Search for: All records

The ATLAS experiment is currently developing columnar analysis frameworks which leverage the Python data science ecosystem. We describe the construction and operation of the infrastructure necessary to support demonstrations of these frameworks, with a focus on those from IRIS-HEP. One such demonstrator aims to process the compact ATLAS data format PHYSLITE at rates exceeding 200 Gbps. Various access configurations and setups on different sites are explored, including direct access to a dCache storage system via Xrootd, the use of ServiceX, and the use of multiple XCache servers equipped with NVMe storage devices. Integral to this study was the analysis of network traffic and bottlenecks, worker node scheduling and disk configurations, and the performance of an S3 object store. The system’s overall performance was measured as the number of processing cores scaled to over 2,000 and the volume of data accessed in an interactive session approached 200 TB. The presentation will delve into the operational details and findings related to the physical infrastructure that underpins these demonstrators. 

We explore the adoption of cloud-native tools and principles to forge flexible and scalable infrastructures, aimed at supporting analysis frameworks being developed for the ATLAS experiment in the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) era. The project culminated in the creation of a federated platform, integrating Kubernetes clusters from various providers such as Tier-2 centers, Tier-3 centers, and from the IRIS-HEP Scalable Systems Laboratory, a National Science Foundation project. A unified interface was provided to streamline the management and scaling of containerized applications. Enhanced system scalability was achieved through integration with analysis facilities, enabling spillover of Jupyter/Binder notebooks and Dask workers to Tier-2 resources. We investigated flexible deployment options for a “stretched” (over the wide area network) cluster pattern, including a centralized “lights out management” model, remote administration of Kubernetes services, and a fully autonomous site-managed cluster approach, to accommodate varied operational and security requirements. The platform demonstrated its efficacy in multi-cluster demonstrators for low-latency analyses and advanced workflows with tools such as Coffea, ServiceX, Uproot and Dask, and RDataFrame, illustrating its ability to support various processing frameworks. The project also resulted in a robust user training infrastructure for ATLAS software and computing on-boarding events. 

This study explores enhancements in analysis speed, WAN bandwidth efficiency, and data storage management through an innovative data access strategy. The proposed model introduces specialized ‘delivery’ services for data preprocessing, which include filtering and reformatting tasks executed on dedicated hardware located alongside the data repositories at CERN’s Tier-0, Tier-1, or Tier-2 facilities. Positioned near the source storage, these services are crucial for limiting redundant data transfers and focus on sending only vital data to distant analysis sites, aiming to optimize network and storage use at those sites. Within the scope of the NSF-funded FABRIC Across Borders (FAB) initiative, we assess this model using an “in-network, edge” computing cluster at CERN, outfitted with substantial processing capabilities (CPU, GPU, and advanced network interfaces). This edge computing cluster features dedicated network peering arrangements that link CERN Tier-0, the FABRIC experimental network, and an analysis center at the University of Chicago, creating a solid foundation for our research. Central to our infrastructure is ServiceX, an R&D software project under the Data Organization, Management, and Access (DOMA) group of the Institute for Research and Innovation in Software for High Energy Physics - IRIS-HEP. ServiceX is a scalable filtering and reformatting service, designed to operate within a Kubernetes environment and deliver output to an S3 object store at an analysis facility. Our study assesses the impact of server-side delivery services in augmenting the existing HEP computing model, particularly evaluating their possible integration within the broader WAN infrastructure. This model could empower Tier-1 and Tier-2 centers to become efficient data distribution nodes, enabling a more cost-effective way to disseminate data to analysis sites and object stores, thereby improving data access and efficiency. This research is experimental and serves as a demonstrator of the capabilities and improvements that such integrated computing models could offer in the HL-LHC era. 

The IRIS-HEP software institute, as a contributor to the broader HEP Python ecosystem, is developing scalable analysis infrastructure and software tools to address the upcoming HL-LHC computing challenges with new approaches and paradigms, driven by our vision of what HL-LHC analysis will require. The institute uses a “Grand Challenge” format, constructing a series of increasingly large, complex, and realistic exercises to show the vision of HL-LHC analysis. Recently, the focus has been demonstrating the IRIS-HEP analysis infrastructure at scale and evaluating technology readiness for production. As a part of the Analysis Grand Challenge activities, the institute executed a “200 Gbps Challenge”, aiming to show sustained data rates into the event processing of multiple analysis pipelines. The challenge integrated teams internal and external to the institute, including operations and facilities, analysis software tools, innovative data delivery and management services, and scalable analysis infrastructure. The challenge showcases the prototypes — including software, services, and facilities — built to process around 200 TB of data in both the CMS NanoAOD and ATLAS PHYSLITE data formats with test pipelines. The teams were able to sustain the 200 Gbps target across multiple pipelines. The pipelines focusing on event rate were able to process at over 30 MHz. These target rates are demanding; the activity revealed considerations for future testing at this scale and changes necessary for physicists to work at this scale in the future. The 200 Gbps Challenge has established a baseline on today’s facilities, setting the stage for the next exercise at twice the scale. 

