A distributed solution to software reuse

Reuse can be applied to all stages of the software lifecycle to enhance quality and to shorten time of completion for a project. During the phases of design and implementation are some examples of where reuse can be applied, but one frequent obstruction to development is the building of and the identifying of desirable components. This can be costly in the short term but an organisation can gain the profits of applying this scheme if they are seeking long-term goals. Web services are a recent development in distributed computing. This thesis combines the two research areas to produce a distributed solution to software reuse that displays the advantages of distributed computing within a reuse system. This resulted in a web application with access to web services that allowed two different formats of component to be inserted into a reuse repository. These components were searchable by keywords and the results are adjustable by the popularity of a component’s extraction from the system and by user ratings of it; this improved the accuracy of the search. This work displays the accuracy, usability, and speed of this system when tested with five undergraduate and five postgraduate students

Vector Meson Exchanges and CP Asymmetry in K±→π±π0K^{\pm}\rightarrow\pi^{\pm}\pi^0

Using a current algebra framework, we discuss the contribution of vector meson exchanges to the CP violating asymmetry in the decay $K^{\pm}\rightarrow\pi^{\pm}\pi^0$, resulting from the interference of the $K\rightarrow\pi\pi$ amplitude with the radiative correction $K\rightarrow\pi\pi\gamma$.Comment: 9 pages (plain-TEX), IC/93/186, UTS-DFT-93-18, (two figures not included

Phenotypic divergence along lines of genetic variance

Natural populations inhabiting the same environment often independently evolve the same phenotype. Is this replicated evolution a result of genetic constraints imposed by patterns of genetic covariation? We looked for associations between directions of morphological divergence and the orientation of the genetic variance-covariance matrix (G) by using an experimental system of morphological evolution in two allopatric nonsister species of rainbow fish. Replicate populations of both Melanotaenia eachamensis and Melanotaenia duboulayi have independently adapted to lake versus stream hydrodynamic environments. The major axis of divergence (z) among all eight study populations was closely associated with the direction of greatest genetic variance (g(max)), suggesting directional genetic constraint on evolution. However, the direction of hydrodynamic adaptation was strongly associated with vectors of G describing relatively small proportions of the total genetic variance, and was only weakly associated with g(max). In contrast, divergence between replicate populations within each habitat was approximately proportional to the level of genetic variance, a result consistent with theoretical predictions for neutral phenotypic divergence. Divergence between the two species was also primarily along major eigenvectors of G. Our results therefore suggest that hydrodynamic adaptation in rainbow fish was not directionally constrained by the dominant eigenvector of G. Without partitioning divergence as a consequence of the adaptation of interest (here, hydrodynamic adaptation) from divergence due to other processes, empirical studies are likely to overestimate the potential for the major eigenvectors of G to directionally constrain adaptive evolution

La concession des terres dans les cantons de l'Est du Bas-Canada (1763-1809)

Comme on peut s'en rendre compte en étudiant la période pré-confédérative de l'histoire du Canada, il existe une grande lacune dans notre connaissance du rôle joué par la terre dans le développement économique et politique des territoires qui forment maintenant les provinces de Québec et d'Ontario. Il est vrai que certains travaux ont été faits sur le système seigneurial, sur les grandes compagnies terriennes et sur les problèmes des réserves de la Couronne et du clergé, particulièrement dans le Haut-Canada. Quelle que soit leur qualité, ces travaux n'en demeurent pas moins fragmentaires. En nous attachant à reconstituer, dans un tableau d'ensemble, l'évolution de la politique des terres au cours du demi-siècle qui a suivi la conquête, nous avons voulu contribuer d'une modeste façon à combler cette lacune.Le but du présent article est de tracer les grandes lignes des travaux de recherche que l'auteur vient de terminer sur la politique de concession et de distribution des terres dans les cantons de l'Est du Bas-Canada, de 1763 à 1809.Dans l'exécution de ces travaux de recherche nous avons visé un double objectif. Premièrement, nous avons voulu découvrir et, tenant compte de l'histoire traditionnelle, expliquer les relations chronologiques et organiques entre les divers documents et les témoignages relatifs à l'administration et à la distribution des terres en franc et commun socage dans les cantons de l'Est de 1763 à 1809. De la période qui s'étend de 1763 à 1791 nous n'avons retenu que les caractères généraux, tandis que nous avons fait une étude plus détaillée de la période qui va de 1791 à 1809. Nous avons accordé une attention particulière au mode de concession le plus général au cours de cette période : la concession de terres à des chefs de canton sur présentation de listes d'associés. En deuxième lieu, et d'une façon subordonnée, nous avons essayé de tirer des documents ainsi classifiés et analysés quelques conclusions se rapportant aux relations entre la tenure des terres (et les règles et décrets s'y rapportant) et le développement de certains aspects de l'organisation interne des sociétés commerciales au cours de cette période.Nos recherches nous ont permis de mettre en évidence l'existence d'une relation très étroite entre l'incertitude des règles et des décrets concernant la tenure des terres et le développement du Bas-Canada, entre les années 1792 et 1809, période où apparaît la corporation comme forme d'organisation économique.D'une manière plus générale, nous pensons que le conflit qui s'est manifesté dans le Bas-Canada, après 1791, au sujet de la politique des terres, n'était que l'expression d'un conflit plus général entre les tendances centralisatrices de l'administration coloniale anglaise et les efforts — apparents surtout dans les colonies de la Nouvelle-Angleterre — visant à renforcer l'autonomie locale en matières fiscales et politiques. Le pouvoir de formuler une politique des terres, de diviser et de distribuer les terres, fut un aspect important de cette autonomie locale. La présence de cette tradition d'autonomie parmi les immigrants du Québec qui, pour la plupart, venaient des États de la Nouvelle-Angleterre, amena les colons à adopter une forme d'entreprise incorporée. Les circonstances favorisaient d'ailleurs cette forme d'entreprise : déjà, dans les cantons de l'Est, existait la pratique non officielle d'une forme de colonisation semblable à celle qu'avaient connue les immigrants des colonies de la Nouvelle-Angleterre. Ce type de colonisation engendrait l'incertitude chez les colons, à cause de l'imprécision des lois relatives à la distribution des terres

