An Approach for Displaying the Relations among Main Elements of Object-Oriented Programs

An appropriate understanding of the source code is one of the necessary steps for resolving errors and improving code and design. Two fundamental aspects in Object-Oriented Programs are program elements including classes and packages, and the relations among them. In this paper, a multi-step approach has been presented and implemented for recovering and displaying main elements of an Object-Oriented Program including classes, packages, and the relations among them. This approach has been done through three steps; first, the set of classes, packages, and the relations among them are obtained automatically from the program source code. Second, a code is injected to the program source code to register the information needed during runtime. Finally, the information obtained from previous steps is displayed. The results of this approach can be used for automatic documentation, teaching programming, better understanding and evaluating Object-Oriented Programs, reverse engineering methods for detecting program strengths and weaknesses.DOI:http://dx.doi.org/10.11591/ijece.v3i5.403

Mechanism Design for Complexity-Constrained Bidders

Abstract. A well-known result due to Vickery gives a mechanism for selling a number of goods to interested buyers in a way that achieves the maximum so-cial welfare. In practice, a problem with this mechanism is that it requires the buyers to specify a large number of values. In this paper we study the problem of designing optimal mechanisms subject to constraints on the complexity of the bidding language in a setting where buyers have additive valuations for a large set of goods. This setting is motivated by sponsored search auctions, where the val-uations of the advertisers are more or less additive, and the number of keywords that are up for sale is huge. We give a complete solution for this problem when the valuations of the buyers are drawn from simple classes of prior distributions. For a more realistic class of priors, we show that a mechanism akin to the broad match mechanism currently in use provides a reasonable bicriteria approximation.

Scheduling to minimize gaps and power consumption

This paper considers scheduling tasks while minimizing the power consumption of one or more processors, each of which can go to sleep at a fixed cost α . There are two natural versions of this problem, both considered extensively in recent work: minimize the total power consumption (including computation time), or minimize the number of “gaps” in execution. For both versions in a multiprocessor system, we develop a polynomial-time algorithm based on sophisticated dynamic programming. In a generalization of the power-saving problem, where each task can execute in any of a specified set of time intervals, we develop a (1+23α) -approximation, and show that dependence on α is necessary. In contrast, the analogous multi-interval gap scheduling problem is set-cover hard (and thus not o(lgn) -approximable), even in the special cases of just two intervals per job or just three unit intervals per job. We also prove several other hardness-of-approximation results. Finally, we give an O(n√) -approximation for maximizing throughput given a hard upper bound on the number of gaps.Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (Iran) (Grant Number CS1385-2-01)Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences (Iran) (Grant Number CS1384-6-01

Assessing the feasibility of introducing health insurance in Afghanistan: a qualitative stakeholder analysis

Abstract Background In the last decade, the health status of Afghans has improved drastically. However, the health financing system in Afghanistan remains fragile due to high out-of-pocket spending and reliance on donor funding. To address the country’s health financing challenges, the Ministry of Public Health investigated health insurance as a mechanism to mobilize resources for health. This paper presents stakeholders’ opinions on seven preconditions of implementing this approach, as their understanding and buy-in to such an approach will determine its success. Methods Key informant interviews and focus group discussions were conducted with stakeholders. The interviews focused on perceptions of the seven preconditions of introducing health insurance, and adapting a framework developed by the International Labor Organization. Content analysis was conducted after interviews and discussions were transcribed and coded. Results Almost all of the stakeholders from government agencies, the private sector, and development partners are interested in introducing health insurance in Afghanistan, and they were aware of the challenges of the country’s health financing system. Stakeholders acknowledged that health insurance could be an instrument to address these challenges. However, stakeholders differed in their beliefs about how and when to initiate a health insurance scheme. In addition to increasing insecurity in the country, they saw a lack of clear legal guidance, low quality of healthcare services, poor awareness among the population, limited technical capacity, and challenges to willingness to pay as the major barriers to establishing a successful nationwide health insurance scheme. Conclusions The identified barriers prevent Afghanistan from establishing health insurance in the short term. Afghanistan must progressively address these major impediments in order to build a health insurance system

Case Report of a Vanished Aspirated Foreign Body; Cough may be more Helpful

Foreign body aspiration is a potentially life-threatening event especially in those who are younger than 5 years old. Aspiration could be presented as a spectrum, ranging from absolutely asymptomatic event to more sever events including choking, respiratory distress and cyanosis or even death. Although foreign bodies in lung may not be visualized on X-ray, X-ray radiography is considered as a first step in localizing aspirated foreign bodies. Bronchoscope as rigid or flexible optic fiber is the main device used in removing aspirated foreign bodies. However, in some cases, as the present case report, previous foreign bodies which were localized in lung could travel back to the mouth and be ingested. In this report, we discussed a case of foreign body aspiration in a 10 year-old girl referred to Dr. Sheikh Hospital, Mashhad, Iran, whose foreign body located in the lower lobe of the left lung returned and was ingested before bronchoscopy after some episodes of sever coughing

