The source texts for Ovid's Heroides often contain precedents for his heroines as message senders at moments in their tradition especially ripe for elegiac refashioning. The first part of this paper suggests that the disputed first word of Heroides 1, a hanc with no apparent referent, signals Penelope's penchant for composing messages, both in Ovid's elegiac letter and in Homer's epic, and functions as a programmatic opening to the collection. The second part more briefly treats letters 4, 5, 6, 7, (...) 9, and 13 to show how their authors' previous mythographical correspondence also provides points of origin for the Heroides. (shrink)

Roman elegy is well known for its reversal of traditional Roman gender roles: women are presented in positions of power, chiefly but not exclusively erotic, that bear little or no relation to women's lived experience in the first centuryb.c.e. Yet the way elegy presents the beloved in a position of power over her lover, as Sharon James has observed, ‘retains standard Roman social and power structures, thus suggesting an inescapable inequity even within a private love affair: rather than sharing goals (...) and desires, lover and beloved are placed in a gendered opposition … Hence resistant reading by thedominais an anticipated and integral part of the genre’. James's remark is indeed correct for each of the instances in which thedomina, or female beloved, speaks directly. When she does so, as James also shows, she speaks at cross-purposes with her lover, following a script that is designed ‘to destabilize him’ in an attempt to keep his interest. Yet what has not been noticed is that when the beloved is instead male, the situation is quite different. Tibullus' Marathus in poem 1.8, our sole example of a male elegiac beloved-turned-speaker, is the exception that proves the fundamental rule of gender inequity. Marathus, that is, when given the opportunity to speak, does in fact share the aims of a male lover, albeit in pursuit of his ownpuella. When the gendered opposition so integral to elegy is erased, the beloved no longer protests against the strictures of the genre; when both are male, lover and beloved alike are entitled to speak as elegiac lovers. (shrink)

This paper assessed whether belief in conspiracy theories was associated with a particularly cognitive style (worldview). The sample comprised 223 volunteers recruited via convenience sampling and included undergraduates, postgraduates, university employees and alumni. Respondents completed measures assessing a range of cognitive-perceptual factors (schizotypy, delusional ideation and hallucination proneness) and conspiratorial beliefs (general attitudes towards conspiracist thinking and endorsement of individual conspiracies). Positive symptoms of schizotypy, particularly the cognitive-perceptual factor, correlated positively with conspiracist beliefs. The best predictor of belief in conspiracies (...) was delusional ideation. Consistent with the notion of a coherent conspiratorial mindset, scores across conspiracy measures correlated strongly. Whilst findings supported the view that belief in conspiracies, within the sub-clinical population, was associated with a delusional thinking style, cognitive-perceptual factors in combination accounted for only 32% of the variance. (shrink)

