Evaluating Quality Characteristics of Ubiquitous Application Through Means of Quality Models using Meta-metrics Approach

Ubiquitous computing shifted the way how users interact with applications. The demand of information anytime and anywhere impacts the daily life of its users, be it work related or personal. Difficulty arises when determining the quality of ubiquitous application due to lack in appropriate metrics of quality models, which serves as the motivation behind this paper. The aim of this paper is to assess the quality of ubiquitous application using comparative analysis of quality model metrics via meta-metrics approach. Preliminary review mapping was conducted where distinctive quality characteristics of ubiquitous applications from AQUARIUM model are identified. Metrics mapping was then conducted to compare metrics characteristics with quality characteristics via value assignment using meta-metrics technique. Results shows that most of the metrics mapped are not of definitive derivation, providing opportunity to have a more structured and defined measurement function.

An Adaptive Island Model of Population for Neuroevolutionary Ship Handling

This study presents a method for the dynamic value assignment of evolutionary parameters to accelerate, automate and generalise the neuroevolutionary method of ship handling for different navigational tasks and in different environmental conditions. The island model of population is used in the modified neuroevolutionary method to achieve this goal. Three different navigational situations are considered in the simulation, namely, passing through restricted waters, crossing with another vessel and overtaking in the open sea. The results of the simulation examples show that the island model performs better than a single non-divided population and may accelerate some complex and dynamic navigational tasks. This adaptive island-based neuroevolutionary system used for the COLREG manoeuvres and for the finding safe ship’s route to a given destination in restricted waters increases the accuracy and flexibility of the simulation process. The time statistics show that the time of simulation of island NEAT was shortened by 6.8% to 27.1% in comparison to modified NEAT method.

Research on Entity Label Value Assignment Method in Knowledge Graph

The lack of entity label values is one of the problems faced by the application of Knowledge Graph. The method of automatically assigning entity label values still has shortcomings, such as costing more resources during training, leading to inaccurate label value assignment because of lacking entity semantics. In this paper, oriented to domain-specific Knowledge Graph, based on the situation that the initial entity label values of all triples are completely unknown, an Entity Label Value Assignment Method (ELVAM) based on external resources and entropy is proposed. ELVAM first constructs a Relationship Triples Cluster according to the relationship type, and randomly extracts the triples data from each cluster to form a Relationship Triples Subset; then collects the extended semantic text of the entities in the subset from the external resources to obtain nouns. Information Entropy and Conditional Entropy of the nouns are calculated through Ontology Category Hierarchy Graph, so as to obtain the entity label value with moderate granularity. Finally, the Label Triples Pattern of each Relationship Triples Cluster is summarized, and the corresponding entity is assigned the label value according to the pattern. The experimental results verify the effectiveness of ELVAM in assigning entity label values in Knowledge Graph.

Guidance for preparation of in-house reference materials for stable isotope analysis of HCNOS

