bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
A Study of System Development in a Research and Development Environment with a focus on Radar Systems
Authors: John Rini S. , Erasmus Louwrence D. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe objective of this study was to analyse the development of radar systems in a government research and development environment from a systems engineering perspective and identify which, if any, systems engineering tools and methods are used. The practical portion of the research took a mixed methods approach where both qualitative and quantitative data collection techniques were used. The quantitative portion of the research assessed aspects of systems engineering in the context of the research environment the participant is working in using categories of the Systems Engineering Capability (SECM) EIA/IS 731 model. Analysis of the data indicated that, in principle, systems engineering methods and tools are supposed to be applied in this research area, however this was not done consistently across projects. Some of the challenges in this research area included eliciting clear customer requirements, resource constraints and budget and schedule overruns. Recommendations were made based on the findings from a systems engineering perspective.
The Capability to Engineer Systems is a System Itself!
Authors: Beasley Richard , Pickard Andrew C. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractSystems Thinking can be applied to anything. This paper explores an important application of Systems Thinking ‐ to identify the capability needed by an organization to engineer products and services and so produce value for its customers and for the enterprise. The work draws upon work in the authors’ company to develop and deliver the engineering capability necessary for the business context. It draws upon the ideas of capability, but adapts them to the idea of the effect of the capability being used to produce systems. The issue is the understanding of the capability needed to engineer capability as a system, and how that understanding can be used to both ensure capability is complete and can be prioritized. Recent experience in identification and prioritization of capability needs to engineer a product (which includes but is not limited to Systems Engineering) in the authors’ organization is explored in this paper.
A Framework of International Competencies for Systems Engineers
Authors: Marnewick Annlizé L. , Handley Holly A.H. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractIn the course of their career, many systems engineers are likely to interact with engineers of other nationalities as they collaborate on large, complex projects and system of system problems. These partnerships are necessary to support international goals, such as those for sustainable development. System engineers may even work onsite in other countries where they must adapt to different styles of doing business. This requires a set of global skill sets for cooperating and decision making, as well as basic social skills for interacting with the local community. These global skills can be included in a graduate level system engineering curriculum by integrating a set of “international competencies” that includes cognitive style differences, culture awareness, communication, ethics, and teamwork. The competencies were identified through a literature review of suggested global engineering skill sets; these five themes consistently appeared throughout the literature. The Graduate Reference Curriculum for Systems Engineering (GRCSE) was then reviewed to link these competencies to established systems engineering learning outcomes and System Engineering Body of Knowledge (SEBOK) topics. Finally, teaching elements are suggested that can be included even in established curriculums to introduce systems engineers to the skills they need to be successful in a global world.
The SE Handbook: What Does It Mean to Me? A Proposal to Improve the Practical Application of the SE Handbook
Authors: Hoehne Oliver , Russell Jennifer , van de Ven Marcel 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe INCOSE systems engineering (SE) handbook (Haskins, 2015) has served our discipline well for the years of its application. The authors foresee the future applicability of the contents in section 1.1 Purpose where it defines the discipline and practice of systems engineering (SE) for students and practicing professionals alike. The SE Handbook provides an authoritative reference to understand the SE discipline in terms of content and practice. Additionally, section 1.2 Application describes, while being consistent with the ISO/IEC/IEEE 15288, the handbook further elaborates on the practices and activities necessary to execute the processes, and that it is recommended that the tailoring guidelines in chapter 8 be used.With the strong baseline of defined systems engineering, Chapter 8 of the handbook addresses the Tailoring Process and Application of Systems Engineering. As of now, only 18 of the 290 handbook pages (6.2%) are dedicated to the tailoring process and applied tailoring. Section 8.2, Tailoring for Specific Product Sector or Domain Application is only afforded 5 pages (1.7% of the handbook total). The planned update of the INCOSE SE handbook offers an opportunity to enhance the practical application of the SE handbook. This paper reviews the current SE handbook structure, proposes an envisioned solution, provides a proof of concept, and discusses the recommended adjustments using a holistic systems engineering approach.
Infrastructure Working Group exploratory study of SE for Complex Buildings – progress year one
Authors: Mooney Jon W. , van de Ven Marcel 
Published: September 2020

