172,087 research outputs found
Forensic inference and statistics for the evaluation and interpretation of evidence
No full textEvidence in a criminal investigation and trial should be evaluated and interpreted in the best manner possible. An excellent, and widely supported, approach to evaluation is one - by nature probabilistic - based on the likelihood ratio, the ratio of the probability of the evidence if a certain (set of) proposition(s) (e.g., prosecution) is assumed true to the probability of the evidence if a contrasting (set of) proposition(s) (e.g., defence) is assumed true. The justification for this approach is given together with a note of the benefits arising from the use of this ratio. There is a discussion about the meaning of probability as a measure of belief, the use of numerical assignments and verbal expressions and the use of the likelihood ratio for interpretation. It is explained how beliefs can be updated in the light of new evidence, how multiple pieces of evidence may be evaluated with the use of graphical structures and how uncertainty associated with the numerical evaluation, which is probabilistic, may be handled. A procedure for judgement of the quality of the mathematical formulae used in the calculation of the likelihood ratio is outlined. A conclusion gives three important principles that an expert, and a forensic scientist in particular, should follow when trying to understand the importance of evidence
Verso una deontologia medica europea. Analisi della bozza del "Documento di Consenso di Sanremo 2010"
No full textL'articolo analizza la bozza di un codice deontologico medico europeo, evidenziando le continuità tra le diverse tradizioni nazionali
Verso una deontologia medica europea. Analisi della bozza del "Documento di Consenso di Sanremo 2010"
No full textL'articolo analizza la bozza di un codice deontologico medico europeo, evidenziando le continuità tra le diverse tradizioni nazionali
KM3NeT Acquisition Control: advanced techniques and best practices in data acquisition software development
No full textThe Control Unit of the KM3NeT Data Acquisition is the software suite that is respon-
sible for operating all the components of the KM3NeT telescopes in a coordinated and scientifically
proficient way. It controls a wide span of parameters and procedures, from the power supplies, to
the operating voltages of more than 64000 photomultipliers in each detector block, to the setup of
the various trigger algorithms that are applied online. The same software suite is also designed to be
used in all test and qualification benches, from single Digital Optical Modules to full Detection Units.
As the KM3NeT detectors are being incrementally built, the Control Unit is employed in a variety
of setups and configurations, and is a dynamic software project, still adapting to shifting needs.
The conflicting requirements of flexibility and stability are reconciled by proper code develop-
ment policies. The Control Unit is able to cope with dynamically changing scenarios of multiple
firmware generations coexisting in the same detector, for various reasons including hardware com-
patibility as well as testing purposes. The code also allows for static verification and extensive unit
tests.
A Central Logic Board Simulator software was also developed to help testing the whole
architecture. Such a simulator provides properly faked slow control parameters, features a fully
specification-compliant state machine and can generate fake data with specific profiles to feed the
Trigger and Data Acquisition System. In this way, offline integration tests can be executed at each
new software release, ensuring their smooth deployment to production sites and minimising chances
of mistakes by operators
Automatic microscope systems in the CHORUS experiment
No full textCHORUS searches for tau neutrino appearance in interactions of an originally pure nu submu beam with an active target built with nuclear emulsions. The sample of events located and studied up to now (about 170 000)(Phys. Lett. B, to be published) could not have been collected without automatic microscope systems. The principles and the features of the technique are outlined; further details are then given about various implementations. The status and future developments of the various systems are described
Nuclear emulsion scanning in opera: methods and results
No full textThe design of the OPERA experiment was also motivated and justified by the revival of nuclear emulsion handling and scanning in a modem, automatic fashion, as it took previously place, although at a smaller scale, for the CHORUS experiment. Nuclear emulsions are still the only detector to allow a very detailed topological study of an interaction/decay vertex at the sub-micrometer level. They are most suitable in experiments where topology is a non-ambiguous signature of a certain class of events. This is for instance the case of neutrino oscillation detection and measurement by the study of a tau-appearance signal. The design and performance of the two different scanning systems used in OPERA (ESS and S-UTS) are discussed. Their unique features in terms of speed, precision, background suppression, particle identification, and kinematical reconstruction are shown in close connection with the technical details that make them possible. Unequalled precision, almost vanishing background, and a wealth of information about each single event are the results presented
Decision analysis in forensic science
No full textForensic scientists are routinely faced with the problems of making decisions under circumstances of uncertainty (i.e., to perform or not perform a test). A decision making model in forensic science is proposed, illustrated with an example from the field of forensic genetics. The approach incorporates available evidence and associated uncertainties with the assessment of utilities (or desirability of the consequences). The paper examines a general example for which identification will be made of the decision maker, the possible actions, the uncertain states of nature, the possible source of evidence and the kind of utility assessments required. It is argued that a formal approach can help to clarify the decision process and give a coherent means of combining elements to reach a decision
The ReCaS Infrastructure for the Neutrino Astronomy with KM3NeT
No full textThe goals and principles of the KM3NeT project are presented. The large needs in terms of computing power are met thanks to the sizable contribution of the Rete di Calcolo per SuperB e altre (ReCaS) infrastructure hosted at the University of Naples. The KM3NeT computing model is reviewed and details are shown of how it is implemented and supported by means of ReCaS facilities and technologies
Discussion on the paper by Cowell, Graversen, Lauritzen and Mortera (Analysis of forensic DNA mixtures with artefacts)
No full textDNA is now routinely used in criminal investigations and court cases, although DNA samples taken at crime scenes are of varying quality and therefore present challenging problems for their interpretation. We present a statistical model for the quantitative peak information obtained from an electropherogram of a forensic DNA sample and illustrate its potential use for the analysis of criminal cases. In contrast with most previously used methods, we directly model the peak height information and incorporate important artefacts that are associated with the production of the electropherogram. Our model has a number of unknown parameters, and we show that these can be estimated by the method of maximum likelihood in the presence of multiple unknown individuals contributing to the sample, and their approximate standard errors calculated; the computations exploit a Bayesian network representation of the model. A case example from a UK trial, as reported in the literature, is used to illustrate the efficacy and use of the model, both in finding likelihood ratios to quantify the strength of evidence, and in the deconvolution of mixtures for finding likely profiles of the individuals contributing to the sample. Our model is readily extended to simultaneous analysis of more than one mixture as illustrated in a case example. We show that the combination of evidence from several samples may give an evidential strength which is close to that of a single-source trace and thus modelling of peak height information provides a potentially very efficient mixture analysis
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