bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The Project Manager, Systems Engineer and the Conflict over Project Resources
Authors: Zeierman Shimon , Ben‐Asher Joseph Z.
Published: September 2016

Project teams are expected to meet scope, time and budget goals simultaneously. It has been observed that many projects conducted nowadays are not able to successfully meet all three objectives at project's completion. Looking deep into project dynamics shows us that there is a built‐in conflict originating from the need to meet scope requirements with limited time and money resources. This conflict appears to weaken the ability of project teams to meet all objectives successfully because it impairs cooperation among team members.

In the paper we share some observations and suggest some tools that might help the project team to enhance cooperation, overcome the conflict and improve overall project performance. First we note that many projects have reserves of scope, schedule and budget. In part of these projects the reserves span the whole project plans. This is typical to projects for which planning is done in a conservative manner prior to taking a commitment. In other instances the reserves are found only in part of project plans while the other parts are under‐estimated. This is a reflection of the uncertainty typical for most projects as of project kick‐off and on till uncertainty is mitigated. Second we suggest some techniques to use these reserves in a way that helps the team to meet its objectives. We propose to establish and use a requirements buffer, in an analogous manner to the already established time buffer suggested in the Theory of Constraints. Then we propose a methodology to manage resource buffers in a manner that overcomes the shortcomings of current buffer management methodology. In order to further improve collaboration between project team members we suggest abandoning some common practices in the interface between the project manager and the systems engineer, practices that do not contribute and sometimes even interfere with the ability of the team to meet project objectives.
Curriculum Alignment Use Case for Competency Frameworks at the Naval Postgraduate School
Authors: Whitcomb Clifford A. , Khan Rabia , White Corina
Published: September 2016

The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Research, Development, Test and Evaluation, is sponsoring a strategic initiative led by a team from the Naval Postgraduate School Systems Engineering Department to implement an overall approach to study and develop a systems engineering career competency model. Competencies are defined as the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for a systems engineer to perform tasks related to the discipline. The Naval Postgraduate School has used a competency framework for educational curriculum development purposes. Each competency and the associated KSAs are partitioned into a series of typical career development points, to allow for planning and tracking of a competency‐based development of systems engineers. The focus of this paper is on use of competency frameworks for aligning curricula to meet stakeholder competency requirements, using a specific course implementation example.
Understanding mission objectives and priorities with QFD
Authors: Goderstad Arne Benjamin , Haskins Cecilia
Published: September 2016

Translating the customer's perception of quality and performance into technical terms and requirements for a product is important for guiding design, verification, and process development. Capturing the unspoken priorities and communicating them through the organization can efficiently guide the product or service development towards solutions that meet the customers’ needs. The methods used at Kongsberg Defence Systems today do not sufficiently capture and communicate the voice of the customer and their fundamental needs. The research uncovered that key decision makers in the organization had significant variance in their understanding of customer priorities, and a partial misalignment with the priorities provided by customer representatives. The implementation of Quality Function Deployment (QFD) for the Joint Strike Missile provided an effective communication tool for customer needs, and illuminated the relative importance of system attributes and how they relate to the customer's priorities. This paper argues that the Quality Function Deployment is a valuable tool communicating mission objectives, to enable innovation, and to guide verification and validation efforts at a later stage. For complex products, however, QFD shows weaknesses that must be addressed to support efficient decision making.
Back to Basics – Up, Out, and Down: Three Critical Perspectives for the Systems Engineer
Authors: Walden David D.
Published: September 2016

This paper introduces three key perspectives critical for success as a Systems Engineer. First, one must look up to fully understand the higher‐levels you are a part of. Second, one must look out to understand the critical peer‐level interfaces and relationships. And finally, one must look down to understand the lower levels that are part of your responsibility. To illustrate these perspectives, examples will be provided for three viewpoints: systems, requirements, and projects/teams.
Using Visual Diagrams and Patterns for Consistent and Complete Requirements
Authors: Lempia David , Schindel Bill , Hrabik Terry , McGill Stewart , Graber Mike
Published: September 2016

This paper describes a visual and textual requirements representation based upon Model‐Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) requirements patterns. This underlying representation is a rethinking of the concepts behind systems requirements. It takes into account the subjective stakeholder value, the life cycle modes, objective technical behavior and it combines the best of agile User Stories with MBSE patterns.

This underlying MBSE requirements pattern improves the quality of conversations between key stakeholders of the system. Agile User Stories begin the conversation by focusing on the problem domain, addressed by MBSE pattern features. MBSE patterns then continue the conversation for the technical requirements.

