Odnos in motiviranost mlajsih ucencev do ucenja tujega jezika

This paper focuses on young foreign language learners’ attitudes and motivations. An overview is given of the main issues in this research area, based on key European studies. Approaches to studying these affective learner characteristics are described. Some attention is devoted to data elicitation techniques and the importance of triangulation. Research findings are presented through overviews of cross-sectional and longitudinal studies carried out in different European settings. The latter are presented in more detail, because their findings seem to be more revealing of the early foreign language learning process. The overall conclusion of this review paper is that young foreign language learners’ attitudes and motivations are not stable learner characteristics but change over time, creating layers of complexity that warrant further research. Suggestions about possible future directions in researching young foreign language learner attitudes and motivations, and the application of its findings are also made. (DIPF/Orig.

A landing theorem for dynamic rays of geometrically finite entire functions

A transcendental entire function f is called geometrically finite if the intersection of the set of singular values with the Fatou set is compact and the intersection of the postsingular set with the Julia set is finite. (In particular, this includes all entire functions with finite postsingular set.) If f is geometrically finite, then the Fatou set of f is either empty or consists of the basins of attraction of finitely many attracting or parabolic cycles. Let z_0 be a repelling or parabolic periodic point of such a map f. We show that, if f has finite order, then there exists an injective curve consisting of escaping points of f that connects z_0 to infinity. (This curve is called a dynamic ray.) In fact, the assumption of finite order can be weakened considerably; for example, it is sufficient to assume that f can be written as a finite composition of finite-order functions.Comment: 19 pages, 4 figures. results have been extended to a larger class of function

Semiconjugacies, pinched Cantor bouquets and hyperbolic orbifolds

Let f be a transcendental entire map that is subhyperbolic, i.e., the intersection of the Fatou set F(f) and the postsingular set P(f) is compact and the intersection of the Julia set J(f) and P(f) is finite. Assume that no asymptotic value of f belongs to J(f) and that the local degree of f at all points in J(f) is bounded by some finite constant. We prove that there is a hyperbolic map g (of the form g(z)=f(bz) for some complex number b) with connected Fatou set such that f and g are semiconjugate on their Julia sets. Furthermore, we show that this semiconjugacy is a conjugacy when restricted to the escaping set I(g) of g. In the case where f can be written as a finite composition of maps of finite order, our theorem, together with recent results on Julia sets of hyperbolic maps, implies that J(f) is a pinched Cantor bouquet, consisting of dynamic rays and their endpoints. Our result also seems to give the first complete description of topological dynamics of an entire transcendental map whose Julia set is the whole complex plane.Comment: 32 pages, 3 figure

Biometrical Analyses of Epistasis and the Relationship between Line per se and Testcross Performance of Agronomic Traits in Elite Populations of European Maize (Zea mays L.)

