Inter-team Coordination in Large-Scale Agile Development: A Case Study of Three Enabling Mechanisms

Agile methods are increasingly used in large development projects, with multiple development teams. A central question is then what is needed to coordinate feature teams efficiently. This study exam- ines three mechanisms for coordination: Shared mental models, commu- nication and trust in a large-scale development project with 12 feature teams running over a four-year period. We analyse the findings in rela- tion to suggested frameworks for large-scale agile development and a theory on coordination, and provide new recommendations for practice and theory.Inter-team Coordination in Large-Scale Agile Development: A Case Study of Three Enabling MechanismspublishedVersio

Histone H1 Depletion Impairs Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation

Pluripotent embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are known to possess a relatively open chromatin structure; yet, despite efforts to characterize the chromatin signatures of ESCs, the role of chromatin compaction in stem cell fate and function remains elusive. Linker histone H1 is important for higher-order chromatin folding and is essential for mammalian embryogenesis. To investigate the role of H1 and chromatin compaction in stem cell pluripotency and differentiation, we examine the differentiation of embryonic stem cells that are depleted of multiple H1 subtypes. H1c/H1d/H1e triple null ESCs are more resistant to spontaneous differentiation in adherent monolayer culture upon removal of leukemia inhibitory factor. Similarly, the majority of the triple-H1 null embryoid bodies (EBs) lack morphological structures representing the three germ layers and retain gene expression signatures characteristic of undifferentiated ESCs. Furthermore, upon neural differentiation of EBs, triple-H1 null cell cultures are deficient in neurite outgrowth and lack efficient activation of neural markers. Finally, we discover that triple-H1 null embryos and EBs fail to fully repress the expression of the pluripotency genes in comparison with wild-type controls and that H1 depletion impairs DNA methylation and changes of histone marks at promoter regions necessary for efficiently silencing pluripotency gene Oct4 during stem cell differentiation and embryogenesis. In summary, we demonstrate that H1 plays a critical role in pluripotent stem cell differentiation, and our results suggest that H1 and chromatin compaction may mediate pluripotent stem cell differentiation through epigenetic repression of the pluripotency genes

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Measuring the health-related Sustainable Development Goals in 188 countries : a baseline analysis from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2015

Background In September, 2015, the UN General Assembly established the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The SDGs specify 17 universal goals, 169 targets, and 230 indicators leading up to 2030. We provide an analysis of 33 health-related SDG indicators based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study 2015 (GBD 2015). Methods We applied statistical methods to systematically compiled data to estimate the performance of 33 health-related SDG indicators for 188 countries from 1990 to 2015. We rescaled each indicator on a scale from 0 (worst observed value between 1990 and 2015) to 100 (best observed). Indices representing all 33 health-related SDG indicators (health-related SDG index), health-related SDG indicators included in the Millennium Development Goals (MDG index), and health-related indicators not included in the MDGs (non-MDG index) were computed as the geometric mean of the rescaled indicators by SDG target. We used spline regressions to examine the relations between the Socio-demographic Index (SDI, a summary measure based on average income per person, educational attainment, and total fertility rate) and each of the health-related SDG indicators and indices. Findings In 2015, the median health-related SDG index was 59.3 (95% uncertainty interval 56.8-61.8) and varied widely by country, ranging from 85.5 (84.2-86.5) in Iceland to 20.4 (15.4-24.9) in Central African Republic. SDI was a good predictor of the health-related SDG index (r(2) = 0.88) and the MDG index (r(2) = 0.2), whereas the non-MDG index had a weaker relation with SDI (r(2) = 0.79). Between 2000 and 2015, the health-related SDG index improved by a median of 7.9 (IQR 5.0-10.4), and gains on the MDG index (a median change of 10.0 [6.7-13.1]) exceeded that of the non-MDG index (a median change of 5.5 [2.1-8.9]). Since 2000, pronounced progress occurred for indicators such as met need with modern contraception, under-5 mortality, and neonatal mortality, as well as the indicator for universal health coverage tracer interventions. Moderate improvements were found for indicators such as HIV and tuberculosis incidence, minimal changes for hepatitis B incidence took place, and childhood overweight considerably worsened. Interpretation GBD provides an independent, comparable avenue for monitoring progress towards the health-related SDGs. Our analysis not only highlights the importance of income, education, and fertility as drivers of health improvement but also emphasises that investments in these areas alone will not be sufficient. Although considerable progress on the health-related MDG indicators has been made, these gains will need to be sustained and, in many cases, accelerated to achieve the ambitious SDG targets. The minimal improvement in or worsening of health-related indicators beyond the MDGs highlight the need for additional resources to effectively address the expanded scope of the health-related SDGs.Peer reviewe

