bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Dementia, Mild Cognitive Impairment and Quantitative EEG in Patients with Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Fonseca L.C. , Tedrus G.M.A.S. , Letro G.H. , Bossoni A.S.
Published: February 2012

The objective of this study was to evaluate relationships between quantitative EEG (qEEG) changes and cognitive disturbance (mild cognitive impairment or dementia) and the motor disturbance stage in Parkinson's disease (PD).

Thirty-two PD patients (age=67.2±10.0) and 26 normal subjects (age=68.4±4.7) were assessed using a neurological evaluation, modified Hoehn and Yahr (HY) scale for PD, a Portuguese version of the CERAD neuropsychological battery (consortium to establish a registry for Alzheimer's disease) incorporating the Mini-mental Status Examination, Clinical Dementia Rating and an EEG analysis of absolute and relative band amplitude at rest. Four groups were compared: three with PD (7 patients with dementia, 10 with mild cognitive impairment and 15 with no cognitive disturbances) and the control group.

The qEEG showed no significant differences between the control group and PD patients without cognitive disturbance. Abnormalities on the qEEG were essentially associated with the occurrence of mild cognitive impairment or dementia in patients with PD. There was an increase in the absolute and relative posterior theta amplitude in the groups with mild cognitive impairment or dementia and of the posterior absolute and relative delta amplitude in the group with dementia

This study suggested qEEG as a possible physiological tool in the assessment of cognitive aspects in PD.
Efficacy of Neurofeedback Treatment in ADHD: The Effects on Inattention, Impulsivity and Hyperactivity: A Meta-Analysis
Authors: Arns Martijn , de Ridder Sabine , Strehl Ute , Breteler Marinus , Coenen Anton
Published: February 2012

Since the first reports of neurofeedback treatment in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in 1976, many studies have investigated the effects of neurofeedback on different symptoms of ADHD such as inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. This technique is also used by many practitioners, but the question as to the evidence-based level of this treatment is still unclear. In this study selected research on neurofeedback treatment for ADHD was collected and a meta-analysis was performed.

Both prospective controlled studies and studies employing a pre-and post-design found large effect sizes (ES) for neurofeedback on impulsivity and inattention and a medium ES for hyperactivity. Randomized studies demonstrated a lower ES for hyperactivity suggesting that hyperactivity is probably most sensitive to nonspecific treatment factors.

Due to the inclusion of some very recent and sound methodological studies in this meta-analysis, potential confounding factors such as small studies, lack of randomization in previous studies and a lack of adequate control groups have been addressed, and the clinical effects of neurofeedback in the treatment of ADHD can be regarded as clinically meaningful. Three randomized studies have employed a semi-active control group which can be regarded as a credible sham control providing an equal level of cognitive training and client-therapist interaction. Therefore, in line with the AAPB and ISNR guidelines for rating clinical efficacy, we conclude that neurofeedback treatment for ADHD can be considered “Efficacious and Specific” (Level 5) with a large ES for inattention and impulsivity and a medium ES for hyperactivity.
Event-Related Potentials Elicited by the Explicit and Implicit Processing of Familiarity in Faces
Authors: Saavedra C. , Iglesias J. , Olivares E. I.
Published: February 2012

Brain activity underlying explicit and implicit processing of face familiarity was assessed by Event-Related Potentials (ERPs) elicited by famous and unknown faces with happy or neutral expressions. A set of faces was presented in a familiarity judgment (explicit) task and another in an expression judgment (implicit familiarity) task. After recording, these tasks were repeated exchanging the stimuli, and post-recording behavioral data from the familiarity task were used for re-averaging EEG segments from the expression task. Both explicit and implicit processing of famous faces resulted in an enhanced N250. Explicit processing of famous faces was specifically associated with earlier N400 and P600, with increased activity within brain areas involved in identity processing around 250 and 450 ms. These findings suggest different brain dynamics for explicit and implicit face processing, and that implicit processing of the identity in the context of an expression task is mainly associated with the transient activation of face representations in memory.
Perisaccadic Gamma Modulation in Parkinson Disease Patients and Healthy Subjects
Authors: Javaid M.A. , Weeden J. , Flom P. , Avitable M. , Glazman S. , Bodis-Wollner I.
Published: February 2012

We quantified the anterior-posterior distribution of the gamma modulation index (GMI), an index of perisaccadic phasic modulation of the gamma (35–45 Hz) range electroencephalogram (EEG), in healthy human subjects and Parkinson disease (PD) patients.

The EEG was recorded over the frontal, parietal, temporal and occipital sites in 11 idiopathic PD patients (age 50–70 years, four females), 4 age matched healthy volunteers (1 female) and 17 young healthy controls (age 21–30 years, four females) Eye movements were recorded with EOG and ISCAN camera. Subjects executed saccades to a mark at right and back to fixation point and vice versa. The saccades directed away from center/fixation (centrifugal CF) were analyzed. Two minutes of EEG were obtained from each subject for the two possible saccade types (centrifugal rightwards and leftwards at 15 degrees). Each perisaccadic EEG segment was analyzed using continuous wavelet transform for quantifying the power and time course of gamma EEG ranges for each saccade type. A three way ANOVA was used for statistical analysis.

