An Empirical Study on Type Annotations

Type annotations connect variables to domain-specific types. They enable the power of type checking and can detect faults early. In practice, type annotations have a reputation of being burdensome to developers. We lack, however, an empirical understanding of how and why they are burdensome. Hence, we seek to measure the baseline accuracy and speed for developers making type annotations to previously unseen code. We also study the impact of one or more type suggestions. We conduct an empirical study of 97 developers using 20 randomly selected code artifacts from the robotics domain containing physical unit types. We find that subjects select the correct physical type with just 51% accuracy, and a single correct annotation takes about 2 minutes on average. Showing subjects a single suggestion has a strong and significant impact on accuracy both when correct and incorrect, while showing three suggestions retains the significant benefits without the negative effects. We also find that suggestions do not come with a time penalty. We require subjects to explain their annotation choices, and we qualitatively analyze their explanations. We find that identifier names and reasoning about code operations are the primary clues for selecting a type. We also examine two state-of-the-art automated type annotation systems and find opportunities for their improvement.

Latest Developments in Membrane (Bio)Reactors

The integration of membranes inside a catalytic reactor is an intensification strategy to combine separation and reaction steps in one single physical unit. In this case, a selective removal or addition of a reactant or product will occur, which can circumvent thermodynamic equilibrium and drive the system performance towards a higher product selectivity. In the case of an inorganic membrane reactor, a membrane separation is coupled with a reaction system (e.g., steam reforming, autothermal reforming, etc.), while in a membrane bioreactor a biological treatment is combined with a separation through the membranes. The objective of this article is to review the latest developments in membrane reactors in both inorganic and membrane bioreactors, followed by a report on new trends, applications, and future perspectives.

Multi-criteria Prioritization for Sub-watersheds in Medium River Basin using AHP and Influence Approaches

Watershed is unique bio-physical unit of the Earth surface and source of resources to the human, animal and plants. AHP based multi-criteria analysis is suitable for prioritization of sub-watersheds in medium river basin for planning, management and development. Twenty five criterion i.e. area, morphimery, geology, slope, soil, rainfall and population density were selected for prioritization of medium watersheds of Upper Mula basin in Maharashtra (India). Correlation analysis is suitable for ranking the criterion selected for prioritization. Texture Ratio (25.94%), drainage texture (12.97%), stream order (8.65%), total stream length (6.49%) and ruggedness number (5.19%) show higher influences on development of watershed structure in the study area. Further, criterion like geology, rainfall, soil and population were show considerable influence in prioritization of sub-watersheds in medium river basin. Influences were estimated based on weights calculated using AHP technique. Values of influences were normalized using distribution of particular criterion within sub-watersheds. Watersheds are classified into high, moderate and low priorities. The methodology formulated in this study can be effective tool for quick prioritization of medium and major watersheds for planning and management for development.

Multi-criteria Prioritization for Sub-watersheds in Medium River Basin using AHP and Influence Approaches

Watershed is unique bio-physical unit of the Earth surface and source of resources to the human, animal and plants. AHP based multi-criteria analysis is suitable for prioritization of sub-watersheds in medium river basin for planning, management and development. Twenty five criterion i.e. area, morphimery, geology, slope, soil, rainfall and population density were selected for prioritization of medium watersheds of Upper Mula basin in Maharashtra (India). Correlation analysis is suitable for ranking the criterion selected for prioritization. Texture Ratio (25.94%), drainage texture (12.97%), stream order (8.65%), total stream length (6.49%) and ruggedness number (5.19%) show higher influences on development of watershed structure in the study area. Further, criterion like geology, rainfall, soil and population were show considerable influence in prioritization of sub-watersheds in medium river basin. Influences were estimated based on weights calculated using AHP technique. Values of influences were normalized using distribution of particular criterion within sub-watersheds. Watersheds are classified into high, moderate and low priorities. The methodology formulated in this study can be effective tool for quick prioritization of medium and major watersheds for planning and management for development.

Multi-Criteria Watershed Prioritization of Kas Basin in Maharashtra India: AHP and Influence Approaches

Watershed is unique bio-physical unit of the Earth’s surface and source of resources to the people. These resources are being exploited for various purposes. AHP based multi-criteria analysis is useful for prioritization of watersheds for planning, management and development. Nineteen criterion i.e. Rb, Lb, A, Lb, P, Dd, P, Fs, Rf, Re, CC, Dt, T, Di, If, Rh1, Rn , slope and soils were selected for prioritization of sub-watersheds of Kas basin in Maharashtra (India). Correlation analysis suitable for robust judgment for ranking the criterion was used for prioritization of selected watersheds. Drainage intensity (27.80%), texture ratio (13.90%), bifurcation ratio (9.27%), geology (6.95%) and basin length (5.56%) show higher influence on formation of watershed structure in the region. Influences of criterion were estimated based on weights calculated using AHP techniques. Values of influences were normalized using distribution of selected criterion within the sub-watersheds. Watersheds were classified into three categories of priorities: high, moderate and low priorities. The methodology formulated in this study can be efficient tool for rapid prioritization of watersheds for planning and management for development.