Attention, psychology and pluralism

There is an overriding orthodoxy amongst philosophers that attention is a ‘unified phenomenon’, subject to explanation by one monistic theory. In this paper, I examine whether this philosophical orthodoxy is reflected in the practice of psychology. I argue that the view of attention that best represents psychological work is a variety of conceptual pluralism. When it comes to the psychology of attention, monism should be rejected and pluralism should be embraced. 1. The Monistic Consensus 2. The Varieties of Pluralism 3. Three Concepts 3.1 Blindsight 3.2 Executive attention 3.3 Alerting 4. Pluralism 4.1 Methodological conceptual pluralism 4.2 Three monist interpretations 5. Philosophical Monism? 6. ConclusionI am grateful to the Royal Institute of Philosophy for a Jacobsen Fellowship, which supported me while research for the paper was carried out , and during the initial writing phase. I am also grateful to the Leverhulme Trust and Isaac Newton Trust for an Early Career Fellowship (ECF-2015-088), which supported me while the paper was revised

Pregnancy does not adversely impact diagnostic tests for HTLV-1/2 infection

Mother-to-child-transmission (MTCT) of human T-cell lymphotropic virus type-1(HTLV-1) contributes disproportionately to the burden of HTLV-1 associated diseases. All preventive measures to avoid MTCT rely on the identification of infected mothers. However, the impact of pregnancy on HTLV-1 diagnosis has not been clearly assessed. Paired samples from 21 HTLV-1 infected women taken during pregnancy and while not pregnant were analysed by CMIA and PCR. The signal-to-cut-off values (S/CO) were higher during pregnancy than in the paired non-pregnant samples. HTLV-1 proviral load did not alter significantly by pregnant state. S/CO positively correlated with HTLV proviral load. Pregnancy does not impair the diagnosis of HTLV-1/2, by either immunological (CMIA) or molecular (qPCR/nPCR) tests

A test of general relativity from the three-dimensional orbital geometry of a binary pulsar

Binary pulsars provide an excellent system for testing general relativity because of their intrinsic rotational stability and the precision with which radio observations can be used to determine their orbital dynamics. Measurements of the rate of orbital decay of two pulsars have been shown to be consistent with the emission of gravitational waves as predicted by general relativity, providing the most convincing evidence for the self-consistency of the theory to date. However, independent verification of the orbital geometry in these systems was not possible. Such verification may be obtained by determining the orientation of a binary pulsar system using only classical geometric constraints, permitting an independent prediction of general relativistic effects. Here we report high-precision timing of the nearby binary millisecond pulsar PSR J0437-4715, which establish the three-dimensional structure of its orbit. We see the expected retardation of the pulse signal arising from the curvature of space-time in the vicinity of the companion object (the `Shapiro delay'), and we determine the mass of the pulsar and its white dwarf companion. Such mass determinations contribute to our understanding of the origin and evolution of neutron stars.Comment: 5 pages, 2 figure

Crowding, Attention and Consciousness: in support of the inference hypothesis

One of the most important topics in current work on consciousness is what relationship it has to attention. Recently, one of the focuses of this debate has been on the phenomenon of identity crowding. Ned Block has claimed that identity crowding involves consciously perceiving an object that we are unable to pay attention to. Others have offered different interpretations, emphasising the role of cognitive inference over conscious perception. In this paper, we draw upon a range of empirical findings to argue against Block’s interpretation of the data. We also argue that current empirical evidence strongly supports one particular version of the inference hypothesis . Finally, we consider the additional evidence Block gives in favour of his view, and argue that it fails to establish his position.Leverhulme Trust; Isaac Newton Trust; Royal Institute of Philosophy; Swiss National Science Foundation; FW

The Sister-Chromatid Exchange Assay in Human Cells

The semiconservative nature of DNA replication allows the differential labeling of sister chromatids that isthe fundamental requirement to perform the sister-chromatid exchange (SCE) assay. SCE assay is apowerful technique to visually detect the physical exchange of DNA between sister chromatids. SCEscould result as a consequence of DNA damage repair by homologous recombination (HR) during DNAreplication. Here, we provide the detailed protocol to perform the SCE assay in cultured human cells. Cellsare exposed to the thymidine analog 5-bromo-20-deoxyuridine (BrdU) during two cell cycles, resulting inthe two sister chromatids having differential incorporation of the analog. After metaphase spreads prepara-tion and further processing, SCEs are nicely visualized under the microscope

Additive opportunistic capture explains group hunting benefits in African wild dogs

African wild dogs (Lycaon pictus) are described as highly collaborative endurance pursuit hunters based on observations derived primarily from the grass plains of East Africa. However, the remaining population of this endangered species mainly occupies mixed woodland savannah where hunting strategies appear to differ from those previously described. We used high-resolution GPS and inertial technology to record fine-scale movement of all members of a single pack of six adult African wild dogs in northern Botswana. The dogs used multiple short-distance hunting attempts with a low individual kill rate (15.5%), but high group feeding rate due to the sharing of prey. Use of high-level cooperative chase strategies (coordination and collaboration) was not recorded. In the mixed woodland habitats typical of their current range, simultaneous, opportunistic, short-distance chasing by dogs pursuing multiple prey (rather than long collaborative pursuits of single prey by multiple individuals) could be the key to their relative success in these habitats

The effects of a supermarket-based intervention on the nutritional quality of private-label foods: a prospective study

Private-label products, products owned by supermarkets, are a growing area of the food supply. The aim of this study was to assess the effect of an intervention that provided an Australian supermarket ('intervention supermarket') with comparative nutrition data to improve the healthiness of their private-label range. Between 2015 and 2016, the intervention supermarket received reports that ranked the nutritional quality of their products against competitors. Changes in the nutrient content (sodium, sugar, saturated fat, energy and Health Star Rating) of products from the intervention supermarket between 2015 and 2018 were compared against changes achieved for three comparators (private-label products from two other supermarkets and branded products). The intervention supermarket achieved a significantly greater reduction in the sodium content of their products relative to all three comparators, which ranged between -104 and -52 mg/100 g (all p 0.05). Providing comparative nutrition information to a supermarket may be ineffective in improving the healthiness of their private-label products, likely due to competing factors that play a role in the decision-making process behind product reformulation and product discontinuation/innovation

The Statistical Mechanics of Horizons and Black Hole Thermodynamics

Although we know that black holes are characterized by a temperature and an entropy, we do not yet have a satisfactory microscopic ``statistical mechanical'' explanation for black hole thermodynamics. I describe a new approach that attributes the thermodynamic properties to ``would-be gauge'' degrees of freedom that become dynamical on the horizon. For the (2+1)-dimensional black hole, this approach gives the correct entropy. (Talk given at the Pacific Conference on Gravitation and Cosmology, Seoul, February 1996.)Comment: 11 pages, LaTe

Cystic lymphangioma of the lesser sac presenting as acute appendicitis: A case report

Intra-abdominal lymphangiomas usually present by 2 years of age and are uncommon in adults. Cystic lymphagiomas arising from the lesser sac are even more uncommon. We report an unusual case of a lesser sac cystic lymphangioma presenting as acute appendicitis. A 21 year old female was admitted with pyrexia, right iliac fossa tenderness and an elevated C-reactive protein (CRP). At laparotomy, a large fluid filled cystic lesion was observed occupying the right side of the abdominal cavity. The lesion was excised in its entirety and histological diagnosis confirmed lymphangioma. The patient remains well with no evidence of recurrence 1 year post resection