Perisaccadic GMI (peak intrasaccadic power divided by mean power) in healthy subjects was higher over the contralateral hemisphere to the saccade direction, for both centrifugal saccades at anterior, posterior and occipital recording sites. Contrary to the healthy subject GMI remained near one in PD, i.e., there was no evidence of intrasaccadic gamma power increase in PD patients.
Amygdalar Hyperactivity, a Fear-Related Link between Panic Disorder and Mesiotemporal Epilepsy
Authors: Gerez M. , Sada A. , Tello A.
Published: February 2012

The sudden onset, short duration and stereotyped features of panic attacks, and the fear aura of seizures starting at the mesial aspects of the temporal lobe, suggest common mechanisms underlying panic disorder (PD) and mesiotemporal epilepsy (MTLE). However, current consensus emphasizes the importance of differentiating the two entities based on 1) intact consciousness in panic attacks, 2) poor response to antiepileptics, and 3) unsuccessful electrophysiological attempts to demonstrate a relationship. We report two cases with a diagnosis of PD that had been partially responsive to first line treatments. During the EEG session, both patients developed panic symptoms with minimal EEG changes in response to paper bag-hyperventilation (PB-HV), and several minutes later presented a clear ictal EEG pattern associated with very different clinical symptoms, but both with strong fear content. Z-scored LORETA analysis showed increased current source densities (CSD) at the right amygdala in both subjects during the induced panic symptoms. Several areas were involved during the seizure, different in each subject. Yet, a very significant increase at the amygdala was found in both cases. The LORETA Z-scored source correlation (LSC) analysis also showed similar abnormal patterns during the panic symptoms in both patients, and marked differences during the seizure. These findings show a major role of amygdalar hyperactivity in both fear-related conditions for the two patients, and are discussed in relation to existing models of PD in general. Abnormal overactivation at mesiotemporal regions is poorly represented at the surface recordings but can be detected by the appropriate analytical techniques.
QEEG-Guided Neurofeedback for Recurrent Migraine Headaches
Authors: Walker Jonathan E.
Published: February 2012

Seventy-one patients with recurrent migraine headaches, aged 17–62, from one neurological practice, completed a quantitative electroencephalogram (QEEG) procedure. All QEEG results indicated an excess of high-frequency beta activity (21–30 Hz) in 1–4 cortical areas. Forty-six of the 71 patients selected neurofeedback training while the remaining 25 chose to continue on drug therapy. Neurofeedback protocols consisted of reducing 21–30 Hz activity and increasing 10 Hz activity (5 sessions for each affected site). All the patients were classified as migraine without aura.

For the neurofeedback group the majority (54%) experienced complete cessation of their migraines, and many others (39%) experienced a reduction in migraine frequency of greater than 50%. Four percent experienced a decrease in headache frequency of <50%. Only one patient did not experience a reduction in headache frequency.

The control group of subjects who chose to continue drug therapy as opposed to neurofeedback experienced no change in headache frequency (68%), a reduction of less than 50% (20%), or a reduction greater than 50% (8%).

QEEG-guided neurofeedback appears to be dramatically effective in abolishing or significantly reducing headache frequency in patients with recurrent migraine.
Correlation between Cognitive Functions and Nitric Oxide Levels in Patients with Dementia
Authors: Sachdeva Richa , Babbar Rashmi , Puri Vinod , Agarwal Sarita , Krishana Bal
Published: February 2012

Dementia is defined as a clinical syndrome characterized by acquired loss of cognitive and emotional abilities, severe enough to interfere with daily functioning and quality of life. Event related potentials (ERP) are sensitive to task variables that relate to cognitive behavior. They might be altered in patients with disorders of cognition such as dementia. Application of the P300 ERP component to the study of cognitive disorders provides a means of quantifying the level of mental impairment. At high levels, nitric oxide (NO), which is produced by microglia due to induction of nitric oxide synthase (NOS), is neurotoxic and may play a role in neurodegeneration. In our study an attempt has been made to record ERP in patients of mild and moderate dementia and to correlate their findings with nitric oxide levels in CSF and serum.

Twenty patients with dementia were selected as cases and 20 subjects as controls, which were further subdivided according to the age groups. Both dementia cases and controls were assessed by minimental state examination (MMSE) and clinical dementia rating scale (CDRS) for evaluating the degree of dementia. It was observed that the MMSE score was reduced in demented cases. P300 latency was significantly delayed in mild and moderate cases of dementia. However, no change was seen in NO levels of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and serum in dementia cases and controls. A negative correlation was found between MMSE and P300 latency. Hence we conclude that cognitive impairment in demented patients is reflected in P300 latency but not in NO levels in CSF and serum.
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and the Efficacy of qEEG-Guided Neurofeedback Treatment: A Case Series
Authors: Sürmeli Tanju , Ertem Ayben
Published: February 2012

While neurofeedback (NF) has been extensively studied in the treatment of many disorders, there have been only three published reports, by D.C. Hammond, on its clinical effects in the treatment of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). In this paper the efficacy of qEEG-guided NF for subjects with OCD was studied as a case series. The goal was to examine the clinical course of the OCD symptoms and assess the efficacy of qEEG guided NF training on clinical outcome measures.