Zentrales Ziel in Hybridzüchtungsprogrammen von Mais (Zea mays L.) ist die Selektion von Linien mit hoher Kreuzungsleistung. Da die Herstellung und Prüfung der Testkreuzungen in Hybridzüchtungsprogrammen sehr zeit- und kostenaufwendig sind, wurde schon früh in der Geschichte der Maiszüchtung versucht, die Eigenleistung der Linien (EL) als Selektionskriterium für eine Vorauswahl der Linien heranzuziehen. Zudem ist die EL der Linien für eine ökonomische Saatgutproduktion relevant, insbesondere bei der Herstellung von Einfachhybriden. Die Aussichten einer simultanen Verbesserung der EL- und Testkreuzungsleistung (TL) sowie einer indirekten Verbesserung der TL durch Selektion auf EL werden von der genotypischen Korrelation rg(EL, TL) zwischen den beiden Selektionskriterien bestimmt. Die Höhe dieser Korrelation wird von einer Reihe genetischer Faktoren bestimmt, unter anderem möglicherweise vom epistatischen Zusammenwirken beteiligter Gene, das ebenfalls Gegenstand dieser Studie war. Die vorliegende Arbeit wurde an fünf Populationen durchgeführt (F3 bis F6 Linien), die aus drei biparentalen Kreuzungen zwischen vier Elitelinien des europäischen Flint-Formenkreises hervorgegangen waren. Diese unterschieden sich in ihrem Umfang (zwischen 71 und 344 Linien) und Inzuchtgrad sowie der Anzahl gemeinsamer Eltern. Alle fünf Populationen wurden auf ihre TL mit einer aus dem Dent-Formenkreis stammenden Inzuchtlinie (Tester) evaluiert. Insgesamt wurden fünf agronomisch wichtige quantitative Merkmale erfaßt: Kornertrag, Kornfeuchte, Tausendkorngewicht, Proteingehalt und Wuchshöhe. Vier dieser Populationen wurden gleichzeitig auf ihre EL in diesen Merkmalen geprüft. Anhand dieses Materials wurden folgende Fragestellungen untersucht: (i) Wie hoch ist die phänotypische und genotypische Korrelation zwischen EL und TL bei wichtigen Merkmalen von Körnermais? (ii) Wie konsistent sind die gefundenen QTL (quantitative trait locus/loci) für ein gegebenes Merkmal in verschiedenen auf TL geprüften Populationen sowie beim Vergleich von EL und TL in verschiedenen auf EL und TL zugleich geprüften Populationen? (iii) Inwiefern liefern die Ergebnisse aus QTL-Analysen für EL und TL eine Erklärung für die geschätzten genotypischen Korrelationen zwischen diesen beiden Kriterien? (iv) Welche Bedeutung haben epistatische Effekte auf der Ebene von Generationsmittelwertanalysen für EL und TL sowie auf der Ebene einzelner QTL? Die geschätzten genotypischen Korrelationen in unseren Populationen des europäischen Flint-Formenkreises stimmten größenmäßig mit publizierten Schätzwerten aus den US-amerikanischen Studien mit den Linien des Dent-Formenkreises überein. Generell ergaben sich für Merkmale mit höherer Heritabilität und hauptsächlich additiver Genwirkung wie Kornfeuchte, Tausendkorngewicht, Proteingehalt und Wuchshöhe höhere Schätzwerte der rg(EL, TL) (> 0.7) als für den Kornertrag, für den die niedrigsten Werte mit geringster Präzision ermittelt wurden. Daraus folgt, dass für die Merkmale Kornfeuchte, Tausendkorngewicht, Proteingehalt und Wuchshöhe eine relativ verläßliche Vorhersage der TL aufgrund der EL der Linien möglich ist. Beim Kornertrag hingegen ist eine direkte Bewertung der TL notwendig. Für Tausendkorngewicht, Proteingehalt und Wuchshöhe wurden für TL in den Populationsvergleichen derselben Kreuzung übereinstimmende QTL gefunden, die einzeln bis zu 46% der validierten genotypischen Varianz erklärten. Da dieser Anteil allerdings unter der Heritabilität einer Prüfung an vier Umwelten liegt, ist die marker-gestützte Selektion (MAS) nur dann effizienter als eine direkte Auslese auf TL, wenn die Beobachtungswerte sehr viel aufwendiger bzw. teurer zu erheben sind als die Markerdaten. Für diese Merkmale wurden in der größten Population über die Hälfte der für EL detektierten QTL auch für TL detektiert. Die Anzahl der für EL und TL gemeinsamen QTL war über die Populationen allerdings nicht proportional zu der Größe von rg(MEL, YTL). Letzteres ist die Korrelation zwischen der vorhergesagten TL aufgrund der QTL-Ergebnisse für EL und der tatsächlich beobachteten TL und somit eine quantitative Erfassung der Übereinstimmung von QTL über EL und TL. Sie stellt den Schlüsselparameter für die Erfolgsaussichten der MAS dar. Die Schätzwerte von rg(MEL, YTL) waren bei allen Merkmalen kleiner als rg(EL, TL) weil die rg(MEL, YTL) nur denjenigen Anteil der genotypischen Varianz vorhersagen kann, welcher auch tatsächlich durch die detektierten QTL für EL erklärt wird. Dieser war jedoch generell kleiner als 50% aufgrund der limitierten QTL-Detektionsgüte (Power) bei Populationsgrößen unter 100. Insofern ist auch hier der ökonomische Aspekt bei der Bewertung der Erfolgsaussichten von MAS maßgebend. Da die Güte der QTL-Detektion bei Populationsgrößen kleiner 100 und insbesondere bei kleinen QTL komplexer Merkmale wie Kornertrag stark abnimmt, reduzierte sich für dieses Merkmal entsprechend die Wahrscheinlichkeit einer gleichzeitigen Detektion für EL und TL bzw. die konsistente Detektion von QTL in verschiedenen auf TL geprüften Populationen. Große Populationsumfänge sind notwendig, um die Übereinstimmung zwischen QTL-Experimenten und die Aussichten von MAS auch bei mittleren bzw. kleinen QTL beurteilen zu können. Aus den QTL-Analysen für EL ergaben sich weiterhin nur schwache Hinweise auf dominante und epistatische Geneffekte als Ursache für die beobachteten niedrigen Schätzwerte rg(EL, TL) für Kornertrag. Generationsmittelwertanalysen für EL und TL sowie genomweite Tests auf Epistasie lieferten ebenfalls keine eindeutigen Hinweise auf Epistasie. Dies ist nicht zuletzt eine Folge der Implementierung von statistischen Validierungsverfahren in dieser Studie, welche die starke Überschätzung der genetischen Effekte in den zurzeit angewandten statistischen QTL-Verfahren aufdecken und zur Vorsicht im Umgang mit den Ergebnissen hinsichtlich ihrer Nutzung für MAS mahnen. Der Nachweis einer Genwirkungsweise ist aber nichtsdestoweniger vom züchterischen Verfahren zur Entwicklung des im Experiment verwendeten Materials abhängig. Insofern stellt der sich