This study investigated relationships between inter-class variations in paranormal experience and executive functions. A sample of 516 adults completed self-report measures assessing personal encounter-based paranormal occurrences, executive functions together with Emotion Regulation and Belief in the Paranormal. Paranormal belief served as a measure of convergent validity for experience-based phenomena. Latent profile analysis combined experience-based indices into four classes based on sample subpopulation scores. Multivariate analysis of variance then examined interclass differences. Results revealed that breadth of paranormal experience was associated with (...) higher levels of executive functioning difficulties for General Executive Function, Working Memory, Decision Making, and Belief in the Paranormal. On the Everyday Memory Questionnaire, scores differed on Attention Tracking and Factor 3, but not Retrieval. In the case of the Emotion Regulation Scale, class scores varied on Expressive Suppression, however, no difference was evident on Cognitive Reappraisal. Overall, inter-class comparisons identified subtle differences in executive functions related to experience. Since the present study was exploratory, sampled only a limited subset of executive functions, and used subjective, self-report measures, further research is necessary to confirm these outcomes. This should employ objective tests and include a broader range of executive functions. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy and Literature 26.2 (2002) 346-353 [Access article in PDF] Stevens after Davidson on Metaphor Clive Stroud-Drinkwater IN "NOTES TOWARD A SUPREME FICTION" 1 Wallace Stevens suggests that the absolute as we imagine that an angel would experience it constitutes the supreme fiction. We conceive the experience of the angel only in a fantasy, but it is our fantasy, and therefore the experience of the angel and its (...) absolute are things that we comprehend in our imagination. Thus, in imagination we can apprehend that which we may at first suppose only angels can apprehend, since "the lapis-haunted air" of the angel's absolute is a creature of our own imagination and nothing more. When Stevens asks, "Is it he or is it I that experience this?," the question is rhetorical, since the angel's "experience" exists only within the poet's imagination. In "Sunday Morning," likewise, Stevens suggests that the concept of paradise is defined only within the limits of human imagination. It is a construct which people can comprehend only in the terms of their essentially finite "passions," "moods," "grievings," "elations," "remembrance" and "desire;" it is a construct which people create in "a chant of paradise, / Out of their blood, returning to the sky." Abstracting from our ordinary feelings will not leave us with a transcendent conception of paradise; on the contrary, it will deprive us of our sense of value. The image of the inhuman god ("Jove in the clouds" with "his inhuman birth") is sterile, remote from all human concern. For Stevens, "The ultimate value is reality." 2 [End Page 346]It is possible to regard this as a sad and resigned affirmation that we have at most this world and its parochial values, since God is "dead" and we cannot really have paradise at all, 3 but it is also possible to regard it as an affirmation of the genuine value of the ordinary and the human. On this interpretation of Stevens, "Sunday Morning" calls us from the shadows of a self-defeating attempt to transcend our own values to a consideration of the place of ordinary values in our conception of paradise: Shall she not find in comforts of the sun, In pungent fruit and bright, green wings, or else In any balm or beauty of the earth, Things to be cherished like the thought of heaven? The question, which is already rhetorical, is answered flatly in another poem, "The Rock"; the imagination can indeed find paradise in reality: In this plenty, the poem makes meanings of the rock, Of such mixed motion and such imagery That its barrenness becomes a thousand things And so exists no more. This is the cure Of leaves and of the ground and of ourselves. In this "cure" we imagine the world as paradise, or the rock as meaningful, or barrenness as a thousand things. There is, however, an unresolved tension between imagining one thing as another and recognizing that the things are, in fact, different. Max Black regards this tension as the greatest weakness in his "interaction" theory of metaphor. 4 In "Notes" Stevens addresses this problem: Fat girl, terrestrial, my summer, my night, How is it I find you in difference, see you there In a moving contour, a change not quite completed? The problem here is the general problem of metaphor: metaphors seem to constitute an "evasion" 5 since they are usually literally false. 6 For example, the "fat girl" is presumably not literally summer or night, and may not even be fat or a girl, metaphors being what they are. To the "fat girl," the poet says, [End Page 347] You remain the more than natural figure. You Become the soft-footed phantom, the irrational Distortion, however fragrant, however dear. His metaphors disguise the object; the object is represented in them as "more than natural"—in other words, not natural, not the thing as it is. "The very thing and nothing else" ("Credences") that Stevens, the poet of the real world, wishes to see thus becomes "obscure," a thing in "an obscure world / Of things that would... (shrink)

