Performance on inhibitory tasks does not relate to handedness in several small groups of Callitrichids.

Brain lateralization, a trait ubiquitous in vertebrates and invertebrates, refers to structural differences between the left and right sides of the brain or to the left and right sides controlling different functions or processing information in different ways. Many studies have looked into the advantages of lateralized brains and discovered that cerebral lateralization confers a fitness advantage. Enhancing cognitive ability has been proposed as one of the potential benefits of the lateralized brain, however, this has not been widely validated. In this study, we investigated the handedness of 34 subjects from four groups of Callitrichids, as well as their performance in two inhibitory control tasks (the revised A-not-B task and the cylinder task). The subjects had strong individual hand preferences, and only a few zoo-born individuals were ambidextrous. Sex and generation influence the strength of hand preference. In the cylinder task, the subjects showed differences between groups, and the performance of the second-generation was better than that of the first-generation. We found that neither the strength of hand preferences (ABS-HI) or direction of hand preferences (HI) was linked with success on the two inhibitory tasks. That is, we were unable to support the enhanced cognitive function hypothesis. We believe that individual ontogeny and the type of cognitive task have an impact on the support of this hypothesis. The advantages of lateralized brain may be reflected in tests that require multiple cognitive abilities.

Intrinsic Out-Of-Plane and In-Plane Ferroelectricity in 2D AgCrS2 with High Curie Temperature.

2D ferroelectric materials have attracted extensive research interest due to potential applications in nonvolatile memory, nanoelectronics and optoelectronics. However, the available 2D ferroelectric materials are scarce and most of them are limited by the uncontrollable preparation. Herein, a novel 2D ferroelectric material AgCrS2 is reported that are controllably synthesized in large-scale via salt-assist chemical vapor deposition growth. By tuning the growth temperature from 800 to 900 °C, the thickness of AgCrS2 nanosheets can be precisely modulated from 2.1 to 40 nm. Structural and nonlinear optical characterizations demonstrate that AgCrS2 nanosheet crystallizes in a non-centrosymmetric structure with high crystallinity and remarkable air stability. As a result, AgCrS2 of various thicknesses display robust ferroelectric polarization in both in-plane (IP) and out-of-plane (OOP) directions with strong intercorrelation and high ferroelectric phase transition temperature (682 K). Theoretical calculations suggest that the ferroelectricity in AgCrS2 originates from the displacement of Ag atoms in AgS4 tetrahedrons, which changes the dipole moment alignment. Moreover, ferroelectric switching is demonstrated in both lateral and vertical AgCrS2 devices, which exhibit exotic nonvolatile memory behavior with distinct high and low resistance states. This study expands the scope of 2D ferroelectric materials and facilitates the ferroelectric-based nonvolatile memory applications.

Metformin attenuates high-fat diet induced metabolic syndrome related osteoarthritis through inhibition of prostaglandins.

High-fat diet induces bone marrow inflammation and osteoarthritis phenotype in knee joint, but the underlying mechanisms is unknown. Here, we report that high-fat diet induces aberrant bone formation and cartilage degeneration in knee joint. Mechanistically, a high-fat diet increases the number of macrophages and the secretion of prostaglandins in subchondral bone, promoting bone formation. Metformin treatment is able to decrease the number of macrophages and also the level of prostaglandins induced by high-fat diet in subchondral bone. Importantly, metformin rescues aberrant bone formation and cartilage lesions by decreasing the number of osteoprogenitors and type-H vessels, which also results in relief of osteoarthritis pain response. Thus, we demonstrate prostaglandins secreted by macrophages may be a key reason for high-fat diet induced aberrant bone formation and metformin is a promising therapy for high-fat diet induced osteoarthritis.

Oxylipin-PPARγ-initiated adipocyte senescence propagates secondary senescence in the bone marrow.

The chronic use of glucocorticoids decreases bone mass and quality and increases bone-marrow adiposity, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Here, we show that bone-marrow adipocyte (BMAd) lineage cells in adult mice undergo rapid cellular senescence upon glucocorticoid treatment. The senescent BMAds acquire a senescence-associated secretory phenotype, which spreads senescence in bone and bone marrow. Mechanistically, glucocorticoids increase the synthesis of oxylipins, such as 15d-PGJ2, for peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) activation. PPARγ stimulates the expression of key senescence genes and also promotes oxylipin synthesis in BMAds, forming a positive feedback loop. Transplanting senescent BMAds into the bone marrow of healthy mice is sufficient to induce the secondary spread of senescent cells and bone-loss phenotypes, whereas transplanting BMAds harboring a p16INK4a deletion did not show such effects. Thus, glucocorticoid treatment induces a lipid metabolic circuit that robustly triggers the senescence of BMAd lineage cells that, in turn, act as the mediators of glucocorticoid-induced bone deterioration.