Contingent capture by color is sensitive to categorical color perception

Contingent capture (CC) theory postulates that attention can only be captured by top-down matching stimuli. Although the contingent capture of attention is a well-known and thoroughly studied phenomenon, there is still no consensus on the characteristics of the top-down template which guides the search for colors. We tried to replicate the classical contingent capture effect on color (Experiment 1) and then added linguistic processing to this perceptual effect (Experiment 2). In Experiment 1, attention was indeed captured by the cues of the same color as the target, while the cues of different colors were successfully ignored. In Experiment 2, the cue color was never identical to the target color but would either belong to the same linguistic category or not (i.e., linguistic matching and linguistic nonmatching cues). In both cases, cues were made to be equally perceptually distant from the target. Although, attention was captured by both cue types, the degree of capture was significantly higher for linguistic matching cues. Our research replicated the classic contingent capture effect but on color, and also demonstrated the effect of color categories in the search task. In short, we demonstrated the effect of color categories in the search task. Results show that the template for color search contains physical characteristics of color, as well as information about color category names.

Visual attention in change blindness for objects and shadows

Studies have found that observers pay less attention to cast shadows in images than to better illuminated regions. In line with such observations, a recent study has suggested stronger change blindness for shadows than for objects (Ehinger et al., 2016). We here examine the role of (overt) visual attention in these findings by recording participants' eye movements. Participants first viewed all original images (without changes). They then performed a change detection task on a subset of the images with changes in objects or shadows. During both tasks, their eye movements were recorded. In line with the original study, objects (subject to change in the change detection task) were fixated more often than shadows. In contrast to the previous study, better change detection was found for shadows than for objects. The improved change detection for shadows may be explained by the balancing of trials with object and shadow changes in the present study. Eye movements during change detection indicated that participants searched the bottom half of the images. Shadows were more often present in this region, which may explain why they were easier to find.

Do individual differences in face recognition ability moderate the other ethnicity effect?

Individuals are better at recognizing faces from their own ethnic group compared with other ethnicity faces-the other-ethnicity effect (OEE). This finding is said to reflect differences in experience and familiarity to faces from other ethnicities relative to faces corresponding with the viewers' ethnicity. However, own-ethnicity face recognition performance ranges considerably within a population, from very poor to extremely good. In addition, within-population recognition performance on other-ethnicity faces can also vary considerably with some individuals being classed as "other ethnicity face blind" (Wan et al., 2017). Despite evidence for considerable variation in performance within population for faces of both types, it is currently unclear whether the magnitude of the OEE changes as a function of this variability. By recruiting large-scale multinational samples, we investigated the size of the OEE across the full range of own and other ethnicity face performance while considering measures of social contact. We find that the magnitude of the OEE is remarkably consistent across all levels of within-population own- and other-ethnicity face recognition ability, and this pattern was unaffected by social contact measures. These findings suggest that the OEE is a persistent feature of face recognition performance, with consequences for models built around very poor, and very good face recognizers. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Disaster preparedness and cultural factors: a comparative study in Romania and Malta

This exploratory study investigates the relationships between the disaster preparedness of citizens and cultural factors in Romania and Malta. With regard to methodology, quantitative and qualitative data were collected during two Citizen Summits, which consisted of a real-time survey and focus group discussions. The results point to two specific cultural factors that may bridge this 'gap' and be operationalised to enhance people's readiness for a disaster event. In Malta, the findings reveal how community cohesion is altered from a personal to a cultural value, which has the potential to encourage the transformation of preparedness intentions into actual preparedness behaviour. In Romania, meanwhile, the findings highlight the ambivalent aspects of trusting behaviour as a cultural norm on the one hand, and distrust in authorities based on experience and unmet expectations on the other hand. Social media use may reduce this tension between trust and distrust, and thus foster successful disaster risk-related communication.

The Predation Game: Does dividing attention affect patterns of human foraging?

Attention is known to play an important role in shaping the behaviour of both human and animal foragers. Here, in three experiments, we built on previous interactive tasks to create an online foraging game for studying divided attention in human participants exposed to the (simulated) risk of predation. Participants used a "sheep" icon to collect items from different target categories randomly distributed across the display. Each trial also contained "wolf" objects, whose movement was inspired by classic studies of multiple object tracking. When participants needed to physically avoid the wolves, foraging patterns changed, with an increased tendency to switch between target categories and a decreased ability to prioritise high reward targets, relative to participants who could safely ignore them. However, when the wolves became dangerous by periodically changing form (briefly having big eyes) instead of by approaching the sheep, foraging patterns were unaffected. Spatial disruption caused by the need to rapidly shift position-rather the cost of reallocating attention-therefore appears to influence foraging in this context. These results thus confirm that participants can efficiently alternate between target selection and tracking moving objects, replicating earlier single-target search findings. Future studies may need to increase the perceived risk or potential costs associated with simulated danger, in order to elicit the extended run behaviour predicted by animal models of foraging, but absent in the current data.

