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Objectives: This review investigates the efficacy and safety of non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) combined with psychosocial intervention on depressive symptoms. Materials and methods: We systematically searched five electronic databases from their inception to June 2021: PubMed, Embase, PsycINFO, Web of Science, and Medline. Randomized or non-randomized clinical trials in which NIBS plus psychosocial intervention was compared to control conditions in people with depressive symptoms were included. Results: A total of 17 eligible studies with 660 participants were included. The meta-analysis results showed that NIBS combined with psychosocial therapy had a positive effect on moderate to severe depression ([SMD = − 0.46, 95%CI (− 0.90, − 0.02), I2 = 73%, p <.01]), but did not significantly improve minimal to mild depression ([SMD = − 0.12, 95%CI (− 0.42, 0.18), I2 = 0%, p =.63]). Compared with NIBS alone, the combination treatment had a significantly greater effect in alleviating depressive symptoms ([SMD = − 0.84, 95%CI (− 1.25, − 0.42), I2 = 0%, p =.93]). However, our results suggested that the pooled effect size of ameliorating depression of NIBS plus psychosocial intervention had no significant difference compared with the combination of sham NIBS [SMD = − 0.12, 95%CI (− 0.31, 0.07), I2 = 0%, p =.60] and psychosocial intervention alone [SMD = − 0.97, 95%CI (− 2.32, 0.38), I2 = 72%, p =.01]. Conclusion: NIBS when combined with psychosocial intervention has a significant positive effect in alleviating moderately to severely depressive symptoms. Further well-designed studies of NIBS combined with psychosocial intervention on depression should be carried out to consolidate the conclusions and explore the in-depth underlying mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) combined with cognitive training (CT) may have shown some prospects on improving cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD) and mild cognitive impairment (MCI). However, data from clinical trials or meta-analysis involving NIBS combined with CT have shown controversial results. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate short-term and long-term effects of NIBS combined with CT on improving global cognition and other specific cognitive domains in patients with AD and MCI. Methods: This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted in accordance with the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Five electronic databases including PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCO, Cochrane Library and Embase were searched up from inception to 20 November 2023. The PEDro scale and the Cochrane's risk of bias assessment were used to evaluate risk of bias and methodological quality of included studies. All statistical analyses were conducted with Review Manager 5.3. Results: We included 15 studies with 685 patients. The PEDro scale was used to assess methodological quality with a mean score of 7.9. The results of meta-analysis showed that NIBS combined with CT was effective on improving global cognition in AD and MCI (SMD = 0.52, 95% CI (0.18, 0.87), p = 0.003), especially for patients accepting repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) combined with CT (SMD = 0.46, 95% CI (0.14, 0.78), p = 0.005). AD could achieve global cognition improvement from NIBS combined with CT group (SMD = 0.77, 95% CI (0.19, 1.35), p = 0.01). Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) combined with CT could improve language function in AD and MCI (SMD = 0.29, 95% CI (0.03, 0.55), p = 0.03). At evaluation follow-up, rTMS combined with CT exhibited larger therapeutic responses to AD and MCI in global cognition (SMD = 0.55, 95% CI (0.09, 1.02), p = 0.02). AD could achieve global cognition (SMD = 0.40, 95% CI (0.03, 0.77), p = 0.03) and attention/working memory (SMD = 0.72, 95% CI (0.23, 1.20), p = 0.004) improvement after evaluation follow-up from NIBS combined with CT group. Conclusions: Overall, NIBS combined with CT, particularly rTMS combined with CT, has both short-term and follow-up effects on improving global cognition, mainly in patients with AD. tDCS combined with CT has advantages on improving language function in AD and MCI. Future more studies need evaluate cognitive effects of NIBS combined with CT on other specific cognitive domain in patients with cognitive deterioration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Recent evidences have shown sex-differential cognitive deficits in bipolar disorder (BD) and differences in cognitions across BD subtypes. However, the sex-specific effect on cognitive impairment in BD subtype II (BD-II) remains obscure. The aim of the current study was to examine whether cognitive deficits differ by gender in youth with BD-II depression. Method: This cross-sectional study recruited 125 unmedicated youths with BD-II depression and 140 age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy controls (HCs). The Chinese version of the Measurement and Treatment Research to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia (MATRICS) Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) was used to assess cognitive functions. Mood state was assessed using the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (24-HDRS) and the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS). Multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was conducted. Result: ​Compared with HCs, patients with BD-II depression had lower scores on MCCB composite and its seven cognitive domains (all p < 0.001). After controlling for age and education, MANCOVA revealed significant gender-by-group interaction on attention/vigilance (F = 6.224, df = 1, p = 0.013), verbal learning (F = 9.847, df = 1, p = 0.002), visual learning (F = 4.242, df = 1, p = 0.040), and composite (F = 8.819, df = 1, p = 0.003). Post hoc analyses suggested that males performed worse in the above-mentioned MCCB tests than females in BD-II depression. