Resources Available to Managers to Manage Employees through Mergers by Jacqueline A. Bursey MBA, Columbia Southern University, 2014 BSESH, University of Findlay, 2013 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Management Walden University November 2017 Abstract The failure rate of mergers is high, with the greatest effects being felt by the employees. Company mergers result in managers burdened with extra responsibilities that often result in poor people integration management of employees. A gap in literature exists regarding people integration resources available to managers during mergers. The purpose of this phenomenological, descriptive study was to explore resources managers perceive to have available to assist with managing employees through a merger. Greenleaf's servant leadership and Herzberg's 2 factor theories were used as the study's conceptual foundation. The research questions explored managers' perceptions of the range of resources available to assist with managing employees during a merger. The snowball sampling method was used to select a sample of 14 participants for individual semi structured interviews. The target population was managers who directly managed employees during a merger while working for a North American company. The qualitative data were collected, coded, and then analyzed for themes. The key findings were that while managers perceived they were not provided resources, managers' personal experiences along with resources such as human resource personnel and other managers' expertise were used as great resources. Open communication and information exchange were critical between the manager and the employees during the merger. Managers should focus on their soft skills when they engage with the employees. Implications for positive social change include employee satisfaction and engagement, employee retention, customer satisfaction, along with business growth and development in the global market.The failure rate of mergers is high, with the greatest effects being felt by the employees. Company mergers result in managers burdened with extra responsibilities that often result in poor people integration management of employees. A gap in literature exists regarding people integration resources available to managers during mergers. The purpose of this phenomenological, descriptive study was to explore resources managers perceive to have available to assist with managing employees through a merger. Greenleaf's servant leadership and Herzberg's 2 factor theories were used as the study's conceptual foundation. The research questions explored managers' perceptions of the range of resources available to assist with managing employees during a merger. The snowball sampling method was used to select a sample of 14 participants for individual semi structured interviews. The target population was managers who directly managed employees during a merger while working for a North American company. The qualitative data were collected, coded, and then analyzed for themes. The key findings were that while managers perceived they were not provided resources, managers' personal experiences along with resources such as human resource personnel and other managers' expertise were used as great resources. Open communication and information exchange were critical between the manager and the employees during the merger. Managers should focus on their soft skills when they engage with the employees. Implications for positive social change include employee satisfaction and engagement, employee retention, customer satisfaction, along with business growth and development in the global market. Resources Available to Managers to Manage Employees through Mergers by Jacqueline A. Bursey MBA, Columbia Southern University, 2014 BSESH, University of Findlay, 2013 Dissertation Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Management


The present study investigates the motivational effects in a sample of Romanian employees in private companies that implement pay for performance programs of one of the characteristics of these programs, namely pay dispersion, and on the potential mediating role of organizational justice in these effects. To this aim, we examined the relationships between the amounts of pay dispersion introduced by the respective financial incentive system, employee perceptions of distributive and procedural justice, work motivation, and base salary, respectively. The results of the data analysis, performed through structural equation modeling, support our hypotheses concerning the positive effect of performance – related pay dispersion on motivation and the mediating role of the two dimensions of organizational justice in this effect. Larger financial rewards allocated by the financial incentive system for high performers increase employee perceptions of distributive and procedural justice, which, in turn, foster work motivation. Base salary was also found to influence pay dispersion, as well as perceived distributive justice.


In this thesis we investigate how the modification of a graph affects various distance measures. The questions considered arise in the study of how the efficiency of communications networks is affected by the loss of links or nodes. In a graph C, the distance between two vertices is the length of a shortest path between them. The eccentricity of a vertex v is the maximum distance from v to any vertex in C. The radius of C is the minimum eccentricity of a vertex, and the diameter of C is the maximum eccentricity of a vertex. The distance of C is defined as the sum of the distances between all unordered pairs of vertices. We investigate, for each of the parameters radius, diameter and distance of a graph C, the effects on the parameter when a vertex or edge is removed or an edge is added, or C is replaced by a spanning tree in which the parameter is as low as possible. We find the maximum possible change in the parameter due to such modifications. In addition, we consider the cases where the removed vertex or edge is one for which the parameter is minimised after deletion. We also investigate graphs which are critical with respect to the radius or diameter, in any of the following senses: the parameter increases when any edge is deleted, decreases when any edge is added, increases when any vertex is removed, or decreases when any vertex is removed.


The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of two local anesthetic rice nanogels (RNG) on pain reduction from needle insertion in oral cavity. Nanogel base was prepared using modified rice as gelling agent. The average particle size of RNG determined by photon correlation spectrophotometer was 485 ± 70 nm. Lidocaine hydrochloride (LH) and prilocaine hydrochloride (PH) were incorporated into RNG to obtain anesthetic RNG containing 5% and 20% LH or PH. Clinical efficacy test of each gel was performed in oral cavity of 100 healthy volunteers (25-60 years old). Evaluation was done by recording different pain measurements after inserting a needle into buccal mucosa after applying 5% and 20% anesthetic RNG. RNG base (placebo) and commercial anesthetic gels were used as negative and positive controls, respectively. It was found that the pain level in the negative control group was significantly higher than those of the anesthetic groups. Moreover, the pain level of the anesthetic RNG groups were lower than that of the commercial groups, especially in 20% anesthetic groups. For patient's satisfaction, most of the volunteers were appreciated with the anesthetic RNG as well as the commercial gels. They preferred to use high drug content RNG more than those with low drug content or placebo. It can be concluded that the anesthetic RNG has potential clinical efficacy in pain reduction during needle insertion in oral cavity.


H.264 is the latest most efficient video coding standard developed by joint collaboration between ITU-T's Study Group 16 Question 6 (Video Coding Experts Group VCEG) and ISO's MPEG forming a group known as the Joint Video Team (JVT). The JVT has added additional features to the previous video coding standards (MPEG-4 and H.263) which has allowed the current H.264 to provide a much more efficient compression ability giving a bit rate reduction of about 50 % of the previous standards for the same video quality. This thesis is among the ongoing studies that deal with trying to improve the intra prediction scheme of H.264. It aims to modify the directional extrapolation scheme of the standard intra prediction and add a combined usage based on the local structure of previously reconstructed pixels surrounding the area to be coded. A new method of searching the direction of the local structure of an area using optimal filters is deployed. The method is based on the least squares algorithm. A modified coder structure is implemented in an attempt to obtain improved coding efficiency using the new prediction. The result based on visual inspection and objective evaluation of the new modified prediction against standard H.264 intra prediction is presented.


In this thesis I develop an account of Nietzsche's great man framed around the idea that he is a 'monster of energy.' In the first part I establish that Nietzsche developed a criterion to assess the value of values, centred on whether they express abundance or exhaustion. Cultivating an abundance of energy is the key to how we should approach the problem of suffering, how we master ressentiment, and ultimately, how we experience authentic joy. We should thus use energy expenditure as the standard to evaluate the different narratives that we use to interpret ourselves and our existence. In the second part I use this criterion to establish the types of narratives most conducive to creating oneself as the monster of energy. I argue that the great man should desire to determine his own will, should cultivate strength of character, believe in the freedom of his will, and take responsibility for the self that he has created. Finally, I examine the attitude the great man should adopt towards his past, and argue that we should reject the idea that the eternal return plays an important role in the process of becoming a great man, since this process should emphasise the necessity of self-mastery, asceticism, and the cultivation of a unified and volitional self.


A recent objective in medical bionics research is to develop visual prostheses - devices that could potentially restore the sight of blind individuals. The Monash Vision Group is currently working towards implementing a fully autonomous direct-to-brain vision implant called the Gennaris. Although research in this field is progressing quickly, initial implementations of these devices will be quite naive, offering very basic levels of vision. The vision is anticipated to be binary - that is with black and white pixels - and a low resolution of several hundred pixels. Improving this dramatically is currently improbable, as it would require significant advancement in electrode stimulation technology and substantial research into the complexities of the visual cortex. This PhD project aims to contribute to the development of the Gennaris and other bionic vision devices, in the hope of improving the quality of life for future patients. More specifically, the key goals of this work have been to develop a portable real time visual prosthesis simulator that is suitably representative of anticipated vision expected of the Gennaris; to investigate the potential capabilities of future patients under this limited vision, and possible image processing techniques that can be used to improve their performance; and to investigate the feasibility of integrating 3D depth sensing and advanced functionality that could aid navigation. An emphasis of this work has been high framerate, low latency and real time operation. An immersive real time simulator system, based on a Field Programmable Gate Array architecture, has been developed called the Hatpack Simulator. This system improves upon limitations of platforms in existing research. The Hatpack is portable, weighing only 3 kilograms, operates at 60 frames per second with a constant low latency of 17 ms, and is low in power consumption, able to last up to 4 hours on a full charge. Five psychophysics trials have been carried out in order to evaluate the effectiveness of various 2D image processing functions implemented, and the ability of users to complete simple tasks that resemble everyday activities. Results of the psychophysics experiments show that the reduction in user capabilities due to binary and low resolution degrading of vision is significant. This motivates the use of 3D sensing to assist with image representations for bionic vision. The integration of a second generation Microsoft Kinect depth sensor has been investigated and a new hardware plane fitting algorithm based on least squares has been achieved. An implementation of this has been applied to the detection and highlighting of tables and free floor space in a real time end-to-end system running at 60 frames per second.


