Drought is a complex hazard, and it has an impact on agricultural, ecological, and socio-economic systems. The vegetation condition index (VCI), which is derived from remote-sensing data, has been widely used for drought monitoring. However, VCI based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) does not perform well in certain circumstances. In this study, we examined the utility of th...

Software Process Improvement (SPI) methodology is defined as definitions of sequence of tasks, tools and techniques to be performed to plan and implement improvement activities. Well-known SPI frameworks like CMMI and ISO/IEC 15504 define SPI methodologies in an abstract manner. We developed an SPI methodology, BG-SPI, providing a ready-to-use SPI scheme with guidance on an iterative SPI lifecy...

The type VI secretion system (T6SS) is a virulence factor for many Gram-negative bacteria. Salmonella genus harbors five phylogenetically distinct T6SS loci encoded in Salmonella Pathogenicity Islands (SPIs) SPI-6, SPI-19, SPI-20, SPI-21 and SPI-22, which are differentially distributed among serotypes. The T6SSs encoded in SPI-6 and SPI-19 contribute to pathogenesis of serotypes Typhimurium and...

This research addresses issues relating to the implementation of software process improvement (SPI) initiatives. A number of advances have been made in the development of software process improvement (SPI) standards and models, e.g. Capability Maturity Model (CMM), more recently CMMI, and ISO's SPICE. However, these advances have not been matched by equal advances in the adoption of these stand...

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 of...

The acquisition of new genetic traits by horizontal gene transfer and their incorporation into preexisting regulatory networks have been essential events in the evolution of bacterial pathogens. An example of successful assimilation of virulence traits is Salmonella enterica, which acquired, at distinct evolutionary times, Salmonella pathogenicity island 1 (SPI-1), required for efficient invasi...

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 1991 we developed the Stroke Prognosis Instrument (SPI-I) to stratify patients with transient ischemic attack or ischemic stroke by prognosis for stroke or death in 2 years. In this article we validate and improve SPI-I (creating SPI-II). METHODS To validate SPI-I, we applied it to 4 test cohorts and calculated pooled outcome rates. To create SPI-II, we incorporated ...

In this paper we present survey data characterizing the implementation of SPI in 85 UK companies. We aim to provide SPI managers with more understanding of the critical success factors of implementing SPI. We present an analysis of the critical implementation factors identified in published case studies. We use a questionnaire to measure the use of these factors in ‘typical’ software companies....

In this paper we present findings from our empirical study of software process improvement (SPI) implementation. We aim to provide SPI practitioners with insight into designing appropriate SPI implementation initiatives in order to achieve better results. Thirty-four interviews were conducted with Australian practitioners. Three SPI implementation issues were investigated: reasons for embarking...

Software process improvement (SPI) is a widely recognized approach that software companies implement to improve quality, productivity, and time-to-market. Assessing and analyzing performance improvements are important SPI activities. However, many SPI managers have found it difficult to develop and implement effective performance measurement programs for SPI, in part because guidelines for cond...