Building upon my long-term ethnographic research at an auto salvage yard in Central Bohemia, I attempt to reveal through the lens of the 'quiet sustainability' concept that 'greening' can also be achieved quietly by the grey economy of breaking cars. The case of auto salvage yards shows that sustainability rises even through the yearning for profit. At auto salvage yards, economic meets eco-logic. Therefore, the unintentional sustainability reached by breakers opens space for debate on sustainability reached through the profit motive. While quiet practices leading towards sustainability might not lead to large-scale environmental or social changes, reaching sustainability through profitable practices seems to be a much more appealing way for many, with considerably larger pro-environmental consequences. Hence, these practices could provide inspiration for strategies towards a more sustainable society.


Summary 1. Ability to self-fertilize is correlated with invasiveness in several introduced floras, and this has been attributed to its mitigating effect on fecundity when pollinator visitation and mate availability are inadequate. Cross-pollination opportunities are expected to be most limited in isolated individuals and small populations, both typical of the leading edge of an invasion. Thus, self-pollination may promote invasion in part by mitigating pollen-limitation Allee effects. 2. We used emasculation and pollen supplementation experiments to test whether the importance of self-pollination for fecundity increased as plant abundance decreased and isolation increased, in the hawkmoth-pollinated and autonomously self-pollinating invasive lily Lilium formosanum, in its introduced range in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. As inbreeding depression is negligible in these populations, seed production through selfing is likely to be demographically important. 3. In naturalized populations of L. formosanum, varying in size and degree of isolation, emasculation reduced seed production by two-thirds, indicating strong reliance on self-fertilization for fecundity due to inadequate pollinator visitation. However, this was not related to population size and was only greater for more isolated populations in one of the 3 years in which the experiment was carried out. Pollen supplementation experiments showed that pollen limitation was low – 12% on average – and significant in only one of 3 years, demonstrating that autonomous self-pollination was highly effective. 4. In artificial arrays, consisting of plants placed inside naturalized populations or in pairs isolated (3–702 m) from populations, the effect of emasculation on fecundity was greater in isolated plants than those inside the population in one of two populations. Isolation reduced fecundity when emasculated plants were placed next to a second emasculated plant, but not when emasculated plants were partnered with an intact plant, from which they could receive pollen. 5. We conclude that self-fertilization in L. formosanum compensates for inadequate pollinator visitation across all levels of population size and for a pollen-limitation Allee effect due to decreased mate availability in isolated plants, and may thus play an important role in invasion.


OBJECTIVE To assess the quality of life (QoL) of patients with multiple sclerosis in France, Germany, and the United Kingdom with a cross sectional study. METHODS Patients were classified into three severity groups according to the expanded disability severity scale (EDSS); stage I, II, and III, corresponding to mild (EDSS 1.0–3.5), moderate (EDSS 4.0–6.0), or severe (EDSS 6.5–8.0) multiple sclerosis respectively. Ninety patients with multiple sclerosis and 30 control patients without multiple sclerosis were recruited in each country. Control patients were matched to the patients with multiple sclerosis according to age and sex. Quality of life was assessed using the functional status questionnaire (FSQ). RESULTS The aspects of QoL that were mostly affected in the three countries under study were physical function and general wellbeing. Social role function decreased with increased severity of disease in France and in particular in Germany. Multiple sclerosis did not seem to have an impact on psychological function. The QoL of control patients was systematically higher than that of patients with multiple sclerosis. CONCLUSIONS Use of such a generic scale showed that progression of multiple sclerosis is accompanied by a decrease in QoL and suggested that this could be a relevant measurement in assessing the effect of treatment and progression of disease. Variation between countries, however, may be important.


A compact passively Q-switched Yb:YAG microchip laser is demonstrated. Featuring a semiconductor saturable-absorber mirror (SESAM), the laser yields pulses of 219 ps when the length of the microchip Yb:YAG crystal is 100 ?m and the beam quality is M2<1.3. To the best of our knowledge, pulses from the proposed laser are the shortest Q-switching pulses obtained from Yb:YAG microchip lasers currently available.


This chapter looks at a broad range of exegeses of Qurʾān 3:113 which refers to an "upright community" (umma qāʾima) from among the People of the Book (ahl al-kitāb), the Qurʾānic appellation for Jews and Christians. Considered together with Qurʾān 5:66 which refers to a "moderate community" (umma muqtaṣida) from among them, this verse clearly suggests that it is subscription to some common standard of righteousness and ethical conduct that determines the salvific nature of a religious community, and not the denominational label it chooses to wear. The principal exegetes consulted are Muqātil b. Sulaymān, al-Ṭabarī, al-Rāzī, al-Qurṭubī, Ibn Kathīr, and Muḥammad ʿAbduh, among others. A diachronic survey of their exegetical works reveals significant transformations in the understanding of this key verse, which had considerable implications for interfaith relations in the pre-modern world, as they do in the contemporary period.


The laminin β2 chain is a basement membrane component expressed in a tissue- and developmental stage-specific manner. In this report we have examined the transcriptional and post-transcriptional regulation of the human laminin β2 chain in human tumor cell lines. Both the A204 rhabdomyosarcoma and clone A colon carcinoma cells express the laminin β2 chain mRNA, but only the A204 cells secrete laminin heterotrimers containing the β2 chain. Segments of the β2 chain gene promoter region were cloned into luciferase reporter vectors, and their ability to stimulate transcription was tested by transient transfection. Sequences downstream of the transcription start site between nucleotides +91 and +120 were found to be essential for luciferase activity in the two cell lines. Additional positive regulatory regions were present further upstream, between nucleotides −164 to −667 and between nucleotides −667 to −1724. Genomic DNA at the 3′ end of the gene also appeared to have enhancer activity, as a 1.1-kb fragment located downstream of the last exon stimulated the luciferase activity of the nucleotides −667/+297 promoter segment ≈ threefold. Alternative splicing of the first intron of the human laminin β2 chain gene generates two isoforms of the 5′ untranslated region of the β2 chain mRNA. The translational efficiencies of the two laminin β2 chain leaders did not differ significantly, when assayed by polysome profile analysis of endogenous clone A cell β2 chain mRNA, transient transfection of chimeric β2 chain leader/luciferase expression plasmids in clone A cells, and translation of in vitro synthesized RNAs in rabbit reticulocyte lysates.


This project's specifically purposed as a demo application, so anyone can get the experience of a surround audio room without having to physically involved to it, with a main idea of generating a 3D surround sound room scenery coupled with surround sound in a handier package, namely, a "Virtual Listen Room". Virtual Listen Room set a foundation of an innovative visualization that later will be developed and released as one of way of portable advertisement. This application was built inside of Android environment. Android device had been chosen as the implementation target, since it leaves massive development spaces and mostly contains essential components needed on this project, including graphic processor unit (GPU).  Graphic manipulation can be done using an embedded programming interface called OpenGL ES, which is planted in all Android devices generally. Further, Android has a Accelerometer Sensor that is needed to be coupled with scene to produce a dynamic movement of the camera. Surround sound effect can be reached with a decoder from Phillips called MPEG Surround Sound Decoder. To sum the whole project, we got an application with sensor-dynamic 3D room visualization coupled with Philips' Surround Sound Music Player. We can manipulate several room's properties; Subwoofer location, Room light, and how many speakers inside it, the application itself works well despite facing several performance problems before, later to be solved. [ Keywords : Android,Visualization,Open GL ; ES ; 3D ; Surround Sensor ]


Among all orchids, Dendrobium sp. is considered to have high medicinal value. Dendrobium moniliforme and Dendrobium transparens have immense pharmaceutical, commercial potentiality. However, their fungal endophytes remain unexplored. Isolation and identification of thirteen species of endophytic fungi from the root of D. moniliforme as well as five species from the roots of D. transparens were done. The two endophytic fungi namely Aspergillus flavus and Trichoderma harzianum were common for both plant species. Antimicrobial assay was done against selected human pathogen both gram positive and negative Escherichia coli, Pseudomanas aeruginosa, Staphyllococcus aureus and Staphyllococcus epidermidis. The antimicrobial assay showed the significant role of endophytic fungi to inhibit the bacterial growth. Methanolic extract of DeMon VI and DeMon X were prepared to identify the bioactive compounds. Phenolic and 3-Eicosene,(E)-compounds were identified from extract of DeMon VI whereas Pentadecanoic acid, 14 methyle-, methyl ester and Diethyl Phthalate were identified from extract of DeMon X.

 Key words: Orchids, Dendrobium sp., endophytic fungi, Human pathogen.


Because few studies have explored preservice speech-language pathologists' (SLP's) learning outcomes in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) coursework and clinical practica, there is a need to investigate student learning in this area. This article represents a portion of a larger study that explored the expert-novice gap in planning for intervention with children who use AAC. The companion article reports clinical reasoning skills, whereas the present study revealed intervention planning skills. The methods are the consistent with those reported in the companion article. In summary, eight novice (i.e. preservice) SLPs and eight expert SLPs completed think-aloud tasks while they developed intervention plans. Verbal data were transcribed and analyzed qualitatively. Eight intervention planning skills emerged from the data: selecting treatment style, planning activities, selecting or developing materials, planning teaching strategies, selecting targets, goal setting, collecting data, and feature matching. Considerable overlap across expert and novice performance was observed in some areas, while minor differences were noted in other skills. Expert-novice gaps were identified in two areas, developing a treatment style and feature matching. Familiarity with expert-novice gaps in intervention planning has implications for preservice instruction in AAC.