In the new European standard for unfired pressure vessels, EN 13445-3, there are two approaches for carrying out a Design-by-Analysis that cover both the stress categorization method (Annex C) and the direct route method (Annex B) for a check against global plastic deformation and against progressive plastic deformation. This paper presents the direct route in the language of limit and shakedown analysis. This approach leads to an optimization problem. Its solution with Finite Element Analysis is demonstrated for mechanical and thermal actions. One observation from the examples is that the so-called 3f (3Sm) criterion fails to be a reliable check against progressive plastic deformation. Precise conditions are given, which greatly restrict the applicability of the 3f criterion.


In previous work 4], we extended the hidden Markov model (HMM) framework to incorporate a global parametric variation in the output probabilities of the states of the HMM. Development of the parametric HMM was motivated by the task of simultaneoiusly recognizing and interpreting gestures that exhibit meaningful variation. With standard HMMs, such global variation confounds the recognition process. In this paper we extend the parametric HMM approach to handle nonlinear (non-analytic) dependencies of the output distributions on the parameter of interest. We show a generalized expectation-maximization (GEM) algorithm for training the parametric HMM and a GEM algorithm to simultaneously recognize the gesture and estimate the value of the parameter. We present results on a pointing gesture, where the nonlinear approach permits the natural azimuth/elevation parame-terization of pointing direction.


Arriving at the port of New York in 1882, a 27-year-old Oscar Wilde quipped he had "nothing to declare but my genius." But as Roy Morris, Jr., reveals in this sparkling narrative, Wilde was, for the first time in his life, underselling himself. A chronicle of the sensation that was Wilde's eleven-month speaking tour of America, Declaring His Genius offers an indelible portrait of both Oscar Wilde and the Gilded Age. Wilde covered 15,000 miles, delivered 140 lectures, and met everyone who was anyone. Dressed in satin knee britches and black silk stockings, the long-haired apostle of the British Aesthetic Movement alternately shocked, entertained, and enlightened a spellbound nation. Harvard students attending one of his lectures sported Wildean costume, clutching sunflowers and affecting world-weary poses. Denver prostitutes enticed customers by crying: "We know what makes a cat wild, but what makes Oscar Wilde?" Whitman hoisted a glass to his health, while Ambrose Bierce denounced him as a fraud. Wilde helped alter the way post--Civil War Americans--still reeling from the most destructive conflict in their history--understood themselves. In an era that saw rapid technological changes, social upheaval, and an ever-widening gap between rich and poor, he delivered a powerful anti-materialistic message about art and the need for beauty. Yet Wilde too was changed by his tour. Having conquered America, a savvier, more mature writer was ready to take on the rest of the world. Neither Wilde nor America would ever be the same.


10-20 per cent of spinal surgery patients will experience one or more complications from their surgery. These complications are intimately tied to the specifics of their surgery, their underlying pathology, surgical approach, and the devices or instrumentation utilized. Further complicating matters are the bewildering array of hardware that is utilized to treat spine disease, with new approaches constantly becoming available. The goal of "Specialty Imaging: Postoperative Spine" is to provide a broad overview of the role of advanced imaging for the diagnosis and management of the postoperative spine patient. Thus this book covers normal (preoperative) spine anatomy, gives brief synopses of common surgical approaches, and covers the appearance of the normal postoperative state. Emphasis is given to the imaging and diagnosis of local spine and adjacent soft tissue postoperative complications, as well as remote complications and general medical complications. This is not a surgical textbook. The surgical descriptions are purposely superficial, and geared toward radiologists who want a general understanding of the clinical rationale for the surgery and the surgical approach. This book is intended for practicing radiologists, residents, fellows, and anyone who treats postoperative spine patients.


Credit constraints generate a hedging motive that extends beyond purely financial decisions by also distorting the selection and operation of real investment projects. We study these distortions through a dynamic model in which collateral constraints emerge endogenously. The hedging motive can be broken down into three components: expected future productivity, leverage capacity, and current net worth. While constrained firms behave as if averse to transitory fluctuations in net worth, additional exposure to factors related to persistent productivity innovations or credit capacity fluctuations increases their value. The most constrained firms abstain from financial hedging while still distorting real decisions to reflect the hedging motive. Firm-level volatility is influenced by capital budgeting distortions, which contribute as a potential explanation for the higher volatility of lower net-worth firms.


Answering the question: No, though to read the commentators, we'd never know it. An Author for All Seasons Some works are so broad in scope, so inclusive, even of contradictions internal to themselves, that they can be used to justify almost anything. One such book is that patchwork written over many centuries and by many hands that we call the Bible. For the Renaissance, it was Virgil's Aeneid, opened at random to provide divination (Sortes Virgilinae). For the Victorian era, it was the works of Shakespeare, a mine of quotable quotes removed from their contexts. For theorists of war in the last several decades, it has been Carl von Clausewitz's On War. The Weinberger Doctrine of 1984, for example, considered by many strategists the template of the first Gulf War, is both drawn from and cites Clausewitz. (1) Widely held to have summarized the lessons of the Vietnam War, former Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger's six points for committing troops called for broad public support before engagement and a clear definition of objectives, things that were presumably lacking in the case of Vietnam. Weinberger invoked Clausewitz to justify the necessity of defining objectives clearly: "No one starts a war--or rather, no one in his senses ought to do so--without first being clear in his mind what he intends to achieve by that war, and how he intends to conduct it." Clausewitz's most celebrated assertion, however, as almost all commentators point out, is that "war is a continuation of policy [or politics: the German is Politik] by other means." This is linked to his equally famous "trinity" of violence, chance, and subordination, which is commonly represented as the people, the military, and the government. In recent years this trinity has typically been invoked to justify the necessity of achieving the backing of the people. Weinberger refers to this in the fifth of his points. And his final point, that "the commitment of US forces to combat should be a last resort," seems a reasonable conclusion from Clausewitz's insistence that war is not separate from politics, but a continuation of it. In the Second Gulf War as in the first, the (second) Bush Administration was clearly acting with an eye to this reading of Clausewitz. After all, the Administration achieved widespread domestic if not international support precisely by defining its reasons for war. To be sure, these have changed over time. Initially the Administration beat a largely one-note drum of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to justify the invasion. More recently, absent any such weapons found to date, the justifications given have been those of removing a dictator and establishing a democracy in Iraq. (2) Much post-Vietnam theory is like Weinberger's in invoking Clausewitz as the patron philosopher of decisive, well-supported, and purposeful action. Usually it tries to show us in hindsight what went wrong, and how paying attention to Clausewitz could have steered us right from the start. The problem is that what counts as decisive action for one viewer may count as a colossal misreading of the situation for another. Those who disagreed with the Administration invoked Clausewitz as well. Randolf T. Holhut quotes Clausewitz's most famous phrase and then goes on to propose that the real reason the Administration went to war was because Iraq was a "test case for using bombs to accelerate the privatization of a nation's economy." (3) Administration critic William S. Lind, in an article titled "A Warning from Clausewitz," quotes Clausewitz to warn that statesmen and commanders must be clear about what sort of war they are fighting. (4) The Administration might with justification have responded that they were very clear about this. According to Lind, the Administration was trying to fight a "second generation" (nation against nation) war, when in fact what it should have been embarked upon was the much less well defined "fourth generation" war involving irregular forces, fifth column fighters, and guerilla actions. …


Geometric demonstration of free fall and rotation reveals space-time nature of the genesis of circle. We show that the operations with radius are equivalent to operations with velocity. Consequently, conventional spatial unit for radius (m), becomes equivalent to dynamic space-time unit for speed (m/s). We prove that the velocity is a physical equivalence of geometric idea of radius.


Human modification of pristine habitats almost always leads to the local extinction of a subset of the species present. This means that the ecosystem processes carried out by the remaining species may change. It is well documented that particular species of ants carry out important ecosystem processes. However, while much work has been carried out to investigate the link between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning in other taxa, this has received relatively little attention for ant communities. In particular, no attempt has been made to link levels of ant diversity with the rates of nutrient redistribution carried out by scavenging species. Here we investigate the impacts of anthropogenic disturbance on the rate of scavenger-mediated nutrient redistribution, using bait-removal rate as a surrogate measure. We found that although ant species richness, diversity, biomass and rates of bait removal did not change systematically across the disturbance gradient, the rate of bait removal was related to ant species richness. Sites with more ant species experienced a faster rate of bait removal. This is the first documented positive relationship between ant species richness and the rate of an ecosystem process. If these results are applicable at larger spatial scales for a wider range of nutrient sources, loss of ant species could lead to important changes in the way that ecosystems function.


Context. Both smartphones and PC games are increasingly commonplace nowadays. There are more and more people who own smartphones and – at the same time – like playing video games. Since the smartphones are becoming widely affordable and offer more and more advanced features (such as multi-touch screens, a variety of sensors, vibration feedback, and others), it is justifiable to study their potential in new application areas. The aim of this thesis is to adapt the smartphone for the use as a game controller in PC racing games and evaluate this solution taking into account such aspects as race results and user experience. Objectives. To this end, two applications were developed - a game controller application for Android‑based smartphones (i.e. the client application) and a PC server application. The applications support a selected open-source PC racing game called SuperTuxKart. The evaluation of the smartphone encompasses both race results (whether the smartphone enables players to achieve comparable results to the keyboard – a standard game controller) and user experience (whether this game controller may be satisfying to players). Methods. An experiment was conducted where 20 participants controlled the SuperTuxKart game using first the smartphone, and then the keyboard or vice versa. The experiment was followed by a questionnaire-based survey of the user experience. Results. The experiment results indicate that the smartphone may achieve results which are comparable to those achieved by the keyboard. The race times corresponding to the smartphone were somewhat longer than those obtained with the keyboard, but the average relative difference was below 18%. The questionnaire results show that more than half of the participants enjoyed the smartphone more than the keyboard, despite the fact that the smartphone turned out to be a more challenging game controller for many players and did not provide so good control of the racing game as the keyboard. Conclusions. Overall, this study shows that the smartphone has a potential to be a suitable, satisfying and enjoyable controller for PC racing games.