Extended Reality Technologies in Nutrition Education and Behavior: Comprehensive Scoping Review and Future Directions

The use of Extended Reality (XR) (i.e. Virtual and Augmented Reality) for nutrition education and behavior change has not been comprehensively reviewed. This paper presents findings from a scoping review of current published research. Articles (n = 92) were extracted from PubMed and Scopus using a structured search strategy and selection approach. Pertinent study information was extracted using a standardized data collection form. Each article was independently reviewed and coded by two members of the research team, who then met to resolve any coding discrepancies. There is an increasing trend in publication in this area, mostly regarding Virtual Reality. Most studies used developmental testing in a lab setting, employed descriptive or observational methods, and focused on momentary behavior change like food selection rather than education. The growth and diversity of XR studies suggest the potential of this approach. There is a need and opportunity for more XR technology focused on children and other foundational theoretical determinants of behavior change to be addressed within nutrition education. Our findings suggest that XR technology is a burgeoning approach in the field of nutrition, but important gaps remain, including inadequate methodological rigor, community application, and assessment of the impact on dietary behaviors

H1c/H1d/H1e triple knockout ESCs are impaired in EB differentiation.

<p>(A) Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of sections of WT EBs (top panels) and H1 TKO EBs (bottom panels) at 7 days, 10 days and 14 days in rotary suspension culture. High magnification images of H&E staining of sections of WT EB (top right) and H1 TKO EBs (bottom right) show that TKO EBs failed to cavitate. WT EBs showed more differentiated morphologies with cysts forming (black arrows). (B) Quantitative RT-PCR analysis of mRNA expression levels of <i>AFP</i> in ESCs (day 0) and EBs throughout 14 days of rotary suspension culture. Data were normalized over the expression level of <i>GAPDH</i> and are presented as average ± S.D. (C) Hierarchical clustering analysis of qRT-PCR SuperArray gene expression profiling of ESCs (day 0) and EBs (day 10) formed from WT and H1 TKO ESCs. Red, green or black represent higher, lower, or no change in relative expression. (D) Scatter Plot analysis of gene expression comparisons of: (i) WT <i>vs.</i> H1 TKO ESCs (day 0); (ii) WT EBs (day 10) <i>vs.</i> WT ESCs (day 0); (iii) H1 TKO EBs (day 10) <i>vs.</i> H1 TKO ESCs (day 0). X- and y- axes are delta CTs using <i>GAPDH</i> to normalize. Genes with more than 2-fold differences lie outside of the blue lines.</p

Loss of H1c/H1d/H1e inhibits spontaneous ESC differentiation.

<p>(A) Western blot analysis of OCT4 level in WT and H1 TKO ESCs cultured under indicated conditions for 2 days. (B) Phase images of WT and H1 TKO ESCs cultured either on MEF with LIF (left panel), gelatin coated plate with LIF (middle panel), or gelatin coated plate without LIF (right panel) for 2 days. Scale bar: 100 µm. (C) Growth curves of WT and H1 TKO ESCs cultured on gelatin coated plate with or without LIF. Data are presented as average ± S.D.</p

Expression profiles of linker histones in WT and H1 TKO cultures during EB differentiation.