The content and relationships between the key MBSE patterns capture the product learning of the organization for use on future applications of similar products. The complexity of re‐use and re‐application is reduced by configurability. Organizations re‐apply this product learning in new products resulting in lower costs and increased quality.
Insights on the Experiences and Education of INCOSE‐Certified Expert Systems Engineering Professionals and Chief Systems Engineers
Authors: Jauregui Christina , Pyster Art , Henry Devanandham , Hutchison Nicole , Wright Courtney
Published: September 2016

Researchers analyzed applications of individuals who were certified as INCOSE Expert Systems Engineering Professionals (ESEPs); these applications cover the period of March 2010 to May 2014. The applications include detailed descriptions of relevant systems engineering positions as well as the educational background of applicants, and analysis focused on these areas. The team compared its findings on the broader ESEP population with a subset of ESEPs who had held positions as Chief Systems Engineers (CSEs) or similar positions. The analyses provide insights into the backgrounds of CSEs, such as: the most common master's degree is in business and that by the time they complete their first assignment as a CSE, they are likely to have already performed nearly all of the 16 roles for developing systems engineers identified by the Helix project. (Hutchison 2015, Pyster et al. 2015a and 2015b) These findings were compared with findings on chief systems engineers from the Helix project.
Implementation of a Systems Engineering Approach to the Management of a Planetary Defense Team Project in an Intensive Space Studies Program Using IPPD
Authors: Silva‐Martinez Jackelynne , Hussein Alaa , Wilson Thomas
Published: September 2016

Planetary Defense is an important and challenging topic, and long‐term mitigation of asteroid impacts have been discussed by governments and space agencies; however, short‐term solutions of comet impacts are rarely considered. 34 participants from 17 countries tackled this problem, a comet impact two years after detection, at the 2015‐Space Studies Program and produced the Roadmap for EArth Defense Initiatives (READI). The Integrated Product and Process Development (IPPD) methodology was used to identify the mission statement, define requirements and needs, and provide possible solutions. This paper concentrates on how the IPPD was applied as a systems approach to each phase of our project, where the whole system was Planetary Defense, and its architectural decomposition was divided into five key elements: detection and tracking, deflection techniques, global collaboration, outreach and education, and evacuation and recovery. The importance of applying human factor concepts throughout the project is addressed through challenges faced, solutions applied, and lessons learned. Verification and validation of selected options are presented, along with the use of various project management tools. Furthermore, we discuss our results and recommendations for Planetary Defense, as they are products of our analysis using the IPPD approach to systems engineering.
A Vision for Human‐Model Interaction in Interactive Model‐Centric Systems Engineering
Authors: Rhodes Donna H. , Ross Adam M.
Published: September 2016

The Interactive Model‐Centric Systems Engineering (IMCSE) research program arises from the unique opportunity to investigate the various aspects of humans interacting with models and model‐generated data, in the context of systems engineering practice. This paper explores the dimensions of this interaction and shares findings from a recent workshop organized to seed the initial research agenda. Many open areas of inquiry exist; examples include: use cases for stakeholders interacting with models; how multiple stakeholders interact with each other using models and model generated information; facets of human interaction with visualizations and large data sets; and underlying fundamentals such as model purpose and model handling. Realizing the envisioned future for an interactive model‐centric systems engineering experience will require new knowledge and ways of working, and innovation in constructs and technologies. A shared research agenda is proposed as a means to provide a common frame for alignment and synergies of research across the community. Research needs and progress are discussed and several ongoing research projects are briefly discussed.
An Integral Approach to Risk Management
Authors: Devaney Kevin
Published: September 2016

INCOSE Vision 2025 identifies risk management as one of Systems Engineering's fundamental challenges, noting that “most major disasters such as Challenger and Columbia have resulted from failure to recognize and deal with risks” (INCOSE, 2014). At last year's INCOSE International Symposium, it was proposed that Integral Theory models could help improve both the theory and practice of systems engineering (Devaney, 2015). In this paper, the potential benefits of applying Integral Theory models to risk management are explored.
Evaluation of System Integration and Qualification Strategies using the Technical Debt metaphor; a case study in Subsea System Development
Authors: Callister Peter S. , Andersson Jonas
Published: September 2016

In software engineering, technical debt is often used to measure and describe the cost of accumulated work tasks resulting from design decisions deviating from the intended architecture of systems. This paper investigates how to apply the technical debt metaphor to support the selection of integration strategy for complex subsea systems.

The investigation presented in the paper is based on a case study that compares several aspects of technical debt in two alternative integration strategies used in an ongoing subsea development project at Aker Solutions (AKSO). Especially, aspects related to using technical debt to describe consequences of unexpected systems emergence during integration, and performing integration activities earlier in the development lifecycle, or in parallel with other engineering activities, have been investigated. The paper furthermore compare and support the case study results with literature.

