Statically Checking Web API Requests in JavaScript

Many JavaScript applications perform HTTP requests to web APIs, relying on the request URL, HTTP method, and request data to be constructed correctly by string operations. Traditional compile-time error checking, such as calling a non-existent method in Java, are not available for checking whether such requests comply with the requirements of a web API. In this paper, we propose an approach to statically check web API requests in JavaScript. Our approach first extracts a request's URL string, HTTP method, and the corresponding request data using an inter-procedural string analysis, and then checks whether the request conforms to given web API specifications. We evaluated our approach by checking whether web API requests in JavaScript files mined from GitHub are consistent or inconsistent with publicly available API specifications. From the 6575 requests in scope, our approach determined whether the request's URL and HTTP method was consistent or inconsistent with web API specifications with a precision of 96.0%. Our approach also correctly determined whether extracted request data was consistent or inconsistent with the data requirements with a precision of 87.9% for payload data and 99.9% for query data. In a systematic analysis of the inconsistent cases, we found that many of them were due to errors in the client code. The here proposed checker can be integrated with code editors or with continuous integration tools to warn programmers about code containing potentially erroneous requests.Comment: International Conference on Software Engineering, 201

Opportunities in Software Engineering Research for Web API Consumption

Nowadays, invoking third party code increasingly involves calling web services via their web APIs, as opposed to the more traditional scenario of downloading a library and invoking the library's API. However, there are also new challenges for developers calling these web APIs. In this paper, we highlight a broad set of these challenges and argue for resulting opportunities for software engineering research to support developers in consuming web APIs. We outline two specific research threads in this context: (1) web API specification curation, which enables us to know the signatures of web APIs, and (2) static analysis that is capable of extracting URLs, HTTP methods etc. of web API calls. Furthermore, we present new work on how we combine (1) and (2) to provide IDE support for application developers consuming web APIs. As web APIs are used broadly, research in supporting the consumption of web APIs offers exciting opportunities.Comment: Erik Wittern and Annie Ying are both first author

A point mutation in the hair cell nicotinic cholinergic receptor prolongs cochlear inhibition and enhances noise protection

The transduction of sound in the auditory periphery, the cochlea, is inhibited by efferent cholinergic neurons projecting from the brainstem and synapsing directly on mechanosensory hair cells. One fundamental question in auditory neuroscience is what role(s) this feedback plays in our ability to hear. In the present study, we have engineered a genetically modified mouse model in which the magnitude and duration of efferent cholinergic effects are increased, and we assess the consequences of this manipulation on cochlear function. We generated the Chrna9L9′T of knockin mice with a threonine for leucine change (L9′T) at position 9′ of the second transmembrane domain of the α9 nicotinic cholinergic subunit, rendering α9-containing receptors that were hypersensitive to acetylcholine and had slower desensitization kinetics. The Chrna9L9′T allele produced a 3-fold prolongation of efferent synaptic currents in vitro. In vivo, Chrna9L9′T mice had baseline elevation of cochlear thresholds and efferent-mediated inhibition of cochlear responses was dramatically enhanced and lengthened: both effects were reversed by strychnine blockade of the α9α10 hair cell nicotinic receptor. Importantly, relative to their wild-type littermates, Chrna9L9′T/L9′T mice showed less permanent hearing loss following exposure to intense noise. Thus, a point mutation designed to alter α9α10 receptor gating has provided an animal model in which not only is efferent inhibition more powerful, but also one in which sound-induced hearing loss can be restrained, indicating the ability of efferent feedback to ameliorate sound trauma.Fil: Taranda, Julian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Tufts University School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Maison, Stéphane F.. Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary; Estados UnidosFil: Ballestero, Jimena Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Katz, Eleonora. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Savino, Jessica. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Vetter, Douglas E.. Tufts University School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Boulter, Jim. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Liberman, M. Charles. Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary; Estados UnidosFil: Fuchs, Paul A.. The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Elgoyhen, Ana Belen. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Medicina. Departamento de Farmacología; Argentin

