Blending process assessment and employees competencies assessment in very small entities

The ISO/IEC 29110 series aims to provide Very Small Entities (VSEs) with a set of standards based on subsets of existing standards. Process capability determination does not seem suitable for a VSE in terms of return on investment. Our approach proposes to move the viewpoint away from process and to the human resources. We propose a blended assessment model using the ISO/IEC 15504 for the level 1, but based on competency assessment for higher capability levels

Towards a serious game to teach ISO/IEC 12207 software lifecycle process: an interactive learning approach

ISO/IEC12207 training is a key element to provide an ability to software development organizations for selecting a set of required processes, measuring the performance of these processes, and continuously improving them. Traditionally, such training is either performed by an expert individual to the software quality management personnel most likely in form of a seminar in a classroom environment. This may also be given by a suitability qualified professional, such as a registered auditor. However, software requirements are usually subject to change, and therefore such training is not enough to teach the substantial details of the entire standard. This has led to increased reports of complications, which demotivates organization to use this standard. To improve the quality of training, a 3D serious game was proposed for the software practitioners. The preliminary idea here is that the game employs 3D office landscape to provide a realistic virtual environment ensuring that the training will be based on real word like situations. Before building a prototype for our serious game, we consulted five industrial experts whose works are related with ISO standards. To give these practitioners an opportunity to explore the conceptual design and raise some potential problems, the semi-structured interview method was used. Based on the suggestions of experts, dynamics and mechanics of the proposed game were updated. Taken together, initial results suggest that a serious game for teaching ISO/IEC 12207 should be useful for individuals who are interested to learn more about the standard

In vivo evolution of tumour cells after the generation of double-strand DNA breaks

In vitro, the ratio of single- to double-strand DNA breaks (DSB) and their absolute values determine the cell death pathway. The consequences of the generation of various numbers of DSB generated in vivo in tumour cells have been analysed in two different experimental tumour models. Synchronisation of DSB generation and control of their number have been achieved using different doses of bleomycin (BLM) and tumour cell permeabilisation by means of locally delivered electric pulses. According to BLM dose, different cell death pathways are observed. At a low therapeutic dose, a mitotic cell death pathway is detected. It is characterised by the appearance of 'atypical mitosis', TUNEL and caspase-3 positive, 24 h after the treatment, and later by the presence of typical apoptotic figures, mainly TUNEL positive but caspase-3 negative. Caspase-3 is thus an early marker of apoptosis. Mitotic cell death is also followed by lymphocytic infiltration reaction. At high doses of BLM, pseudoapoptosis is detected within a few minutes after the treatment. These cell death pathways are discussed as a function of the number of DSB generated, by comparison with previous results obtained in vitro using BLM or ionising radiation

Performance improvement of silicon solar cells by nanoporous silicon coating

In the present paper the method is shown to improve the photovoltaic parameters of screenprinted silicon solar cells by nanoporous silicon film formation on the frontal surface of the cell using the electrochemical etching. The possible mechanisms responsible for observed improvement of silicon solar cell performance are discussed.Исследовано улучшение фотоэлектрических параметров кремниевых солнечных элементов, полученных методом трафаретной печати, за счет образования слоя пористого кремния на фронтальной поверхности элемента. Рассмотрены возможные механизмы, ответственные за улучшение производительности кремниевой солнечной ячейки.Досліджено поліпшення фотоелектричних параметрів кремнієвих сонячних елементів, отриманих методом трафаретного друку, за рахунок утворення шару пористого кремнію на фронтальній поверхні елемента. Розглянуто можливі механізми, відповідальні за поліпшення продуктивності кремнієвого сонячного елемента

ProDecAdmin: a game scenario design tool for software project management training

Teaching Software Project Management (SPM) for Information Technology (IT) learners is a relevance issue. The necessity of teaching SPM in a highly practical way moves trainers towards the use of new methods and techniques such as simulations, serious games or gamification strategies. The majority of the existing serious games for SPM do not offer flexibility, in terms of the ability to provide and dynamically change game scenarios during the life of the serious game, and not allow assessing learners’ new skill automatically. In this paper, we introduce the administration tool of the serious game ProDec, that allow trainers to design the game scenarios of the game trying to overcome the lacks found in the scope of serious games for SPM

Activit\ue9 potentielle de m\ue9thanogen\ue8se dans les sols, tourbi\ue8res, s\ue9diments lacustres et du r\ue9servoir hydro\ue9lectrique Robert-Bourassa dans le moyen Nord-Canadien

L\u2019immersion des sols lors de la cr\ue9ation d\u2019un r\ue9servoir hydro\ue9lectrique pourrait augmenter, au moins \ue0 court terme, le flux de m\ue9thane vers l\u2019atmosph\ue8re. Afin d\u2019\ue9valuer la contribution potentielle de tels am\ue9nagements \ue0 la production de m\ue9thane, nous avons \ue9tudi\ue9 l\u2019activit\ue9 potentielle des bact\ue9ries m\ue9thanog\ue8nes dans les sols de la for\ueat bor\ue9ale non immerg\ue9s et immerg\ue9s lors de la mise en eau d\u2019un r\ue9servoir, ainsi que des s\ue9diments lacustres. De cette \ue9tude comparative, il ressort que les tourbi\ue8res inond\ue9es p\ue9riodiquement (zone de marnage) ou en permanence, peuvent contribuer d\u2019avantage \ue0 la production de m\ue9thane que les tourbi\ue8res non inond\ue9es, les sols ou les s\ue9diments de lacs naturels. Toutefois, l\u2019intensit\ue9 et l\u2019\ue9volution temporelle de l\u2019activit\ue9 potentielle des bact\ue9ries m\ue9thanog\ue8nes dans les diff\ue9rents milieux pris en compte ont \ue9t\ue9 sous la d\ue9pendance d\u2019une combinaison de plusieurs facteurs environnementaux, notamment, la quantit\ue9 de la mati\ue8re organique, le niveau d\u2019eau et la pr\ue9sence de certains ions oxydants (SO\u2084\ub2\u207b, Fe\ub3\u207a).Flooding of land associated with the creation of reservoirs may increase, at least in the short term, methane flux to the atmosphere. To evaluate the potential contribution of such land use on methane production, field samples were studied in vitro for the potential activity of methanogenic bacteria in unflooded or flooded boreal forest soils, together with lacustrine sediments. From this comparative study, periodically flooded or flooded peats contribute more to methane production than do unflooded peats, soils, and natural lake sediment. The intensity and temporal changes in the activity of methanogenic archaea in the different systems depended on a combination of environmental factors, such as the amount and quality of organic carbon, the water level, and the concentration of oxidizing ions (SO\u2084\ub2\u207b, Fe\ub3\u207a).NRC publication: Ye

1,2-Bis(diphenylarsino)ethane

The title compound, Ph2AsCH2CH2AsPh2 or C26H24As2, contains discrete molecules located on an inversion centre. Changes in the C-As-C angle upon coordination are noted