vollziehende Wandel in der züchterischen Praxis bei der Entwicklung von Linien in Richtung Produktion von Doppelhaploiden, bei welchen die epistatische Varianz der gekoppelten Loci erhalten bleibt, mit Sicherheit eine Verbesserung für künftige Epistasieuntersuchungen dar.Relations of yield and other important agronomic traits of inbred lines to the same traits in hybrids have been studied from the time of initiation of hybrid breeding to the present. Because crossing lines to a tester and conducting yield trials are expensive and time-consuming, reliable information on inbred lines that is indicative of their testcross performance is crucial for optimum testing schemes in hybrid breeding as well as simultaneous improvement of commercial hybrids and their inbred parents. It has therefore been of great importance to determine the magnitude of correlation between line per se performance (LP) and testcross performance (TP) and investigate if epistasis influences this correlation. The comprehensive study on hand was performed with five populations (F3 to F6 lines) differing in size (ranging from 71 to 344), level of inbreeding, and the number of common parents. The populations employed were derived from three biparental crosses within the heterotic pool of European elite flint maize (Zea mays L.). All five populations were evaluated for TP (using an unrelated dent tester inbred) of five agronomically important quantitative traits: grain yield, grain moisture, kernel weight, protein concentration, and plant height. Four of these populations were also evaluated for LP of the same five traits. The objectives were to (i) estimate phenotypic and genotypic correlations between LP and TP within four populations for all five traits, (ii) map quantitative trait loci (QTL) for LP and TP in four and five populations, respectively, for all five traits, (iii) validate estimated QTL effects and positions for TP by assessing QTL congruency among testcross populations differing in size and genetic background, (iv) determine the value of LP-QTL for the prediction of TP, (v) estimate the importance of epistatic effects for LP and TP of grain yield and grain moisture by generation means analysis as well as genome-wide testing for epistatic marker pairs, and (vi) draw conclusions regarding the prospects of marker-assisted selection (MAS). Genotypic correlations between LP and TP, rg(LP, TP), estimated herein were comparable with those obtained for European flint or U.S. dent material. The magnitude of rg(LP, TP) was trait-specific: for traits of high heritability, i.e. grain moisture, kernel weight, protein concentration, and plant height, estimates were generally larger than 0.7 across all four populations, whereas for grain yield, estimates were consistently lower and did not exceed the intermediate level of 0.5. For grain yield, lowest rg(LP, TP) were estimated with lowest precision (largest confidence intervals). This requires testing for both LP and TP and/or combining the data in a selection index to ensure sufficient inbred performance (seed production) and yield improvement. However, combined selection for LP and TP proved less efficient than sole selection for TP unless unadapted material was employed. For kernel weight, protein concentration, and plant height, we detected "large" congruent QTL across testcross populations derived from the same cross, which individually explained up to 46% of the validated genotypic variance p. However, as the p values estimated from validation were still below the corresponding heritability estimates, MAS will be superior to phenotypic selection only if it is more cost-efficient. For the above traits, similar numbers of QTL for LP and TP were detected across populations. More than half of the QTL regions detected for LP were in common for LP and TP in the largest population (N = 280). To assess the value of QTL identified for LP in predicting TP, we calculated the genotypic correlation rg(MLP, YTP). This parameter assesses QTL congruency for LP and TP quantitatively and is thus the key parameter for assessing the prospects of MAS. The number of common QTL for LP and TP (qualitative QTL congruency) was generally not indicative of the magnitude of rg(MLP, YTP) due to the differences in the effect size of the respective QTL detected for LP and used for the prediction of TP. For all traits, rg(MLP, YTP) were smaller than rg(LP, TP). This is because rg(MLP, YTP) is only predictive for the validated proportion of genotypic variance explained by the QTL for LP, which was generally below 50% because of the limited power of QTL detection, in particular with small sample sizes below 100. Only if QTL detected for LP explain a substantial proportion of the genotypic variance, MAS based on these QTL can be applied, provided it is more cost-efficient than an indirect phenotypic selection for TP based on LP. QTL detection power was drastically reduced for the complex trait grain yield with a presumably large number of small QTL underlying its genetic architecture. Thus, the number of common QTL for LP and TP as well as the QTL congruency across testcross populations was much lower for grain yield than the other four traits. Estimated gene action of QTL detected for LP was primarily additive for grain yield. Evidence for dominance and/or epistasis, which may be a reason for the low rg(LP, TP) and the low number of common QTL for LP and TP was generally weak. Both generation means analysis for LP and TP and genome-wide search for epistatic marker pairs yielded no evidence for epistasis. This is not only because the detected epistatic effects could not be validated, but also because there is low chance to find epistasis unless the generation examined displays the full epistatic variance such as expected from doubled haploids produced from an F1 cross. Thus, it is anticipated that the relative importance of epistatic effects in hybrid maize breeding may strongly increase with the currently happening shift in line development from recurrent selfing towards the production of doubled haploids

