Temporal attention affects contrast response function by response gain

Orienting attention to a specific point in time has been shown to improve the contrast sensitivity at the attended time point and impair it earlier or later. This phenomenon could be explained by temporal attention increasing the effective contrast of the target presented at the attended time point which leads to changes in contrast psychometric function by contrast gain. Another explanation is that temporal attention multiplicatively amplifies the amplitude of behavioral or neural response to contrast, resulting in alterations in contrast psychometric function by response gain. To explore the underlying mechanism, we adopted a temporal cueing orientation discrimination task using audio pre-cues composed of different frequency components to induce different attentional allocations in the time domain and targets of various contrast intensities to measure contrast psychometric functions. Obtained psychometric functions for contrast sensitivity were fitted for different conditions with discrepant attentional states in time. We found that temporal attention manipulated by cue affected contrast psychometric function by response gain, indicating that multiplying the contrast response of the visual target occurring at the selected point in time by a fixed factor is a crucial way for temporal attention to modulate perceptual processing

Association of socioeconomic status with glycated haemoglobin level and risk factors for diabetic retinopathy: a cross-sectional study in Sichuan, western China

OBJECTIVE: Diabetes affects 1 in 10 adults in China. Diabetic retinopathy (DR) is a diabetes-related complication that, if untreated, impairs vision and causes blindness. Evidence on DR diagnosis and risk factors is limited. This study aimed to add evidence from socioeconomic factors. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey of people with diabetes conducted in 2019 was analysed by using logistic regression to evaluate the association of socioeconomic factors with the glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) level and DR. SETTING: Five counties/districts of western China (Sichuan) were included. PARTICIPANTS: Registered participants with diabetes aged from 18 to 75 years were selected, and at last 2179 participants were included in the analysis. RESULTS: In this cohort, 37.13% (adjusted value 36.52%), 19.78% (adjusted value 19.59%) and 17.37% of participants had HbA1c&lt;7.0%, DR (24.96% of those in the high-HbA1c group) and non-proliferative DR, respectively. Participants with higher social health insurance coverage (urban employee insurance (UEI)), higher income and urban residents tended to have glycaemic control (HbA1c) compared with their counterparts (OR: 1.48, 1.08 and 1.39, respectively). Participants with UEI or higher income had a lower risk of DR (OR: 0.71 and 0.88, respectively); higher education was associated with a 53%-69% decreased risk of DR. CONCLUSION: This study shows disparities in the effect of socioeconomic factors on glycaemic (HbA1c) management and DR diagnosis among people with diabetes in Sichuan. Lower socioeconomic (especially non-UEI) status conferred a higher risk of high HbA1c and DR. The insights from this study indicate the need for national programmes to implement community-level measures to facilitate access to better HbA1c management and early detection of DR in patients with lower socioeconomic status and diabetes. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: Chinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR1800014432).</p

Cue-induced temporal attention affects contrast response function by response gain

Abstract Orienting attention to a specific point in time has been shown to improve the contrast sensitivity at the attended time point and impair it earlier or later. This phenomenon could be explained by temporal attention increasing the effective contrast of target presented at the attended time point which leads to changes in contrast psychometric function by contrast gain. Another explanation is that temporal attention proportionally amplifies the amplitude of (behavioral or neural) response to contrast, resulting in alterations in contrast psychometric function by response gain. To explore the underlying mechanism, we adopted a temporal cueing orientation discrimination task using audio pre-cues composed of different frequency components to induce different attentional bias in time domain and targets of various contrast intensities to measure contrast psychometric functions. Obtained psychometric functions for contrast sensitivity were fitted for different conditions with discrepant attention states in time. We found that temporal attention manipulated by cue affected contrast psychometric function by response gain, indicating that multiplying contrast response of visual target occurring at the selected point in time by a fixed factor is a crucial way for temporal attention to modulate perceptual processing.</jats:p

Temporal attention affects contrast response function by response gain

Orienting attention to a specific point in time has been shown to improve the contrast sensitivity at the attended time point and impair it earlier or later. This phenomenon could be explained by temporal attention increasing the effective contrast of the target presented at the attended time point which leads to changes in contrast psychometric function by contrast gain. Another explanation is that temporal attention multiplicatively amplifies the amplitude of behavioral or neural response to contrast, resulting in alterations in contrast psychometric function by response gain. To explore the underlying mechanism, we adopted a temporal cueing orientation discrimination task using audio pre-cues composed of different frequency components to induce different attentional allocations in the time domain and targets of various contrast intensities to measure contrast psychometric functions. Obtained psychometric functions for contrast sensitivity were fitted for different conditions with discrepant attentional states in time. We found that temporal attention manipulated by cue affected contrast psychometric function by response gain, indicating that multiplying the contrast response of the visual target occurring at the selected point in time by a fixed factor is a crucial way for temporal attention to modulate perceptual processing.</jats:p

Rice husk derived carbon–silica composites as anodes for lithium ion batteries

Rice husk derived carbon–silica composites were applied as anodes for lithium ion batteries for the first time.</p

One-step fabrication for Mg-doped Cu2ZnSnS4 thin film via a facile ion-solution spraying approach

In this study, Mg-doped Cu2ZnSnS4 (CZTS) thin films were prepared by the ionic solution spraying method, which is simple, low cost, and low temperature. The samples were annealed at the optimal doping level. In this study, the relationship between the magnesium doping level, the annealing process conditions (temperature and duration), and various aspects of the sample properties was systematically investigated and discussed. These properties include film crystallinity, optical absorption properties, atomic ratios, and elemental composition. The results show that the Cu2Mg0.2Zn0.8SnS4 thin sample annealed at 500 °C for 10 min exhibits the best thin-film properties and has a relatively ideal atomic ratio. The replacement of Zn2+ ions with Mg2+ ions in the Cu2ZnSnS4 lattice leads to improved surface uniformity and densification, significant grain coarsening, and a reduction in the material’s optical bandgap to 1.37 eV. These materials demonstrate promising scalability for solar energy conversion applications, with cost-effective processing protocols and enhanced performance characteristics suggesting viable pathways for industrial implementation