Universal Patterns in Color-Emotion Associations Are Further Shaped by Linguistic and Geographic Proximity

Many of us “see red,” “feel blue,” or “turn green with envy.” Are such color-emotion associations fundamental to our shared cognitive architecture, or are they cultural creations learned through our languages and traditions? To answer these questions, we tested emotional associations of colors in 4,598 participants from 30 nations speaking 22 native languages. Participants associated 20 emotion concepts with 12 color terms. Pattern-similarity analyses revealed universal color-emotion associations (average similarity coefficient r = .88). However, local differences were also apparent. A machine-learning algorithm revealed that nation predicted color-emotion associations above and beyond those observed universally. Similarity was greater when nations were linguistically or geographically close. This study highlights robust universal color-emotion associations, further modulated by linguistic and geographic factors. These results pose further theoretical and empirical questions about the affective properties of color and may inform practice in applied domains, such as well-being and design.

Developing a model of perceptions of security and insecurity in the context of crime

The current study was carried out as part of the CITYCOP project exploring fear of crime, risk perception and feelings of security and insecurity. Participants (n = 272) from 11 European countries answered a questionnaire exploring measures of risk perception, fear of crime, anxiety, trust in police and related behaviours. A seven-factor structure is proposed incorporating 'Signs of Social and Physical Disorder', 'Trust in Police', 'Trait Anxiety', 'Collective Efficacy', 'Perceived Risk of Victimisation', 'Fear of Personal Harm' and 'Fear of Property Theft'. Overall findings suggest that the measures associated with feelings of insecurity are negatively related to the measures associated with feelings of security. Efforts should be made to reduce feelings of insecurity through encouraging trust in law enforcement and community interaction and reducing signs of social and physical disorder.

Stationary solitary and kink solutions in the helicoidal Peyrard-Bishop model of DNA molecule

We study nonlinear dynamics of the DNA molecule relying on a helicoidal Peyrard-Bishop model. We look for traveling wave solutions and show that a continuum approximation brings about kink solitons moving along the chain. This statement is supported by the numerical solution of a relevant dynamical equation of motion. Finally, we argue that an existence of both kinks and localized modulated solitons (breathers) could be a useful tool to describe DNA-RNA transcription.

Demodulated standing solitary wave and DNA-RNA transcription

Nonlinear dynamics of DNA molecule at segments where DNA-RNA transcription occurs is studied. Our basic idea is that the solitary wave, moving along the chain, transforms into a demodulated one at these segments. The second idea is that the wave becomes a standing one due to interaction with DNA surrounding, e.g., RNA polymerase molecules. We explain why this is biologically convenient and show that our results match the experimental ones. In addition, we suggest how to experimentally determine crucial constant describing covalent bonds within DNA.

ULOGA OBLIKA I BOJE U PREPOZNAVANJU I KLASIFIKACIJI POZNATIH VIZUELNIH OBJEKATA

Dve teorijske struje objašnjavaju ulogu boje i oblika u prepoznavanju i klasifikaciji objekata. S jedne strane su teorije koje zastupaju stanovište da naš kognitivni sistem koristi oblik kao primarnu vizuelnu karakteristiku objekta, a s druge strane su teorije koje zastupaju stanovište da i boja spada u primarne vizuelne karakteristike. Prema ulozi boje, zastupnici druge grupe teorija svrstavaju objekte u dve kategorije: 1) HCD objekte za koje su i oblik i boja primarno važni, 2) LCD objekte za koje je primarno važan samo oblik. Predmet istraživanja naše studije je bila uloga oblika i boje u klasifikaciji i prepoznavanju objekata. Cilj istraživanja je bio da utvrdimo da li kognitivni sistem na različite načine prepoznaje i klasifikuje prirodne objekte nasuprot objektima koje je napravio čovek te je stoga hrana poslužila kao optimalna kategorija stimulusa jer su i prirodni i veštački objekti jednako poznati i frekventno u upotrebi. Dodatno ovi objekti imaju i dijagnostičku boju i oblik. Naši rezultati idu u prilog teorijama koje pripisuju dominantnu ulogu obliku. U oba istraživana procesa, prepoznavanju i klasifikaciji, oblik se pokazao kao ključna karakteristika. U procesu prepoznavanja kognitivni sistem boju koristi samo u situacijama kada je oblik zaista neinformativan, dok se u procesu klasifikacije boja ispostavila irelevantna. Takođe naši rezultati sugerišu važnost još jednog faktora, a to je vizuelna tekstura.