SummarySurely, we think, in some cases it is determinate which rules we follow . But what in the world could determine a rule for us in any case? First 1 consider five common, perfectly natural, but utterly inadequate sorts of answer to this question. Then I consider an account which would avoid the usual inadequacies but would leave rules radically indeterminate, a position which is utterly counter‐intuitive. Thus painted into a corner, I then step out with a prima facie queer, (...) but adequate and ultimately not terribly counter‐intuitive, solution to the puzzle: a sort of picture‐theory of understanding rules . Finally 1 show that the picture‐theory undermines the sorts of anti‐realism which would, if they were valid, undermine the picture‐theory.RésuméNous pensons que, dans certains cas, les règies que nous suivons sont sûrement déterminées. Mais qu'est‐ce au monde qui pourrait déterminer pour nous une règie dans tous les cas? Je considère d'abord cinq réponses communes à cette question, réponses très naturelles, mais absolument inadéquates. Ensuite, j'examine une réponse qui serait plus adéquate, mais laisserait les règies radicalement indéterminées, ce qui est très contraire a l'intuition. Je propose alors une solution qui paraît au premier abord saugrenue, mais qui est adéquate et pas tellement contraire à l'intuition: une sorte de theorie des images pour comprendre les régies . Finalement, je montre que cette théorie des images désarme les types d'antiréalisme qui, s'ils étaient valables, s'opposeraient à cette théorie des images.ZusammenfassungWir denken, dass in einigen Fällen bestimmt ist, wetche Regeln wir befolgen . Was aber in der Welt könnte eine Regel in einem beliebigen Fall bestimmen? Ich betrachte zunächst fünf gewöhnliche durch‐aus natürliche, aber völlig inadäquate Arten von Antworten auf diese Frage. Dann betrachte ich eine Behandlung , die die üblichen Mängel vermeidet, die jedoch Regeln radikal unbestimmt lässt, was unserer Intuition zuwiderläuft. So in die Enge getrieben suche ich einen Ausweg in einer Lösung, die prima facie zwar befremdlich erscheinen mag, die aber adäquat ist und nicht stark gegen die Intuition verstösst: eine Art von Bildtheorie des Verstehens von Regeln . Schliesslich weise ich nach, dass die Bildtheorie die Arten von Antirealismus unterminiert, die die Bildtheorie zerstören würden, wenn sie güitig waren. (shrink)