Thirty-six drug resistant subjects with OCD were assigned to 9–84 sessions of QEEG-guided NF treatment. Daily sessions lasted 60 minutes where 2 sessions with half-hour applications with a 30 minute rest given between sessions were conducted per day.

Thirty-three out of 36 subjects who received NF training showed clinical improvement according to the Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS). The Minnesota multiphasic inventory (MMPI) was administered before and after treatment to 17 of the subjects. The MMPI results showed significant improvements not only in OCD measures, but all of the MMPI scores showed a general decrease. Finally, according to the physicians' evaluation of the subjects using the clinical global impression scale (CGI), 33 of the 36 subjects were rated as improved.

Thirty-six of the subjects were followed for an average of 26 months after completing the study. According to follow-up interviews conducted with them and/or their family members 19 of the subjects maintained the improvements in their OCD symptoms. This study provides good evidence for the efficacy of NF treatment in OCD. The results of this study encourage further controlled research in this area.
Tilt Table Testing with Video EEG Monitoring in the Evaluation of Patients with Unexplained Loss of Consciousness
Authors: LaRoche Suzette , Taylor Denise , Walter Paul
Published: February 2012

It is well established that convulsive movements often accompany syncopal events yet many patients with these clinical features are misdiagnosed with seizures and often referred to epilepsy centers because they are refractory to treatment with anticonvulsant medications. Tilt table testing is the gold standard for diagnosing vasodepressor syncope, but it can fail to provide clinical details that help distinguish convulsive syncope from epileptic seizures and psychogenic events. This study evaluates the diagnostic utility of the addition of video and EEG monitoring during tilt table testing for patients with refractory episodes of unexplained loss of consciousness. Retrospective analysis was performed of 40 consecutive patients who were referred to the Emory Epilepsy Center and underwent tilt table testing with concomitant video-EEG between March 1, 2007 and December 1, 2008. EEG was recorded throughout the study in addition to video recording and single channel EKG. Events were classified as vasodepressor syncope, pre-syncope, or psychogenic. Tilt combined with video EEG was diagnostic in 26/40 (65%) of patients. Vasodepressor syncope was seen in 17/40 (42.5%), 9 of which had associated involuntary movements. Three patients experienced psychogenic non-epileptic events. Antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) were being prescribed for 17 patients, 7 of which were discontinued as a result of the testing. The majority of patients (38/40) had undergone prior neurological and cardiac evaluation with routine EEG, neuroimaging and/or Holter monitoring. Patients with convulsive syncope are often misdiagnosed and treated with AEDs despite prior neurodiagnostic and cardiac evaluation. Tilt table testing with video-EEG is useful in patients with refractory episodes of unexplained loss of consciousness and can avoid expensive non-diagnostic evaluations as well as ongoing treatment with unnecessary AEDs.
A Multi-Purpose Brain-Computer Interface Output Device
Authors: Thompson David E. , Huggins Jane E.
Published: February 2012

While brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are a promising alternative access pathway for individuals with severe motor impairments, many BCI systems are designed as stand-alone communication and control systems, rather than as interfaces to existing systems built for these purposes. An individual communication and control system may be powerful or flexible, but no single system can compete with the variety of options available in the commercial assistive technology (AT) market. BCIs could instead be used as an interface to these existing AT devices and products, which are designed for improving access and agency of people with disabilities and are highly configurable to individual user needs. However, interfacing with each AT device and program requires significant time and effort on the part of researchers and clinicians. This work presents the Multi-Purpose BCI Output Device (MBOD), a tool to help researchers and clinicians provide BCI control of many forms of AT in a plug-and-play fashion, i.e., without the installation of drivers or software on the AT device, and a proof-of-concept of the practicality of such an approach. The MBOD was designed to meet the goals of target device compatibility, BCI input device compatibility, convenience, and intuitive command structure. The MBOD was successfully used to interface a BCI with multiple AT devices (including two wheelchair seating systems), as well as computers running Windows (XP and 7), Mac and Ubuntu Linux operating systems.
A Brain-Computer Interface as Input Channel for a Standard Assistive Technology Software
Authors: Zickler Claudia , Riccio Angela , Leotta Francesco , Hillian-Tress Sandra , Halder Sebastian , Holz Elisa , Staiger-Sälzer Pit , Hoogerwerf Evert-Jan , Desideri Lorenzo , Mattia Donatella , Kübler Andrea
Published: February 2012

Recently brain-computer interface (BCI) control was integrated into the commercial assistive technology product QualiWORLD (QualiLife Inc., Paradiso-Lugano, CH). Usability of the first prototype was evaluated in terms of effectiveness (accuracy), efficiency (information transfer rate and subjective workload/NASA Task Load Index) and user satisfaction (Quebec User Evaluation of Satisfaction with assistive Technology, QUEST 2.0) by four end-users with severe disabilities. Three assistive technology experts evaluated the device from a third person perspective. The results revealed high performance levels in communication and internet tasks. Users and assistive technology experts were quite satisfied with the device. However, none could imagine using the device in daily life without improvements. Main obstacles were the EEG-cap and low speed.
A Large Clinical Study on the Ability of Stroke Patients to Use an EEG-Based Motor Imagery Brain-Computer Interface
Authors: Ang Kai Keng , Guan Cuntai , Chua Karen Sui Geok , Ang Beng Ti , Kuah Christopher Wee Keong , Wang Chuanchu , Phua Kok Soon , Chin Zheng Yang , Zhang Haihong
Published: February 2012

Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology has the prospects of helping stroke survivors by enabling the interaction with their environment through brain signals rather than through muscles, and restoring motor function by inducing activity-dependent brain plasticity. This paper presents a clinical study on the extent of detectable brain signals from a large population of stroke patients in using EEG-based motor imagery BCI.

