A parameterized runtime analysis of simple evolutionary algorithms for makespan scheduling

We consider simple multi-start evolutionary algorithms applied to the classical NP-hard combinatorial optimization problem of Makespan Scheduling on two machines. We study the dependence of the runtime of this type of algorithm on three different key hardness parameters. By doing this, we provide further structural insights into the behavior of evolutionary algorithms for this classical problem.Andrew M. Sutton and Frank Neuman

Structural Behavior of Cold-formed Steel Header Beams for Residential Construction

The purpose of this experimental and analytical study was to observe the structural behavior of cold-formed steel header beams subject to a combined bending and interior-one-flange loading (IOF) condition as typically occurs in residential construction. This study focussed on the IOF loading of both back-to-back (I-beam) and box-beam configurations as specified in the Prescriptive Method for Residential Cold-Formed Steel Framing - Second Edition. Past research conducted in the area of web crippling strength, bending strength and flange buckling of cold-formed steel members was reviewed and is discussed. The data obtained from the experimental study was analyzed and evaluated to determine the interaction between bending and web crippling for the loading configurations used. The findings of this pilot study were used to define future research needed to establish design methodologies for residential header beam construction. Because this was a pilot study and was limited in the number of test specimens, no new design equations or recommendations were developed

Young people who display harmful sexual behaviors and their families : a qualitative systematic review of their experiences of professional interventions.

It is estimated that 30–50% of all childhood sexual abuse involves other young people as perpetrators. The treatment of harmful sexual behavior (HSB) in young people has evolved from interventions developed for use with adult perpetrators of sexual offenses. Increasingly, these approaches were not seen as appropriate for use with young people. The purpose of this qualitative systematic review was to establish what intervention components are viewed as acceptable or useful by young people and their families in order to inform the development of interventions for young people with HSB. We conducted searches across 14 electronic databases as well as contacting experts to identify relevant studies. Thirteen qualitative studies were included in the analysis, reporting findings from intervention studies from the United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand, Australia, and Ireland. Thematic analysis was used to combine findings from the studies of young people and parent/carers views. Five key themes were identified as critical components of successful interventions for young people with HSB. These included the key role of the relationship between the young person and practitioner, the significance of the role of parents and carers, the importance of considering the wider context in which the abuse has occurred, the role of disclosure in interventions, and the need to equip young people with skills as well as knowledge. The evidence was limited by the small number of studies that were mainly from the perspectives of adolescent males

Variable Permeability Magnetometer Systems and Methods for Aerospace Applications

A magnetometer configured to measure low field strength magnetic fields is provided. Certain embodiments of the magnetometer include a cylindrical coil assembly having a variable permeability core and terminals disposed at both ends. A current source circuit may be operably connected to the terminals and configured to apply a voltage controlled current across the terminals. A voltage readout circuit may be operably connected to the terminals and configured to measure a voltage across the terminals due to the applied current from the current source. An inductance of the coil assembly directly varies as an ambient magnetic field strength varies a permeability of the variable permeability core, and a voltage across the terminals varies directly with the inductance such that the measured voltage across the terminals is a direct measure of the ambient magnetic field strength

Search for direct production of charginos, neutralinos and sleptons in final states with two leptons and missing transverse momentum in pp collisions at √s = 8TeV with the ATLAS detector

Searches for the electroweak production of charginos, neutralinos and sleptons in final states characterized by the presence of two leptons (electrons and muons) and missing transverse momentum are performed using 20.3 fb−1 of proton-proton collision data at s√ = 8 TeV recorded with the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider. No significant excess beyond Standard Model expectations is observed. Limits are set on the masses of the lightest chargino, next-to-lightest neutralino and sleptons for different lightest-neutralino mass hypotheses in simplified models. Results are also interpreted in various scenarios of the phenomenological Minimal Supersymmetric Standard Model