Metrics for Performance Improvement in Organisations Using Scrum, ITIL and CMMI

It is very important to understand the metrics that are applied within IT processes in today's industry, why they are important, and in what types of companies they are used. This article presents the results of a systematic literature review of some of the most widely used metrics exposed in the literature, referring to Scrum, ITIL and CMMi practices. The objective is to determine the scientific progress in this field and to identify the candidate metrics that can be used later in a metrics integration model, designed to help monitor IT services to improving the performance of organisations that use Scrum, CMMi and ITIL. The exploratory search found 1,196 articles, of which 198 were reviewed, from which 31 were finally chosen. From these, a total of 297 metrics were identified, of which 112 (38%) are for Scrum, 98 metrics (33%) are for ITIL, and 87 (29%) are for CMMi. Most of these metrics are used in European companies

The sac Mutants of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Reveal Transcriptional and Posttranscriptional Control of Cysteine Biosynthesis

Algae and vascular plants are cysteine (Cys) prototrophs. They are able to import, reduce, and assimilate sulfate into Cys, methionine, and other organic sulfur-containing compounds. Characterization of genes encoding the enzymes required for Cys biosynthesis from the unicellular green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii reveals that transcriptional and posttranscriptional mechanisms regulate the pathway. The derived amino acid sequences of the C. reinhardtii genes encoding 5′-adenylylsulfate (APS) reductase and serine (Ser) acetyltransferase are orthologous to sequences from vascular plants. The Cys biosynthetic pathway of C. reinhardtii is regulated by sulfate availability. The steady-state level of transcripts and activity of ATP sulfurylase, APS reductase, Ser acetyltransferase, and O-acetyl-Ser (thiol) lyase increase when cells are deprived of sulfate. The sac1 mutation, which impairs C. reinhardtii ability to acclimate to sulfur-deficient conditions, prevents the increase in accumulation of the transcripts encoding these enzymes and also prevents the increase in activity of all the enzymes except APS reductase. The sac2 mutation, which does not affect accumulation of APS reductase transcripts, blocks the increase in APS reductase activity. These results suggest that APS reductase activity is regulated posttranscriptionally in a SAC2-dependent process

The global prevalence of human fascioliasis: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Fascioliasis is a parasitic zoonosis that can infect humans and be a source of significant morbidity. The World Health Organization lists human fascioliasis as a neglected tropical disease, but the worldwide prevalence of fascioliasis data is unknown. Objective: We aimed to estimate the global prevalence of human fascioliasis. Data sources and methods: We performed a systematic review and prevalence meta-analysis. We used the following inclusion criteria: articles published in the English, Portuguese, or Spanish languages from December 1985 to October 2022 and studies assessing the prevalence of Fasciola in the general population with an appropriate diagnostic methodology, including longitudinal studies, prospective and retrospective cohorts, case series, and randomized clinical trials (RCTs). We excluded animal studies. Two reviewers independently reviewed the selected studies for methodological quality, performing critical standard measures from JBI SUMARI. A random-effects model was conducted of the summary extracted data on the prevalence proportions. We reported the estimates according to the GATHER statement. Results: In all, 5617 studies were screened for eligibility. Fifty-five studies from 15 countries were selected, including 154,697 patients and 3987 cases. The meta-analysis revealed a pooled prevalence of 4.5% [95% confidence interval (CI): 3.1–6.1; I 2  = 99.4%; T 2  = 0.07]. The prevalence in South America, Africa, and Asia was 9.0%, 4.8%, and 2.0%, respectively. The highest prevalence was found in Bolivia (21%), Peru (11%), and Egypt (6%). Subgroup analysis showed higher prevalence estimates in children, in studies from South America, and when Fas2-enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used as a diagnostic method. A larger study sample size ( p  = 0.027) and an increase in female percentage ( p  = 0.043) correlated with a decrease in prevalence. Multiple meta-regression showed a higher prevalence for hyperendemic than hypoendemic ( p  = 0.002) or mesoendemic ( p  = 0.013) regions. Conclusion: The estimated prevalence and projected disease burden of human fascioliasis are high. Study findings support that fascioliasis continues to be a globally neglected tropical disease. Strengthening epidemiological surveillance and implementing measures to control and treat fascioliasis is imperative in the most affected areas