AbstractMembers of the INCOSE Infrastructure Working Group are conducting an exploratory activity, studying Systems Engineering applied to the life cycle of complex buildings. This paper reviews the progress in the study's first year and summarizes the lessons learned about the major strengths and weaknesses of Systems Engineering and the opportunities and challenges displayed by the building industry.
Unlocking Hidden Dimensions of EVMS
Authors: Duffy James B. , Brouse Peggy 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe Earned Value Measurement System (EVMS) is a widely adopted, but not highly acclaimed, technique for measuring and forecasting the status of projects. Past research has examined some of the perceived shortcomings of the EVMS technique, and more recent research has identified methods for improving the standard EVMS calculation techniques. This paper proposes that the greatest shortcoming of EVMS is not the calculation technique, but that EVMS is not measuring enough parameters, nor the correct parameters. This paper identifies a method of capturing additional key project parameters, such as quality and work effort, using existing, established EVMS methods. This paper also identifies how all critical project parameters (cost, schedule, quality, and work) can be displayed in a single graphic image; thereby providing a more complete and probably more accurate picture of the project status.
Applying a Case Study Method in Systems Engineering Research
Authors: Ramdas Ashlin , Goncalves Duarte P , Sunjka Bernadette 
Published: September 2020

AbstractSystems engineering activities focuses mainly on objective perspectives which can be measured and verified but largely ignores subjective aspects. As systems become more complex, the interactions between humans and systems are also important. There are social influences in a multidisciplinary engineering team and the implication is that a system engineer must be responsible for understanding these social influences on the development and operation of a system. This requires a qualitative method of enquiry. In this paper qualitative methods are briefly introduced and the detailed application of the case study method and its limitations are discussed. The Square Kilometer Array (SKA) Project was used as the case study and the research design and data collection considerations for the study are presented. One of the study's research question (How is the development process structured in the project and why?) is used to illustrate the data analysis and discussion.
Robinhoods and the Nasdaq whale: The makings of the 2020 big‐tech bubble
Authors: Tokic Damir 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThis article discusses the big‐tech bubble of 2020, which has all characteristics of the positive‐feedback trading model bubble. The rational speculation activity successfully attracted the positive feedback traders (or the retail army of novice investors), which overpowered the rational arbitrageurs (fundamentally driven hedge funds and market makers) and inflated the stock price valuations well beyond the fundamentals.
Development of a modified drug delivery system through the incorporation of furosemide into sericin and alginate matrix using the experimental design approach
Authors: Bezerra Iêda CS , Moma Maryenne SM , Freitas Emanuelle D , Silva Meuris GC , Vieira Melissa GA 
Published: September 2020

AbstractBACKGROUNDMost drugs are designed for immediate release via oral administration, releasing the dosage rapidly. Those administration forms can present a wide variation in drug concentrations, which can be harmful to a patient, when the amount of drug is either below or above the therapeutic range. Modified‐release formulations promise to alleviate the problems inherent to immediate‐release drugs by modifying their form of encapsulation. A sericin/alginate blend was applied as a matrix to modify the release of furosemide. The influence of furosemide and alginate concentration was evaluated in the incorporation efficiency and release time of 85% of drug content using a 22 full‐factorial experimental design. Various analytical techniques were employed to characterize the produced drug particles.RESULTSThe incorporation efficiencies ranged from 73.4 ± 2.1% to 84.7 ± 2.9% and the release could be classified as delayed and sustained due to gastroresistance of the particles and a longer release time compared to the commercial drug. Release mechanism was controlled by the relaxation of macromolecular chains due to absorption of water by the particles and the erosion of the matrix. The presence of furosemide crystals was confirmed. Furosemide thermal stability was not altered with its incorporation into the sericin/alginate blend and mean diameter was small enough that the particles could be applied to multiparticulate systems.CONCLUSIONSSericin/alginate blend could serve as a biodegradable and biocompatible matrix for furosemide incorporation for delayed and sustained drug delivery. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry (SCI)
Synthesis, spectroscopic characterization, and in vitro antioxidant activity of polyglycidylmethacrylate/polyindole conducting polymer composites
Authors: Alayunt Naci Ömer , Soykan Cengiz 
Published: September 2020

