Extending Abstract Interpretation to Dependency Analysis of Database Applications

Dependency information (data- and/or control-dependencies) among program variables and program statements is playing crucial roles in a wide range of software-engineering activities, e.g. program slicing, information flow security analysis, debugging, code-optimization, code-reuse, code-understanding. Most existing dependency analyzers focus on mainstream languages and they do not support database applications embedding queries and data-manipulation commands. The first extension to the languages for relational database management systems, proposed by Willmor et al. in 2004, suffers from the lack of precision in the analysis primarily due to its syntax-based computation and flow insensitivity. Since then no significant contribution is found in this research direction. This paper extends the Abstract Interpretation framework for static dependency analysis of database applications, providing a semantics-based computation tunable with respect to precision. More specifically, we instantiate dependency computation by using various relational and non-relational abstract domains, yielding to a detailed comparative analysis with respect to precision and efficiency. Finally, we present a prototype semDDA, a semantics-based Database Dependency Analyzer integrated with various abstract domains, and we present experimental evaluation results to establish the effectiveness of our approach. We show an improvement of the precision on an average of 6% in the interval, 11% in the octagon, 21% in the polyhedra and 7% in the powerset of intervals abstract domains, as compared to their syntax-based counterpart, for the chosen set of Java Server Page (JSP)-based open-source database-driven web applications as part of the GotoCode project

The effects of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol on the dopamine system

Δ(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main psychoactive ingredient in cannabis, is a pressing concern to global mental health. Patterns of use are changing drastically due to legalisation, availability of synthetic analogues (‘spice’), cannavaping and aggrandizements in the purported therapeutic effects of cannabis. Many of THC’s reinforcing effects are mediated by the dopamine system. Due to complex cannabinoid-dopamine interactions there is conflicting evidence from human and animal research fields. Acute THC causes increased dopamine release and neuron activity, whilst long-term use is associated with blunting of the dopamine system. Future research must examine the long-term and developmental dopaminergic effects of the drug

Effects of hospital facilities on patient outcomes after cancer surgery: an international, prospective, observational study

© 2022 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article under the CC BY 4.0 licenseBackground: Early death after cancer surgery is higher in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) compared with in high-income countries, yet the impact of facility characteristics on early postoperative outcomes is unknown. The aim of this study was to examine the association between hospital infrastructure, resource availability, and processes on early outcomes after cancer surgery worldwide. Methods: A multimethods analysis was performed as part of the GlobalSurg 3 study—a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study of patients who had surgery for breast, colorectal, or gastric cancer. The primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and 30-day major complication rates. Potentially beneficial hospital facilities were identified by variable selection to select those associated with 30-day mortality. Adjusted outcomes were determined using generalised estimating equations to account for patient characteristics and country-income group, with population stratification by hospital. Findings: Between April 1, 2018, and April 23, 2019, facility-level data were collected for 9685 patients across 238 hospitals in 66 countries (91 hospitals in 20 high-income countries; 57 hospitals in 19 upper-middle-income countries; and 90 hospitals in 27 low-income to lower-middle-income countries). The availability of five hospital facilities was inversely associated with mortality: ultrasound, CT scanner, critical care unit, opioid analgesia, and oncologist. After adjustment for case-mix and country income group, hospitals with three or fewer of these facilities (62 hospitals, 1294 patients) had higher mortality compared with those with four or five (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 3·85 [95% CI 2·58–5·75]; p<0·0001), with excess mortality predominantly explained by a limited capacity to rescue following the development of major complications (63·0% vs 82·7%; OR 0·35 [0·23–0·53]; p<0·0001). Across LMICs, improvements in hospital facilities would prevent one to three deaths for every 100 patients undergoing surgery for cancer. Interpretation: Hospitals with higher levels of infrastructure and resources have better outcomes after cancer surgery, independent of country income. Without urgent strengthening of hospital infrastructure and resources, the reductions in cancer-associated mortality associated with improved access will not be realised. Funding: National Institute for Health and Care Research