This study assesses microbial assisted phytoremediation of palm oil mill final discharge (POMFD) wastewater using three local macrophyte species: Leersia oryzoides, Pistia stratiotes and Ludwigia peploides. It was found respectively that BOD5, COD, NH3-N removal efficiencies of 84.7%, 22.3%, and 73.5% were achieved for P. stratiotes; 88.1%, 18% and 69.2% for L. peploides; and 86.1%, 11.7% and 69.3% for L. oryzoides. The level of C, H and N in the tissue were influenced by macrophyte species and organs (p < 0.05). The bioconcentration factors (BCF) of various metals such as Mg, Ca, K, Na, Fe and Zn of the three macrophytes were 10-1 to 100 with Fe being highly accumulated in roots of all the macrophytes (BCF=102). The translocation factors (TF) of most metals from root to shoot tissues were in a range of 10-3 to 100. In comparison with other metals, K was capable to be efficiently translocated from root to shoots in all the macrophyte species (TF=100). In this study, Bacillus megaterium, Pseudomonas spp. and Bacillus cereus that are usually involved in denitrification were identified in P. stratiotes, L. pepoides and L. oryzoides roots respectively. This confirms the macrophyte-microorganism interaction in remediation of POMFD wastewater.


This study explores the behavior of the exchange coefficients for wind stress (CD), sensible heat flux (CH), and water vapor flux (CE) as functions of surface wind speed (U10) and atmospheric stability using direct turbulent flux measurements obtained from a platform equipped with fast-response turbulence sensors in a low-to-moderate wind region. Turbulent fluxes are calculated using the eddy-correlation method with extensive observations. The total numbers of quality-controlled 30 min flux runs are 12,240, 5813, and 5637 for estimation of CD, CH, and CE, respectively. When adjusted to neutral stability using the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory (MOST), we found that CDN, CHN, and CEN decrease with neutral-adjusted wind speed when wind speed is less than 5 m/s. CDN is constant over the range 5 m/s   12 m/s. In contrast, CHN and CEN exhibit no clear dependence on wind speed and are generally constant, with mean values of 0.96 × 10−3 and 1.2 × 10−3, respectively. This behavior of neutral exchange coefficients is consistent with the findings of previous studies. We also found that CDN under offshore winds is generally greater than that under onshore wind conditions, which is ascribed to the younger wind waves present due to the shorter fetch in the former case. However, this behavior is not exhibited by CHN or CEN. The original CD, CH, and CE values without MOST adjustment are also investigated to develop a new parameterization based on wind speed and stability. Three stability parameters are tested, including the bulk Richardson number, stability as defined in COARE 3.0, and a simplified Richardson number using the Charnock parameter. This new parameterization is free of MOST and the associated self-correlation. Compared with previous studies and COARE 3.0 results, the new parameterization using the simplified Richardson number performs well, with an increased correlation coefficient and reduction of root-mean-square error and bias.


The ability to ground conversational referents is a key requirement for human dialogue. This process, known as reference resolution, has received much attention from both psycholinguists seeking to understand how humans process language and computer scientists seeking to improve the performance of language-capable agents. However, the majority of previous research has focused on what we term closed-world reference resolution, in which the set of possible referents is assumed to be known a priori. In this paper we present a domainindependent model of open-world reference resolution which appropriately handles uncertain knowledge, and the results of an empirical human-subject experiment conducted to verify the model's predictions.


This paper explores the impact of internal and external corporate governance practices on the decision to hold cash in MENA countries. Using 430 non-financial firms in the MENA region for the period from 2000 to 2009, we find that both types of governance practices are important. We report a negative relationship between board size and cash holdings, evidence that firms hold less cash to reduce agency conflicts. Also, we detect that external governance activities are important in cash holding decisions, since we report that firms belonging to countries with international standards of securities law and bank supervision hold less cash. For our sub-sample of 85 firms, we report evidence that institutional owners are seen to be self-opportunistic and that they aim to maximize their own private benefits.


Lacustrine ecosystems are directly influenced by terrestrial soil erosion, and excessive sediment loading constitutes a significant and widespread environmental issue. In order to investigate the response of catchment soil erosion and organic carbon burial to climate change and human activity, a sediment core spanning the last 160 years was retrieved from Lake Chenghai in southwest China. Multi-proxy analysis including grain-size composition and geochemical indicators were undertaken in this study. The result of grain-size vs standard deviation method shows that the sensitive component with a modal size of 13.2 μm is related to fluvial processes and sensitive to the catchment soil erosion. The increasing intensity of soil erosion was mainly determined by the weakening of Indian summer monsoon and global warming, as well as intensive human activities during the middle of 20 th century, which resulted in decreasing vegetation cover in Lake Chenghai catchment. The organic carbon burial rate was also attributed to the catchment disturbance, indicating that increased catchment soil erosion may impact the terrestrial carbon recycling.


Background & Objectives: Many studies were conducted to determine the effects of heat stress on human performance. However, they could not reach a decisive conclusion, mainly due to a large variation in experimental conditions and tests. This study investigated cognitive performance of university students exposed to different levels of heat stress under laboratory condition. Methods: In this cross sectional study,33 students aged 23-35 years performed cognitive tests. Participants were exposed to four Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) of 18, 22, 29 and 33 ºC under laboratory conditions while performing CPT tests to investigate attention and reaction time. Results: The maximum percentage of continues attention (99.67%) belonged to WBGT of 22ºC, and at the upper and lower levels of exposure (WBGT of 18 and 33 ºC) percentage of attention was reduced. Although the percentage of attention was changed in different levels of heat stress, statistical analysis did not show any significant differences in attention between levels of heat stress (P value >0.05). In addition, increase in WBGT index from 22-33 ºC increased the reaction time. At the WBGT of 33 ºC, statistical analysis showed significant difference in reaction time compared to other heat stress levels(P value <0.05). Conclusion : The results revealed that in the CPT test, exposure to heat stress whitin the exposure limit,would improve performances, but exposure to higher levels of heat stress would decrease it.


Recent studies have shown that the Land Surface Temperature (LST) data measured by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectro-Radiometer (MODIS) from both the Terra and Aqua platforms can be successfully used for linear regression estimates of daily maximum and minimum air temperatures at a local scale. Incorporation of these estimates into spatial interpolation schemes results in accuracy improvement of the surface air temperature, provided that the correlation coefficient (R) between the air temperature and LST is rather high. The purpose of this work was to examine the importance of pixel resolution (1.0 and 5.0 km2), satellite overpass time, season, land cover type, and the vegetation fraction (depending on the view zenith angle of the MODIS instrument) in controlling the observed level of R. The relative contribution of these factors in producing R variations has been assessed over the state of Mississippi during 2000-2004. Similarly, the sensitivity analysis of the difference between daily maximum and minimum air temperatures and LST to the same factors was performed. Results from these analyses have shown that R and the average difference between temperatures exhibited rather consistent variations depending on the above factors. The difference between maximum air temperature and LST increased linearly with the view angle (having typical range of 1-2°C for angle changes from 0° to ±65°) and remained constant or slightly decreased for daily air minimum temperatures. Both Terra and Aqua 1.0 km2 LST exhibited a small but persistent increase of R between the air temperature and LST as compared with that of using 5.0 km2 LST. Changing from Terra to Aqua LST did not alter significantly estimated values of R. This result suggested that the time difference between the moment of the satellite overpass and the time when maximum or minimum air temperature was observed was not critical for controlling the R value between the air temperature and LST at the involved spatial scales.


The proteoid roots of Banksia serrata L. f. form a dense mat which actively binds biomantle material. In this study, the proteoid root mats of B. serrata L. f. were studied within the context of repeating landscape elements to determine their impact on soil erosion following fire. It was found that proteoid root mats on a Hawkesbury Sandstone hillslope were extensive and positioned high in the soil profile at a time when soils might otherwise be susceptible to soil erosion. On the basis of this evidence, it is concluded that the proteoid roots ofBanksia serrata L. f. stabilise Hawkesbury Sandstone biomantles following bushfire.


The co-circulation of multiple dengue virus serotypes in the same region has been reported in several countries in Southeast Asia as well as in Central and South America for decades. Although outbreaks involving more than one serotype of dengue virus have been reported in Taiwan since 1987, concurrent infection in the same individual by multiple serotypes of dengue virus have never been identified. Using a modified multiplex reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction assay, we detected and determined the serotypes of 21 dengue patients during an outbreak in southern Taiwan in 2000. While either dengue type 2 or type 3 virus was found in most cases, 2 of the 21 cases were concurrent infections by both dengue type 2 and dengue type 3 viruses. This was further confirmed by sequence analysis of the amplified products. This study reports for the first time that concurrent infections occur in Taiwan, and suggests that future virologic surveillance of dengue outbreak in Taiwan should take this into consideration.