SummaryWe can find a relation in the world between perceivable objects like rabbits and uses of expressions, so we can define a determinate semantic relation between an expression and such an object. . The relation which we find in the world is such that some philosophers may say that we should not define any semantic relation in terms of it; but the dispute here is really verbal. We can admit that the relation in question is at all significant only because (...) other facts of a sort more familiar to philosophers of language obtain, without giving up the idea that the relation is significant.RésuméOn peut, quoi qu'en dise Quine, découvrir une relation dans le monde entre des objets tels que des lapins et l'usage de certaines expressions, et ainsi définir une relation sémantique entre une expression et un tel objet. La relation que nous découvrons dans le monde est telle que certains philosophes peuvent prétendre qu'elle ne permet pas de définir une quelconque relation semantique, mais la querelle est vraiment verbale. On peut admettre que la relation en question n'est véritablement signifiante que parce que se produisent d'autres faits qui appartiennent à un domaine plus familier aux pbilosophes du langage, sans cependant renoncer à l'idée que la relation est signifiante.ZusammenfassungWir können in der Welt eine Beziehung zwischen wahrnehmbaren Objekten wie Kaninchen und Verwendungen von Ausdrücken finden; wir können deshalb entgegen Quine — eine bestimmte semantische Relation zwischen einem Ausdruck und einem solchen Objekt definieren. Die Relation, die wir in der Welt finden, ist so geartet, dass einige Philosophen behauptet haben, dass wir keine semantische Relation vermittefst von ihr definieren sollten; der Streit ist jedoch in Wirklichkeit verbaler Natur. Wir können annehmen, die fragliche Relation sei überhaupt sinn‐voll, nur weil an deren Tatsachen einer den Sprachphilosophen vertrauteren Art bestehen, ohne die Aussicht, die Relation sei sinnvoll, aufzugeben. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Philosophy and Literature 25.1 (2001) 75-86 [Access article in PDF] Defending Logocentrism Clive Stroud-Drinkwater Postmodernists sometimes seem to think that they can find,support for their antirationalism and anti-objectivism in the work of Wittgenstein, Davidson, and Kuhn. 1 Even opponents of postmodernism occasionally see its central assumptions as allied somehow to the ideas of these three philosophers. 2 Given the revolutionary character and general difficulty of the thought of (...) these three philosophers, it would be hard to prove that all postmodern readings of their works are ungrounded. Davidson 3 does claim that the concept of reference is merely a "theoretical construct" and, at best, an "inscrutable" one within a holistic Tarski-style theory of a language. Wittgenstein 4 does suggest that rules are not like rails that guide us, but rather that they are holistic constructs out of rule-following action. And Kuhn 5 does argue that revolutionary changes in scientific outlook are not determined by rational scientific method.Elsewhere 6 I have expressed doubt about some of these specific views, but in this paper I shall not be directly concerned with either the validity of these ideas themselves, or the possible support such views offer for postmodern attacks on reason and objectivity. My concern will be to show that other, quite central ideas of these thinkers are directly inimical to the postmodern campaign against reason and objectivity. Since postmodernism accords with the poststructuralist assimilation of all language to literature, I shall begin with some remarks on literary criticism itself, setting out the foundation for a Wittgensteinean perspective on traditional issues in the field. [End Page 75] I The New Critics wished to regard a literary text as an object with secondary qualities in it. This theoretical assumption was regarded by some metacritics as hopelessly naïve, partly because different readers find different secondary qualities in the same text, and because it was thought that relativity to a subject is incompatible with externality. However, Einstein's theory of the relativity to a point of view of the primary properties of mass and length, which are clearly external properties, shows that externality and relativity are not necessarily incompatible properties. That purely logical point helps to prepare the conceptual ground for a theory of the externality of certain secondary qualities that exist only relative to a subject. Once the general logical compatibility of externality and relativity is established, what is then needed is a reason for thinking that the relevant secondary qualities in certain texts not only could be but also actually are outside us.Elsewhere 7 I have argued in favor of the externality of the secondary qualia of color by appealing to Grice's causal theory of perception, 8 but my argument there also appeals to the phenomenological givenness of the qualia of color, and hence it would not apply to the aesthetic secondary qualities that concern literary critics. There is, however, another sort of reason to suppose that certain aesthetic qualities not only could be but actually are outside us and in texts. The argument is Wittgensteinean; I believe that it supplies for certain aesthetic qualities that which my argument supplies for certain phenomenological qualities. Very roughly, my argument says that the qualia of color are in objects because that is where the causal story of their existence locates them, and therefore there is no better place to locate them; and, very roughly, the Wittgensteinean argument says that an aesthetic quality such as beauty is in a text because that is where the language game of literary criticism locates it, and there is no better place. For example, we say things like "There is dramatic irony in chapter 4," or "Line 37 is particularly lovely," and if a metaphysician asked, "Where is the loveliness or the irony really?," with special emphasis on the words "really" and "where," then we should answer, "I have already said--it is in chapter 4 and in line 37." If the metaphysician then said, "But different readers find different qualities in the same work--how can there be different aesthetic or literary qualities in the same text?", then we should... (shrink)

This study investigated personal perceptions and comprehensions of self-ascribed paranormal abilities. Twelve participants with supposed supernatural powers took part in semi-structured interviews exploring the origin, phenomenology, and nature of their powers. Interview transcripts were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, a qualitative method that identifies patterns within data. Four major themes expressed meanings and representations held by participants: Formative Influences, Subjective Paranormal Experience, Embodied Processes, and Perception of Reality. Consideration of themes identified an inextricable link between perception, interpretation, and belief in (...) ability. Within narratives, interviewees outlined, contextualised, and established the validity of their powers. They drew upon supporting autobiographical evidence from their life histories and obfuscated and/or discounted conventional explanations. Generally, accounts reflected individual attempts to comprehend and justify the nature and experience of professed abilities. The authors discuss these processes and suggest ways to extend and develop ensuing research. (shrink)