Hyperspectral image (HSI) classification consists of a variety of algorithms involving supervised or unsupervised. In supervised classification, some reference data are used. Training data are not used in unsupervised classification methods. The type of a classification algorithm depends on the nature of the input and reference data. The spectral matching, statistical and kernel based methods are the most widely known classification algorithms for hyperspectral imaging. Spectral matching algorithms try to identify the similarity of the unknown spectral signature of test pixels with the expected signature. Even though most spectra in real applications are random, the amount of training data with respect to the dimensionality affects the performances of the statistical classifiers substantially. In this study, an efficient spectral similarity method employing Multi-Scale Vector Tunnel Algorithm (MS-VTA) for supervised classification of the materials in hyperspectral imagery is introduced. With the proposed algorithm, a simple spectral similarity based decision rule using limited amount of reference data or spectral signature is formed and compared with the Euclidian Distance (ED) and the Spectral Angle Map (SAM) classifiers. The prediction of multi-level upper and lower spectral boundaries of spectral signatures for all classes across spectral bands constitutes the basic principle of the proposed algorithm.


Acetyl phosphate and 1,3-diphosphoglycerate react with glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase to form relatively stable enzyme substrate compounds. These compounds appear to be thiol esters, and their properties indicate that they are intermediates in the catalytic activity of the enzyme: they undergo hydrolysis and arsenolysis in the presence of DPN and are reduced by DPNH to form aldehydes. These results are in agreement with the mechanism previously proposed for the oxidation of aldehydes in which a thiol ester formed on the enzyme, with concomitant reduction of DPN, is split in the presence of phosphate to acyl phosphate and regenerated enzyme.


OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effects of gestational age and other maternal factors on immunologic responses to influenza vaccination. METHODS: Antepartum and postpartum women receiving influenza vaccination as part of routine clinical care were enrolled through four consecutive vaccination seasons (starting October 2006 through January 2010). Immunologic responses to trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine and monovalent H1N1 were assessed as well as factors influencing vaccine responsiveness. Serum samples were obtained at baseline and 4–8 weeks postvaccination. RESULTS: Two hundred thirty-nine participants were included in the current analysis. Seroconversion rates to trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine strains were lowest in the first trimester (54.8%) and immediately postpartum (54.8%) and were highest in the late third trimester (69.6%) and late postpartum (69.4%); these differences were not statistically significant (P=.23). In a multivariable model, higher baseline antibody levels (P<.001) and prior year flu vaccination (P=.03) were both significantly associated with reduced odds of seroconversion. Overall, results were consistent when comparing trivalent inactivated influenza vaccine and monovalent pandemic H1N1 responses. Although there was overall no significant association between gestational age at vaccination (P=.23) or prepregnancy body mass index (P=.16), we observed somewhat lower rates of seroconversion for women vaccinated in the first trimester and for obese women. CONCLUSION: Adequate immunologic responses to inactivated influenza vaccines were demonstrated during pregnancy and the postpartum period. No diminution of immunogenicity was observed in the third trimester, a time of increased clinical vulnerability to influenza. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II


Data representing the trajectories of moving point objects are becoming increasingly ubiquitous in GIScience, and are the focus of much methodological research aimed at extracting patterns and meaning describing the underlying phenomena. However, current research within GIScience in this area has largely ignored issues related to scale and granularity – in other words how much are the patterns that we see a function of the size of the looking glass that we apply? In this article we investigate the implications of varying the temporal scale at which three movement parameters, speed, sinuosity and turning angle are derived, and explore the relationship between this temporal scale and uncertainty in the individual data points making up a trajectory. A very rich dataset, representing the movement of 10 cows over some two days every 0.25 s is investigated. Our cross‐scale analysis shows firstly, that movement parameters for all 10 cows are broadly similar over a range of scales when the data are segmented to remove quasi‐static subtrajectories. However, by exploring realistic values of GPS uncertainty using Monte Carlo Simulation, it becomes apparent that fine scale measurement of all movement parameters is masked by uncertainties, and that we can only make meaningful statements about movement when we take these uncertainties into account.


The aim of the present study was to evaluate the role of polyamines in the metabolism and insulin production of pancreatic-islet cells. For this purpose islets were prepared from adult mice and used either immediately or after tissue culture. There was a significant decrease in the islet content of spermidine during culture, although the effect was less pronounced in a high glucose concentration. Furthermore, a stimulatory effect of a high glucose concentration, as compared with low guclose, on the content of spermine was observed. To elucidate further the role of polyamaines in beta-cell physiology, the ornithine decarboxylase inhibitors difuoromethylornithine (DFMO) and methylacetylenic putrescine (MAP) and the S-adenosylmethionine decarboxylase inhibitor ethylglyoxal bis(guanylhydrazone) (EGBG) were added to the culture media. Addition of DFMO together with MAP decreased the cellular contents of putrescine and spermidine, whereas the content of sperimine was unaffected. When EGBG was added in combination with DFMO and MAP, there was a decrease in the content of spermine also. Cell viability in the islets depleted of their polyamine contents was not impaired, as assessed by determinations of oxygen-uptake rates and ATP contents. Depletion of putescine plus spermidine by addition of DFMO+MAP was associated with decreased biosynthesis of (pro)insulin and total protein. When the content of spermine was decreased also by the further addition of EGBG, the decrease in (pro) insulin biosynthesis was more pronounced and was paralleled by a decrease in the insulin-mRNA content. Under these conditions, the glucose-stimulated insulin release, the insulin content and the rates of islet DNA synthesis were also decreased. It is concluded that putrescine and spermidine are necessary for the maintenance of normal insulin and protein biosynthesis, whereas spermine may exert a role in some other cellular processes, such as DNA replication, RNA transcription and glucose-stimulated insulin release.


A multiscale simulation model was built to study the nanometric cutting process of single crystal copper. This multiscale model distinctly reduces the degree of freedom of the whole system compared with full atomistic simulations. Through analyzing the fluctuations of tangential cutting force and strain energy with cutting distance, we confirm that the deformation mechanism of single crystal copper is plastic deformation caused by generation and evolution dislocation. The highest compressive stress locates in shear zone and highest tensile stress locates in the machined surface and subsurface. Simulation results show that there exists a high value of stress around dislocations, which reveals the local high value of stress is the main reason for the generation and evolution of dislocations in the workpiece material.


Currently one of the most widely discussed issues is the economic disparities. In order to alleviate developmental differences, a public aid is often allocated to the peripheral or less developed rural regions. The latter type of areas has long been of particular interest to the European Union (EU) and its cohesion policy. The aim of the paper was to analyse the changes in the level of socio-economic development of Polish regions in the context of cohesion policy introduction. It follows from the research that EU cohesion policy instruments contributed to the socio-economic development of regions in Poland. In the analysed time span a significant support from the EU funds was allocated to the rural regions. However, this financial aid only partly affected the reduction of socio-economic disparities in the country. The research was based on data from public statistics aggregated at the subregional level (NUTS-3) and the literature of the subject. For the purposes of this study, the method of statistical analysis was used. Keywords: rural regions, socio-economic development, EU, Cohesion Policy


The eye development has been studied in the 12-day-old, 14-day-old embryos and in neonates of Cm/+ ak/ak genotype. The gene coloboma (Cm) in heterozygous state causes a typical coloboma of the iris and the gene aphakia (ak) blocks the lens development in the homozygotes. It has been shown that in Cm/+ ak/ak mice the eyes go through mainly the same abnormal development as that in +/+ ak/ak animals. In mice of both genotypes the lens morphogenesis blocking at the vesicle stage and the retinal fold in the dorsal half of the eye develops. However, the ventral retinal fold which is characteristic for the +/+ ak/ak mice does not form in the Cm/+ ak/ak animals that is the result of the interaction of Cm and ak genes in the eye morphogenesis. The Cm gene suppressing the growth of the retina ventral half inhibits the formation of its fold in Cm/+ ak/ak embryos. As a result of the gene interaction a certain normalization of the eye development compared to the +/+ ak/ak mice is observed in the Cm/+ ak/ak animals. The obtained data show that the Cm gene expresses in the cell clones of the retina ventral half.


One of the most prevalent threats to the persistence of coastal and marine ecosystems is the cumulative effects of human and natural stressors. Marine conservation areas can help mitigate and manage for cumulative effects; however, several challenges remain including inconsistent definitions and management approaches as well as a limited understanding of socio-ecological interactions. To examine how ocean managers in Canada assess and manage the impacts of cumulative effects on marine conservation areas, a study of the federal departments that administer these areas was conducted. Specifically, this research focused on the extent to which social-ecological factors are considered in assessing cumulative effects on marine conservation areas. It was found that managers appear to favor ecological indicators and considerations over socio-economic ones. Managers also indicated a need for additional data to improve their assessment and management approaches. Finally, the lack of a cumulative effects assessment framework limits managers in their ability to adequately address and manage these effects in marine conservation areas. Research suggests that understanding how stressors interact and accumulate in the environment as well as their impact on oceanic ecosystems will require the coordination and collaboration of multiple disciplines to elicit effective management responses. Maintaining the health and integrity of the world's oceans also requires long-term management plans guided by well-informed decision-making. Therefore, it is recommended that Canadian cumulative effects assessment and management standards for marine conservation areas be developed and a broad ecosystem-based approach is taken to increase the effectiveness of Canada's marine conservation area management.


