNAs. These condensates exhibit liquid-like properties that can futher transition into more stable material states. They form complex internal structures via multivalent weak interactions, enabling precise spatiotemporal regulations. However, the use of inconsistent and non-standardized terminology has become increasingly problematic, hindering academic exchange and the dissemination of scientific knowledge. Therefore, it is necessary to discuss the terminology related to biomolecular condensates in order to clarify concepts, promote interdisciplinary cooperation, enhance research efficiency, and support the healthy development of this field.

Background::Although overnight fasting is recommended prior to endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), the benefits and safety of high-carbohydrate fluid diet (CFD) intake 2 h before ERCP remain unclear. This study aimed to analyze whether high-CFD intake 2 h before ERCP can be safe and accelerate patients’ recovery.Methods::This prospective, multicenter, randomized controlled trial involved 15 tertiary ERCP centers. A total of 1330 patients were randomized into CFD group ( n = 665) and fasting group ( n = 665). The CFD group received 400 mL of maltodextrin orally 2 h before ERCP, while the control group abstained from food/water overnight (>6 h) before ERCP. All ERCP procedures were performed using deep sedation with intravenous propofol. The investigators were blinded but not the patients. The primary outcomes included postoperative fatigue and abdominal pain score, and the secondary outcomes included complications and changes in metabolic indicators. The outcomes were analyzed according to a modified intention-to-treat principle. Results::The post-ERCP fatigue scores were significantly lower at 4 h (4.1 ± 2.6 vs. 4.8 ± 2.8, t = 4.23, P <0.001) and 20 h (2.4 ± 2.1 vs. 3.4 ± 2.4, t= 7.94, P <0.001) in the CFD group, with least-squares mean differences of 0.48 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.26–0.71, P <0.001) and 0.76 (95% CI: 0.57–0.95, P <0.001), respectively. The 4-h pain scores (2.1 ± 1.7 vs. 2.2 ± 1.7, t = 2.60, P = 0.009, with a least-squares mean difference of 0.21 [95% CI: 0.05–0.37]) and positive urine ketone levels (7.7% [39/509] vs. 15.4% [82/533], χ2 = 15.13, P <0.001) were lower in the CFD group. The CFD group had significantly less cholangitis (2.1% [13/634] vs. 4.0% [26/658], χ2 = 3.99, P = 0.046) but not pancreatitis (5.5% [35/634] vs. 6.5% [43/658], χ2 = 0.59, P = 0.444). Subgroup analysis revealed that CFD reduced the incidence of complications in patients with native papilla (odds ratio [OR]: 0.61, 95% CI: 0.39–0.95, P = 0.028) in the multivariable models. Conclusion::Ingesting 400 mL of CFD 2 h before ERCP is safe, with a reduction in post-ERCP fatigue, abdominal pain, and cholangitis during recovery.Trail Registration::ClinicalTrials.gov, No. NCT03075280.

This work was aimed at predicting and verifying B-cell epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 E protein through bioinformatics methods,and clarifying the dominant B cell epitopes with mouse polyclonal antibody serum prepared through SARS-CoV-2 re-combinant E protein immunization and human positive serum vaccinated with inactivated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine.The structural and B-cell linear epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 E protein were predicted with SOPMA,Expasy,SWISS-MODEL,IEDB database,and Bepid-2.0 software.Candidate epitopes were expressed as GST-tagged recombinant protein fragments in an E.coli sys-tem,and their immunoreactivity with mouse and human poly-clonal positive serum against SARS-CoV-2 E protein was de-tected by western blotting and indirect ELISA,respectively.The epitope prediction results showed that E protein contained linear B cell epitopes Ser6-Val14 and Tyr57-Pro71,and the conformational epitopes of Glu8-Val12,Leu39-Tyr59,and Ser60-Leu65.The GST tagged recombinant E protein fragments of E1 and E3,containing Ser6-Val14 and Tyr57-Pro71 epitopes,respectively,as well as E2 without an epitope sequence as a control,were expressed in an E.coli expression system and successfully purified with an Ni-NTA column.Western blotting and indirect ELISA analysis indicated that all mouse and human SARS-CoV-2 positive sera positively reacted with only E1 and E3 proteins,but negatively reacted with E2 protein,thus indicating that the corresponding epitope prediction with Ser6-Val14 and Tyr57-Pro71 was correct.This study successfully predicted and preliminarily identified two linear B cell epitopes of SARS-CoV-2 E protein,thus providing a reference for the preparation of new coronavirus vaccines and the analysis of immune response characteristics.

