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This paper analyzes Agi poetry and utilizes the Panayanon concept of power called gahum as its critical framework. Philippine gay literature unfurled after the publication of Ladlad: An Anthology of Philippine Gay Writing (1994) and continues to reach higher grounds. However, gay criticism has been too focused on the discourse of the Manila bakla and not much has been said about indigenous models of queerness in the regions. As agi is an indigenous articulation of homosexuality in Panay in Central Philippines, this paper traces the connection of the agi's attendant performance (kaagian) with the indigenous tradition of babaylanism. By investigating the strong presence of babaylanic imagery in agi poetry, this study attempts to unravel the connection of kaagian with a precolonial form of power called gahum, which is deeply attuned to the animist spatiality of Panay. The babaylan is a shaman, culture bearer, and political leader that embodies physical and spiritual gahum that go beyond the human realm. By exploring the interconnected concepts of kaagian, gahum, and babaylanism, this critical study reveals that agi writers champion the image of the babaylan to subvert colonial-imposed hegemonies and decolonize the agi identity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Measurement of rat anogenital distance (AGD) dates to at least 1912. Increased interest in endocrine disrupting chemicals and the use of AGD as a biomarker for fetal androgen effects have increased the number of studies with this endpoint in recent decades. A literature review revealed different landmarks, methods of measurement, and methods to adjust for body weight differences. AGD is often reported to hundredths of millimeters and as such, deserves precision in all these aspects. This paper presents recommendations for the measurement and analysis of rodent AGD. Methods: Literature and regulatory guidance documents that mentioned or measured rodent AGD were reviewed. Four adjustment methods were evaluated using available online data from three rat studies each with two generations of offspring. Results: Tabulation of studies reveals that species/stocks and time of data collection, but more importantly anatomical landmarks and methods of measurement have produced a variety of results which are difficult to compare. Not all studies have adjusted for test article effects on body weight (and thus size). The four adjustment methods were fairly comparable. Conclusion: Recommendations are as follows. A microscopic method should be used to measure AGD of late rodent fetuses and early postnatal pups. The caudal edge of the genital tubercle and the cranial edge of the anus are clear and identifiable landmarks. The simplest adjustment is to divide individual AGDs by the cube root of animals' body weight. These recommendations will help ensure data consistency and accuracy, and facilitate meaningful comparisons across laboratories and chemical classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the toponymic heritage used in Kenya's Authoritative Geographic Information (AGI) toponyms database of 26,600 gazetteer records through documentation and characterization of meanings of place names in topographic mapping. A comparison was carried out between AGI and GeoNames and between AGI and OpenStreetMap (OSM) volunteered records. A total of 15,000 toponymic matchings were found. Out of these, 1567 toponyms were then extracted for further scrutiny using AGI data in the historical records and from respondents on toponyms' meanings. Experts in toponymy assisted in verifying these data. From the questionnaire responses, 235 names occurred in more than one place while AGI data had 284. The elements used to characterize the toponyms included historical perceptions of heritage evident in toponyms in their localities, ethnographic, toponymical and morphology studies on Kenya's dialects. There was no significant relationship established between the same place name usages among dialects as indicated by a positive weak correlation r (438), = 0.166, p < 0.001 based on the effect of using the related places and the distance between related places. The weak correlation implies that the one name one place principle does not apply due to diverse language boundaries, strong bonds associated with historical toponyms in the form of heritage and significant variations on how names resist changes to preserve their heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution and civilization development lead us to the progress next important step - the creation of AGI. More "intelligent" tasks are successfully solved by machine learning methods using neural network algorithms. Not only the solved problems quantitative increase in the number and accuracy are important, but also a qualitative transition to the tasks of obtaining "truly" new knowledge and building "truly" new goals on their basis. This transition can serve as a criterion for determining AGI. The paper shows necessity of using existing knowledge to advance into the field of more and more diverse "truly" new knowledge. Also, the paper shows usefulness of implementing proposed ideas on a scalable hierarchical structure which has two main modes of operation: "intuition" and "thinking", and structure of vector control