EEG data were collected from 54 stroke patients whereby finger tapping and motor imagery of the stroke-affected hand were performed by 8 and 46 patients, respectively. EEG data from 11 patients who gave further consent to perform motor imagery were also collected for second calibration and third independent test sessions conducted on separate days. Off-line accuracies of classifying the two classes of EEG from finger tapping or motor imagery of the stroke-affected hand versus the EEG from background rest were then assessed and compared to 16 healthy subjects.

The mean off-line accuracy of detecting motor imagery by the 46 patients ( μ=0.74) was significantly lower than finger tapping by 8 patients ( μ=0.87, p=0.008), but not significantly lower than motor imagery by healthy subjects ( μ=0.78, p=0.23). Six stroke patients performed motor imagery at chance level, and no correlation was found between the accuracies of detecting motor imagery and their motor impairment in terms of Fugl-Meyer Assessment ( p=0.29). The off-line accuracies of the 11 patients in the second session ( μ=0.76) were not significantly different from the first session ( μ=0.72, p=0.16), or from the on-line accuracies of the third independent test session ( μ=0.82, p=0.14). Hence this study showed that the majority of stroke patients could use EEG-based motor imagery BCI.
A Novel Concealed Information Test Method Based on Independent Component Analysis and Support Vector Machine
Authors: Gao Junfeng , Lu Liang , Yang Yong , Yu Gang , Na Liantao , Rao NiNi
Published: February 2012

The concealed information test (CIT) has drawn much attention and has been widely investigated in recent years. In this study, a novel CIT method based on denoised P3 and machine learning was proposed to improve the accuracy of lie detection. Thirty participants were chosen as the guilty and innocent participants to perform the paradigms of 3 types of stimuli. The electroencephalogram (EEG) signals were recorded and separated into many single trials. In order to enhance the signal noise ratio (SNR) of P3 components, the independent component analysis (ICA) method was adopted to separate non-P3 components (ie, artifacts) from every single trial. In order to automatically identify the P3 independent components (ICs), a new method based on topography template was proposed to automatically identify the P3 ICs. Then the P3 waveforms with high SNR were reconstructed on Pz electrodes. Second, the 3 groups of features based on time,frequency, and wavelets were extracted from the reconstructed P3 waveforms. Finally, 2 classes of feature samples were used to train a support vector machine (SVM) classifier because it has higher performance compared with several other classifiers. Meanwhile, the optimal number of P3 ICs and some other parameter values in the classifiers were determined by the cross-validation procedures. The presented method achieved a balance test accuracy of 84.29% on detecting P3 components for the guilty and innocent participants. The presented method improves the efficiency of CIT in comparison with previous reported methods.
The Electroencephalogram in Neonatal Maple Syrup Urine Disease
Authors: Agadi Satish , Sutton Vernon R. , Quach Michael M. , Riviello James J.
Published: February 2012

Untreated maple syrup urine disease (MSUD) leads to encephalopathy in neonates and causes abnormalities on the electroencephalogram (EEG). A case is presented of MSUD with unique features consisting of a comb-like rhythm before the therapy and its disappearance with therapy is presented. This case illustrates the potential use of the EEG in the identification of this specific cause of a neonatal encephalopathy.
Effect of the consumption of a new symbiotic shake on glycemia and cholesterol levels in elderly people with type 2 diabetes mellitus
Authors: Moroti Camila , Souza Magri Loyanne Francine , de Rezende Costa Marcela , Cavallini Daniela CU , Sivieri Katia
Published: February 2012

Background

The consumption of foods containing probiotic and prebiotic ingredients is growing consistently every year, and in view of the limited number of studies investigating their effect in the elderly.

Objective

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the consumption of a symbiotic shake containing Lactobacillus acidophilus, Bifidobacterium bifidum and fructooligosaccharides on glycemia and cholesterol levels in elderly people.

Methods

A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted on twenty volunteers (ten for placebo group and ten for symbiotic group), aged 50 to 60 years. The criteria for inclusion in the study were: total cholesterol > 200 mg/dL; triglycerides > 200 mg/dL and glycemia > 110 mg/dL. Over a total test period of 30 days, 10 individuals (the symbiotic group) consumed a daily dose of 200 mL of a symbiotic shake containing 108 UFC/mL Lactobacillus acidophilus, 108 UFC/mL Bifidobacterium bifidum and 2 g oligofructose, while 10 other volunteers (the placebo group) drank daily the same amount of a shake that did not contain any symbiotic bacteria. Blood samples were collected 15 days prior to the start of the experiment and at 10-day intervals after the beginning of the shake intake. The standard lipid profile (total cholesterol, triglycerides and HDL cholesterol) and glycemia, or blood sugar levels, were evaluated by an enzyme colorimetric assay.