AbstractPolyglycidylmethacrylate/polyindole (PGMA/PIN) conducting polymer composites having five different compositions were prepared chemically using FeCl3 as an oxidant agent in chloroform solution and nitrogen atmosphere at 10°C. The conducting polymer composites were characterized by FTIR spectroscopic technique, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) measurements. It is seen that morphological structure of composite is different from PIN and PGMA. PGMA/PIN conducting polymer composite including 50% of PIN has a nonuniform and less homogenous structure compared to the PIN and PGMA polymer. in vitro antioxidant activity such as reduction force, superoxide radical removal activity, hydroxyl radical trapping activity, MDA measurements in Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells of PGMA/PIN conducting polymer composite was investigated. It was observed that the reduction force capacities decreased as PIN content and increased due to the percentage of composite of PGMA content. in vitro studies of synthesized composites have shown us that these compounds possess new antioxidant properties.
Changes in computed tomography findings of COVID‐19 pneumonia: Less extensive lung involvement with decreasing disease prevalence
Authors: Gumus Terman , Cengiz Duygu , Kartal Furkan , Atceken Zeynep , Tekin Süda , Atasoy Kayhan Cetin 
Published: September 2020

AbstractIt has been observed that the degree of pulmonary involvement shown in chest computed tomography (CT) scans tended to decrease as the prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) infection decreased in the Turkish population. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the disease severity based on chest CT scans and the temporal evolution of the epidemic. This study recruited 179 patients with confirmed COVID‐19 disease who had received a chest CT scan between March 14 and April 28, 2020. The participants were divided into three successive temporal groups based on their date of CT examination. The early (March 14–29), mid (March 30–April 13), and late (April 14–28) groups were compared regarding the presence and extent of pulmonary involvement and CT characteristics of lesions. COVID‐19 pneumonia was less extensive in participants under 45 years of age and patients presenting late in the course of epidemic (i.e., the late group) compared those presenting earlier. When each group was subcategorized on the basis of age, older patients in the late group had less extensive lung involvement than older patients in the early group. However, there was no significant difference in the extent of lung involvement in younger patients between the late and early groups. The severity of COVID‐19 pneumonia appears to be variable at different temporal windows of the epidemic curve and decreases in patients presenting in the later weeks compared to the earlier weeks, particularly in older patients.
Strengthening western equatorial Pacific and Maritime Continent atmospheric convection and its modulation on the trade wind during spring of 1901–2010
Authors: Li Zhenning , Yang Song , Tam Chi‐Yung , Hu Chundi 
Published: September 2020

AbstractChanges in the tropical atmospheric overturning circulation can strongly influence the global weather pattern via affecting the location, extent, and strength of tropical convective heating. However, due to limitations in obtaining reliable global data before the satellite era, there are still uncertainties on long‐term changes in the tropical overturning features, such as the Walker Circulation. By analysing the 20th century reanalysis products, ship‐based observations and gauge‐based land precipitation data, robust intensification of convection is found over the western equatorial Pacific and Maritime Continent (WEP‐MC; 90°E–150°E/15°S–15°N), where rainfall and total cloud cover increased by 15–20% in boreal spring during 1901–2010. The signal is noticeably seasonally dependent, and both rainfall and cloud cover show consistent and significant increasing trends only in the boreal spring season. General circulation model (GCM) experiments were conducted using two different reconstructed SST data sets as forcing; results from both runs indicate springtime intensification of WEP‐MC convection, even with relatively uniform SST warming. Further, numerical experiments using a simplified model show that the Pacific trade wind can be accelerated by intensifying cumulus heating; however, this can be sensitive to the location of convection, and only occurs if the latter is within ±5° in latitude along the equator. Our findings suggest that the secular change in the Walker Circulation is potentially discovered from the current reanalysis and observational data sets if “regional‐up” approaches are applied.
Effects of stereoisomeric structure and bond location on the ignition and reaction pathways of hexenes
Authors: Barraza‐Botet Cesar L. , Liu Changpeng , Kim John H. , Wagnon Scott W. , Wooldridge Margaret S. 
Published: September 2020

