Interesting Characters Research Articles

Dust ion acoustic (DIA) solitary waves in plasmas with weak relativistic effects in electrons and ions

In the new investigation of dust-ion acoustic (DIA) waves with negative dust charges and weakly relativistic ions and electrons in the plasma, compressive and rarefactive DIA solitons of interesting characters are established through the Korteweg-de Vries (KdV) equation. Eventually, the amplitudes of the compressive DIA solitons are found to be constant at some critical temperature ratio αc (electron to ion temperature ratio) identifying some critical dust charge Zdc. It is predicted, that the reception of dust charges by the plasma particles at the variation of temperature starts functioning to the growth of compressive soliton’s constant stage of amplitude after the state of critical αc. The identification of critical dust charge (Zdc) which is found to be very great for solitons of constant amplitudes becomes feasible for very small dust to ion density ratio (σ). But it can be achieved, we observe, due to the relativistic increase in ion-density as in mass, which is also a salient feature of this investigation.

Edward Cock: Cock's 'peculiar tumour'.

I must first apologise to my readers for including in this series a condition which I have never personally seen in 40 years of general surgery, nor, I believe, have any of the readers of this article. My excuse is that the condition has such a charming name and that the surgeon, Edward Cock, was such an interesting character.

Wide Gain Bandwidth InAs/Ingaalas/InP Quantum-Dashes for Broadband Emitter Applications

The reduction in the dimensionality of the active region and exploiting the quantum mechanical effects from this device design has lead to the realization of quantum well (Qwell), quantum wire and eventual quantum dot (Qdots semiconductor lasers with remarkable improvements in their performance. In particular, Qdots lasers, provides control of the optical transitions due to their delta type density of states, lead to strong reduction in the threshold current density and a high temperature stability.In general, Qdots are grown by strain induced self assembled Stranski-Krastanow (S-K) growth technology on the matured GaAs platform. The intentional lattice mismatch between InAs Qdots and GaAs substrate facilitate the formation of these 3D islands spanning ~ 1.1 - 1.3 µm wavelength. The thrust to extend the emission wavelength in the C - L - U bands (1.4 - 2.0 µm) targeting principally the third communication window (1.55 µm) has set path to the development of InP material platform via a new class of self assembled grown quantum dash (Qdash) nano-structures. These are elongated Qdots grown as a result of low lattice mismatch between InAs and InP and the resulting complex strain distribution, with an interesting mixed type character, between Qwell and Qdot. Promising Qdash based laser demonstrations has already been reported with wide tunability spanning ~ 1.5 - 2.0 µm. The inherent inhomogeneous nature of these nano-structures resembling dot-like and wire-like physical features has also been exploited in the realization of ultra-broad gain bandwidth (> 300 nm) material, a highly promising in realization of broadband semiconductor devices, for instance, semiconductor optical amplifier, broadband laser diode, photo detector, etc, which will find novel applications in optical communications, particularly in wavelength division multiplexed system. In addition, realization of diode-based ultra-broadband laser source will offer a compact, high-efficiency, and cost-effective solution for many new applications in cross-disciplinary fields in optics and photonics, for instance, metrology, spectroscopy and sensing, imaging, etc. In this talk, we will give a general overview and introduction to the broadband emitters. The technology for growing these nanostructures, as well as the technologies for engineering the bandgap of the InP-based Qdash system using epitaxy growth technique and postgrowth intermixing methods will be presented. Recently, we reported an ultra-broad lasing -3dB bandwidth of ~ 21 nm from the as- grown and ~ 41 nm from the intermixed Qdash laser, as shown in Fig. 1, with superior characteristics [1-3]. We will then focus our discussion on our recent progress in extending the lasing emission linewidth via employing a novel active region device design. Instead of using a fixed AlGaInAs barrier thickness in the multi-stack Qdash active region, here we utilized a varying barrier thickness (chirp design) structure that influence the vertical strain experienced by the dashes on the subsequent stacking layer thereby creating additionally broadened dash ground state optical transitions. With this as-grown device structure we achieved an enhanced lasing bandwidth of > 50 nm from a 2×830 µm ridge laser diode, as shown in Fig. 2 [4], with exhibited superior performance characteristics. This is an enhancement by a factor of ~ 50% (20%) from our previous reports on as-grown (intermixed) fixed barrier Qdash laser structure. Moreover, we also investigated the broadband emission features of our chirped Qdash structure in the form of superluminescent diodes (SLD) by reporting high performance characteristics from this device and an extra-ordinary emission bandwidth of > 700 nm, spanning the entire O - E - S - C - L - U bands [5]. All these demonstrations show that chirped device design is promising candidate in realizing broadband semiconductor devices. [1] B. S. Ooi et al., IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics 14 (4), 1230-1238 (2008).[2] H. S. Djie et al., Applied Physics Letters 91, 111116 (2007).[3] C. L. Tan et al., Applied Physics Letters 93, 111101 (2008).[4] M. Z. M. Khan et al., Applied Physics Letters 102, 091102 (2013).[5] M. Z. M. Khan et al., Optics Letters 38 (19), 3720-3723 (2013).