Results

The results of the symbiotic group showed a non-significant reduction (P > 0.05) in total cholesterol and triglycerides, a significant increase (P < 0.05) in HDL cholesterol and a significant reduction (P < 0.05) in fasting glycemia. No significant changes were observed in the placebo group.

Conclusion

The consumption of symbiotic shake resulted in a significant increase in HDL and a significant decrease of glycemia.

Trial Registration

ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00123456
Reversal of SSRI-Associated Apathy Syndrome by Discontinuation of Therapy
Authors: Padala Prasad R , Padala Kalpana P , Monga Varun , Ramirez Daniel A , Sullivan Dennis H
Published: February 2012

Objective:

To report 6 cases of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI)– associated apathy syndrome.

Case Summaries:

In all 6 cases, the patient reported loss of motivation while being treated with an SSRI. Loss of motivation was of new onset and temporally associated with the use of the SSRI. A trial of discontinuation of the SSRI was performed in all 6 patients and 2 I were started on bupropion while cross-tapering from the SSRI. During the treatment trials, depression and apathy were monitored in all patients. Each case was assessed using the Apathy Evaluation Scale, Clinician version (AES-C), and by evaluating how the patient responded to discontinuation of the SSRI.

Discussion:

Scores on the AES-C improved significantly in all 6 cases after the SSRI was discontinued. Improvement was also seen in the motivation, novelty, and persistence subdomain scores of the AES-C. A pretreatment AES-C score was available only in the first case. Based on the Naranjo probability scale, there was a probable cause of apathy syndrome with SSRI therapy in the first case and a possible association in the rest of the cases.

Conclusions:

In some patients SSRIs may cause an apathy syndrome that can be reversed through discontinuation of the agent. When evaluating patients being treated with an SSRI, clinicians should have a high degree of suspicion and specifically inquire for this iatrogenic form of apathy syndrome.
Test Item Linguistic Complexity and Assessments for Deaf Students
Authors: Cawthon Stephanie
Published: February 2012

Linguistic complexity of test items is one test format element that has been studied in the context of struggling readers and their participation in paper-and-pencil tests. The present article presents findings from an exploratory study on the potential relationship between linguistic complexity and test performance for deaf readers. A total of 64 students completed 52 multiple-choice items, 32 in mathematics and 20 in reading. These items were coded for linguistic complexity components of vocabulary, syntax, and discourse. Mathematics items had higher linguistic complexity ratings than reading items, but there were no significant relationships between item linguistic complexity scores and student performance on the test items. The discussion addresses issues related to the subject area, student proficiency levels in the test content, factors to look for in determining a "linguistic complexity effect," and areas for further research in test item development and deaf students.
Verbatim, Standard, or Edited?: Reading Patterns of Different Captioning Styles Among Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing Viewers
Authors: Szarkowska Agnieszka , Krejtz Izabela , Klyszejko Zuzanna , Wieczorek Anna
Published: February 2012

One of the most frequently recurring themes in captioning is whether captions should be edited or verbatim. The authors report on the results of an eye-tracking study of captioning for deaf and hard of hearing viewers reading different types of captions. By examining eye movement patterns when these viewers were watching clips with verbatim, standard, and edited captions, the authors tested whether the three different caption styles were read differently by the study participants ( N = 40): 9 deaf, 21 hard of hearing, and 10 hearing individuals. Interesting interaction effects for the proportion of dwell time and fixation count were observed. In terms of group differences, deaf participants differed from the other two groups only in the case of verbatim captions. The results are discussed with reference to classical reading studies, audiovisual translation, and a new concept of viewing speed.
In Nina Coltart's Garden: Gathering and Intertwining Some Thoughts of an Independent Psychoanalyst
Authors: Boffito Sara
Published: February 2012

Taking off from Nina Coltart's declaration that "in an ideal world, all psychotherapists would have a garden," this paper explores some of the main concepts in Coltart's work, such as vocation, giftedness, faith, love, and attention. All these concepts center on the idea that psychoanalysis is a mysterious process. The author delineates the connections between Coltart's thought and that of Wilfred Bion, as well as its resonance with a number of other authors, to show how her contributions remain fresh and challenging for contemporary psychoanalysis.
A converse theorem for double Dirichlet series
Authors: Diamantis Nikolaos , Goldfeld Dorian
Published: February 2012

We prove that a certain vector valued double Dirichlet series satisfying appropriate functional equations is a Mellin transform of a vector valued metaplectic Eisenstein series. We establish an analogous result for scalar double Dirichlet series of the type studied by Siegel.
The class of a torus in the Grothendieck ring of varieties
Authors: Rökaeus Karl
Published: February 2012