We describe a new approach for creating concise high-level generative models from one or more approximate range images. Using simple acquisition techniques and a user-defined class of models, our method produces a simple and intuitive object description that is relatively insensitive to noise and is easy to manipulate and edit. The algorithm has two inter-related phases -- recognition, which chooses an appropriate model within a given hierarchy, and parameter estimation, which adjusts the model to fit the data. We give a simple method for automatically making tradeoffs between simplicity and accuracy to determine the best model. We also describe general techniques to optimize a specific generative model. In particular, we address the problem of creating a suitable objective function that is sufficiently continuous for use with finite-difference based optimization techniques. Our technique for model recovery and subsequent manipulation and editing is demonstrated on real objects -- a spoon, bowl, ladle, and cup -- using a simple tree of possible generative models. We believe that higher-level model representations are extremely important, and their recovery for actual objects is a fertile area of research towards which this thesis is a step. However, our work is preliminary and there are currently several limitations. The user is required to create a model hierarchy (and supply methods to provide an initial guess for model parameters within this hierarchy); the use of a large pre-defined class of models can help alleviate this problem. Further, we have demonstrated our technique on only a simple tree of generative models. While our approach is fairly general, a real system would require a tree that is significantly larger. Our methods work only where the entire object can be accurately represented as a single generative model; future work could use constructive solid geometry operations on simple generative models to represent more complicated shapes. We believe that many of the above limitations can be addressed in future work, allowing us to easily acquire and process three-dimensional shape in a simple, intuitive and efficient manner.


Few presidents have sparked as much interest in recent years as Ronald Reagan, already the subject of a large number of biographies and specialized subjects. This biography, based on recent research into the Reagan archives and synthesis of the large memoir literature, explores the shaping of his values and beliefs during his childhood in the American heartland, his leadership of the American conservative movement, and his successful political career culminating in the first two-term presidency since Dwight Eisenhower. Pemberton finds Reagan's personal career and ability to understand and communicate with the American people admirable, but finds many of the long-term effects of his presidency harmful.


Many real-world applications, such as service execution, data centre monitoring, remote sensing, traffic control, customer behaviour, have to deal with the time series which include the values occurring at random time points driven by events. These kinds of time series are sometimes also referred to as event-driven time series. Although estimating the correlation between two time series has been well studied, the correlation between events and time series has been understudied. This paper introduces a novel method for assessing event impacts on event-driven time series. In this paper, we estimate the actual event impact time on a time series using a novel and generic algorithm SPEAK. Furthermore, we propose a novel metric Ascore to qualitatively and quantitatively measure the event impact. Our experiments on real-world datasets suggest the combination of Ascore and SPEAK achieved much more accurate results compared to benchmarks.


Certain Appalachian stereotypes were widely accepted by the early twentieth century, yet most people in the United States had never visited the region. Although information about the area was limited and came largely through a few channels, a general consensus about Appalachia nonetheless emerged in the popular culture: Appalachia was a place apart, a different and sometimes dangerous place, a place whose people possessed only the mere rudiments of civilization. Largely created by outsiders, this popular image of the region emerged during the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries in the writing of short-story authors, novelists, missionaries, social workers, handicraft organizers, and academics whose work forged a remarkably enduring stereotype of the region and its people. Where were Appalachian people in this process? Much recent analysis of the social construction of Appalachian identity has them silent and passive, objects of description and scrutiny who themselves contributed little to the popular conception of Appalachia. Were they in fact unaware of the stereotype, as the notion of Appalachian ignorance and illiteracy might suggest? Did their isolation hinder access to the media that perpetuated such stereotypes? There was in fact an Appalachian reaction to the social construction of identity, but because it occurred on a local rather than a national scale, its influence on popular conceptions of Appalachia was muted. Instead, the writings of outsiders, mainly local colorists and the early academics who studied the region, created a canonical set of ideas about Appalachia. Using similar descriptive language these authors freely exchanged themes and imagery across the boundary between fiction and nonfiction, creating tropes that continue to resonate in American popular culture, influencing depictions of mountain folk in movies, television shows, and comic strips. One specific descriptive essay about a southern Appalachian community, written in 1913 by Harold W. Foght, an educational reformer and academic, illustrates this process. His depiction of this community owes more to imagery borrowed from local-color novels than to first-hand observation. An explanation for this seeming violation of academic integrity, can be found in the ideology of rural educational reform and the then-current methodology for promoting it. The republication of the essay within the mountain community itself gave this group of Appalachians a chance to read and comment on a highly stereotyped depiction of themselves. Editorials and letters printed in the county newspaper provide a rare opportunity to assess Appalachian awareness of the dynamics of information and power that dominated the region's relations with mainstream America. Local reactions vehemently rejected Foght's depiction of the Appalachian stereotype, but the unequal access to information networks by Appalachians and outsiders ultimately determined whose version of Appalachia was accepted. Stock images of Appalachians permeate popular culture. Movies, television, comic strips, and postcards feature the lanky, gun-toting, grizzle-bearded man with a jug of moonshine in one hand and a coon dog at his feet, the archetypal patriarch of the mountains. Other familiar characters include the sallow matriarch, corncob pipe planted firmly between her lips; a genial and gangling youth, physically powerful but intellectually naive; and a buxom and almost equally dim female counterpart. Snuffy Smith, The Beverly Hillbillies, and Li'l Abner informed America about hillbillies. (1) Through such portrayals, the media transform everyday objects of mountain life into icons of popular culture. Shotgun, corncob pipe, and banjo serve as shorthand for a host of preconceptions about Appalachians. The corncob pipe perpetually upon Granny's lips transgresses female behavioral norms, underscoring the degradation of mountain culture. Most people outside the region would have viewed hunting as a leisure activity rather than a vital contribution to subsistence; thus, shotgun and coon dog become emblematic of the Appalachian male's shiftlessness. …


Space-time processing and multiuser detection are two promising techniques for combating multipath distortion and multiple-access interference in code division multiple access (CDMA) systems. To overcome the computational burden that rises very quickly with increasing numbers of users and receive antennas in applying such techniques, iterative implementations of several space-time multiuser detection algorithms are considered here. These algorithms include iterative linear space-time multiuser detection, Cholesky iterative decorrelating decision-feedback space-time multiuser detection, multistage interference canceling space-time multiuser detection, and expectation-maximization (EM)-based iterative space-time multiuser detection. A new space-time multiuser receiver structure that allows for efficient implementation of iterative processing is also introduced. Fully exploiting various types of diversity through joint space-time processing and multiuser detection brings substantial gain over single-receiver-antenna or single-user-based methods. It is shown that iterative implementation of linear and nonlinear space-time multiuser detection schemes discussed in this paper realizes this substantial gain and approaches the optimum performance with reasonable complexity. Among the iterative space-time multiuser receivers considered in this paper, the EM-based (SAGE) iterative space-time multiuser receiver introduced here achieves the best performance with excellent convergence properties.


With more than 12 million emergency department visits annually related to substance abuse and mental health crises, and approximately 650,000 patients evaluated for suicide attempts, the ED is a critical clinical setting for intervention. This review presents an ED-focused approach to assessing depression and suicide risk, including background information on the classification, epidemiology, and known pathology of depression, as well as the assessment of suicide risk within depression. Best-practice recommendations are made regarding current mental status evaluation and management strategies. Cutting-edge interventions and approaches, including the use of assessment and screening tools, implementation of safety planning, the Zero Suicide model, continuing postdischarge contact, lethal-means counseling, and novel pharmacotherapy approaches are also reviewed. [Points & Pearls is a digest of Emergency Medicine Practice.]


The concentration and bioavailability of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) released during senescence of aquatic vegetation varies among autotrophs, and the corresponding response by microbial communities depends on DOC bioavailability. To evaluate microbial response to different leachate sources, experiments that measured O2 consumption, utilization of DOC and monosaccharides, and the specific absorbance of light at 350 nm (SUVA350) were conducted on leachates from 3 primary producers. Specific absorbance at 350 nm (SUVA350) increased in 2 of 3 experiments. Increases in SUVA350 are consistent with the preferential use of labile DOC with a lower SUVA350. However, similar patterns of monosaccharide and DOC utilization do not support the hypothesis of preferential usage of labile carbohydrates over bulk DOC by the microbial com- munity over the 8 d study. Monosaccharides appear to represent only a portion of a larger pool of labile DOC constituents that are found in autotrophic leachates that can be taken up more rapidly than metabolized by microbial communities. O2 consumption by the microbial community varied significantly among leachate types but was relatively high during the early phase of the experi- ments in all leachates. Similarly, DOC uptake was relatively rapid during the early phase of the experiments. The microbial uptake of DOC relative to the consumption of dissolved oxygen, expressed as a ratio, ranged from 2.31 to 3.95 during the initial 24 h period but approached 1:1 over the duration of the experiment. These ratios suggest that 'luxury uptake' of DOC by microbial communities might have occurred in the initial phase of the experiment.


Evidence is presented for a multitude of discrete frequency Alfvén waves in the core of magnetically confined high-temperature fusion plasmas. Multiple diagnostic instruments confirm wave excitation over a wide spatial range from the device size at the longest wavelengths down to the thermal ion Larmor radius. At the shortest scales, the poloidal wavelengths are comparable to the scale length of electrostatic drift wave turbulence. Theoretical analysis confirms a dominant interaction of the modes with particles in the thermal ion distribution traveling well below the Alfvén velocity.


