10 Years of Object-Oriented Analysis on H1

Over a decade ago, the H1 Collaboration decided to embrace the object-oriented paradigm and completely redesign its data analysis model and data storage format. The event data model, based on the RooT framework, consists of three layers - tracks and calorimeter clusters, identified particles and finally event summary data - with a singleton class providing unified access. This original solution was then augmented with a fourth layer containing user-defined objects. This contribution will summarise the history of the solutions used, from modifications to the original design, to the evolution of the high-level end-user analysis object framework which is used by H1 today. Several important issues are addressed - the portability of expert knowledge to increase the efficiency of data analysis, the flexibility of the framework to incorporate new analyses, the performance and ease of use, and lessons learned for future projects.Comment: 14th International Workshop on Advanced Computing and Analysis Techniques in Physics Researc

Head and neck target delineation using a novel PET automatic segmentation algorithm

Purpose To evaluate the feasibility and impact of using a novel advanced PET auto-segmentation method in Head and Neck (H&N) radiotherapy treatment (RT) planning. Methods ATLAAS, Automatic decision Tree-based Learning Algorithm for Advanced Segmentation, previously developed and validated on pre-clinical data, was applied to 18F-FDG-PET/CT scans of 20 H&N patients undergoing Intensity Modulated Radiation Therapy. Primary Gross Tumour Volumes (GTVs) manually delineated on CT/MRI scans (GTVpCT/MRI), together with ATLAAS-generated contours (GTVpATLAAS) were used to derive the RT planning GTV (GTVpfinal). ATLAAS outlines were compared to CT/MRI and final GTVs qualitatively and quantitatively using a conformity metric. Results The ATLAAS contours were found to be reliable and useful. The volume of GTVpATLAAS was smaller than GTVpCT/MRI in 70% of the cases, with an average conformity index of 0.70. The information provided by ATLAAS was used to grow the GTVpCT/MRI in 10 cases (up to 10.6 mL) and to shrink the GTVpCT/MRI in 7 cases (up to 12.3 mL). ATLAAS provided complementary information to CT/MRI and GTVpATLAAS contributed to up to 33% of the final GTV volume across the patient cohort. Conclusions ATLAAS can deliver operator independent PET segmentation to augment clinical outlining using CT and MRI and could have utility in future clinical studies

A workflow system as an information support to companies operating in the area of sustainable construction

Doktorska disertacija obravnava področje dostopnosti informacij, pomembnih za odločanje o izbiri storitev in proizvodov pri prenovi stavbe. Te so pogosto neurejene in razpršene po celotnem spletu ter zapisane v različnih formatih. Posledično je lahko iskanje želenih informacij zelo zamudno in nepregledno. Informacije lahko zajamemo v delotoku, ki predstavlja zaporedje povezanih storitev, izvajanih v primerno orkestriranih korakih. Osnovna hipoteza trdi, da lahko model informacijskega sistema delotokov zajame visoko stopnjo ključnih informacij in znanj na področju trajnostne gradnje in načrtovanja ter kot tak predstavlja primerno informacijsko podporo gradbenim podjetjem in investitorjem. Potrebe po informacijski podpori ugotavljamo s pomočjo raziskave med ključnimi deležniki na področju gradbeništva. Rezultati izvedene raziskave razkrivajo velike potrebe po dostopu do urejenih informacij in kažejo na veliko pripravljenosti deležnikov za sodelovanje ter medsebojno deljenje informacij. Izdelan je pregled obstoječih rešitev in dognanj na omenjenem področju. Predstavljen je trajnosten pogled na stavbe s pregledom najbolj razširjenih in aktualnih pristopov trajnostnega ocenjevanja stavb, ki razkriva razlike pri pripisovanju teže posameznim trajnostnim vidikom. V nadaljevanju izdelamo pregled stanja slovenskega stavbnega fonda, ki razkriva, da je velika večina stavb potencialno potrebnih prenove. Predstavljene so tudi semantične tehnologije, ki omogočajo izdelavo naprednih informacijskih sistemov in ki jih zato uporabimo v nadaljnjem delu. V nadaljevanju dela je predstavljen razvoj prototipa informacijskega sistema, ki temelji na delotokih. Opisana je zasnova arhitekture informacijskega sistema, model sprejemanja odločitev in razvita ontologija, ki podpira zapis informacij v delotoke in hrambo informacij v pripadajoči podatkovni bazi OWL/RDF. V zaključnem delu je predstavljena validacija prototipa informacijskega sistema, ki kaže, da smo uspeli zadostiti opredeljenim zahtevam. Postavljena hipoteza je torej potrjena.The research presented in this thesis is concerned with the accessibility of information on the world web, crucial for the decision making process regarding products and services required for building refurbishment. This information is often dispersed, poorly structured and written in various formats. As a consequence, information search on the web can be extremely time-consuming and difficult to carry out. The information can be sequenced in a workflow consisting of a series of interconnected services which are executed in orchestrated steps. The research hypothesis postulates that the workflow information system model is able to encompass a large proportion of key information and knowledge from the sustainable construction field. As such, it represents efficient information support to potential clients and construction contracting companies. Information support requirements of various stakeholders from the construction sector were identified by using a survey. The obtained results exhibit a clear need for structured information, as well as a significant willingness of stakeholders to share the information. An overview of the existing solutions and accomplishments in sustainable construction is presented. The concept of sustainability assessment is presented, along with an overview of the most frequently employed approaches for the sustainability assessment of buildings, which reveals differences in assigning relative importance to individual sustainability aspects. An overview of the Slovenian residential building fund is carried out. It shows that the majority of residential building stock is in need of refurbishment. Further, semantic technologies that enable the establishment of advanced information systems are presented. The second part presents the development of a workflow-based prototype information system. The design of the information system architecture is presented, together with the decision making model and the ontology that supports information recording into workflows and data storage into the OWL/RDF database. The validation of the information system is presented in the concluding part. It is shown that the system requirements defined in the beginning of the research were achievedthe initial hypothesis is therefore confirmed