We establish a formula for the classes of certain tori in the Grothendieck ring of varieties, expressing them in terms of the natural lambda-structure on the Grothendieck ring. More explicitly, we will see that if $L^*$ is the torus of invertible elements in the $n$-dimensional separable k-algebra $L$, then the class of $L^*$ can be expressed as an alternating sum of the images of the spectrum of $L$ under the lambda-operations, multiplied by powers of the Lefschetz class. This formula is suggested from the cohomology of the torus, illustrating a heuristic method that can be used in other situations. To prove the formula will require some rather explicit calculations in the Grothendieck ring. To be able to perform these we introduce a homomorphism from the Burnside ring of the absolute Galois group of k, to the Grothendieck ring of varieties over~k. In the process we obtain some information about the structure of the subring generated by zero-dimensional varieties.
The cone of lower semicontinuous traces on a C*-algebra
Authors: Elliott George A. , Robert Leonel , Santiago Luis
Published: February 2012

The cone of lower semicontinuous traces is studied with a view to its use as an invariant. Its properties include compactness, Hausdorffness, and continuity with respect to inductive limits. A suitable notion of dual cone is given. The cone of lower semicontinuous 2-quasitraces on a (non-exact) C*-algebra is considered as well. These results are applied to the study of the Cuntz semigroup. It is shown that if a C*-algebra absorbs the Jiang-Su algebra, then the subsemigroup of its Cuntz semigroup consisting of the purely non-compact elements is isomorphic to the dual cone of the cone of lower semicontinuous 2-quasitraces. This yields a computation of the Cuntz semigroup for the following two classes of C*-algebras: C*-algebras that absorb the Jiang-Su algebra and have no non-zero simple subquotients, and simple C*-algebras that absorb the Jiang-Su algebra.
Injectivity radius and gonality of a compact Riemann surface
Authors: Hwang Jun-Muk , To Wing-Keung
Published: February 2012

We obtain a sharp lower bound for the volumes of purely $1$-dimensional complex analytic
subvarieties in a geodesic tubular neighborhood of the diagonal of the Cartesian product
of a compact Riemann surface with itself. This leads to a lower bound of the Seshadri number
of the canonical line bundle of the Cartesian product with respect to the diagonal. As a
consequence, we obtain an upper bound for the hyperbolic injectivity radii of compact
Riemann surfaces of a fixed gonality. In particular, we obtain the limiting behavior of the
gonalities of a tower of compact Riemann surfaces. We also give an application of our results
to an invariant related to the ample cone of the symmetric product of a Riemann surface.
Lucian's Lychnopolis and the Problems of Slave Surveillance
Authors: Sabnis Sonia
Published: February 2012

A short episode in Lucian's True Histories describes Lychnopolis, the City of Lamps, where animated household lamps congregate in an orderly society. This article argues that these lamps symbolize household slaves, and that their society innovates on a long tradition of animated and personified lamps in Greek literature to expose and confirm the hazards and uncertainties regarding the presence, knowledge, and rational thinking of slaves. The astonishing order of the city invalidates a commonplace of slaveholder ideology, that slaves lacked the rational capability to govern their own lives.
The Eagle's Gaze in the Opening of Heliodorus' Aethiopica
Authors: Telò Mario
Published: February 2012

This article argues that in the opening of the Aethiopica Heliodorus' refashioning of the epic tradition is assimilated to Odysseus' predatory survey of the suitors' corpses in Book 22 of the Odyssey . The initial scene of the novel reenacts an Odyssean simile that compares the suitors' bodies to dead fish on a beach. Heliodorus' intricate reconfiguration of this Homeric tableau results in his self-reflexive theorizing of ecphrastic visuality and of the intertextual poetics of predation. The scanning of the remains of the (half-) dead men figures the belated novelist's reckoning of the textual resources available to him. By capitalizing on the ecphrastic power of the Odyssean simile, Heliodorus styles his devouring gaze upon Homeric epic as a paradoxical endeavor to bring a dead image to life.
Homer and the Art of Overtaking
Authors: Purves Alex C.
Published: February 2012

This article draws attention to the thematics of running in Homer, seeking to make sense of the difference between catching up and overtaking as it applies to the two epics. It begins by exploring how the Iliad foregrounds the problems and strategies involved in catching up with one's opponent and getting ahead. It then goes on to show how, by contrast, the Odyssey presents a world where the act of overtaking and the alternation between the categories of first and last are of central concern to Odysseus on his way home in Books 8 and 9.
Gamelan Performance Outside Indonesia “Setting Sail”: Babar Layar and Notions of “Bi-musicality”
Authors: Mendonça Maria
Published: February 2012

Contemporary gamelan performance outside Indonesia—and more broadly speaking, the discipline of ethnomusicology—owes a largely unacknowledged debt to a group of Dutch teenagers, who formed the first long-term European gamelan group, Babar Layar, in the prohibitive circumstances of Nazi occupation. In this essay I discuss the establishment and subsequent activities of Babar Layar, also examining the group’s historical significance, particularly the impact it had—however unintentionally—on the incorporation of performance into the discipline of ethnomusicology.
The Documentation of Place Names in an Endangered Language Environment: A Case Study of the !Xoon in Southern Omaheke, Namibia
Authors: Boden Gertrud
Published: February 2012