The coherence of boson–fermion mixed system

In this paper, we investigate the quantum coherence of Bose–Fermi mixtures of ultracold dipolar particles trapped in a three-site Bose–Fermi–Hubbard model. We show that the interplay between the boson–boson on-site interaction, boson–fermion on-site interaction, and boson–fermion inter-site dipole–dipole interaction (DDI) results in interesting coherence characters. When boson–boson on-site interaction is present, the resonance character of coherence against both boson–fermion DDI and boson–fermion on-site interaction emerges, the coherence of the system can be enhanced at certain values of boson–fermion on-site interaction and boson–fermion DDI. DDI of fermion–fermion affects the coherence weak and the phase coherence decreases monotonically for all the values of fermion–fermion DDI. The obtained coherent characters are further confirmed within the variational analyzing of the ground state energy.

THE OLIGARCH AND THE PAINTBRUSHES: A BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ANDREU GARCIA, PRIEST = EL OLIGARCA Y LOS PINCELES: BREVE SEMBLANZA DEL PRESBÍTERO ANDREU GARCÍA

The documents regarding the Valencian priest Andreu Garcia († November 1452) show a quite interesting character. Garcia’s family belonged to local oligarchy. Moreover, he had a substantial income related with the Cathedral. He had contact, too, with Carthusians, Observant Friars and probably with Beghards (the books of his library suggest this last idea). Garcia took part, as an intermediary or as a sponsor, in many artistic orders that involved the best workers and the best customers of the city. Besides, he had a strong relationship with painters like Simó Llobregat, Jaume Mateu, Gonçal Sarrià and Joan Reixac. The priest could also have practiced painting, judging by the belongings that were found in his house after his death.

Análisis de Cáscaras de Huevos de Dinosaurios de La Formación Allen, Cretácico Superior de Río Negro (Campaniano-Maastrichtiano): Utilidad de Los Macrocaracteres de Interés Parataxonómico

ANALYSIS OF DINOSAUR EGGSSHELLS OF ALLEN FORMATION, UPPER CRETACEOUS OF THE RIO NEGRO PROVINCE (CAMPANIAN-MAASTRICHTIAN) : USEFULNESS OF MACRO CHARACTERS OF PARATAXONOMIC INTEREST. The present study is a further contribution to the parataxonomy knowledge of dinosaur eggshells from Salitral de Santa Rosa and Salitral Ojo de Agua, Río Negro province, Argentina. We studied 4469 fragments of dinosaur eggshells Allen Formation, Upper Cretaceous (Campanian-Maastrichtian). Twelve of these shells were subject to a principal component analysis (PCA) to classify and establish the relationships between characters commonly used in parataxonomic classifications. We studied under binocular scope 4264 eggshells (BL), 57 eggshells under transmitted light microscope (TLM) and polarized light microscope (PLM), 14 eggshells under scanning electron microscope (SEM). We identified two main groups, type 1 eggshells related to the oofamily Megaloolithidae with five subtypes and type 2 eggshells, with no subtypes assigned. Relevant traits found with the ACP study were: shell thickness, the width of the shell units, the diameter of the nodules, and the diameter of the mamila. Different types of eggshells found were compared with various ootaxa from South America and other regions of the world.

Assessment of cultivated cherry germplasm in Iran by multivariate analysis

Key message This work is an important step in the conservation of genetic cherry resources, which showed distinctive and interesting agronomical characters. Also it introduces suitable genotypes for cultivation and breeding studies.