<p>(A) Reverse-phase HPLC and Mass Spectrometry (inset) analysis of histones from WT and H1 TKO ESCs. X axis: elution time; Y axis: absorbency at A₂₁₄. mAU, milli-absorbency units. Inset shows the relative signal intensity of H1d and H1e mass spectral peaks in the H1d/H1e fraction collected from HPLC eluates of WT histones. (B,C) H1/nucleosome ratio of the total H1 (B) and individual H1 subtype (C) during EB formation and differentiation. Day 0, day 7 and day 10 of EB cultures were collected and HPLC analyses as shown in (A) were performed. The ratio of total H1 (or individual H1 subtype) to nucleosome was calculated as described in <a href="http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pgen.1002691#s4" target="_blank">Materials and Methods</a>. Values are means ± S.D., n = 4. *: P<0.05; **: P<0.01; ***: P<0.001; ****: P<0.0001.</p

H1 is necessary for stable repression of <i>Oct4</i> pluripotency gene during embryogenesis and ESC differentiation.

<p>(A) Elevated <i>Oct4</i> expression and hypomethylation of CpG sites at <i>Oct4</i> promoters in H1 TKO embryos compared with littermates at E8.5. (i) qRT-PCR analysis of mRNA expression levels of <i>Oct4</i>. Values are means ± SEM, n = 5 for each genotype. Expression levels were normalized over <i>GAPDH</i>. *: P<0.05. (ii) Bisulfite sequencing analysis of DNA methylation status at <i>Oct4</i> promoter regions. Results of two wild-type and two knockout E8.5 embryos are shown. The positions of CpG sites analyzed are depicted schematically as vertical ticks on the line. TSS: transcription start site. (iii) Percentage of methylated CpG sites at <i>Oct4</i> promoter regions in WT and H1 TKO embryos. Statistical analysis was performed using Fisher's exact test. ***: P<0.001; ****: P<0.0001. (B) Analysis of expression and epigenetic marks at <i>Oct4</i> pluripotency gene during EB differentiation in rotary suspension culture. Analyses of expression (i), DNA methylation (ii), % of mCpG (iii); and occupancy of H1 and three histone marks (iv) of <i>Oct4</i> in WT, H1 TKO and RES cells during EB differentiation. Relative expression levels were normalized over <i>GAPDH</i>. Relative fold enrichment is calculated by normalizing the qChIP values (as described in Material and Methods) of ESCs (day 0) or EBs at each time point by that of WT ESCs (WT D0). Values are presented as mean ± S.D. *: P<0.05; **: P<0.01; ***: P<0.001. (C) Model for H1 in repression of <i>Oct4</i> during ESC differentiation. ESCs have low H1 content with an relatively “open” chromatin. During differentiation, total H1 content increases, which facilitates local chromatin compaction at <i>Oct4</i> gene and contributes to establishment and/or maintenance of epigenetic changes necessary for stable silencing of <i>Oct4</i> pluripotency gene.</p

H1 TKO ESCs fail to undergo neural differentiation.

<p>(A) Neural differentiation scheme for ESCs. (B) Characterization of WT and H1 TKO cultures on day 6+7 under neural differentiation protocol. i). Phase contrast images shows that H1 TKO mutants were unable to adequately form neurites and neural networks. Right panels: zoom-in images of the areas encircled with black rectangles. Scale bar: 100 µm (left panels) and 50 µm (right panels). ii). Left panel: Percentage of neurite-forming EBs. Numbers were averaged from 6 experiments. 80 EBs were counted per experiment. Right panel: Numbers of neurites per neurite-forming EB. Number of neurites was counted from EBs that produced neurites. 58 and 28 neurite-forming EBs from respective WT and TKO were selected and counted for neurite numbers. **: P<0.01; ****: P<0.0001. iii). Immunostaining for expression of TUBB3 and GFAP. Nuclei were stained with Hoechst 33342. Scale bars: 50 µm (left panels) and 20 µm (right panels). Results are representative of three independent experiments. (C) H1 TKO ESCs were unable to adequately repress the pluripotency genes and to efficiently induce the expression of neural genes. Expression levels of pluripotency genes (<i>Oct4</i> and <i>Nanog</i>), neural marker (<i>Nestin</i>), neuronal marker (<i>Tyrosine hydroxylase (TH)</i>), astrocyte marker (<i>GFAP</i>) from WT and H1 TKO cultures at indicated days in differentiation cultures were determined by qRT-PCR. Data were normalized over the expression level of <i>GAPDH</i> and are presented as average ± S.D.</p