Effectiveness of Teaching Metamorphic Testing, Part II

We study the ability of students in a senior/graduate software engineering course to understand and apply metamorphic testing, a relatively recently invented advance in software testing research that complements conventional approaches such as equivalence partitioning and boundary analysis. We previously reported our investigation of the fall 2011 offering of the Columbia University course COMS W4156 Advanced Software Engineering, and here report on the fall 2012 offering and contrast it to the previous year. Our main findings are: 1) Although the students in the second offering did not do very well on the newly added individual assignment specifically focused on metamorphic testing, thereafter they were better able to find metamorphic properties for their team projects than the students from the previous year who did not have that preliminary homework and, perhaps most significantly, did not have the solution set for that homework. 2) Students in the second offering did reasonably well using the relatively novel metamorphic testing technique vs. traditional black box testing techniques in their projects (such comparison data is not available for the first offering). 3) Finally, in both semesters, the majority of the student teams were able to apply metamorphic testing to their team projects after only minimal instruction, which would imply that metamorphic testing is a viable strategy for student testers

Detection of Human Papillomavirus among Cervical Cancer Patients by Qualitative Polymerase Chain Reaction on Formalin- fixed, Paraffin-embedded Tissue: A Retrospective Observational Analysis

Introduction: Cervical cancer is second most commonly diagnosed and third most common cause for cancer death among women in the developing countries. It is now-established that Human Papillomavirus (HPV) infection is responsible for pathogenesis of cervical cancer. HPV Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) detection is generally done on cytology specimens to triage women undergoing cervical cancer screening, but testing of Formalin-fixed, Paraffin- embedded tissue (FFPE) is not yet widely used. Aim: To study the detection of HPV by Qualitative PCR by extraction of DNA from FFPE. Materials and Methods: This retrospective observational analysis was carried out at Department of Pathology, Armed Forces Medical College, Pune, Maharashtra, India, managed at the centre from 2008 to 2015. The data analysis was done Aug 2013-Oct 2015 on 35 patients of cervical cancer which were reconfirmed by histopatholgical study of sections. Tissue blocks were obtained from the selected subjects and 3-5 micron sections were taken and prepared for Haematoxylin and Eosin (H&E) staining. Qualitative PCR was run on DNA extracted from FFPE tissue for evaluation of HPV. The amplified DNA varied between 230-270 base pairs (bp) and was analysed for oncogenic HPV type 16, 18, 31, 33, 35, 45, 52b and 58 by gel electrophoresis. Data was tabulated in Microsoft excel and mean, frequency and percentages were calculated. Pearson’s Chi-square test was used to calculate the significance. Results: Out of the total 35 samples analysed (mean age: 51.08±10.6 years),15 cases were large cell non keratinising carcinoma, 12 cases of keratinising squamous cell carcinoma, 5 cases of carcinoma in-situ and 3 cases were adenocarcinoma. A total of 13 cases out of 35 showed the bands of HPV genomes, indicating either of the HPV strain. Conclusion: Although molecular diagnostics on FFPE tissue is need of hour, stringent protocols for timing of fixation, technical expertise for extraction of DNA or Ribonucleic Acid (RNA), careful handling of the sample and quality control is of paramount importance. Fragmentation is a problem in DNA extracted from FFPE tissue, so primers having small base pairs should be used to maximise the yield

Development and validation of HERWIG 7 tunes from CMS underlying-event measurements

This paper presents new sets of parameters (“tunes”) for the underlying-event model of the HERWIG7 event generator. These parameters control the description of multiple-parton interactions (MPI) and colour reconnection in HERWIG7, and are obtained from a fit to minimum-bias data collected by the CMS experiment at s=0.9, 7, and 13Te. The tunes are based on the NNPDF 3.1 next-to-next-to-leading-order parton distribution function (PDF) set for the parton shower, and either a leading-order or next-to-next-to-leading-order PDF set for the simulation of MPI and the beam remnants. Predictions utilizing the tunes are produced for event shape observables in electron-positron collisions, and for minimum-bias, inclusive jet, top quark pair, and Z and W boson events in proton-proton collisions, and are compared with data. Each of the new tunes describes the data at a reasonable level, and the tunes using a leading-order PDF for the simulation of MPI provide the best description of the dat

Measurement of prompt open-charm production cross sections in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

The production cross sections for prompt open-charm mesons in proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 13TeV are reported. The measurement is performed using a data sample collected by the CMS experiment corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 29 nb(-1). The differential production cross sections of the D*(+/-), D-+/-, and D-0 ((D) over bar (0)) mesons are presented in ranges of transverse momentum and pseudorapidity 4 < p(T) < 100 GeV and vertical bar eta vertical bar < 2.1, respectively. The results are compared to several theoretical calculations and to previous measurements.Peer reviewe

MUSiC : a model-unspecific search for new physics in proton-proton collisions at root s=13TeV