Variabilidade genética na busca de eficiência à produção de sementes e biomassa de capim Sudão

Objetivou-se, com o estudo, conhecer a variabilidade genética de caracteres ligados à inflorescência em populações de capim Sudão e a contribuição dessas variáveis na definição do caráter mais efetivo na seleção para a produtividade de sementes. Além disto, fornecer subsídios em indicar que a pressão de seleção sobre os componentes da panícula visando aos incrementos na produção de sementes, não compromete os caracteres de interesse forrageiro. Os experimentos foram realizados nos anos de 2009 e 2010, na seleção de plantas para os caracteres perfilhamento, produção de biomassa e dos que compõem a inflorescência da espécie; verificou-se que existe variabilidade genética entre as populações de capim Sudão, principalmente nos caracteres massa de panícula, número de grãos da panícula e massa de grãos da panícula, variáveis de maior contribuição sobre as diferenças morfológicas observadas na inflorescência. Correlações efetivas foram obtidas pela massa de panícula e número de grãos da panícula em incrementar a massa de grãos da panícula. A pressão de seleção sobre esses caracteres não traz prejuízos sobre a biomassa e o perfilhamento.

History Prints, Newspaper Advertisements, and Cultivating Citizen Consumers: Patriotism and Partisanship in Marketing Campaigns in the Era of the Revolution

History Prints, Newspaper Advertisements, and Cultivating Citizen Consumers: Patriotism and Partisanship in Marketing Campaigns in the Era of the Revolution Carl Robert Keyes (bio) “Portrait of General Wayne. MESSRS. FREEMAN & Co. respectfully inform the public, that the above print is now ready for delivery, and which agreeably to the assurances in their former advertisements is the commencement of a series of interesting American characters. Those who are desirous of the best impressions of this worthy hero of his country, are desired to be early in their application, as the rapid call for the same will carry off all the best impressions.”1 This advertisement appeared in the Philadelphia Gazette and Universal Daily Advertiser in June 1796, two decades after the American colonies declared independence from Britain. Later the same week, the advertisement was inserted in two other local newspapers, the Aurora and Claypoole’s American Daily Advertiser.2 It also soon appeared in the Daily Advertiser in New York City as well as yet another newspaper in Philadelphia.3 Slight typographical differences distinguished the advertisements in Philadelphia’s newspapers from each other. For most readers, however, the most noticeable difference actually created an important similarity between the two. In one version, Wayne was described as a “worthy hero of his country” in italics, in the others as a “WORTHY HERO OF HIS COUNTRY,” all in capitals. (See Figures 1 and 2.) Both advertisements were designed to engage the reader (and potential consumer) in an act of reverence for one of the most prominent generals of the American Revolution. A nota bene placed Wayne in good company, advising that “the size” of the print was “the same as the large print of the President,” George Washington. Messrs. Freeman and Company apparently believed that the public was already so familiar with the print of Washington previously offered for sale by another advertiser that they did not need to elaborate on the particulars when marketing their own print of Anthony.4 Indeed, their concerns that a “rapid call” would “carry off all the best impressions” suggested that the consuming public was already eagerly snatching up images of American heroes—or, at the very least, the advertisers wanted readers to believe that was the case. [End Page 145] Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 1. Freeman and Company’s advertisement for an engraved print of Anthony Wayne. Philadelphia Gazette and Universal Daily Advertiser, June 9, 1796. Courtesy American Antiquarian Society. Click for larger view View full resolution Figure 2. Freeman and Company’s advertisement for an engraved print of Anthony Wayne. Aurora General Advertiser, June 9, 1796. Courtesy American Antiquarian Society. [End Page 146] Art historian Mark Thistlethwaite has demonstrated that nineteenth-century Americans displayed prints of historical scenes and people, especially George Washington, in their parlors and other private spaces.5 In the decades prior to the Civil War, he argues, “interest in George Washington, America’s supreme exemplum virtutis, ran extraordinarily high. . . . [T]he veneration of Washington helped link Americans and foster national identity.”6 His research highlights some of the important cultural work, including the creation of an “imagined community” that bridged geographic and sectional differences, and that was accomplished by the display and veneration of American heroes and scenes.7 This was not merely an organic process but instead depended, in part, on the industrious efforts of advertisers in the late eighteenth century. Those advertisers sought to convince potential customers throughout the young republic to engage in simultaneous acts of veneration of American heroes and historic events made possible by patriotic acts of consumption, especially purchasing prints, medals, books, pottery, and a variety of other commemorative items.8 This occurred even as American consumers retained a taste for goods imported from England and other foreign ports (and relied on the British to make those products available to them).9 Several scholars have analyzed the role of oratory, parades, and other public celebrations in constructing a shared identity among citizens of the Early Republic, but their examinations often overlook the marketing of memorabilia.10 When they do focus on early American periodicals—newspapers, magazines, and almanacs—they tend to neglect the advertisements that accompanied the news items and occasional...