Agility demands of Gaelic football match-play: a time-motion analysis

Research into the physical demands of Gaelic football is limited with no research into the agility or change of direction (CoD) demands of the sport. This study examined the CoD demands of Gaelic football via a time-motion analysis of senior inter-county match play. The Bloomfield movement classification (BMC) was adapted for application to Gaelic football. A new “descriptor” was used in an effort to account for the decision-making component of agility by isolating actions that occurred during active engagement with play. Of 1,899 changes of direction (CoDs) identified, 1,035 occurred during active engagement in play. The left/right split for CoDs during active engagement in play was 47.1/49.9%, indicating no preference for completing actions to one side over the other. Whilst the most common CoDs were ≤90° (74.9%), 80% of CoDs greater than 270° took place during active engagement in play. CoD actions are very common in Gaelic football and may be more common than in other field and court sports. It is important that athletes are physically prepared to cope with the demands of very acute CoDs during meaningful periods of match play

Maximum strength, relative strength, and strength deficit: relationships with performance and differences between elite sprinters and professional rugby union players

Purpose: To test the relationships between maximum and relative strength (MS and RS), absolute and relative peak force (PF and RPF), and strength deficit (SDef), with sprint and jump performance, and to compare these mechanical variables between elite sprinters and professional rugby union players. Methods: Thirty-five male rugby union players and thirty male sprinters performed vertical jumps, 30-m sprint, and the half-squat one-repetition maximum (1RM) assessment, where these force-related parameters were collected. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to test the relationships among the variables. An independent t-test and magnitude-based inferences compared the mechanical variables between sprinters and rugby players. Results: Almost certain significant differences were observed for jump and sprint performance between the groups (P < 0.0001). Rugby union players demonstrated a likely significant higher MS (P = 0.03), but a very likely lower RS (P = 0.007) than sprinters. No significant differences were observed for PF between them. Sprinters exhibited an almost certain significant higher RPF than rugby players (P < 0.0001). Furthermore, rugby players demonstrated almost certain to likely significant higher SDef from 40 to 70% 1RM (P < 0.05) compared to sprinters. Overall, all strength-derived parameters were significantly related to functional performance. Conclusions: Elite sprinters present higher levels of RS and RPF, lower levels of SDef, and superior sprint and jump performance than professional rugby players. Relative strength-derived values (RS and RPF) and SDef are significantly associated with speed-power measures and may be used as effective and practical indicators of athletic performance

Optimum power loads for elite boxers: case study with the Brazilian national olympic team

The purpose of this case study was to examine the effects of a resistance-training program based on the optimum power loads (OPL) method on neuromuscular performance of Olympic boxing athletes during preparation for the Rio-2016 Olympic Games. Twelve elite amateur boxers from the Brazilian National Olympic Team participated in this study. Athletes were assessed at four time-points, over two consecutive competitive seasons. In the first season (considered as "control period"), the athletes executed a non-controlled strength-power training program for 10 weeks. In the second season (a seven-week experimental period), the elite boxers performed 14 power-oriented training sessions, comprising bench press (BP) and jump squat (JS) exercises at the OPL. Maximum bar-power output in BP and JS exercises was measured pre and post both training phases. Magnitude-based inferences were used to compare changes in pre and post training tests. Bar-power outputs increased meaningfully in both BP (+8%) and JS (+7%) exercises after the OPL training program. In contrast, after the control period, no worthwhile improvements were observed in the variables tested. Based on the findings of this study, highly trained boxers might benefit from the use of a training scheme based on OPL

The phenome-wide distribution of genetic variance

A general observation emerging from estimates of additive genetic variance in sets of functionally or developmentally related traits is that much of the genetic variance is restricted to few trait combinations as a consequence of genetic covariance among traits. While this biased distribution of genetic variance among functionally related traits is now well documented, how it translates to the broader phenome and therefore any trait combination under selection in a given environment is unknown. We show that 8,750 gene expression traits measured in adult male Drosophila serrata exhibit widespread genetic covariance among random sets of five traits, implying that pleiotropy is common. Ultimately, to understand the phenome-wide distribution of genetic variance, very large additive genetic variance-covariance matrices (G) are required to be estimated. We draw upon recent advances in matrix theory for completing high-dimensional matrices to estimate the 8,750-trait G and show that large numbers of gene expression traits genetically covary as a consequence of a single genetic factor. Using gene ontology term enrichment analysis, we show that the major axis of genetic variance among expression traits successfully identified genetic covariance among genes involved in multiple modes of transcriptional regulation. Our approach provides a practical empirical framework for the genetic analysis of high-dimensional phenome-wide trait sets and for the investigation of the extent of high-dimensional genetic constraint