VISUAL DETECTION OF STATIC OBJECTS AMONG DYNAMIC DISTRACTORS

Though a dynamic object, placed against stationary background, always grabs attention, opposite is not necessarily true. Hence, in this study we placed a stationary target among the dynamic distractors. We investigated whether visual detection depends on (1) set size (9, 18 or 27), (2) type of the distractor dynamics (jitter, blink, or luminance change) and (3) synchronisation (synchronized or unsynchronized distractors change). In contrast to pop-out effect of a dynamic target, the search for stationary target was serial, as the RT analysis revealed. The synchronisation of the distractor dynamic properties helped the detection especially in the larger sets. The most distracting for the target detection was illumination change of the distractors whereas the least distracting was blink.

Grouping Factors and the Reverse Contrast Illusion

In simultaneous lightness contrast, two identical gray target squares lying on backgrounds of different intensities appear different in lightness. Traditionally, this illusion was explained by lateral inhibitory mechanisms operating retinotopically. More recently, spatial filtering models have been preferred. We report tests of an anchoring theory account in which the illusion is attributed to grouping rules used by the visual system to compute lightness. We parametrically varied the belongingness of two gray target bars to their respective backgrounds so that they either appeared to group with a set of bars flanking them, or they appeared to group with their respective backgrounds. In all variations, the retinal adjacency of the gray squares and their backgrounds was essentially unchanged. We report data from seven experiments showing that manipulation of the grouping rules governs the size and direction of the simultaneous lightness contrast illusion. These results support the idea that simultaneous lightness contrast is the product of anchoring within perceptual groups.

Information extraction from shadowed regions in images: an eye movement study

Natural scenes often contain variations in local luminance as a result of cast shadows and illumination from different directions. When making judgments about such scenes, it may be hypothesized that darker regions (with lower relative contrast due to a lack of illumination) are avoided as they may provide less detailed information than well-illuminated areas. We here test this hypothesis, first by presenting participants images of faces that were digitally modified to simulate the effect of a shadow over half of the image, and second by presenting photographs of faces taken with side illumination, also resulting in the appearance of a shadow across half of the face. While participants viewed these images, they were asked to perform different tasks on the images, to allow for the presentation of the different versions of each image (left shadow, right shadow, no shadow), and to distract the observers from the contrast and illumination manipulations. The results confirm our hypothesis and demonstrate that observers fixate the better illuminated regions of the images.

Horizontal-vertical illusion in mental imagery: quantitative evidence

The present study had two main goals: (1) to investigate the difference between perception and mental imagery using a visual illusion as a stimulus; (2) to inspect gender related differences in perception and imagery. Our main hypothesis, that there would be no differences between perception and mental imagery, was motivated by previous neuroimaging data. Unlike these neuroimaging studies that demonstrate great similarity between the two processes, results obtained in behavioral studies have not always been consistent. We assumed that this inconsistency was a consequence of methodological differences. Hence, we explored the two processes with a modified behavioral procedure. The additional exploration of gender differences was motivated by the discrepancy between our findings and the existing literature. In two experiments, participants estimated the lines constituting the horizontal-vertical illusion, either in perception or imagery task. Results confirmed that there was no significant difference between perception and imagery: the illusion was equally strong in both tasks. In the second experiment, an additional factor was tested, stimulus size. The results showed that, although there was no significant difference in illusion strength, there was a gender difference in the size of mental image for medium and large stimuli. While male subjects performed equally in the two tasks, female subjects tended to underestimate size in the imagery task. This tendency intensified as the stimulus size increased. Our results not only inform us about the status of illusions in imagery but also offer some answers about the spatial nature of mental representations. We hope that such precise measurements of mental representation might provide better understanding of reasoning that uses mental images.

