text:
- Methodology article
- Open Access
Tree edit distance for leaf-labelled trees on free leafset and its comparison with frequent subsplit dissimilarity and popular distance measures
- Jakub Koperwas1Email author and
- Krzysztof Walczak1
© Koperwas and Walczak; licensee BioMed Central Ltd. 2011
- Received: 1 March 2011
- Accepted: 25 May 2011
- Published: 25 May 2011
This paper is devoted to distance measures for leaf-labelled trees on free leafset. A leaf-labelled tree is a data structure which is a special type of a tree where only leaves (terminal) nodes are labelled. This data structure is used in bioinformatics for modelling of evolution history of genes and species and also in linguistics for modelling of languages evolution history. Many domain specific problems occur and need to be solved with help of tree postprocessing techniques such as distance measures.
Here we introduce the tree edit distance designed for leaf labelled trees on free leafset, which occurs to be a metric. It is presented together with tree edit consensus tree notion. We provide statistical evaluation of provided measure with respect to R-F, MAST and frequent subsplit based dissimilarity measures as the reference measures.
The tree edit distance was proven to be a metric and has the advantage of using different costs for contraction and pruning, therefore their properties can be tuned depending on the needs of the user. Two of the presented methods carry the most interesting properties. E(3,1) is very discriminative (having a wide range of values) and has a very regular distance distribution which is similar to a normal distribution in its shape and is good both for similar and non-similar trees. NFC(2,1) on the other hand is proportional or nearly proportional to the number of mutation operations used, irrespective of their type.
- Consensus Tree
- Mast Problem
- Edit Distance
- Forced Contraction
- Editing Operation
This paper is devoted to distance measures for leaf-labelled trees on free leafset. A leaf-labelled tree is a data structure which is a special type of a tree where only leaves (terminal) nodes are labelled. This data structure is used in bioinformatics for modelling of evolution history of genes and species and also in linguistics for modelling of languages evolution history. Many domain specific problems occur and need to be solved with help of tree postprocessing techniques such as distance measures, consensus trees, clustering. Distance measures play the most important role as they are very often the start point for more complicated techniques. One of such problem is a problem of competing evolutionary hypothesis. In the process of phylogenetic tree reconstruction, different candidate trees may be obtained, the researches have to determine the true tree of life.
Many existing techniques are designed for trees built of the same leafset which is very limiting. Here we focus on techniques that do not require trees to contain the same set of leaves. Previously we introduced the simple z-restriction approach [1] and more sophisticated frequent subsplit approach [2, 3]. Here we introduce the tree edit distance designed for leaf labelled trees on free leafset, which occurs to be a metric. It is presented together with tree edit consensus tree notion and some new results for frequent subsplit based dissimilarity measures approach. For the purpose of experimental testing we follow and extend methodology presented in [4]. We use the popular Robinson-Foulds [5] and MAST [6] based distances as the reference measures. The experiments yield very promising results.
Basic Notions
Here we provide the basic notions and the description of some basic operation on leaf labelled trees which were chosen as the basic operation for new tree edit distance measure. Some derived notions are also presented here.
Leaf-labelled tree is a tree with labels assigned to its leaves. Unrooted leaf-labelled trees are very often represented as a set of splits [7].
Definition [Split] The Split (or Bipartition) A|B (of a tree T with leafset L), corresponding to an edge e is a pair of leafsets A and B, which originated from splitting tree T into two disconnected trees, whilst removing an edge e from a tree T, A ∪ B = L. If |A| = 1 or |B| = 1, the split is trivial.
In this paper, we will refer to the leafset of a given split s as L(s). The set of splits corresponding to each edge builds a unique representation of a given tree. We will refer to the set of splits for a given tree as S(T). We will use s ∈ S(T), or s ∈ T to denote that split s occurs in tree T.
Definition [Contraction]
The Contraction of a tree T is obtained by removing a chosen internal edge from tree T and identifying adjacent nodes of the contracted edge.
T 1 : a|bcde, b|acde, c|abde, d|abce, e|abcd, ab|cde, abe|cd
T 2 : a|bcde, b|acde, c|abde, d|abce, e|abcd, ab|cde
T1 is called a refinement of T2, however T2 is also a subtree of T1 (in more general terms), therefore we will say that T2 is c-subtree of T1.
Definition [c-cubtree] A C-subtree of tree T is a subtree where only a contraction operation has been used to construct the c-subtree from its supertree T.
Definition [Pruning] Pruning is the operation of removing a chosen leaf from a tree, and afterwards removing the nodes of degree two (which is called forced contraction). The pruning operation can be illustrated on a set of splits as the process of removing leaves from splits, and then removing duplicate splits and not-valid splits, which corresponds to forced contraction.
T 1 : a|bcde, b|acde, c|abde, d|abce, e|abcd, ab|cde, abe|cd
T 2 : a|bce, b|ace, c|abe,- |abce, e|abc, ab|ce, abe|c
T 3 : a|bce, b|ace, c|abe, e|abc, ab|ce
T3 is called an induced subtree of T1, however here we will call it a p-subtree.
Definition [p-subtree] A P-subtree PS of a tree T is a subtree where only a pruning operation is allowed to construct the subtree PS from its supertree T.
Definition [restricted tree, z-restricted tree, induced subtree] A z-restricted tree T z (alternatively denoted as T|z in the literature and also called an induced subtree) of a tree T on leafset z, is a p-subtree of T where all leaves not in z were pruned. In this paper we use both T z and T|z notations, the second one is more popular and clearer, however it sometimes conflicts with the split notation.
In [2] we have introduced the subsplit term which is used for the distance and consensus methods discussed later in this paper.
Common information extraction techniques
Splits from T1: a|bcdef, b|acdef, c|abdef, d|abcef, e|abcdf, f|abcde, ab|cdef, abc|def, abcd|ef
Splits from T2: a|bcdef, b|acdef, c|abdef, d|abcef, e|abcdf, f|abcde, ab|cdef, abc|def, abce|fd
The common splits of these trees, which build the strict consensus tree, are as follows: a|bcdef, b|acdef, c|abdef, d|abcef, e|abcdf, f|abcde, ab|cdef, abc|def.
Because the concept of a consensus tree is very strict, for many trees, a consensus tree can easily become a star (a tree built of only trivial splits). In order to deal with this problem, many variations of consensus trees have been proposed, among others, a majority rule consensus tree.
Definition [Majority rule consensus tree] The majority rule consensus tree is built from splits that occur in the majority of trees.
Definition [Maximum Agreement Subtree (MAST)] [6] For a given pro le of leaf-labelled trees T1,.... T n , the Agreement Subtree is a tree for which T A = T1|x··· = T n |x for given x, where x ⊆ L(T). The Maximum Agreement Subtree is an agreement subtree with a maximum number of leaves [6].
Several versions of the MAST problem exist like RMAST, which considers only rooted trees, or UMAST for general unrooted trees.
A MAST problem without any restrictions is generally NP-hard [7]. However when the degree of one input trees is limited, then the algorithm is polynomial [7]. Also, when the number of trees is limited to two, then the algorithm is also polynomial.
Distance measures
For example, in Figure 4:
d R - F (T1, T2) = 2
The tree edit distance [9], [10] between T1 and T2 is defined as the minimal cost of editing operations needed to insert a node, delete a node and relabel a node that transforms T1 to T2. It is based on the concept of edit distance for strings. Tree edit distance was defined for node-labelled and edge-labelled trees. The distance has nice features, it is intuitive, it does not require that compared trees have the same set of leaves. However for trees with leaves which are only labelled, it cannot be used directly. Some artificial internal node labelling is required to use it for such trees, which makes it less intuitive. This distance has not been popular for leaf-labelled/phylogenetic trees. However, in our opinion the idea of edit distance, can be applied to leaf-labelled trees, provided that the editing operations that are selected are natural for them. Such an approach can lead to better distance measures for leaf-labelled trees than existing measures. Such an approach will be presented later in this paper.
The MAST distance between trees T1 and T2 is the number of leaves that need to be removed to obtain the Maximum Agreement Subtree.
For the trees from Figure 5, d mast = 2.
Representative Splitset and derived similarity measure
Here, we recall the basis of our representative splitset approach, which is the foundation for a new consensus technique and new similarity measure, applicable to trees where the leafset may vary without discarding any information. For the detailed information see [2].
Notion of Representative Splitset
Definition [Frequent subsplit] Frequent subsplit s with support minsup in a profile of trees is a split that is a subsplit of at least one split in at least minsup of trees. The minsup parameter is called the minimal support. It may be an absolute value which denotes the minimum number of trees in which the split is supposed to be found (as a subsplit). It can also be given as a relative value, where it is a minimal percentage of the trees in which the split is supposed to be found.
T 1 : cd|abefghi, bcd|aefghi, abcd|efghi, hi|abcdefg, ghi|abcdef, fghi|abcde plus trivial splits
T 2 : bc|adefghj, abc|defghj, abcd|efghj, hj|abcdefg, ghj|abcdef, fghj|abcde plus trivial splits
According to our approach, we count the number of trees in which the split occurs (as a subsplit of any split), rather than counting the number of splits, of which it is a subsplit. For example, in Figure 6: abcd|efgh has the support 2/2 (100%), because it occurs in both trees: in the first one as a subsplit of abcd|efghi, and in the second one as a subsplit of abcd|efghj. The argument for counting trees rather than splits is that there may be some subsplits that occur frequently as subsplits of many splits, but only in one tree. Such trees are considered uninteresting.
Definition [Representative splitset] Representative splitset - a set that contains maximal frequent subsplits s, i.e. such that there is no other frequent subsplit s x that is also a supersplit of s.
Definition [Majority-rule representative splitset MRFS] The Majority-rule representative splitset is a representative splitset with minsup = 50%.
Frequent Splitset Interpretation
It is clear that, from the splits of FS, we cannot directly construct one tree because the splits in general have different leafsets.
The full reasoning about frequent interpretation was provided in [2]. Here we just recall the conclusions which were derived from the split compatibility Definition and use the fact that from a compatible set of splits a tree can be built:
Conclusion 1: For each distinct leafset z from frequent splitset (FS) with a support greater than 50%, a tree can be built. The tree is built on z-restricted versions of those splits from FS having a leafset as a superset of z. Therefore the frequent splitset (minsup > 50%) can be represented as a set of trees. In particular, it affects the strict and majority-rule frequent splitset.
Conclusion 2: Each split from the frequent splitset discussed above will occur in at least one tree, in a restricted form.
Conclusion 3: Conclusions 1 and 2 are also true for a tree based on the intersection of all the distinct leafsets from the frequent split-set.
Conclusion 4: The set of trees resulting from the frequent splitset will also contain a consensus tree, provided that the input dataset of trees was built on the same leafset.
Strict-frequent-set: abcd|efgh, gh|abcdef, fgh|abcde, bc|aefgh, h|abcdefg a|bcdefgh, b|acdefgh, c|abdefgh, d|abcefgh, e|abcdfgh, f|abcdegh, g|abcedfh
FS-based Dissimilarity Measure
SFS(T1, T2) = trivial(5) + ab|cd, SFS(T1, T3) = trivial, SFS(T2, T3) = trivial
dRF (T1, T2) = 4, d(T1, T2) = 1 - 6/9 = 4/9
dRF (T2, T3) = 4, d(T2, T3) = 1 -5/9 = 5/9
It is clear that the R-F distance states that T1 and T2 are both as dissimilar as T2 and T3 whilst our measure arrives at a different result, which is an intuitive result since both T1 and T2 share a common non-trivial subsplit ab|cd. For trees on a different leafset, the R-F distance does not work at all whilst our measure does.
The main drawback of this measure is that it is not a metric, however it achieves very good statistical characteristics and clustering results as described in the Results section. In this paper the method was compared to R-F, MAST and edit distance in the series of experiments.
Tree Edit Distance and Tree Edit Consensus for Leaf-Labelled Trees
Tree Edit Distance for Leaf-Labelled Trees
Definition [Edit script] An Edit script S(T 1, T 2) for leaf-labelled trees T 1 and T 2 is the pair of subscripts S(T 1) and S(T 2) which are sequences of editing operations including contraction and pruning, which can be applied to the selected input trees T1 and T2 to unify them. S(T1, T2) = S(T 1) ∪ S(T 2). The subscripts S(T 1), (S(T 2)) are uni-directed which means that by using S(T 1), we can modify T 1 to obtain the tree that is a unification of T 1 and T 2, but not necessarily in the opposite direction.
Definition [Edit script Cost] The cost of an edit script Cost(S) is the sum of the defined costs of editing operations: contraction and pruning where Cost(e) = cost c if e is a contraction and Cost(e) = cost p if e is a pruning operation. Forced contractions may be counted or not, depending on application.