Extending the case study: assigning an educational novel and student role-playing in the accounting information systems course

Need for innovative and active-learning activities to enhance the teaching-learning experience have never been greater. Students of the ‘video generation,’ compared to prior generations, often have learning styles that are not well matched to the traditional classroom lecture format of teaching. Use of case studies is well documented as an effective way to engage students. The educational novel extends the case study approach. Educational novels have been described as effectively a very lengthy case problem, with a myriad of inter-connected sub-cases, incorporating interesting characters and plot elements. This study describes two teaching devices, educational novels and student role-playing, that can be used to complement traditional lectures. These two teaching devices can be used in accounting information system (AIS) classes, and other classes, to provide technical information in a way that encourages learning and generates student enthusiasm. This study reports how each of these teaching devices can be readily implemented and how each has produced positive feedback from AIS students.

The Day of Shelly's Death: The Poetry and Ethnography of Grief by Renato Rosaldo

Ondjaki Granma Nineteen and the Soviet’s Secret Stephen Henighan, tr. Biblioasis Ondjaki’s zany novel manages to tell a thought-provoking story without taking itself too seriously. The book is full of interesting characters who add vivacity to the story of a boy’s quest to keep his grandmother safe from a supposed Soviet threat. Full of energy, Ondjaki’s quirky writing style shines a revealing light on people and locale. Gregory Norminton Thumbnails Vagabond Voices / Dufour Gregory Norminton paints a picture of the world in a fresh, experimental way in his lively collection of short stories. He travels the world and explores new interpretations of history, challenging the standards of storytelling without failing to convey a complete narrative. Nota Bene in these poems are clever, fun, and avoid ponderousness. Time itself, as in so much modern poetry, is a topic of fascination and bewilderment; but O’Callaghan is a virtuoso poet, and his temporalities are also virtuosic, twinkling out of sight behind tales half-imagined and half-true, or proving themselves malleable to the poet’s hands: as he writes, “This world . . . We get older & find it less hard.” The world’s laws— of temporality, of gravity, of identity —are not so steadfast or “hard” as we may assume; in Seamus Heaney’s words, whatever is given can always be reimagined. O’Callaghan takes this dictum to heart. We catch ourselves wondering if his reality is simply more interesting than ours and feel eager to experience this superabundance of sounds, sights, events, emotions, among which the poet lives. We may also recall the glee of a very different poet, Louis MacNeice , at the drunkenness of things being various. O’Callaghan’s project is different from MacNeice’s, but the exuberance of the poet’s intonation, parallel to the profusion of stimuli and emotions that the outside world presses upon him, recalls this predecessor . O’Callaghan’s tongue-incheek moments, though, are purely his own, as a quickly sketched tableau ends with a riddle: “I lie to myself: / they’re not metaphors. / They are not metaphors.” What assumptions do we bring to a poetry that seems to rely so heavily upon event and image rather than metaphorical conceit? Is there a way of playing with metaphor so that, magically, both literal and figurative readings are balanced upon the tip of the poet’s pen? Conor O’Callaghan proves it possible in this rich and radiant collection of poems. Magdalena Kay University of Victoria, B.C. Renato Rosaldo. The Day of Shelly’s Death: The Poetry and Ethnography of Grief. Durham, North Carolina. Duke University Press. 2014. isbn 9780822356493 / 56615 When we lose a great love, our first impulse is to find a way through the grief—and the rage within the grief. When the loss is sudden, and perhaps especially when it wears the terrible clothing of “if only,” the grieving may take unexpected turns. All such loss, however it may strike, is traumatic. And, depending on the need, circumstance, and creativity of the person who has suffered the loss, it might emerge as art that can be shared with others. On October 11, 1981, at the beginning of what was to have been several months of joint fieldwork in a remote region of the Philippines, Renato Rosaldo’s wife and companion anthropologist, Michelle (Shelly) Rosaldo, fell from a precarious trail to her death. Suddenly, the woman he loved was gone, their two small children motherless, their immediate and long-range future dramatically reorganized . It would be twenty-eight years before these poems emerged. The book combines a timeline, two essays, photographs that bring the reader to the otherness of place (including a number of marvelous portraits), rough hand-drawn maps that attempt to trace the moment of disaster, important notes, an index, and, quite centrally, the poems. Many of these are written as imaginaries from the perspectives of his children (five years and fourteen months old when their mother died), a kind companion , an opportunistic “helper,” the forensic official, a field mouse, and the cliff itself. This is genre-bending in the most meaningful sense of the November–December 2014 • 69 reviews term, not because the author wanted to...

