BackgroundThe relations between depression and intolerance of uncertainty (IU) have been extensively investigated during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, there is a lack of understanding on how each component of IU may differentially affect depression symptoms and vice versa. The current study used a network approach to reveal the component-to-symptom interplay between IU and depression and identify intervention targets for depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsA total of 624 college students participated in the current study. An IU-Depression network was estimated using items from the 12-item Intolerance of Uncertainty Scale and the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. We examined the network structure, node centrality, and node bridge centrality to identify component-to-symptom pathways, central nodes, and bridge nodes within the IU-Depression network.ResultsSeveral distinct pathways (e.g., “Frustration when facing uncertainty” and “Feelings of worthlessness”) emerged between IU and Depression. “Fatigue” and “Frustration when facing uncertainty” were identified as the central nodes in the estimated network. “Frustration when facing uncertainty,” “Psychomotor agitation/retardation,” and “Depressed or sad mood” were identified as bridging nodes between the IU and Depression communities.ConclusionBy delineating specific pathways between IU and depression and highlighting the influential role of “Frustration when facing uncertainty” in maintaining the IU-Depression co-occurrence, current findings may inform targeted prevention and interventions for depression during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Age-associated changes in brain function play an important role in the development of neurodegenerative diseases. Although previous work has examined age-related changes in static functional connectivity, accumulating evidence suggests that advancing age is especially associated with alterations in the dynamic interactions and transitions between different brain states, which hitherto have received less attention. Conclusions of previous studies in this domain are moreover limited by suboptimal replicability of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and culturally homogenous cohorts. Here, we investigate the robustness of age-associated changes in dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) by capitalizing on the availability of fMRI cohorts from two cultures (Western European and Chinese). In both the LEMON (Western European) and SALD (Chinese) cohorts, we consistently identify two distinct states: a more frequent segregated within-network connectivity state (state I) and a less frequent integrated between-network connectivity state (state II). Moreover, in both these cohorts, older (55–80 years) compared to younger participants (20–35 years) exhibited lower occurrence of and spent less time in state I. Older participants also tended to exhibit more transitions between networks and greater variance in global efficiency. Overall, our cross-cultural replication of age-associated changes in dFC metrics implies that advancing age is robustly associated with a reorganization of dynamic brain activation that favors the use of less functionally specific networks.

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Introduction The optimal preoperative preparation for elective colorectal cancer surgery has been debated in academic circles for decades. Previously, several expert teams have conducted studies on whether preoperative mechanical bowel preparation and oral antibiotics can effectively reduce the incidence of postoperative complications, such as surgical site infections and anastomotic leakage. Most of the results of these studies have suggested that preoperative mechanical bowel preparation for elective colon surgery has no significant effect on the occurrence of surgical site infections and anastomotic leakage. Methods/design This study will examine whether oral antibiotic bowel preparation (OABP) influences the incidence of anastomotic leakage after surgery in a prospective, multicentre, randomized controlled trial that will enrol 1500 patients who require colon surgery. The primary endpoint, incidence of anastomotic leakage, is based on 2.3% in the OABP ± mechanical bowel preparation (MBP) group in the study by Morris et al. Patients will be randomized (1:1) into two groups: the test group will be given antibiotics (both neomycin 1 g and metronidazole 0.9 g) the day before surgery, and the control group will not receive any special intestinal preparation before surgery, including oral antibiotics or mechanical intestinal preparation. All study-related clinical data, such as general patient information, past medical history, laboratory examination, imaging results, and surgery details, will be recorded before surgery and during the time of hospitalization. The occurrence of postoperative fistulas, including anastomotic leakage, will be recorded as the main severe postoperative adverse event and will represent the primary endpoint. Ethics and dissemination Ethics approval was obtained from the Chinese Ethics Committee of Registering Clinical Trials (ChiECRCT20200173). The results of this study will be disseminated at several research conferences and as published articles in peer-reviewed journals. Protocol was revised on November 22, 2021, version 4.0. Trial registration ChiCTR2000035550. Registered on 13 Aug 2020.