Salience-based selection: attentional capture by distractors less salient than the target

Current accounts of attentional capture predict the most salient stimulus to be invariably selected first. However, existing salience and visual search models assume noise in the map computation or selection process. Consequently, they predict the first selection to be stochastically dependent on salience, implying that attention could even be captured first by the second most salient (instead of the most salient) stimulus in the field. Yet, capture by less salient distractors has not been reported and salience-based selection accounts claim that the distractor has to be more salient in order to capture attention. We tested this prediction using an empirical and modeling approach of the visual search distractor paradigm. For the empirical part, we manipulated salience of target and distractor parametrically and measured reaction time interference when a distractor was present compared to absent. Reaction time interference was strongly correlated with distractor salience relative to the target. Moreover, even distractors less salient than the target captured attention, as measured by reaction time interference and oculomotor capture. In the modeling part, we simulated first selection in the distractor paradigm using behavioral measures of salience and considering the time course of selection including noise. We were able to replicate the result pattern we obtained in the empirical part. We conclude that each salience value follows a specific selection time distribution and attentional capture occurs when the selection time distributions of target and distractor overlap. Hence, selection is stochastic in nature and attentional capture occurs with a certain probability depending on relative salience

An evaluation of the performance in the UK Royal College of Anaesthetists primary examination by UK medical school and gender

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There has been comparatively little consideration of the impact that the changes to undergraduate curricula might have on postgraduate academic performance. This study compares the performance of graduates by UK medical school and gender in the Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) section of the first part of the Fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists (FRCA) examination.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Data from each sitting of the MCQ section of the primary FRCA examination from June 1999 to May 2008 were analysed for performance by medical school and gender.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>There were 4983 attempts at the MCQ part of the examination by 3303 graduates from the 19 United Kingdom medical schools. Using the standardised overall mark minus the pass mark graduates from five medical schools performed significantly better than the mean for the group and five schools performed significantly worse than the mean for the group. Males performed significantly better than females in all aspects of the MCQ – physiology, mean difference = 3.0% (95% CI 2.3, 3.7), p < 0.001; pharmacology, mean difference = 1.7% (95% CI 1.0, 2.3), p < 0.001; physics with clinical measurement, mean difference = 3.5% (95% CI 2.8, 4.1), p < 0.001; overall mark, mean difference = 2.7% (95% CI 2.1, 3.3), p < 0.001; and standardised overall mark minus the pass mark, mean difference = 2.5% (95% CI 1.9, 3.1), p < 0.001. Graduates from three medical schools that have undergone the change from Traditional to Problem Based Learning curricula did not show any change in performance in any aspects of the MCQ pre and post curriculum change.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Graduates from each of the medical schools in the UK do show differences in performance in the MCQ section of the primary FRCA, but significant curriculum change does not lead to deterioration in post graduate examination performance. Whilst females now outnumber males taking the MCQ, they are not performing as well as the males.</p

‘What Do I Get?’ Punk Objects as Meaningful and Valuable Souvenirs

Despite social scientists’ increasing interest on souvenirs in tourism, little has been written on the role and meanings of souvenirs within specific subcultures, such as punk subcultures. This chapter focuses on the exploration of punk objects as potential souvenirs in relation to “punk tourism” by investigating the meanings attached to subcultural artefacts as opposed to mass produced products. As part of an ethnographic fieldwork on punk tourism that the two authors have been conducting in Malaysia since 2016, in this chapter we focus on the role and meanings of punk souvenirs within the Malaysian punk scene. As the empirical material presented in this chapter shows, a DIY produced punk product has the advantage of channelling more than one value. While the value of souvenirs lies in their propensity to act as “mnemonic devices” related to a place visited, subcultural products like those produced by punks have the potential to fulfil additional values. In an age where authenticity and claims of appropriation of culture are placed under scrutiny, a punk object holds the potential of being a meaningful and valuable souvenir

Impaired Representation of Geometric Relationships in Humans with Damage to the Hippocampal Formation