Genetic parameters for�resistance to the Salmonella abortusovis vaccinal strain Rv6 in sheep

An experimental population (1216 lambs from 30 sires) of the Inra401 sheep was created in an Inra flock to allow QTL detection for susceptibility to Salmonella infection, wool and carcass traits. The Inra401 is a sheep composite line developed from two breeds: Berrichon du Cher and Romanov. At 113 days of age on average, the lambs were inoculated intravenously with 10(8 )Salmonella abortusovis Rv6 (vaccinal strain). They were slaughtered 10 days after the inoculation. Several traits were measured at inoculation and/or slaughtering to estimate the genetic resistance of the lambs to Salmonella infection: specific IgM and IgG1 antibody titres, body weight loss, spleen and pre-scapular node weights and counts of viable Salmonella persisting in these organs. This paper presents a quantitative analysis of the genetic variability of the traits related to salmonellosis susceptibility. The heritabilities of the traits varied between 0.10 and 0.64 (significantly different from zero). Thus, in sheep as well as in other species, the determinism of resistance to Salmonella infection is under genetic control. Moreover, the correlations between the traits are in agreement with the known immune mechanisms. The genetic variability observed should help QTL detection

Intercalibration of the barrel electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS experiment at start-up

Calibration of the relative response of the individual channels of the barrel electromagnetic calorimeter of the CMS detector was accomplished, before installation, with cosmic ray muons and test beams. One fourth of the calorimeter was exposed to a beam of high energy electrons and the relative calibration of the channels, the intercalibration, was found to be reproducible to a precision of about 0.3%. Additionally, data were collected with cosmic rays for the entire ECAL barrel during the commissioning phase. By comparing the intercalibration constants obtained with the electron beam data with those from the cosmic ray data, it is demonstrated that the latter provide an intercalibration precision of 1.5% over most of the barrel ECAL. The best intercalibration precision is expected to come from the analysis of events collected in situ during the LHC operation. Using data collected with both electrons and pion beams, several aspects of the intercalibration procedures based on electrons or neutral pions were investigated

Cloud Computing As a Tool for Enhancing Ecological Goals?

Cloud computing has been introduced as a promising information technology (IT) that embodies not only economic advantages in terms of increased efficiency but also ecological gains through saving energy. The latter has become particularly important in view of the rising energy costs of IT. The present study analyzes whether necessary preconditions for accepting cloud computing as a new infrastructure, such as awareness and perceived net value, exist on the part of the users. The analysis is based on a combined research framework of the theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the technology acceptance model (TAM) in a cloud computing setting. Two consumer surveys, the one to elicit beliefs and the second to gain insight into the ranking of the variables, are employed. This study uses structural equation modeling (SEM) to evaluate the hypotheses. The results indicate support for the proposed research framework. Surprisingly however, the ecological factor does not play a role in forming cloud computing intentions, regardless of prior knowledge or experience. Empirical evidence of this study suggests increasing efforts for informing actual and potential users, particularly in respect to possible ecological advantages through applying the new IT infrastructure