The West !Xoon variety of the Taa language complex is spoken by a small community of former hunter-gatherers in southeastern Namibia whose presence is virtually invisible on official topographical maps. This article presents the results of the documentation of !Xoon place names and describes their semantic sources and grammatical constructions. It further discusses how the high number of alternative names for the same place might be related to the Taa cognitive model of the southern Kalahari landscape, language endangerment and loss, general flexibility in !Xoon naming practices, and the complex historical layers of language contact.
The Strange Love of the Fish and the Goat: Regional Contexts and Rough Cilician Religion in Oppian's Halieutica 4.308-73
Authors: Lytle Ephraim
Published: February 2012

This paper examines one of the better-known episodes in Oppian's Halieutica , an unusual account that describes first the strange desire of a fish, the σαργός, for the goat, and then the bizarre way in which that desire is manipulated by humans to capture the fish (4.308-73). Although it has been dismissed by most previous scholars as the product of ignorance, misunderstood source material or poetic imagination, I argue that this account can be elucidated by evidence for social, economic and religious contexts in the poet's native Rough Cilicia.
Back Door Man: Howlin’ Wolf and the Sound of Jim Crow
Authors: Lott Eric
Published: February 2012

In June 1960, after nine years of recording and over two decades of touring and performing, Howlin’ Wolf and some trusty sidemen entered Chess Studios in Chicago to cut three sides: “Wang Dang Doodle,” “Spoonful,” and “Back Door Man.” There was nothing especially historic about the session. In June of 1960, Howlin’ Wolf was fifty years old and an established act. Yet everything about the session’s results, and particularly the song “Back Door Man,” strikes me as elusive, interstitial. Jim Crow racial segregation—at least one of the many meanings of the song’s title—was now both legally discredited and locally practiced, North as well as South. The music produced out of this context was at once urgently urban and country plain, for the most part southern rural in instrumentation and howlingly electric in form—an unstable sonic resolution of the migration of deep South laboring come north. And in retrospect, urban blues at this moment was poised historically between different political, urban, and culture-industry orders. I explore this hesitation between tenses, as Raymond Williams might put it, for which “Back Door Man” provides a site. Minimal, sinister, and edgy, fueled by images of violence, betrayal, and polymorphous sexual bravado, structured throughout by riddles and dialectical reversals, the song is a sort of historical puzzle, fusing Jim Crow sound, Jim Crow sex, and Jim Crow space; it implies as well a theory of how sound and subject formation, and subject formation through sound, arise out of Jim Crow violence.
The Recording Studio on Stage: Liveness in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Authors: Teague Jessica E.
Published: February 2012

This essay brings jazz studies and performance studies into dialogue in order to examine the interplay between recordings and live performance in August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom . Although most scholarship has tended to focus on the racial exploitation of black musicians, less explored is Wilson’s decision to locate a recording session within a play in order to perform the fraught tension in blues and jazz history between live improvised performance and recordings. Situated within the ongoing conversation among jazz scholars about the status of recordings as historical evidence and the aesthetic of “the break,” this essay suggests that the text and action of the play evade the recording as a way to translate the break to theater.
Aristotle and the Tragic Theater in the Fourth Century b.c .: A Response to Jennifer Wise
Authors: Hanink Johanna
Published: February 2012

In a recent article in Arethusa , J. Wise argues that the theory of tragedy put forth by Aristotle in the Poetics was one heavily distorted by his own experience of contemporary tragic performance. In this response, I argue that, although the Poetics does provide evidence of fourth-century dramatic practice, Aristotle was far more aware of the arc of Athenian theater history than Wise’s article presupposes. I also suggest that the problem of the “missing” polis in Aristotle’s Poetics can be largely explained by the fact that by Aristotle’s own time, Athenian tragedy was the city’s most successful cultural export, a circumstance that opened the genre to analysis independent of the festal and political contexts that had given birth to it.
Invisible Slaves, Visible Lamps: A Metaphor in Apuleius
Authors: Sabnis Sonia
Published: February 2012

The lamps in Apuleius’s Metamorphoses are symbols of slaves, providing voiceless yet observant, even omniscient, assistance to their masters. In the realms of magic, eros, and cult initiation, these lamps illustrate various ideals and functions of slaves while elucidating the types of slavery endured in the master narrative. The use of lamps exposes and confirms widespread belief in the special knowledge of slaves as well as the anxiety that this knowledge might compromise their masters’ prestige. Also clear are the ways in which slaves were treated as surrogates for their masters, and the problems resulting from the disruption of this relation.
The Failure of Justice, the Failure of Arthur
Authors: Bedwell Laura K.
Published: February 2012

Though King Arthur has long enjoyed a reputation for justice, Malory’s presentation of his rule in the Morte Darthur questions that reputation. Though Arthur’s Pentecostal Oath provides governing principles for his knights, his lack of enforcement of those principles creates injustice within the kingdom and eventually destroys it.
Earle S. Ernst
Authors: Brandon James R.
Published: February 2012

Earle Ernst was assigned oversight of censoring Japanese plays at the time of the American Occupation, which allowed him to learn about and come to appreciate kabuki. As a result of his experiences he directed kabuki at the University of Hawai‘i and became the founding director of the university’s Asian Theatre Program.
Roger Long
Authors: Foley Kathy
Published: February 2012