This study assessed the extent to which within-individual variation in schizotypy and paranormal belief influenced performance on probabilistic reasoning tasks. A convenience sample of 725 non-clinical adults completed measures assessing schizotypy (Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences; O-Life brief), belief in the paranormal (Revised Paranormal Belief Scale; RPBS) and probabilistic reasoning (perception of randomness, conjunction fallacy, paranormal perception of randomness, and paranormal conjunction fallacy). Latent profile analysis (LPA) identified four distinct groups: class 1, low schizotypy and low paranormal belief (43.9% (...) of sample); class 2, moderate schizotypy and moderate paranormal belief (18.2%); class 3, moderate schizotypy (high cognitive disorganization) and low paranormal belief (29%); and class 4, moderate schizotypy and high paranormal belief (8.9%). Identification of homogeneous classes provided a nuanced understanding of the relative contribution of schizotypy and paranormal belief to differences in probabilistic reasoning performance. Multivariate analysis of covariance revealed that groups with lower levels of paranormal belief (classes 1 and 3) performed significantly better on perception of randomness, but not conjunction problems. Schizotypy had only a negligible effect on performance. Further analysis indicated that framing perception of randomness and conjunction problems in a paranormal context facilitated performance for all groups but class 4. (shrink)

The present paper examined relationships between schizotypy (measured by the Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experience; O-LIFE scale brief), belief in the paranormal (assessed via the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale; RPBS) and proneness to statistical bias (i.e., perception of randomness and susceptibility to conjunction fallacy). Participants were 254 volunteers recruited via convenience sampling. Probabilistic reasoning problems appeared framed within both standard and paranormal contexts. Analysis revealed positive correlations between the Unusual Experience (UnExp) subscale of O-LIFE and paranormal belief measures [RPBS (...) full scale, traditional paranormal beliefs (TPB) and new age philosophy]. Performance on standard problems correlated negatively with UnExp and belief in the paranormal (particularly the TPB dimension of the RPBS). Consideration of specific problem types revealed that perception of randomness associated more strongly with belief in the paranormal than conjunction; both problem types related similarly to UnExp. Structural equation modeling specified that belief in the paranormal mediated the indirect relationship between UnExp and statistical bias. For problems presented in a paranormal context a framing effect occurred. Whilst UnExp correlated positively with conjunction proneness (controlling for perception of randomness), there was no association between UnExp and perception of randomness (controlling for conjunction). (shrink)

The social contract approach to the study if institutions aims at providing a solution to the problem of compliance with rational agreements in situations characterized by a conflict between individual rationality and social optimality. After a short discussion of some attempts to deal with this problem from a rational choice perspective, we focus on John Rawls's idea of 'sense of justice' and its application to the explanation of the stability of a well-ordered society. We show how the relevant features of (...) Rawls's theory can be captured by a behavioral game theory model of beliefs dependent dispositions to comply, and we present the results of two experimental studies that provide support to the theory. (shrink)

The present study assessed the degree to which probabilistic reasoning performance and thinking style influenced perception of risk and self-reported levels of terrorism-related behaviour change. A sample of 263 respondents, recruited via convenience sampling, completed a series of measures comprising probabilistic reasoning tasks (perception of randomness, base rate, probability, and conjunction fallacy), the Reality Testing subscale of the Inventory of Personality Organization (IPO-RT), the Domain-Specific Risk-Taking Scale, and a terrorism-related behaviour change scale. Structural equation modelling examined three progressive models. Firstly, (...) the Independence Model assumed that probabilistic reasoning, perception of risk and reality testing independently predicted terrorism-related behaviour change. Secondly, the Mediation Model supposed that probabilistic reasoning and reality testing correlated, and indirectly predicted terrorism-related behaviour change through perception of risk. Lastly, the Dual-Influence Model proposed that probabilistic reasoning indirectly predicted terrorism-related behaviour change via perception of risk, independent of reality testing. Results indicated that performance on probabilistic reasoning tasks most strongly predicted perception of risk, and preference for an intuitive thinking style (measured by the IPO-RT) best explained terrorism-related behaviour change. The combination of perception of risk with probabilistic reasoning ability in the Dual-Influence Model enhanced the predictive power of the analytical-rational route, with conjunction fallacy having a significant indirect effect on terrorism-related behaviour change via perception of risk. The Dual-Influence Model possessed superior fit and reported similar predictive relations between intuitive-experiential and analytical-rational routes and terrorism-related behaviour change. The discussion critically examines these findings in relation to dual-processing frameworks. This includes considering the limitations of current operationalisations and recommendations for future research that align outcomes and subsequent work more closely to specific dual-process models. (shrink)