Assessment of the Blood Lead Level in Children with Unexplained Failure to Thrive (FTT) admitted to Pediatrics Emergency Ward of Ghaem Hospital, Mashhad, Iran

BackgroundLead is a strong and stable toxin, harmful especially to children, pregnant women, and the elderly. Nearly 27% of children aged under 5 years suffer from failure to thrive (FTT). Due to the probable harmful effects of lead poisoning on children’s growth, in this study we aimed to assess the blood lead level in children with unexplained failure to thrive.MethodsThis analytic cross-sectional study was performed on 200 children under 2 years of age who were referred to Ghaem hospital, a referral hospital in Mashhad city-Iran. The participants were divided into two equal groups, one with unexplained FTT (group A), and children with normal weight (group B). Baseline characteristics were obtained by a research-made questionnaire. Blood samples were taken by the hospital nurses who were blind to the study groups. Blood lead level was measured by atomic absorption spectrophotometric method (Perkin Elmer 3030). ResultsThe mean ± standard deviation (SD) of blood lead level in FTT group and control group were 7.3±3.32 µg/dL and 6.37±5.93 µg/dL, respectively. Blood lead level was significantly higher in FTT group than control group (P=0.001). Baseline Charactistics (such as hgender, parental educational level, gestational age, and socio-economic status of the family) were not significantly different between the two groups (P>0.05).ConclusionThe results of our study revealed that blood lead level was higher in children with FTT. So Lead poisoning may be a potential cause of unexplained FTT. So, measuring blood lead level can be useful in diagnostic workup of patients with FTT

Effects of Coenzyme Q10 Level on Clinical Parameters in Cystic Fibrosis Patients

Background: Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is a hereditary autosomal recessive genetic disorder that can affect many organs including the lungs and the digestive system. We aimed to assess the effects of coenzyme Q10 level on clinical parameters in cystic fibrosis patients. Materials and Methods This cross-sectional study was performed on 40 patients (13 females and 19 males) with cystic fibrosis who were admitted in Masih Daneshvari Hospital in Tehran- Iran, in 2017. A researcher-made questionnaire was distributed among them, and then the height, weight and arm circumference of the patients were measured and also their serum Q10 levels were evaluated. Then, the pulmonary function was evaluated using a 6-minute respiration test and a spirometry test. Finally, their total scores were calculated based on Shwachman score. Results: The age range of participants was from 6 to 27 years old. Anthropometric indices such as weight (p=0.02, r=-0.408), age (p=0.016, r=-0.422), height (p=0.002, r=-0.520), birth weight (p=0.0113, R=-0.286), and height at birth (p=0.037, r=-0.37) had a significant negative relationship with coenzyme Q10. There was relationship between anthropometric indices and spirometry tests, including the association of FEV1 (act) with weight (p=0.00), and arm circumference (p=0.00) which were determined. Conclusion: According to the results, there was no direct relationship between muscle mass and Q10. Besides, the mean age of Q10 was greater than that of in age group of 9-16 years old, which can be considered for nutrition or childhood reserves for coenzyme Q10 production, which is decreased due to increasing age and lack of intake or loss of body power for the production of coenzyme Q10

Alpha- 1 Antitrypsin Deficiency in Children: Pulmonary Involvement

Introduction: α1-antitrypsin deficiency (α1-ATD) is one of the most common genetic disorders in white race, a usual cause of liver disease in children, and hepatopulmonary involvement in children and adult. The aim of this case description is presenting a child with early lung disease without liver parenchymal disorder. Case presentation: We describe a 13 year old boy because of exertional dyspnea, wheezing, productive cough and repeated hospital admission due to bronchopneumonia. There was no immune deficiency, sinusitis and allergic lung disease. There was no history of foreign body aspiration. Cystic fibrosis cause ruled out. Protein electrophoresis and serum level α1-AT evaluation documented α1-ATD. The patient was treated with conservative management. Conclusion: This article suggests that if a child presents with chronic pulmonary symptoms, possibility of α1-ATD should be considered and worked up

Oxidative stress in liver of streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice fed a high-fat diet: A treatment role of Artemisia annua L.

Objective. The aim of this study was the investigation of a treatment role of Artemisia annua L. (AA) on liver dysfunction and oxidative stress in high-fat diet/streptozotocin-induced diabetic (HFD/STZ) mice