Testing new-physics models with global comparisons to collider measurements: the Contur toolkit

Measurements at particle collider experiments, even if primarily aimed at understanding Standard Model processes, can have a high degree of model independence, and implicitly contain information about potential contributions from physics beyond the Standard Model. The Contur package allows users to benefit from the hundreds of measurements preserved in the Rivet library to test new models against the bank of LHC measurements to date. This method has proven to be very effective in several recent publications from the Contur team, but ultimately, for this approach to be successful, the authors believe that the Contur tool needs to be accessible to the wider high energy physics community. As such, this manual accompanies the first user-facing version: Contur v2. It describes the design choices that have been made, as well as detailing pitfalls and common issues to avoid. The authors hope that with the help of this documentation, external groups will be able to run their own Contur studies, for example when proposing a new model, or pitching a new search

Modular Workflow Engine for Distributed Services using Lightweight Java Clients

In this article we introduce the concept and the first implementation of a lightweight client-server-framework as middleware for distributed computing. On the client side an installation without administrative rights or privileged ports can turn any computer into a worker node. Only a Java runtime environment and the JAR files comprising the workflow client are needed. To connect all clients to the engine one open server port is sufficient. The engine submits data to the clients and orchestrates their work by workflow descriptions from a central database. Clients request new task descriptions periodically, thus the system is robust against network failures. In the basic set-up, data up- and downloads are handled via HTTP communication with the server. The performance of the modular system could additionally be improved using dedicated file servers or distributed network file systems. We demonstrate the design features of the proposed engine in real-world applications from mechanical engineering. We have used this system on a compute cluster in design-of-experiment studies, parameter optimisations and robustness validations of finite element structures.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure

Pulsar data analysis with PSRCHIVE

PSRCHIVE is an open-source, object-oriented, scientific data analysis software library and application suite for pulsar astronomy. It implements an extensive range of general-purpose algorithms for use in data calibration and integration, statistical analysis and modeling, and visualisation. These are utilised by a variety of applications specialised for tasks such as pulsar timing, polarimetry, radio frequency interference mitigation, and pulse variability studies. This paper presents a general overview of PSRCHIVE functionality with some focus on the integrated interfaces developed for the core applications.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figures; tutorial presented at IPTA 2010 meeting in Leiden merged with talk presented at 2011 pulsar conference in Beijing; includes further research and development on algorithms for RFI mitigation and TOA bias correctio

Interface de visualisation innovante du Linked Data

Deux applications résultent de ce travail de Bachelor. La première est un outil utilisé pour extraire des données provenant du web sémantique. La deuxième application est capable de créer des visualisations en se basant sur des données au format JSON. L’outil d’administration est capable de récupérer des données issues de plusieurs points à la fois. Il permet à l’utilisateur de naviguer à l’intérieur de ces données et d’extraire les informations qu’il juge pertinentes. L’application de développement de visualisations importe des données avec lesquelles elle crée différentes visualisations. Par la suite, ces visualisations peuvent être déployées sur des sites internet et être consultées par les visiteurs. L’objectif principal de ces deux outils est de permettre d’utiliser les données appartenant au web sémantique d’une façon simple. Sans grande connaissance dans le domaine, l’utilisateur doit être en mesure de parcourir chacune des étapes jusqu’à la publication de visualisations