By assessing interrelationships among variables within a specified theoretical framework, network analysis provides nuanced insights into how associations between psychological constructs are related to outcome measures. Noting this, the authors used NA to examine connections between Paranormal Belief, cognitive-perceptual factors, and well-being. Data derived from a sample of 3,090 participants who completed standardised self-report measures capturing the study constructs online. Transliminality, Unusual Experiences, and Depressive Experience demonstrated high expected influence centrality. This indicated that these factors were the most strongly connected (...) and influential in the network. Moreover, Transliminality was a connecting variable between Paranormal Belief, positive schizotypy, and psychopathology. Depressive Experience bridged the relationship between Transliminality and well-being. The conceptual implications of these outcomes are discussed with regards to better understanding relationships between Paranormal Belief, cognitive-perceptual factors, and well-being. (shrink)

This study examined variations in well-being as a function of the interaction between paranormal belief and psychopathology-related constructs. A United Kingdom-based, general sample of 4,402 respondents completed self-report measures assessing paranormal belief, psychopathology, and well-being. Latent profile analysis identified four distinct sub-groups: Profile 1, high Paranormal Belief and Psychopathology ; Profile 2, high Paranormal Belief and Unusual Experiences; moderate Psychopathology ; Profile 3, moderate Paranormal Belief and Psychopathology ; and Profile 4, low Paranormal Belief and Psychopathology. Multivariate analysis of variance (...) found that sub-groups with higher psychopathology scores reported lower well-being. Higher Paranormal Belief, however, was not necessarily associated with lower psychological adjustment and reduced well-being. These outcomes indicated that belief in the paranormal is not necessarily non-adaptive, and that further research is required to identify the conditions under which belief in the paranormal is maladaptive. (shrink)

Two cases of carcinoma of the stomach presenting during the same month and dying within four weeks of one another less than one year later are presented. One was treated symptomatically and the other received radical surgery. The care they received depended on decisions about diagnosis and treatment; the outcomes of these and the difficulties involved in evaluating monetary costs and quality of care are discussed in the light of recent interest in medical audit.

This is a major new study of the international thought of Sir Harold Nicolson , one of the most prominent commentators on diplomacy, international order, and world peace of his day, and an anti-appeasement MP. This meticulously researched work will stand for many years as the definitive guide to Nicolson's contribution to the theory and practice of international relations. It also establishes a place for him in the pantheon of key British international thinkers of the twentieth century.