AbstractThe current work presents new experimental autoignition and speciation data on the two cis‐hexene isomers: cis‐2‐hexene and cis‐3‐hexene. The new data provide insights on the effects of carbon‐carbon double bond location and stereoisomeric structures on ignition delay times and reaction pathways for linear hexene isomers. Experiments were performed using the University of Michigan rapid compression facility to determine ignition delay times from pressure‐time histories. Stoichiometric (ϕ = 1.0) mixtures at dilution levels of inert gas to O2 = 7.5:1 (mole basis) were investigated at an average pressure of 11 atm and temperatures from 809 to 1052 K. Speciation experiments were conducted at T = 900 K for the two cis‐hexene isomers, where fast‐gas sampling and gas chromatography were used to identify and quantify the two cis‐hexene isomers and stable intermediate species. The ignition delay time data showed negligible sensitivity to the location of the carbon‐carbon double bond and the stereoisomeric structure (cis‐trans), and the species data showed no correlation with the stereoisomeric structure, but there was a strong correlation of some of the measured species with the location of the double bond in the hexene isomer. In particular, 2‐hexene showed strong selectivity to propene, acetaldehyde, and 1,3‐butadiene, and 3‐hexene showed selectivity to propanal. Model predictions of ignition delay times were in excellent agreement with the experimental data. There was generally good agreement for the model predictions of the species data for 2‐hexene; however, the mechanism overpredicted some of the small aldehyde (C2‐C4) species for 3‐hexene. Reaction pathway analysis indicates the hexenes are almost exclusively consumed by H‐atom abstraction reactions at the conditions studied (P = 11 atm, T > 900 K), and not by C3‐C4 scission as observed in high‐temperature (>1300 K) hexene ignition studies. Improved estimates for 3‐hexene + OH reactions may improve model predictions for the species measured in this work.
Bleaching color‐loss of green field pea: An investigation on inference of genotypic‐resistance based on chlorophyll and phenolic acid content
Authors: McDonald Linda , Maharjan Pankaj , Portman Drew , Panozzo Joseph 
Published: September 2020

AbstractColor‐loss of green field pea, commonly referred to as bleaching, can occur prior to harvest once the grain has ripened or during grain storage and is thought to be the result of chlorophyll depletion in the cotyledon. However, the mechanisms of bleaching‐resistance, exhibited within some genotypes, are not well understood. The antioxidant activity of phenolic compounds can inhibit chlorophyll degradation, and therefore, the presence of phenolic compounds may improve bleaching‐resistance. In this study, five green pea genotypes, differing in resistance to bleaching, were assessed for grain‐color as well as content of chlorophyll and major phenolic acids, in both the hull and cotyledon. For each genotype, resistance to bleaching was inferred by the range of color scores observed. Chlorophyll and phenolic acid contents both decreased overall as the whole‐grain color became lighter (bleached); however, there was no direct relation found between these compounds and the known resistance of each genotype. Chlorophyll content in the cotyledon was correlated (r = −0.735, p < 0.001) with cotyledon color but not with whole‐grain color (r = −0.212, p = 0.01). Furthermore, the ratio of cotyledon chlorophyll A/B and the ratio of phenolic acid content (hulls) to total chlorophyll content (cotyledon) were not directly correlated with resistance. Although the total chlorophyll and phenolic acid contents were both depleted as the extent of bleaching increased, neither could fully explain differences in bleaching‐resistance between genotypes. Furthermore, the green color and color‐loss of whole‐grain samples could not be fully attributed to chlorophyll pigments. Therefore, it is likely that other phenolic compounds contribute to both the grain color and the resistance to bleaching.
Plant‐based diets and diabetic neuropathy: A systematic review
Authors: Storz Maximilian Andreas , Küster Onno 
Published: September 2020