Results from the case study indicate that there is a higher level of inadvertent technical debt related to integration strategies that conduct Integration and Qualification activities late in the development lifecycle, or incorporate a temporal gap between activities for design, and integration.
Architecture as a Solution Schema for a Class of Problems
Authors: Natarajan Swaminathan , Kumar Anand , Nori Kesav V.
Published: September 2016

The field of architecture has had some difficulty in defining precisely what architecture is, and how exactly it differs from design. There are widely accepted definitions, and other conceptions have been proposed, yet there is some sense that the full essence of what we intuitively grasp as architecture has not been explicated.

We propose a simple framing, that architecture is a solution schema for a class of problems. We contend that taking an architectural approach to any problem involves abstracting the problem to selectively include not only the current instance, but future instances and variants into which this problem may morph over time. Formulation of this architectural problem through abstraction and a solution schema which asserts the capability to address selected stakeholder concerns differentiate architecture from point solution design. We show how this framing leads directly to the accepted definition that architecture consists of components, connectors and principles and guidelines governing system evolution. The discussion indicates why architecture necessarily involves holism and patterns, whereas design is more analytical.
Applying A3 problem resolution to new system design to improve performance and reduce rework
Authors: Svendsen Alexander , Haskins Cecilia
Published: September 2016

There is a need for constant improvement in today's projects/technology to stay competitive in the Oil and Gas market. This motivates actors in this domain to constantly anticipate the need for new products through innovation and development efforts that result in advanced subsea products. One such product is the Subsea Gas Compression module (SGC), the first installation of its kind. Aker Solutions has worked on standardizing Subsea Production Systems (SPS) and developed a quality system to fit these projects. When initiating new product development, Aker Solutions needs to adapt their quality system to define work processes suitable for an innovative project, which may demand other focus areas than for a traditional Major Subsea Project. At the time SGC project execution reached System Integration Testing (SIT) several errors were discovered. Some of these were attributed to late life design changes, multidisciplinary complexity and poor application of the Project Execution Model (PEM). This paper explores the SGC project from a retrospective viewpoint, investigating errors discovered during SIT by performing Root Cause Analysis, and recommends, based on the results, that the company updates the PEM with targeted activities for new product development to improve performance and reduce rework during later stages of development.
On the Nature of Systems of Systems
Authors: FREng Peter Brook
Published: September 2016

As Systems of Systems proliferate in our increasingly connected world, so Systems of Systems Engineering is likely to become the predominant concern of INCOSE. There is merit therefore in taking a fresh look at how we define and categorise the subject, which has grown considerably since it was first identified in the 1990's. This paper is based on observations on the field of SoSE as it is now practised, with an attempt to re‐address how it might be codified in a logical manner. Paradoxes and difficulties remain, and others are encouraged to take up the continuing challenge of rationalising the underpinnings of this key subject.
Influencing Message Propagation in a Social Network Using Embedded Boolean Networks: A Demonstration Using Agent‐Based Modeling
Authors: Polacek George A. , Verma Dinesh , Yang Steve Y.
Published: September 2016

A Boolean network is a self‐organizing construct originally developed in the field of theoretical biology to investigate the limited variety of processes within genetic networks. Our research objective is to reformulate this descriptive biological/mathematical model into an engineering approach that can be used to shape the operational state space of a targeted complex system in a desired way. We demonstrate this by coupling the state control of a Boolean network to the rules used by the agents in an agent‐based system, thereby controlling when these rules are expressed. The application presented in this paper uses an agent‐based model of the financial community network on Twitter as the target system. A Boolean network is employed to influence the propagation of information through the community by inhibiting the retweeting rule of agents with high network centrality. The results are compared against those produced by manually removing the high centrality nodes.
Lessons learnt in the development of a Concurrent Engineering Infrastructure
Authors: Golkar Alessandro
Published: September 2016

We have recently completed the development of the Concurrent Engineering Design Laboratory at Skoltech, one of the first facilities of its kind in the Russian Federation. Concurrent engineering facilities are not built every day; sharing this experience is thus of high value for organizations seeking to develop a new facility from scratch. With our project, we acquired experience in developing concurrent engineering infrastructure, and learnt lessons along the way on how these facilities need to be architected, designed, and implemented, in order to effectively meet the needs and goals of the stakeholders, customers, and operators. The paper intends to describe this experience and formulates lessons learnt on what worked well and what could have worked better in our development project. This paper provides a useful contribution to this purpose, so that systems engineers may build upon our experience and build improved and more effective concurrent engineering laboratories.
Applying Model‐based SE Techniques for Dependable Land Systems
Authors: Payne Richard , Fitzgerald John , Bryans Jeremy , Winthorpe Elspeth
Published: September 2016