A modern and dynamic society cannot be built on a classical, unidirectional educational system. A modern engineer should have the ability to work with other specialists, in a common language in order to develop complex projects. This is why interdisciplinary relationships are so important in the educational process. The brief description of the engineers' training programs in the "Politehnica" University, presented in this paper, reveals the progress we made to a modern educational system and the things to be done in order to get a healthy study program based on interdisciplinary relationships, discipline and exigency. The interdisciplinary issue in the educational process is the consequence of the exponential development of teaching matters leading to a different vision of reality and to hyper-specialization. This is the reason why we need a strong connection between different knowledge levels: interdisciplinarity.


AC interference caused by high voltage power lines on non-energized utility lines (such as pipelines, rail tracks, etc.) sharing a common corridor with the electric lines is a serious concern because it can result in electric shocks and can threaten the integrity of the utility lines. This paper compares and discusses two different methods devoted to AC interference studies. A circuit approach and an electromagnetic field approach are used to carry out a parametric analysis for various configurations of the network, grounding systems, fault current contributions and locations, and soil structures. In the circuit approach, inductive and capacitive interference components are computed first and independently from the conductive components. The overall interference is then obtained by adding all components. Two methods are used to model ground impedances with the circuit approach. The coupled-ground method accounts for the coupling between grounds and the classical method ignores the coupling by assuming that each grounding system is very far from all others. On the other hand, the electromagnetic field theory approach models the complete network and the inductive, capacitive and conductive interference effects are simultaneously taken into account. Computation results based on the various approaches and methods are then compared and discussed. Noticeable differences are found in some cases between the various approaches.


Copernicia tectorum is a palm that grows in large populations on seasonally flooded savannas in the Caribbean region of Colombia, where its stems and expanded leaves are used in construction, and its unexpand- ed leaves are used to make handicrafts. We studied abundance and population structure in 34 plots of 20×10m (0.68 ha) of three localities (Plato, Cordoba and Magangue) at the Mompox Depression, an inner delta formed by the confluence of four large rivers. We recorded growth and mortality of 164 palms of different size classes over 13 months, and additionally we estimated seedling and juvenile mortality in two 10x10m plots within the same sites. Data analysis using Kolgomorov-Smirnov (KS), Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney tests were made on Statgraphics Plus and SPSS. We related the structure and dynamics of the palm stands to flood intensity. Copernicia tectorum has the fastest leaf production rate recorded for any palm (19-23 leaves/year in subadults and adults), and a short life span of ca. 46 years. The abundance, density and high leaf production rate of this palm offer a great potential for the sustainable use of its unexpanded leaves (especially at Plato, where there are ca. 480ha of palm stands with 300-1 000 individuals/ha), as leaf harvest from subadult and adult individuals does not appear to affect population structure. The palm is a pioneer of the flood plain, and the palm stands at particular sites appear to wax and wane following sedimentation dynamics, in which the species plays in impor- tant role. Current population structure and the scarce recruitment of juveniles at the study site suggest that the population is waning in that site. Management actions should be taken to reestablish natural river dynamics at the lagoon complex where the palm grows. Appropriate management of palm stands may contribute to minimize any negative effects of river dynamics. Rev. Biol. Trop. 63 (2): 525-536. Epub 2015 June 01.


We have examined whether the secretion of erythropoietin (Epo) from genetically modified cells could represent an alternative to repeated injections of the recombinant hormone for treating chronic anemias responsive to Epo. Primary mouse skin fibroblasts were transduced with a retroviral vector in which the murine Epo cDNA is expressed under the control of the murine phosphoglycerate kinase promoter. "Neo-organs" containing the genetically modified fibroblasts embedded into collagen lattices were implanted into the peritoneal cavity of mice. Increased hematocrit (> 80%) and elevated serum Epo concentration (ranging from 60 to 408 milliunits/ml) were observed in recipient animals over a 10-month observation period. Hematocrit values measured in recipient mice varied according to the number of implanted Epo-secreting fibroblasts (ranging from 2.5 to 20 x 10(6)). The implantation of neo-organs containing Epo-secreting fibroblasts appeared, therefore, as a convenient method to achieve permanent in vivo delivery of the hormone. We estimated that the biological efficacy of the approach may be relevant for the treatment of human hemoglobinopathies.


This tutorial describes a colorometric enzyme assay to determine simple enzyme kinetics. It is designed as an introduction for beginning laboratory students in a biology or biochemistry course, and requires no previous understanding of chemistry. It may be used as an assignment to prepare students for a laboratory exercise in enzyme kinetics Through this tutorial, students will gain an understanding of the procedures for measuring enzyme activity, using the specific example of an assay for the bacterial enzyme, β-galactosidase.


Abstract: Research has provided growing evidence of links between the social environment and cancer progression. Indeed, social support in the form of marriage, frequent daily contact with others, and the presence of a confidant may all have protective value against cancer progression. Furthermore, retrospective data suggest that major stressful life events are more prevalent in patients with relapse or malignancy, and thus may contribute to cancer morbidity. Initial studies of the effects of psychosocial intervention with cancer patients have provided some promising results. In three randomized prospective trials, protective effects of psychosocial interventions on cancer progression have been confirmed, while one matching and one randomized study showed no survivial effect after psychosocial treatment. Though more research is clearly needed in this area, this body of evidence suggests that psychosocial factors have potentially powerful modulating effects on the course of disease. Here we review evidence of one possible mechanism whereby psychosocial factors may influence disease‐resistance capabilities: the neuro‐immune connection. Suppressive effects of stress on immune function are well documented, and these effects have been shown to be modulated by social support. Thus, it is reasonable to hypothesize that supportive social relationships may buffer the effects of cancer‐related stress on immunity, and thereby facilitate the recovery of immune mechanisms that may be important for cancer resistance. Data addressing this hypothesis are reviewed.


he research compares 5-12 year old children of addicted fathers with those of non addicted fathers . This experiment was carried out on one hundred families of the addict , In comparison to another one hundred non-addicted families. These children have not been subjects for social scientists and health experts because of the following facts : They live with their parents . They are not criminals yet . They show no signs of improper behavior . In this study which is conducted through the experimental and analytical method , the results indicate that functions of the two family groups are totally different (72.08%) from the socialization of children , father's supportive and economic roles and their social relationship point of view .


This essay explores whether self or the Savior is at the heart of the prosperity gospel. An analysis and critique of its dogma indicates that it is predominantly anthropocentric, rather than Christocentric. This ego-focused outlook is likewise present in the health-and-wealth movement. One discovers that preachers of success are touting a religion of self in which people are the measure of all things. A detailed discussion of Ephesians 1 : 3-23 provides a needed biblical response. One learns that the Son, not self, is at the heart of the Father's plan of redemption. Also, it is in Christ alone that believers find forgiveness, hope, and wisdom. Only He is the meta-narrative of life, whether temporal or eternal in nature. Indeed, He is the sole reason for the existence of the church and the one who enables believers to complete their God-given work.


Chinese, as an aspect language, has played an important role in the development of aspect theory. This book is a systematic and structured exploration of the linguistic devices that Mandarin Chinese employs to express aspectual meanings. The work presented here is the first corpus-based account of aspect in Chinese, encompassing both situation aspect and viewpoint aspect. In using corpus data, the book seeks to achieve a marriage between theory-driven and corpus-based approaches to linguistics. The corpus-based model presented explores aspect at both the semantic and grammatical levels. At the semantic level a two-level model of situation aspect is proposed, which covers both the lexical and sentential levels, thus giving a better account of the compositional nature of situation aspect. At the grammatical level four perfective and four imperfective aspects in Chinese are explored in detail. This exploration corrects many intuition-based misconceptions, and associated misleading conclusions, about aspect in Chinese common in the literature.


The holding of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in American Pelagic Fishing Co. v. United States points to the conclusion that the government will almost never be liable, under the Takings Clause, when fisheries regulations reduce the value of commercial fishing permits, vessels, or gear. From the perspective of natural resource economics, this is a healthy result. Economists suggest that solving commons problems requires that natural resources be under the complete control of a sole owner who makes self-interested decisions about resource use, and if the Fifth Amendment required the government owner to compensate fishermen when it tightened regulations, it would hamper the government's ability to regulate optimally. One problem with the economic theory of commons solution, however, is that it does not distinguish between sole private ownership and sole government ownership in terms of their application. In this Article, I argue that government ownership is fraught with problems that do not occur in the private ownership context. To the extent that government resource owners rely on entrepreneurs to capture and sell natural resources, the government must play two roles: regulator and facilitator. These roles frequently come into conflict, inevitably compromising the effectiveness of regulation. Furthermore, entrepreneurs have incentives to lobby against long-term conservation. The poor condition of United States fisheries is proof that these two problems - government's dual role and fishermen's lobbying - are preventing the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act from achieving its goal of sustainable fisheries. Until the Act is changed to reduce both fishermen's incentive to lobby against conservation and the likelihood that regulators will accede to their demands, it will probably not succeed.


