Sampling Plans for Control-Inspection Schemes Under Independent and Dependent Sampling Designs With Applications to Photovoltaics

The evaluation of produced items at the time of delivery is, in practice, usually amended by at least one inspection at later time points. We extend the methodology of acceptance sampling for variables for arbitrary unknown distributions when additional sampling infor- mation is available to such settings. Based on appropriate approximations of the operating characteristic, we derive new acceptance sampling plans that control the overall operating characteristic. The results cover the case of independent sampling as well as the case of dependent sampling. In particular, we study a modified panel sampling design and the case of spatial batch sampling. The latter is advisable in photovoltaic field monitoring studies, since it allows to detect and analyze local clusters of degraded or damaged modules. Some finite sample properties are examined by a simulation study, focusing on the accuracy of estimation

Gene expression profile of oral squamous cell carcinomas from Sri Lankan betel quid users

Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is one of the major health problems in Sri Lanka and the disease is associated with the habit of Betel Quid (BQ) chewing. Using 35k oligo microarrays, we analyzed the gene expression profile of 15 Sri Lankan patients diagnosed with OSCCs and pair-wised normal controls and correlated the findings with the clinicopathological data. Following the recording of the scanned array images and data analysis, results for selected candidate genes were verified using QRT-PCR. Upon analysis, a total of 263 genes [71 (27%) of unknown functions previously not reported in OSCCs and 192 (73%) of known functions] were found as differentially expressed between tumors and controls. For the genes with known functions, 66 (34%; such as COL4A1, MMP1, MMP3, PLAU, SPARC and KRT19) were previously reported in OSCC and for the remaining 126 (66%; such as CD47, APOL3, RRAGC, BPIL1 and AZGP1) this is the first report in OSCCs. Hierarchical clustering of the differentially expressed 263 genes grouped the samples into several clusters with the larger one being dominated by tumors of stage 3 and 4. Two cases (a verrucous SCC and an advanced SCC), did not cluster with any of the other samples. We found two main biological pathways (cell communication and integrin-mediated cell adhesion) and 5 gene ontology categories (transcription regulator activity, structural molecule activity, intracellular signaling, cytoskeleton and signal transduction) of relevance to the OSCCs examined. Results from the QRT-PCR verified the results from the microarray experiment. This study provides valuable information on gene expression profile of OSCCs of habitual users of BQ from Sri Lanka. Of particular interest were the list of genes of known and unknown functions and the two biological pathways that we suggest as candidate genes in oral cancers associated with BQ chewing in Southeast Asia, in particular Sri Lanka. The suggested candidate genes might be used as molecular biomarkers in the early detection of the alarming problem of OSCCs in Southeast Asia in association with BQ use. These findings provide valuable information that might help in the selection of possible biomarkers that can be used in early detection of the alarming problem of oral cancer in Southeast Asia.publishedVersio

How the Kano model contributes to Kansei engineering in services

Recent studies show that products and services hold great appeal if they are attractively designed to elicit emotional feelings from customers. Kansei engineering (KE) has good potential to provide a competitive advantage to those able to read and translate customer affect and emotion in actual product and services. This study introduces an integrative framework of the Kano model and KE, applied to services. The Kano model was used and inserted into KE to exhibit the relationship between service attribute performance and customer emotional response. Essentially, the Kano model categorises service attribute quality into three major groups (must-be [M], one-dimensional [O] and attractive [A]). The findings of a case study that involved 100 tourists who stayed in luxury 4- and 5-star hotels are presented. As a practical matter, this research provides insight on which service attributes deserve more attention with regard to their significant impact on customer emotional needs. Statement of Relevance: Apart from cognitive evaluation, emotions and hedonism play a big role in service encounters. Through a focus on delighting qualities of service attributes, this research enables service providers and managers to establish the extent to which they prioritise their improvement efforts and to always satisfy their customer emotions beyond expectation. Keywords: Kansei engineering, emotional feelings, Kano model, service

Single hadron response measurement and calorimeter jet energy scale uncertainty with the ATLAS detector at the LHC

The uncertainty on the calorimeter energy response to jets of particles is derived for the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC). First, the calorimeter response to single isolated charged hadrons is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo simulation using proton-proton collisions at centre-of-mass energies of sqrt(s) = 900 GeV and 7 TeV collected during 2009 and 2010. Then, using the decay of K_s and Lambda particles, the calorimeter response to specific types of particles (positively and negatively charged pions, protons, and anti-protons) is measured and compared to the Monte Carlo predictions. Finally, the jet energy scale uncertainty is determined by propagating the response uncertainty for single charged and neutral particles to jets. The response uncertainty is 2-5% for central isolated hadrons and 1-3% for the final calorimeter jet energy scale.Comment: 24 pages plus author list (36 pages total), 23 figures, 1 table, submitted to European Physical Journal

Search for squarks and gluinos in events with isolated leptons, jets and missing transverse momentum at s√=8 TeV with the ATLAS detector

The results of a search for supersymmetry in final states containing at least one isolated lepton (electron or muon), jets and large missing transverse momentum with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider are reported. The search is based on proton-proton collision data at a centre-of-mass energy s√=8 TeV collected in 2012, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 20 fb−1. No significant excess above the Standard Model expectation is observed. Limits are set on supersymmetric particle masses for various supersymmetric models. Depending on the model, the search excludes gluino masses up to 1.32 TeV and squark masses up to 840 GeV. Limits are also set on the parameters of a minimal universal extra dimension model, excluding a compactification radius of 1/R c = 950 GeV for a cut-off scale times radius (ΛR c) of approximately 30

Measurement of χ c1 and χ c2 production with s√ = 7 TeV pp collisions at ATLAS

The prompt and non-prompt production cross-sections for the χ c1 and χ c2 charmonium states are measured in pp collisions at s√ = 7 TeV with the ATLAS detector at the LHC using 4.5 fb−1 of integrated luminosity. The χ c states are reconstructed through the radiative decay χ c → J/ψγ (with J/ψ → μ + μ −) where photons are reconstructed from γ → e + e − conversions. The production rate of the χ c2 state relative to the χ c1 state is measured for prompt and non-prompt χ c as a function of J/ψ transverse momentum. The prompt χ c cross-sections are combined with existing measurements of prompt J/ψ production to derive the fraction of prompt J/ψ produced in feed-down from χ c decays. The fractions of χ c1 and χ c2 produced in b-hadron decays are also measured

Evidence for the Higgs-boson Yukawa coupling to tau leptons with the ATLAS detector

Results of a search for H → τ τ decays are presented, based on the full set of proton-proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the LHC during 2011 and 2012. The data correspond to integrated luminosities of 4.5 fb−1 and 20.3 fb−1 at centre-of-mass energies of √s = 7 TeV and √s = 8 TeV respectively. All combinations of leptonic (τ → `νν¯ with ` = e, µ) and hadronic (τ → hadrons ν) tau decays are considered. An excess of events over the expected background from other Standard Model processes is found with an observed (expected) significance of 4.5 (3.4) standard deviations. This excess provides evidence for the direct coupling of the recently discovered Higgs boson to fermions. The measured signal strength, normalised to the Standard Model expectation, of µ = 1.43 +0.43 −0.37 is consistent with the predicted Yukawa coupling strength in the Standard Model