Governance of Offshore IT Outsourcing at Shell Global Functions IT-BAM Development and Application of a Governance Framework to Improve Outsourcing Relationships

The lack of effective IT governance is widely recognized as a key inhibitor to successful global IT outsourcing relationships. In this study we present the development and application of a governance framework to improve outsourcing relationships. The approach used to developing an IT governance framework includes a meta model and a customization process to fit the framework to the target organization. The IT governance framework consists of four different elements (1) organisational structures, (2) joint processes between in- and outsourcer, (3) responsibilities that link roles to processes and (4) a diverse set of control indicators to measure the success of the relationship. The IT governance framework is put in practice in Shell GFIT BAM, a part of Shell that concluded to have a lack of management control over at least one of their outsourcing relationships. In a workshop the governance framework was used to perform a gap analysis between the current and desired governance. Several gaps were identified in the way roles and responsibilities are assigned and joint processes are set-up. Moreover, this workshop also showed the usefulness and usability of the IT governance framework in structuring, providing input and managing stakeholders in the discussions around IT governance

Costs of insensitive acetylcholinesterase insecticide resistance for the malaria vector Anopheles gambiae homozygous for the G119S mutation

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The G119S mutation responsible for insensitive acetylcholinesterase resistance to organophosphate and carbamate insecticides has recently been reported from natural populations of <it>Anopheles gambiae </it>in West Africa. These reports suggest there are costs of resistance associated with this mutation for <it>An. gambiae</it>, especially for homozygous individuals, and these costs could be influential in determining the frequency of carbamate resistance in these populations.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Life-history traits of the AcerKis and Kisumu strains of <it>An. gambiae </it>were compared following the manipulation of larval food availability in three separate experiments conducted in an insecticide-free laboratory environment. These two strains share the same genetic background, but differ in being homozygous for the presence or absence of the G119S mutation at the <it>ace-1 </it>locus, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Pupae of the resistant strain were significantly more likely to die during pupation than those of the susceptible strain. Ages at pupation were significantly earlier for the resistant strain and their dry starved weights were significantly lighter; this difference in weight remained when the two strains were matched for ages at pupation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The main cost of resistance found for <it>An. gambiae </it>mosquitoes homozygous for the G119S mutation was that they were significantly more likely to die during pupation than their susceptible counterparts, and they did so across a range of larval food conditions. Comparing the frequency of G119S in fourth instar larvae and adults emerging from the same populations would provide a way to test whether this cost of resistance is being expressed in natural populations of <it>An. gambiae </it>and influencing the dynamics of this resistance mutation.</p

'Magic coins' and 'magic squares': the discovery of astrological sigils in the Oldenburg Letters

Enclosed in a 1673 letter to Henry Oldenburg were two drawings of a series of astrological sigils, coins and amulets from the collection of Strasbourg mathematician Julius Reichelt (1637–1719). As portrayals of particular medieval and early modern sigils are relatively rare, this paper will analyse the role of these medals in medieval and early modern medicine, the logic behind their perceived efficacy, and their significance in early modern astrological and cabalistic practice. I shall also demonstrate their change in status in the late seventeenth century from potent magical healing amulets tied to the mysteries of the heavens to objects kept in a cabinet for curiosos. The evolving perception of the purpose of sigils mirrored changing early modern beliefs in the occult influences of the heavens upon the body and the natural world, as well as the growing interests among virtuosi in collecting, numismatics and antiquities

Reply to Guy et al.: Support for a bottleneck in the 2011 Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreak in Germany

In our paper (1), we analyzed isolates from the Escherichia coli O104:H4 outbreaks in Germany and France in May to July 2011. We concluded that, although the German outbreak was larger, the German isolates represent a clade within the greater diversity of the French outbreak. We proposed several hypotheses to explain these findings, including that the lineage leading to the German outbreak went through a narrow bottleneck that purged diversity. Guy et al. (2) report the genomes of eight additional E. coli O104:H4 isolates sampled from the German outbreak. By focusing on the numbers of SNPs in their samples, they suggest that the German outbreak is more diverse than we reported and is similar to the French outbreak. In fact, Guy et al.’s data (2) strongly support our conclusion that the German outbreak represents a clade within the diversity

Salmonella enterica serotype Virchow associated with human infections in Switzerland: 2004-2009

BACKGROUND: Salmonellosis is one of the most important foodborne diseases and a major threat to public health. Salmonella serotype Virchow ranks among the top five serovars in Europe. METHOD: A total of 153 strains isolated from different patients from 2004 through 2009 in Switzerland were further characterized by (i) assessing phenotypic antibiotic resistance profiles using the disk diffusion method and (ii) by genotyping using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) after macrorestriction with XbaI in order to evaluate strain relationship. RESULTS: The relative frequency of S. Virchow among other Salmonella serovars varied between 4th to 8th rank. The annual incidence ranged from 0.45/100'000 in 2004 to 0.40/100'000 in 2009. A total of 48 strains (32%) were resistant to one to 3 antimicrobials, 54 strains (36%) displayed resistance patterns to more than three antibiotics. No trend was identifiable over the years 2004 to 2009. We found a high prevalence (62%) of nalidixic acid resistant strains, suggesting an equally high rate of decreased fluoroqionolone susceptibility, whereas intermediate resistance to ciprofloxacin was negligible. Two strains were extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producers. Analysis of PFGE patterns uncovered a predominant cluster (similarity coefficient above 80%) consisting of 104 of the 153 strains. CONCLUSION: The worldwide increase of antibiotic resistances in Salmonella is an emerging public health problem. For Switzerland, no clear trend is identifiable over the years 2004 to 2009 for S. Virchow. Antimicrobial susceptibility and resistance profiles varied considerably within this period. Nevertheless, the situation in Switzerland coincided with findings in other European countries. Genotyping results of this strain collection revealed no evidence for an undetected outbreak within this time period

Shigella sonnei genome sequencing and phylogenetic analysis indicate recent global dissemination from Europe

Shigella are human-adapted Escherichia coli that have gained the ability to invade the human gut mucosa and cause dysentery1,2, spreading efficiently via low-dose fecal-oral transmission3,4. Historically, S. sonnei has been predominantly responsible for dysentery in developed countries, but is now emerging as a problem in the developing world, apparently replacing the more diverse S. flexneri in areas undergoing economic development and improvements in water quality4-6. Classical approaches have shown S. sonnei is genetically conserved and clonal7. We report here whole-genome sequencing of 132 globally-distributed isolates. Our phylogenetic analysis shows that the current S. sonnei population descends from a common ancestor that existed less than 500 years ago and has diversified into several distinct lineages with unique characteristics. Our analysis suggests the majority of this diversification occurred in Europe, followed by more recent establishment of local pathogen populations in other continents predominantly due to the pandemic spread of a single, rapidly-evolving, multidrug resistant lineage