Software engineering programmes are not computer science programmes

Programmes in Software Engineering have become a source of contention in many universities. Some Computer Science departments, many of which have used that phrase to describe individual courses for decades, claim software engineering as part of their discipline. However, Engineering faculties claim Software Engineering as a new speciality in the family of engineering disciplines. This paper discusses the differences between traditional computer science programmes and most engineering programmes and argues that we need programmes that follow the traditional engineering approach to professional education and educate engineers whose speciality within engineering is software construction. One such programme is described.     

Tamoxifen for retroperitoneal fibrosis

Retroperitoneal fibrosis, either idiopathic or associated with aortic inflammatory aneurysm, is a chronic fibrotic disease that causes progressive obstruction of ureters and vessels around the lower abdominal aorta. Treatment is often difficult (surgery) or hazardous (steroids). We report a case of a woman with retroperitoneal fibrosis associated with aortic inflammatory aneurysm, who was successfully treated with oral tamoxifen.     

Severe and unexpected occurrence of water-electrolyte disorders in the postoperative period

Paradoxical cerebral embolism (PCE) through a patent foramen ovale (PFO) should be considered as a cause of ischemic stroke, particularly in young patients without an alternative cause for stroke. PCE is even more important that it is potentially treatable. However, PCE remains often presumed because it rests upon the rarely demonstrated findings of a deep venous thrombosis and a thrombus lodged in the PFO. Recent studies have shown a rather low stroke recurrence rate in patients with PFO and stroke but suggest that some subgroups of patients with a higher stroke recurrence risk-exist according clinical, echocardiographical and radiological characteristics. For these subgroups, it seems that a more invasive treatment should be required. There are four therapeutic options; antiaggregants, anticoagulation, transcatheter closure of PFO, and surgical closure of PFO. However, these treatments have yet to be evaluated in clinical trials.     

Varicocele: treatment via percutaneous approach

The varicocele is benign pathology which sometimes involves disorders of testicular growth. Those can cause a hypofertility. We saw in a retrospective way the 243 patients having been treated by percutaneous embolisation from May 1985 to August 1993. At 150 patients being 1 year at least of postoperative retreat, 70% of cases present a cure, 15% of patients repeated and were taken again surgically. At 8% of patients, the embolisation was not technically possible for reasons of vascular anomalies or spasm of the vein during the procedure. The morbidity of this technique is low, this involves therefore a right choice of the treatment of the varicocele which does not prevent any surgical treatment in the event of repetition or in the event of technical failure.     

Really Rethinking 'Formal Methods'

We must question the assumptions underlying the well-known current formal software development methods to see why they have not been widely adopted and what should be changed.     

The use of mathematics in software quality assurance

The use of mathematics for documenting, inspecting, and testing software is explained and illustrated. Three measures of software quality are described and discussed. Then three distinct complementary approaches to software quality assurance are presented. A case study, the testing and inspection of a safety-critical system, is discussed in detail.     

Precise documentation of well-structured programs

Describes a new form of program documentation that is precise, systematic and readable. This documentation comprises a set of displays supplemented by a lexicon and an index. Each display presents a program fragment in such a way that its correctness can be examined without looking at any other display. Each display has three parts: (1) the specification of the program presented in the display, (2) the program itself, and (3) the specifications of programs invoked by this program. The displays are intended to be used by software engineers as a reference document during inspection and maintenance. This paper also introduces a specification technique that is a refinement of H.D. Mills's (1975) functional approach to program documentation and verification; programs are specified and described in tabular form     

Comparative evaluation of the in vitro micronucleus test and the in vitro chromosome aberration test: industrial experience

Because of its rapidness, simplicity and potential for automation, the measurement of micronucleated cells in vivo is not only equivalent to the analysis of chromosome aberrations, but often even preferred within routine genotoxicity testing. In order to evaluate the correlation between the in vitro micronucleus assay (MNT) and the in vitro chromosome aberration test (CA), we collected data from four pharmaceutical companies obtained either in Chinese hamster cell lines (CHO-K5, CHO-K1, V79) or in human peripheral blood lymphocytes. Among the 57 compounds included in this comparison, 45 compounds gave rise to concordant results in both assays (26 compounds negative in both assays; 19 compounds positive in both assays). The high percentage of concordance, i.e. about 79% is very promising and can be even increased to about 88% by omitting the 3 aneugenic compounds and 2 compounds inducing endoreduplicated chromosomes which were found positive only in the in vitro MNT. The results are remarkable in particular considering that most of the compounds evaluated are 'standard' pharmaceutical compounds and thus are at most weak inducers of chromosome damage. Our comparison strongly supports that the in vitro micronucleus test is a suitable alternative to the in vitro chromosome aberration assay. Moreover, the MNT has the potential of not only detecting clastogens but additionally aneuploidy inducing chemicals.     

Review of Effective use of older workers.

Reviews the book "Effective use of older workers" by Elizabeth Llewellyn Breckinridge (see record 1954-02356-000). This book is impressive primarily because it shows that many business executives are appreciative of the values inherent in the older workers' skills, knowledges, and excellent work habits. The book is a golden strand beset with four genuine pearls: the quoted addresses of Elizabeth Hatch, Carson Pirie Scott and Company; Curtis Gallenbeck, Inland Steel Company; L. S. Barrus, Cleveland Twist Drill Company; John Bromer, Prudential Insurance Company. The reviewer notes that a major value of this book is the evidence it gives of the progress that has been made toward attaining the objectives of Barkin's constructive action programs to eliminate the prejudices against age by utilizing the skills and abilities of older workers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)