Visual statistical learning of naturalistic textures.

The visual system continuously adapts to the statistical properties of the environment. In this study, we demonstrated that training significantly enhanced subjects' perceptual sensitivity to co-occurrence statistics in naturalistic textures. The learning effect was specific to the statistical component and spatial location. By examining the time course of learning, we found that learning was accelerated at an untrained location. Our findings establish a link between statistical learning and visual perception, indicating multistage plasticity beyond V1 in the visual hierarchy. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Study of the Osteoimmunomodulatory Properties of Curcumin-Modified Copper-Bearing Titanium.

Peri-implantitis can lead to implant failure. In this study, curcumin (CUR) was modified onto the copper-bearing titanium alloy (Cu-Ti) with the assistance of polydopamine (PDA) in order to study the bone immune response and subsequent osteogenesis. FE-SEM, XPS and water contact angle were utilized to characterize the coating surface. Bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) and macrophages were cultured separately and together onto the CUR modified Cu-Ti. Cell activity, expression of relative genes and proteins, cell migration ability, and fluorescence staining of cells were performed. CUR modification slightly increased the activation of M1-type and M2-type cells under physiological conditions. In the inflammation state, CUR inhibited the overexpression of M1 macrophages and induced M2-type differentiation. In addition, the modification itself could provoke the expression of osteoblastic-related genes of BMSCs, while promoting the osteogenic differentiation of BMSCs through the activation of macrophages in both physiological and inflammatory states. The BMSCs migration was increased, the expression of osteogenic-related genes and proteins was up-regulated, and alkaline phosphatase activity (ALP) was increased. Thus, the modification of CUR can promote the osteointegration effect of Cu-Ti by bone immunomodulation and may, in addition, improve the success rate of implants.

One-pot synthesis of hierarchical Co1-xS/NC@MoS2/C hollow nanofibers based on one-dimensional metal coordination polymers for enhanced lithium and sodium-ion storage.

Multicomponent metal sulfides have been recognized as promising anode materials for lithium/sodium-ion storage given their enticing theoretical capacities. However, the simplification of synthetic processes and the construction of heterogeneous interfaces of multimetal sulfides remain great challenges. Herein, a hierarchical 1T-MoS2/carbon nanosheet decorated Co1-xS/N-doped carbon (Co1-xS/NC@MoS2/C) hollow nanofiber was designed and constructed via a one-pot hydrothermal method using a cobalt-based coordination polymer nanofiber. This nanofiber can transform in-situ into conductive N-doped carbon hollow fibers embedded with active Co1-xS nanoparticles, enabling the epitaxial growth of MoS2 nanosheets. Consequently, the Co1-xS/NC@MoS2/C composites achieve exceptional lithium/sodium-ion storage performance. Compared to MoS2/C microspheres and Co1-xS/NC hollow nanofibers alone, the Co1-xS/NC@MoS2/C hollow nanofibers deliver higher discharge capacities (1085.9 mAh g-1 for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) and 748.5 mAh g-1 for sodium-ion batteries (SIBs) at 100 mA g-1), better capacity retention (910 mAh g-1 for LIBs and 636.5 mAh g-1 for SIBs after 150 cycles at 100 mA g-1), and increased cycling stability (407.2 mAh g-1 after 1000 cycles for SIBs at 1000 mA g-1). Furthermore, the kinetic analysis shows that the lithium/sodium-ion storage processes of the Co1-xS/NC@MoS2/C electrode are mainly controlled by pseudocapacitance behavior. The excellent electrochemical properties can thus be ascribed to the synergy of the MoS2/C nanosheets with the enlarged interlayer spacing, good conductivity of the carbon layers, and the Co1-xS nanoparticles embedded in the hollow nanofibers with extensive reaction sites.

[Research progress of protective effects of alendronate on articular cartilage in osteoarthritis].

OBJECTIVE: To summarize the recent development on chondroprotective effect of alendronate (ALN) on articular cartilage in osteoarthritis (OA). METHODS: The related literature was reviewed and the main achievements in vitro/vivo studies in the fields were summarized. RESULTS: ALN can improve the metabolic microenvironment of the articular cartilage in OA, inhibit subchondral bone remodeling, so it has potential protective effect on articular cartilage. CONCLUSION: ALN is expected to become a disease-modifying OA drug in future, but OA treatment still lack a uniform basic and clinical evaluation criteria, so it has guiding significance in development and application of ALN to develope a uniform standard and obtain the clinical data.