AbstractIntroductionDiabetic polyneuropathy (DPN) is a debilitating condition and associated with significant morbidity, including gait disturbances, reduced quality of life, and pain, that is often resistant to conventional treatments. Treatment of DPN is based on several major approaches, including risk factor management, intensive glycemic control, and symptomatic pain management. Although some authors argue that none of the existing treatment options are satisfactory, an alternative strategy is frequently overlooked: the use of a whole‐food, plant‐based diet. The aim of this review was to systematically investigate whether a whole‐food, plant‐based diet could beneficially affect patients suffering from type 2 diabetes and DPN.MethodsThe electronic databases of PubMed and Google Scholar were searched using the keywords “plant‐based,” “vegetarian,” “vegan,” “diet,” and “diabetic neuropathy.”ResultsOnly a handful of studies investigated the effects of a plant‐based diet on diabetic neuropathy. These studies suggest that a plant‐based diet may alleviate pain in affected patients while significantly improving glycemic control, overweight, and serum lipids at the same time. Moreover, a plant‐based diet appears to reduce the medication burden in affected patients. However, the results must be interpreted with caution, because the number of clinical trials is limited and all studies have important limitations with regard to their methodology. The dietary intervention was often combined with exercise and other supplemental factors, complicating the interpretation of results. Several potential mechanisms of action including improved blood flow and optimized intake of important nutrients were identified. These factors might complementarily contribute to improved perfusion in the endoneurial microvasculature, thus reducing local hypoxia and improving pain.ConclusionPhysicians should consider recommending a plant‐based diet to patients suffering from DPN, as current studies show favorable effects in terms of pain management, glycemic control, and reduced medication needs. Further well‐designed studies are required to confirm the results of this review.
Does chronic rhinosinusitis relate to systemic hypoxemia?
Authors: Bhattacharyya Neil 
Published: September 2020

AbstractObjectivesDetermine if chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is associated with systemic hypoxemia.MethodsOutpatient otolaryngology visits for 12 months were analyzed, identifying patients with a diagnosis of CRS, without a comorbid diagnosis of pulmonary disease, and an oxygen saturation measurement within 14 days of the otolaryngology visit. Oxygen saturation (SpO2) measures (average SpO2, minimum SpO2 and proportion abnormal SpO2) were compared between CRS patients (with nasal polyps [NP] and without NP) and a control cohort of otology patients, also without pulmonary disease with univariate and multivariate analysis.ResultsAmong 640 unique CRS patients with 3105 encounters, the mean and minimum SpO2 measurements were 97.6% (97.5%‐97.7%) and 97.3% (97.2%‐97.5%), respectively. Among 3613 control patients with 25 073 encounters, the mean and minimum SpO2 measurements were 97.3% (97.3%‐97.4%) and 97.1% (97.1%‐97.2%), respectively. When comparing mean and minimum SpO2 among CRSsNP (97.5% and 97.2%), CRScNP (97.3% and 97.0%) and control patients (97.3% and 97.1%), no statistically significant differences were found among the 3 groups in mean and minimum SpO2 adjusting for age and sex (P = .183 and P = .464, respectively, ANOVA). With respect to the presence of an abnormally low oxygen saturation (SpO2 ≤ 94%), 4.4% of the CRSsNP, 10.9% of the CRScNP and 7.3% of the control patients demonstrated a low oxygen saturation (P = .013).ConclusionCRS alone does not objectively contribute to systemic hypoxemia, although a subset of CRScNP patients may have abnormally low SpO2, possibly warranting SpO2 assessment in this group of patients.Level of evidence3.