Definition [Tree edit distance for leaf-labelled trees]
Having defined positive value costs for contraction and pruning operation, the tree edit distance for leaf-labelled trees T1 and T2 is the minimal cost edit script d(T 1, T 2) = minCost(S), where forced contractions are counted as normal contractions. Note that in order to keep the resulting tree as leaf-labelled tree only contractions that correspond to non-trivial split are performed, unless it is a forced contraction - than trivial split may also be contracted to remove split with duplicate representation. In this paper, we focus on the edit distance which counts forced contractions. Thanks to this property, we can prove that it is a true metric.
However, there is also an interesting variant of the edit distance where a forced-contraction is ignored. The metric property of such a variant is yet to be verified, the measure will also be considered in experiments due to its interesting features.
Definition [No Forced Contraction Disimilarity Measure for leaf-labelled trees] Having defined positive value costs for contraction and pruning operation, the No Forced Contraction Disimilarity Measure for leaf-labelled trees T1 and T2 is the minimal cost edit script d(T 1, T 2) = minCost(S), where forced contractions are ignored.
Tree Edit Distance versus R-F Distance and MAST
As mentioned earlier, comparing distance measures is not a trivial task. Here, we provide a subjective opinion about why this measure is better than others, however an objective statistical comparison will be provided in the Results section.
The R-F and MAST distances have some drawbacks which have emerged from the fact that the R-F distance may use only contraction operations and MAST uses only pruning operations and forced contractions. There are of course some cases when all three distances perform equally well, as in the example of Figure 1, where for Trees T1 and T2, the R-F Distance = 1, MAST = 1, Edit Distance = 1.
R-F Distance Drawbacks
- 1)
The first drawback of the R-F distance is that it is totally useless for leaf-labelled trees on a free leafset. For example, Figure 2 shows two trees on a different leafset (T1 and T3). The R-F distance is undefined here. It can be seen that the removal of one leaf and the internal edge is sufficient to make the two trees identical. In this case, both the MAST and Edit Distance can be used as MAST can be extended to support a free leafset, and the Edit Distance is naturally suitable for a free leafset. MAST and Edit distances will provide different values: MAST distance = 1, Edit Distance = 2. These differences will be discussed in the following section.
- 2)
The second drawback of the R-F distance is that even if the trees are on the same leafset, one noisy leaf may cause the trees to be considered totally different (all splits must be removed). Removal of one leaf may significantly reduce the distance between trees. Such a situation is illustrated in Figure 12. Trees T1 and T2 look totally different, in terms of the R-F distance, because of leaf d, thus all non-trivial splits must be removed (all the information!) in order to make them identical. R-F Distance = 10, however, removing only leaf d would result in trees differing by only 2 splits! Therefore, the MAST distance equals 2 and the Edit Distance equals 6.
MAST Distance Drawbacks
- 1)
The first drawback of the MAST distance occurs when the trees are similar except for one internal edge as in Figure 13. In this case, the MAST distance would equal 3 as it requires the removal of at least 3 leaves in order to make the trees identical. However, both the R-F and Edit distances may just remove one edge, thus the R-F Distance would equal 1 and the Edit Distance would equal 1.
- 2)
The second drawback is that MAST counts only the leaves that are removed from both input trees. If it is allowed to also count leaves that are present in only one tree in order to support a different leafset, then the distance will ignore some subtle changes. For example, in Figure 14, the distance between T1 and T2 is identical as in the example with T1 and MAST(T1, T2), which is obviously incorrect. The solution to this problem would be to count the leaf twice if it is removed from both trees and count it once if is removed from one tree. This solution would not however fix another problem: MAST completely ignores forced contractions. Therefore, some subtle differences may again be missed. For example the MAST distance between T1 in Figure 1 and T2 in Figure 2 is the same as between T2 from Figure 1 and T2 from Figure 2, which is again incorrect. In this case, the MAST distance would be equal to 1, but the Edit Distance equals 2 and 1 respectively.
Edit Distance Advantage
In the previous sections, we showed the drawbacks of RF and MAST distances and showed that the Edit Distance is better because:
it can be used for trees on a free leafset
it can distinguish differences where the MAST distance cannot as it can use both contraction and pruning.
Values of c, p and edit distances for various examples.
Fig (trees)
Cost Manipulation
The difference between the Edit Distance and other distances is visible especially when the cost of operations is not the same. Although in some cases both operations can be equally good, one may prefer for example contraction over pruning in some cases. The motivation can be for example the need to have as many leaves as possible in the tree edit consensus. Therefore, our distance uses the costs of editing operations. For example, consider the trees T1 and T2 in Figure 12, and assume that the pruning cost equals 2 and the contraction cost equals 1. For these trees, if only the pruning operation is used, then the p-distance equals 12 (removal of d and h from both trees and forced contractions), if only a contraction is used then the R-F-distance equals 10 (removal of all non-trivial splits in both trees), however if the Edit distance is used then the distance is equal to 8 (removal of d from both trees, then removal of two differencing splits). The edit script is also illustrated, with its semi-products (T1' and T2'). If we assume the following costs: 3 for prunning and 1 for contraction, then the Edit Distance would consist of contraction operations only, and the distance would be equal to 10.
Tree Edit Distance Metric Proof
In order to show that our measure is a true metric, the following conditions shall be proved:
d(T1, T2) = 0 ⇔ T1 = T2
d(T1, T2) = d(T2, T1)
d(T1, T2) + d(T2, T3) ≥ d(T1,T3)
The first two conditions are met by definition: The minimal edit script that unifies T1 and T1 contains no operations, therefore the distance is equal to 0. On the other hand, if two different trees T1 and T2 may be unified only by applying some editing operations, and because cost must be positive-valued, then the distance for different trees cannot have the value 0.
As the Definition states that the distance is the minimal cost of unifying two trees, by applying the editing operations either to T1 or T2, it is therefore symmetric by Definition.
The third condition is slightly more complicated and requires more explanation:
Lemma : Having the edit scripts corresponding to distances d(T1, T2) and d(T2, T3), we can unify trees T1 and T3 using the same operations as on both scripts (or a subset of them).
Lets denote:
TPCX the tree edit consensus (unification) of trees T1 and T2.
TPCY the tree edit consensus (unification) of trees T2 and T3.
Sx1(T1) = TPCX - the edit subscript that transforms T1 to TPCX
Sx2(T2) = TPCX - the edit subscript that transforms T2 to TPCX
Sy2(T2) = TPCY - the edit subscript that transforms T2 to TPCY
Sy3(T3) = TPCY - the edit subscript that transforms T3 to TPCY
Because S 1(S 2(T)) = S 2(S 1(T)), which will be shown in the next section, we have:
Sx 2(Sy 2(T 2)) = Sy 2(Sx 2(T 2)) and Sx 2(TPCY) = Sy 2(TPCX), because Sy 2(T 2) = TPCY and Sx 2(T 1) = TPCX
Therefore, there exists some tree TPCZ, such that Sx 2(TPCY) = TPCZ and Sy 2(TPCX) = TPCZ (dotted line on Figure 16), which can be obtained from T1 and T3 with at most the same number of operations as unifying T1 with T2 and T2 with T3.
Theorem: The tree edit distance for leaf-labelled trees meets the third metric condition.
Proof: Due to Lemma, presented earlier, there exists an edit script S(T 1, T 3) that can unify trees T 1 and T 3 at the same cost (or less) than the sum of: d(T1, T2) + d(T2, T3)
Cost(S(T 1,T 3)) <= d(T1, T2) + d(T2, T3)
and because
d(T1, T3) <= Cost(S(T 1, T 3))
d(T1, T3) <= d(T1, T2) + d(T2, T3)
Edit Subscript Order
In this section we show that for a given edit subscript (i.e. a set of operations on one tree), changing the order of operations in it will not change the resulting tree. Therefore, it will also not increase the costs. In order to show this, we need to show that if edit script consists of operations: p1,..., p n and c1,..., c m then the changing order of operations does not change the result.
Let us assume that a tree is represented with two sets E(e1... e n ) - a set of internal edges referring by non-trivial splits and L(l1 ... l n ) - a set of leaves. Let us consider edit script ES that transforms T1 represented with E1, L1 to tree T2 represented with E2, L2 and E2 ⊆ E1 and L2 ⊆ L1. Assume for a moment that we will not handle forced contractions. Under such assumption the edit operations: contraction and pruning operate on a different set of items - edges(referred with splits) and leaves respectively. Therefore position of contraction operation, with relation to pruning operation in edit script (and vice versa) does not affect the result. Additionally, from the set theory - the order of items removal from a set is irrelevant - therefore position of contraction operation with relation to other contraction operation in edit script is irrelevant. The same holds for pruning. This leads directly to conclusion that the order of operations in edit script does not affect the final result.
One may notice that pruning also removes some edges, but only trivial ones, which are not considered in edit distance and may be removed at any time. One may also notice that pruning changes the bipartition representation of all non-trivial splits. It is also not a problem, as the total number of edges is not affected. Although we use split representation very often, here the number of edges is important (not the form of their split representations).
As it was presented earlier in this paper, pruning may occasionally introduce forced contraction (see Figure 2). It does not, however, break the assumption that operations work on different sets and are independent of each other.
Let us represent pruning p as the pair of operations p' that removes leaf only as assumed earlier and fc that performs forced contraction. So each time pruning p occurs in edit script it is replaced with either p' if there is no forced contraction to perform or p', fc. Operation fc may be treated as regular contraction operation, with the only difference that it is inserted by pruning. It can also be easily shown that if we change the order from p', fc to fc, p' the result remains the same as the pruning operation does not trigger forced contraction if the appropriate edge was removed earlier in edit script.
The last thing that we mention is the edge matching. Forced contraction removes the edge, which is a duplicate of another edge with respect to their split representation. For example e1 = ab|cde and e2 = abe|cd will be consider duplicates if leaf e is pruned. It may be therefore problematic which edge e1 or e2 is in fact removed from set of edges. Therefore if the forced contraction is to be done then we shall treat it as the unification of duplicate edges. That means operations c(e1) and c(e2) can be used exchangeably within the edit script, as the edges are unified sooner or later.
Algorithm for Counting Edit Distance of Leaf-labelled Trees
The algorithm can also be presented with pseudocode as follows:
function edit_distance(T1,T2, cost_c, cost_p) {
T1'=prune(T1,D1) ;
T2'=prune(T2,D2) ;
//after above operations L(T1') = = L(T2')
cost = (|D1|+|D2|)*cost_p+ cost_c * (how_many_fc(T1,T1',|D1|)+how_many_fc(T2,T2',|D2|))
+ edit_distance_the_same_leafset(T1',T2',cost_c,cost_p);
return cost;
function edit_distance_the_same_leafset(T1,T2, cost_c, cost_p){
minCost = R-F-distance(T1,T2) * cost_c;
For each leaf in L
cost_all_fc = cost_c * (how_many_fc(T1,T1',1)+ how_many_fc(T2,T2',1));
costT = edit_distance_the_same_leafset(T1',T2', cost_c, cost_p)
+ 2*cost_p + cost_all_fc;
if (costT < minCost) minCost=costT;
end for
return minCost;
function how_many_fc(T1,T1',k) { return |S(T1)| - |S(T1')| +k)
// k parameter is used to prevent counting trivial split contration directly
// associated with leaf removal
function prune (T1,L) - prunes all leaves from set L from tree T1 and
performs forced contractions.
This algorithm is now exponential with respect to the number of leaves. It is possible that this can also be improved so that it has the same complexity as MAST for two trees (which is polynomial), but further investigations are required. For the purpose of this paper, we used a dynamic programming algorithm, where partial results are stored in memory and re-used if necessary. It turns out that the algorithm was required to only count a small part of all possible combinations which also gives grounds for optimism that a better algorithm will be found.
Let us look on a few steps of naive algorithm for trees T1 and T2 from Figure 12
T1:gh|abcdef, fgh|abcde, efgh|abcd, aefgh|bcd, abefgh|cd
T2:f g|abcdeh, dfg|abceh, dfgh|abce, defgh|abc, adefgh|bc
Trees are built on the same leafset so we may directly calculate d s equation. d R-F (T 1, T 2) = 10. Let us remove some leaves (we will not show all of them due to clarity of the presentation): Let us remove a, we obtain:
T1':gh|bcdef, fgh|bcde, efgh|bcd, (efgh|bcd), befgh|cd
T2':fg|bcdeh, dfg|bceh, dfgh|bce, defgh|bc, (defgh|bc)
plus the trivial splits
Curly braces denote splits that will be force-contracted.
