Techniques for Understanding Unstructured Code

Within the maintenance activity, a great deal of time is spent in the process of understanding unstructured code prior to changing or fixing the program. This involves the comprehension of complex control structures. While automated processes are available to structure entire programs, there is a need for less formal structuring processes to be used by practicing professionals on small programs or local sections of code. This paper presents methods for restructuring complex sequence, selection, and iteration structures into structured logic. The procedures are easily taught and they result in solutions of reduced complexity as compared to the original code. Whether the maintenance programmer uses these procedures simply for understanding, or for actually re-writing the program, they will,simplify efforts on unstructured code

A Comparative Examinati on of Systems Analysis Techniques

The systems industry has now experienced al most three decades of growth and devel opment. In that period, a 1 arge number of analysis tools and techniques have been proposed to aid the development process. Early systems were supported by analysis techniques which had been used for some time in precomputer systems. Next, the precomputer techniques \u27were modified to meet some of the unique requirements of computer based systems. Succeeding generations of analysis tools continued to provide improved support to the analysis process. In recent years, a series of structured analysis tools and techniques has been introduced to the industry. At this point, a large number of competing analysis techniques exist and are widely used. However, they are not cl early understood by many practici ng professi onal s. They tend to be i ncompl ete, requi ri ng careful eval uation and integration to result in coherent analysis processes. Unfortunately, the 1 iterature on the subject tends to concentrate on the strengths of individual tool s, often implying that a single analysis process can address all needs. In reality, all analysis tools and techniques are incompl ete. While specific approaches provide support for specific analysis problems, none cover all of the system issues of interest. Traditional techniques tended to provide good detail on input and output detail. In addition, traditional analysis approaches cl arified flows of information through the organization. Later approaches considered data storage and provided tool s to represent procedural system aspects. Structured techniques concentrate on the structure of data fl ows, data, and control . Unfortunately, modern analysis approaches exhibit improvements in some areas of analysis while neglecting some of the strengths of older techniques. This paper presents a comparative examination of analysis techniques to aid practicing professionals in the choice of tool s for devel opment efforts. The comparison i s supported by a set of dimensions which represent the various system aspects of interest during analysis. These dimensions include considerations of system structure, functions, procedure, input detail, output detail, and mechanisms responsible for functions. In addition, analysis techniques may be compared in terms of their ability to support high and low level analysis and to support effective communication between systems professionals and their customers. The comparison of analysis techniques clearly shows that traditional approaches failed to consider system structure i ssues. However, modern tools fail to consi der some of the traditi onal issues of interest. For exampl e, most of the , structured analysis methods fail to provide any support for I/0 detail. In addition, almost all of the currently popul ar analysis techniques assume that all functions will be implemented in software. Only SADT and some of the older techniques support the analysis of mechanisms responsible for functions. Current man-machine concerns make mechanism analysis critical. The comparison of techniques indicates a need for the combination of multiple tools to provide complete coverage of the issues of interest during analysis. In the comparison, the strongest approaches were those which explicitly required the use of multiple tools. For exampl e, HIPO is a package which is quite compl ete, despite its age. The comparison process provides sufficient detail to support the choice of techniques which can be combined into complete packages

The Effects of Maintenance Assignments On Goal Congruence For Programmers and Analysts

The effect of varying amounts of maintenance work on perceptions of role conflict, role clarity, and reward clarity was analyzed in ten organizations representative of widely varying computing environments. The organizations had one characteristic in common-productivity of maintenance personnel was satisfactory, consistent with that of personnel assigned to new development work. The research revealed significant differences in perceptions of congruency between high maintenance and low maintenance employees. High maintenance employees appear to attain much higher levels of role clarity and reward clarity and much lower role conflic

engineering human renal epithelial cells for transplantation in regenerative medicine

Abstract Cellular transplantation may treat several human diseases by replacing damaged cells and/or providing a local source of trophic factors promoting regeneration. We utilized human renal epithelial cells (hRECs) isolated from cadaveric donors as a cell model. For efficacious implementation of hRECs for treatment of kidney diseases, we evaluated a novel encapsulation strategy for immunoisolation of hRECs and lentiviral transduction of the Green Fluorescent Protein (GFP) as model gene for genetic engineering of hRECs to secrete desired trophic factors. In specific, we determined whether encapsulation through conformal coating and/or GFP transduction of hRECs allowed preservation of cell viability and of their trophic factor secretion. To that end, we optimized cultures of hRECs and showed that aggregation in three-dimensional spheroids significantly preserved cell viability, proliferation, and trophic factor secretion. We also showed that both wild type and GFP-engineered hRECs could be efficiently encapsulated within conformal hydrogel coatings through our fluid dynamic platform and that this resulted in further improvement of cell viability and trophic factors secretion. Our findings may lay the groundwork for future therapeutics based on transplantation of genetically engineered human primary cells for treatment of diseases affecting kidneys and potentially other tissues

The Effects of Body Tempering on Force Production, Flexibility and Muscle Soreness in Collegiate Football Athletes