As CERN approaches the launch of the High Luminosity Large Hadron Collider (HL-LHC) by the decade’s end, the computational demands of traditional simulations have become untenably high. Projections show millions of CPU-years required to create simulated datasets - with a substantial fraction of CPU time devoted to calorimetric simulations. This presents unique opportunities for breakthroughs in computational physics. We show how Quantumassisted Generative AI can be used for the purpose of creating synthetic, realistically scaled calorimetry dataset. The model is constructed by combining D-Wave’s Quantum Annealer processor with a Deep Learning architecture, increasing the timing performance with respect to first principles simulations and Deep Learning models alone, while maintaining current state-of-the-art data quality 

Three-dimensional bio-printing is a rapidly growing field attempting to recreate functional tissues for medical and pharmaceutical purposes. Development of functional tissues and organs requires the ability to achieve large full-scale scaffolds that mimic human organs. It is difficult to achieve large scaffolds that can support themselves without damaging printed cells in the process. The high viscosity needed to support large prints requires high amounts of pressure that diminishes cell viability and proliferation. By working with the rheological, mechanical, and microstructural properties of different compositions, a set of biomaterial compositions was identified to have high structural integrity and shape fidelity without needing a harmful amount of pressure to extrude. Various large scale-scaffolds were fabricated (up to 3.0 cm, 74 layers) using those hybrid hydrogels ensuring geometric fidelity. This effort can ensure to fabricate large scaffolds using 3D bio-printing processes ensuring proper internal and external geometries. 

Despite being a very popular topic and researched by several scientists, the entire 3D bioprinting process is still subjected to several challenges like geometric fidelity, mechanical complexities, cell viability, and proliferation. Rheological investigations along with the proper design of experiments help to explore the physical and mechanical properties of biomaterials and 3D printed scaffolds that are directly associated with their geometric fidelity. To ensure post-printed structural integrity, viscosity thickeners and crosslinkers were used in this research. Mixtures of Carboxymethyl Cellulose (CMC, viscosity enhancer), Alginate, and CaCl2 and CaSO4 (crosslinkers) were prepared at various concentrations maintaining minimum solid content. For each composition, a set of rheological tests was performed in form of flow, thixotropic, amplitude, and frequency tests. This research presents an overview of controlling the rheological properties of various bio-inks that are viscosity enhancer and pre-crosslinkers dependent, which opens doors to looking at 3D bioprinting in a very different way. 

The mass transportation distance rank histogram (MTDRh) was developed to assess the reliability of any given scenario generation process for a two-stage, risk-neutral stochastic program. Reliability is defined loosely as goodness of fit between the generated scenario sets and corresponding observed values over a collection of historical instances. This graphical tool can diagnose over- or under-dispersion and/or bias in the scenario sets and support hypothesis testing of scenario reliability. If the risk-averse objective is instead to minimize CVaR of cost, the only important, or effective, scenarios are those that produce cost in the upper tail of the distribution at the optimal solution. We describe a procedure to adapt the MTDRh for use in assessing the reliability of scenarios relative to the upper tail of the cost distribution. This adaptation relies on a conditional probability distribution derived in the context of assessing the effectiveness of scenarios. For a risk-averse newsvendor formulation, we conduct simulation studies to systematically explore the ability of the CVaR-adapted MTDRh to diagnose different ways that scenario sets may fail to capture the upper tail of the cost distribution near optimality. We conjecture that, as with the MTDRh and its predecessor minimum spanning tree rank histogram, the nature of the mismatch between scenarios and observations can be observed according to the non-flat shape of the rank histogram. On the other hand, scenario generation methods can be calibrated according to uniform distribution goodness of fit to the distribution of ranks. 

Trauma care services are a vital part of all healthcare-based networks as timely accessibility is important for citizens. Trauma care access is even more relevant when unexpected events such as the COVID-19 pandemic overload the capacity of hospitals. Research literature has highlighted that access to trauma care is not equal for all populations, especially when comparing rural and urban groups. In this research we present a decision-making model for the expansion of a trauma hospital network by considering the demand for services of rural communities. The decision making model provides recommendations in terms of where to place additional aeromedical facilities and where to locate additional trauma hospitals. A case study is presented for the state of Texas, where a sensitivity analysis was conducted to consider changes in demand, cost, and the total number of facilities allowed in the network. The results show that the location of new facilities is sensitive to the expected service demand and the maximum number of facilities allowed in the network.