News Item
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Christopher H. Lee, Terence S. Dermody
Summary: Researchers used a combination of in silico, in vitro, and cell-based approaches to uncover the mechanism of rotavirus factory formation, highlighting the essential roles of NSP2 and NSP5 in forming liquid-liquid phase-separated condensates.
Editorial Material
Biology
Billy Wai-Lung Ng, Stephan Scheeff, Josefina Xeque Amada
Summary: Understanding how to strengthen liquid condensates from influenza A virus can speed up the development of new antiviral drugs.
Review
Materials Science, Biomaterials
Ines Cadena, Athena Chen, Aaron Arvidson, Kaitlin C. Fogg
Summary: Women's health is an important but understudied area, where tissue engineering has the potential to revolutionize research by developing in vitro models of healthy and diseased tissues. By exploring the extracellular matrix, cell organization, and soluble factors within tissues, suitable biomaterials, cell types, and stimuli for building these models can be identified.
BIOMATERIALS SCIENCE
(2021)
Editorial Material
Psychology, Biological
John P. A. Ioannidis
Summary: Overstating generalizability in research is common and may lead to neglect of internal validity issues. Different approaches to securing generalizability before replication or vice versa can have varying effects on the use of inferential statistics.
BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Engineering, Biomedical
Anne D. Koelewijn, Jessica C. Selinger
Summary: Robotic exoskeletons have the potential to restore and enhance human mobility, but controlling them to work effectively with human users is challenging. Accurate model simulations can expedite the design process and improve control of these devices.
IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON NEURAL SYSTEMS AND REHABILITATION ENGINEERING
(2022)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Jason B. Tabor, Jean-Michel Galarneau, Linden C. Penner, Jennifer Cooper, Mohammad Ghodsi, Douglas D. Fraser, Cheryl L. Wellington, Chantel T. Debert, Carolyn A. Emery
Summary: Advancing research on fluid biomarkers associated with sport-related concussion (SRC) highlights the importance of detecting low concentrations using ultrasensitive platforms. This cross-sectional study evaluated the impact of replicate error and different biostatistical modeling approaches on SRC biomarker interpretation. The findings suggest that incorporating all available biomarker data and avoiding exclusion thresholds can produce more representative estimates of association.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Anja M. Westram, Rui Faria, Kerstin Johannesson, Roger Butlin
Summary: Combining hybrid zone analysis with genomic data in the marine snail Littorina saxatilis allowed for the identification of shared genomic regions underlying adaptive divergence between ecotypes. The study revealed parallel clines in shell shape and size across all sampled zones, as well as shared genomic regions with steep clines and high differentiation, indicating a common evolutionary history and extensive gene flow. Additionally, consistent displacement of clines from the boulder-rock transition was observed, highlighting the importance of continuous spatial sampling and large genomic datasets in understanding patterns of spatial variation.
Article
Economics
Joerg Ankel-Peters, Nathan Fiala, Florian Neubauer
Summary: Reanalyses of empirical studies and replications in new contexts are crucial for scientific progress. However, economics profession lacks sufficient replication efforts. This paper highlights the need for "policing replications" to address potential incentive issues leading to a replication crisis. By examining leading economics journals, it is concluded that more incentives are necessary to promote replication and benefit from increased transparency standards.
JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC BEHAVIOR & ORGANIZATION
(2023)
Article
Psychology, Mathematical
Roger Ratcliff, Andrew T. Hendrickson
Summary: The study utilized online data collection to examine subject performance, finding that subjects performed relatively well in lexical decision and item recognition tasks, while a significant number of subjects in numerosity discrimination tasks exhibited fast guesses and unstable RTs.
BEHAVIOR RESEARCH METHODS
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
William R. Webb, Gauri Thapa, Alice Tirnoveanu, Sabrina Kallu, Charlene Loo Jin Yi, Nirali Shah, Joseph Macari, Sadie Mitchell, Graham J. Fagg, Rachael N. Jeremiah, Sandiya Theminimulle, Romina Vuono, Athina Mylona
Summary: This pilot study compared single and replicate PCR testing for effective and accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The analysis of 10,014 nasopharyngeal swabs showed that using a single sample Real-Time PCR test would result in approximately 19% false negative reporting. Replicate testing significantly reduces the risk of false negatives and helps in controlling the spread of new variants and future pandemics.