Objective:To analyze the clinical characteristics and prognosis of patients with CD5+diffuse large B-cell lymphoma(DLBCL).Methods:The clinical data of 161 newly treated DLBCL patients in Gansu Provincial Hospital from January 2013 to January 2020 were retrospectively analyzed.According to CD5 expression,the patients were divided into CD5+group and CD5-group.The clinical characteristics and prognosis of the two groups were statistically analyzed.Results:The median age of patients in CD5+group was 62 years,which was higher than 56 years in CD5-group(P=0.048).The proportion of women in CD5+group was 62.96％,which was significantly higher than 41.79％in CD5-group(P=0.043).The proportion of patients with IPI score＞2 in CD5+group was 62.96％,which was higher than 40.30％in CD5-group(P=0.031).Survival analysis showed that the median overall survival and progression-free survival time of patients in CD5+group were 27(3-77)and 31(3-76)months,respectively,which were both shorter than 30(5-84)and 32.5(4-83)months in CD5-group(P=0.047,P=0.026).Univariate analysis showed that advanced age,positive CD5 expression,triple or double hit at initial diagnosis,high IPI score and no use of rituximab during chemotherapy were risk factors for the prognosis of DLBCL patients.Further Cox multivariate regression analysis showed that these factors were also independent risk factors except for advanced age.Conclusion:CD5+DLBCL patients have a worse prognosis than CD5-DLBCL patients.Such patients are more common in females,with advanced age and high IPI score,which is a special subtype of DLBCL.

Objective:To investigate the role of levofloxacin combined with recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor(G-CSF)or only G-CSF supportive therapy in preventing infection in autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation(ASCT),and to analyze the length of hospital stay,hospitalization cost and post-transplant survival of the patients.Methods:A retrospective analysis was performed in the patients with hematological malignancies who accepted ASCT at our hospital from January 2012 to July 2022,the febrile neutropenia,the incidence of bacterial infection and the use rate of intravenous antibiotics in the levofloxacin+G-CSF group and only G-CSF support group during ASCT were observed.The length of hospital stay,total cost during hospitalization and survival after 90 days of transplantation between the two groups were compared.Results:A total of 102 cases were included in this study,including 57 cases of multiple myeloma,36 cases of acute leukaemia,7 cases of lymphoma,3 cases of myelodysplastic syndrome,1 case of light chain amyloidosis,and 1 case of POEMS syndrome.47 patients received levofloxacin+G-CSF antibacterial prophylaxis,and 55 patients received G-CSF supportive therapy.In the levofloxacin+G-CSF group,40 cases(85.11％)developed febrile neutropenia,and 13 cases(27.66％)were confirmed as bacterial infection.In the G-CSF group,44 cases(80.00％)developed febrile neutropenia,and 16 cases(29.09％)were bacterial infection.There was no statistically significant difference in the incidence of febrile neutropenia and bacterial infection between the two groups(x2=0.46,P=0.50;x2=0.03,P=0.87).The use rate of intravenous antibiotics in the levofloxacin+G-CSF group was 85.11％(40/47),which was not statistically different from 85.45％(47/55)in the G-CSF group(X2=0.04,P=0.84).The detection rates of levofloxacin-resistant bacteria in the levofloxacin+G-CSF group and G-CSF group were 8.57％(3/35)and 21.43％(6/28),respectively,with no statistical difference(x2=0.65,P＞0.05).The median length and median cost of hospitalization in the levofloxacin+G-CSF group and G-CSF group were 25 d vs 22 d and 78 216.24 yuan vs 80 724.38 yuan,with no statistically significant differences(t=3.00,P=0.09;t=0.94,P=0.09).Within 90 days after transplantation,two cases(4.26％)died in the levofloxacin+G-CSF group and one case(1.82％)died in the G-CSF group,with no statistically significant difference between the two groups(x2=0.53,P=0.47).Conclusion:Application of levofloxacin+G-CSF showed no significant benefit compared to G-CSF support for the prevention of bacterial infections during ASCT.