The allochthonous terrane accretion model previously proposed for the geological development of the Antarctic Peninsula continental margin arc is reviewed in light of recent data and the geology is reinterpreted as having evolved as an in situ continental arc. This is based upon the following factors: (1) the presence of Early Palaeozoic basement and stratigraphic correlation of sequences between the autochthonous and previously proposed allochthonous terranes; (2) isotopic evidence for similar deep crustal structure across the different terranes; (3) ocean island basalt magmas and deep marine sedimentary rocks formed during continental margin extension within the previously proposed accretionary wedge sequence (i.e. not formed against an active oceanic arc); (4) the distribution of magnetic susceptibility measurements and aeromagnetic data locating the palaeo-subduction zone along the west of the Peninsula; (5) a lack of clear palaeomagnetic distinction between the terranes. The following alternative tectonic history is proposed: (1) amalgamation and persistence of Gondwana; (2) subsequent silicic large igneous province magmatism and extension; (3) development and history of Andean subduction until its cessation in the Cenozoic. A number of features in the Antarctic Peninsula correlate with those of other circum-Pacific margins, supporting a global evaluation of allochthonous v. autochthonous margin development to aid our understanding of crustal growth mechanisms.


Almost all automotive fuel injection systems are experiencing some form of cavitation within their nozzle under different operating conditions. In-nozzle cavitation initiates in various forms and directly influences the emerging spray. Experimental studies have shown that cavitation in diesel injectors leads to smaller droplet formation, especially by the on-going trend towards higher injection pressures, which enhances fuel evaporation but also creates undesirable consequences due to transient nature of cavitation such as spray instabilities, erosion on internal surfaces, and
hydraulic flip. Thus, the understanding of the internal flow of automotive fuel injectors is critical for injector design. On the other hand, biodiesel has emerged as one of the potential alternative fuel which can also be carbon neutral because it uptakes CO2 during cultivation of its feedstock and can be used in existing diesel engines with little or no modifications. Therefore, the present study is focused on assessing and outlining cost-effective methods to analyse internal flow in fuel injectors for diesel and biodiesel fuel applications.

In the present study, RANS-based (Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes) CFD (Computational fluid dynamics) approach has been chosen to simulate quasi-steady flows in the steady state test rigs of fuel injectors of IC engines. The RANS approach is selected over computationally expensive SAS (Scale Adaptive Simulations), DES (Detached Eddy Simulations) and LES (Large Eddy Simulations) because it was considered that these quasi-steady simulations could be performed within hours and with less computing resources using RANS rather using SAS, DES and LES which may require orders more time and computing resources. Cavitation models and RANSbased turbulence models have been evaluated for single-hole and multi-hole injectors operating on steady state test rigs. Furthermore, influences of liquid and vapour compressibility were also investigated. Influences of biodiesel properties such as higher viscosity and density on cavitation were also assessed. In the first part of the study, single-phase simulations have been carried out in the mini-sac type multi-hole (6) injector. Several two-equation turbulence and near wall models were assessed, amongst most appropriate for the application were identified. Predicted mean velocity and RMS velocity were compared with measurements and showed good agreements. Flow field analysis showed predictions of different types of vortices in the injector. Two main types of vortex structures were predicted: 'Hole-to-hole' connecting vortex and double 'counterrotating' vortices emerging from the needle wall and entering the injector hole facing it. The latter create a complex 3D flow inside the injector hole when it interacts with the recirculation region at the entrance of the injector hole.

Cavitation simulations inside a single-hole injector were next performed. Simulations were assessed by comparing predicted vapour volume fraction with measurements. Influences of liquid and vapour compressibility were also checked. The compressibility of vapour was modelled using ideal gas law and liquid compressibility was modelled using the Tait equation. Vapour compressibility resulted in an increase of vapour volume fraction at the low-pressure region and predictions were also in better agreements with experimental data. The liquid compressibility made no impact on the simulation results. The local sonic speed in the liquid-vapour mixture was computed using Wallis model which predicted a very low local sonic speed in the liquid-vapour mixture. Therefore, the local flow in liquid-vapour mixture became supersonic. A normal shock wave was predicted just downstream of the cavitation bubble cloud as local flow velocity was reduced from supersonic to subsonic.

Finally, the cavitation simulations were performed in the enlarged mini-sac type multi-hole injector. Established turbulence, cavitation and compressibility models from above studies were used. Reasonable quantitative agreements with experimental data were obtained for the mean axial velocity and RMS velocity. Reasonable qualitative agreements were also achieved when predicted cavitation results were compared with high-speed digital images. Henceforth a parametric study to assess the influence of biodiesel fuel properties such as an increase in viscosity and density on the cavitation was performed. Viscosity and density of both phases in the fluid were parametrically increased by 20%. Results showed that cavitation was suppressed when the viscosity was increased because it increased the flow resistance, thus reduced the velocity. This caused a reduction in the size of recirculation region at the entrance of the injector hole and hence a smaller saturation pressure region was predicted. Cavitation was further suppressed
when density was increased causing the reduction in the velocity at the same mass flow rate, which further reduced the recirculation region, therefore, reduced the saturation pressure region and consequently cavitation.


Quantum channels represent the most general physical changes of a quantum system. We consider ergodic sequences of channels, obtained by sampling channel valued maps along the trajectories of an ergodic dynamical system. Such maps vastly generalize stochastically independent maps (e.g., random independence) or equality of the channel maps (i.e., translation invariance). The repeated composition of an ergodic sequence of maps could represent the effect of repeated application of a given quantum channel subject to arbitrary correlated noise or decoherence. Under such a hypothesis, we obtain a general ergodic theorem showing that the composition of maps converges exponentially fast to a rank-one -- entanglement breaking-- channel. As an application, we describe the thermodynamic limit of ergodic Matrix Product States and derive a formula for the expectation value of a local observable and prove that the 2-point correlations of local observables in such states decay exponentially in the bulk with their distance.


Basil downy mildew (Peronospora belbahrii) is a destructive disease that occurs in sweet basil (Ocimum basilicum). Foliar fungicide treatments could reduce infection and the severity of foliar symptoms over the course of the growing season. Multiple fungicides in variable combinations, application rates, and sequences were applied to basil foliage weekly over the course of a field season in Illinois (14 July to 8 Sept. 2014), and the treatment effects on basil downy mildew were evaluated three times. The evaluated treatments included mixtures and different rotations of azoxystrobin, potassium phosphite, mandipropamid, cyazofamid, oxathiapiprolin, experimental compound A18269SE, dimethomorph, zoxamide + mancozeb, fluazinam, fluopicolide, mefenoxam + copper hydroxide, fenamidone, mancozeb, and ametoctradin + dimethomorph. Potassium phosphite, which is known to be effective against other downy mildew pathogens, was included in combination with other fungicides or in fungicide application sequences. Disease severity was rated in fungicide-treated plots (0% to 20%) and compared with the control (73% to 80%) at each evaluation time. All fungicide treatments significantly reduced the area under the disease progress curve values compared with the untreated control. Adding a nonionic surfactant did not improve the efficacy of any of the chemical treatments evaluated for reducing downy mildew. Organic basil growers need novel, effective products to minimize damage from basil downy mildew. To aid organic basil growers, two novel, effective biocontrol agents were evaluated, Bacillus amyloliquefaciens AS 43.3 and Papiliotrema flavescens OH 182.9 3C (formerly Cryptococcus flavescens). Greenhouse experiments were conducted with the fungicides quinoxyfen and azoxystrobin serving as negative and positive fungicide treatment controls, respectively. Azoxystrobin reduced downy mildew according to the greenhouse tests, but neither quinoxyfen nor the biocontrol agents reduced downy mildew severity compared with the untreated control. This study identified 13 fungicide regimens that resulted in less than 10% basil downy mildew disease severity. More studies are needed to identify effective control products for basil downy mildew on organic basil.


A theoretical method is presented to determine the gamma-radiation build-up factors in various biological materials. The gamma energy range is 0.015-15.0 MeV, with penetration depths up to 40 mean free paths considered. The dependence of the exposure build-up factor on incident photon energy and the effective atomic number (Zeff) has also been assessed. In a practical analysis of dose burden to gamma-irradiated biological materials, the sophistication of Monte Carlo computer techniques would be applied, with associated detailed modelling. However, a feature of the theoretical method presented is its ability to make the consequences of the physics of the scattering process in biological materials more transparent. In addition, it can be quickly employed to give a first-pass dose estimate prior to a more detailed computer study.


This thesis is an investigation of the echo chamber phenomenon in news consumption on social networking sites. It incorporates elements of actor-network theory, Bruno Latour's 'matters-of-concern' and Participatory Design methodology to identify and unpack contributing factors to the formation of echo chambers. As part of the research, a web tool called Echology was conceptualized during a series of workshops with news industry professionals. This paper describes the making of Echology, from ideation to actualization. The goal of this document and its accompanying design piece is to challenge readers to think critically about the forces at play in an online news experience.