Review
Engineering, Biomedical
Aidan E. Gilchrist, Brendan A. C. Harley
Summary: This review describes recent advances in biomaterials systems to replicate features of the hematopoietic niche, providing stimuli and signals to support the encapsulation and expansion of hematopoietic stem cells. These engineered systems enable the study of the dynamic nature of matrix and cell-cell signaling.
ADVANCED HEALTHCARE MATERIALS
(2022)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Meichen Yu, Nicholas Cullen, Kristin A. Linn, Desmond J. Oathes, Darsol Seok, Philip A. Cook, Romain Duprat, Irem Aselcioglu, Tyler M. Moore, Christos Davatzikos, Maria A. Oquendo, Myrna M. Weissman, Russell T. Shinohara, Yvette I. Sheline
Summary: Abnormal brain structural measures, such as cortical thickness and subcortical volumes, are associated with specific clinical symptoms in depressed patients. The study identified four broad types of clinical measures in patients with major depressive disorder: anxious misery composite, positive personality traits, reported history of physical/emotional trauma, and reported history of sexual abuse. The findings suggest that structural brain measures may reflect neurobiological mechanisms underlying features of MDD.
MOLECULAR PSYCHIATRY
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Noor Pratap Singh, Michael I. Love, Rob Patro
Summary: Transcript abundance estimates always come with a certain level of uncertainty, which could pose challenges for downstream analyses like differential testing. TreeTerminus is a data-driven approach that groups transcripts into a tree structure, where leaves represent individual transcripts and internal nodes represent an aggregation of transcript sets. By constructing trees that reduce inferential uncertainty as we move up the topology, TreeTerminus enables flexible data analysis at different levels of resolution within the tree. Evaluations on simulated and experimental datasets show improved performance compared to transcripts (leaves) and other methods across multiple metrics.
Article
Microbiology
Ronni A. G. da Silva, Wei Hong Tay, Foo Kiong Ho, Frederick Reinhart Tanoto, Kelvin K. L. Chong, Pei Yi Choo, Alexander Ludwig, Kimberly Kline
Summary: This study describes the intracellular survival mechanisms of Enterococcus faecalis, a pathogen frequently found in chronic wounds. The researchers found that E. faecalis can survive and replicate inside immune cells and non-immune cells during wound infection, potentially contributing to chronic infections. The bacteria are taken up by host cells primarily through macropinocytosis and manipulate the endosomal pathway to avoid lysosomal degradation and death. The findings provide insights into E. faecalis pathogenesis and highlight the diversity of mechanisms bacteria use to evade host-mediated killing.
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Gabriel Wright, Anabel Rodriguez, Jun Li, Tijana Milenkovic, Scott J. Emrich, Patricia L. Clark
Summary: Research has shown that synonymous codon usage can affect various mechanisms related to protein production, especially in co-translational protein folding. Conservation of synonymous codon usage patterns across evolution highlights the potential benefits of matching codon usage patterns from the original organism in heterologous gene expression.
Article
Psychiatry
Akihiro Takamiya, Annemiek Dols, Louise Emsell, Christopher Abbott, Antoine Yrondi, Carles Soriano Mas, Martin Balslev Jorgensen, Pia Nordanskog, Didi Rhebergen, Eric van Exel, Mardien L. Oudega, Filip Bouckaert, Mathieu Vandenbulcke, Pascal Sienaert, Patrice Peran, Marta Cano, Narcis Cardoner, Anders Jorgensen, Olaf B. Paulson, Paul Hamilton, Robin Kampe, Willem Bruin, Hauke Bartsch, Olga Therese Ousdal, Ute Kessler, Guido van Wingen, Leif Oltedal, Taishiro Kishimoto
Summary: This study investigated gray matter volume (GMV) differences between PMD and NPMD as well as their longitudinal changes following electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Results showed that PMD had lower GMV in certain brain regions compared to NPMD, and lower GMV in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) after ECT. The consistent lower GMV in the MPFC in PMD suggests it may be a trait-like neural substrate of PMD.