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Re-dating Ausonius’ War PoetryJ. F. DrinkwaterThe extant works of ausonius contain a small but intriguing number of references to military activity on the Rhine in which he himself appears to have been closely involved. In perhaps the best known of these (Mosella 420–24), he declares that the Moselle has seen the “united triumphs of father and son”—that is, of the ruling western Augusti, Valentinian I and Gratian—which they have (...) won by defeating enemies beyond the River Neckar and the former Roman city of Lupodunum (normally written Lopodunum, the modern Ladenburg), and the source of the Danube: Nicrum super et Lupodunum / et fontem Latiis ignotum annalibus Histri (425/4). However, Ausonius also devotes two of his epigrams to the same topic. In one (Epig. 3/28 [Green/Peiper]), he depicts the Danube, at its source, hailing the Augusti, again “father and son,” and anticipating with pleasure its announcing to their colleague in the East, Valentinian’s brother, Valens, the destruction of the “Suebians” and the fact that the Rhine is no longer the frontier of Gaul. In the other (Epig. 4/31), Ausonius’ Danube rejoices that, though its head was once concealed in lands remote, it now flows for its entire length under Valentinian’s sway. In the preface to his Griphus (line 14 Green) and in the introduction to his Cento Nuptialis (line 48 Green) Ausonius makes passing allusion to the time when he was on “active service” (expeditione; quia sub imperatore meo tum merui). We may conclude this short catalogue with others of his better-known works, the “Bissula poems,” in which he sings the praises of his “Suebian girl,” his “pet,” taken as a spoil of war beyond the Rhine, at the source of the Danube (17.1.3-4/9.1.3-4).All such references are generally assumed to derive from a single action, the campaign of 368 in which, according to Ammianus Marcellinus, both Valentinian and Gratian (and, presumably, the latter’s entourage, including Ausonius) campaigned over the Rhine against the Alamanni. 1 The terminus post quem of the composition of all the works [End Page 443] concerned is, therefore, 368. As far as completion and publication are concerned, most attention has been given to his Mosella, where two internal references have been interpreted as indicating a date late in 370 or in 371: as Green has recently put it, “in or close to 371.” 2But neither of these dates is as solidly founded as they may seem. The precise details of the 368 fighting are unclear. It may have remained north of the Main, and may therefore have not taken Roman forces south to the Neckar; and even if it had, it may still not have taken them as far as Ladenburg and beyond, to the source of the Danube at Donaueschingen. 3 However, we can be fairly sure that Valentinian reached Ladenburg in 369; 4 and this has led some to treat the two campaigns as one, with Ausonius probably accompanying Gratian in the earlier stage, and certainly being with him during the later. Thus he would have reached, or have been able to claim that he had reached, the Danube source, have been given Bissula, and have been inspired to write Mosella not in 368, but in 369. 5 In addition, the internal references in Mosella are very opaque. As Seeck observed, and some have accepted, the unnamed high official who “ruled Rome... bearing a title all but the highest, though he was peer of the highest” (trans. Evelyn White) of lines 409–11 should not necessarily be taken to be Sextus Petronius Probus, consul posterior to Gratian in 371. 6 If Ausonius’ language allows of any precise identification of an individual or an office, it is equally, if not more, likely that the reference is to the holder of a Roman metropolitan position, specifically that of vicarius urbis or praefectus annonae, both of which were subordinate to the praefectus Urbi, who had close links with Trier or its region. Seeck in fact suggested that Ausonius was here referring to the Gallo-German Bappo, who reached the premier position of City Prefect in 372; but... (shrink)

Short-term limb immobilization results in skeletal muscle decline, but the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. This study aimed to determine the neurophysiologic basis of immobilization-induced skeletal muscle decline, and whether repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation could prevent any decline. Twenty-four healthy young males underwent unilateral limb immobilization for 72 h. Subjects were randomized between daily rTMS using six 20 Hz pulse trains of 1.5 s duration with a 60 s inter-train-interval delivered at 90% resting Motor Threshold, or Sham rTMS throughout immobilization. (...) Maximal grip strength, EMG activity, arm volume, and composition were determined at 0 and 72 h. Motor Evoked Potentials were determined daily throughout immobilization to index motor excitability. Immobilization induced a significant reduction in motor excitability across time. The rTMS intervention increased motor excitability at 0 h. Despite daily rTMS treatment, there was still a significant reduction in motor excitability, loss in EMG activity, and a loss of maximal grip strength after immobilization. Interestingly, the increase in biceps and posterior forearm skinfold thickness with immobilization in Sham treatment was not observed following rTMS treatment. Reduced MEPs drive the loss of strength with immobilization. Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation cannot prevent this loss of strength but further investigation and optimization of neuroplasticity protocols may have therapeutic benefit. (shrink)