Allowing Overlapping Boundaries in Source Code using a Search Based Approach to Concept Binding

One approach to supporting program comprehension involves binding concepts to source code. Previously proposed approaches to concept binding have enforced nonoverlapping boundaries. However, real-world programs may contain overlapping concepts. This paper presents techniques to allow boundary overlap in the binding of concepts to source code. In order to allow boundaries to overlap, the concept binding problem is reformulated as a search problem. It is shown that the search space of overlapping concept bindings is exponentially large, indicating the suitability of sampling-based search algorithms. Hill climbing and genetic algorithms are introduced for sampling the space. The paper reports on experiments that apply these algorithms to 21 COBOL II programs taken from the commercial financial services sector. The results show that the genetic algorithm produces significantly better solutions than both the hill climber and random search

Similarity in Programs

An overview of the concept of program similarity is presented. It divides similarity into two types - syntactic and semantic - and provides a review of eight categories of methods that may be used to measure program similarity. A summary of some applications of these methods is included. The paper is intended to be a starting point for a more comprehensive analysis of the subject of similarity in programs, which is critical to understand if progress is to be made in fields such as clone detection

Effects of physical activity and obesity on hypertension: A narrative mini-review of the main effective mechanisms

Physical activity (PA) and obesity are effective interventions for hypertension. The current study is a review to explain possible mechanisms related to the effects of PA and obesity on hypertension. To this end, several scientific databases were searched using the keyword "hypertension" and also some English articles related to obesity and PA were investigated. Then, the mechanisms of obesity and PA associated with hypertension were extracted from the collected articles. Overall, obesity causes an increase in renin-angiotensin-aldosterone (RAA) systems, harmful changes in lipid and lipoprotein profile, a decrease in insulin sensitivity, as well as harmful changes in adipokines, oxidative stress, and inflammatory factors. PA improves the above-mentioned changes caused by obesity. Overall, PA mainly via an effect on oxidative stress, inflammation, endothelial cells, the elasticity of arteries, body weight, the activity of the RAA system, activity of parasympathetic and renal function as well as improve the insulin sensitivity has positive effects on hypertension. It should be noted that the effects of PA against hypertension is highly variable and they are related to PA modes, environmental and genetic factors

A clustering genetic algorithm for software modularisation with a multiple hill climbing approach

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Ultrasound as a feasible method for the assessment of malrotation

Background: In malrotation the position of third portion of duodenum (D3) is always intramesenteric. Demonstration of normal retromesenteric-retroperitoneal position of D3 on ultrasound (US) can rule out malrotation. The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of US in demonstrating the retroperitoneal D3. Material and Methods: Abdominal US study was done for various indications in 60 newborns and infants (mean age: 33 days [range: 4-100 days]; 56.7% male) by an expert pediatric radiologist. The position of D3 and its adjacent structures was evaluated in axial and longitudinal planes by linear and curved transducers. Results: A normal retromesenteric-retroperitoneal D3 located between the superior mesenteric artery and the aorta was seen on US in all patients, including those with extensive gas in the bowel. The mean time of D3 observation was 47.8 s (10-180 s). Ultrasound was also capable of demonstrating D3 structure, diameter, content, adjacent structures, relative position of the superior mesenteric artery and vein. Conclusions: Ultrasound is a simple, fast and highly accurate tool to confirm the retroperitoneal position of D3. Ultrasound can be used as a screening method for malrotation eliminating the need for unnecessary barium studies

Evaluating Key Statements Analysis

Key Statement Analysis extracts from a program, statements that form the core of the program’s computation. A good set of key statements is small but has a large impact. Key statements form a useful starting point for understanding and manipulating a program. An empirical investigation of three kinds of key statements is presented. The three are based on Bieman and Ott’s principal variables. To be effective, the key statements must have high impact and form a small, highly cohesive unit. Using a minor improvement of metrics for measuring impact and cohesion, key statements are shown to capture about 75 % of the semantic effect of the function from which they are drawn. At the same time, they have cohesion about 20 percentage points higher than the corresponding function. A statistical analysis of the differences shows that key statements have higher average impact and higher average cohesion (p <0.001)