Forced Solid-State Interactions for the Selective “Turn-On” Fluorescence Sensing of Aluminum Ions in Water Using a Sensory Polymer Substrate

Selective and sensitive solid sensory substrates for detecting Al(III) in pure water are reported. The material is a flexible polymer film that can be handled and exhibits gel behavior and membrane performance. The film features a chemically anchored salicylaldehyde benzoylhydrazone derivative as an aluminum ion fluorescence sensor. A novel procedure for measuring Al(III) at the ppb level using a single solution drop in 20 min was developed. In this procedure, a drop was allowed to enter the hydrophilic material for 15 min before a 5 min drying period. The process forced the Al(III) to interact with the sensory motifs within the membrane before measuring the fluorescence of the system. The limit of detection of Al(III) was 22 ppm. Furthermore, a water-soluble sensory polymer containing the same sensory motifs was developed with a limit of detection of Al(III) of 1.5 ppb, which was significantly lower than the Environmental Protection Agency recommendations for drinking water.Spanish Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad-Feder (MAT2011-22544) and by the Consejería de Educación - Junta de Castilla y León (BU232U13)

Expression analysis onto microarrays of randomly selected cDNA clones highlights HOXB13 as a marker of human prostate cancer

In a strategy aimed at identifying novel markers of human prostate cancer, we performed expression analysis using microarrays of clones randomly selected from a cDNA library prepared from the LNCaP prostate cancer cell line. Comparisons of expression profiles in primary human prostate cancer, adjacent normal prostate tissue, and a selection of other (nonprostate) normal human tissues, led to the identification of a set of clones that were judged as the best candidate markers of normal and/or malignant prostate tissue. DNA sequencing of the selected clones revealed that they included 10 genes that had previously been established as prostate markers: NKX3.1, KLK2, KLK3 (PSA), FOLH1 (PSMA), STEAP2, PSGR, PRAC, RDH11, Prostein and FASN. Following analysis of the expression patterns of all selected and sequenced genes through interrogation of SAGE databases, a further three genes from our clone set, HOXB13, SPON2 and NCAM2, emerged as additional candidate markers of human prostate cancer. Quantitative RT–PCR demonstrated the specificity of expression of HOXB13 in prostate tissue and revealed its ubiquitous expression in a series of 37 primary prostate cancers and 20 normal prostates. These results demonstrate the utility of this expression-microarray approach in hunting for new markers of individual human cancer types

Randomised short-term trial of high-span versus low-span APAP for treating sleep apnoea

PURPOSE: Auto-titrating continuous positive airway pressure (APAP) devices were developed to improve treatment efficacy and compliance in patients with obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome (OSAS). Since there are insufficient data on the optimal pressure range setting, we aimed to compare the adherence, efficacy and tolerability of treatment with high-span versus low-span APAP. METHODS: Seventy-six newly diagnosed OSAS patients fulfilling the treatment criteria were randomised to receive high-span (HS, range 4-15cmH2O, n?=?38) or low-span (LS, range 8-12cmH2O, n?=?38) APAP. Patients were assessed at 1 and 3 months. RESULTS: Median Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS) was 13 (IQR, 6-16) and median apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) was 35.9 (IQR, 27.6-56.3). There were no significant differences in baseline demographic and clinical characteristics between groups. Overall, no significant differences were found at the first month assessment. After 3 months of therapy, we found again no differences in residual AHI or ESS. However, the group HS proved less adherent than group LS, respectively, with median 87 % (IQR, 60.5-97.5) versus 94 % (IQR, 80.0-98.3) of the nights using =4 h (P?=?0.014) and mean (±SD) usage 5.7?±?1.6 versus 6.4?±?1.2 h/night (P?=?0.049). The group HS reported more frequently nasal congestion, excessive oronasal dryness and nocturnal awakenings of at least moderate intensity, the latter with statistical significance (P?=?0.005). CONCLUSIONS: Both pressure ranges appear to be equally effective to correct AHI and to improve symptoms. Though, patients with high-span APAP were less compliant to treatment, raising issues about the tolerability of wide pressure range settings of these devices.T Pinto has received financial support from Linde and Vitalaire (Healthcare Providers) for attending symposia and honoraria for speaking at symposia from Philips. After the conclusion of the study, JC Winck has started working in a global position for Linde. The remaining authors declare that they have no conflict of interest