Objective:To investigate the prognostic value of minimal residual disease(MRD)detected by multi-parameter flow cytometry(MFC)in pediatric patients with acute myeloid leukemia(AML)after induction chemotherapy.Methods:A retrospective study was conducted on 97 pediatric patients initially diagnosed with AML at Wuhan Children's Hospital from August 2015 to December 2022.The study analyzed the results of MRD detection using MFC after the first and second cycles of induction chemotherapy,and its association with prognosis were analyzed.Results:Following the first cycle of induction treatment,57 of the 97 patients tested positive for MRD(MRD1+,58.8％).Subsequently,19 patients remained MRD positive(MRD2+,19.6％)after the second cycle of induction treatment.Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that the estimated 3-year overall survival(OS)rate of the 37(64.9％)MRD1+patients who underwent transplantation was significantly higher than that of the 20(35.1％)MRD1+patients who did not undergo transplantation(84.6％vs 40.0％,P=0.0001).Among the 35 MRD1+MRD2-patients,the 3-year OS rate of the 25 children who underwent transplantation was higher than that of the 10 children who did not undergo transplantation(87.2％vs 70.0％,P=0.3229).The 3-year OS rate of the 19 MRD1+MRD2+patients was lower than that of the 35 MRD1+MRD2-patients(57.4％vs 81.8％,P=0.059).In the 19 MRD2+patients,the 3-year OS rate of the 12 children who underwent transplantation was significantly higher than that of the 7 children who did not undergo transplantation(80.8％vs 14.3％,P=0.0007).There was no significant difference in 3-year OS between the 12 MRD1+MRD2+patients and 25 MRD1+MRD2-patients,both treated with transplantation(80.8％vs 87.2％,P=0.8868).In those not treated with transplantation,the 7 MRD1+MRD2+patients had a significantly lower 3-year OS compared with the 10 MRD1+MRD2-patients(14.3％vs 70.7％,P=0.0114).Further multivariate analysis indicated that MRD2 positivity and transplantation were both independent prognostic factors(P=0.031,0.000),while MRD1 positivity was not significantly associated with the overall prognosis of 97 patients(P=0.902).Conclusion:MRD positivity following the second cycle of induction chemotherapy is an independent risk factor for unfavorable outcomes in children with AML.MRD2 positivity indicates a poorer prognosis and can help to identify the candidates requiring transplantation.MRD2 positivity is not a contraindication for transplantation in pediatric patients,and early transplantation significantly improves the prognosis of high-risk patients.

Objective:To explore the mechanism of hypertension inducing erectile dysfunction(ED)using transcriptomics and network pharmacology.Methods:We randomly divided 12 male rats with spontaneous hypertension(SHT)into an L-arginine(LA)group(n=6)and an SHT model control(MC)group(n=6),took another 6 Wistar Kyoto male rats as normal controls(NC),and treated the animals in the LA group by intraperitoneal injection of LA at 400 mg/kg and those in the latter two groups with physio-logical saline,once a day,all for 7 days.Then we observed the blood pressure and penile erection of the rats,and determined the ex-pressions of the cGMP/PKG signaling pathway-related proteins and mRNAs in different groups using ELISA,Western blot and RT-qPCR.Results:Transcriptomics combined with network pharmacology showed that the cGMP/PKG signaling pathway played a key role in hypertension-induced ED.In vivo animal experiments revealed a significantly lower frequency of penile erections in the MC than in the NC group(1.33±0.52 vs 2.67±0.51,P＜0.05).The protein expressions of eNOS,PKG and sGC were markedly de-creased in the model controls compared with those the normal controls(P＜0.05),but remarkably upregulated in the LA group com-pared with those in the MC group(P＜0.05).Conclusion:Hypertension decreases the expressions of eNOS,NO,sGC,cGMP and PKG proteins and the level of testosterone by inhibiting the cGMP/PKG signaling pathway,which consequently suppresses the relaxa-tion of the penile vascular smooth muscle and reduces erectile function.