d R-F (T 1', T 2') = 8, cost of pruning: 2, and cost of forced contractions: 2 Total cost in this path: 12, so the result is worse than d R-F (T 1, T 2), and the prunning additional leaves will also not improve the result.
So let us remove d instead of a
T1':gh|abcef, f gh|abce, efgh|abc, aefgh|bc, (abefgh|c)
T2':(fg|abceh), fg|abceh, fgh|abce, efgh|abc, aefgh|bc
d R-F (T 1', T 2') = 2, cost of pruning: 2, and cost of forced contractions: 2 Total cost in this path: 6, so the result is better than d R-F (T 1, T 2) We may continue with pruning of another leaf to see if we can improve the result more, so we remove g
T1":(h|abcef), fh|abce, efh|abc, aefh|bc
T2":(f|abceh), fh|abce, efh|abc, aefh|bc
d R-F (T 1", T 2") = 0, cost of pruning: 2, and cost of forced contractions: 2, cost calculated from previous
step: 4, so the total cost is equal to 8 thus we received a worse result. We will not continue with pruning of other leaves as it will not lead to better result.
Therefore the best cost is 6, and the edit script contains two subscripts:
From T1: p(d), fc(c|abefgh), c(gh|abcef)
From T2: p(d), fc(fg|abceh), c(fg|abceh)
Tree Edit Consensus Tree
Similarly, we may define a new consensus method on the basis of editing operations called the Tree Edit Consensus Tree. The Tree Edit Consensus Tree is the maximal (with respect to leaves and edges) common subtree of the input trees, obtained by contraction and pruning operations and is defined as follows:
Definition [Tree edit consensus tree (PC-Consensus tree) ] Having defined the positive value costs of contraction and pruning operations, the tree edit consensus for leaf-labelled trees T 1 ... Tn is the minimal cost edit script that unifies these trees. For trees T1 and T2 in Figure 12 the tree edit consensus tree is tree TC = T 1" = T 2" Similar to MAST, the tree edit consensus tree is not unique. The experimental assessment of this method was done in PhD thesis [11] and will not be recalled here.
Tree Edit Consensus Algorithm
where , SCT stands for strict consensus tree, TEC is the Tree Edit Consensus k is the number of forced contractions that needed to be performed and cost fc is equal to cost c
The tree edit consensus tree may be obtained by recording prunning operations used along the optimum path. Recorded prunnings must be applied to input trees, and afterwards all unmaching edges must be contracted (strict consensus tree).
Quality of similarity measures
The quality of similarity measures is not obvious to estimate. The best possible method would be a method based on external criteria i.e. based on expert knowledge. In biological applications, it could be a comparison of the consensus tree with the true phylogenetic tree. The true tree however is something that is not known. We agree with the opinion presented in [4] that similarity measures are especially difficult to score as they are very subjective about what is similar and what is not. Such a subjective approach to score the distance requires that someone arbitrarily selects the best distance matrix. This matrix is to be compared with the distance matrix achieved with a given similarity measure. A more objective method would be to prove that a given measure is best in some particular applications or may be used to solve some particular problems, like for example the identification of the ancestral paralog position in the paralog families mentioned in [12].
The methods that can be applied to measure the quality of distance measures and consensus techniques can be roughly divided into:
qualitative methods which try to de ne properties that the given consensus method or similarity measure must meet as in [7]
quantitative methods which try to measure the quality of consensus or similarity methods such as [13]. They are often based on some assumptions due to the lack of verified domain knowledge
statistical methods which display the statistical properties of the given method to help an expert score the method instead of scoring it automatically, because the quality of a metric may depend on the application.
In an axiomatic approach, the most common requirement for the similarity measure is that it meets metric properties, or at least pseudo-metric ones.
The quantitative approach is not very suitable for distance measures due to lack of objective criteria. Even if we are supplied with biological data which contain groups of trees and may count for example the proportion of inner-group distances to between-group distances, such an approach is not very trustworthy. This is because we see the effect of the distance measure on selected sets, which may be different for different parts of the tree-space. We also ignore some potential properties of distance, for example that the distance metric may be better for some topologies of trees but worse for others and this observation could give hints on where to use it and where not. Simply put, the quality of a metric may depend on the application.
Except for proving the metric properties of some distances, we choose the statistical approach as described in [4] and perform two kinds of experiment:
Analysis of distance probability distribution
Analysis of distance dynamics with respect to number of changes in trees.
In the first approach, we count the distance for a large number of randomly generated unrooted trees according to different distributions and examine the distribution of probability. The details of random generation of rooted trees can be found in [14]) - this method can be adaptable for unrooted trees.
P(d(T 1,T 2) = k). We try to determine:
whether the distance distribution has any regularities, follows any known distribution, which proves that the distance does not work in a random fashion
whether the distance is well enough discriminative (has a large number of values), whether the discrimination property is equally strong for similar and different trees.
The other approach is to mutate the random tree with different mutation operations and see how the distance changes.
More details about the experiments will be provided in the Results section.
Results and Discussion
In this section, an experimental evaluation of the proposed methods is presented. For the purpose of experiments, we use the randomly generated trees with different distributions and we evaluate the statistical properties of the similarity measures as described previously in this paper. From our propositions, we decided to evaluate the Tree Edit Distance, No Forced Contraction Similarity Measure called NFC here and the FS-based Similarity measure.
For comparison with existing distance measures we have chosen the R-F and MAST distances. R-F is one of most popular and computionally efficient distances, MAST and R-F are in a way foundations of the Edit measures presented in this paper. We decided not to normalise the values of distances because sometimes normalisation is not obvious (as in the case of the Edit distance). Normalisation is not necessary in the first experiment as we study the distribution rather than absolute values. In the second experiment, the lack of normalisation does not prevent us observing dynamics, it only forbids the spotting of the crossing points of distances. The approach of normalising with the maximum observed value, as used in literature, in our opinion distorts the results, because if the real maximum value is not achieved then the graph is distorted. The only modifications are made with the FS dissimilarity measure, i.e. values are scaled and biased in order to be compared with other distances on the same chart.
In this experiment, trees with 8 leaves are presented, however tests were also performed with trees with up to 17 leaves for unconstrained trees and 12 leaves for binary trees, with similar results being obtained.
Distribution of Distance Probability
For this test, 1000 pairs of trees with 8 leaves were generated and the distribution of probability P(d(T 1, T 2) = k) was examined under different tree generation models, as mentioned previously in this paper. As the Edit Distance and its version with no penalty for forced contraction are parametrizable, various pruning and contraction operations costs were used. In the following experiments, the edit distance with cost of contraction equal to x, and cost of pruning equal to y is denoted by E(x, y), the version with no cost for forced contraction is denoted by NFC(x, y).
Unrooted binary leaf-labelled trees on the same leafset
Conclusion The first conclusion is that by modifying the costs of the Edit distance, we can achieve a measure with very well-behaving properties: very discriminative and suitable both for similar and dissimilar trees. Moreover, the similarity of the Edit, R-F and MAST distributions shows that the distance is not accidental.
Unrooted unconstrained leaf-labelled trees on the same leafset
Unrooted leaf-labelled trees on a free leafset
Conclusion : To summarise the key points of this experiment:
The R-F distance is not very discriminative for binary trees, it is also weak for distant trees. It is not suitable for trees with different leafsets.
The MAST distance is good for the same and different leafset, and is good both for distant and similar trees, however it is only weakly discriminative.
The Edit distance, with the variant where cost of contraction = 1 and pruning = 3, looks very promising as it has a wide range of values and is equally good for distant and similar trees.
The FS dissimilarity measure is similar to the Edit distance, but it does not have a very regular distribution.
NFC here behaves like E(1,1) i.e. it is equivalent to R-F for the same leafset and equivalent to MAST for different leafsets, which is good. However it is still only very weakly discriminative.
Dynamics of Distances
For this test, one tree is randomly generated and then the second tree is obtained with k mutation operations. Here, we observe the dynamics of distance changes with respect to number and type of mutations. Due to the nature of most of the examined distances i.e. Edit Distance, No Forced Contraction Similarity Measure, MAST and R-F, we use the following types of mutation:
Contraction - we randomly remove a selected split
Pruning - we randomly remove a selected leaf
Nearest Non-Brother Interchange (NNBI).
In this paper we have proposed new technique for measuring distance between leaf labelled trees on free leafset, and provided its evaluations with respect to frequent subsplit based method and other measures. The tree edit distance was proven to be a metric and has the advantage of using different costs for contraction and pruning, therefore their properties can be tuned depending on the needs of the user. It is difficult to pick the best distance measure as they all have different interesting properties and may be used in different applications. Two of the presented methods carry the most interesting properties. E(3,1) is very discriminative (having a wide range of values) and has a very regular distance distribution which is similar to a normal distribution in its shape and is good both for similar and non-similar trees. NFC(2,1) on the other hand is proportional or nearly proportional to the number of mutation operations used, irrespective of their type. All of these distances have a great advantage in that they can take different costs of contraction and pruning, therefore their properties can be tuned depending on the needs of the user. Future works will be dedicated to discovering more efficient algorithm for tree edit distance and deep experimental evaluation of tree edit consensus method for leaf-labelled trees on the same leafset.
Authors' Affiliations
- Koperwas J, Walczak K: Clustering of leaf labeled-trees on free leafset. In RSEISP. Springer, Heidelberg; 2007:736–745. LNAI 4585 LNAI 4585Google Scholar
- Koperwas J, Walczak K: Frequent Subsplit Representation of Leaf-Labelled Trees. In EvoBIO. Springer, Heidelberg; 2008:95–105. LNCS 4973 LNCS 4973Google Scholar
- Koperwas J, Walczak K: Phylogenetic Trees Dissimilarity Measure Based on Strict Frequent Splits Set and Its Application for Clustering. In RSKT. Springer, Heidelberg; 2008:604–611. LNAI 5009 LNAI 5009Google Scholar
- Steel M, Penny D: Distributions of tree comparison metrics - some new results. Syst Biol 1993, 42: 126.Google Scholar
- Robinson DR, Foulds LR: Comparison of phylogenetic trees. Mathematical Biosci 1981, 53: 131–147. 10.1016/0025-5564(81)90043-2View ArticleGoogle Scholar
- Finden CR, Gordon AD: Obtaining common pruned trees. J Classification 1985, 2: 255–276. 10.1007/BF01908078View ArticleGoogle Scholar
- Bryant D: Building trees, hunting for trees, and comparing trees Theory And Methods In Phylogenetic Analysis. In Ph.D Thesis. University of Canterbury; 1997.Google Scholar
- McMorris FR, Meronk DB, Neumann DA: A view of some consensus methods for trees. In Numerical Taxonomy. Edited by: Felsenstein J. Springer-Verlag; 1983:122–125.View ArticleGoogle Scholar
- Bille P: Tree Edit Distance, Alignment Distance and Inclusion. Technical report TR-2003–23, IT University Technical Report Series 2003.Google Scholar
- Klein P: Computing the Edit-Distance between Unrooted Ordered Trees. Proc. 6th Annual European Symp. Algorithms, 24–26 Aug. 1998 1998, 91–102.Google Scholar
- Koperwas J: Clustering Techniques of Leaf-Labelled Trees and Their Applications. In Ph.D Thesis. Warsaw University of Technology, Warsaw; 2009.Google Scholar
- Bolikowski L, Gambin A: New Metrics for Phylogenies. Fundamenta Informaticae 2007, 78: 1–18.Google Scholar
- Berger-Wolf TY, Williams TL, Moret BE, Warnow TJ: An experimental evaluation of phylogenetic consensus methods. Technical Report TR-CS-2003–19, Department of Computer Science, University of New Mexico 2003.Google Scholar
- Oden NL, Shao K-T: An algorithm to equiprobably generate all directed trees with labeled terminal nodes and unlabeled interior nodes. Bull Mathematical Biology 1984, 46(3):379–387.Google Scholar
- Robinson DF: Comparison of labeled trees with valency three. J Combinatorial Theory, Series B 1971, 11: 105–119. 10.1016/0095-8956(71)90020-7View ArticleGoogle Scholar
This article is published under license to BioMed Central Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.