Array antenna systems are often used to enhance the received signal to interference and noise ratio when the signal operates in heavily jammed environment. Proper modeling of the received data at different antenna elements is important when evaluating the performance of this system, especially when both the signal and interference have wide frequency bands. The received data has two dimensions: space, because different antenna elements are separated on the antenna face and time, because sampled data from each element is collected over time. Therefore received data processing can be regarded as space-time processing. The time sequence data is referred to as the received waveform of a given antenna element. The antenna output is the linear combination of data from all the antenna elements. In conventional narrowband beamforming, time sequences at different antenna elements are related by some fixed phase shift. The phase shift is determined by the waveform's direction of arrival (DOA). For a wideband waveform, time sequences at different antenna elements are delayed in time and not simply related by a phase shift. If a wideband waveform arrives at an off boresight angle, the time delays may not be integer multiples of the sampling time (fractional delay). Thus, to properly process the received data at each antenna element, interpolation is necessary to derive the correct time samples. Fractional delay was first employed in a digital array phase shifter (Crochiere et al., 1975), and later in null-steering of antenna arrays (Ko and Lim, 1988) and also finds wide applications in other fields, such as digital modems (Zovojnovic and Meyr, 1988), speech coding (Kroon and Atal, 1991) and so on. The interpolation function used in this simulation study is sin(x)/x, where the power spectral density for the signal is assumed to be uniform. The received waveform is approximated by using a finite number of time samples in the interpolation formula, which is equivalent to approximation in a least square error sense (Laakso et al, 1996). If the power spectral density function were not uniform, then we would have to use a different interpolation function. The array antenna in this simulation study is assumed to have seven omni-directional elements placed on a plane arranged as a honeycomb. To avoid grating lobes, the spacing between the elements is assumed to half a wavelength of the center frequency. Simulation results based on adaptive processing algorithm of conventional adaptive array antenna and space time adaptive processor (STAP) are compared with the theoretical calculations. Convergence rates and interference rejection for the two approaches are discussed below. An important conclusion is that the wideband processing required by STAP significantly improves performance against wideband interference


A great deal of controversial evidence has arisen regarding the artificial sweetener Aspartame (NutraSweet). This dipeptide is composed of two amino acids that have been shown to have detrimental effects on brain/behavior function (Olney and Ho, 1970; Nyhan, 1984; Wurtman, 1983B). Aspartame ingestion causes a significant increase in brain phenylalanine and tyrosine, and a decrease in brain tryptophan (Wurtman, 1983), which may change brain excitability (Racine and Coscina, 1979; Cadell, Harlow and Waisman, 1962). The purpose of the present study was to determine if aspartame consumption for a one week period changed brain excitability by reducing after-discharge thresholds as measured by the kindling technique. Animals were stereotactically implanted with one bipolar electrode in Area CA3 of the Hippocampus. After-discharges were obtained for all animals (Day 0). The groups were: Group 0, animals that consumed water, Group 200, animals that consumed 200mg/kg of aspartame in water, and Group 800, animals that consumed 800mg/kg of aspartame, in water. After-discharge thresholds were obtained on Days 1 and 7 of liquid consumption. The mass kindling procedure began on the day following the end of the period of aspartame consumption. All animals were stimulated two or three times a day with the inter-stimulus interval being at least four hours. This was continued until three Stage-5 seizures were obtained. A generalized seizure triggering threshold (GST) was then obtained. The results show that there were no significant differences between food consumption, liquid consumption, weight gain or after-discharge thresholds between the groups. After-discharge thresholds were significantly different over days. A Newman-Kuels analysis comparing after-discharge thresholds for days showed Day0 > Day 1 > Day 7, and the ADT for Day 7 > GST. This was an expected finding since after-discharge thresholds do decrease with repeated stimulations (Racine, 1972A). However, brain excitability is not altered by aspartame consumption using the procedure employed in this study, nor was there any difference found in brain amino acid levels. Future studies should include a more detailed analysis on long-term aspartame consumption. -- Key Words: Aspartame (APM); Kindling; Epilepsy; Phenylalanine (PHE); Aspartic Acid (ASP); Tyrosine (TYR); Tryptophan (TRP); Serotonin (5-HT); After-discharge Threshold (ADT); After-discharge (AD); Generalized Triggering Seizure Threshold (GST); Glutamate (GLU); Seizure.


Abstract Global warming is causing glaciers in the Caucasus Mountains and around the world to lose mass at an accelerated pace. As a result of this rapid retreat, significant parts of the glacierized surface area can be covered with debris deposits, often making them indistinguishable from the surrounding land surface by optical remote-sensing systems. Here, we present the DebCovG-carto toolbox to delineate debris-covered and debris-free glacier surfaces from non-glacierized regions. The algorithm uses synthetic aperture radar-derived coherence images and the normalized difference snow index applied to optical satellite data. Validating the remotely-sensed boundaries of Ushba and Chalaati glaciers using field GPS data demonstrates that the use of pairs of Sentinel-1 images (2019) from identical ascending and descending orbits can substantially improve debris-covered glacier surface detection. The DebCovG-carto toolbox leverages multiple orbits to automate the mapping of debris-covered glacier surfaces. This new automatic method offers the possibility of quickly correcting glacier mapping errors caused by the presence of debris and makes automatic mapping of glacierized surfaces considerably faster than the use of other subjective methods.


Potato Tuber Moth (PTM), Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), is one of the damaging pests of potatoes in both field crops and storage worldwide. Larvae develop in the foliage and tubers of potatoes and cause direct losses of product. Mass trapping application of synthetic pheromone has been found to be effective to control P. operculella; however, several factors have to be optimized for improving its efficiency. This experiment was carried out during the 2012 season, Ardabil province, Iran to evaluate the effectiveness of pheromone trap to capture males for future development of a mass trapping technique, and a subsequent decrease in insect reproduction. Particularly, in this experiment the influence of color (yellow, red and green), and height (ground level, 0.3 and 0.6 m) of water-pan trap on males captures was tested. The results showed that green traps captured significantly (P < 0.05) more males than red and yellow traps. Water-pan traps placed at 0.6 above plant canopy captured significantly (P < 0.05) the highest number of the moths in comparison to traps placed at ground level and 0.3 m.


Thiol-terminated polysulfides (PS) are cured by mixing with an oxidant, resulting in limited shelf- and/or pot-life, depending on whether formulated as a one- or two-component system. Mixtures of thiol- and alkene-terminated polysulfides offer the potential for an on-demand curing process through thiol–ene photopolymerization. Thiol end groups of commercial polysulfides, PS-1 (1000 g/mol) and PS-2 (3000 g/mol), were converted to alkene by reaction with (meth)allyl bromide. Photopolymerizations were performed by irradiating films of equimolar thiol:ene mixtures at 320–500 nm (30 mW/cm2) in the presence of 5 wt % 2,2-dimethoxy-2-phenyl-acetophenone (DMPA). Reaction kinetics were measured using real-time FTIR by monitoring absorbances at 3075 cm−1 (alkene) or 2550 cm−1 (thiol). In the absence of any reactive diluent, mixtures of thiol and alkene polysulfides failed to gel notwithstanding high reaction conversion (>90%). Partial or total replacement of the thiol polysulfide component with pentaerythritol tetrakis(3-mercaptopropionate) (PETMP) yielded solid elastomeric films and ultimate reaction conversions of 80–96% after 5 min irradiation. Crosshatch adhesion measured on glass, aluminum, and steel was very poor (0B) for (meth)allyl PS-1/PETMP and poor (2B) for (meth)allyl PS-2/PETMP without adhesion promoters. (3-Mercaptopropyl)trimethoxysilane (1 wt %) significantly improved adhesion of (meth)allyl PS-2/PETMP on all substrates (4B) but yielded no improvement for (meth)allyl-terminated PS-1/PETMP. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2017, 134, 45523.


Given the prevalence of diabetes worldwide, with its associated complications, this study is aimed at investigating the effect of citrullus lanatus seed extract on blood glucose concentration and electrolyte parameters. Citrullus lanatus is an antioxidant and has been shown to reduce oxidative stress (Khaki et al., 2013). Effects of phytochemicals (flavonoids) on pancreatic β-cells leading to their proliferation and secretion of more insulin have been proposed by Mahesh and Menon (2004), as the mechanism by which medicinal plants used in the treatment of diabetes mellitus reduce hyperglycaemia in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Fifteen female wistar rats were used in the study, they were divided into three groups of five rats each, namely; the control group, diabetes control group administered distilled water, and diabetes group administered watermelon seed extract. The diabetic groups were made diabetic by single intraperitoneal injection of streptozotocin (60 mg/kg). Daily watermelon seed extract was administered orally (200 mg per kilogram body weight), one week post streptozotocin injection. On 29th day the rats were sacrificed and blood was collected via the inferior vena cava, into plain bottles and fluoride oxalate sample tubes for electrolyte; (Na + , K + , HCO3 - , Cl - ) and glucose analyses, respectively. Results showed that plasma glucose concentration decreased significantly (P 0.05) on Na + , K + , Cl - , and HCO3 - concentrations . In conclusion, watermelon seed extract may be of supportive treatment to combat diabetes complications. © JASEM


OBJECT
Painful osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures (VCFs) are a significant cause of disability in the elderly population. Kyphoplasty, a recently developed minimally invasive procedure, has been advocated for the successful management of these fractures in terms of immediate pain relief, and also for restoration of the premorbid level of daily activities. In this retrospective study the authors report on their experience with the early management of VCFs with kyphoplasty.