Among about 20.000 patients who had a gastroscopy in a period of 6 years, 92 had gastric mucosal polyposis, diagnosed by endoscopy and histology, an incidence of 0.46%. Eight patients with an age average of 38 years had familial gastrointestinal adenomatosis, in six of them the criteria of Gardner's disease were fulfilled. The remaining 84 patients had an average age of 62 years. In patients with more than ten polyps the sex ratio (female to male) was 3.9:1. In 56 patients without familial gastrointestinal adenomatosis, coloscopy and(or) proctosigmoidoscopy was performed. In 18 there were polyps in the colon, in three an invasive carcinoma in an adenoma. In three further patients extensive carcinoma of the colon (in two with stenosis) was found. These observations suggest that patients with gastric mucosal polyposis have a higher incidence of colon polyps and carcinoma.


This paper investigates the receiver instrumental variable (IV) filter design for sidelobe suppression using multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) and phased-array radar. First, we analyze the performance of existing integrated sidelobe level (ISL) and the zero sidelobe (ZS) methods for range sidelobe suppression, and show the latter's superiority. The limitation of MIMO radar sidelobe suppression in a large number of range bins is discussed. It is shown that the phased-array radar avoids this limitation. Then we consider joint range and Doppler sidelobe suppression, and the solutions for both MIMO and phased-array radar are derived, classified, and analyzed. The conclusions are drawn through performance trade-off. The use of phased-array radar compromises the waveform diversity of MIMO radar. However, with the objective of range, and joint range and Doppler sidelobe suppression, phased-array radar has better performance in terms of computational complexity, sidelobe suppression level and signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) loss. This will relieve the design workload for large scale radar systems. In addition, we show via simulations that the bounds of clear area of matched filter output (ambiguity function) are inapplicable for the IV filter design.


ABSTRACT The early years of a child's life are critical in supporting their physical development. As a result, early childhood teachers have a profound responsibility and influence on the development of young children's physical skills. However, up to this point, little attention has been placed on the development of early childhood teachers' pedagogical skills for teaching physical education, and in particular, the dearth of training has most often occurred during pre-service teacher education. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the transformation of early childhood pre-service teachers' attitudes and knowledge regarding physical education as well as their readiness for teaching physical education. To conduct this research, 42 pre-service teachers who attended a physical education course, which combined theoretical principles and practical applications, volunteered to participate in this study. The data were collected through pretest and posttest questionnaires, microteaching reflections, and focus group interviews. Also, each participating pre-service teacher taught a physical education lesson to their university peers, revised the lesson, and then repeated the lesson to a kindergarten class of children aged four to five years old. The research findings suggested that pre-service teachers who held negative attitudes regarding physical education, which stemmed from previous physical education experiences, reversed their attitudes after taking part in the practice-based course from this study. However, it was also determined that even though the personal and professional competencies of the pre-service teachers had improved, the practice-based course was insufficient in providing adequate training for the pre-service teachers' readiness to teach physical education.


Proceedings: AACR 107th Annual Meeting 2016; April 16-20, 2016; New Orleans, LA

Genomic instability is a hallmark of human carcinogenesis. We have previously published that sporadic stage I breast tumors exhibit deficient Nucleotide Excision Repair (NER) capacity relative to non-diseased breast reduction primary cultures (Latimer et al., 2010). In the present work, we hypothesized that this feature of early human breast cancer would not be maintained in cell lines established from late stage tumors. Our objective was to determine functional NER capacity and relative NER gene expression in a series of commonly used stage IV breast cancer-derived cell lines relative to stage I breast cancer explants and cell lines. NER capacity was determined using the functional unscheduled DNA synthesis (UDS) assay in six established breast cancer cell lines (MCF-7, MCF-7LY2, MDA-MB-231, SK-BR-3, CAMA-1, BT-20). JL BTL-12 (Jean Latimer Breast Tumor Line-12), derived from a stage III breast tumor, was included to represent an advanced stage tumor cell line established using our culture system. The NER capacity of the cell lines was compared to that of 19 stage I breast tumor primary cultures. NER gene expression was determined by expression microarray using the Affymetrix HG U-133 plus 2.0 chip in five of these established cell lines (MCF-7, MDA-MB-231, SK-BR-3, CAMA-1, BT-20), JL BTL-12 and a representative stage I tumor-derived cell line (JL BTL-8, Breast Tumor Line-8). The stage IV cell lines and JL BTL-12 all manifested significantly higher NER capacity than explants of stage I breast cancer. Unsupervised as well as supervised analyses, based on expression of the canonical 20 NER genes, placed JL BTL-12 and the five stage IV commercial cell lines in one cluster, while JL BTL-8 clustered separately. Four NER genes were significantly upregulated in JL BTL-12 and all commercial cell lines relative to JL BTL-8. In conclusion, based on NER these five cell lines commonly used in breast cancer research are more representative of late stage disease than early stage breast cancer, regardless of the type of breast cancer they represent. The most commonly diagnosed stage of breast cancer in the U.S. is now stage I, and it is now possible to study stage I cell lines or explants.

Citation Format: Homood As Sobeai, Jennifer M. Johnson, Nancy Lalanne, Omar Ibrahim, Stephen G. Grant, Sharon L. Wenger, Jean J. Latimer. Nucleotide excision repair is elevated in stage IV commonly used breast cancer cell lines as compared to stage I breast tumor explants. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 3589.


The collection of fecal coliform (FC) monitoring data in shellfish growing waters is primarily to assess public health risks from consumption of contaminated product. The data is also commonly used to assess the potential sources and loads of bacteria entering the aquatic system. This project is intended to extend traditional methods of developing these assessments, by applying an inverse modeling approach to improve the estimation of FC loads in the small watersheds typically contributing to shellfish growing waters in Virginia. Many fecal contamination studies in lower Chesapeake Bay, Virginia, have conveniently focused on analyses over relatively small spatial and temporal scales. The potential sources of bacteria are numerous and the magnitude of their contributions is commonly unknown (Hyer and Moyer, 2004). The effects of stochastic events merely complicate the already difficult task of quantifying sources and loads in an inherently variable system (White et al., 2008). Instead of identifying and quantifying individual fecal bacteria sources, like deer or raccoons or domestic animals, it is herein proposed to analyze spatial and temporal patterns of fecal contamination on relatively large scales and quantify FC loadings based on land cover. The result would make it easier for managers to assign land-cover-based accountability to restore fecal contaminated environments. Monitoring of FC concentrations throughout Virginia by the Division of Shellfish Sanitation (DSS) provided an opportunity to analyze FC levels from 1984 to the present and quantify FC loadings by type of land cover. There are three aspects in this study spatial analysis of FC data, temporal analysis of FC data, and FC loadings quantification based on the findings from spatial and temporal analyses. GIS tools and a variety of statistical methods are used in combination with an inverse modeling approach. The modeling method was based on some basic concepts incorporated in the Watershed Management Model and the Tidal Prism Model currently used to develop Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) models for Virginia waters. The core contributions of this dissertation are: 1) This study provided a thorough examination of FC monitoring data in Virginia coastal waters and described how contamination levels are expressed at different spatial and temporal scales. Analyses examined tidal effects, regional effects, land condition effects, and climate effects. Results not only inform management decisions, but also provide guidance for the subsequent quantification of fecal bacteria loadings. 2) Fecal bacteria loadings are quantified as a function of land cover. The model developed in this study avoids the problems associated with using highly varied and poorly documented FC production rates and population numbers. Although the model is simple, the magnitude of Fecal Coliform Event Mean Concentration (FCMC) values based on land covers effectively distinguished the seasonal FC loadings.


I first met Van Potter nearly 40 years ago when I was 17 and entering the University of Wisconsin as a new freshman. During the summer of 1963, Van was a participant in a series of evening seminars designed to familiarize premed students to the community at the University of Wisconsin Medical School. I was immediately struck by Van's unique ability to cut straight to the core of virtually any issue having to do with biomedicine. As with many of his students, I quickly found myself in a father-son relationship of both our making. Van has been a source of inspiration and guidance to me ever since.


This paper presents a large-scale similarity search of professionally acted voices for computer-aided voice casting. The proposed voice casting system explores Gaussian mixture model-based acoustic models and multilabel recognition of perceived paralinguistic content (speaker states and speaker traits, e.g., age/gender, voice quality, emotion) for the voice casting of professionally acted voices. First, acoustic models (universal background model, super-vector, i-vector) are constructed to model the acoustic space of voices, from which the similarity between voices can be measured directly in the acoustic space. Second, multiple binary classification of speaker traits and states is added to the acoustic models in order to represent the vocal signature of a voice, which is then used to measure the similarity between voices in the paralinguistic space. Finally, a similarity search is processed in order to determine the set of target actors that are the most similar to the voice of a source actor. In a subjective experiment conducted in the real-context of cross-language voice casting, the multilabel scoring system significantly outperforms the acoustic scoring system. This constitutes a proof of concept for the role of perceived para-linguistic categories in the perception of voice similarity.


The Qur'an is believed by Muslims as the last holy book, the revelation of God, and the greatest miracle possessed by the Prophet. The Qur'an contains values, insights, and science, also contains laws that serve as guidelines for human life. Translation of the Qur'an is one effort to capture the message of the Qur'an. The act was also carried out by Orientalists who translated the Qur'an in different languages for various reasons. Competition, suspicion, and hatred and elements of power cannot be separated from the history of translation of the Qur'an by the Orientalists. Nevertheless, the paradigm over time began to shift, and made some European intellectuals soft and friendly with Islam, although there are still others who continue to follow in the footsteps of their predecessors.