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Edmunds Says
The reborn 2008 Ford Taurus hits the dance floor with some fresh moves courtesy of a 263-horsepower V6. The engine upgrade, along with the Five Hundred's pre-existing comfortable cabin, cavernous trunk and top-notch safety scores, make the new Taurus a worthy candidate for a full-size sedan.
What's New
Ford resurrects the Taurus nameplate for 2008 by affixing it to a much-improved Five Hundred. A more powerful engine, a nicer and quieter cabin, a retuned suspension and a corporate three-bar grille are the major highlights.Read more
Extra-large backseat and trunk, outstanding crash test scores, comfortable ride, good visibility, available all-wheel drive.
Name recognition and awareness are no doubt important for automotive manufacturers. For example, look no further than the 2008 Ford Taurus. Ford has pulled the Taurus nameplate out of its one-year dirt nap in hopes of getting back into the thick of the large family sedan game. But is the public's awareness of the Taurus name a good thing or bad? Though a hero car back in the 1980s and early '90s, more recent iterations of the Taurus were dated and anonymous, a favorite of image-dulling rental car agencies and a not-so-favorite of middle management types who received them as company cars.
The Taurus revival is combined with the death of the Ford Five Hundred, a large sedan introduced a few years ago that never sold like the company had hoped. Although it offered a large cabin and an impressive ride and handling balance, the Five Hundred was let down by weak engine performance and a lack of refinement.
Thankfully, the 2008 Ford Taurus gains a number of improvements as part of its return. Under that familiar Five Hundred sheet metal are much improved running gear and additional features. In fact, Ford says there are more than 500 changes. A 263-hp V6 replaces the lame 203-hp V6, and a more responsive six-speed automatic replaces the sluggish continuously variable transmission (CVT) across all trim levels.
Other improvements for this large family sedan include the adoption of stability control, a "Ford Sync" system (that allows hands-free use of mobile phones and digital music players), improved cabin materials and more sound insulation for a quieter ride.
With its major performance infusion, addition of key safety and luxury features, and available all-wheel drive, the Ford Taurus is the best it's been in a long time. Given the Taurus' size (along with the fact that the Ford Fusion now battles stalwarts like the Honda Accord and Toyota Camry), you'll probably want to cross-shop it against full-size sedans like the Chrysler 300, Hyundai Azera or Toyota Avalon. Though still slightly deficient in terms of style (compared to the 300) or all-around polish, the Taurus is certainly worth consideration.
Body Styles, Trim Levels, and Options
The 2008 Ford Taurus is a large sedan that is available in either front- or all-wheel drive. Two trim levels, base SEL and uplevel Limited, are offered. The well-equipped SEL has 17-inch wheels, full power accessories (including a power driver seat), a leather-wrapped steering wheel, wood grain interior trim, air-conditioning, a CD player and MP3 jack, cruise control and an auto-dimming rearview mirror. Move up to the Limited and you'll get 18-inch wheels, leather upholstery, a power passenger seat, front seat heaters, a memory system for the driver seat/mirrors, dual-zone automatic climate control, an upgraded audio system with a six-disc CD changer, heated mirrors with puddle lamps, and an analog clock.
Options include a moonroof, a navigation system, a rear-seat DVD entertainment system, satellite radio and the Ford Sync system, which allows voice activation of cell phones and entertainment systems.
Powertrains and Performance
A 3.5-liter V6 with 263 hp and 249 pound-feet of torque paired to a six-speed automatic transmission powers all Taurus trims. Buyers can choose between front- or all-wheel drive. Fuel economy is rated at 18 city and 28 highway for the front-wheel-drive Taurus and 17 city/24 highway for the AWD model.
Antilock disc brakes and traction control are standard, as are front side- and full-length side curtain airbags. Stability control, power-adjustable pedals and rear parking sensors are optional. Crash testing by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration returned perfect five-star ratings across the board, making the 2008 Ford Taurus one of the safest cars on the road.
Interior Design and Special Features
The Taurus features a handsome and functional cabin with solid materials quality, plenty of storage areas and eight cupholders. Legroom is plentiful in both the front and rear and a tall seating position should both please those used to SUVs and make for easier ingress/egress. However, that tall seating position puts taller drivers very close to the ceiling. The 21-cubic-foot trunk is massive (bigger than the Crown Victoria) and the Taurus' 60/40-split rear bench and front passenger seat fold flat, allowing items up to 9 feet in length to be transported inside the car.
Driving Impressions
The addition of 60 horses makes the 2008 Ford Taurus a much more attractive proposition than the slow-as-snails Five Hundred. No one will ever call the Taurus quick, but it now has the gusto needed to get up highway on-ramps and pass pokey fellow motorists without breaking a significant sweat. However, its six-speed automatic is slow to downshift -- a result of being tuned for maximum fuel economy. Ford softened the suspension to create a suppler ride, which should please most potential customers, but we found that the Five Hundred handled a tad better. There were also great pains taken to make the Taurus quieter, and those who equate silence with quality should be pleased.