Objective:To determine the differential expressions of long non-coding RNA(lncRNA)and messenger RNA(mRNA)in normal and asthenospermia(AS)men and analyze their biological significance in AS.Methods:We isolated and ex-tracted total RNAs from 9 normal and 9 AS sperm samples,determined the expressions of RNAs in the sperm using the DNBSEQ se-quencing platform,and analyzed their relevant functions by gene ontology enrichment(GO)and Kyoto encyclopedia of genes and ge-nomes pathway(KEGG)analyses.Results:An average of 10.64G data was generated per group,with 282 185 RNAs detected,in-cluding 107 009 lncRNAs.Among the total number of lncRNAs,15 157 were differentially expressed,2 190 upregulated and 12 967 downregulated;and among the 19 514 mRNAs,13 736 were differentially expressed,4 995 upregulated and 8 741 downregulated.Differentially expressed genes were enriched mainly in the sperm cell membrane and the pathways related to the ion channel functions,sperm development and fertilization.Conclusion:Differentially expressed lncRNAs and mRNAs can be identified by sequencing a-nalysis of AS and normal sperm.Regulation of sperm function through membrane ion channels may contribute to the development of AS,which provides a molecular basis for further research on AS.

AIM To establish a UPLC-MS/MS method for the simultaneous content determination of gallic acid,protocatechuic acid,neomangiferin,catechin,caffeic acid,mangiferin,isomangiferin,albiflorin,paeoniflorin,vitexin,liquiritin,scutellarin,baicalin,liquiritigenin,timosaponin BⅡ,quercetin,wogonoside,benzoylpaeoniflorin,isoliquiritigenin,honokiol,magnolol,norarecaidine,arecaidine,arecoline,epicatechin,baicalein,glycyrrhizinate and wogonin in Dayuan Drink.METHODS The analysis was performed on a 35℃thermostatic Syncronis C18 column(100 mm×2.1 mm,1.7 μm),with the mobile phase comprising of 0.1%formic acid-acetonitrile flowing at 0.3 mL/min in a gradient elution manner,and electron spray inoization source was adopted in positive and negative ion scanning with select reaction monitoring mode.RESULTS Twenty-eight constituents showed good linear relationships within their own ranges(R2≥0.991 0),whose average recoveries were 95.60%-103.53%with the RSDs of 0.60%-5.45%.CONCLUSION This rapid,simple,selective,accurate and reliable method can be used for the quality control of Dayuan Drink.

This study aimed to investigate the effect of iron overload on the transplant outcomes of pediatric patients with severe aplastic anemia (SAA) undergoing allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT). A retrospective analysis was conducted on the clinical data of 74 children with SAA who received allo-HSCT at the Hematology Department of Wuhan Children’s Hospital between January 2018 and August 2022. Children with iron overload (serum ferritin >1 000 μg/L) before transplantation had a longer disease course, received more red blood cell transfusions, and had a higher number of CD34 + cells infused. Moreover, iron overload significantly delayed the reconstitution of regulatory T cells after transplantation, increasing the incidence of hemorrhagic cystitis and grade Ⅲ-Ⅳ acute graft-versus-host disease after transplantation. However, iron overload did not significantly affect the overall survival and failure-free survival rates of the children.