The infrared spectrum (amide I' region) of Kunitz soybean trypsin inhibitor (SBTI) was obtained in D2O solution and resolved into Gaussian components. A prominent broad band centered at 1643 cm-1 is shown on the unresolved spectrum, which is usually assigned to N-deuterated peptide groups in an unordered structure, since SBTI is known to be devoid of alpha-helix by CD and X-ray crystallographic studies. In addition, shoulders are evident at 1632 cm-1 and 1676 cm-1, which correspond probably to the v(pi, O) and v(O, pi) components assigned to an antiparallel-chain beta-pleated sheet structure. Parameters (maximum absorptivity, wavenumber at the maximum of the band, and half-width of the band at half-height) for the four Gaussian component bands (in which the amide I' band was resolved) are given. A crude estimation of 4% is obtained for antiparallel beta-sheet in SBTI, i.e., this protein would be practically devoid of such a beta-structure. Notwithstanding the fact that this result is apparently in agreement with the far-UV CD spectrum (data reported in the literature), the predominant conformation class found in SBTI has been demonstrated to be approximate beta-sheet structures, with a small amount of regular sheet (Sweet et al., (1974) Biochemistry 13: 4212-4228).


The increasing importance of biopharmaceuticals has strengthened the interest in the development of specific analytical and separation technologies to resolve complex mixtures of proteins into highly pure end products at an industrial scale. One of the key elements of these purification processes is the preservation of the secondary and tertiary structure of the protein products to maintain their biological efficiency. The knowledge about possible conformational state(s) and the thermodynamic behaviour of important biomolecules such as peptides and proteins when associated with chromatographic ligands commonly used in these purification processes is crucial for effective productivity steering and quality control. Thermodynamic information can direct the design of new chromatographic methods for the isolation and purification of recombinantly produced proteins increasing the selectivity for the desirable product using ideal combinations of chromatographic ligands and experimental conditions. Chromatographic conditions which specifically eliminate conformationally problematic contaminants are still under-developed as the thermodynamic differences between product and by-product retention behaviour have not been established for many biomolecules. In previous work, Melander and Horvath have established that the salt dependence of solubility and retention in hydrophobic interaction chromatography can be described by the two antagonistic effects of salts on electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions. Because of this latter property, the chemical nature of the applied salts has a determining role in hydrophobic interaction chromatography. However, since proteins can undergo structural changes such as unfolding in solution with different salt composition and be subject to structural rearrangements as they interact with chromatographic ligands, the thermodynamic framework of Melander and Horvath requires a re-evaluation and further development to include an interactive term. The changes in thermodynamic parameters can be monitored by reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPC) or hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) and compared to the results obtained in bulk solution. Differences in thermodynamics may reveal different protein unfolding routes in the two different systems as well as shed light on the validity of the underlying assumptions incorporated into the van`t Hoff equation. In this PhD thesis RPC and HIC were used to assess the thermodynamics of the interaction of hen egg white lysozyme (HEWL) and horse heart myoglobin (HMYO) with n-butyl and n-octadecyl chromatographic ligands commonly used in protein analysis and purification in various organic and aqueous salt solutions and at various temperatures. Thermodynamic parameters derived from their retention times are expected to shed light on the nature of molecular occurrences that lie behind the hydrophobic interaction processes. These parameters such as the Gibbs free energy ∆G_assoc^o, the enthalpy ∆H_assoc^o, the entropy ∆S_assoc^o and the heat capacity ∆C_p^o elucidate how the hydrophobic effect in different solvational environments, such as aqueous-organic or aqueous-salt solutions affects the thermodynamics of protein immobilised-ligand interactions. Solubility of proteins and their retention on hydrophobic surfaces follow similar principles; both are related to the interactions that occur on the hydrophobic-hydrophobic interfaces. However, in a very special case if a protein is close to salting out conditions the hydrophobic interactions are strengthened providing an opportunity for in-depth investigations of the molecular arrangements on a hydrophobic contact area. An elegant tool for such investigations applicable for high-throughput analysis of protein solubility is a fully automated liquid handling robot which also allows obtaining retention data of proteins on HIC ligands in various chromatographic media obtained under identical handling conditions. Correlation of the HIC retention data with the results of the solubility experiments using the corresponding salt solutions within the concentration range of protein elution is expected to deliver information about the unique chromatographic behaviour of proteins from a different aspect as normally used in HIC methods. Solubility data when correlated with the thermodynamic parameters obtained on HIC ligands will shed light on the energetic conditions of the proteins in various solutions which are related to the hydrophobic effect both in solution and on hydrophobic surfaces. Monitoring the expected heat- and salt-induced changes of the shape and structure of HEWL and HMYO with circular dichroism spectroscopy (CDS) is expected to reveal the contribution of the helical, β-sheet, β-turn and unordered structural motifs to the protein ligand interaction under the applied conditions. Furthermore, small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) experiments can provide valuable information about the outer shape of the proteins in various salt solutions and temperatures. The outcome of the CDS and SAXS experiments will be correlated with the thermodynamic data obtained on butyl and phenyl HIC ligands. This may allow deep insights into the energetics of the globular protein - non-polar surface interactions governed by the physical and chemical properties of the solid phase, eluent and temperature and will reveal variations of the structural elements and the molecular shape of the proteins as a result of the employed experimental conditions. The knowledge of the conformational state(s) that proteins can adopt in association with these chromatographic ligands and the thermodynamic parameters underlying these interactions will allow informed choices on column materials, eluent composition and separation conditions for the preservation of their biologically active secondary and tertiary structures in production and quality control. Once the differences in the interaction thermodynamics between the folded, native protein and its unfolded forms have been determined, improved quality-by-design methods for column-assisted protein refolding methods may be possible. Finally this study is intended to advance knowledge on how to best guide the development of green, tailor-made chromatographic methods for protein analysis and purification in the pharmaceutical industry.


A topical formulation consisting of a polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) polymer resin containing the macrolide sirolimus (rapamycin), produced by the organism Streptomyces hygroscopicus, with immunosuppressive activity. Upon application of topical PVDF/sirolimus, sirolimus migrates from the PVDF polymer resin into the skin. Once inside cells, sirolimus binds to the immunophilin FK binding protein-12 (FKBP-12) and forms a sirolimus:FKBP-12 complex. This complex binds to and inhibits the activity of the serine/threonine kinase mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), which may result in the suppression of cytokine-driven T-cell activation and proliferation.


When the rebellion in Bosnia, which was lead by Hersekli Ali Pasha, against Tanzimat has ended at 1851, the precedence of Muslims who have been dominant in the society has also ended. From that date on, Bosnian Orthodoxes have increased the frequency of complains regarding their liabilities lasting for centuries. Islahat Firman and Paris Peace Pact have let them express their requests straight out. These groups, which were explicitly supported especially by Russia and France, have begun to challenge the state. Instigations and protection of Montenegro and Serbia, which were running after the dreams of independency, have caused a great rebellion in 1857. The rebellion was unable to be supressed in any way because of the actual support of Montenegro. Ottoman directors, regarding the international stability, could not take any action. Minor conflicts have turned into bloody battles. Counter to military mistakes and failures during the rebellion, arrangements such as Multezim Regulations and Land Regulations, which have been used as references in the coming years, have been made in administrative and legal areas. Operations in courts have been methodized. Despite all these efforts, stability could not be achieved in the region. Because what the rebels wanted was not enhancements in the quality of life, but rather to get rid of "Ottoman Control". By 1859, the rebellion was not supressed but only frozen. That is why the 1857 revolt has continued in 1861, from where it left.


Gnetum (Gnetales) species are suggested to be unique extant gymnosperms that have acquired high photosynthetic and transpiration capacities as well as greater xylem hydraulic capacity and efficiency compared with all other extant gymnosperms. This is because Gnetum is the only extant gymnosperm lineage that combines vessels, broad pinnate-veined leaves and an ecological distribution in wet, productive lowland tropical rainforest habitats. Yet, field-based observations on the group's ecophysiological performance are lacking. To test a hypothesis that Gnetum species are ecophysiologically analogous to light-demanding woody tropical angiosperms, stem xylem hydraulic performance, photosynthesis and stomatal conductance were investigated in Gnetum as compared with a diverse group of co-occurring woody plants in a lowland tropical rainforest. It was found that Gnetum species combined low photosynthetic capacity and low stomatal conductances with a low stem water transport ability. The physiological observations are consistent with the general occurrence of Gnetum species in shady, primary forest habitats. These results on Gnetum ecophysiology indicate that the coupling of vessels, broad pinnate-veined leaves and the liana habit do not signal the evolution of a highly opportunistic, light-demanding life history in gymnosperms.


Semantic description and annotation of digital images is key to the management and reuse of images in humanities computing. Due to the lack of domain-specific hierarchical description schema and controlled vocabularies for digital images, annotation results produced by current methods, such as machine annotation based on low-level visual features and human annotation based on experts' experiences, are inconsistent and of poor quality. To solve this problem, we propose a semantic description framework for content description, based on information needs and retrieval theory. The framework combines the semantic description with a domain thesaurus. In this paper we describe the relationship between the semantic levels under this description framework. We conduct a preliminary test with this method in the cultural heritage field using digital images of the Dunhuang frescoes. We discuss the effect of semantic granularity on the annotation cost, from the point view of image semantic description granularity, and control strategies for an image's semantic description quality. Our findings show that this framework is applicable to the description of cultural digital image content.