subset: commoncrawl


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In this weeks WildStar Guild Spotlight, I managed to chat with Awakening (previously known as Requiem) who took time out during WildStars Operations Week to answer several of my questions about their future in the game.
title=""> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/257630" alt="Awakening Guild" width="640" height="400"
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 640px; height: 400px;" /> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/257630"
Ten Ton Hammer: For anyone who has never heard of Requiem or Awakening (as you're now known) can you tell us about your guild and how you came to be?
Awakening: Awakening is more than a guild, it's a community. We recruit the player, not the characters. We are devoted to creating a community of exceptional players who want to make Awakening a premier WildStar Guild. The main goal of Awakening is to be a top tier progression raiding guild, but we will also focus on competitive PvP with events focused on Arenas, Battlegounds, Open World PvP, and Warplots.
Awakening consists of players who have a wide range of experience in progression raiding and competitive PvP spanning several different games such as World of Warcraft, Star Wars Galaxies, Star Wars The Old Republic, Aion, Conan, Guild Wars 1 and 2 and others. Many of us were originally a part of a well-respected multi-game community that was established over ten years go. We formed the WildStar division several months ago and began setting up the overall guild structure. During that time, the multi-game community began to undergo drastic changes in leadership and structure. It became evident that in order for us to focus solely on WildStar, we would have to break away and form a guild outside of that structure. Approximately five months ago we left that community and formed Requiem. Since then, we've continue to expand and we played extensively during the WildStar beta. We opened up recruitment on the official WildStar forums and began to recruit exceptional players in-game. Just recently, we have re-branded the guild from Requiem to Awakening.
Ten Ton Hammer: It sounds as though you ran into some trouble with the WildStar name reservation - what happened?
Awakening: We, along with most people, ran into a lot of trouble with the WildStar name reservation system. Aside from the delayed system launch, the majority of our members were running into the common issues everyone was experiencing. The problems ranged from the button that did nothing to the "???" response when you tried to save your character name. As the name reservation system went live, I quickly entered my character name and guild name into the system and I received the dreaded "???" response when I tried to save. After trying several times, I was able to save my character name, but our guild name was taken. The day was full of disappointment and frustration for many members, and it was extremely disappointing to lose out on our original guild name. As the day progressed, we started discussing alternative guild names and eventually we decided that Awakening was a great fit and we were able to reserve it through the name reservation system.
Ten Ton Hammer: How does the guild feel about having to change their name for WildStar?
Awakening: At first, everyone was disappointed that we lost out on Requiem. We had invested a lot of time and effort into recruitment and we established a strong in-game presence during open beta. However, after announcing the guild name change to the guild the overwhelming consensus was that Awakening was a great for us. We are excited to move forward with a new name, in a new game. We have re-branded our recruitment threads, and look forward to building a strong presence in-game once WildStar goes live.
title=""> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/257632" alt="Awakening Guild" width="640" height="400"
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 640px; height: 400px;" /> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/257632"
Ten Ton Hammer: What's your current impression of WildStar and how does it compete against the other MMOG's you've been a part of?
Awakening: We have members who have been a part of the WildStar closed beta for quite some time, and we played extensively through the open beta period. Personally, I have had the great opportunity to see WildStar grow exponentially and I have no doubt that the developers will continue to work their magic and make WildStar a top MMO. I've played several MMO games in the past, and in terms of sheer quality at launch WildStar feels more polished and has more features than any of them. I really believe that WildStar has the potential to become one of the top MMO games ever released.
Ten Ton Hammer: What do you think WildStar's long term prospects are and why?
Awakening: I think that WildStar's long term prospects are great. The development team at Carbine is top notch and they have achieved a level of transparency that is rare among MMO developers. WildStar has been in development for several years and it shows. They have features that other games took years to implement and completely new ones unique to WildStar. We are really excited to see where Carbine takes WildStar after launch and we look forward to being a part of that adventure.
Ten Ton Hammer: If you've played through some of WildStar's raids already, how did you find them and how successful were you? If not, are raids something that interest you?
Awakening: Awakenings top goal is to become a top tier progression raiding guild in WildStar. Several members have been a part of the WildStar beta for quite some time and have experienced the raiding content. Carbine has established a high level of difficultly that we haven't seen in quite some time. Many MMO developers have begun catering raids to the needs of the casual player and we believe that it has caused many progression raiding guilds to go dormant. It used to be an accomplishment when you cleared a raid, and we believe that Carbine can return that feeling of achievement with WildStar.
Ten Ton Hammer: Does Awakening have any interest in Warplots and if not, why not?
Awakening: We are extremely interested in Warplots and the unique prospective that they bring to PvP and we fully intend on having weekly Warplot events. The general concept behind Warplots is great, and we believe that Carbine is just scratching the surface of what Warplots could be and we are excited for what the future holds.
title=""> src="http://www.tentonhammer.com/image/view/257634" alt="Awakening Guild" width="640" height="400"
style="border: 0px solid ; width: 640px; height: 400px;" /> href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/257634"
Ten Ton Hammer: Where end game content is concerned, how do you feel about Wildstar? Do you think Carbine have provided players with enough on launch?
Awakening: We believe that Carbine is focused on providing a solid end game experience for all players. We are extremely excited to experience both end game raids, the Genetic Archives and the Datascape. We feel that they are bringing back the pinnacle of PvE achievement with the 40 man raid group required to clear the Datascape. As long as everything functions as intended, we believe there will be plenty of end game content available to keep even the most active player satisfied.
Ten Ton Hammer: How are you preparing for the WildStar launch and are you actively recruiting?
Awakening: Awakening is currently recruiting exceptional individuals who are interested in Progression Raiding and/or Competitive PvP. If anyone is interested in joining or if they would like more information, we would invite them to visit our guild website at www.wildstar-guild.com.
Ten Ton Hammer: Lastly, what makes Awakening unique and why should people seek out your guild?
Awakening: As we mentioned previously, we recruit the person and not the character. We have an application process followed by an informal interview in order for us to get to know the person behind the application. We are focused on bringing in exceptional players who are like minded. We are a progression raiding guild that intends on clearing end game content consistently, but we are not pushing unrealistic schedules on our members. The main reason people play a game is to have fun, and we want to maintain that type of atmosphere within Awakening. I have been a part of "hardcore" raiding guilds in the past that have implemented over zealous schedules and strict requirements that literally turned the game into a job. We believe we can achieve the same results, while maintaining the enjoyment of the game.
Ten Ton Hammer would like to thank Awakening for taking part in this WildStar Guild Spotlight. You can find all their contact details below:
- Official Website: www.WildStar-Guild.com
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/WildStarGuild
- YouTube: www.YouTube.com/WildStarGuild
To read the latest guides, news, and features you can visit our WildStar Game Page.


text:
Zsa Zsa Gabor is currently in critical condition at a Los Angeles hospital after she had to have emergency surgery over the weekend.
From E Online:
According to her publicist, doctors at UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center are "guardedly optimistic" that Gabor will recover two days after losing consciousness at her Bel-Air home.
A tube that had detached from her stomach, causing internal bleeding and sending Gabor's temperature spiking on Saturday morning. Her 68-year-old husband, Prince Frederic von Anhalt, called 911 whereupon an ambulance rushed Gabor to the ER.
— E Online


text: At about 12:30 pm this afternoon in Phoenix the ambient temp was 108 F. My Roadster just ran a COOLDOWN cycle. Check out what the ambient temperature on the car is reading. Yikes! I don't have a garage at home and am in the process of having a carport designed, so my car currently sits outside plugged in under a car cover. It's a tough time of year.


text:
It's launch day at The Level Market and I'd like to invite you all to take a tour. We've built the world's first humanitarian marketplace to open up an industry, much like Amazon did for retail sales and Alibaba for the Chinese market. What exactly are we launching? An eCommerce platform with a patent-pending quotation system built specifically for today's aid buyers. Buyers that are focused on deploying the best products at the right cost following disasters, for refugee camps, and for poverty alleviation. More than $100 billion is spent on aid purchasing and it's about time this industry has an open, transparent, competitive platform at its fingertips. Today we have 32 suppliers, listing 100 products in eight categories. We hope this balloons into the thousands quickly, featuring the myriad in-demand aid products and the latest humanitarian innovations.
As we throw open our doors, we take a moment to celebrate all the aid workers who toil in the field, at HQ, and around the world; working with their hearts and their fingers to the bone. We celebrate the product pioneers who are creating innovations that benefit humanity and are relentless in their pursuit of a better product. We are truly humbled and honored to play our part today as we launch a progressive platform with big aspirations. We hope to become your one-stop-shop for aid supplies and we won't stop until this important sector has it's Alibaba for humanity.
<read our press release>