There has been limited research to explore the use of body tempering and when the use of this modality would be most appropriate. This study aimed to determine if a body tempering intervention would be appropriate pre-exercise by examining its effects on perceived soreness, range of motion (ROM), and force production compared to an intervention of traditional stretching. The subjects for this study were ten Division 1 (D1) football linemen from Sacred Heart University (Age: 19.9 ± 1.5 years, body mass: 130.9 ± 12.0 kg, height: 188.4 ± 5.1 cm, training age: 8.0 ± 3.5 years). Subjects participated in three sessions with the first session being baseline testing. The second and third sessions involved the participants being randomized to receive either the body tempering or stretching intervention for the second session and then receiving the other intervention the final week. Soreness using a visual analog scale (VAS), ROM, counter movement jump (CMJ) peak force and jump height, static jump (SJ) peak force and jump height, and isometric mid-thigh pull max force production were assessed. The results of the study concluded that body tempering does not have a negative effect on muscle performance but did practically reduce perceived muscle soreness. Since body tempering is effective at reducing soreness in athletes, it can be recommended for athletes as part of their pre-exercise warmup without negatively effecting isometric or dynamic force production

Audience responses to representations of family-assisted suicide on British television

Reflecting on different generic conventions, this study highlights the strengths and weaknesses of documentaries and soap operas in addressing the societal and the personal dimensions of family-assisted suicide. Based on an analysis of YouTube user comments, this study compares how audience members respond to representations of family-assisted suicide in British documentaries and soap operas broadcast between 2010 and 2016. The thematic analysis of comments shows key differences between audience engagement with factual and fictional representations. Markers of a political engagement with this sensitive social issue occur more frequently in comments on documentaries than in comments on soap operas. Comments on soap operas are frequently expressions of emotion, or displays of specialist soap opera knowledge

Prescribed fire affects female white-tailed deer habitat use during summer lactation

a b s t r a c t Prescribed fire commonly is used to manage habitat for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Although the effects of fire on forage availability for deer have been studied, how female deer use burned areas is not well known, particularly as it relates to fire season and the years-since-fire. We used GPS tracking data from 16 adult female white-tailed deer to assess the effects of fire season and yearssince-fire on habitat use during summer lactation. Females selected unburned drainages and older (>1 yr-since-fire) burned areas, and avoided recently burned areas. Individuals with a greater percentage of their summer core area burned expanded the size of their summer home range but did not change summer core area size. Furthermore, summer core area site fidelity (i.e., % overlap between 2011 and 2012 core areas) decreased as the percentage of the 2011 summer core area burned in 2012 increased. Female deer increased selection of burned areas as years-since-fire increased, likely because there was a temporary loss of cover immediately following fire with plants slowly regenerating the subsequent growing seasons. Likewise, to avoid areas depleted of cover, females shifted their core areas away from recent burns when possible but increased their core area size when burned areas were unavoidable (i.e., a large portion of their home range was burned). Burning large contiguous areas may initially have a negative effect on female deer during lactation because of the depletion of cover

San Francisco Delta Risk Assessment Year 1 Report

The Relative Contributions of Contaminants to Environmental Risk in the Upper San Francisco Estuary: Progress Report Year 1 Prepared for: The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Prepared by: Wayne G. Landis, Steven R. Eikenbary, Ethan A. Brown, Colter P. Lemons, Emma E. Sharpe, and April J. Markiewicz Institute of Environmental Toxicology, Huxley College of the Environment Western Washington University Bellingham, WA 98225 June 30, 202

San Francisco Delta Risk Assessment Year 1 Report Appendices

The Relative Contributions of Contaminants to Environmental Risk in the Upper San Francisco Estuary: Progress Report Year 1: Appendices Prepared for: The Metropolitan Water District of Southern California Prepared by: Wayne G. Landis, Steven R. Eikenbary, Ethan A. Brown, Colter P. Lemons, Emma E. Sharpe, and April J. Markiewicz Institute of Environmental Toxicology, Huxley College of the Environment Western Washington University Bellingham, WA 98225 June 30, 202

Sensitive periods for the effect of child maltreatment on psychopathology symptoms in adolescence

Introduction: Child maltreatment is among the strongest risk factors for mental disorders. However, little is known about whether there are ages when children may be especially vulnerable to its effects. We sought to identify potential sensitive periods when exposure to the 2 most common types of maltreatment (neglect and harsh physical discipline) had a particularly detrimental effect on youth mental health. Methods: Data came from the Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study (FFCWS), a birth cohort oversampled from “fragile families” (n=3,474). Maltreatment was assessed at 3, 5, and 9 years using an adapted version of the Parent-Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS-PC). Using least angle regression, we examined the relationship between repeated measures of exposure to maltreatment on psychopathology symptoms at age 15 (Child Behavior Checklist; CBCL/6-18). For comparison, we evaluated the strength of evidence to support the existence of sensitive periods in relation to an accumulation of risk model. Results: We identified sensitive periods for harsh physical discipline, whereby psychopathology symptom scores were highest among girls exposed at age 9 (r2=0.67 internalizing symptoms; r2=1% externalizing) and among boys exposed at age 5 (r2=0.41%). However, for neglect, the accumulation of risk model explained more variability in psychopathology symptoms for both boys and girls. Conclusion: Child maltreatment may have differential effects based on the child’s sex, type of exposure, and the age it occurs. These findings provide additional evidence for clinicians assessing the benefits and drawbacks of screening efforts and point towards mechanisms driving increased vulnerability to psychopathology