SCHIZOPHRENIA BULLETIN
(2022)
Article
Psychiatry
Pascal Sienaert, Ole Brus, Simon Lambrichts, Johan Lundberg, Pia Nordanskog, Jasmien Obbels, Shauni Verspecht, Kristof Vansteelandt, Axel Nordenskjold
Summary: This study found that the presence of suicidal ideation (SI) at baseline predicts lower response and remission rates after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in patients with depression. However, a large proportion of patients in both groups showed reduced depressive symptoms and SI after treatment. Clinicians should be aware of the lower likelihood of achieving a successful outcome following ECT in younger patients with a non-psychotic depressive episode, SI, and (suspected) personality disorders. Further research is needed to determine if these patients can achieve similar or better results with other treatments.
ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA
(2022)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Simon Lambrichts, Margot J. Wagenmakers, Kristof Vansteelandt, Jasmien Obbels, Sigfried N. T. M. Schouws, Esmee Verwijk, Eric van Exel, Filip Bouckaert, Mathieu Vandenbulcke, Didier Schrijvers, Dick J. Veltman, Aartjan T. F. Beekman, Mardien L. Oudega, Pascal Sienaert, Annemiek Dols
Summary: This study examined the five-year outcomes of patients with severe late-life depression who underwent electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The study found that relapse rates, cognitive impairment, and mortality were consistent with long-term outcomes following other acute treatments for severe late-life depression.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Sara Medved, Nikola Zaja, Gabor Gazdag, Aiste Lengvenyte, Sabrina Moerkl, Federico Mucci, Ivan Ristic, Stefan Jerotic, Johannes Frederik Regente, Iva Ivanovic, Anela Purisic, Ferdinand Sasvary, Vimal Sivasanker, Alper Ziblak, Margus Lookene, Pascal Sienaert, Anna Szczegielniak, Pavel Trancik, Elvir Becirovic, Theodoros Koutsomitros, Giovanni Grech, Cristiana Tapoi, Branimir Radmanovic, Andreas Strohle, Maja Bajs Janovic, Norman Sartorius
Summary: This study aimed to explore the different practices in pre-electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) evaluation across European countries. Data from 18 clinics in 16 European countries were collected through an online survey and revealed significant variability in assessment approaches. The study suggests the inclusion of cognitive assessment and objective quantification of psychiatric symptoms in pre-ECT evaluation, as well as the standardization of ECT evaluation and treatment.
Review
Clinical Neurology
L. Roosen, P. Sienaert
Summary: This paper provides an overview of evidence-based treatment options for rapid cycling in bipolar disorder, highlighting medications such as aripiprazole, olanzapine, quetiapine, valproate, and lamotrigine. However, evidence regarding the treatment of rapid cycling remains scarce, indicating the need for future research to further validate the efficacy of these treatment methods.
JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
(2022)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Sophie Hartnett, Steffen Rex, Pascal Sienaert
Summary: This article reviews the effect of electrode placement on the incidence and severity of bradycardia and asystole during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The evidence suggests that right unilateral placement carries a higher risk for developing bradycardia and asystole than bitemporal and bifrontal placement.
Article
Behavioral Sciences
Jelle Vandeurzen, Kristof Vansteelandt, Sophie Lemmens, Pascal Sienaert
Summary: The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in intraocular pressure (IOP) during and after electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The results showed that in the right unilateral electrode placement group, there was a significant increase in IOP during the seizure and a return to normal after the seizure, with differences in IOP between the left and right eye. In conclusion, right unilateral ECT causes an increase in IOP, which is partially lateralized and higher on the right side.
Article
Psychiatry
Marieke J. Henstra, Thomas C. Feenstra, Rob M. Kok, Harm-Pieter Spaans, Eric van Exel, Annemiek Dols, Mardien Oudega, Anton C. M. Vergouwen, Adriano van der Loo, Pierre M. Bet, Stephan A. Loer, Merijn Eikelenboom, Pascal Sienaert, Simon Lambrichts, Filip Bouckaert, Judith E. Bosmans, Nathalie van der Velde, Aartjan T. F. Beekman, Max L. Stek, Didi Rhebergen
Summary: This study focuses on the inter-ictal delirium induced by ECT and aims to examine the effect of rivastigmine on this side-effect. The study combines a cohort study on older patients with depression treated with ECT with a randomized, placebo-controlled cross-over trial. It provides an opportunity to understand the cognitive side-effects of ECT and identify potential determinants.