A System of Systems (SoS) is a group of independent constituent systems that by their interactions together deliver an emerging capability on which reliance is placed. In the UK Ministry of Defence Land domain, the appetite for uncertainty caused by SoS dependencies is particularly low. Dependability and assurance are therefore vital, both in the integration and interoperability of individual constituent systems, and at the level of the SoS as a whole. This paper presents the findings from a study, asking whether model‐based engineering technologies could potentially deliver a pragmatic method for Land Open Systems Architecture (LOSA) SoS verification and assurance. We conclude that existing model‐based SoS and Cyber‐Physical Systems engineering techniques could potentially deliver a basis for LOSA SoS requirement engineering, design, verification and assurance. However, the techniques studied are at varying levels of maturity and therefore we identify areas of future work that could inform the ongoing research and experimentation programmes for LOSA and others across defence.
SPOTing best approaches to enable SE in Enterprises
Authors: Beasley Richard , Nolan Andy J. , Pickard Andrew C. , Hull Frank M.
Published: September 2016

Systems Engineering is an enabler of better project outcomes and more successful products. It is an interdisciplinary approach that helps integrate disciplines to make sure that the complete problem situation is understood by all, and then applies that understanding to drive engineering activities, utilising an appropriate process.

INCOSE has led the way in defining appropriate Systems Engineering process and practice, and developing individuals into certified Systems Engineers. However, engineering, and especially Systems Engineering, is a team sport – performed in organisations / enterprises. There is a strong argument that better results can be achieved by better application of Systems Engineering. Therefore the issue of how an organisation improves its Systems Engineering capability. There are many recommended, complementary good practices that an organisation should seek to apply – but what is the priority? Which should it develop first? And then which should it do next? INCOSE has little to guide on this.

This paper introduces a set of good practices, which whilst from outside INCOSE / Systems Engineering has significant synergy with Systems Engineering. The Comparative Organization Data Archive, also known as the SPOT databank (from the Concurrent Engineering User Group) does have significant correlations from application (to various standards) to project performance for very many (>1000) projects. From these correlations recommendations can be made regarding the most “impactful” improvement for an organisation to make in their Systems Engineering practice.

The purpose of this paper is to introduce this data, and show the synergy of its practices to good Systems Engineering, and makes recommendations of detailed work INCOSE could support to integrate the data into the canon of Systems Engineering guidance for Systems Engineering.
The Path to Version 0.75 of the Proposed INCOSE Systems Engineering Competency Framework
Authors: Gelosh Don S. , Heisey Mimi , Snoderly John R. , Nidiffer Ken
Published: September 2016

This paper describes the efforts and results so far to evolve the INCOSE Competency Framework to the next stage: Version 0.75. This paper describes how the proposed framework has been aligned with a number of other frameworks, competency models, bodies of knowledge and initiatives. These include but are not limited to the DoD's Better Buying Power 3.0 Implementation Plan, the Defense Acquisition University Competency Model, the US Navy's Systems Engineering Competency Career Model, the new INCOSE Systems Engineering Handbook Fourth Edition and the Systems Engineering Professional Certification Program. This paper also describes current efforts to develop an initial draft Role Definition Guide that will describe the typical roles that systems engineers may assume. The paper concludes by exploring all the remaining coordination activities and other actions required to successfully develop and publish Version 0.75 and eventually Version 1.0.
Engineering Lifecycle Management. What A Bunch Of Rhetoric
Authors: VanZandt Lonnie
Published: September 2016

Paraphrasing Charlton and Adras, management is a process by which managers reflectively model and share a representation of their own processes to enable themselves to perform their eponymous information‐processing activities of monitoring, evaluating, predicting, and controlling their enterprise and its systems. (Charlton & Andras, 2003) Furthermore, managers manage for particular purposes. Purpose‐driven, they acquire systems to address the needs of the enterprise and they manage their stakeholders, engineering lifecycle tools, and artifacts during the acquisition processes to attain certain goals. Modern model‐based systems engineering tools are effective for modeling a single time the adequately stable compositions of sufficiently static units of structure and behavior. However, today, systems engineers and managers struggle to use these tools to specify, analyse, present, and manage these models as stakeholders and architects incrementally evolve those models over time and across space. Therefore, the management of engineering lifecycle models involves more than reliably storing and retrieving in a timely manner the usual collections of related, versioned artifacts. Rather, because all selections and deployments of the enterprise depend on some responsible actor making a choice, management includes the more formidable service of providing to decision‐making stakeholders arguments that demonstrate the adequacy of contextually‐specific solutions to the enterprise's problems. These decision‐making stakeholders need dialectical (i.e. logical) arguments for a proposed system's satisfaction of constraints such as those that are available from adequately formal modeling notations, solvers, and practices. In addition, they need rhetorical (i.e. persuasive) arguments that convince those stakeholders of the aptness of proposals through trust of the proponents and through warrants which appeal to generally accepted grounds.
A Mission Assurance Framework for R&D Organizations
Authors: Hahn Heidi Ann
Published: September 2016

