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This study investigated the mediating role of perceived stress in long-term development of posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) and emotional distress among local government officials over seven years after the Wenchuan earthquake in China. Moreover, how dysfunctional coping would impact the relationship between perceived stress and PTSS or emotional distress was examined. Data were collected one year (T1) and seven years (T2) after the earthquake. Trauma experience, PTSS, and emotional distress were measured at one year. PTSS and emotional distress were re-assessed at seven years together with perceived stress and dysfunctional coping (i.e., behavioral disengagement, denial, self-distraction, self-blame, substance use, and venting). Mediation analyses were conducted to examine the mediating role of perceived stress. Moderated mediation analyses were performed to test the moderation effect of dysfunctional coping. Perceived stress fully mediated the association of T1 emotional distress with its' T2 scores (indirect effect: B = 0.10, SE = 0.04, β = 0.11, 95% CI [0.02, 0.18]), while did not mediate the association of T1 PTSS with T2 PTSS (indirect effect: B = 0.04, SE = 0.03, β = 0.04, 95% CI [−0.02, 0.10]). Compared to a low frequency use of dysfunctional coping strategies (ps = 0.148–0.326), the detrimental effects of perceived stress on PTSS and emotional distress were stronger at higher levels of dysfunctional coping strategies (ps < 0.001). This study highlights the importance of paying attention to the adverse impacts of perceived stress and dysfunctional coping on long-term mental health outcomes among local government officials after disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a prevalent mental disorder diagnosed in childhood and adolescence. Theories regarding brain development and SAD suggest a close link between neurodevelopmental dysfunction at the adolescent juncture and SAD, but direct evidence is rare. This study aims to examine brain structural abnormalities in adolescents with SAD. Methods: High-resolution T1-weighted images were obtained from 31 adolescents with SAD (15–17 years) and 42 matching healthy controls (HC). We evaluated symptom severity with the Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC) and the Screen for Child Anxiety Related Emotional Disorders (SCARED). We used voxel-based morphometry analysis to detect regional gray matter volume abnormalities and structural co-variance analysis to investigate inter-regional coordination patterns. Results: We found significantly higher gray matter volume in the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and the insula in adolescents with SAD compared to HC. We also observed significant co-variance of the gray matter volume between the OFC and amygdala, and the OFC and insula in HC, but these co-variance relationships diminished in SAD. Conclusions: These findings provide the first evidence that the brain structural deficits in adolescents with SAD are not only in the core regions of the fronto-limbic system, but also represented by the diminished coordination in the development of these regions. The delayed and unsynchronized development pattern of the fronto-limbic system supports SAD as an adolescent-sensitive developmental mental disorder. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Human Y-chromosomal binary polymorphisms have been considered to preserve the paternal genetic legacy and provide evidence on human evolution and the genetic relationships among and demographic history of different populations. To reveal the genetic origin and im-migration of the Fujian Han, 13 binary markers on the Y chromosome were used to screen Fujian Han by allele-specific polymerase chain reaction. The results indicated that the M9 G marker was highly prevalent (96.20%), suggesting a significant genetic drift. In addition, M122 C frequency was only 22.78%, and M45 A and M103 T were de-fault. The distinctive haplogroup frequencies (H1 , H5 , and H6/7/8 ) imply that the haplogroup pattern is a relatively an-cestral and interim type. Key words Binary polymorphism · Y chromosome · Haplogroup · Fujian Han · Population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Those injured in accidents commonly have strong emotional reactions to their situation. However, despite the large number of patients who are admitted to general hospitals each year for orthopedic injuries due to an accident, research focusing on psychological disorders due to these injuries is lacking., Objective: To investigate the presentation and factors related to depression and acute anxiety among inpatients being treated for injury on a Trauma Orthopedics Unit., Methods: 323 patients with orthopedic trauma were evaluated using the Injury Severity Score (ISS), Hamilton Anxiety Scale (HAMA) and Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD)., Results: In this study, a total of 323 inpatients (213 males and 110 females) had a mean (sd) age of 44.3 (13.2) years old. Mean (sd) time in the hospital was 11.1 (5.7) days with a range of 2 to 40 days. Among these patients, 299 had mild trauma, 20 had moderate trauma, and 4 had severe trauma. Patients had a mean (sd) score of 8.1 (4.9) with a range of 1 to 38. The top three most reported symptoms from the HAMA were sleep disorder, gastrointestinal symptoms and anxiety. The top three most reported symptoms from the HAMD were sleep disorder, depression and anxiety. Non-conditional logistic regression analysis showed that being female (anxiety: OR=2.738, 95%CI=1.511-4.962; depression: OR=2.622, 95%CI=1.504-4.570) and duration of hospitalization (anxiety: OR=1.091, 95%CI=1.040-1.145; depression: OR=1.093, 95%CI=1.044-1.144) were risk factors for anxiety and depression among these orthopedic trauma patients., Conclusion: The main acute symptoms of anxiety and depression in these orthopedic trauma inpatients were sleep disorder, gastrointestinal symptoms, anxious mood and depressed mood. Female patients had stronger emotional reactions to injuries than males. Persistent anxiety and depression symptoms were associated with the duration of hospitalization. All these suggest the need for early psychological assessment and intervention for orthopedic trauma inpatients.

