Building an Observatory of Course-of-Action in Software Engineering: towards a Link between ISO/IEC Software Engineering standards and a Reflective Practice

International audienceAs a help to compete in an evolving market, small software companies may use an observatory of their course-of-action. The course of action considers the observable aspect of the actor's activity. Its analysis provides a description of actors' activity and it can express recommendations concerning both the individual situations and the collective situation. The observatory is an articulated set of data collecting methods supported with semantic wikis and a dedicated application. A case study, based on the activity of a team of 6 young software engineers, depicts some aspects of the building and the filling of the course-of-action observatory. As primary results of this work, we may think that observing and analyzing software engineer's activity help to reveal his/her theory-in-use - what governs engineers' behavior and tends to be tacit structures - That may help engineers to establish links between "Project Processes-in-use" and a simplified Process Reference Model and contribute to reduce the fit between a project-in-action and espoused SE standards

Erratum to: 36th International Symposium on Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1186/s13054-016-1208-6.]

New cyclodextrin-based transporters and ligands for aqueous phase organometallic catalytic processes

Le développement de synthèses chimiques "propres" mobilise actuellement un grand nombre d'équipes scientifiques. Ainsi, la catalyse organométallique en milieu aqueux est un procédé qui utilise un solvant vert par excellence, l'eau. Dans ce type de procédés, le catalyseur organométallique est généralement rendu hydrosoluble grâce à l'emploi de phosphanes hydrosolubles. Toutefois, ces systèmes sont peu actifs avec des substrats organiques hydrophobes. Afin de contourner ce problème, il est possible d'utiliser les cyclodextrines afin de favoriser le transfert de matière entre la phase organique et la phase aqueuse. Cependant, un complexe d'inclusion entre la phosphine hydrosoluble et la cyclodextrine peut se former, engendrant une diminution de l'activité catalytique du fait de l'empoisonnement de la cavité du macrocycle, ainsi qu'une modification de la nature du système catalytique aboutissant à la formation d'espèces catalytiques moins sélectives. L'étude de différents systèmes catalytiques mettant en jeu des cyclodextrines modifiées a permis d'obtenir des systèmes catalytiques dont les propriétés sont conservées. Par ailleurs, une autre approche dans l'utilisation des cyclodextrines dans les procédés de catalyse organométallique en milieu aqueux a permis de synthétiser des ligands modifiés par une cyclodextrine qui joue alors le rôle de groupement hydrophile. Dans ce cas, en plus d'assurer l'hydrosolubilité du ligand, la cyclodextrine confère à ces ligands des propriétés de reconnaissance moléculaire pouvant conduire à des systèmes catalytiques possédant des propriétés spécifiques.The development of clean chemical synthesis currently mobilizes a wide range of scientific teams. Thereby, the aqueous phase organometallic catalysis is a process that uses a green solvent par excellence, water. In this type of processes, the organometallic catalyst generally gets water-soluble thanks to the use of water-soluble phosphanes. However, these systems aren't really active with hydrophobic organic substrates. In order to avoid this problem, we can use cyclodextrins to promote mass transfer between the organic phase and the aqueous phase. However, the formation of an inclusion complex between the water-soluble phosphane and the cyclodextrin can also be created, generating a decrease in the catalytic activity due to the poisoning of the macrocyclic cavity, and also a modification of the catalytic system's nature leading to the formation of less selective catalytic species. Studying various catalytic systems which involve chemically modified cyclodextrins enabled the creation of catalytic systems the properties of which are kept. Otherwise, another approach in the use of cyclodextrins in aqueous phase organometallic catalytic processes enabled the synthesis of cyclodextrin-based ligands where the cyclodextrin plays the role of hydrophilic group. In this case, not only does it ensure the water-solubility of the ligand, but the cyclodextrin also gives molecular recognition properties to these ligands, which can lead to catalytic systems which possess specific properties

Incomplete markets and derivative assets

We analyze derivative asset trading in an economy in which agents face both aggregate and uninsurable idiosyncratic risks. Insurance markets are incomplete for idiosyncratic risk and, possibly, for aggregate risk as well. However, agents can exchange insurance against aggregate risk through derivative assets such as options. We present a tractable framework, which allows us to characterize the extent of risk sharing in this environment. We show that incomplete insurance markets can explain some properties of the volume of traded derivative assets, which are difficult to explain in complete market economies

L'animal, source de matières premières à "La Garenne"

Catalogue de l'Exposition ‘‘Préhistoire du val de Creuse en Berry'', Musée d'Argentomagus, Saint-Marcel (Indre

Analyse du comportement de renforts tisses interlock lors du procede d'emboutissage

