Improved control of exogenous attention in action video game players

Action video game players (VGPs) have demonstrated a number of attentional advantages over non-players. Here, we propose that many of those benefits might be underpinned by improved control over exogenous (i.e., stimulus-driven) attention. To test this we used an anti-cueing task, in which a sudden-onset cue indicated that the target would likely appear in a separate location on the opposite side of the fixation point. When the time between the cue onset and the target onset was short (40 ms), non-players (nVGPs) showed a typical exogenous attention effect. Their response times were faster to targets presented at the cued (but less probable) location compared with the opposite (more probable) location. VGPs, however, were less likely to have their attention drawn to the location of the cue. When the onset asynchrony was long (600 ms), VGPs and nVGPs were equally able to endogenously shift their attention to the likely (opposite) target location. In order to rule out processing-speed differences as an explanation for this result, we also tested VGPs and nVGPs on an attentional blink (AB) task. In a version of the AB task that minimized demands on task switching and iconic memory, VGPs and nVGPs did not differ in second target identification performance (i.e., VGPs had the same magnitude of AB as nVGPs), suggesting that the anti-cueing results were due to flexible control over exogenous attention rather than to more general speed-of-processing differences

Design and test of field programmable gate arrays in space applications

Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAU's) offer substantial benefits in terms of flexibility and design integration. In addition to qualifying this device for space applications by establishing its reliability and evaluating its sensitivity to radiation, screening the programmed devices with Automatic Test Equipment (ATE) and functional burn-in presents an interesting challenge. This paper presents a review of the design, qualification, and screening cycle employed for FPGA designs in a space program, and demonstrates the need for close interaction between design and test engineers

Perception of soundscapes : an interdisciplinary approach

This paper takes an overall view of findings from the Positive Soundscape Project, a large inter-disciplinary soundscapes study. Qualitative fieldwork (soundwalks and focus groups) have found that soundscape perception is influenced by cognitive effects such as the meaning of a soundscape and its components, and how information is conveyed by a soundscape, for example on the behaviour of people within the soundscape. Three significant clusters were found in the language people use to describe soundscapes: sound sources, sound descriptors and soundscape descriptors. Results from listening tests and soundwalks have been integrated to show that the two principal dimensions of soundscape emotional response seem to be calmness and vibrancy. Further, vibrancy seems to have two aspects: organisation of sounds and changes over time. The possible application of the results to soundscape assessment and design are briefly discussed

Encephalitic alphaviruses exploit caveola-mediated transcytosis at the blood-brain barrier for central nervous system entry

Venezuelan and western equine encephalitis viruses (VEEV and WEEV, respectively) invade the central nervous system (CNS) early during infection, via neuronal and hematogenous routes. While viral replication mediates host shutoff, including expression of type I interferons (IFN), few studies have addressed how alphaviruses gain access to the CNS during established infection or the mechanisms of viral crossing at the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Here, we show that hematogenous dissemination of VEEV and WEEV into the CNS occurs via caveolin-1 (Cav-1)-mediated transcytosis (Cav-MT) across an intact BBB, which is impeded by IFN and inhibitors of RhoA GTPase. Use of reporter and nonreplicative strains also demonstrates that IFN signaling mediates viral restriction within cells comprising the neurovascular unit (NVU), differentially rendering brain endothelial cells, pericytes, and astrocytes permissive to viral replication. Transmission and immunoelectron microscopy revealed early events in virus internalization and Cav-1 association within brain endothelial cells. Cav-1-deficient mice exhibit diminished CNS VEEV and WEEV titers during early infection, whereas viral burdens in peripheral tissues remained unchanged. Our findings show that alphaviruses exploit Cav-MT to enter the CNS and that IFN differentially restricts this process at the BBB