ISAC LEBT

The ISAC electrostatic Low Energy Beam Transport (LEBT) system is described

PRINCIPLES OF TQM IN AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY

TQM refers to a management process and set of disciplines that are coordinated to ensure thatthe organization consistently meets and exceeds customer requirements. TQM engages all divisions,departments and levels of the organization. TQM companies are focused on the systematic management of data in all processes and practices to eliminate waste and pursue continuous improvement. The goal is to deliver the highest value for the customer at the lowest cost while achieving sustained profit and economic stability for the company. While every organization should implement its own specialized form of quality management, there are some basic core principles that guide every quality effort. The single most important element of quality management is the focus on the customer. During this quality process, we will strive frequently to hear from our customers. From this basic concept, that the customer is the ultimate determiner of quality, come the other principles of Quality management. All types of automotive industries , have reduced costs increased process efficiency and improved the quality of their products and services by working to meet the needs of the people they serve through the application of total quality management (TQM) principles. Learning the principles and practices of TQM will help achieve outstanding results and enlist the support of top management in advancing this concept within the organization enabling area managers or supervisors to create a work environment that gets the best from its workers. The proof will be reflected in the results deliver to the customer. With growing global competition, quality management is becoming increasingly important to the leadership and management of automotive industry. Quality management principles provide understanding of and guidance on the application of quality management. By applying following quality management principles, organizations will produce benefits for customers, owners, employees, suppliers and society as a whole.management, total quality management, automotive industry

claspfolio 2: Advances in Algorithm Selection for Answer Set Programming

To appear in Theory and Practice of Logic Programming (TPLP). Building on the award-winning, portfolio-based ASP solver claspfolio, we present claspfolio 2, a modular and open solver architecture that integrates several different portfolio-based algorithm selection approaches and techniques. The claspfolio 2 solver framework supports various feature generators, solver selection approaches, solver portfolios, as well as solver-schedule-based pre-solving techniques. The default configuration of claspfolio 2 relies on a light-weight version of the ASP solver clasp to generate static and dynamic instance features. The flexible open design of claspfolio 2 is a distinguishing factor even beyond ASP. As such, it provides a unique framework for comparing and combining existing portfolio-based algorithm selection approaches and techniques in a single, unified framework. Taking advantage of this, we conducted an extensive experimental study to assess the impact of different feature sets, selection approaches and base solver portfolios. In addition to gaining substantial insights into the utility of the various approaches and techniques, we identified a default configuration of claspfolio 2 that achieves substantial performance gains not only over clasp's default configuration and the earlier version of claspfolio 2, but also over manually tuned configurations of clasp.Comment: To appear in Theory and Practice of Logic Programming (TPLP

Challenges in interpreting allergen microarrays in relation to clinical symptoms: a machine learning approach.

Identifying different patterns of allergens and understanding their predictive ability in relation to asthma and other allergic diseases is crucial for the design of personalized diagnostic tools.Allergen-IgE screening using ImmunoCAP ISAC(®) assay was performed at age 11 yrs in children participating a population-based birth cohort. Logistic regression (LR) and nonlinear statistical learning models, including random forests (RF) and Bayesian networks (BN), coupled with feature selection approaches, were used to identify patterns of allergen responses associated with asthma, rhino-conjunctivitis, wheeze, eczema and airway hyper-reactivity (AHR, positive methacholine challenge). Sensitivity/specificity and area under the receiver operating characteristic (AUROC) were used to assess model performance via repeated validation.Serum sample for IgE measurement was obtained from 461 of 822 (56.1%) participants. Two hundred and thirty-eight of 461 (51.6%) children had at least one of 112 allergen components IgE > 0 ISU. The binary threshold >0.3 ISU performed less well than using continuous IgE values, discretizing data or using other data transformations, but not significantly (p = 0.1). With the exception of eczema (AUROC~0.5), LR, RF and BN achieved comparable AUROC, ranging from 0.76 to 0.82. Dust mite, pollens and pet allergens were highly associated with asthma, whilst pollens and dust mite with rhino-conjunctivitis. Egg/bovine allergens were associated with eczema.After validation, LR, RF and BN demonstrated reasonable discrimination ability for asthma, rhino-conjunctivitis, wheeze and AHR, but not for eczema. However, further improvements in threshold ascertainment and/or value transformation for different components, and better interpretation algorithms are needed to fully capitalize on the potential of the technology

TITAN's Digital RFQ Ion Beam Cooler and Buncher, Operation and Performance

We present a description of the Radio Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ) ion trap built as part of the TITAN facility. It consists of a gas-filled, segmented, linear Paul trap and is the first stage of the TITAN setup with the purpose of cooling and bunching radioactive ion beams delivered from ISAC-TRIUMF. This is the first such device to be driven digitally, i.e., using a high voltage ($V_{pp} = \rm{400 \, V}$), wide bandwidth ($0.2 < f < 1.2 \, \rm{MHz}$) square-wave as compared to the typical sinusoidal wave form. Results from the commissioning of the device as well as systematic studies with stable and radioactive ions are presented including efficiency measurements with stable $^{133}$Cs and radioactive $^{124, 126}$Cs. A novel and unique mode of operation of this device is also demonstrated where the cooled ion bunches are extracted in reverse mode, i.e., in the same direction as previously injected.Comment: 34 pages, 17 figure