Design and implementation of web-based keystroke analytics for user verification

Keystroke analytics is the study of the way in which a user types rather than simply what they are typing. Through the application of statistical or machine learning methods the gathered biometric data may be used to verify the identity of a user, based on their typing style. This project aims to explore the field of keystroke analytics to gain an understanding of the methods involved and as such detail the implementation process for such a system’s design and implementation in a web-based context. Details regarding the technical design and implementation are specifically highlighted as current literature often does not describe how the systems shown were developed by rather the theory and methods used by them. The use of JavaScript to gather typing characteristic data is explored and the process of extracting useful features illustrated. Additionally both PHP and MySQL and used to create the backbone infrastructure to process and store the typing data. A phased development approach has been employed, with the overall system being separated into a collection of subsystems which are designed, implemented and tested before combining them to form the overall system. The supplementary software system requirements are presented, including the process of setting up a system capable of both being used to perform research on a local system as well as expand to online users for the data collection process. Method of testing the performance of a keystroke analytics system are discussed with potential changes to improve performance and minimise problems encountered outlined. The project was successful in that a working proof-of-concept web-based keystroke verification system was designed and implemented which yielded promising results for the data tested (FAR: 0%, FRR: 3.33%). Although to fully evaluate the system’s performance further testing needs to take place for a larger sample size of participants. The results obtained show that a keystroke analytics system may be implemented in a web-based environment, with relatively simple statistical methods, and provide reasonable performance results with only minor additional interaction required by the end-user. This has shown that keystroke analytics is a valid and well-performing method of providing non-intrusive multifactor authentication to traditional login systems

Module de pilotage stratégique pour Moodle - Dashboard

Le centre Cyberlearn, actif depuis 10 ans dans le domaine du e-learning au sein de la Haute École Spécialisée de Suisse occidentale, a émis le souhait d’agrémenter la plateforme e-learning Moodle appelée également Learning Management System, utilisée au sein de l’institution citée avec un module de pilotage stratégique. Le but de ce Travail de Bachelor consiste à créer un module de pilotage basé sur la nouvelle norme finalisée pour l’apprentissage en ligne : Experience API appelée également TinCan API ou xAPI. Le résultat devra proposer un dashboard développé avec les technologies web les plus appropriées pour présenter des informations stratégiques à destination des institutions utilisant Moodle

The Phyre2 web portal for protein modeling, prediction and analysis

Phyre2 is a suite of tools available on the web to predict and analyze protein structure, function and mutations. The focus of Phyre2 is to provide biologists with a simple and intuitive interface to state-of-the-art protein bioinformatics tools. Phyre2 replaces Phyre, the original version of the server for which we previously published a paper in Nature Protocols. In this updated protocol, we describe Phyre2, which uses advanced remote homology detection methods to build 3D models, predict ligand binding sites and analyze the effect of amino acid variants (e.g., nonsynonymous SNPs (nsSNPs)) for a user's protein sequence. Users are guided through results by a simple interface at a level of detail they determine. This protocol will guide users from submitting a protein sequence to interpreting the secondary and tertiary structure of their models, their domain composition and model quality. A range of additional available tools is described to find a protein structure in a genome, to submit large number of sequences at once and to automatically run weekly searches for proteins that are difficult to model. The server is available at http://www.sbg.bio.ic.ac.uk/phyre2. A typical structure prediction will be returned between 30 min and 2 h after submission

D2.4. Building a Personal Learning Environment with Language-Technology-based Widgets: Services v2 - integrated thread

Hoisl, B., Haley, D., Wild, F., Anastasiou, L., Buelow, K., Koblische, R., Burek, G., Loiseau, M., Markus, T., Rebedea, T., Drachsler, H., Kometter, H., Westerhout, E., & Posea, V. (2010). D2.4. Building a Personal Learning Environment with Language-Technology-based Widgets: Services v2 - integrated thread. LTfLL-project.This deliverable reports on the results achieved by the LTfLL work packages in their efforts toward interoperability of the LTfLL tools and services. There are two aspects: one is the pedagogical utility of achieving interoperability; the other aspect involves the technical features. The technical basis of the interoperability is to use Wookie widgets in Elgg and is thoroughly described here. Finally, the deliverable provides details and screen shots of each widget for each LTfLL service embedded in the Elgg environment.The work on this publication has been sponsored by the LTfLL STREP that is funded by the European Commission's 7th Framework Programme. Contract 212578 [http://www.ltfll-project.org

pfow.py a potential flow solver and visualizer

pflow.py is a simple teaching and analysis tool for 2-D Potential Flows. It is a collection of code, that allows the construction of simple flow fields that meet the Potential Flow governing Equations. A range of plotting and visulisation tools are included