Sarcomatoid carcinoma (SC) is a rare primary malignant tumor in which both carcinomatous and sarcomatous elements occur. It can occur in many different organs and anatomical locations, such as the skin, thyroid gland, bone, urinary tract, breast, pancreas, liver and other areas. Of them, pulmonary sarcomatoid carcinoma (PSC) is a rare malignant cancer composed of sarcoma and sarcoma-like tumors with spindle or giant cell features. Here a case of a 75-year-old Chinese man with a six-month history of cough and hemoptysis is reported. Chest X-ray showed a tumor shadow in the left lung field. Chest computed tomography (CT) scan showed a lobulated mass in his left hilum and even the left pulmonary artery. Pleomorphic interstitial cells were found by bronchoscopic brushing. To establish a definitive diagnosis for PSC, a left pneumonectomy was performed. The pathological stage was IIB (pT2N1M0) based on the tumor node metastasis (TNM) staging system. The tumor's pathology, histology, immunohistochemistry and treatment methods are discussed.


On 19 January 1898 Kate Teehan disembarked from the S.S. Wolloomoolloo at Fremantle. She and Kitty Page, who arrived here in 1901, are but two out of the approximately 1,700 single women who came to West Australia from Great Britain between 1849 and the early 1900s.This paper describes a reimagining of their stories; a practice-led research journey towards a piece of short fiction that unsettles the dominant narrative of single female immigration—that is, good but poverty-stricken lass boards a ship for Australia where she works briefly before marrying well. While this narrative accurately describes the trajectory of Kitty Page, it fails to encompass the experience of Kate Teehan, an immigrant woman, multiply marginalised by gender, class, illiteracy and poor mental health.


For a high efficiency of planar-type perovskite solar cells, a good crystallization and high surface coverage of the absorber films are required. However, these two key factors are still the main challenges in perovskite film formation to date. Here, 1-chloronaphthalene (CN) is used as a solvent-additive in the precursor HC(NH2)2PbI3 (FAPbI3) solution to control the crystallization and surface coverage of the FAPbI3 films by adjusting its concentration. The CN chlorinated monodentate ligand is likely to temporarily chelate with Pb2+ during the crystal growth, facilitating homogenous nucleation to form relatively high quality FAPbI3 films. Meanwhile, the CN additive with a high boiling point delays the growth rate of the FAPbI3 film, which helps to form homogenous continuous FAPbI3 films with fewer pin-holes. As a result, with the addition of the CN solvent-additive, the efficiency of the FAPbI3 planar-type solar cells is enhanced to 16.53%.


The modern period ended with the radical transformation of the technologies of communication, knowledge, and energy that followed World War II. A central characteristic of the modern period has been continued increase in the efficacy of the technology of production which poses a growing challenge to the primacy of the values these means are supposed to serve. The post-modern period, the onset of which may be set at 1945, will witness either a greater threat to the status of these values by the surging technologies or a reassertion of their normative priority. Which alternative prevails will determine whether society is to be the servant or the master of the instruments it creates. The active society, one that is master of itself, is an option the post-modern period opens. An exploration of the conditions under which this option might be exercised is the subject of this endeavor.


The importance of predicting the durability and damage tolerance capability of aircraft structures has underscored the need to derive a realistic flight-by-flight stress spectrum. This stress spectrum is generated from ananalysis of the projected usage (mission profiles), combined with load factor exceedance curves that are obtained either from MIL-A-8866B or recorded data. The mission profiles are defined by the using command (the organization which flies the aircraft) and contain such information as mission length, number of times flown per aircraft lifetime, fuel load, weapons configuration, and a breakdown of the mission by segment, for example, takeoff, climb, cruise, descent, etc. This paper describes two different approaches for obtaining load factor exceedance curves: (1) MIL-A-8866B and (2) data recorded from a different aircraft flying a similar mission. In the first example, the spectrum is derived for a ground-attack fighter that is in the design phase (that is, has never flown) and in the second case, the spectrum is derived for an aircraft that has already been built but is being used in a new mission (flight demonstration squadron). In this second case, a large amount of recorded load factor exceedance data exists from a different aircraft flying the same mission. Using either exceedance curve approach, these data are combined with the mission profile data to develop a stress-exceedance curve for each mission. The stress-exceedance information then is input to a computer program, along with some additional data such as the number of times a given mission is flown. The computer program first generates a random mission ordering and then randomly orders the stresses within each mission. The final result is a random flight-by-flight stress spectra suitable for use in performing damage tolerance and durability analyses and tests.


Purpose

This paper aims to discuss the application of waqf (endowment) in the social finance sector for funding social and development projects and services.

Design/methodology/approach

The study is qualitative. It reviews literature and provides descriptive data to present its main idea.

Findings

Most Muslim-majority countries are generally income-poor, and the governments are generally weak in their tax collection, effective governance and capacity for development spending. Private sector financial institutions are scarce and mostly cater to the people who can meet the income-based lending criteria. Thus, the institution of waqf can fill the gap as a social finance institution by providing intermediation services for effectively utilising perpetual social savings. Flexibility in the rules of waqf enables it to serve beneficiaries directly or through financial institutions and to provide a wide range of social services.

Research limitations/implications

This conceptual research highlights the need and potential of waqf without discussing the regulatory and operational details of how to effectively institutionalize it in different regions.

Practical implications

The institution of waqf can harness the potential of selfless charitable giving in an effective way for better economic impact in the targeted social segments of society.

Originality value

The paper suggests the establishment of waqf-based training and vocational centres which will increase opportunities of self-employment and contribute in upward social mobility of beneficiaries.


The multiple challenges of representing archaeological information both using relational databases and semantic web technologies have been acknowledged in the literature. The present paper discusses findings and observations from an action research study on developing an integrated semantic digital data archive and collaboration platform for archaeological and archaeology related research using a semantic wiki based approach. The observations and findings from the project demonstrate that the discussed approach provides means to address some of the problems related to pre-coordinated formal representation of archaeological knowledge. At the same, the study stresses the importance of a full understanding of the implications of the both old and new systems of knowledge representation. Otherwise the new systems may introduce implicit infrastructural bias comparable to the ones addressed by the novel approach.


Vertical markets for foods are linked through pricing systems with much of the performance seen through how well price information is reflected at points of exchange. Price linkage models are estimated using recursive asymmetric methods for measuring price linkages in the U.S. food distribution system for 100 food commodities from January 1995 to June 2009. Preliminary results show that price linkages to be strong but declining over time with evidence of asymmetric in the long run. Long run rising prices are pass through more than falling.


Objectives Deep brain stimulation (DBS), targeting the subthalamic nucleus (STN) and globus pallidus interna, is a surgical therapy with class 1 evidence for Parkinson's disease (PD). Bilateral DBS electrodes may be implanted within a single operation or in separate staged surgeries with an interval of time that varies patient by patient. In this study, we used the variation in the timing of implantation from the first to the second implantation allowing for examination of potential volumetric changes of the basal ganglia in patients with PD who underwent staged STN DBS. Methods Thirty-two patients with a mean time interval between implantations of 141.8 (±209.1; range: 7–700) days and mean duration of unilateral stimulation of 244.7 (±227.7; range: 20–672) days were included in this study. Using volumetric analysis of whole hemisphere and subcortical structures, we observed whether implantation or stimulation affected structural volume. Results We observed that DBS implantation, but not the duration of stimulation, induced a significant reduction of volume in the caudate, pallidum, putamen and thalamus ipsilateral to the implanted hemisphere. These findings were not dependent on the trajectory of the implanted electrode nor on first surgery pneumocephalus (0.07%: %Δ for intracranial volume between first and second surgery). In addition, unique regional atrophy differences were evident in each of the structures. Conclusion Our results demonstrate that DBS implantation surgery may affect hemisphere volume at the level of subcortical structures connected to the surgical target.


Background: Describing the personality traits of medical health students is an essential for understanding their motivation and learning styles and can help plan theoretical and clinical training in this field. Given the dearth of research in this area, the present study was conducted to examine and describe personality traits and spiritual intelligence in medical sciences students and to determine the relationship between these two variables. Methods: This descriptive, analytical, cross-sectional study was conducted with 240 medical and dental students at Babol University of Medical Sciences selected through simple random sampling. The students completed a demographic questionnaire, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and the Integrated Spiritual Intelligence Scale developed by Amram and Dryer. Results: The spiritual intelligence score was higher among dental students than medical students (220.12 ± 78.63 vs. 191.08 ± 65.79) and was higher among women than men (229.27 ± 83.25 vs. 191.89 ± 78.63). The results of the multivariate regression analysis revealed extraversion (β = 0.330) was positively associated with spiritual intelligence. Openness to experience (β = −0.581), agreeableness (β = −0.433), and conscientiousness (β = −0.415) were negatively associated with spiritual intelligence. However, neuroticism was not associated with spiritual intelligence. Conclusions: Some personality traits were associated with spiritual intelligence in Iranian medical and dental students. These findings suggest that improving the spiritual intelligence of medical and dental students requires further attention to personality traits in this group of students.


Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) is a powerful technique for evaluating the HER2 gene status in breast cancer specimen (1). However, most of FISH assays currently used in clinical laboratories are expensive and require long experimental time, up to two days with an overnight incubation (2). Indeed, despite the development of faster FISH probes (HER2 IQFISH pharmDxTM from DAKO, Denmark) cutting the assay time to one day (3), the cost of these new probes is still high (more than 200$/test) and impedes the dissemination of this technique. In this study, we present the extra short incubation microfluidic assisted- fluorescence in situ hybridization (ESIMA-FISH) technique that uses microfluidics to improve FISH for HER2 assessment in breast cancer samples. ESIMA-FISH requires a very short incubation time (35 minutes) and uses 4-fold less probe solution per test. The system is based on a microfluidic chip, developed in our laboratory (4), that is clamped against a microscope slide containing a breast cancer tissue specimen (figure 1). A fluorescent DNA probe solution, specific to the target DNA, is then applied to the tissue section within a thin chamber using the microfluidic system. The probe solution used is obtained by diluting 4 times the standard HER2 IQFISH pharmDxTM probe solution (DAKO, Denmark). Oscillating flows can then be implemented using syringe pumps to improve the delivery of the probe to the tissue. Thanks to this hydrodynamic enhancement of mass transport, the probe-target hybridization efficiency is increased, resulting in overall reductions in the cost and duration of the assay. To validate the ESIMA-FISH technique, several tissue specimens were blindly tested with ESIMA-FISH and standard IQFISH. The results from these two techniques were comparable (figure 2, 3), supporting the possibility of a future clinical use of ESIMA-FISH.


The orientation of the DBA (Business Economics) Programme at the School of Economics, University College Cork, Ireland, is towards enhancing effectiveness in professional business practice. Over several decades, Economics has become increasingly formal, and some would argue more precise, yet too often in contexts of less and less importance especially to those with a practice orientation. This paper delves into the rich conceptual past of Economics to identify the theme of Subjectivism as one holding promise for research into practice. Subjectivism allows practitioners to ground research on foundational concepts where emphasis is required on images and meanings made of events and circumstances as these are what governs practice. A key foundational thinker, Penrose (1959), offers conceptual depth to be applied by practitioners both in new business practice and in reflection on practice. Penrose's insights reveal four conceptual underpinnings of growing firms related to meaning-making capabilities of managers. More recent research into Economics-related first-person research (Arnsperger, 2010) provides the method by which self reflection and new practice can generate valid 'data' for investigations of effectiveness in practice, highlighting the complementary natures of first-, second- and third-person research. Thus, subjectivism and first-person research are key elements underpinning the programme pedagogy which is outlined in this paper offering a range of fruitful research directions.


sForfurther details please contactSusan Fennell. Used by G.P.'s and specialists in many various fields. subsequent publication. Furthermore, if Dr Hughes and his colleagues examine the subsequent publication,' they will find that we stress that our data could not be directly compared with available data on cimetidine penetration of the CSF. Robert Walt, Department of Therapeutics, University Hospital, Queen'sMedical Centre, NottinghamNG7 2UH, UK.


Acid aspiration is a major cause of acute lung injury. However, the mechanisms that underlie this spatial expansion of the injury remain undefined. In current animal models of acid injury, intratracheal acid instillation replicates the lung injury. However intratracheal instillation causes a global effect, precluding studies of how the injury spreads. Here, we report an airway catheter‐based method for localized acid delivery in the isolated blood‐perfused rat lung. We co‐instilled hydrochloric acid with evans blue through the catheter into one lung and determined blood‐free extravascular lung water in tissue samples from regions that either received, or did not receive the instilled acid. Tissue samples from the noncatheterized contralateral lung were used as controls. Lung water increased both in the regions that received acid, as well as in adjacent regions that did not. Pretreating the lung with vascular infusions of the gap junctional blocker, glycerrhetinic acid, blunted the acid‐induced lung water increase at the adjacent regions. These findings indicate that endothelial gap junction communication causes spread of lung injury from regions that were directly acid injured, to adjacent sites that did not directly receive acid. Our new method for establishing localized acid injury provides evidence for a novel role for vascular gap junctions in the spatial expansion of acid injury. Anat Rec, 2011. © 2011 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.


Research into integrating technology such as iPads into the curriculum for students with disabilities is still new. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the use of a basic math skill application on an iPad to increase basic math fluency. As part of a classwide academic intervention, the study was conducted with10 students with moderate to severe cognitive disabilities enrolled in a special education school. This four-week study employed a single-case reversal design (ABAB). Examination of data involved visual and statistical analysis techniques. Four key findings emerged. First, results indicated this intervention to have a positive effect on basic math fluency. Second, results showed that teachers perceived that the iPads had a positive impact on student engagement and interest in content. Third, qualitative data identified considerations for the integration of new technology into teaching and learning. Finally, the findings demonstrate how single-case design can be used to document the impact of evidencebased practices in special education. Findings suggest the iPad is an effective instructional tool to use in academic interventions with students with moderate to severe disabilities. Implications for practice and further research are discussed. (Contains 2 figures)


Author(s): Stockinger, Kurt; Wu, Kesheng | Abstract: In this chapter we discuss various bitmap index technologies for efficient query processing indata warehousing applications. We review the existing literature and organize the technology into three categories, namely bitmap encoding, compression and binning. We introduce anefficient bitmap compression algorithm and examine the space and time complexity of the compressed bitmap index on large data sets from real applications. According to the conventional wisdom, bitmap indices are only efficient for low-cardinality attributes. However, we show that the compressed bitmap indices are also efficient for high-cardinality attributes. Timing results demonstrate that the bitmap indices significantly ou tperform the projection index, which is often considered to be the most efficient access method for multi-dimensional queries. Finally, we review the bitmap index technology currently supported by commonly used commercial database systems and discuss open issues for future research and development.


Melatonin is known to influence a variety of biological processes including circadian rhythms, neuroendocrine, and cardiovascular and immune functions as well as thermoregulation. Melatonin is the chief secretory product of the pineal gland, although it is also produced in other organs. In this study, in vitro effects of melatonin on 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase from human erythrocytes and in vivo effects of melatonin on 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase from rat (Sprague-Dawley) erythrocytes were studied. Human erythrocyte 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase was purified in 3 steps, namely haemolysate preparation, ammonium sulphate fractionation (35-65%) and 2´,5´-ADP Sepharose-4B affinity gel chromatography. 6-Phosphogluconate dehydrogenase was purified with a recovery rate of 88.8%, 2254-fold. Enzyme activity was spectrophotometrically measured using Beutler's method. In addition, 6-phosphogluconate dehydrogenase activity was inhibited in vitro by melatonin. For the in vivo study, 16 adult male Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 200-250 g were used. The animals were divided into 2 equal groups of 8 animals each: the control and melatonin-treated groups. Both groups were kept under special conditions for 6 h. Melatonin at a 10 mg/kg pharmacological dosage also inhibited the enzyme significantly (P < 0.05) for 3 h invivo. However, enzyme activity increased to the normal level at 6 h.


Anatomy is taught in the early years of an undergraduate medical curriculum. The subject is volatile and of voluminous content, given the complex nature of the human body. Students frequently face learning constraints in these fledgling years of medical education, often resulting in a spiraling dwindling academic performance. Hence, there have been continued efforts directed at developing new curricula and incorporating new methods of teaching, learning and assessment that are aimed at logical learning and long-term retention of anatomical knowledge, which is a mainstay of all medical practice. In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) has gained in popularity. AI uses machine learning models to store, compute, analyze and even augment huge amounts of data to be retrieved when needed, while simultaneously the machine itself can be programmed for deep learning, improving its own efficiency through complex neural networks. There are numerous specific benefits to incorporating AI in education, which include in-depth learning, storage of large electronic data, teaching from remote locations, engagement of fewer personnel in teaching, quick feedback from responders, innovative assessment methods and user-friendly alternatives. AI has long been a part of medical diagnostics and treatment planning. Extensive literature is available on uses of AI in clinical settings, e.g., in Radiology, but to the best of our knowledge there is a paucity of published data on AI used for teaching, learning and assessment in anatomy. In the present review, we highlight recent novel and advanced AI techniques such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), or more complex Convoluted Neural Networks (CNN) and Bayesian U-Net, which are used for teaching anatomy. We also address the main advantages and limitations of the use of AI in medical education and lessons learnt from AI application during the COVID-19 pandemic. In the future, studies with AI in anatomy education could be advantageous for both students to develop professional expertise and for instructors to develop improved teaching methods for this vast and complex subject, especially with the increasing paucity of cadavers in many medical schools. We also suggest some novel examples of how AI could be incorporated to deliver augmented reality experiences, especially with reference to complex regions in the human body, such as neural pathways in the brain, complex developmental processes in the embryo or in complicated miniature regions such as the middle and inner ear. AI can change the face of assessment techniques and broaden their dimensions to suit individual learners.


Candidates are expected to have at least 24 undergraduate credits in philosophy, preferably a major. Non-philosophy majors should have solid training in some other demanding discipline, such as mathematics, science, classical Latin or Greek; an undergraduate GPA of not less than 3.3 for seven semesters is required, with an average of 3.5 in philosophy. Completed applications will include each of the following items:


The notion of agency occupies a central position in several of thecognitive sciences, particularly artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics. However, the notion largely rests on folk psychology and is usually left more or less undefined. This paper examines different notions of agency and analyzes the concept with a special focus on its role in AI, where much recent research has been devoted to the construction of artificial agents. We highlight recent naturalist theories of agency and argue that even if agency is not merely a folk-psychological concept without ontological bearing or scientific value, the phenomenon is more complex than most theories acknowledge. We argue that, as the title implies, none of the so-called agents of contemporary AI and robotics can be attributed agency in the strong sense, although artificial agency is not impossible in principle.