Research and development (R&D) organizations such as the National Nuclear Security Administration's national security laboratories span a spectrum of R&D from basic scientific research to demonstration of actual system prototypes in an operational environment. Application of systems engineering (SE), engineering quality and rigor, and project management is often critical to successful R&D outcomes, but a graded approach is key – neither the type of project being performed nor the funding profile provided by the customer may support the application of very formal processes. To address these challenges, the Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) has developed and is implementing a Mission Assurance Framework that applies the concepts of systems engineering, project management, and engineering quality and rigor using a risk‐based graded approach. This paper describes the LANL approach to developing and implementing the Mission Assurance Framework and discusses the policies, tools, and training that support the diverse set of projects performed across the Laboratory's mission space. Emphasis is placed on the SE and engineering quality aspects of the Framework.
Defining an Architecture Trade off Management Capability
Authors: Monceaux Anne , Arnold Alexandre , Gendre Pascal
Published: September 2016

The architect role is becoming a key role in the context of civil aircraft development. In the past years Airbus has launched several projects to better define the architect's mission, understand the architecture convergence process and needs, and develop the relevant supporting methods and tools. The term “Multidisciplinary Trade‐off Capability” was introduced to designate a general framework that can instrument the architecture definition multidisciplinary process. As a part of this framework, the “Architect Cockpit” more specifically designates a workbench dedicated to the architects. The present contribution deals with the development of the Architect Cockpit capability devoted to the specification and the steering of the trade‐off studies. It presents a prototype tool, provisionally called ArchiManager, which has been incrementally developed to help maturing and illustrating the taken approach.
Adaptability Metric Analysis for Multi‐Mission Design of Manufactured Products and Systems
Authors: Zhu Haifeng , Murray Brian , de Weck Oliver , Skelding Randy , Shougarian Narek , Zeidner Lawrence , Arnold Eileen
Published: September 2016

Adaptability in manufacturing is becoming increasingly important, as it provides flexibility without requiring significant up‐front investment. In this paper, we review the history of this concept, indicate issues with prior work and advance our knowledge of this topic. We provide an explanation and analysis on the concept of mission‐based adaptability that adopts a similar definition as the adaptability in ecosystems, which describes a system's adaptive capability relative to on‐going changes. Our analysis shows the mission‐based adaptability's empirical mathematical properties and indicates this formulation is able to resolve previous approaches’ issues at an optimal level of abstraction. We employ extensive tools and analysis on an airplane engine design example case and demonstrate the importance and usefulness of the adaptability metric for decision makers in the manufacturing industry.
Recommendations for Framing Multi‐Stakeholder Tradespace Exploration
Authors: Fitzgerald Matthew E. , Ross Adam M.
Published: September 2016

Tradespace exploration is a rapidly advancing design and decision support paradigm that is particularly applicable to complex systems with many value‐driving dimensions. These systems commonly have multiple stakeholders that can exert critical influence on the system's conceptual design, necessitating the satisfaction of their needs, and often requiring negotiation. Previous research has suggested that classic tradespace exploration activities may reinforce negative negotiation behaviors through their framing of the multi‐stakeholder problem. This paper presents active research in recommendations for supporting inter‐stakeholder and stakeholder‐data interaction. These recommendations include the reframing of standard tradespace activities and visualizations using the combined insights of the negotiation, framing, and TSE literature and extend from problem formulation through exploration of the data.
Program and Portfolio Affordability Tradeoffs Under Uncertainty Using Epoch‐Era Analysis
Authors: Vascik Parker D. , Ross Adam M. , Rhodes Donna H.
Published: September 2016

The design, acquisition and stewardship of large scale, sociotechnical programs and portfolios faces new challenges as constituent systems evolve in sophistication and interconnectedness, all while exogenous factors become more volatile. However, advances in computational capabilities and uncertainty modeling better enable systems engineers to evaluate value tradeoffs in early phase conceptual design. This paper extends prior work that explored system design tradespaces for affordability under uncertainty to the program and portfolio level. Time‐varying exogenous factors, such as resource availability, stakeholder needs, or technology obsolescence may influence value contribution of constituent systems over the lifecycle of a portfolio, potentially making an initially attractive design less attractive over time. This paper introduces a method to conduct portfolio design for affordability by leveraging Epoch‐Era Analysis with aspects of Modern Portfolio Theory. The method is demonstrated through the design of a carrier strike group portfolio involving the integration of multiple legacy systems and newly acquired vessels.
Middle and High School Teacher Responses to an Authentic Argument Writing Seminar
Authors: Kohnen Angela M.
Published: September 2016