of these and other operation modes, similar to animal hormonal control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Traditional Chinese Medicine Astragalus was commonly used to assist chemo-drug treatment in clinical cancer patients. However, whether Astragalus injection (AGI) reverses drug resistance remains unclear. Therefore, a meta-analysis is necessary to assess the effect of AGI on resistance reversement in cancer patients. Method: The studies presenting tumor response rates in cancer patients receiving chemo-drugs treatment in combination with AGI were systematically searched from six common scientific databases until February 2024. The relative risks (RRs) indicating the tumor response rate, 1-year survival rate, and quality of life improvement in clinical patients among two groups were calculated in metan package. The pooled RRs with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were used to explore the effect of AGI on enhancing drug sensitivity in terms of tumor response, 1-year survival rate and quality of life improvement in cancer patients. Result: Fifty-one studies were included for meta-analysis following a thorough screening process that adhered to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. A total of 4613 patients were enrolled in all included trials. Results obtained indicated that AGI significantly enhanced the sensitivity of cancers to chemo-drugs with pooled RRs (95% CI) of 1.25 (1.18, 1.32), prolonged the 1-year survival rate of patients with pooled RRs (95% CI) of 1.34 (1.14, 1.57), improved the quality of life with pooled RRs (95% CI) of 1.61 (1.34, 1.93). Similarly, Astragalus's main component, astragaloside polysaccharides (APS), also enhances drug sensitivity in clinical cancer patients. Conclusion: Our findings demonstrated that AGI had the ability to resensitize cancers to chemo-drugs and improve the quality of life of cancer patients. Therefore, AGI could potentially be used as a drug resistance reversal for resistant cancer treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Neural networks have filled the information space. On the one hand, this indicates the scientific and technological movement of contemporary society (perhaps, AGI is already waiting for us outside the door). On the other hand, in everyday discourse there are extensive discussions about the fact that when neural networks are created, a person is left with hard work. However, a holistic understanding of the neural network is associated with a movement from the mythotechnological framework to the phenomenon itself and the questioning of its social role. The key aim of the paper is returning, through observing the range of functions of current LLMs, to the classic question of whether a machine can think. At the same time another question remains, are humans ready to accept the social subjectivity of machines.

Trust is believed to be a foundational cornerstone for artificial intelligence (AI). In April 2019 the European Commission High Level Expert Group on AI adopted the Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI, stressing that human beings will only be able to confidently and fully reap the benefits of AI if they can trust the technology. Trustworthy AI is defined as ethical, lawful and robust AI. Three things strike me about the EC Guidelines. Firstly, though building trust in AI seems to be a shared aim, it is not explicated what trust is, and how it can be built and maintained. Secondly, the Guidelines ignore the widespread distinction made in philosophical literature between trust and reliance. Thirdly, it is not clear how the values have been selected with which AI has to align and what would happen if they came into conflict. In this paper, I shall provide a conceptual analysis of trust in contrast to reliance and ask when it is warranted to talk about trust in AI and trustworthy AI. I shall show how trust and risk are related and what benefits and risks are associated with narrow and general AI. Also, I shall point out that metaphorical talk about ethically aligned AI ignores the real disagreements we have about ethical values. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces a facile and effective route to decorate micro-sized silver particle surfaces with Ag/AgI nanoclusters through a wet chemical reaction at room temperature using iodine and ethanol as reactant and solvent, respectively. Photosensitivity of AgI is utilized in the route, and AgI decomposes into Ag upon contact with sunshine, forming Ag/AgI nanoclusters. The modified micro-sized Ag particles showed sinterability even at 200°C and formed rigid electrical conductive networks at 350°C. Moreover, sintered film containing the modified Ag particles reached the best conductivity, 9.35 mΩ/sq, after sintering at 350°C for 20 min, while the film with untreated control Ag particles obtained its best conductivity at 400°C. The excellent sinterability should be attributed to the nanoclusters which served as a sintering aid during the heating process. However, increase of sintering temperature and time destroyed densification and conductivity of the sintered film containing the modified particles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Informatica (03505596) is the property of Slovene Society Informatika and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper outlines the experimental framework for an e-governance study by the AGI Laboratory. The goal of this research study is to identify indications of the relative performance of e-governance methodologies and how those methods might be improved by applying advanced agent and collective based AI software. The agent in this study will be based on the Independent Core Observer Model Cognitive Architecture modified with mASI (mediated Artificial Superintelligence) collective system architecture. The study will apply different groups and methods to a static set of questions analyzing the quality of those results. We hope to identify the best application model for e-governance using this kind of technology and help us identify additional paths for research with the mASI research program and systems as applied to e-governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper shows how the Independent Core Observer Model (ICOM) Cognitive Architecture for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) can be applied to building a collective intelligence system called a mediated Artificial Superintelligence (mASI). The details include breaking down the ICOM implementation in the form of the mASI system and the general performance of initial studies with the mASI. Details of the primary difference between the Independent Core Observer Model Cognitive Architecture and the mASI architecture variant include inserting humanity in the contextual engine components of ICOM, creating a type of collective intelligence. Humans can 'mediate' new system-generated thinking keeping the thought process accessible and slow enough for humans to oversee and understand. This also allows the modification of emotional valences of the thought process of the mASI system to help the system generate complex contextual models (knowledge graphs) of new ideas and which speeds up the learning process. With the humans acting as control rods in a reactor and emotional drivers, the mASI system maintains safety where the system would cease to function if humans walked away. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the strategic decision-making abilities of large language models (LLMs) via the game of Tic-Tac-Toe, renowned for its straightforward rules and definitive outcomes. We developed a mobile application coupled with web services, facilitating gameplay among leading LLMs, including Jurassic-2 Ultra by AI21, Claude 2.1 by Anthropic, Gemini-Pro by Google, GPT-3.5-Turbo and GPT-4 by OpenAI, Llama2-70B by Meta, and Mistral Large by Mistral, to assess their rule comprehension and strategic thinking. Using a consistent prompt structure in 10 sessions for each LLM pair, we systematically collected data on wins, draws, and invalid moves across 980 games, employing two distinct prompt types to vary the presentation of the game's status. Our findings reveal significant performance variations among the LLMs. Notably, GPT-4, GPT-3.5-Turbo, and Llama2 secured the most wins with the list prompt, while GPT-4, Gemini-Pro, and Mistral Large excelled using the illustration prompt. GPT-4 emerged as the top performer, achieving victory with the minimum number of moves and the fewest errors for both prompt types. This research introduces a novel methodology for assessing LLM capabilities using a game that can illuminate their strategic thinking abilities. Beyond enhancing our comprehension of LLM performance, this study lays the groundwork for future exploration into their utility in complex decision-making scenarios, offering directions for further inquiry and the exploration of LLM limits within game-based frameworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landgrebe and Smith (2022) have recently offered an important mathematical argument against the possibility of Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): human intelligence is a complex system; complex systems have some properties that cannot be modelled mathematically; hence we have no viable way to build an AI that would be able to emulate human intelligence. The issue of complexity is thus at the heart of the Landgrebe and Smith approach, and they tackle this issue by postulating a set of conditions, derived from mathematics, for a system to be complex. I argue that Hayek's "Theory of Complex Phenomena" offers an interesting alternative path to understanding what makes complex systems complex. This offers an argument complementary to that of Landgrebe and Smith, which approaches the issue of complexity from an ontological angle, and which is designed to show that AI systems are not the right kind of entity that may interact meaningfully with complex systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper articulates the methodology and reasoning for how biasing in the Independent Core Observer Model (ICOM) Cognitive Architecture for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) is done. This includes the use of a forced western emotional model, the system "needs" hierarchy, fundamental biasing and the application of SSIVA theory at the high level as a basis for emotionally bound ethical and moral experience in ICOM systems and how that is manifested in system behavior and the mathematics that supports that experience or qualia in ICOM based systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Kairos: Evangelical Journal of Theology is the property of Biblical Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Kairos: Evandeoski Teoloski Casopis is the property of Biblical Institute and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