The pivotal role of the hippocampus for spatial memory is well-established. However, while neurophysiological and imaging studies suggest a specialization of the hippocampus for viewpoint-independent or allocentric memory, results from human lesion studies have been less conclusive. It is currently unclear whether disproportionate impairment in allocentric memory tasks reflects impairment of cognitive functions that are not sufficiently supported by regions outside the medial temporal lobe or whether the deficits observed in some studies are due to experimental factors. Here, we have investigated whether hippocampal contributions to spatial memory depend on the spatial references that are available in a certain behavioral context. Patients with medial temporal lobe lesions affecting systematically the right hippocampal formation performed a series of three oculomotor tasks that required memory of a spatial cue either in retinal coordinates or relative to a single environmental reference across a delay of 5000 ms. Stimulus displays varied the availability of spatial references and contained no complex visuo-spatial associations. Patients showed a selective impairment in a condition that critically depended on memory of the geometric relationship between spatial cue and environmental reference. We infer that regions of the medial temporal lobe, most likely the hippocampal formation, contribute to behavior in conditions that exceed the potential of viewpoint-dependent or egocentric representations. Apparently, this already applies to short-term memory of simple geometric relationships and does not necessarily depend on task difficulty or integration of landmarks into more complex representations. Deficient memory of basic geometric relationships may represent a core deficit that contributes to impaired performance in allocentric spatial memory tasks

Parts, Wholes, and Context in Reading: A Triple Dissociation

Research in object recognition has tried to distinguish holistic recognition from recognition by parts. One can also guess an object from its context. Words are objects, and how we recognize them is the core question of reading research. Do fast readers rely most on letter-by-letter decoding (i.e., recognition by parts), whole word shape, or sentence context? We manipulated the text to selectively knock out each source of information while sparing the others. Surprisingly, the effects of the knockouts on reading rate reveal a triple dissociation. Each reading process always contributes the same number of words per minute, regardless of whether the other processes are operating

Evidence of Key Tinnitus-Related Brain Regions Documented by a Unique Combination of Manganese-Enhanced MRI and Acoustic Startle Reflex Testing

Animal models continue to improve our understanding of tinnitus pathogenesis and aid in development of new treatments. However, there are no diagnostic biomarkers for tinnitus-related pathophysiology for use in awake, freely moving animals. To address this disparity, two complementary methods were combined to examine reliable tinnitus models (rats repeatedly administered salicylate or exposed to a single noise event): inhibition of acoustic startle and manganese-enhanced MRI. Salicylate-induced tinnitus resulted in wide spread supernormal manganese uptake compared to noise-induced tinnitus. Neither model demonstrated significant differences in the auditory cortex. Only in the dorsal cortex of the inferior colliculus (DCIC) did both models exhibit supernormal uptake. Therefore, abnormal membrane depolarization in the DCIC appears to be important in tinnitus-mediated activity. Our results provide the foundation for future studies correlating the severity and longevity of tinnitus with hearing loss and neuronal activity in specific brain regions and tools for evaluating treatment efficacy across paradigms

The granite‑hosted Variscan gold deposit from Santo António mine in the Iberian Massif (Penedono, NW Portugal): constraints from mineral chemistry, fuid inclusions, sulfur and noble gases isotopes

