Electroconvulsive therapy plays an irreplaceable role in treatment of major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder is a serious and common neuropsychiatric disorder that affects more than 350 million people worldwide. Electroconvulsive therapy is the oldest and most effective treatment available for the treatment of severe major depressive disorder. Electroconvulsive therapy modifies structural network changes in patients with major depressive disorder and schizophrenia. And it can also affect neuroinflammatory responses and may have neuroprotective effects. Electroconvulsive therapy plays an irreplaceable role in the treatment of major depressive disorder.     

脂质纳米粒-mRNA递送系统及其在嵌合抗原受体T细胞治疗中的应用

尽管嵌合抗原受体（CAR）T细胞治疗在血液系统恶性肿瘤患者中取得了显著的临床疗效，但需要进一步优化。脂质纳米粒（LNP）-信使核糖核酸（mRNA）递送系统作为一种非病毒性基因载体运用于CAR-T细胞治疗研究中，一方面通过LNP将密封蛋白-6 mRNA靶向递送至抗原提呈细胞，从而实现抗原提呈细胞辅助性增强密封蛋白-6靶向的CAR-T细胞的功能，以进一步诱导对实体瘤的清除；另一方面，通过LNP将成纤维细胞激活蛋白（FAP）CARmRNA靶向递送至T细胞，实现体内FAP靶向的CAR-T细胞的制备，以通过阻断心脏纤维化过程达到治疗急性心肌损伤的目的。在CAR-T细胞研究和治疗中，LNP-mRNA递送系统具有不与细胞基因组整合、价格便宜、毒副作用小及可修饰等优点，亦存在蛋白瞬时表达导致调控细胞功能的持久性不足及制备等方面的技术局限性。本文综述了LNP-mRNA递送系统及其在CAR-T细胞治疗中的应用研究。     

Preoperative comprehensive malignancy risk estimation for thyroid nodules: Development and verification of a network-based prediction model

BackgroundIn order to avoid excessive treatment of thyroid nodules in the clinic, it is necessary to find a simple and practical analysis method to comprehensively and accurately reflect benign or malignant thyroid nodules. This study aimed to construct and validate a comprehensive and reliable network-based predictive model using a variety of imaging and laboratory criteria for thyroid nodules to stratify the risk of malignancy prior to surgery.MethodsWe retrospectively analyzed data from patients who underwent surgical treatment for thyroid nodules at the Thyroid and Breast Diagnosis and Treatment Center of Weifang Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine between January 2018 and December 2020. Binary logical regression analysis was performed to predict whether nodules were malignant or benign. The developmental dataset included 457 patients (January 2018–December 2020). The validation set included separate data points (n = 225, January 2018–December 2020).ResultsIn this study, criteria that showed significant predictive value for malignant nodules included TI-RADS: 4b (p = 0.065); Bethesda IV, Bethesda V, Bethesda VI (P < 0.0001); BRAF^V600E mutation (P < 0.0001); Calcitonin>5 pg/ml (p = 0.0037); and FNA-Tg>30 ng/ml (p = 0.0003). A 10-grade risk scoring system was developed. The risk of malignancy risk ranged from 2.06% to 100% and was positively associated with increasing risk grade. The areas under the receiver-operating characteristic curve of the development and validation sets were 0.972 and 0.946, respectively.ConclusionA simple, comprehensive and reliable web-based predictive model was designed using a variety of imaging and laboratory criteria to stratify thyroid nodules by probability of malignancy.     

The infant health effects of starting universal child benefits in pregnancy: Evidence from England and Wales

Child benefits are typically paid from birth. This paper asks whether starting universal child benefits in pregnancy leads to improvements in infant health. Leveraging administrative birth registry and hospital microdata from England and Wales, I study the effects of the Health in Pregnancy Grant, a universal conditional cash transfer equivalent to three months of child benefit (190 GBP) as a lump sum to pregnant mothers from 2009 to 2011. I exploit quasi-experimental variation in eligibility with a regression discontinuity design in the date of birth of the baby. I find that the policy increased birth weight by 8–12 grams on average, reduced low birth weight ($<$2500 g) by 3-6 percent and decreased prematurity by 9–11 percent. Younger mothers, particularly those living in deprived areas, benefit the most. I present evidence that the mechanisms are unlikely to be antenatal care, nutrition or smoking, with reductions in stress remaining a possible explanation.     

Redox active or thiol reactive? Optimization of rapid screens to identify less evident nuisance compounds

Compounds that exhibit assay interference or undesirable mechanisms of bioactivity are routinely encountered in assays at various stages of drug discovery. We observed that assays for the investigation of thiol-reactive and redox-active compounds have not been collected in a comprehensive review. Here, we review these assays and subject them to experimental optimization to improve their reliability. We demonstrate the usefulness of our assay cascade by assaying a library of bioactive compounds, chemical probes, and a set of approved drugs. These high-throughput assays should complement the array of wet-lab and in silico assays during the initial stages of hit discovery campaigns to pursue only hit compounds with tractable mechanisms of action.