This qualitative study examined a five‐day summer professional development workshop for English language arts teachers on argument writing. Fourteen teacher participants learned from five different professionals who discussed the role of argument in their fields. Teacher blog posts were coded to understand what teacher participants perceived as important to or different from their previous understandings. Findings include (a) authentic argument is as much about an attitude or state of mind as it is about a product on paper; (b) in schools, argument instruction is very focused on structure; (c) research and data are essential to argument outside of schools; and (d) authentic argument has consequences. These findings have implications for those teaching argument writing as an authentic act.
Association of type II secretory phospholipase A2 and surfactant protein D with the pulmonary oxygenation potential in patients with septic shock during polymyxin‐B immobilized fiber‐direct hemoperfusion
Authors: Ishibe Yoriko , Shibata Shigehiro , Takahashi Gaku , Suzuki Yasushi , Inoue Yoshihiro , Endo Shigeatsu
Published: September 2016

This study was undertaken to analyze the association of type II secretory phospholipase A2 (sPLA2‐II) and surfactant protein D (SP‐D) with the pulmonary oxygenation potential in patients with septic shock during polymyxin‐B immobilized fiber‐direct hemoperfusion (PMX‐DHP). The study was conducted in 25 patients with acute lung injury (ALI) or acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). PMX‐DHP lowered the blood endotoxin level in all patients. Following PMX‐DHP, there were decreases from day 0 → day 1 → day 2 in both the mean plasma sPLA2‐II level (340 → 260 → 189 ng/mL) and plasma SP‐D level (483 → 363 → 252 ng/mL). The PaO2/FiO2 ratio (P/F ratio) rose (210 → 237 → 262) in all patients. Upon the onset of ALI or ARDS, there was a significant negative correlation between the sPLA2‐II level and the P/F ratio. Furthermore, there was a significant positive correlation between the sPLA2‐II and TNF‐α levels. The results suggest that as the blood endotoxin levels were lowered by the PMX‐DHP, the inflammatory reactions were suppressed, with suppressed formation of sPLA2‐II and improved pulmonary oxygenation potential. The results also suggested possible involvement of TNF‐α in the production of sPLA2‐II.
Longitudinal analysis of head and somatic growth in fetuses with congenital heart defects
Authors: Turan Sifa , Rosenbloom Joshua I. , Hussein Mostafa , Berg Christoph , Gembruch Ulrich , Baschat Ahmet A , Turan Ozhan M.
Published: September 2016

Purpose

Fetal head and somatic growth dynamics differs in fetuses with congenital heart defects (CHD). We longitudinally characterized fetal head and somatic growth in relation to the type of CHD.

Methods

Four hundred eleven exams from isolated CHD were compared with 1,219 controls. Head and somatic growth was assessed using head circumference (HC), brain volume (BrV = 1/6 × π × (HC/π)3)/2), fetal cephalization index (FCI = BrV/[estimated fetal weight]), and growth percentile. Umbilical and middle cerebral artery Doppler indices were obtained. CHD were grouped as: (1) d‐transposition of great arteries (n = 11); (2) left ventricular outflow tract obstruction with retrograde isthmic flow (n = 18); (3) left ventricular outflow tract obstruction with antegrade isthmic flow (n = 16); (4) pulmonary outflow tract obstructions (n = 22).

Results

The smallest head size was seen in group 1. Growth asymmetry was diagnosed in group 2. Brain sparing was seen in groups 2 and 4 (p < 0.0001). HC and BrV percentiles decreased with advancing gestational age (p < 0.001) in group 2, and a significant drop was observed around 28 weeks.

Conclusions

d‐Transposition of great arteries and left‐sided CHD leading to isthmic blood flow reversal are associated with delayed head growth. Prenatal evaluation of central hemodynamics in CHD may be contributive for predicting neurodevelopmental risks in CHD and help directing prenatal interventions. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 45:96–104, 2017;
Sonographic monitoring of endoscopic carpal tunnel release
Authors: Ohno Katsunori , Hirofuji Shinji , Fujino Keitaro , Ishidu Tsunehiko , Kira Sadamasa , Neo Masashi
Published: September 2016

We evaluated the effectiveness of sonographic monitoring of endoscopic carpal tunnel release for the prevention of median nerve or arterial injury and incomplete release of the flexor retinaculum (FR). When the outer tube (OT) was inserted, we used sonography to confirm the relationship of the OT, median nerve, ulnar artery, and superficial palmar arch. Under real‐time US monitoring, the OT was lifted up before and after FR release, the so‐called lift‐up test, to evaluate its mobility under sonography and confirm complete FR release. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound 44:597–599, 2016
Scaling up zinc treatment for childhood diarrhoea in the developing country setting: a before‐ and after‐intervention study
Authors: Nunan Michael , Horoto William , Manea Timmy , Duncan Greg , Duke Trevor
Published: September 2016

Introduction

Zinc sulphate is an important intervention for the treatment of diarrhoea in children in developing countries. We undertook a series of interventions to increase the availability and usage of zinc sulphate at primary healthcare facilities in the Solomon Islands.

