ObjectiveTo explore the abnormal intrinsic functional hubs in alcohol dependence using voxelwise degree centrality analysis approach, and their relationships with clinical features.Materials and methodsTwenty-four male alcohol dependence subjects free of medicine (mean age, 50.21±9.62 years) and 24 age- and education-matched male healthy controls (mean age, 50.29±8.92 years) were recruited. The alcohol use disorders identification test and the severity of alcohol dependence questionnaire (SADQ) were administered to assess the severity of alcohol craving. Voxelwise degree centrality approach was used to assess the abnormal intrinsic functional hubs features in alcohol dependence. Simple linear regression analysis was performed to investigate the relationships between the clinical features and abnormal intrinsic functional hubs.ResultsCompared with healthy controls, alcohol dependence subjects exhibited significantly different degree centrality values in widespread left lateralization brain areas, including higher degree centrality values in the left precentral gyrus (BA 6), right hippocampus (BA 35, 36), and left orbitofrontal cortex (BA 11) and lower degree centrality values in the left cerebellum posterior lobe, bilateral secondary visual network (BA 18), and left precuneus (BA 7, 19). SADQ revealed a negative linear correlation with the degree centrality value in the left precentral gyrus (R2=0.296, P=0.006).ConclusionThe specific abnormal intrinsic functional hubs appear to be disrupted by alcohol intoxication, which implicates at least three principal neural systems: including cerebellar, executive control, and visual cortex, which may further affect the normal motor behavior such as an explicit type of impaired driving behavior. These findings expand our understanding of the functional characteristics of alcohol dependence and may provide a new insight into the understanding of the dysfunction and pathophysiology of alcohol dependence.

Context: Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo (Orchidaceae) is a naturally occurring precious traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) originally used in treating yin-deficiency diseases. The main active substances of Dendrobium officinale are polysaccharides (DOP). Recent findings highlighted the potential of DOP as a promising natural material for medical use with a diversity of pharmaceutical effects. Objective: In this review, we provide a systematic discussion of the current development and potential pharmacological effects of Dendrobium officinale polysaccharides in dermatology. Methods: English and Chinese literature from 1987 to 2019 indexed in databases including PubMed, PubMed Central, Web of Science, ISI, Scopus and CNKI (Chinese) was used. Dendrobium officinale, Dendrobium officinale polysaccharides, phytochemistry, chemical constituents, biological activities, and pharmacological activities were used as the key words. Results: Dendrobium officinale polysaccharides have been found to possess hair growth promoting, skin moisturising and antioxidant effects, which are highly valued by doctors and cosmetic engineers. We highlighted advances in moisturising and antioxidant properties from in vivo and in vitro studies. Dendrobium officinale polysaccharides exhibited strong antioxidant effects by decreasing free radicals, enhancing antioxidant system, inhibiting nuclear factor-kappa B and down-regulating inflammatory response. Conclusions: Our review is a foundation to inspire further research to facilitate the application of Dendrobium officinale polysaccharides in dermatology and promote active research of the use of TCM in dermatology.

Aims and objectives To assess the level of stress response, self‐efficacy and perceived social support status of working nurses during the outbreak of the COVID‐19 and investigate potential factors affecting their stress. Background The stress level of clinical nurses directly affects their physical and mental health and work efficiency. Design This study was a cross‐sectional investigation, which was performed following the STROBE checklist. The current study was conducted in February 2020 by selecting clinical nurses from the Zigong First People's Hospital for investigation. Methods At the peak of the COVID‐19 outbreak in China, we assessed clinical nurses with the Stanford Acute Stress Reaction Questionnaire, the General Self‐Efficacy Scale and the Perceived Social Support Scale. Specifically, the nurses were divided into three groups: (a) nurses supporting Wuhan; (b) nurses in the department of treating the COVID‐19 patients in our hospital (epidemic department); and (c) nurses in the general department without the COVID‐19 patients in our hospital (non‐epidemic department). Results A total of 1092 clinical nurses were surveyed with 94 nurses in Wuhan, 130 nurses treating COVID‐19 patients in our hospital and 868 nurses working without direct contact with diagnosed COVID‐19 patients. The mean stress score of all surveyed nurses was 33.15 (SD: 25.551). There was a statistically significant difference in stress response scores between different departments. Noticeably, the nurses who went to support in Wuhan showed a weaker stress response than the nurses who stayed in our hospital (mean: 19.98 (Wuhan) vs. 32.70 (epidemic department in our hospital) vs. 34.64 (non‐epidemic department in our hospital)). In addition, stress was negatively correlated with general self‐efficacy and perceived social support. Conclusion The present study suggested that the stress status of second‐line nurse without direct contact with diagnosed COVID‐19 patients was more severe than that of first‐line nurses who had direct contact with COVID‐19 patients. Relevance to clinical practice Our study indicated the importance of psychological status of second‐line medical staff during the global pandemic.

Increasing evidence has suggested that central plasticity plays a crucial role in the development and maintenance of (chronic) nonspecific low back pain. However, it is unclear how local or short-distance functional interactions contribute to persisting low back-related leg pain (LBLP) due to a specific condition (i.e., lumbar disc herniation). In particular, the multiscale nature of local connectivity properties in various brain regions is still unclear. Here, we used voxelwise Kendall's coefficient of concordance (KCC) and coherence (Cohe) regional homogeneity (ReHo) in the typical (0.01–0.1 Hz) and five specific frequency (slow-6 to slow-2) bands to analyze individual whole-brain resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans in 25 persistent LBLP patients (duration: 36.7 ± 9.6 months) and 26 healthy control subjects. Between-group differences demonstrated significant alterations in the KCC- and Cohe- ReHo of the right cerebellum posterior lobe, brainstem, left medial prefrontal cortex and bilateral precuneus in LBLP patients in the typical and five specific frequency bands, respectively, along with interactions between disease status and the five specific frequency bands in several regions of the pain matrix and the default-mode network (P < .01, Gaussian random field theory correction). The altered ReHo in the five specific frequency bands was correlated with the duration of pain and two-point discrimination, which were assessed using partial correlational analysis. These results linked the course of disease to the local connectivity properties in specific frequency bands in persisting LBLP. In future studies exploring local connectome association in pain conditions, integrated frequency bands and analytical methods should be considered.