METHODS
A retrospective analysis was conducted in 13 patients (seven women and six men) whose ages ranged from 48 to 87 years (mean age 71.5 +/- 11 years [mean +/- standard deviation]). The interval between onset of symptoms and surgical intervention ranged from 4 to 9 weeks. Twenty levels (12 thoracic, eight lumbar) were treated in this cohort. Immediate and early postoperative (1-month follow-up visit) visual analog scale (VAS) pain scores, activity levels, and restoration of vertebral body (VB) height were assessed. The mean preoperative VAS score was 8 +/- 1, whereas the immediate and early postoperative scores were 1 +/- 1. These findings reflected a resolution of 90 to 100% of preoperative pain. All patients resumed routine activities within hours of the procedure, although improvement in VB height was not accomplished in this cohort. No major complications were encountered in this clinical series.

CONCLUSIONS
Kyphoplasty is a safe and effective method for the treatment of osteoporotic VCFs. Failure to restore VB height does not seem to interfere with the excellent pain management and good functional outcome provided by this procedure.


The construction manuals from Edition Detail have set new standards in the field of specialist literature, becoming an indispensable part of any architect's library. The latest volume in this series examines brickwork and the wide range of possibilities it offers. A completely new and revised edition, it documents in detail the technical principles involved in using brickwork for building, it examines the various materials used, their properties, the sizes and forms of bricks, the bonds, and the behaviour of brickwork under stress. The methods of building with brick are also dealt with in detail. In addition, full information is provided on the requirements with respect to heat, damp, sound-proofing and fire protection, and the most recent standards and norms are listed. Finally, a large number of built examples are presented, complete with plans and details, all of which illustrate the many applications of brickwork in contemporary construction. All plans have been specially produced by the editorial department Detail for this book and for ease of comparison, they have been drawn to the same scale.


Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) represents a major unmet medical need. In a phase II double-blind, placebo-controlled study, we tested the safety and efficacy of cilofexor (formerly GS-9674), a nonsteroidal farnesoid X receptor agonist in patients without cirrhosis with large-duct PSC. Patients were randomized to receive cilofexor 100 mg (n = 22), 30 mg (n = 20), or placebo (n = 10) orally once daily for 12 weeks. All patients had serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) > 1.67 × upper limit of normal and total bilirubin ≤ 2 mg/dL at baseline. Safety, tolerability, pharmacodynamic effects of cilofexor (serum C4 [7 α -hydroxy-4-cholesten-3-one] and bile acids), and changes in liver biochemistry and serum fibrosis markers were evaluated. Overall, 52 patients were randomized (median age 43 years, 58% male, 60% with inflammatory bowel disease, 46% on ursodeoxycholic acid). Baseline median serum ALP and bilirubin were 348 U/L (interquartile range 288-439) and 0.7 mg/dL (0.5-1.0), respectively. Dose-dependent reductions in liver biochemistry were observed. At week 12, cilofexor 100 mg led to significant reductions in serum ALP (median reduction −21%; P = 0.029 versus placebo), gamma-glutamyl transferase (−30%; P < 0.001), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) (−49%; P = 0.009), and aspartate aminotransferase (−42%; P = 0.019). Cilofexor reduced serum C4 compared with placebo; reductions in bile acids were greatest with 100 mg. Relative reductions in ALP were similar between ursodeoxycholic acid–treated and untreated patients. At week 12, cilofexor-treated patients with a 25% or more relative reduction in ALP had greater reductions in serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase 1, C-reactive protein, and bile acids than nonresponders. Adverse events were similar between cilofexor and placebo-treated patients. Rates of grade 2 or 3 pruritus were 14% with 100 mg, 20% with 30 mg, and 40% with placebo. Conclusion: In this 12-week, randomized, placebo-controlled study, cilofexor was well tolerated and led to significant improvements in liver biochemistries and markers of cholestasis in patients with PSC. (Hepatology 2019;70:788-801).


This paper investigates techniques to identify the topics being discussed in one week of tweets from the Australian Twittersphere. Tweets were extracted from a comprehensive dataset which captures all tweets by 2.8m Australian: the Tracking Infrastructure for Social Media Analysis (TrISMA) (Bruns, Burgess & Banks et al., 2016). Bruns & Moe (2014) suggest that most Twitter research to date has focussed on "the macro layer of Twitter communication" (p. 23-24), partly because it is methodologically difficult to move beyond this. The TrISMA dataset enables the selection of a dataset based on a date range, rather than being limited to keywords or hashtags. As a result, the extracted one-week dataset of 5.5 million tweets is not focussed on a particular topic, and contains tweets from all three layers of Twitter communication defined by Bruns & Moe (2014), not just predominately from the macro level of hashtag conversations. This study seeks to identify the themes present in this dataset using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) (Blei, Ng, and Jordan, 2003).

The results of the topic analysis are triangulated with the themes found by the different types of analysis as part of a wider methodological study determining other metrics for the same week. The ability to identify the themes present in a dataset has many applications, including identifying changes in themes over time, extracting subsets of the corpus for further study, and understanding the diversity of themes present.


BACKGROUND
Uncertainty often exists about the comparability of results obtained by different health risk indicator systems.

OBJECTIVES
To compare two health risk indicator systems, i.e, allostatic load and heart rate variability (HRV). Additionally, to investigate the feasibility of inclusion of HRV indicators into allostatic load assessments and which HRV indicators are best to introduce.

METHODS
Allostatic loads were calculated based on blood pressure, waist-to-hip ratio, BMI, cholesterol, HDL-C, LDL-C, CRP, albumin, glycosylated haemoglobin, blood glucose and cortisol excretion. Allostatic load scores were compared to HRV results obtained by frequency domain, time domain and Poincaré analyses.

RESULTS
Negative correlations were found between allostatic loads and total HRV, for all periods and all HRV analytical techniques (r=-0.67, p=0.0001 to r=-0.435, p=0.035), and between allostatic loads and vagal measures of HRV for supine (r=-0.592, p=0.001 to r=-0.584, p=0.001) and the first 5 minutes standing (r=-0.443, p=0.021 to r=-0.407, p=0.035), with all HRV techniques. Heart rate responses declined with increases in allostatic loads.

CONCLUSION
HRV and allostatic load scores give comparable results as health risk indicators. Baseline total HRV and vagal, rather than sympathetic, measures of HRV should be introduced into allostatic load assessments. Results are in line with the concept of vagal tone as a regulator of allostatic systems. Inclusion of heart rate responses to orthostatic stress, into allostatic load assessments, warrants further investigation.


This thesis seeks to rethink the history of the First Sicilian Slave War in the second century B.C. by reassessing the main literary source for the conflict, Diodorus Siculus, and introducing numismatic evidence for the conflict as a corrective to his testimony. Diodorus' narrative of the First Sicilian Slave War is discussed, and found to be a composite of two different narratives, each of which stresses different aspects about the First Sicilian Slave War. It is suggested that Diodorus combined the two narratives together in order to create his own, and that this knowledge allows us to read between the lines of his history and understand the history that lies behind it better. A case study of Diodorus' literary skills is presented, which discusses the ancient literary stereotypes and topoi that he used to describe the two leaders of the First Sicilian Slave War: Eunus/King Antiochus and Cleon. The conclusion reached is that Diodorus' descriptions of Eunus and Cleon, of a charlatan magician and a bandit herdsman respectively, achieved literary aims, and were not historical descriptions and cannot be used as such. As a way around the difficulties presented by Diodorus, a detailed study of the coinage of Eunus/King Antiochus is provided in order to assess how he wanted himself to be seen. This concludes that the coinage of Eunus/King Antiochus does not support the evidence of Diodorus about the First Sicilian Slave War, and that another understanding of the conflict must be considered: that it was not a slave rebellion, but a rebellion against Roman rule on Sicily.


Preference-based Reinforcement Learning (PbRL) replaces reward values in traditional reinforcement learning by preferences to better elicit human opinion on the target objective, especially when numerical reward values are hard to design or interpret. Despite promising results in applications, the theoretical understanding of PbRL is still in its infancy. In this paper, we present the first finite-time analysis for general PbRL problems. We first show that a unique optimal policy may not exist if preferences over trajectories are deterministic for PbRL. If preferences are stochastic, and the preference probability relates to the hidden reward values, we present algorithms for PbRL, both with and without a simulator, that are able to identify the best policy up to accuracy $\varepsilon$ with high probability. Our method explores the state space by navigating to under-explored states, and solves PbRL using a combination of dueling bandits and policy search. Experiments show the efficacy of our method when it is applied to real-world problems.


Location Fingerprinting (LF) is a promising localization technique that enables many commercial and emergency location-based services (LBS). Significant efforts have been invested in enhancing LF using advanced machine learning methods. Most of these techniques require a huge amount of geo-tagged training data to achieve significant improvement in accuracy. This increases calibration efforts and cost. In this paper, enhancing the localization accuracy by providing more reliable input data to the LF algorithms is discussed. A method to extract the most information content from the fingerprint measurements is proposed. The localization accuracy is improved without increasing the calibration costs or computational complexity. This solution can be scaled for high volume commercial LBS applications. We prototyped our proposed solution to locate users in an enterprise building scenario. Android mobile users connected to our local cloud localization server are accurately located within the building.


In order to run as long as possible on a single battery, battery-powered computers need to be efficient. A large part of that efficiency can be gained by using low-power hardware, but software can also help to reduce power consumption. One way to do that is to let the OS control the CPU frequency and core voltage. This paper will explain the backgrounds of power consumption in CPUs and how clock and voltage scaling can help to decrease the power consumption. It will show the current Linux implementation (cpufreq) and compare it with other implementations.