Cancer Morbidity in Lamp Manufacturing Workers

A historical prospective study of cancer in lamp manufacturing workers in one plant was conducted. All men and women who worked for a total of at least 6 months and were employed at some time between 1960 and 1975 were included. Work histories were abstracted and subjects were divided according to whether they had worked in the coiling and wire drawing area (CWD). Cancer morbidity from 1964 to 1982 was ascertained via the provincial registry, and was compared with the site-specific incidence in Ontario, adjusting for age, sex and calendar period. Of particular interest were primary breast and gynecological cancers in women. The cancers of a priori concern were significantly increased in women in CWD, but not elsewhere in the plant. The excess was greatest in those with more than 5 yr exposure (in CWD) and more than 15 yr since first working in CWD, with eight cases of breast and gynecological cancers observed in this category compared with 2.67 expected. Only three cancers occurred in men in CWD. Environmental measurements had not been made in the past and little information was available on substances used in the 1940s and 1950s, the period when the women with the highest excess began employment. It is known that methylene chloride and trichlorethylene have been used, but not enough is known about the dates and patterns of use to draw any conclusions about their relationship with the increase in disease

A Point Mutation in the Hair Cell Nicotinic Cholinergic Receptor Prolongs Cochlear Inhibition and Enhances Noise Protection

The transduction of sound in the auditory periphery, the cochlea, is inhibited by efferent cholinergic neurons projecting from the brainstem and synapsing directly on mechanosensory hair cells. One fundamental question in auditory neuroscience is what role(s) this feedback plays in our ability to hear. In the present study, we have engineered a genetically modified mouse model in which the magnitude and duration of efferent cholinergic effects are increased, and we assess the consequences of this manipulation on cochlear function. We generated the Chrna9L9′T line of knockin mice with a threonine for leucine change (L9′T) at position 9′ of the second transmembrane domain of the α9 nicotinic cholinergic subunit, rendering $\alpha$9-containing receptors that were hypersensitive to acetylcholine and had slower desensitization kinetics. The Chrna9L9′T allele produced a 3-fold prolongation of efferent synaptic currents in vitro. In vivo, Chrna9L9′T mice had baseline elevation of cochlear thresholds and efferent-mediated inhibition of cochlear responses was dramatically enhanced and lengthened: both effects were reversed by strychnine blockade of the $\alpha$9$\alpha$10 hair cell nicotinic receptor. Importantly, relative to their wild-type littermates, Chrna9$^{L9′T/L9′T}$ mice showed less permanent hearing loss following exposure to intense noise. Thus, a point mutation designed to alter $\alpha$9$\alpha$10 receptor gating has provided an animal model in which not only is efferent inhibition more powerful, but also one in which sound-induced hearing loss can be restrained, indicating the ability of efferent feedback to ameliorate sound trauma

The evaluability bias in charitable giving: Saving administration costs or saving lives?

We describe the “evaluability bias”: the tendency to weight the importance of an attribute in proportion to its ease of evaluation. We propose that the evaluability bias influences decision making in the context of charitable giving: people tend to have a strong preference for charities with low overhead ratios (lower administrative expenses) but not for charities with high cost-effectiveness (greater number of saved lives per dollar), because the former attribute is easier to evaluate than the latter. In line with this hypothesis, we report the results of four studies showing that, when presented with a single charity, people are willing to donate more to a charity with low overhead ratio, regardless of cost-effectiveness. However, when people are presented with two charities simultaneously—thereby enabling comparative evaluation—they base their donation behavior on cost-effectiveness (Study 1). This suggests that people primarily value cost-effectiveness but manifest the evaluability bias in cases where they find it difficult to evaluate. However, people seem also to value a low overhead ratio for its own sake (Study 2). The evaluability bias effect applies to charities of different domains (Study 3). We also show that overhead ratio is easier to evaluate when its presentation format is a ratio, suggesting an inherent reference point that allows meaningful interpretation (Study 4)

