To establish a connection to a specified URL in Java, you use the openConnection() method provided by the URL class. This method returns a URLConnection object, which can be used to interact with the resource located at the URL.

In a switch case in Java, the default keyword is used to specify the code that should be executed if none of the case labels match the switch expression. It acts as a fallback or default option when no other case matches the switch expression.

In a try-catch-finally statement in Java, the flow of control is such that the try block is executed first. If an exception occurs within the try block, control is transferred to the appropriate catch block (if matching). Finally block is executed after try (whether an exception occurred or not), making it suitable for cleanup code.

The Hashtable class in Java is synchronized, which means it is thread-safe. This ensures that multiple threads can safely access and modify the Hashtable concurrently without causing data corruption. ArrayList and LinkedList are not synchronized, making them suitable for single-threaded operations by default. StringBuilder is also not synchronized and is used for efficient string manipulation in a single thread.

In JavaFX, the PathTransition class is commonly used to create animations that move a node along a path. This class allows you to specify the path, duration, and other animation properties. The other options, like Scene, are used for different aspects of JavaFX applications.

To start the execution of a thread in Java, you should call the start() method on a Thread object. This method internally calls the run() method, which contains the code to be executed by the thread. The other options do not start a thread in the correct way.

The Java NIO (New I/O) package enhances the performance of network applications by using a memory-efficient buffer-based approach (option c). This approach reduces the overhead associated with traditional I/O streams and enables more efficient I/O operations. The other options (a, b, and d) do not accurately describe the primary advantage of Java NIO in terms of I/O performance.

To create a pause in your animation without using a separate thread, you can use the PauseTransition class in JavaFX. It allows you to add a pause between animations or transitions. The other options are not intended for creating animation pauses without separate threads.

In JDBC, the ResultSet interface provides methods like first(), last(), next(), and previous() to navigate through the result set obtained from a database query. The other options are not related to ResultSet navigation in JDBC.

The worst-case time complexity of the Quick Sort algorithm is O(n^2). However, on average, it has a time complexity of O(n log n), making it a very efficient sorting algorithm for large datasets. The worst-case scenario occurs when the pivot chosen is always the smallest or largest element, resulting in unbalanced partitions.

Synchronized methods in Java are used primarily to prevent multiple threads from accessing and modifying shared resources simultaneously, ensuring thread safety. This is crucial in multithreading scenarios where multiple threads may otherwise interfere with each other when accessing shared data.

Subclasses in different packages cannot access the protected field directly. Protected members are accessible to subclasses, but only within the same package or through inheritance. Access control rules apply to protect the encapsulation of classes across packages, ensuring proper access control and encapsulation.