Ushered into the international development arena around the turn of this century by the German economist Inge Kaul, the concept of a global public good was an abstruse and surprising hit. Variations on it have found their way into most donor countries' aid policy narratives. Kaul herself has long argued that international development assistance should not be used for the production of global public goods. Nevertheless, donor agencies have thoroughly appropriated the concept. In this paper, I do two things. First, I argue that the concept of a global public good has generally been used in an unduly restricted and self-serving way in aid policy narratives, as a euphemism for 'solutions to transboundary problems of particular concern to donor countries'. I further argue that it might be deployed to greater effect were it linked more specifically to concrete, realistic global public policy commitments aimed at eliminating certain of the world's 'bads'—by, in effect, declaring them public enemies. I stress that global public policy commitments need not always yield net benefits for all. Some, morally based, might benefit only defined groups, as in the case of a global refugee resettlement regime. All such commitments, however, have in common a 'whatever it takes' character and credible means of implementation. Second, I here release, in an annex, the full transcript of an extended interview about the financing of global public goods that I conducted with Kaul in May 2015. This complements the material in the body of the paper because, while my own views about aid and global public goods do not completely accord with Kaul's, particularly in relation to the use of aid to support the production of such goods, they were formed in part through reflection over a period of time on our 2015 discussion.


Alcohol and drug abuse are strong predictors of suicide. While screening methods have proven effective at identifying and treating substance abuse in non-treatment-seeking users (e.g., screening and brief intervention [SBI]), less attention has been given to the co-occurrence of suicidality among this population, including its correlates and etiology. The current study addresses this gap by presenting data from early adult emergency department (ED) patients (mean age = 27; N = 505), screened for substance abuse and suicidal ideation. Prevalence of past year ideation was high (15%). Results demonstrated a significant and positive indirect effect of cocaine use severity on likelihood of suicidal ideation, mediated through family support. The implications for SBI practices in the ED and suicide etiology among non-treatment-seeking substance abusers are discussed. INDEX WORDS: Substance abuse, Substance use severity, Screening and brief intervention, Emergency department, Early adult, Social support, Suicidal ideation SUBSTANCE USE SEVERITY PREDICTS SUICIDAL IDEATION IN EARLY ADULT EMERGENCY DEPARMENT PATIENTS: THE ROLE OF FAMILY SUPPORT


A new process combination integrating adsorption on powdered adsorbent into a nanofiltration process is applied to landfill leachate treatment on a pilot scale. Lab scale experiments have shown that the permeate flux is significantly increased by the application of a flushing procedure combining permeate back flushing and feed and air cross flow flushing. In this paper an optimisation strategy for the flushing procedure is described and first experimental results are presented. These results indicate that the cross flow flushing velocity and the number of permeate side pressure pulses are the major factors of the flushing procedure.


Abstract. Over the last half century, the world has witnessed rapid urbanization which is expected to increase over the near future. Use and property rights are reflected as a complex equation of overlapping interests. A fit-for-purpose approach for the initial registration of such rights is of a great importance both in formally and informally developed urban areas, as it may empower tenure security, improve property management, formalize property markets and enable poverty reduction. In this paper a more generalized framework, adjustable to the available cartographic infrastructure and funding availability in each region, for the simultaneous implementation of 2D and 3D property registration, based on a Mobile Cloud Computing (MCC) architecture, is proposed. A Database Management System (DBMS) based on the Land Administration Domain Model (LADM) standard is used for the management and storage of the collected data, while a prototype open-source mobile application for the collection of 2D and 3D crowdsourced cadastral data, the automatic 3D modelling and visualization of 3D property units as block models (LoD1) on a mobile's phone screen in real-time is developed. A case study for a multi-storey building in an urban area of Athens, Greece, is presented. The first results seem to be interesting and promising. A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) assessment of the proposed framework, is conducted. The main conclusions referred to the potential and the perspectives of the proposed technical crowdsourced solution for the initial registration for the implementation of a Fit-For-Purpose 3D cadastral system are presented.


Detailed in this work is the design and development of a novel handheld
electrochemical analyzer system interfaced to smart phone. The custom made
electrochemical analyzer is versatile, cost-effective and can be used for real-time
applications. The electrochemical analyzer was characterised for electron transfer events
associated with chemical and biological samples.
The presented design was implemented based on the Arduino Nano open source
electronics prototyping platform. This platform includes a microcontroller, which is
then connected to a custom made electrochemical analyzer circuit. In a novel approach,
the versatility of the instrument was further demonstrated by employing the
electrochemical analyzer to a modified electrochemical cell which formed the basis of a
DNA biosensor. The cyclic voltammetry technique was used to impose a triangular
waveform on an electrochemical cell and the resulting current through the cell was then
monitored. The DNA biosensor generated unique electrical signals in real-time between
complementary and non-complementary oligonucleotides sequences of the Bacillus
cereus DNA and it proved to be effective.
Investigations were also undertaken by employing a commercial electrochemical
analyzer for label-free detection of DNA hybridization using impedimetric,
potentiometric and amperometric techniques. Impedance measurements are performed
without using additional redox probes. The effects of hybridization and non-specific
binding were compared when the probe DNA molecules were immobilized by different
immobilization methods on a conducting polymer matrix. The results showed that the
probe DNA immobilized using electrochemical adsorption yielded better hybridization
signals compared to other immobilization methods. Control experiments were also
performed to prove the specificity of the biosensor in the presence of noncomplementary
oligonucleotide and no unspecific bonding with the immobilized probe
was observed. The performance of the DNA sensor proved to be effective in terms of
selectivity, sensitivity and reproducibility of hybridization events. Analysis of these
DNA probes showed that the minimum level of detection was 33.3 pg/ml (103 CFU/ml).
The implications of the experimental results obtained are discussed as are the insights
they provide into further development of the analyzer. Future work would include
interface of a smaller scale sensor heads to use in a handheld electrochemical analyzer
system to detect environmental variables including pathogenic micro-organisms in realtime.
Individual sensors are based on the unique DNA signature of the specific
foodborne bacterial pathogen(s) will be developed. Based on sensor identification of
these pathogens, it will be possible to detect them directly from the food source.


As a country endowed with labour, India's situation is at best ironic. On the one hand, domestic economic growth has created huge employment demand and job opportunities, while on the other, a shortage of skills is making more people unemployable. What adds to the irony is that there are 17 central government ministries that offer skill development initiatives through school education, institutes of higher learning and specialised vocational training institutes. The large size of the population and training structure, has better labour productivity (indicating higher skills). This paper argues that India lacks sufficient skilled workers as its existing vocational training system does not target the casual or informal workforce, which constitutes over 90 per cent of India's working population. This paper examines the vocational training offered for specific skills in construction and highlights the lack of inclusiveness and poor coordination in the complex federal government structure.


In face of escalating health care costs, new technology holds great promise for innovative solutions and new, more sustainable health care models. Technology centers around the individual, allowing for greater autonomy and control in health issues and access to tailored information and customized health behavior interventions. While this offers good opportunities for both public health impact and improved well-being at individual levels, it also emphasizes the need for properly designed e-health models firmly based on scientific principles and adequate theoretical frameworks. Consequently, this project aims to design an interactive tool utilizing an interdisciplinary approach combining motivational theory with the fields of information technology and business model innovation. In collaboration with two companies from the e-health industry, the purpose is to design, apply and evaluate a person-centered interactive prototype for maintainable and self-determined exercise motivation.


RATIONALE
Airway remodeling is believed to be important in the pathophysiology of asthma, and myofibroblasts are increased in the airways of asthmatic individuals 24 h after allergen challenge. Leukotriene receptor antagonists exert antiinflammatory activity in asthma, but it is unknown whether they influence indices of airway remodeling. In the present study, we evaluated the effect of montelukast on airway myofibroblasts following low-dose allergen challenge (LDAC).

METHODS
Stable subjects with mild asthma were included in a two-center, randomized, parallel-group study. A 2-week run-in period was followed by LDAC and endobronchial biopsy. Subjects were then randomized to receive either montelukast, 10 mg/d, or placebo (n = 10 in each group) for 8 weeks in a double-blind manner; at the end of the treatment period, subjects underwent a second LDAC and endobronchial biopsy. The effect of treatment on myofibroblasts, fibroblasts, and inflammatory cells was examined using electron microscopy techniques.

RESULTS
Treatment with montelukast showed no significant difference by comparison with placebo but did show a significant within-group treatment-related decrease in airway wall myofibroblasts not seen in the placebo group. In addition, the montelukast-treated group also showed a significant within-group reduction in lymphomononuclear cells and increased neutrophils.

CONCLUSIONS
The results suggest that montelukast has an inhibitory effect on airway structural cells that play a key role in airway remodeling in allergic airway inflammation, and that montelukast may be a useful therapy to attenuate airway remodeling in asthma.


In 2010, the pressure on exit taxes in the field of corporate income taxation has increased. In this article, it will be investigated which kind of exit taxes exist in the field of corporate income tax. The Dutch corporate income tax will be used as an example. First, the author analyses the exit taxes from a domestic legislation and a tax treaty point of view. Dutch legislation provides for an immediate taxation over the hidden reserves of the assets/liabilities of a company that migrates and, as a result, is no longer effectively taxable in the Netherlands. Subsequently, it is being investigated whether levying an exit tax is a forbidden infringement on the freedoms of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). The author comes to the conclusion that the exit tax forms an infringement on the freedom of residence, but that the preservation of the balanced allocation of taxing power forms a justification. However, the exit tax provisions are not proportional: a mechanism with, for example, a preservative assessment would be more proportional. However, because of the unclarity regarding the application of the proportionality principle by the ECJ, it could be that the ECJ will accept an immediate taxation upon exit and will not force the Netherlands to introduce a preservative assessment mechanism in the field of corporate income tax.


