On the Syntax of Multiple Sluicing and What It Tells Us about Wh-Scope Taking

Across many languages multiple sluicing obeys a clause-mate constraint. This can be understood on the empirically well-supported assumption that covert phrasal wh-movement is clause-bounded and subject to superiority. We provide independent evidence for syntactic structure at the ellipsis site and for locality constraints on movement operations within the ellipsis site. The fact that the distribution of multiple sluicing is substantially narrower than that of multiple wh-questions, on their single-pair as well as their pairlist reading, entails that there must be mechanisms for scoping in-situ wh-phrases that do not rely on covert phrasal wh-movement. We adopt the choice functional account for single-pair readings. For pair-list readings, we develop a novel functional analysis, argue for the functional basis of pair-list readings, and present a new perspective on pair-list readings of questions with quantifiers

Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease: The Effect of Varying Stimulation Parameters

Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation (STN DBS) is a well-established and effective treatment modality for selected patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Since its advent, systematic exploration of the effect of stimulation parameters including the stimulation intensity, frequency, and pulse width have been carried out to establish optimal therapeutic ranges. This review examines published data on these stimulation parameters in terms of efficacy of treatment and adverse effects. Altering stimulation intensity is the mainstay of titration in DBS programming via alterations in voltage or current settings, and is characterised by a lower efficacy threshold and a higher side effect threshold which define the therapeutic window. In addition, much work has been done in exploring the effects of frequency modulation, which may help patients with gait freezing and other axial symptoms. However, there is a paucity of data on the use of ultra-short pulse width settings which are now possible with technological advances. We also discuss current evidence for the use of novel programming techniques including directional and adaptive stimulation, and highlight areas for future research

Texture Assessment in SCS-6 Fibers from Ultrasonic Dispersion Measurements

Advanced fibers used to reinforce composite materials exhibit complicated morphology. Typically, the fiber consists of a cylindrical core embedded in a cladding region followed by a distinct interface zone separating the fiber system from the matrix region. In addition, the cladding region itself often consists of subregions which can be identified as more or less distinct layers. According to the simplest micromechanical models these coaxial layers are assumed to be isotropic and homogeneous. At low frequencies when the acoustic wavelength is much larger than the radius of the fiber, such a composite fiber exhibits significant anisotropy of transversely symmetric nature manifested by higher axial stiffness relative to the radial one. This macroscopic anisotropy is caused by the coaxial structure and the possibly imperfect interfaces between the layers. The main goal of this study was to determine whether this structural anisotropy produced by the presence of microscopically isotropic and homogeneous constituents is sufficient to account for all of the macroscopic anisotropy observed in real fibers or, in addition, microscopic anisotropy caused by some texturing in the constituents themselves is needed to properly model the fiber at ultrasonic frequencies. Apparent texturing in the constituents can be caused by either real microscopic anisotropy due to preferred crystallographic orientation of grain growth during manufacturing or by additional structural anisotropy due to strong radial inhomogeneity in the material composition, e.g., increasing carbon content in the silicon carbide caladding

Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease: Valuable Programming Insights from Anecdotal Observations

In this article, we use a case to illustrate and discuss some practically important learning points about programming subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease patients and highlight clinically relevant issues resulting from anatomical and device-related anomalies. These include the phenomenon of a dominant subthalamic nucleus, clinical variability with delayed response to stimulation, equivalence of electrical charge when using short-pulse settings, and issues regarding conversion of settings between constant-current and constant-voltage devices that are increasingly common with the use of device components from multiple manufacturers