The roles of image decomposition and edge curvature in the 'snake' lightness illusion

The snake illusion is an effect in which the lightness of target patches is strongly affected by the luminance of remote patches. One explanation is that such images are decomposed into a pattern of illumination and a pattern of reflectance, involving a classification of luminance edges into illumination and reflectance edges. Based on this decomposition, perceived reflectance is determined by discounting the illumination. A problem for this account is that image decomposition is not unique, and that different decompositions may lead to different lightness predictions. One way to rule out alternative decompositions and ensure correct predictions is to postulate that the visual system tends to classify curved luminance edges as reflectance edges rather than illumination edges. We have constructed several variations of the basic snake display in order to test the proposed curvature constraint and the more general image decomposition hypothesis. Although the results from some displays have confirmed previous findings of the effect of curvature, the general pattern of data questions the relevance of the shape of luminance edges for the determination of lightness in this class of displays. The data also argue against an image decomposition mechanism as an explanation of this effect. As an alternative, a tentative neurally based account is sketched.

Nano breathers and molecular dynamics simulations in hydrogen-bonded chains

Non-linear localization phenomena in biological lattices have attracted a steadily growing interest and their existence has been predicted in a wide range of physical settings. We investigate the non-linear proton dynamics of a hydrogen-bonded chain in a semi-classical limit using the coherent state method combined with a Holstein-Primakoff bosonic representation. We demonstrate that even a weak inherent discreteness in the hydrogen-bonded (HB) chain may drastically modify the dynamics of the non-linear system, leading to instabilities that have no analog in the continuum limit. We suggest a possible localization mechanism of polarization oscillations of protons in a hydrogen-bonded chain through modulational instability analysis. This mechanism arises due to the neighboring proton-proton interaction and coherent tunneling of protons along hydrogen bonds and/or around heavy atoms. We present a detailed analysis of modulational instability, and highlight the role of the interaction strength of neighboring protons in the process of bioenergy localization. We perform molecular dynamics simulations and demonstrate the existence of nanoscale discrete breather (DB) modes in the hydrogen-bonded chain. These highly localized and long-lived non-linear breather modes may play a functional role in targeted energy transfer in biological systems.

Minimal invasive treatment of cervical rhabdomyosarcoma in an adolescent girl

Rhabdomyosarcomas are the most common soft tissue sarcomas in childhood and adolescence. In cases of minimal cervical invasion, less invasive local excision in combination with adjuvant chemotherapy has resulted in excellent survival rates with complete preservation of the bladder, rectum, uterus and vagina. Herein we present the case of an adolescent girl with a large rhabdomyosarcoma of the uterine cervix treated with minimal invasive therapy.

Nonlinear dynamics of a DNA chain affected by endogenous AC fields

In this paper we investigate the nonlinear dynamics of a DNA chain in the presence of endogenous AC fields (EACF) generated by the living cell itself. The dynamics of the DNA chain is described in the framework of the nonlinear breather mode. The transition of breather localized modes into open states, affected by AC fields is calculated by using Kubo's formalism for the linear response of the system.

DNA dynamics and endogeneous fields

In this paper we investigate the influence of endogeneous AC fields, generated by a living cell itself, on DNA dynamics. Both quantum nonlinear vibron-phonon interaction model and a model of a highly localized excitation are used. The transition of a broad solitonic excitation into a highly localized one affected by AC fields is calculated using Kubo's formalism for linear response of the system.

Epidemiological characteristics of gastric cancer in Vojvodina

Epidemiological characteristics of gastric cancer in the province of Vojvodina were analyzed on the basis of official data of the Cancer Registry of Vojvodina and the records of the Bureau of Census of Vojvodina for the years 1982-1991. In the year 1991, the cases of gastric cancer accounted for 7.8% of all malignant neoplasms in males, ranking thus third, whereas in females, with 5%, it was in seventh place. At the same time, in the structure of deaths from malignant neoplasms, gastric cancer was on the second place both in males (9.1%) and females (7.8%). The male/female gastric cancer mortality ratio was 1.7:1. Incidence and mortality rates showed the tendency of a slow but steady decrease in both sexes during the observation period. The age-standardized incidence rate (world population) was 25.9 per 100,000 for men and 9.4 for women in average. In comparison with the corresponding data of the registries of Europe and of the world, Vojvodina falls in the range of moderately high rates. The age-specific incidence and mortality rates show a strong increase after the age of 55, reaching the highest values in the ages 75-79. Thus it can be said that gastric cancer is a disease of the elderly. Total five-year survival is low, which is a common observation for this kind of neoplasm.