The objective of this graduate research service learning project is to evaluate options in several key areas of designing a successful Nonprofit Restaurant, including: Education & Training; Target Customers; Location; Food Concepts; Suppliers; and Types of Payment. Research is conducted for Nonprofit Restaurants in general, and specific research is provided for the project client, Palmetto Works Community Development Corporation. They are working with other organizations to create C.H.O.P.S. – Culinary & Hospitality Operatives Prepared to Serve Culinary Arts Training Program. For each key area, this graduate research service learning project evaluates options and makes recommendations that allow C.H.O.P.S and other Nonprofit Restaurants to: • Utilize the appropriate Policies and Procedures (P&P) menu and self-assessment processes from previous graduate research service learning projects • Make operational choices that minimize the potential for fraud • Make recommendations that take full advantage of opportunities to demonstrate financial accountability to donors and grant makers, and • Choose an approach that meets their commitment to achieving best practices while maximizing the benefit to both program trainees and the surrounding community.


MOTIVATION
Researchers now have access to large volumes of genome sequences for comparative analysis, some generated by the plethora of public sequencing projects and, increasingly, from individual efforts. It is not possible, or necessarily desirable, that the public genome browsers attempt to curate all these data. Instead, a wealth of powerful tools is emerging to empower users to create their own visualizations and browsers.

RESULTS
We introduce a pipeline to easily generate collections of Web-accessible UCSC Genome Browsers interrelated by an alignment. It is intended to democratize our comparative genomic browser resources, serving the broad and growing community of evolutionary genomicists and facilitating easy public sharing via the Internet. Using the alignment, all annotations and the alignment itself can be efficiently viewed with reference to any genome in the collection, symmetrically. A new, intelligently scaled alignment display makes it simple to view all changes between the genomes at all levels of resolution, from substitutions to complex structural rearrangements, including duplications. To demonstrate this work, we create a comparative assembly hub containing 57 Escherichia coli and 9 Shigella genomes and show examples that highlight their unique biology.

AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION
The source code is available as open source at: https://github.com/glennhickey/progressiveCactus The E.coli and Shigella genome hub is now a public hub listed on the UCSC browser public hubs Web page.


Philosophical and ethical discussions of warfare are often tied to emerging technologies and techniques. Today we are presented with what many believe is a radical shift in the nature of war-the realization of conflict in the cyber-realm, the so-called "fifth domain" of warfare. Does an aggressive act in the cyber-realm constitute an act of war? If so, what rules should govern such warfare? Are the standard theories of just war capable of analyzing and assessing this mode of conflict? These changing circumstances present us with a series of questions demanding serious attention. Is there such a thing as cyberwarfare? How do the existing rules of engagement and theories from the just war tradition apply to cyberwarfare? How should we assess a cyber-attack conducted by a state agency against private enterprise and vice versa? Furthermore, how should actors behave in the cyber-realm? Are there ethical norms that can be applied to the cyber-realm? Are the classic just war constraints of non-combatant immunity and proportionality possible in this realm? Especially given the idea that events that are constrained within the cyber-realm do not directly physically harm anyone, what do traditional ethics of war conventions say about this new space? These questions strike at the very center of contemporary intellectual discussion over the ethics of war. In twelve original essays, plus a foreword from John Arquilla and an introduction, Binary Bullets: The Ethics of Cyberwarfare, engages these questions head on with contributions from the top scholars working in this field today.


OBJECTIVE
L-theanine is a unique amino acid present almost exclusively in the tea plant. It possesses neuroprotective, mood-enhancing, and relaxation properties. This is a first study designed to evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of L-theanine augmentation of antipsychotic treatment of patients with chronic schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

METHOD
60 patients with DSM-IV schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder participated in an 8-week, double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study. 400 mg/d of L-theanine was added to ongoing antipsychotic treatment from February 2006 until October 2008. The outcome measures were the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale (HARS), the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) for neurocognitive functioning, and additional measures of general functioning, side effects, and quality of life.

RESULTS
40 patients completed the study protocol. Compared with placebo, L-theanine augmentation was associated with reduction of anxiety (P = .015; measured by the HARS scale) and positive (P = .009) and general psychopathology (P < .001) scores (measured by the PANSS 3-dimensional model). According to the 5-dimension model of psychopathology, L-theanine produced significant reductions on PANSS positive (P = .004) and activation factor (P = .006) scores compared to placebo. The effect sizes (Cohen d) for these differences ranged from modest to moderate (0.09-0.39). PANSS negative and CANTAB task scores, general functioning, side effect, and quality of life measures were not affected by L-theanine augmentation. L-theanine was found to be a safe and well-tolerated medication.

CONCLUSIONS
L-theanine augmentation of antipsychotic therapy can ameliorate positive, activation, and anxiety symptoms in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder patients. Further long-term studies of L-theanine are needed to substantiate the clinically significant benefits of L-theanine augmentation.


Abstract Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) infections are a significant public health issue, with foodborne transmission causing >1 million illnesses worldwide each year. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis (PROSPERO registry # CRD42017074239), to determine the relative association of different food types with sporadic illnesses caused by STEC. Searches were conducted from 01 August to 30 September 2017, using bibliographic and grey literature databases, websites and expert consultation. We identified 22 case-control studies of sporadic STEC infection in humans, from 10 countries within four World Health Organization subregions, from 1985 to 2012. We extracted data from 21 studies, for 237 individual measures in 11 food categories and across three status types (raw or undercooked, not raw and unknown). Beef was the most significant food item associated with STEC illness in the Americas and Europe, but in the Western Pacific region, chicken was most significant. These findings were not significantly moderated by the raw or cooked status of the food item, nor the publication year of the study. Data from the African, South-East Asian and Eastern Mediterranean subregions were lacking and it is unclear whether our results are relevant to these regions.


Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to explore the main determinants of Internet banking users on the basis of literature of technology acceptance model (TAM). Understanding and predicting main determinants of Internet banking is an important issue for banking industry and users. Design/methodology/approach - – Service quality and trust were incorporated in the TAM together with demographic variables. The data were collected using Google Docs from 110 Omani Internet banking users. A two-staged regression-neural network model was applied to understand and predict Internet banking adoption. Findings - – The results obtained from multiple linear regression model were compared with the results from neural network model to predict Internet banking adoption and the performance of latter model was found to superior. The neural network model was able to capture relative importance of all independent variables, service quality, trust, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, attitude and demographic variables, whereas perceived ease of use and demographic variables were not significant predictors of Internet banking adoption as per the regression model. Practical implications - – This study provides useful insights with regard to development of Internet banking systems to banking professionals and information systems researchers in Oman and similar emerging economies. Originality/value - – This study is probably the first attempt to model Internet banking adoption in Gulf Cooperation Council using a predictive rather than explanatory focus. The majority of studies in Internet banking adoption in Oman and elsewhere usually utilize modeling methods suited for explanatory purposes.


This document aims at establishing a common understanding about a set of scenarios that can be used as a base for the evaluation of different information-centric networking (ICN) approaches so that they can be tested and compared against each other while showcasing their own advantages. Towards this end, we review the ICN literature and document scenarios which have been considered in previous performance evaluation studies. We discuss a variety of aspects that an ICN solution can address. This includes general aspects, such as, network efficiency, reduced complexity, increased scalability and reliability, mobility support, multicast and caching performance, real-time communication efficiency, energy consumption frugality, and disruption and delay tolerance. We detail ICN-specific aspects as well, such as information security and trust, persistence, availability, provenance, and location independence. This document is a product of the IRTF Information-Centric Networking Research Group (ICNRG).


Literature on comparative capitalism remains divided between approaches founded on stylized case study evidence and descriptions of broad trends, and those that focus on macro data. In contrast, this study explores the relevance of Amable's approach to understanding differences in employment relations practice, based on firm-level micro data. The article examines employee–employer interdependence (including turnover rates) in different categories of economy as classified by Amable. The findings confirm that exit – whether forced or voluntary – remains more common in market-based economies than in their continental counterparts and that institutionalized employee voice is an important variable in reducing turnover. However, there is as much diversity within the different country categories as between them, and across continental Europe. In Denmark's case, high turnover is combined with high unionization, showing the effects of a 'flexicurity' strategy. While employee voice may be stronger in Scandinavia, interdependence is weaker than in continental Europe.


This article presents an extension of the theory of differential argument encoding developed in Aissen (1999, 2003). It is based on the empirical observation that the yes/no alternations envisaged in Aissen's system are only part of a much broader less/more pattern. We maintain Aissen's hypothesis that the effects of differential argument encoding can be derived from harmonic alignment of markedness scales, but we argue that differential encoding should best be viewed as a purely morphological phenomenon (rather than as a syntactic phenomenon, as in Aissen's approach). More specifically, we suggest that harmonic alignment of scales may bring about impoverishment operations that reduce syntactic inputs for morphological realization (see Halle a Marantz (1993)). The result is a unified account for differential argument encoding that comprises alternations between two or more overt markers, which fall out of Aissen's systems. The empirical evidence for our approach comes from Hindi, Mannheim German, Trumai, and Cavinena.