How do patients with anorexia and their carers experience Community Treatment Orders?

Aims: Community Treatment Orders (CTOs) are used in eating disorder populations to enforce engagement in treatment in the community. Research into CTOs has been limited to psychosis populations, and as such there is no research to guide its use in eating disorders. This paper aimed to investigate how patients and carers experience CTOs and consider how anorexia can impact on a patient’s ability to adhere to and engage with the CTO. Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with six patients and four carers. Transcripts were analysed using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Patient and carer groups were analysed separately to allow for a comparison of their experiences. Results: The analysis yielded three over-arching themes for each group. Patients and carers both reported the theme of experiencing the CTO as a framework whose implementation depended on professionals. Patients discussed their ambivalence to treatment and the challenge of managing the competing demands of their anorexia and the CTO. Carers spoke about how they felt the CTO was necessary but not sufficient for recovery, and the impact of the CTO on their relationship with the patient. Conclusions: Patients and carers felt that the CTO was a necessity for patient wellbeing and highlighted the relationship with professionals as important to motivate engagement with the CTO. However, the CTO was perceived as a challenge by all patients due to the competing demands of the anorexia. Future research should focus on further understanding how CTOs are used by professionals, and the role they play in a patient’s recovery

A Family of Controllable Cellular Automata for Pseudorandom Number Generation

In this paper, we present a family of novel Pseudorandom Number Generators (PRNGs) based on Controllable Cellular Automata (CCA) ─ CCA0, CCA1, CCA2 (NCA), CCA3 (BCA), CCA4 (asymmetric NCA), CCA5, CCA6 and CCA7 PRNGs. The ENT and DIEHARD test suites are used to evaluate the randomness of these CCA PRNGs. The results show that their randomness is better than that of conventional CA and PCA PRNGs while they do not lose the structure simplicity of 1-d CA. Moreover, their randomness can be comparable to that of 2-d CA PRNGs. Furthermore, we integrate six different types of CCA PRNGs to form CCA PRNG groups to see if the randomness quality of such groups could exceed that of any individual CCA PRNG. Genetic Algorithm (GA) is used to evolve the configuration of the CCA PRNG groups. Randomness test results on the evolved CCA PRNG groups show that the randomness of the evolved groups is further improved compared with any individual CCA PRNG

The Simulation Model of a Student Restaurant

This paper features a simulation model of the FSB canteen. The data required for the simulation was collected through direct observation of the canteen during the busiest time of the day, that is, lunchtime. The simulation model was verified and validated based on the collected data. The model and the results of the simulation were presented. In order to reduce the waiting time, two modifications of the existing model were proposed and simulation models for both cases were also developed. After simulating the modified models, in order to determine the effects of the proposed modifications, the obtained results were analyzed and compared with the results of the existing system