The study area is located in the Central Iberian Zone, a major tectonic unit of the Iberian Massif (Variscan belt). In this region the basement is composed of Cambrian-Ordovician sedimentary and minor volcanic rocks that underwent deformation and metamorphism during the Carboniferous. These metamorphic rocks host ca. 331–308 Ma granitic plutons emplaced during the D2 extensional and D3–D4 contractional deformation phases. The gold-bearing quartz veins from the Santo António mine (Penedono region) occur in granite formed at 310.1 ± 1.1 Ma and post-dated the peak of metamorphism. Gold–silver alloy is included in quartz, but mainly occurs in spaces between grains or micro-fractures within arsenopyrite of all three generations and less in pyrite. Late sulphides and sulphosalts were deposited along fractures mainly in arsenopyrite, and locally surrounding the gold–silver alloy grains. Ferberite, scheelite and stolzite replace arsenopyrite. The abundant aqueous carbonic fluids and the occurrence of a low-salinity fluid and their minimum possible entrapment temperature of 360–380 °C suggest that this gold-forming event began during the waning stages of the Variscan orogeny. The mean δ34S values of arsenopyrite and pyrite are − 4.7‰ and − 3.8‰, respectively. He–Ar–Ne isotopic data suggest a crustal origin. The ascent of the granite magma has provided the heat for remobilization of gold, other metals and metalloids from the metamorphic rocks. This gold-arsenopyrite deposit has thus similar characteristics as other selected gold-arsenopyrite deposits from the Iberian Massif, but it contains tungstates.El área de estudio está ubicada en la Zona Centroibérica, una importante unidad tectónica del Macizo Ibérico (cinturón varisco). En esta región el basamento está compuesto por rocas sedimentarias y volcánicas del Cámbrico-Ordovícico tectonizadas y metamorfzadas durante el Carbonífero. Estas rocas metamórfcas sirven como caja de los plutones graníticos datados en torno a 331–308 Ma y que fueron emplazados durante la fase de deformación extensional D2 y las fases de deformación contraccional D3 y D4. Las venas de cuarzo ricas en oro de la mina de Santo António (región de Penedono) que aparecen en un granito datado a los 310.1 ± 1.1 Ma son posteriores al pico metamórfco regional. La aleación de oro y plata se incluye en el cuarzo, pero se produce principalmente en los espacios entre granos o micro-fracturas dentro de arsenopirita de las tres generaciones y menos en pirita. Los sulfuros y sulfuros tardíos se depositaron a lo largo de las fracturas principalmente en arsenopirita, y alrededor de los granos de aleación de oro y plata. Ferberita, scheelita y la estolzita sustituyen a la arsenopirita. Los abundantes líquidos acuosos carbónicos y la presencia de un fuido de baja salinidad y su posible temperatura de atrapamiento mínima en torno de 360-380 ºC sugieren que este evento de formación de oro comenzó durante las etapas fnales de la orogenia varisca. Los valores medios de S de arsenopirita y pirita son − 4.7 ‰ y − 3.8 ‰, respectivamente. Los datos isotópicos de He–Ar–Ne sugieren que en el origen de los fuidos mineralizados participa la corteza continental. El ascenso del magma granítico ha provisto el calor para la movilización del oro, otros metales y metaloides desde las rocas metamórfcas. Este depósito de oroarsenopirita tiene así características similares a otros yaciamientos con arsenopirita y oro del Macizo Ibérico, pero sin embargo contienen tungstates.This research was financially supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia through the projects GOLDGranites, Orogenesis, Long-term strain/stress and Deposition of ore metals—PTDC/GEO-GEO/2446/2012: COMPETE: FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-029192 and UID/GEO/04035/2013

The evolution of lung cancer and impact of subclonal selection in TRACERx

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-associated mortality worldwide1. Here we analysed 1,644 tumour regions sampled at surgery or during follow-up from the first 421 patients with non-small cell lung cancer prospectively enrolled into the TRACERx study. This project aims to decipher lung cancer evolution and address the primary study endpoint: determining the relationship between intratumour heterogeneity and clinical outcome. In lung adenocarcinoma, mutations in 22 out of 40 common cancer genes were under significant subclonal selection, including classical tumour initiators such as TP53 and KRAS. We defined evolutionary dependencies between drivers, mutational processes and whole genome doubling (WGD) events. Despite patients having a history of smoking, 8% of lung adenocarcinomas lacked evidence of tobacco-induced mutagenesis. These tumours also had similar detection rates for EGFR mutations and for RET, ROS1, ALK and MET oncogenic isoforms compared with tumours in never-smokers, which suggests that they have a similar aetiology and pathogenesis. Large subclonal expansions were associated with positive subclonal selection. Patients with tumours harbouring recent subclonal expansions, on the terminus of a phylogenetic branch, had significantly shorter disease-free survival. Subclonal WGD was detected in 19% of tumours, and 10% of tumours harboured multiple subclonal WGDs in parallel. Subclonal, but not truncal, WGD was associated with shorter disease-free survival. Copy number heterogeneity was associated with extrathoracic relapse within 1 year after surgery. These data demonstrate the importance of clonal expansion, WGD and copy number instability in determining the timing and patterns of relapse in non-small cell lung cancer and provide a comprehensive clinical cancer evolutionary data resource