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated generalized cognitive deficits in unmedicated youths with BD-II depression. Male patients performed more serious cognitive impairment on attention/vigilance, verbal learning, and visual learning compared to female patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The turnover intention (TI) of nurses is common, posing a threat to modern healthcare organizations. Psychological contract (PC) is a predictor of TI, affecting significantly nurse's TI. However, the extent of the association between PC and nurse's TI is unknown. We performed a meta-analysis to quantitatively analyze the relationship between PC and nurse's TI. Methods: We searched nine electronic databases from inception to July 2023. Observational studies were included using a retrieval strategy related to PC and TI. Meta-analyses of common effect and random effect models were performed using R software with Spearman or Pearson correlation coefficients. Meta-regression, subgroup analysis, publication bias, and sensitivity analysis were also carried out. Results: Eighteen studies including 8,908 nurses were identified. Based on various PC-related perspectives, 16 studies explored nurses' TI in terms of the content and three-dimensional structure of PC. Of these, 9 studies reported the negative direction of the correlation between PC and TI (r ranged from − 0.20 to -0.45), whereas 7 studies reported the positive direction of the correlation between PC and TI (r ranged from 0.32 to 0.50). The PC total and its dimensions were found to have moderately significant associations with TI, with the exception of the PCE and PCE-I. Additional, 2 studies reported the relationship between the outcome of PC and TI, the PCF, PCB, and PCV were powerful predictors of nurses' TI. Meta-regression and subgroup analysis found that only nurses working in specialized departments might be the source of heterogeneity. Conclusions: To our knowledge, this was the first meta-analysis to quantitatively examine the relationship between PC and TI among nurses. The findings reaffirmed the necessity for healthcare administrators and the medical profession to valued nurse' good interpersonal, social support, humanistic environment, and meet nurses' psychological and spiritual needs in addition to their material demands. Moderators of the connection between PC and TI, based on meta-regression and subgroup analyses, should be carefully explored as they may aid in identifying nurses' TI. Additional, longitudinal research, as well as mixed research, should be conducted to more comprehensively explore the relationship between PC and TI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: The M2-like tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) are independent prognostic factors in melanoma.Methods: We performed weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) to identify the module most correlated with M2-like TAMs. The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) patients were classified into two clusters that differed based on prognosis and biological function, with consensus clustering. A prognostic model was established based on the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) of the two clusters. We investigated the difference in immune cell infiltration and immune response-related gene expression between the high and low risk score groups.Results: The risk score was defined as an independent prognostic value in melanoma. VARS1 was a hub gene in the M2-like macrophage-associated WGCNA module that the DepMap portal demonstrated was necessary for melanoma growth. Overexpressing VARS1 in vitro increased melanoma cell migration and invasion, while downregulating VARS1 had the opposite result. VARS1 overexpression promoted M2 macrophage polarization and increased TGF-β1 concentrations in tumor cell supernatant in vitro. VARS1 expression was inversely correlated with immune-related signaling pathways and the expression of several immune checkpoint genes. In addition, the VARS1 expression level helped predict the response to anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Pan-cancer analysis demonstrated that VARS1 expression negatively correlated with CD8 T cell infiltration and the immune response-related pathways in most cancers.Conclusion: We established an M2-like TAM-related prognostic model for melanoma and explored the role of VARS1 in melanoma progression, M2 macrophage polarization, and the development of immunotherapy resistance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Type 2 diabetic kidney disease is the most common cause of chronic kidney diseases (CKD) and end-stage renal diseases (ESRD). Although kidney biopsy is considered as the 'gold standard' for diabetic kidney disease (DKD) diagnosis, it is an invasive procedure, and the diagnosis can be influenced by sampling bias and personal judgement. It is desirable to establish a non-invasive procedure that can complement kidney biopsy in diagnosis and tracking the DKD progress. Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we collected 252 urine samples, including 134 uncomplicated diabetes, 65 DKD, 40 CKD without diabetes and 13 follow-up diabetic samples, and analyzed the urine proteomes with liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC–MS/MS). We built logistic regression models to distinguish uncomplicated diabetes, DKD and other CKDs. Results: We quantified 559 ± 202 gene products (GPs) (Mean ± SD) on a single sample and 2946 GPs in total. Based on logistic regression models, DKD patients could be differentiated from the uncomplicated diabetic patients with 2 urinary proteins (AUC = 0.928), and the stage 3 (DKD3) and stage 4 (DKD4) DKD patients with 3 urinary proteins (AUC = 0.949). These results were validated in an independent dataset. Finally, a 4-protein classifier identified putative pre-DKD3 patients, who showed DKD3 proteomic features but were not diagnosed by clinical standards. Follow-up studies on 11 patients indicated that 2 putative pre-DKD patients have progressed to DKD3. Conclusions: Our study demonstrated the potential for urinary proteomics as a noninvasive method for DKD diagnosis and identifying high-risk patients for progression monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]