Relationship between mature software engineering practices and agility practices

This paper reports on research work on Argentinean software development organizations. The analysis pro-vides insights on the profile of the companies regarding the usage of agile methods and software engineering practices trends, their motivations, and drivers. The conclusions can be used to understand what drivers facilitate the understanding of bonds between both in order to increase their competitiveness in domestic and off-shore markets.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Agile and software engineering, an invisible bond

The bond between agile practices and Software Engineering practices is clear and apparent for sea-soned practitioners with experience on the operation of high maturity development environments, yet it’s often ig-nored on the domain bibliography where most hybrid approaches are adopted. This article reviews a sensible sam-ple of the bibliography to confirm that trend and develop a map between what long established Software Engineer-ing practices and concepts stated as agile foundation principles. Previous research efforts are integrated into rein-forcing which aspects of an agile-based project need to be addressed with priority to protect the additional value yield by the usage of these methodologies.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Agile in practice, a systemic approach

The relationship between software engineering practices and agile fundamentals are explored. The con-tents of the Agile Manifesto state several principles such as a focus on working software, customer satisfaction, and simplicity among others. This paper explores how agile creates value at a fundamental level by introducing the capability for the organization to take continuously decisions, which are modelled as options. And how this addi-tional value can be eroded by having deviation on classical software engineering parameters, such as Cost of Poor Quality or Phase Containment of errors. Additional focus on traditional software engineering best practices are proposed as the best way to achieve the benefits of the Agile paradigm is by combining it with mature engineering practices. Those practices are well known in the industry and academia. There are different sources that can be searched like SWEBOK and CMMI. As CMMI is organized in maturity levels the model can guide the engineering practices adoption.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ

Sixteen diverse laboratory mouse reference genomes define strain-specific haplotypes and novel functional loci.

We report full-length draft de novo genome assemblies for 16 widely used inbred mouse strains and find extensive strain-specific haplotype variation. We identify and characterize 2,567 regions on the current mouse reference genome exhibiting the greatest sequence diversity. These regions are enriched for genes involved in pathogen defence and immunity and exhibit enrichment of transposable elements and signatures of recent retrotransposition events. Combinations of alleles and genes unique to an individual strain are commonly observed at these loci, reflecting distinct strain phenotypes. We used these genomes to improve the mouse reference genome, resulting in the completion of 10 new gene structures. Also, 62 new coding loci were added to the reference genome annotation. These genomes identified a large, previously unannotated, gene (Efcab3-like) encoding 5,874 amino acids. Mutant Efcab3-like mice display anomalies in multiple brain regions, suggesting a possible role for this gene in the regulation of brain development

Rare predicted loss-of-function variants of type I IFN immunity genes are associated with life-threatening COVID-19

Background: We previously reported that impaired type I IFN activity, due to inborn errors of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I interferon (IFN) immunity or to autoantibodies against type I IFN, account for 15–20% of cases of life-threatening COVID-19 in unvaccinated patients. Therefore, the determinants of life-threatening COVID-19 remain to be identified in ~ 80% of cases. Methods: We report here a genome-wide rare variant burden association analysis in 3269 unvaccinated patients with life-threatening COVID-19, and 1373 unvaccinated SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals without pneumonia. Among the 928 patients tested for autoantibodies against type I IFN, a quarter (234) were positive and were excluded. Results: No gene reached genome-wide significance. Under a recessive model, the most significant gene with at-risk variants was TLR7, with an OR of 27.68 (95%CI 1.5–528.7, P = 1.1 × 10−4) for biochemically loss-of-function (bLOF) variants. We replicated the enrichment in rare predicted LOF (pLOF) variants at 13 influenza susceptibility loci involved in TLR3-dependent type I IFN immunity (OR = 3.70[95%CI 1.3–8.2], P = 2.1 × 10−4). This enrichment was further strengthened by (1) adding the recently reported TYK2 and TLR7 COVID-19 loci, particularly under a recessive model (OR = 19.65[95%CI 2.1–2635.4], P = 3.4 × 10−3), and (2) considering as pLOF branchpoint variants with potentially strong impacts on splicing among the 15 loci (OR = 4.40[9%CI 2.3–8.4], P = 7.7 × 10−8). Finally, the patients with pLOF/bLOF variants at these 15 loci were significantly younger (mean age [SD] = 43.3 [20.3] years) than the other patients (56.0 [17.3] years; P = 1.68 × 10−5). Conclusions: Rare variants of TLR3- and TLR7-dependent type I IFN immunity genes can underlie life-threatening COVID-19, particularly with recessive inheritance, in patients under 60 years old

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Relación entre las prácticas maduras de ingeniería de software y las prácticas de agilidad

This paper reports on research work on Argentinean software development organizations. The analysis provides insights into the profile of the companies regarding the usage of agile methods and software engineering practices trends, their motivations, and drivers. The conclusions can be used to understand what drivers facilitate the understanding of bonds between both in order to increase their competitiveness in domestic and off-shore markets.Este artículo informa sobre el trabajo de investigación en organizaciones argentinas de desarrollo de software. El análisis proporciona información sobre el perfil de las empresas con respecto al uso de métodos ágiles y las tendencias de las prácticas de ingeniería de software, sus motivaciones e impulsores. Las conclusiones se pueden utilizar para comprender qué impulsores facilitan la comprensión de los vínculos entre ambos con el fin de aumentar su competitividad en los mercados nacionales y off-shore.Sociedad Argentina de Informática e Investigación Operativ