Computational analysis identifies a sponge interaction network between long non-coding RNAs and messenger RNAs in human breast cancer

BackgroundNon-coding RNAs (ncRNAs) are emerging as key regulators of many cellular processes in both physiological and pathological states. Moreover, the constant discovery of new non-coding RNA species suggests that the study of their complex functions is still in its very early stages. This variegated class of RNA species encompasses the well-known microRNAs (miRNAs) and the most recently acknowledged long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs). Interestingly, in the last couple of years, a few studies have shown that some lncRNAs can act as miRNA sponges, i.e. as competing endogenous RNAs (ceRNAs), able to reduce the amount of miRNAs available to target messenger RNAs (mRNAs).ResultsWe propose a computational approach to explore the ability of lncRNAs to act as ceRNAs by protecting mRNAs from miRNA repression. A seed match analysis was performed to validate the underlying regression model. We built normal and cancer networks of miRNA-mediated sponge interactions (MMI-networks) using breast cancer expression data provided by The Cancer Genome Atlas.ConclusionsOur study highlights a marked rewiring in the ceRNA program between normal and pathological breast tissue, documented by its “on/off” switch from normal to cancer, and vice-versa. This mutually exclusive activation confers an interesting character to ceRNAs as potential oncosuppressive, or oncogenic, protagonists in cancer. At the heart of this phenomenon is the lncRNA PVT1, as illustrated by both the width of its antagonist mRNAs in normal-MMI-network, and the relevance of the latter in breast cancer. Interestingly, PVT1 revealed a net binding preference towards the mir-200 family as the bone of contention with its rival mRNAs.

EFFECT OF INBREEDING ON MORPHOLOGICAL TRAITS OF POPULATIONS OF GIANT FRESH WATER PRAWN, Macrobrachium rosenbergii: IMPLICATIONS FOR SELECTIVE BREEDING

Genetic improvement through selective breeding relies on the genetically-controlled phenotypic variability in the character of interest. Therefore, the extent of phenotypic variability in the population to be selected is an important parameter, as it potentially influences the population’s response to selection. This study was aimed to investigate the effect of inbreeding on the survivability, growth, and phenotypic variability of giant freshwater prawn (GFP), Macrobrachium rosenbergii. Two GFP populations of different inbreeding levels, namely 25% and 0%, respectively, were formed by mating of individual broodstock with known pedigree. Study was conducted for two months starting from newly hatched larvae up to nursery stage (30 day-old post larva). Phenotypic variability profile, expressed in the morphometric mean and coefficient of variation (CV) of twenty one morphometric characters were measured and evaluated. Results showed that in general, the inbred populations had lower values in the mean of all characters (100%), indicating that they suffered from inbreeding depression. Similarly, a lower CV values were observed in sixteen (75%) of the morphometric characters measured, indicating a potential reduced of genetic gain when they are used in selective breeding program. These results suggest the importance of controlling inbreeding level in breeding population that adverse effects resulted resulted from inbreeding can be minimized.

The Stem Cell Uncertainty Principle

Stem cells are defined as having capacities for both self-renewal and differentiation. Many different entities satisfy this working definition. I show that this general stem cell concept is relative to a cell lineage, temporal duration, and characters of interest. Experiments specify values for these variables. So claims about stem cells must be understood in terms of experimental methods used to identify them. Furthermore, the stem cell concept imposes evidential constraints on interpretation of experimental results. From these constraints, it follows that claims about stem cell capacities are inherently uncertain. This result has important implications for stem cell research.

Morphology and development of leaf papillae in the Pilotrichaceae

Sporophyte morphology has been traditionally used in taxonomic studies of pleurocarpous mosses. However, the gametophyte morphology of the Pilotrichaceae still holds interesting and under-investigated characters. Here, we conducted an in-depth investigation of the morphology and development of Pilotrichaceae leaf papillae and assessed their usefulness in inferring the evolutionary history of the family. Specimens were observed under scanning electron microscopy, and we identified seven morphological types of papillae, as well as two different pathways of development. Our results suggest that papilla morphology and development are phylogenetically informative in the Pilotrichaceae.