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Friday, October 24, 2014
Review: The Distance Between Us by Kasie West
26 comments:
I haven't read any of her books yet, but I have this one and On the Fence on the wish list.ReplyDelete
I'm not sure how the sarcasm will work for me since that is so not my personality, but the story itself sounds good. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!Replies
Definitely binge-read all four of West's books! I think my favorite is probably this one. Sooo good! The sarcasm really worked!Delete
Thank YOU, Sophia!
I really loved this book, because Xander was adorable and the chemistry between he and Caymen was SMOKIN'. And the drink-sipping thing *faints*ReplyDelete
I agree about the ending though . . . all that drama and how quickly it was resolved. It was all a bit random to me!Replies
I loveeee that playful chemistry with the drink-sipping! The romance was so well-written!Delete
Glad I wasn't the only one who thought so! But it was a great standalone novel :)
I love these books. I love West's writing. I can't wait for The Fill-in Boyfriend! Her books make me happy and fuzzy. It was a fast quick ending, you are right. But overall I loved the story so I ignored that! LOL!ReplyDeleteReplies
Happy and fuzzy indeed! But I agree with what you've said :DDelete
I need to read this one! I read the other 3 books, but somehow, I always skip The Distance Between Us even though I'm pretty sure I'll like it. Great review Alyssa!ReplyDeleteReplies
You will! You will you will you will! I hope you do, Anatea. Thank you so much! <3Delete
- AnonymousOctober 24, 2014 at 8:35 AM
I haven't read any of her books and I don't own any. But after this review that is going to change :DReplyDeleteReplies
YOU MUST!! They might come on sale with the pending release of The Fill-In Boyfriend. I'll be keeping an eye out for ya!Delete
I really need to read this soon. I have loved all of her other books so I just know I am going to love this too.ReplyDelete
Wonderful review!Replies
Definitely do so! I was in the same boat, but glad I decided to read this one too!Delete
Yay! You finally read it! I'm so happy to hear you enjoyed it, haha. I love Caymen's sarcasm and they were so cute together! I need a real like Xander in my life too, lol.ReplyDelete
I need to read West's paranormal series, I just picked up Split Second, so I have both books now. That means I should read it, right?
Great review, Alyssa!Replies
I wish Xander's like this one actually existed :/ I hope you read and enjoy her duology! YOU MUST!!Delete
Thank you!
I've got her ON THE FENCE on my shelf right now but I have yet to read it! And it just moved up my TBR thanks to your review, Alyssa :)ReplyDelete
Book Maniac ReviewsReplies
You need to read West's books like NOW! Go go go, Kiran!Delete
Thank YOU!
4 stars! Woooo! I'm so excited to read this one! I'm mad at myself for not having read it sooner! HAHA. Your review has me cracking up- I agree- why do book boys NOT EXIST?! It hardly seems fair! I'm glad Caymen was a fun heroine. I do love sarcasm! Great review chica! I'm really excited for this one!ReplyDeleteReplies
YAY! I'm glad that you liked it! And OMG yeah I need my own Xander. I hope you enjoy this book when you read it, Jess! <3Delete
I liked this one (my first West book) better than On the Fence. At least in The Distance Between Us there is more "couple" time and I really liked Caymen's unique sense of humor.ReplyDeleteReplies
Ooo, yeah, I kind of agree. The sarcasm really did it for me :DDelete
Kassie West's books are so damn adorable, I love them!ReplyDeleteReplies
Right?! So much love!Delete
YAY! I'm so happy to hear you loved this one!ReplyDelete
I wasn't very keen on the family ending bit myself, I think it added some extra drama that might have been unnecessary...
But I so loved Caymen and Xander's banter!!
Lovely review Alyssa!!Replies
I definitely enjoyed this book for the sarcasm and banter and romance! It's a great contemporary novel. Thank you for warning me about a "strange" ending though!Delete
Awesome review sweetie. <3 I'm so glad you enjoyed this book a lot :D I have seen so many people love it.. and I do want to read it. Truly. Just. Still not really my genre, lol :D But soooon. I hope :) It looks all kinds of cute. <3 thank you for sharing Alyssa :)ReplyDeleteReplies
I felt the same way, Carina! Personally, I think it's West's best novel yet. You're very welcome!Delete
I love comments! I will always try and reply to your comments, as well as leave some comment love on your blog! :)
Also, this an award and tag free blog. While I am flattered that you would think of me, I really do not have the time to follow up. Thank you!


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Silent AuctionPosted 2017-08-31 at 09:20
Attention all drivers, owners, sponsors and family members, this year we are doing a silent auction at the banquet to raise money for next season.
We are collecting donations of any value for the auction and hope you will consider donating and asking your sponsors to donate as well.
Some donation ideas are, racing supplies, tools, restaurant, gas and shopping gift certificates, memorabilia items and anything you might be interested in bidding on. Items do not need to be limited to racing; looking for stuff that will generate fun-friendly bidding wars.
All items will need to be received by September 28th, please include the items value and contact Rene Badger with any questions and to arrange pick up or delivery of items at 603-359-2826. We hope you will all participate in making this year's banquet fun for everyone while supporting the club for next season.
Remember the banquet is October 7th from 5pm - 10pm at the Elks Club in Lebanon, NH. RSVP's must be in by September 28th , so that we can get our final head count to the caterers, unfortunately you will not be able to attend if you do not RSVP.
If you have not received your invitation please contact Annie Boissoneau at email@example.com they all went out last week.
We look forward to hearing back from you with any and all donations you can get.
Thank you,
Annie Boissoneau


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Jeffries Pink Lovely Heart Tights
$ 11.25
Multi colored hearts warm any outfit! These adorable tights are made of 70% cotton, 27% polyester and 3% spandex.
Jefferies Socks Sizing Chart
Sizes available:
18-24 mo (23-33 lbs)
2-4 (28-38 lbs)


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Christmas Shop
Discounted Presents From All The Best Brands
Looking for gift ideas for Christmas? With Perfume Click it's easy to find Xmas presents and with one of the largest assortments of gift sets available online you are spoilt for choice! We have over 9000 products in stock and loads of amazing Christmas gifts including savings of up to 75% RRP on perfume, aftershave, cosmetics, skincare, haircare and so much more.
Christmas Gifts For Any Budget
Make this year's Christmas shopping an absolute breeze by having a peek at our selection of gifts sets above! Have your pick of sets with fragrances, makeup, skincare and pampering products, starting from less than $5! Whether you are looking for a gift for your mum, dad, partner or a friend you can be sure to find the perfect present on Perfume Click. We've got everything from romantic presents for that special someone to fun sets for the kids with all of their favourite characters. Don't forget to check our delivery options to make sure to receive your gifts right on time for the big day!
Christmas Gift Vouchers
If you still can't decide what to buy your loved ones (or left all your Christmas shopping until the last minute), then why not go for one of our Gift Vouchers? You can choose the value of the voucher yourself and add a personalised message. The voucher will be emailed to you within minutes - ready for printing! They last for a whole year, so the lucky recipient will have plenty of time to choose their perfect fragrance or beauty product.
Christmas Return Policy
Just in case you purchase the wrong gift for your loved one, we have extended our normal returns policy so that you will have until at least the 16th January 2019 to return any products to us that were purchased in November or December for a refund or exchange (subject to our normal returns conditions).
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Cloud Adoption Risk Model
Worried about the risks of adopting The Cloud versus your existing on-premise infrastructure?
The successful adoption of Cloud technology will become critical to the longevity of many businesses. The Cloud is the foundation of a digital revolution that is enabling innovators to bring highly disruptive business models to market that can "kill" the encumbents who fail to embrace this technology.
Adopting The Cloud is perceived as a risky endeavour; we've published a risk mitigation model we created with Hymans Robertson which enabled them to adopt The Cloud with their eyes open.
In a major 3-part guest blog series, Hymans Robertson IT Director Barry Smart, covers the process in-depth:
- Cloud Adoption: Risks & Mitigations Analysis
- A Deep Dive into the Swiss Cheese Model
- Benchmarking the Cloud against on-premise data centres
For an easy guide to the process, we have created a free poster, which can you can download using the form below.


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Valdosta, GA - On January 14th 2013, three days after Kendrick Johnson was found inside a rolled up gym mat at Lowndes High School, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations did an autopsy on the teen's body.
Jackie Johnson says last Thursday, those autopsy reports showed up on the website Re-News it, a blog that anonymously posts evidence and theories on national stories, what else they found, came as a shock.
Rua Segura: Maddie Case
1 week ago


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August 14, 1945
New York Times.
Japan has today surrendered. The last of our enemies is laid low. Here is the text of the Japanese reply to the Allied demands. [Listed separately, PHWG]
Let us recall that on the 7th of December, 1941, Japan, whose onslaught China had already resisted for over four years, fell upon the United States of America, who was then not at war, and upon ourselves, who were so pressed in our death struggle with Germany and Italy. Taking full advantage of surprise and treachery, the Japanese forces quickly overran the territory of ourselves and our Allies in the Far East, and at one time it appeared as though they might even invade the mainland of Australia and advance far into India.
But the tide turned, first slowly, then with an ever-increasing speed and violence, as the mighty forces of the United States and of the British Commonwealth and Empire and of their Allies, and finally of Russia, were brought to bear. Their resistance is now everywhere being broken.
At this time we should pay tribute to the men from this country, from the Dominions and India and the colonies, to our fleets, armies and air forces, that have fought so well in the arduous campaign against Japan. Our gratitude goes out to all our splendid Allies and, above all, to the United States, without whose prodigious efforts this war in the East would still have many years to run
We also think especially at this time of the prisoners in Japanese hands, of our friends in the Dominions and Australia and New Zealand, in India, in Burma and in those colonial territories upon whom the brunt of the Japanese attack fell. We rejoice that their sufferings will soon be at an end and that these territories will soon be purged of the Japanese invader.
Here at home you have a short rest in the unceasing exertions which were all borne without flinching or complaint for so many dark years. I have no doubt that throughout industries generally the Government's lead in the matter of victory holidays will be followed, and that tomorrow-Wednesday-and Thursday may everywhere be treated as days of holiday.
There are some who must necessarily remain at work on these days to maintain essential services, and I am sure they can be relied upon to carry on. When we return to work on Friday morning, we must turn again with energy to the great tasks which challenge us. But for the moment let all who can relax and enjoy themselves in the knowledge of a work well done.
Peace has once again come to the world. Let us thank God for this great deliverance and for His mercies.
Long live the King!