FRONTIERS IN PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Psychiatry
Jasmien Obbels, Els Gijsbregts, Esmee Verwijk, Shauni Verspecht, Simon Lambrichts, Kristof Vansteelandt, Pascal Sienaert
Summary: The study found that ERA remains stable during maintenance ECT, while it significantly decreases during the acute course. Patients with psychotic depression showed higher baseline anxiety levels and a significant decline in ERAQ scores during the acute course, whereas patients with non-psychotic depression had lower baseline anxiety levels and stable ERAQ scores during the acute course. The improvement in depressive symptoms is significantly correlated with the decline in ERA during the acute course, while this correlation is not present during maintenance ECT.
ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA
(2022)
Editorial Material
Clinical Neurology
Hanna Tu, Eva Pilato, Pascal Sienaert
Article
Clinical Neurology
M. A. J. T. Blanken, M. L. Oudega, A. W. Hoogendoorn, C. S. Sonnenberg, D. Rhebergen, U. M. H. Klumpers, L. Van Diermen, T. Birkenhager, D. Schrijvers, R. Redlich, U. Dannlowski, W. Heindel, M. Coenjaerts, P. Nordanskog, L. Oltedal, U. Kessler, L. M. Frid, A. Takamiya, T. Kishimoto, M. B. Jorgensen, A. Jorgensen, T. Bolwig, L. Emsell, P. Sienaert, F. Bouckaert, C. C. Abbott, P. Peran, C. Arbus, A. Yrondi, M. Kiebs, A. Philipsen, J. A. van Waarde, E. Prinsen, M. van Verseveld, G. Van Wingen, F. ten Doesschate, J. A. Camprodon, M. Kritzer, T. Barbour, M. Argyelan, N. Cardoner, M. Urretavizcaya, C. Soriano-Mas, K. L. Narr, R. T. Espinoza, J. Prudic, S. Rowny, Ph. van Eijndhoven, I. Tendolkar, A. Dols
Summary: Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is equally effective for both men and women with severe major depressive disorder (MDD). However, shorter duration of index episode may serve as a specific predictor for remission in women.
JOURNAL OF AFFECTIVE DISORDERS
(2023)
Editorial Material
Psychiatry
Pascal Sienaert, Declan M. McLoughlin
ACTA PSYCHIATRICA SCANDINAVICA
(2023)
Article
Education & Educational Research
Emma De Schuyteneer, Bram Dewachter, Kristof Vansteelandt, Eva Pilato, Bo Crauwels, Simon Lambrichts, Shauni Verspecht, Kaat Hebbrecht, Jasmien Obbels, Pascal Sienaert
Summary: This study aims to evaluate medical students' knowledge about and attitudes towards electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) and to determine the impact of different information sources on their knowledge and attitudes. The results show that final-year students have better knowledge about and more positive attitudes towards ECT compared to first-year students, partially due to differences in information sources. However, both groups of students have limited knowledge about ECT, potentially because of inadequate instruction in medical courses. The use of media as an information source predicts negative attitudes towards ECT.
ACADEMIC PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Geriatrics & Gerontology
Thomas C. Feenstra, Eldon K. J. la Cruz, Jasmien Obbels, Maarten Laroy, Filip Bouckaert, Pascal Sienaert, Mardien Oudega, Annemieke Dols, Eric van Exel, Aartjan T. F. Beekman, Didi Rhebergen
Summary: This study investigated the potential use of the cortisol awakening response (CAR) as a biomarker for cognitive decline during electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The findings suggest that CAR is not a reliable biomarker for ECT-induced cognitive decline during the therapy course.
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF GERIATRIC PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Review
Behavioral Sciences
Alain P. P. Nicolini, Pascal Sienaert
Summary: This systematic review evaluates whether the presence of borderline personality disorder (BPD) reduces the response to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) in individuals with major depressive disorder (MDD). The study found that patients with comorbid BPD had a less robust response to ECT, but ECT remained an effective treatment option for this patient group.
