Historical roots of Agile methods: where did “Agile thinking” come from?

The appearance of Agile methods has been the most noticeable change to software process thinking in the last fifteen years [16], but in fact many of the “Agile ideas” have been around since 70’s or even before. Many studies and reviews have been conducted about Agile methods which ascribe their emergence as a reaction against traditional methods. In this paper, we argue that although Agile methods are new as a whole, they have strong roots in the history of software engineering. In addition to the iterative and incremental approaches that have been in use since 1957 [21], people who criticised the traditional methods suggested alternative approaches which were actually Agile ideas such as the response to change, customer involvement, and working software over documentation. The authors of this paper believe that education about the history of Agile thinking will help to develop better understanding as well as promoting the use of Agile methods. We therefore present and discuss the reasons behind the development and introduction of Agile methods, as a reaction to traditional methods, as a result of people's experience, and in particular focusing on reusing ideas from histor

Mechanisms of hypertension in cardiac transplantation and the role of cyclosporine

The use of cyclosporine in solid organ transplantation has been shown to be associated with the development of hypertension and nephrotoxicity. Several mechanisms, including endothelin-mediated systemic vasoconstriction, impaired vasodilatation secondary to reduction in nitric oxide, and altered cytosolic calcium translocation, have been proposed to underlie cyclosporine-induced hypertension. In addition, other studies have shown activation of the sympathetic nervous system and the renin-angiotensin system, as well as abnormalities in prostaglandin metabolism, as culpable mechanisms. Hemodynamic features of cyclosporine-induced hypertension consist of elevated peripheral vascular resistance, ventricular vascular uncoupling contributing to left ventricular hypertrophy, and abnormalities in the diastolic function of the allograft. Combined calcium-channel blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors have been used for the treatment of this clinical problem, and they achieve blood pressure control in 65% of patients. Moreover, these agents may also be beneficial in preventing development of cardiac allograft vasculopathy, a long-term nemesis in cardiac transplantation

Mechanical assistance of the failing heart in the elderly

Continued success with cardiac transplantation has led to expansion of the donor pool and broadening of recipient criteria. As older patients are accepted for transplantation, experience with mechanical bridge to transplant in the elderly has expanded, Review of the patient registries for three types of ventricular assist device allowed us to assess experience with these devices in the elderly (that is, aged over 60 years) population. Outcome, in terms of success of bridge to transplant and post-transplant survival, was excellent when compared with that in the general population, and supports the application of this technology to appropriate patients. These observations also support the concept of mechanical assistance as an alternative to cardiac transplant in the elderly