We All Know How, Don’t We? On the Role of Scrum in IT-Offshoring

Part 2: Creating Value through Software DevelopmentInternational audienceOffshoring in the IT-industry involves dual interactions between a mother company and an external supplier, often viewed with an implicit perspective from the mother company. This article review general off shoring and IT offshoring literature, focusing on the proliferation of a globally available set of routines; Scrum and Agile. Two cases are studied; a small company and short process and a large mother company with a long process. The interactions of the set ups shows that global concepts like Scrum and Agile are far from a common platform. The “well known” concepts are locally shaped and the enterprises have mixed experiences

Increased serum concentration of G-CSF in cystic fibrosis patients with chronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa pneumonia

AbstractBackgroundChronic Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infection is the major reason for premature death in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Infected patients experience a progressive deterioration of the lung tissue caused by a persistent accumulation of PMNs. We investigated if the pulmonary accumulation of PMNs is reflected as a migration of PMNs through the blood in chronically infected CF patients.MethodsBlood and sputum samples from 37 stable, chronically (CF+P) and 6 non-infected (CF−P) CF patients without exacerbations were compared using FACS, leukocyte counting, and ELISA. Within the CF+P patients, the blood parameters were compared to the lung function (FEV1 and FVC) and to the sputum. Similar measurements were performed on 15 chronically infected CF patients before and after elective antibiotic treatment.ResultsIn the CF+P patients the concentration of G-CSF in the sera and PMNs in the blood was increased and correlated to poor lung function. However, only the concentration of G-CSF in the sera was correlated to the concentration of TNF-α in the sputum. After the antibiotic treatment, the lung function was improved and the concentration of PMNs in the blood and G-CSF in the sera was reduced.ConclusionG-CSF in the sera may contribute to the pulmonary inflammation in CF patients with chronic P. aeruginosa lung infection by regulating the number of PMNs available for migration and may be considered as an indicator of clinical status