Managing technical debt through software metrics, refactoring and traceability

Technical Debt (TD) is a concept borrowed from the financial domain to express extra maintenancecosts caused by short-term solutions that compromise internal quality in order to meet urgent business demands. TD can occur throughout the life cycle of software development, and it can be relatedto different artifacts. Thus, different TD types exist, among which Code TD, Design TD andDocumentation TD are the most prevalent ones. To efficiently manage TD there are several activitiesthat can be performed, like the identification and prioritisation of TD instances, activities aimingat TD repayment, as well as activities aiming to prevent the further accumulation of TD.The research problem addressed in this thesis concerns the management of TD with respect to thethree aforementioned TD types (i.e., Code, Design and Documentation TD). Specifically, in termsof Code TD it concerns the lack of high accuracy in tooling that supports the identification, prioritisationand resolution of bad smells. In terms of Design TD, it concerns the lack of systematic supportfor identifying incorrectly instantiated design patterns, as well as the lack of guidance on howto refactor the design. In terms of Documentation TD, it concerns the lack of tools for preventingthe occurrence of insufficient, incomplete or outdated requirements documentation. The overallsolution consists of the application of software metrics, as well as refactoring and traceability techniquesto alleviate these shortcomings

Experimental study of localised deformation in porous sandstones

This PhD thesis presents a laboratory study aiming at a better understanding of the stress-strain response of the Vosges sandstone (porous rock) tested at a range of confining pressures (i.e., 20-190 MPa) and different axial strain levels. Localised deformation was captured at different scales by a combination of full-field experimental methods, including Ultrasonic Tomography (2D), Acoustic Emissions (3D), X-ray Tomography (3D), and 3D volumetric Digital Image Correlation, plus thin section and Scanning Electron Microscope observations (2D). These experimental methods were performed before, during and after a number of triaxial compression tests. The combined use of the experimental techniques, which have different sensitivity and resolution, described the processes of shear band and shear-enhanced compaction band generation, which formed at low to intermediate and relatively high confining pressures, respectively. Pure compaction bands were not identified. The deformation bands were characterised as zones of localised shear and/or volumetric strain and were captured by the experimental methods as features of low ultrasonic velocities, places of inter- and intra-granular cracking and structures of higher density material. The two main grain-scale mechanisms: grain breakage (damage) and porosity reduction (compaction) were identified in both shear band and shear-enhanced compaction band formation, which presented differences in the proportions of the mechanism and their order of occurrence in time

Development of stabilized FK506 binding protein 51 variants & generation of ligand-based affinity chromatography beads

The presented work covers two projects: the stabilization of the F67-out conformation for the FK506 binding protein 51 (FKBP51) and the generation of a ligand-based affinity matrix. FKBP51 is a prominent example of a transient binding pocket that is key to achieve selectivity in ligand development. In FKBP51, the transient binding pocket is characterized by a rearrangement of residue F67 outward from the binding pocket, also called the F67-out conformation. The aim was to generate protein constructs with a stabilized F67-out conformation to identify hits in screenings targeting this specific protein conformation. By rational protein engineering, I succeeded to generate FKBP51 variants with a stabilized F67-out conformation. Techniques used to covalently fix the conformation in this out conformation include crosslinking approaches such as photocrosslinking, click chemistry, or cysteine-directed crosslinking, as well as chemical protein synthesis. The obtained variants showed improvement in binding affinity to a conformationally selective ligand tracer in the fluorescence polarization (FP) assay. Overall, the FKBP51FK1 F67C/K60C variant with a disulfide bridge emerged as the most suitable variant for fragment screening. The reasons for this are the facile production of the protein variant in high quantity and purity, the improvement in binding affinity for conformationally selective ligands, and the possibility of crystallizing the protein in its apo form in a F67-out-like conformation. Initial fragment-based screening by thermoshift assay followed by FP assay resulted in promising hits with an amine-substituted quinoline and isoquinoline-core structure. This is the first step on a new path to identifying new lead structures. In addition, a ligand-based affinity chromatography matrix was generated. This should allow FKBP51 to be enriched from complex biological mixtures as well as identify new interaction partners and/or off-targets. In this work, four ligands were successfully immobilized and tested, with loading and elution conditions optimized. Two systems were found to be suitable for the enrichment of FKBP51 from complex biological mixtures. Either SAFit1 is directly immobilized and elution takes place under harsh conditions, or a SAFit1 analog with low affinity (here called SAFit-LA) is immobilized so that elution can be performed competitively with SAFit1

Η απόδοση της γλωσσικής μεταφοράς κατά την επιχώρια προσαρμογή διεθνών εταιρικών δικτυακών τόπων

The main purpose of this paper is to describe and analyze the techniques that are chosen for the translation of verbal metaphors within the context of international corporate website localization towards the English, the French and the Greek locale. In order to analyze our corpus, we adopt a conceptual approach to the metaphorical figure of speech which has been developed by Lakoff and Johnson (1980). According to this approach, the metaphorical unit is relocated from single propositions to metaphorical concepts. Furthermore, Sperber and Wilson’s (1995, 2004) Relevance Theory is integrated into our analysis as it is expected to allow for a deeper understanding of the way conceptual metaphors function persuasively within a corporate website. The application of the above-mentioned theoretical framework along with the concept of the translational strategy of loyalty (Grammenidis 2009) in specific examples of localized websites are expected to reveal the defining role cultural differences play in the use of verbal metaphors on an interlingual level