Methodology

A 12 month before‐and‐after intervention effectiveness trial in 80 randomly selected clinics. Data was collected on whether children <5 years old with diarrhoea had received zinc. Data was also collected on other medications received, the availability of zinc and staff comprehension. A series of interventions was implemented by the National Pharmacy Services Division.

Results

The mean usage of zinc sulphate increased by 191.2% over baseline; from 106/771 (13.7%) at baseline to 283/710 (39.9%) (p < 0.05, χ2) at follow‐up; the use of oral rehydration salts (ORS) did not decrease. The availability of zinc sulphate increased from 3/77 clinics (3.9%) to 61/69 clinics (88.4%) (p < 0.05).

Low‐cost interventions can improve the usage of zinc sulphate in the Pacific island setting. This paper provides a model for other countries to increase uptake of zinc sulphate and other interventions at the primary healthcare level.
The structural properties and antigenicity of soybean glycinin by glycation with xylose
Authors: Bu Guanhao , Zhu Tingwei , Chen Fusheng
Published: September 2016

BACKGROUND

Soybean glycinin is considered a major allergenic protein, and glycation is widely used to reduce the allergenic potential of present allergens. Glycation of soybean glycinin with xylose at 55 °C for different lengths of time was investigated. The extent of Maillard reaction was reflected through the content changing of free amino groups, color analysis and sodium dodecyl sulfate–polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Alteration in the structural properties of glycinin was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and antigenicity was evaluated by indirect competitive enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS

The changes in the color of glycinin–xylose samples and the reduction of free amino group content in proteins indicated that the Maillard reaction occurred. The degree of glycation increased in glycated samples with the increase in reaction time. Glycation induced the changes in the secondary structure of glycinin and the ordered structure of proteins increased during the glycation reaction. The antigenicity of glycinin was reduced with the increase in reaction time. After glycation for 12 h, the antigenicity of glycinin declined about 18% compared with native glycinin.

CONCLUSION

The application of glycation may be an efficient method to reduce the antigenicity of soybean glycinin. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry
Follow practical advice to limit legal challenges regarding internship programs
Authors: Bradford Michele G.
Published: September 2016

Colleges and schools with cosmetology programs are facing legal challenges in the courts for having their students work for no compensation while they're in the training or internship phase of their program.
Innovative strategies prove effective for managing personnel, budget, enrollment challenges
Authors: McCarthy Claudine
Published: September 2016

A 35‐year career has presented Richard Walker, Ed.D., with plenty of challenges, which he's turned into opportunities for developing creative solutions. Named one of NASPA's Pillars of the Profession for the Class of 2016, Walker is vice chancellor/vice president for student affairs and enrollment services at the University of Houston. He shared innovative strategies for some of his biggest challenges.
Regional tailor‐made policy making in trade licensing administration—case of Slovakia
Authors: Malatinec Tomáš , Marišová Eleonóra , Kováč Viliam
Published: September 2016

Local public administration contributes to a favorable business environment. Slovak Trade Licensing Administration (TLA) provides public services for traders. Centrally managed policy making without taking into account of local and regional specifics is not fully conforming to the current local needs of territorial units. Innovative administrative interventions from the central tier may reflect territorial needs of these units. Spatial distribution of performance data points out regional differences in the territorial units of the TLA. There are significant regional differences in the numbers of trades per employees and performed administrative actions. It creates conditions for individual approach in policy making. Cluster analysis groups the territorial units of the TLA for suitable tailor‐made policy making from the central tier. Based on the findings, there are seven clusters of territorial units with specific local and regional needs. Tailor‐made policy making can take into account of territorial specifics and strengthening the role of territorial units of the TLA in regional development.
Characterizing the flow of slurries using percolation theory‐based functions
Authors: Wetzel Mark D. , Campbell Gregory A.
Published: September 2016

All polymer slurries that have a high concentration of filler are shear thinning. A new function was found that linearly correlates the power law constant,n, to the concentration of the filler. The behavior of this function suggests that the Newtonian to power‐law behavior may be dominated by percolation processes and the area of the filler. A theory is presented that predicts the power law constant,n, as a function of filler cluster formation and the decrease of dissipation due to no velocity gradient in the clusters. This percolation based rheological analysis is then extended to polystyrene melts and highly filled polyethylene resin. Highly filled polymer compounds can present processing challenges, including high screw shaft torque, energy consumption, pressure and melt temperature. A percolation based evaluation of the effects of filler concentration on melt processing is presented using experiments with a batch mixer. It is demonstrated that measurements can be correlated to the theoretical treatment of the rheology as a particulate percolating system. The implications of the increase in viscosity with filler concentration on polymer processing are discussed from a practical engineering perspective. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 57:403–416, 2017. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers
Does South African Affirmative Action Policy Reduce Poverty? A CGE Analysis
Authors: Maisonnave Hélène , Decaluwe Bernard , Chitiga Margaret
Published: September 2016

