The ETS protein Spi-1/Pu.1 plays a pivotal and widespread role throughout hematopoiesis in many species. This study describes the identification, characterization, and functional analysis of a new zebrafish spi transcription factor spi-1– like (spi-1l) that is expressed in primitive myeloid cells, erythro-myelo progenitor cells, and in the adult kidney. Spi-1l functions genetically downstream o...

In order to define a modern approach for Software Process Improvement (SPI), the SPI Manifesto was developed, discussed, and finalized at the 16 EuroSPI Conference in 2009 in Alcala, Spain. The common understanding gained during the discussion and usage of the manifesto formed a nucleus from which the new ISO/IEC 33014[ISO01] was derived. In parallel to the development of the SPI Manifesto, the...

We investigated the phylogenetic distribution of the SPI-1 and SPI-2 pathogenicity islands in Salmonella spp. SPI-1 was present in representatives of all eight subspecific groups, but no SPI-2-hybridizing sequences were detected in group V (S. bongori). Our data suggest that SPI-2 was acquired by S. enterica after its split from S. bongori.

The evolution of bacterial pathogenicity, heavily influenced by horizontal gene transfer, provides new virulence factors and regulatory connections that alter bacterial phenotypes. Salmonella pathogenicity islands 1 and 2 (SPI-1 and SPI-2) are chromosomal regions that were acquired at different evolutionary times and are essential for Salmonella virulence. In the intestine of mammalian hosts, S...

The Ets transcription factor Spi-C, expressed in B cells and macrophages, is closely related to PU.1 and has the ability to recognize the same DNA consensus sequence. However, the function of Spi-C has yet to be determined. The purpose of this study is to further examine Spi-C activity in B cell development. First, using retroviral vectors to infect PU.1(-/-) fetal liver progenitors, Spi-C was ...

In the early writing on software process improvement (SPI), it was suggested that the group of people responsible for designing and implementing the SPI system should apply the principles of SPI on themselves, making sure their own processes were no less mature than the processes they were trying to improve. Looking at maturity level theory from various literature sources, it seems reasonable t...

Managing a successful Software Process Improvement (SPI) is a challenging issue that many software companies face today. Many companies have invested huge amount of money in improving their software processes. This can be confirmed through several papers that present the results of SPI programs. However, as pointed out by the literature, many of these programs have encountered difficulties to a...

Systematic Literature Review (SLR) is becoming a vital part of present day research in software process improvement (SPI). Nevertheless, there is no available study that provides detail review of the published software process improvement SLRs. Objective: The aim of this article is to classify the SLRs of SPI in order to identify the main research areas covered and evaluate the quality of the p...

The effect of the length of record on the standardized precipitation index (SPI) calculation was investigated by examining correlation coefficients, the index of agreement, and the consistency of dry/wet event categories between SPI values derived from different precipitation record lengths. The effect was also illustrated by comparing SPI values derived from different lengths of record in some...