Results of the Model Unspecific Search in CMS (MUSiC), using proton-proton collision data recorded at the LHC at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), are presented. The MUSiC analysis searches for anomalies that could be signatures of physics beyond the standard model. The analysis is based on the comparison of observed data with the standard model prediction, as determined from simulation, in several hundred final states and multiple kinematic distributions. Events containing at least one electron or muon are classified based on their final state topology, and an automated search algorithm surveys the observed data for deviations from the prediction. The sensitivity of the search is validated using multiple methods. No significant deviations from the predictions have been observed. For a wide range of final state topologies, agreement is found between the data and the standard model simulation. This analysis complements dedicated search analyses by significantly expanding the range of final states covered using a model independent approach with the largest data set to date to probe phase space regions beyond the reach of previous general searches.Peer reviewe

An embedding technique to determine ττ backgrounds in proton-proton collision data

An embedding technique is presented to estimate standard model tau tau backgrounds from data with minimal simulation input. In the data, the muons are removed from reconstructed mu mu events and replaced with simulated tau leptons with the same kinematic properties. In this way, a set of hybrid events is obtained that does not rely on simulation except for the decay of the tau leptons. The challenges in describing the underlying event or the production of associated jets in the simulation are avoided. The technique described in this paper was developed for CMS. Its validation and the inherent uncertainties are also discussed. The demonstration of the performance of the technique is based on a sample of proton-proton collisions collected by CMS in 2017 at root s = 13 TeV corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 41.5 fb(-1).Peer reviewe

Search for Physics beyond the Standard Model in Events with Overlapping Photons and Jets

Results are reported from a search for new particles that decay into a photon and two gluons, in events with jets. Novel jet substructure techniques are developed that allow photons to be identified in an environment densely populated with hadrons. The analyzed proton-proton collision data were collected by the CMS experiment at the LHC, in 2016 at root s = 13 TeV, and correspond to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The spectra of total transverse hadronic energy of candidate events are examined for deviations from the standard model predictions. No statistically significant excess is observed over the expected background. The first cross section limits on new physics processes resulting in such events are set. The results are interpreted as upper limits on the rate of gluino pair production, utilizing a simplified stealth supersymmetry model. The excluded gluino masses extend up to 1.7 TeV, for a neutralino mass of 200 GeV and exceed previous mass constraints set by analyses targeting events with isolated photons.Peer reviewe

Search for a light pseudoscalar Higgs boson in the boosted mu mu tau tau final state in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV

A search for a light pseudoscalar Higgs boson (a) decaying from the 125 GeV (or a heavier) scalar Higgs boson (H) is performed using the 2016 LHC proton-proton collision data at root s = 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1), collected by the CMS experiment. The analysis considers gluon fusion and vector boson fusion production of the H, followed by the decay H -> aa -> mu mu tau tau, and considers pseudoscalar masses in the range 3.6 aa -> mu mu tau tau, down to 1.5 (2.0)x10(-4) for m(H) = 125 (300) GeV. Model-dependent limits on B(H -> aa) are set within the context of two Higgs doublets plus singlet models, with the most stringent results obtained for Type-III models. These results extend current LHC searches for heavier a bosons that decay to resolved lepton pairs and provide the first such bounds for an H boson with a mass above 125 GeV.Peer reviewe

Calibration of the CMS hadron calorimeters using proton-proton collision data at root s=13 TeV

Methods are presented for calibrating the hadron calorimeter system of theCMSetector at the LHC. The hadron calorimeters of the CMS experiment are sampling calorimeters of brass and scintillator, and are in the form of one central detector and two endcaps. These calorimeters cover pseudorapidities vertical bar eta vertical bar ee data. The energy scale of the outer calorimeters has been determined with test beam data and is confirmed through data with high transverse momentum jets. In this paper, we present the details of the calibration methods and accuracy.Peer reviewe

Measurement of the t(t)over-barb(b)over-bar production cross section in the all-jet final state in pp collisions at root s=13 TeV

A measurement of the production cross section of top quark pairs in association with two b jets (t (t) over barb (b) over bar) is presented using data collected in proton-proton collisions at root s=13 TeV by the CMS detector at the LHC corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 35.9 fb(-1). The cross section is measured in the all-jet decay channel of the top quark pair by selecting events containing at least eight jets, of which at least two are identified as originating from the hadronization of b quarks. A combination of multivariate analysis techniques is used to reduce the large background from multijet events not containing a top quark pair, and to help discriminate between jets originating from top quark decays and other additional jets. The cross section is determined for the total phase space to be 5.5 +/- 0.3 (stat)(-1.3)(+)(1.6) (syst)pb and also measured for two fiducial t (t) over barb (b) over bar, definitions. The measured cross sections are found to be larger than theoretical predictions by a factor of 1.5-2.4, corresponding to 1-2 standard deviations. (C) 2020 The Author. Published by Elsevier B.V.Peer reviewe