Roger Long, through research, teaching at the University of Hawai‘i, and performance, promoted understanding of Southeast Asian theatre, especially the wayang kulit purwa shadow theatre of Central Java.
Fredrik deBoer
Authors: Foley Kathy
Published: February 2012

Fredrik de Boer was a professor of Theatre at Wesleyan University who was a central figure in research on Balinese dance drama and shadow puppetry (wayang parwa). His teaching and articles shed new light on Southeast Asian theatre in its historical specificity and changing cultural framework.
A. C. Scott
Authors: Liu Siyuan
Published: February 2012

A. C. Scott was a pioneer in researching the theatre of both China and Japan and was the founder of the Asian Theatre Program at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where he directed performances that drew on taijiquan training.
Samuel L. Leiter
Authors: Jortner David
Published: February 2012

Samuel L. Leiter is an important scholar whose work in American and European theatre is well known and whose teaching and research in Japanese theatre, especially kabuki, has been a very important contribution to the field. His work spans theatre history, translation of plays and historical and critical material, and important work as an editor of volumes on Japanese and Asian theatre. His teaching at Brooklyn College–CUNY has initiated students who have gone on to become scholars of Japanese theatre.
Leonard Cabell Pronko
Authors: Sorgenfrei Carol Fisher
Published: February 2012

Leonard Pronko has been a force in intercultural theatre since the 1960s through writing, directing, and lecturing. His work at Pomona College with a focus on Japanese kabuki and kabuki techniques in Western performances has impacted students, scholars, and audiences in important ways.
Faubion Bowers
Authors: Leiter Samuel L.
Published: February 2012

Faubion Bowers was one of the first individuals to write extensively on the theatres of Asia. He developed a special expertise in Japanese theatre and was instrumental in the history of kabuki during the American Occupation and its introduction to American audiences.
John Emigh
Authors: Foley Kathy
Published: February 2012

John Emigh has been an important force in the study of Balinese theatre for the last forty years. Through performance of fusion theatre and teaching at Brown University he has helped promote research on and use of masks and has helped develop performance studies as an academic field.
J. Thomas Rimer
Authors: Wetmore Kevin J.
Published: February 2012

J. Thomas Rimer is a prolific scholar of modern Japanese theatre and culture. His teaching, writing, and translations for performance have made Japanese modern drama accessible to American students and theatregoers.
Writing Biodigital Life: Personal Genomes and Digital Media
Authors: O’Riordan Kate
Published: February 2012

A recent proliferation of genome sequences and scans, and direct-to-consumer genomic services, has also led to a boom in life writing in this area. This article examines some of the contradictions in tales from the genome as they are told by an elite group of genomic biographers.
Recent Trends in Using Life Stories for Social and Political Activism
Authors: Lénárt-Cheng Helga , Walker Darija
Published: February 2012

Lifestory-sharing sites have never been as popular as today. These sites interpret the act of “sharing” life stories as a form of communal endeavor, and argue that publicly shared life stories will lead to more inclusive communities and to more effective forms of participatory democracy. The present article studies the rhetoric of this new form of lifestory-based activism, and suggests that we need to be cautious about accepting some of its more idealistic claims.
A Hermeneutics of Recruitment: The Case of Wordsworth
Authors: Kaufman Mark David
Published: February 2012

In his 1998 biography The Hidden Wordsworth: Poet, Lover, Rebel, Spy, Kenneth R. Johnston advances the controversial claim that the Romantic poet may have been working for the Home Office in a clandestine capacity while traveling in Germany as a young man. This article offers a rhetorical analysis of Johnston’s method of positing Wordsworth’s juvenile errors as the means by which he was recruited into service. Johnston’s method is not so much biographical as tropological, an imaginative figuration of the poet-as-spy based upon a series of metaphorical and metonymical substitutions. Ostensibly an act of uncovering Wordsworth’s involvement in late eighteenth-century intrigues, the biographer weaves a narrative of secret motives and actions that effectively recruits Wordsworth as a participant in twentieth-century conflicts.
Being and Belonging: Joey Terrill's Performance of Politics
Authors: Rodríguez Richard T.
Published: February 2012

Since the early 1970s, Los Angeles-based Chicano artist-activist Joey Terrill has been at the forefront of numerous struggles for social justice. This essay
examines the performative politics of Terrill's t-shirt art, 'zines, painting, and
testimonio , while situating his biography within a community of Latino gay
male artists impacted by AIDS.
Sparkling vampires: Valorizing self-harming behavior in Stephenie Meyer's Twilight series
Authors: Kokkola Lydia
Published: February 2012

The author provides an in-depth examination of the popular Twilight series in terms of the depiction of self-harming behaviors, noting interesting parallels with theories about battered women and raising questions about how such issues are handled in novels for young people.
Not all that’s modern is post: Shaun Tan’s grand narrative
Authors: Devos Lien
Published: February 2012

In this article Lien Devos meticulously examines aspects of Tan’s work to argue that his art defies categorization as modernist or postmodernist. Devos’s discussion brings to light the originality of Tan’s art as she examines his grand narrative and use of symbolism as examples of modernist aesthetics, as well as his use of postmodernist devices.