In this paper, CeO 2 microplates were synthesized by a sol-gel auto-combustion method. AgI nanoparticles (NPs) were then deposited onto the surface of CeO 2 via a facile deposition–precipitation method. The as-prepared AgI/CeO 2 samples were characterized by various analytical techniques. The composites exhibited superior photocatalytic activities for the organic dyes (RhB) and the refractory pollutant (tetracycline (TC), a typical antibiotic) degradation under visible light irradiation. The CA-19.03 sample exhibited the highest photocatalytic activity. The enhanced photocatalytic performance could be ascribed to the improved separation of photogenerated charge carriers due to well-matched band structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The impact of complexity within government and societal systems is considered relative to the limitations of human cognitive bandwidth, and the resulting reliance on cognitive biases and systems of automation when that bandwidth is exceeded. Examples of how humans and societies have attempted to cope with the growing difference between the rate at which the complexity of systems and human cognitive capacities increase respectively are considered. The potential of and urgent need for systems capable of handling the existing and future complexity of systems, utilizing greater cognitive bandwidth through scalable AGI, are also considered, along with the practical limitations and considerations in how those systems may be deployed in real-world conditions. Several paradoxes resulting from the influence of prolific Narrow Tool AI systems manipulating large portions of the population are also noted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photocatalytic degradation, as a very significant advanced oxidation technology in the field of environmental purification, has attracted extensive attention in recent years. The design and synthesis of catalysts with high-intensity photocatalytic properties have been the focus of many researchers in recent years. In this contribution, two new supramolecular materials {[(L1)·(Ag4I7)]CH3CN} (1), {[(L2)·(Ag4I7)]CH3CN} (2) were synthesized by solution volatilization reaction of two cationic templates 1,3,5-Tris(4-aminopyridinylmethyl)-2,4,6-Trimethylphenyl bromide (L1) and 1,3,5-Tris(4-methyl pyridinyl methyl)-2,4,6-trimethylphenyl bromide (L2) with metal salt AgI at room temperature, respectively. The degradation effect of 1 and 2 as catalyst on tetracycline (TC) under visible light irradiation was studied. The results showed that the degradation of TC by 1 was better than that by 2 and both of them had good stability and cyclability. The effects of pH value, catalyst dosage, and anion in water on the photocatalytic performance were also investigated. The adsorption kinetics fit the quasi-first-order model best. After 180 min of irradiation with 1, the degradation rate of TC can reach 97.91%. In addition, the trapping experiments showed that ·OH was the main active substance in the photocatalytic degradation of TC compared with ·O2− and h+. Because of its simple synthesis and high removal efficiency, catalyst 1 has potential value for the treatment of wastewater containing organic matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fitting a bionically inspired cognitive model to a technical application domain is a challenging task. This work presents the fundamental steps in applying the SiMA-based cognitive model ECABA to the domain of building automation. The focus of the paper is to show the initial steps and challenges for implementing the human inspired mechanisms of drives and social rules when modeling a cognitive control system for a non-human body. We then illustrate the flexibility and extensibility of the intended distributed cognitive approach by presenting the iterative development of a simple reactive system with interacting components. Using a simple use case, we show how the cognitive processes can be implemented and utilized in a multi-agent system to provide a first, reactivity-based control system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most Artificial Intelligence (AI) implementations so far are based on the exploration of how the human brain is designed. Nevertheless, while significant progress is shown on specialized tasks, creating an Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) remains elusive. This manuscript proposes that instead of asking how the brain is constructed, the main question should be how it was evolved. Since neurons can be understood as intelligent agents, intelligence can be thought of as a construct of multiple agents working and evolving together as a society, within a long-term memory and evolution context. More concretely, we suggest placing Multiple Neighborhood Cellular Automata (MNCA) on a blockchain with an interaction protocol and incentives to create an AGI. Given that such a model could become a "strong" AI, we present the conjecture that this infrastructure is possible to simulate the properties of cognition as an emergent phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]