Find the value of \( (2^{1/4} - 1) (2^{3/4} + 2^{1/2} + 2^{1/4} + 1) \)
The following empirical relationship describes how the number of trees \( N(t) \) in a patch changes over time \( t \): \[ N(t) = -2t^2 + 12t + 24 \] where \( t = 0 \) is when the number of trees were first counted. Given this relationship, the maximum number of trees that occur in the patch is