Des fils hybrides en verre/Polypropylène ont été utilisés dans différentes structures tissées interlock, puis mis en forme par un procédé d’emboutissage. Les préformes seront ensuite consolidées lors du chauffage du polypropylène jouant le rôle de matrice thermoplastique du composite. Dans cette étude, le comportement des tissés 3D vis-à-vis des problématiques de déformabilité lors de l’étape de préformage des renforts secs épais a été analysé. Des essais d’emboutissage avec un poinçon de forme simple (hémisphérique) mais également de forme complexe ont été conduits afin d’analyser l’influence des grandes familles d’architectures interlock («couche à couche», «Interlock orthogonal» et «Angle interlock») sur cette déformabilité.[1] Afin de comparer les architectures, chaque éprouvette a été tissée avec les mêmes réductions chaîne et trame. Pendant le préformage, les angles de cisaillement entre les fils de chaîne et de trame, l’avalement du tissu sur les bords des éprouvettes mais également les variations d’épaisseur ainsi que le glissement entre les couches extérieures des éprouvettes ont été mesurés.[2] Les essais révèlent une homogénéité de la structure emboutie, en particulier dans les zones sensibles comme les plis et les sommets. Les tissus interlocks n’ont révélés aucune plissure non désirée et le procédé d’emboutissage n’a pas généré de ruptures de fils. De plus, les essais menés ont révélés le bon comportement de la structure interlock couche à couches lors de l’emboutissage. Travaux cités : [1] N.V. Padaki, R. Alagirusamy, B.L. Deopura, and R. Fanqueiro, 'Studies on Preform Properties of Multilayer Interlocked Woven Structures Using Fabric Geometrical Factors,' Journal of Industrial Textiles, vol. 39, no. 4, pp. 327-346, 2010. [2] M.A. Khan, T. Mabrouki, E. Vidal-Sallé, and P. Boisse, 'Numerical and experimental analyses of woven composite reinforcement forming using a hypoelastic behaviour. Application to the double dome benchmark,' Journal of Materials Processing Technology, vol. 210, no. 2, pp. 378-388, 2010

Dweck’s Mindset Theory Applied to Addictions: A Scoping Review Protocol

The present scoping review aims at mapping and categorizing the extent, range and nature of evidence available in peer-reviewed literature linking Dweck’s mindset theory and associated mindset interventions to addiction research, and identify potential gaps to inform future research in the field

An adapted optical flow algorithm for robust quantification of cardiac wall motion from standard cine-MR examinations

International audienceThis paper presents a method for local myocardial motion estimation from a conventional SSFP cine-MRI sequence using a modified phase-based Optical Flow (OF) technique. Initially, the technique was tested on synthetic images to evaluate its robustness with regards to Rician noise and to brightness variations. The method was then applied to cardiac images acquired on 11 healthy subjects. Myocardial velocity is measured in cm/s in each studied pixel and visualized as colored vectors superimposed on MRI images. The estimated phase-based OF results were compared with a reference OF method and gave similar results on synthetic images i.e. without a significant difference of the mean Angular Error. Applied on cine-MRI of normal hearts, the calculated velocities from short axis images concord with values obtained in the literature. The advantage of the presented method is its robustness with respect to Rician noise and to brightness changes often observed in cine-MRI sequences, and especially with the through-plane movement of the heart. Motion assessment using our method on cine-MR images gives promising results on motion estimation on a pixel by pixel basis, leading to a regional measurement of the time-velocity course of myocardial displacement in different segments of the heart wall

Single-scan multidimensional NMR analysis of mixtures at sub-millimolar concentrations by using SABRE hyperpolarization

International audienceSignal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) is a promising method to increase the sensitivity of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) experiments. However, SABRE-enhanced NMR $^1$H signals are short-lived and SABRE is often used to record 1D NMR spectra only. When the sample of interest is a complex mixture, this results in severe overlaps for $^1$H spectra. In addition, the use of a co-substrate, whose signals may obscure $^1$H spectra, is today the most efficient way to lower the detection limit of SABRE experiments. Here we describe an approach to obtain clean, SABRE-hyperpolarized 2D $^1$H NMR spectra of mixtures of small molecules at sub-millimolar concentrations in a single scan. The method relies on the use of para-hydrogen together with a deuterated co-substrate for hyperpolarization and ultrafast 2D NMR for acquisition. It is applicable to all substrates that can be polarized with SABR

Fragmentation of DMPC Membranes by a Wedge-Shaped Amphiphilic Cyclodextrin into Bicellar-like Aggregates

Small bilayer lipid aggregates such as bicelles provide useful isotropic or anisotropic membrane mimetics for structural studies of biological membranes. We have shown previously by deuterium NMR that a wedge-shaped amphiphilic derivative of trimethyl βcyclodextrin anchored in deuterated DMPC-d27 bilayers through a lauryl acyl chain (TrimβMLC) is able to induce magnetic orientation and fragmentation of the multilamellar membranes. The fragmentation process fully detailed in the present paper is observed with 20% cyclodextrin derivative below 37 °C, where pure TrimβMLC self-assembles in water into large giant micellar structures. After deconvolution of a broad composite 2H NMR isotropic component, we propose a model where the DMPC membranes are progressively disrupted by TrimβMLC into small and large micellar aggregates depending whether they are extracted from the outer or inner layers of the liposomes. Below the fluid-to-gel transition of pure DMPC-d27 membranes (Tc = 21.5 °C), the micellar aggregates vanish progressively until complete extinction at 13 °C, with a probable release of pure TrimβMLC micelles leaving lipid bilayers in the gel phase doped with only a small amount of the cyclodextrin derivative. Bilayer fragmentation between Tc and 13 °C was also observed with 10% and 5% of TrimβMLC, with NMR spectra suggesting possible interactions of micellar aggregates with fluid-like lipids of the Pβ' ripple phase. No membrane orientation and fragmentation was detected with unsaturated POPC membranes, which are able to accommodate the insertion of TrimβMLC without important perturbation. The data are discussed in relation to the formation of possible DMPC bicellar aggregates such as those known to occur after insertion of dihexanoylphosphatidylcholine (DHPC). These bicelles are in particular associated with similar deuterium NMR spectra exhibiting identical composite isotropic components which were never characterized before