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Internet detail tracking involves issuing a cookie to the browsing party, tracking the site usage, tracing the browser i.e. user agent, tracing the IP address and then geo locating the user who is surfing the web page, publishing ads based on geo location, adding LSO via flash players, tracking where a user moves to, recording and computing a user online activity against the will of the user. Tracing and noting delicate private details such as mobile numbers on an unsecured GPRS mobile connection. Documenting surfing activity is one of the blatant breaches of privacy and an immoral act.
If one is unaware whether the connection is secure or not, if one as a public image to safeguard, if one does bank transfers or any monetary exchanges on the internet, if one does not wish to be targeted by the porn industry, if one does not want people to profit from his private data then the person should be paranoid about his internet details being sniffed and used for money making. Paranoid is not a good term but that's exactly how one should be about online privacy and internet detail tracers. The importance of this can be well understood from the privacy policies which all of the mega-internet corporations put up with each of their product or service. Internet detail tracking is very much a bad thing occurring.
Yes, every internet surfer is a commercial honey pot. They are the golden egg laying goose which give away gold without even realizing the consequence. Advertising industries profit from this, scammers profit from this, paranoid government agencies profit from this. The way data and details are handled in internet is a cause of serious concern. The big picture represents a huge linkage of profit making organizations and monetization of free data and free thinking.
Spyware and Trojans are those programs which when in your system, tend to gather all of your personal data through sercurity backdoors, including email addresses, band account numbers, passwords, important documents and sometimes they even help hackers remotely control your pc or mobile phone. These spywares, adwares and Trojans depend a lot on internet and JavaScripts to make headways in your system i.e. pcs, laptops, and other mobility devices. Without internet detail tracking these havoc causing programs cannot intrude themselves into your system.


text: Craig White wrote: >The apparent lack of people bitching about this on nahant list or centos >list makes me think that a large amount of RHEL 4 (or clone) users have >simply turned SELinux off. I guess that puzzles me as much as anything. > > What's with the bug up your nether regions? People turn it off because they feel they don't need it. For many people it is simply a broken distraction. It should be turned off by default, but it isn't. Are you also going to lecture people for turning off other software packages that come bundled "on" by default? Why does this bother you so much? Cheers,


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11-night British Isles Legacy Cruise
Crystal Cruises® — Crystal Serenity®
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Mercedes 560SL 1987
Episode 1
Mike and Edd return to Discovery Channel for another all-new series. In this episode, Mike ...Read More
The TV and film industry spends millions on top talent to guarantee ratings and box office success. However, despite the best efforts of the acting elite the truth is that on many occasions the car's the star!
There are so many to choose from: from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, James Bond's Aston Martin DB5, the 1959 Cadillac Miller-Meteor hearse from Ghostbusters, the 1976 AMC Pacer from Wayne's World or even the Mystery Machine from Scooby Doo! We've selected a number of these classics of TV and film to bring you some of the industry's biggest automotive stars.
Let us know what you think on our Facebook page or on Twitter @Discovery and let us know your favourite four-wheeled screen star!
Known as the General Lee, Beauregard 'Bo' Duke and his cousin Luke Duke were the Dukes of Hazzard and drove a bright orange 1969 Dodge Charger with the battle flag of the Confederate States of America on the roof and '01' painted on the side. It famously received more fan mail – over 35,000 letters a month – than any of the show's stars!
On average, two Chargers were destroyed per episode between 1975 and 1979 and when production of the car ended, the producers, desperate as they were for more cars, would stop Charger drivers in the street and offer to buy them there and then.
In another example of doing things on the fly, the horn which played the first 12 notes of the song 'Dixie' was spotted by producers as they drove through Atlanta. They flagged down the driver of the car and persuaded him to sell. They bought it and the driver went away happy. The producers then realised they could buy the same horn for a third of what they paid at any auto spares store in the area!
Named for General Robert E Lee – a famous commander in the Confederate army – the car was originally going to be called Traveller, the name of Lee's horse, but the top brass wondered if the link was too tenuous so the General Lee it was.
Interesting fact: Around 300 General Lees were used during filming of the original 70s series.
Most people think Del Boy and Rodney's grubby three-wheeled van was a Robin Reliant but it wasn't. It was a Reliant Regal Supervan. They used between six and 18 during the 20 years of filming and the main van is in the Cars of the Stars Museum in Cumbria.
The original Reliant Regal was built for 20 years between 1953 and 1973. It was so light it was considered a tricycle and could be driven on a Class A motorcycle licence. The first generation was made of wood and in 1962 Reliant released the Mk VII, badged as the Regal 3/25 and 3/30 in reference to the number of wheels and the brake horsepower! The bigger engined version had a number of optional extras including a fog light, sun visors, oil gauge and metallic paint…
Del Boy's Regal Supervan had a staggering 701cc engine and, interestingly, the Only Fools and Horses Reliant Regal appeared in a cartoon in a short advert for the Discovery Channel. The cartoon man was driving a sports car and after a short drive it turned into the Supervan with the announcer saying 'what a plonker' in an homage to Del Boy's famous saying.
Interesting fact: In 2007 one of the show's original Reliant Regals sold for £44,227 at auction – more than double its original estimate.
David Starsky and Ken Hutchinson often played second-fiddle, chunky-knit cardigans and all, to the mag-wheeled muscle car in which they rode. In 1976, Ford even released a limited-edition run of 1,002 Gran Torino replicas in homage to the famous car.
The producer originally wanted to use a green Chevy Camaro but when production of the TV series started, Ford were the lease supplier for the Spelling-Goldberg production company so they opted for two Gran Torinos painted bright red. The cars were custom-painted over the original factory red and the white vector stripe – possibly the most famous decal in TV automotive history – was designed.
Paul Michael Glaser (Starsky) was 'introduced' to the car by Aaron Spelling before they started filming the pilot episode and he took an immediate and permanent dislike to it. In early press interviews for the show, he stated that he thought it was: a) 'big, ugly and childish-looking'; b) 'the notion that two undercover cops would drive something so outlandish was ridiculous'; and c) he didn't like Fords. He even said to David Soul (Hutch) that he was "going to destroy that car… burn it down every chance I get!"
He never grew to like the car but he did come to accept its popularity as a component part of the show that made him famous.
As with a lot of the 70s and 80s TV shows, the cars were either returned to the studios, destroyed or sold at auction and the few remaining Gran Torinos all seem to be in private hands in the UK and the US.
Interesting fact: The car was known affectionately on set as the 'Striped Tomato'.
Knight Industries Two Thousand, or KITT, was a self-driving, artificially intelligent and heavily modified 1982 Pontiac Trans-Am with the most iconic red light in TV history! Unlike production models, it could cruise at 300 mph and jump 50 feet in the air!
KITT was originally supposed to be a modded Datsun 280ZX but during pre-production, General Motors brought out the F-Body Firebird Trans-Am. No contest. As odd as it is to anthropomorphise a car, KITT was designed by legendary customiser Michael Scheffe and he (KITT) was one of 23 Trans-Ams used in the show. One was smashed to bits before the series ended but as for the remaining 22, all except five were destroyed as filming finished. There's conjecture as to where the others are but it's believed Universal kept two and three are in private hands, possibly in the UK, possibly in Australia…..
Equipped with all sorts of funky kit including ejection seats, a cashpoint machine, thermal-resistant coating, microscanners, silent mode, oil jets, smoke screens and a flame thrower, the most recognised of all the bells and whistles was the red scanner at the front.
Glenn A Larson, the creator of both Knight Rider and Battlestar Galactica used the Cylon Centurions' 'eyes' from BG simply because he liked the effect of the red LED lights. The two shows have no other similarities.
Even though a fair chunk of every script has David Hasselhoff and William Daniels (the voice of KITT) talking, the two actors only met for the first time six months into filming the first series and interestingly William Daniels, at his own request, was never credited during the entire run of the show. He said that he wanted KITT to have a personality of his own and a sense of mysticism to the voice.
Interesting fact: The Trans-Am cars were sold to the producers for $1 – who then had to pay thousands of dollars to modify each one!
Red, White and Blue. The famous three Mk1 Mini Cooper S's used in the classic 1969 crime caper The Italian Job (pictured above). The production team bought six Coopers and 25 regular Minis from Switzerland and each one had a three-point roll cage fitted and the back seats taken out. Because they were tough and relatively light, few mods were needed (the only real issue was the ground clearance), but saying that the stunt team still did an unbelievable job!
In a perfect example of Britishness that reflects the spirit of the film, throughout the famous chase scenes the Minis stay in perfect red, white and blue order. Clearly it was all about the detail.
It seems that no-one is sure quite how many of these were actually Coopers and how many were regular Minis but regardless the car's use in the film became iconic. Ken Morris, one of the very last of the crew to leave Turin after filming, said they left a garage with six Minis and 30 sets of mag wheels in. He locked the doors and came back to England and he was later quoted as saying that he was never sure if Paramount Pictures or the production company ever went to pick them up!
According to the DVDs director's commentary BMC – the makers of the Mini – only agreed to give the film a small number of Minis and the rest would have to be bought, albeit at trade prices. At the same time, Fiat offered as many super-charged Fiat 500s as they wanted but the producers wanted Minis. It is also said that the Italian Mafia arranged to have entire sections of Turin closed for filming and the traffic jams – as well as the reactions from annoyed commuters – are very real!
There are lots of films that are instantly recognisable by one single line of dialogue. Yet despite the Turin sewer chase and the (actual) cliff-hanger at the end, Michael Caine's Charlie Croker utters the immortal line "you're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off" as his team blow up a van.
Updated: The Lamborghini Miura that featured in the opening scene of the Italian Job which was assumed to have been destroyed has been discovered by two British businessmen. In a story reminiscent of a spy thriller, they got a tip-off in December 2014 that the car had surfaced after 46 years and were given three hours to verify it was the original. It was. One of the new owners said 'The Italian Job Lamborghini is the holy grail of supercars precisely because no one knew what happened to it after the film.'
Interesting fact: Star Michael Caine couldn't drive at the time and is never seen driving a car!
The espadrilles, the half-rolled sleeves, the gaudy pink t-shirts and the gleaming white Ferrari Testarossa all combined to make Miami Vice the most 80s of all 80s TV shows! At $181,000 a pop, producers initially went for a replica with a Testarossa body kit but Ferrari later donated two Testarossas to the show.
In the first two series' (and the first two episodes of series three), Don Johnson's James 'Sonny' Crockett drove a black Ferrari Daytona Spyder with the licence plate ZAQ178. In actual fact this used two Corvette replicas sold to the production for $49,000 each with Ferrari replica body kits. When the car was blown up (on the show) by a Stinger missile the character switched to the white Ferrari Testarossa with licence plate AIF00M.
The two Testarossas supplied for free by Ferrari were black and there are conflicting reasons as to why they were repainted, from a Don Johnson mishap to the fact that white was better for filming at night. A De Tomaso Pantera 'stunt car' was still used even after they got their hands on the real Testarossas because wrecking a real one resulted in a $180,000+ bill. There was also a defect with real Testarossas in that they had a propensity to stall in high-speed spins, presumably not helped by a special brake wired to a booster that locked both rear wheels for more impressive spins and turns.
Interesting fact: One of the two original Testarossas was listed on eBay with a 'Buy It Now' price of $1.75m.
Herbie, licence plate 'OFP 857' was a 1963 VW Beetle deluxe ragtop sedan with a mind of its own. There are only seven of the original cars left (and only one of the 'trick' Herbies) and it was painted in Volkswagen L87 pearl white. One went on sale to serious collectors in 2012 for a staggering £96,000.
When The Love Bug – the first film featuring Herbie – was in its pre-production stage, as well as casting calls for the acting talent, Disney also set up casting calls for cars! They had a range of cars available to them including Volvos and Toyotas as well as a TVR and an MG and also, of course the white Bug. During the inspection stage, the crew would kick the tyres and yank the steering wheels of the cars to see how they might handle during the racing scenes but when they came to the Beetle, they would stroke it like a lovable pet. The rest is history!
The interior of a standard production 1963 Beetle would have matched the exterior but the crew painted it a matt grey colour so the camera and studio lights wouldn't reflect off the surfaces.
In The Love Bug, Volkswagen didn't allow Disney to show the VW brand anywhere (although it was spotted twice, once on a fleeting shot of the brake pedal and once on the ignition key) but VW relented for the sequels because early to mid-70s Beetle sales needed a boost.
Interesting fact: The number 53 painted on the side was in homage to LA Dodgers baseball player Don Drysdale, who wore jersey number 53.
Lt. Frank Bullitt's Mustang GT 390 and the black 1968 Dodge Charger R/T 440 are co-stars of arguably the finest car chase scene – all 10m 53s worth – in the history of cinema. The two Mustangs they used were loaned to the studio by Ford and the engines, suspension and brakes were heavily modified by old-school racer Max Balchowsky.
During the late 60s and throughout the 70s, Steve McQueen was as revered as De Niro and Pacino are now and the moniker 'The King of Cool' was richly deserved. Well-known as a serious petrolhead, McQueen took a self-imposed hiatus in 1974 to focus his attention on racing his beloved Indian motorcycles but he is most famous, automotively-speaking, for Bullitt. The car chase scene through San Francisco was unprecedented for its originality and sheer scale and McQueen was responsible for around 10% of what was seen. He did the close-ups but his long-time collaborator, stunt driver Bud Ekins did most of the rest.
In an interesting aside, when legendary US talk-show host Jonny Carson congratulated McQueen on performing the famous motorcycle jump over the fence at the end of The Great Escape, he said 'it wasn't me, it was Bud Ekins'. Such was his humility.
Interesting fact: The engine noise of the Mustangs was actually overdubbed recordings of a Ford GT40 at full chat.
Possibly the most famous movie car ever, the 1982 model was chosen for its 'spaceship' qualities and it was covered in aircraft parts, blinking lights and all sorts of bells and whistles to make it 'fictional'. Seven were used in the trilogy (including a fiberglass shell for the flying scenes) and only three remain. Two are owned by Universal Studios and one was sold at auction in 2011 for $504,000 with the proceeds going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research.
John De Lorean, the American creator of the car, famously (or infamously) ran into financial turbulence after making almost 9,000 DMC-12s. He was largely responsible for the Pontiac GTO, widely considered to be the world's first muscle car, but while the youngest division head in General Motors' history he left the company to start his own De Lorean Motor Company. The car he started planning in 1973 didn't hit the metaphorical shelves until 1981 and by then a depressed car market coupled with the fact that the car wasn't particularly good left him in financial ruin. After struggling to claw back the $175m in R&D costs, he was left with stockpiles of the cars but no money.
He was arrested on charges of drug trafficking in October 1982. Despite being found not guilty, by then the company was finished. He was asked after his trial if he'd go back into the car trade, and famously said "would you buy a used car from me?"
Interesting fact: De Lorean did a deal to make 100 gold-plated DMC-12s and sell them to American Express customers. They sold two.
With its red stripe, huge bull bar, mag wheels and plenty of BA Baracus attitude, the 1983 black and metallic grey GMC Vandura was voted the most iconic van in TV and movie history (oddly ahead of Postman Pat's van and the Scooby Doo Mystery Machine!) It doesn't have any special powers but is the most indestructible vehicle in the entire world. For that, it rightly appears on our list!
It's widely accepted and subsequently admitted by writer Steven J Cannell that The A-Team shows were written to test the limits of realism and believability. In 98 episodes of Tom & Jerry-esque violence, only five people died, no-one bled or bruised and bullets never seemed to connect. However, despite these cartoon capers, the GMC van stands out as the real star!
During the filming of the five seasons between 1983 and 1987, the van changed appearance several times – the angle of the rear spoiler changed, some had a sunroof and some didn't, the producers even used other makes of vans including the Ford Econoline with paintjobs and wheels coloured to resemble the original red turbine mag wheels. It also came equipped with different gadgets and devices including a printing press, surveillance kit and a host of Hannibal's disguises!
Just so you know, the crime they didn't commit for which they were imprisoned was robbing a bank in Hanoi, so ordered by their commanding officer, Colonel Morrison.
Interesting fact: So few people knew the bit above the red stripe is metallic grey and not black, even the toy manufacturers got it wrong!
Episode 1
Mike and Edd return to Discovery Channel for another all-new series. In this episode, Mike ...Read More
Episode 2
Mike has been challenged to find a classic endurance sports car, and the Volvo PV544 ...Read More
Episode 3
The guys want to tackle something eco-friendly, and get their wish when Mike chooses the ...Read More
Episode 4
When Edd sets Mike the task of finding him a classic American truck, Mike heads ...Read More
Episode 5
In this episode, Mike and Edd decide that an '80s classic - the Ford ...Read More
Episode 6
Mike and Edd decide to create an eye-catching, inexpensive beach cruiser, and the Corvair is ...Read More
Episode 7
Edd and Mike set the challenge to find the ultimate bug-out vehicle that would ceaselessly ...Read More
Episode 8
Mike and Edd go back and forth about the definition of a real sports car. ...Read More
Episode 9
Edd and Mike look back on the memories of the last eight cars. Which were ...Read More
Episode 10
Mike seeks a classic adventure, and finds it in a 1970 Ford Bronco. First impressions can ...Read More
Episode 11
Mike's looking for luxury, and finds it in the most expensive car Mercedes had to ...Read More
Episode 13
A classic Camaro gets the Mike and Edd treatment in this all-new episode.Read More
Episode 14
A classic two-seater sports coupé gets some elbow grease and a bit of spit and ...Read More
Episode 15
Mike is on a hunt for the military-grade off-roader, the Humvee. He's met with ...Read More
Episode 16
Whilst looking for a 1985 Maserati Bi-Turbo, Mike discovers a truly unique example: a Bi-Turbo without ...Read More
Episode 17
Is there anything cooler than a Caddy? In this episode, Mike and Edd get their ...Read More
Episode 18
Take a look back at some classic Mike and Edd moments with this best-of compilation.Read More
You'd be surprised what you can do with a second hand car. Ambitious? We think not.Read More
Many films boast a solid car chase but few have a truly great, mind-blowing automotive pursuit. When it happens, it's movie magic.Read More
Supercars are game-changers by their very nature. So what does the super-future look like and how will it shape our own lives?Read More