<p>For many years, it has been recommended that analysts performing stable isotope analysis of H, C, N, O and/or S prepare their own <em>in-house</em> reference materials (RMS) for daily use. These RMs can be used for calibration/normalization of instrumental data as well as for quality control and/or assurance purposes. In this way, commercially available RMs that are the source of traceability for all isotope delta analyses are preserved, ensuring that the isotope delta scales can be maintained for a longer period of time. Furthermore, <em>in-house</em> RMs can be prepared to supplement those that are commercially available, either by extending the available calibration range in terms of isotope delta values, or by consisting of a matrix which is not yet available from RM producers.</p><p>Some guidance is available regarding the required nature or properties of an <em>in-house</em> RM including stability, homogeneity, hygroscopicity and other chemical properties [e.g. Dunn & Carter 2018]. There are also a small number of publications providing some guidance on how to prepare <em>in-house</em> RMs for particular applications [e.g. Carter & Fry 2013, Heile & Hillarie-Marcel 2020]. There is, however, far less guidance available regarding the process of assigning an isotope delta value and associated uncertainty to an <em>in-house</em> RM. The guidance available to certified RM producers such as ISO/IEC 17034:2016 tend to have somewhat stricter requirements than those to be met by an <em>in-house</em> RM for QC purposes.</p><p>Building upon the National Measurement Laboratory’s experience as a CRM producer accredited to ISO/IEC 17034:2016, this presentation will distil the requirements for RM production into simple and clear guidelines for fit-for-purpose production and value-assignment of <em>in-house</em> RMs. This guidance covers five areas: (i) planning and prerequisites; (ii) material selection, preparation and storage; (iii) measurements and assessments; (iv) value assignment and uncertainty estimation; and (v) monitoring and use.</p><p> </p><p>Dunn PJH, Carter JF. Good Practice Guide for Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry. 2nd ed. FIRMS; 2018. ISBN 978-0-948926-33-4. https://www.forensic-isotopes.org/gpg.html</p><p>Carter JF, Fry B. “Do it yourself” reference materials for δ<sup>13</sup>C determinations by isotope ratio mass spectrometry. <em>Anal Bioanal Chem</em>. 2013;405(14):4959-4962.</p><p>Heile J-F, Hillaire-Marcel C. Designing internal reference materials for stable H, C & O isotope measurements in CO<sub>2</sub> and H<sub>2</sub>O. <em>Rapid Commun Mass Spectrom</em>. 2021;35(5)e9008.</p><p>ISO/IEC 17034:2016. General requirements for the competence of reference material producers. Published online 2016.</p>

Measurement of urine albumin by liquid chromatography-isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry and its application to value assignment of external quality assessment samples and certification of reference materials

ObjectivesUrine albumin is measured in clinical laboratories by immunoturbidimetry. However, large biases are observed among the different routine methods. To standardize the measurement of urine albumin, a reference measurement procedure (RMP) and urine albumin certified reference materials (CRMs) are needed.MethodsA candidate RMP for urine albumin based on liquid chromatography-isotope dilution tandem mass spectrometry (LC-IDMS/MS) using human serum albumin as calibration standard was developed. Isotope-labeled human albumin was used as internal standard. Urine samples were digested using trypsin and eight resulting “signature” peptides of albumin were quantified by LC-IDMS/MS. The candidate RMP was employed in value assignment of external quality assessment (EQA) samples and certification of urine albumin reference materials. The commutability of the developed CRMs was assessed against patient samples.ResultsThe candidate RMP (recovery 101.5–103.2% and CV 1.2–3.3% at about 7–40 mg/L) met optimal performance goal. The lower limit of quantification was 0.03 mg/L as determined by signal-to-noise method. The EQA results from clinical laboratories using different immunoturbidimetric methods were generally comparable with assigned target values determined by the candidate RMP, with albumin concentrations ranging from 5 to 226 mg/L. Urine albumin reference materials (two levels) certified using the candidate RMP showed good commutability in a preliminary study.ConclusionsWith optimal method precision and trueness, as well as comparability with routine methods, the developed RMP may be used for value assignment of EQA samples or certification of reference materials, which are important pillars in urine albumin method standardization.

Have hierarchical three-body mergers been detected by LIGO/Virgo?

ABSTRACT One of the proposed channels of binary black hole mergers involves dynamical interactions of three black holes. In such scenarios, it is possible that all three black holes merge in a so-called hierarchical merger chain, where two of the black holes merge first and then their remnant subsequently merges with the remaining single black hole. Depending on the dynamical environment, it is possible that both mergers will appear within the observable time window. Here, we perform a search for such merger pairs in the public available LIGO and Virgo data from the O1/O2 runs. Using a frequentist p-value assignment statistics, we do not find any significant merger pair candidates, the most significant being GW170809-GW151012 pair. Assuming no observed candidates in O3/O4, we derive upper limits on merger pairs to be ∼11–110 yr−1 Gpc−3, corresponding to a rate that relative to the total merger rate is ∼0.1−1.0. From this, we argue that both a detection and a non-detection within the next few years can be used to put useful constraints on some dynamical progenitor models.