대전격투게임 SSF4의 한주리 (Han Ju-Ri, 韓蛛俐) 의상에 대한 연구

The globalization of the world, fueled by the Internet, made possible for individuals to access the cultures around the world, other than their own, easier than ever before. But among those rapidly sought out sub-cultures, the video gaming industry, once a niche market mostly for nerds and geeks, now has become one of the biggest entertainment businesses in the world. In a video game, one of the critical elements that could determine its success or failure is the characters featured in the game. And as the countless number of animated characters from many different video games from the past few years have become incredibly popular among the audiences around the world, the expectations from the fans also grow higher every time a new game comes out. Ultimately this has forced the video game developers to come up with more unique and interesting characters for their video games. And at this point, where a video game character is more than just fictional fantasy but a brand to be recognized, it is worth paying proper attention to the video game characters that represent Korea. Hence in this study, we will take a look at Han Ju-Ri, a Korean character featured in Super Street Fighter IV, a competitive fighting game developed by Capcom, one of the world's most recognized video game companies that started its life as an arcade video game, developer but eventually ventured its business into the online world. The study will propose a complete overhaul of the character by incorporating Korea's own traditional looks.

ChemInform Abstract: Recent Developments in the Coordination Chemistry of Multidentate Ligands Featuring a Boron Moiety

AbstractReview: 65 refs.

Diversity analysis in Plectranthus edulis (Vatke) Agnew collection in Ethiopia

Thirty six (36) accessions of Plectranthus edulis were evaluated to assess the extent of genetic diversity within the collected accessions using 16 characters. Analysis of variance for each characters indicated highly significant (p<0.01) variation among the accessions for all characters except tuber length. The accessions under study were grouped into six clusters. Clusters I and II contained the maximum number of accessions (12 accessions each) and cluster VI contained the minimum number of accession (one accession). The maximum distance was observed between clusters IV and V (D2 =348.67), while the minimum was between clusters II and IV (D2 =32.69). The present study indicates a considerable amount of variability for the majority of the characters of interest in P. edulis for exploitation. Nevertheless, the need for confirmation of genotypic-environmental interaction, conventional characterization approach through advanced tools of biochemical and molecular approaches and widening of the genetic base for strengthening P. edulis improvement strategy are suggested. Key words: Cluster analysis, D2 analysis, genetic variability, Plectranthus edulis.

Peranan Pemilihan Strategi dan Stilistika pada Iklan di Televisi

Television is one of the best medium today that can connect producers’goals with consumers' needs. The televisions’ impressions are crucial so that consumers can easily get new things through the television’s impressions like advertisment.Advertisment becomes very important when producer wants to offer product or service. It can be easily achieved by making advertisment on television to get potential buyers’attention.The main goal is to deliver advertising messages by using attractive packaged to stimulate consumers. The things that should be considerated in choosing strategies are the relevancies to product itself, competitors and also clear target market. Advertisement should pay attention to the Stylistics’ advertising aspects. In getting the uniqueness of style, producers can use language strategies usage like slogans, selection of interesting characters, selection of appropriate strategies and also using other advertising elements. The selection advertisements’ strategies will determine conveying stylistics’ messages through form of creativity to get the better consumerresponse.

A method for estimating the effective number of loci affecting a quantitative character

A likelihood method is introduced that jointly estimates the number of loci and the additive effect of alleles that account for the genetic variance of a normally distributed quantitative character in a randomly mating population. The method assumes that measurements of the character are available from one or both parents and an arbitrary number of full siblings. The method uses the fact, first recognized by Karl Pearson in 1904, that the variance of a character among offspring depends on both the parental phenotypes and on the number of loci. Simulations show that the method performs well provided that data from a sufficient number of families (on the order of thousands) are available. This method assumes that the loci are in Hardy–Weinberg and linkage equilibrium but does not assume anything about the linkage relationships. It performs equally well if all loci are on the same non-recombining chromosome provided they are in linkage equilibrium. The method can be adapted to take account of loci already identified as being associated with the character of interest. In that case, the method estimates the number of loci not already known to affect the character. The method applied to measurements of crown–rump length in 281 family trios in a captive colony of African green monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiopus sabaeus) estimates the number of loci to be 112 and the additive effect to be 0.26 cm. A parametric bootstrap analysis shows that a rough confidence interval has a lower bound of 14 loci.