This article presents a computable general equilibrium model (CGEM) able to measure the impacts of the affirmative action policy set up in South Africa. In order to decrease inequalities inherited from the former regime, the government encourages firms to employ historically disadvantaged persons. Through this study, we evaluate the impact of this policy on employment, poverty, and inequality using a CGE top‐down approach. The article analyzes one scenario that deals with the impact of affirmative action on skilled jobs. Results show a deep decrease in unemployment and poverty for each population group.
Systems biology integration of proteomic data in rodent models of depression reveals involvement of the immune response and glutamatergic signaling
Authors: Carboni Lucia , Nguyen Thanh‐Phuong , Caberlotto Laura
Published: September 2016

Purpose

The pathophysiological basis of major depression is incompletely understood. Recently, numerous proteomic studies have been performed in rodent models of depression to investigate the molecular underpinnings of depressive‐like behaviours with an unbiased approach. The objective of the study is to integrate the results of these proteomic studies in depression models to shed light on the most relevant molecular pathways involved in the disease.

Experimental design

Network analysis is performed integrating preexisting proteomic data from rodent models of depression. The IntAct mouse and the HRPD are used as reference protein–protein interaction databases. The functionality analyses of the networks are then performed by testing overrepresented GO biological process terms and pathways.

Results

Functional enrichment analyses of the networks revealed an association with molecular processes related to depression in humans, such as those involved in the immune response. Pathways impacted by clinically effective antidepressants are modulated, including glutamatergic signaling and neurotrophic responses. Moreover, dysregulations of proteins regulating energy metabolism and circadian rhythms are implicated. The comparison with protein pathways modulated in depressive patients revealed significant overlapping.

Conclusions and clinical relevance

This systems biology study supports the notion that animal models can contribute to the research into the biology and therapeutics of depression.
Leggett–Garg inequalities violation via the Fermi contact hyperfine interaction
Authors: Łobejko Marcin , Dajka Jerzy
Published: September 2016

In this paper we examine theoretically how the spin–spin interaction between a nuclei and an electron in the atom affects violation of the Leggett–Garg inequalities. We consider the simplest case of atoms in the state that in the valence shell have just a single electron and the evolution in time of the spin is dictated only by the Fermi contact hyperfine interaction. We found that for special initial conditions and a particular measured observable the high spin nucleus couple to the valence electron such that violation of Leggett–Garg inequalities increases with total spin of states. Consequently, our results show that for the Hydrogen, the smallest atom in Nature, the violation of the Leggett–Garg inequalities is the smallest whereas for the largest atom, the Cesium, the violation is the largest. Moreover, this violation does not depend on a principal quantum number, thus our model can be used for Rydberg atoms in order to test macrorealism for ‘almost macroscopic’ objects.
Effects of hydrogen pressure on hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin films prepared by low‐temperature reactive pulsed laser deposition
Authors: Mellos A. , Kandyla M. , Palles D. , Kompitsas M.
Published: September 2016

We deposit intrinsic hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a‐Si:H) thin films by reactive pulsed laser deposition, for various hydrogen pressures in the 0–20 Pa range, at a low deposition temperature of 120 °C, and investigate the hydrogen incorporation, structural, optical, and electrical properties of the films, as a function of the ambient hydrogen pressure. The film thickness decreases linearly as the hydrogen pressure increases. The hydrogen content of the films is determined by infrared spectroscopy and the optical bandgap from UV‐Vis‐NIR transmittance and reflectance measurements. Electric measurements yield the dark conductivity of the films. The hydrogen concentration of the films lies in the 1021–1022cm–3 range and increases with the hydrogen pressure until the latter reaches 15 Pa, beyond which the hydrogen concentration decreases. The optical bandgap and dark conductivity follow the hydrogen concentration variation of the films. The dark conductivity lies in the 10–9–10–10S/cm range. An unusually wide optical bandgap of 2.2–2.6 eV is observed.
Simulation of the disorder effects in ferroelectric phase transitions using two‐dimensional statistical models
Authors: Riesco R. , Marqués M. I. , Peláiz‐Barranco A. , García‐Zaldívar O. , Aragó C.
Published: September 2016

Two‐dimensional Ising models are used to explain the disorder effects in mixed solid solutions and doped relaxor systems. On ferro‐ferro solutions like Pb(Zr1‐xTix)O3 (PZT), the composition dependence of the Curie temperature TC(x) usually deviates from the averaged linear behavior known as the Vegard's law. This deviation is mimicked by a Hamiltonian model including interactions between different types of dipoles in a two dimensional lattice. Doping PZT with lanthanum (PLZT) results in a relaxor behavior that is explained by adding a new term to 2D Ising model that takes into account the interaction between dipoles and itinerant charges.