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Welcome to TLC UK
TLC Marketing announced as Finalists: National Undergraduate Employability Awards 2016
In our fifth year of proudly offering marketing experience to placement students we now have a growing placement scheme, a graduate success story and something special to shout about. TLC Marketing has been shortlisted for the Best Small to Medium-sized Employer Award at the National Undergraduate Employability Awards 2016.
The NUE Awards are entering their eighth year and continue to be the benchmark for success across organisations and students in the undergraduate market. Working alongside RateMyPlacement it exists to help students plan their careers and gain real world experiences to back up their theoretical studies. The awards have grown to become highly respected and influential within the higher education and recruitment space and are widely known as the 'go to' place for students.Read more >


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If you are seeking advice on Regulator Compliance, please get in contact with our Licensing team. At Bloomsbury Law, we provide a bespoke service to advise you on all your Licensing needs. For a tailor made service on all Licensing matters, call the Licensing Solicitors at Bloomsbury Law on 0207 998 7777 or contact us via email so that we may arrange a call back.
Legal and regulatory compliance is becoming much more important in the corporate arena. This because there has been an increase in the amount of risk involved. Many who have obtained a license may not be aware of all the responsibilities which they must uphold in order to maintain compliance. At Bloomsbury Law, we will explain to you how this works and any current or future risk which you may face.
What is regulatory compliance?
Regulatory compliance is the strict adherence to laws, regulations, and guidelines which have been set out by the relevant body. It is becoming increasingly expensive to not abide by these regulations as they can result in extortionate compensation claims in addition to serious reputation loss.
At Bloomsbury Law, we understand the amount of responsibility a business has on a daily basis and we appreciate that regulatory compliance may be difficult to grapple for some. This is why we are specialists in the field and will help you with any queries you may have. If you or someone you know is looking for legal advice on regulatory compliance, please get in touch with one of our specialists.
What do I do next?
Contact us online or speak to one of our dedicated specialists on 0207 998 7777 for a free initial consultation. With our vast experience in the field, our bilingual speaking team will work with you to ensure this process runs as smooth as possible. All information you provide us with is treated with the utmost confidentiality.
We will contact you no later than the next working day to arrange a meeting at our offices in London W1 to advise on the agreement.