Unlabelled: Extensive evidence suggests that frontoparietal regions can dynamically update their pattern of functional connectivity, supporting cognitive control and adaptive implementation of task demands. However, it is largely unknown whether this flexibly functional reconfiguration is intrinsic and occurs even in the absence of overt tasks. Based on recent advances in dynamics of resting-state functional resonance imaging (fMRI), we propose a probabilistic framework in which dynamic reconfiguration of intrinsic functional connectivity between each brain region and others can be represented as a probability distribution. A complexity measurement (i.e., entropy) was used to quantify functional flexibility, which characterizes heterogeneous connectivity between a particular region and others over time. Following this framework, we identified both functionally flexible and specialized regions over the human life span (112 healthy subjects from 13 to 76 years old). Across brainwide regions, we found regions showing high flexibility mainly in the higher-order association cortex, such as the lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC), lateral parietal cortex, and lateral temporal lobules. In contrast, visual, auditory, and sensory areas exhibited low flexibility. Furthermore, we observed that flexibility of the right LPFC improved during maturation and reduced due to normal aging, with the opposite occurring for the left lateral parietal cortex. Our findings reveal dissociable changes of frontal and parietal cortices over the life span in terms of inherent functional flexibility. This study not only provides a new framework to quantify the spatiotemporal behavior of spontaneous brain activity, but also sheds light on the organizational principle behind changes in brain function across the human life span., Significance Statement: Recent neuroscientific research has demonstrated that the human capability of adaptive task control is primarily the result of the flexible operation of frontal brain networks. However, it remains unclear whether this flexibly functional reconfiguration is intrinsic and occurs in the absence of an overt task. In this study, we propose a probabilistic framework to quantify the functional flexibility of each brain region using resting-state fMRI. We identify regions showing high flexibility mainly in the higher-order association cortex. In contrast, primary and unimodal visual and sensory areas show low flexibility. On the other hand, our findings reveal dissociable changes of frontal and parietal cortices in terms of inherent functional flexibility over the life span., (Copyright © 2016 the authors 0270-6474/16/3610060-15$15.00/0.)

Objective: To evaluate the reliability and validity of Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL-30, 4th version, 30 items) among government staff in the Wenchuan earthquake-stricken areas, Methods: A total of 1,175 members of government staff in the Wenchuan earthquake-stricken areas were selected by convenience sampling and required to complete the ProQOL and Self-Reporting Questionnair (SRQ). The reliability and validity of the scale was evaluated by correlation analysis, t-test, and confirmatory factor analysis., Results: Item-total correlation coefficients of the three subscales were 0.590 - 0.752, 0.389 - 0.603, and 0.340 - 0.647, respectively (P<0.05), and the average coefficients were 0.672, 0.482, and 0.555 respectively (P<0.05). The Cronbach's α coefficients of the three subscales were 0.864, 0.569, and 0.742 respectively, and the split-half reliabilities were 0.829, 0.490, and 0.677, respectively. P value was 0.88 in thE chi-square test of confirmatory factor analysis model. Goodness-of-fit indices of ProQOL-30 included GFI=0.895 NFI=0.856, CFI=0.895, RMSEA=0.063, and AGFI=0.912. For the ProQOL-28 as an optimized version o ProQOL-30, the Cronbach's a coefficients for burnout and trauma/compassion fatigue increased to 0.616 and 0.757, respectively. P value was 0.91 in the chi-square test of confirmatory factor analysis model test. Goodness-of-fit indices of ProQOL-28 were GFI =0.913, AGFI =0.924, NFI =0.900, CFI =0.913, and RMSEA =0.031 CONCLUSION: ProQOL-28 has good reliability and validity among government staff in the earthquake-stricker areas in China.

Objective: To investigate the quality of life and influencing factors for patients with silicosis and to provide a basis for treatment of silicosis., Methods: Two hundred and twenty stone workers with silicosis from June 1999 to June 2014 were enrolled into observation group, while healthy stone workers within the same period were used as controls. The quality of life was evaluated using the Chinese version of the World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment (WHOQOL-100), and the influencing factors were determined using stepwise multivariate regression analysis., Results: The scores for psychological function, physiological, independence, spiritual realm, the overall quality of life, and physical condition in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (t = 7.1168, P < 0.05; t = 3.8165, P < 0.05; t = 5.9230, P < 0.05; t = 2.7764, P < 0.05; t = 3.0761, P < 0.05). The scores for 11 items including pain, discomfort, energy, fatigue, sleep, and rest in the observation group were significantly lower than those in the control group (P < 0.05). Negative emotions, silicosis stage, recreation, age, reliance on health care, pain, discomfort, and spiritual beliefs were all influencing factors for the quality of life, which resulted in 68.3% of variation in the quality of life., Conclusion: Besides clinical treatment, health and psychological education and recreation are important for patients with silicosis to improve their quality of life.