A Prospective Case-Control Study

Background: Few studies have assessed the effect of prothrombotic blood abnormalities on the risk of deep vein thrombosis (DVT) with hormone replacement therapy (HRT). Methods: We studied postmenopausal women with suspected DVT in whom HRT use and prothrombotic blood abnormalities were sought. Cases had unprovoked DVT and controls had no DVT and without DVT risk factors. The risk of DVT was determined in women with and without prothrombotic abnormalities. Results: A total of 510 postmenopausal women with suspected DVT were assessed; 57 cases and 283 controls were identified. Compared to HRT, nonusers without the factor V Leiden mutation, the risk of DVT was increased in estrogen-progestin HRT users (odds ratio [OR], 3.2; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.2-8.6) and in nonusers with the factor V Leiden mutation (OR, 5.3; 1.9-15.4) and appears multiplied in users of estrogen-progestin HRT with the factor V Leiden mutation (OR, 17.1; 3.7-78). Compared to HRT, nonusers with normal factor VIII, the risk of DVT was increased in estrogen-progestin HRT users with normal factor VIII (OR, 2.8; 1.0-7.9) and in HRT nonusers with the highest factor VIII quartile (OR, 6.0; 2.1-17), and appears to be multiplied in women who are users of estrogen-progestin HRT with the highest factor VIII quartile (OR, 17.0; 3.6-80). Conclusions: In postmenopausal women who are estrogen-progestin HRT users, the presence of the factor V Leiden mutation or an elevated factor VIII level appears to have a multiplicative effect on their overall risk of DVT, increasing it 17-fold compared to women without these blood abnormalities who are HRT nonusers

Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography Compared with Invasive Mediastinal Staging in Non-small Cell Lung Cancer: Results of Mediastinal Staging in the Early Lung Positron Emission Tomography Trial

IntroductionPatients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) require careful preoperative staging to define resectability for potential cure. 18Fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography combined with computed tomography (18FDG PET-CT) is widely used to stage NSCLC. If the mediastinum is positive on PET-CT examination, some practitioners conclude that the patient is inoperable and refer the patient for nonsurgical treatment.MethodsIn this analysis of a previously reported trial comparing PET-CT with conventional imaging in the diagnostic work-up of patients with clinical stage I, II, or IIIA NSCLC, we determined the accuracy of PET-CT in mediastinal staging compared with invasive mediastinal staging either by mediastinoscopy alone or by mediastinoscopy combined with thoracotomy.ResultsAll 149 patients had mediastinal nodal staging at mediastinoscopy alone (14), thoracotomy alone (64), or both (71). The sensitivity of PET-CT was 70% (95% confidence interval [CI], 48–85%), and specificity was 94% (95% CI, 88–97%). Of 22 patients with a PET-CT interpreted as positive for mediastinal nodes, 8 did not have tumor. The positive predictive value and negative predictive value were 64% (95% CI, 43–80%) and 95% (95% CI, 90–98%), respectively. Based on PET-CT alone, eight patients would have been denied potentially curative surgery if the mediastinal abnormalities detected by PET-CT had not been evaluated with an invasive mediastinal procedure.ConclusionsPET-CT assessment of the mediastinum is associated with a clinically relevant false-positive result. Our study confirms the need for pathologic confirmation of mediastinal lymph node abnormalities detected by PET-CT

A phase 1 trial evaluating thioridazine in combination with cytarabine in patients with acute myeloid leukemia

We completed a phase 1 dose-escalation trial to evaluate the safety of a dopamine receptor D2 (DRD2) antagonist thioridazine (TDZ), in combination with cytarabine. Thirteen patients 55 years and older with relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia (AML) were enrolled. Oral TDZ was administered at 3 dose levels: 25 mg (n = 6), 50 mg (n = 4), or 100 mg (n = 3) every 6 hours for 21 days. Intermediate-dose cytarabine was administered on days 6 to 10. Dose-limiting toxicities (DLTs) included grade 3 QTc interval prolongation in 1 patient at 25 mg TDZ and neurological events in 2 patients at 100 mg TDZ (gait disturbance, depressed consciousness, and dizziness). At the 50-mg TDZ dose, the sum of circulating DRD2 antagonist levels approached a concentration of 10 mM, a level noted to be selectively active against human AML in vitro. Eleven of 13 patients completed a 5-day lead-in with TDZ, of which 6 received TDZ with hydroxyurea and 5 received TDZ alone. During this period, 8 patients demonstrated a 19% to 55% reduction in blast levels, whereas 3 patients displayed progressive disease. The extent of blast reduction during this 5-day interval was associated with the expression of the putative TDZ target receptor DRD2 on leukemic cells. These preliminary results suggest that DRD2 represents a potential therapeutic target for AML disease. Future studies are required to corroborate these observations, including the use of modified DRD2 antagonists with improved tolerability in AML patients. This trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov as #NCT02096289