bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Integration of international competencies into systems engineering graduate programs
Authors: Marnewick Annlizé L. , Handley Holly A.H. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractIt has been widely acknowledged that systems engineers require international competencies to address global problems and participate in diverse teams to enable them to work with people who think differently and whose beliefs and culture might be different. However, practical approaches to build these competencies in graduate‐level systems engineering programs are few. This paper offers an approach to facilitate learning for the international competencies required to be a successful systems engineer in an international arena. Most systems engineers pursuing master's degrees are working full time and some are taking classes in a web‐based or distributed mode. This renders most of the methods suggested for teaching international competencies in undergraduate (or full‐time graduate) curriculums untenable, that is, requiring a second language, studying abroad, or other time‐intensive or location‐specific activity. The aim of this paper is to derive a model that provides a guideline on how to facilitate learning of the international competencies and support the competencies building process with the required flexibility expected of a graduate level learning program. The competency building model was derived from literature and piloted using a COVID‐19 case study; the case study is based on a typical systems engineering exercise combined with social learning aspects that initiate the development process of international competencies. The model provides an example of how some of the international competencies can be integrated into existing systems engineering curricula and the example case study illustrates a specific implementation for part‐time, graduate students. This research offers a transition from theory to application and identifies practical approaches to transfer international competencies to graduate students. As highlighted by literature and by the case study pilot, by facilitating exposure to different problem perspectives, as well as deliberate reflection and analysis during teaching interactions, these competencies can be built.
Economic Theories and Sustainable Development
Authors: Ditlev-Simonsen Caroline D. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractIn this chapter, I provide a brief introduction of some of the key economic theories, and how and to which extent they apply to sustainable development and corporate responsibility. How economics, international trade, organizations, tax, values, banks, governments, and so on work today can all be attributed to one or more of the economic theorists introduced in this chapter. Still, these theories were developed at the time when environmental challenges such as climate change and resource depletion were not pressing issues, and therefore not considered. I conclude with an overview of the key economists and philosophers who explicitly consider sustainability and corporate responsibility in their assessment of society and business. This chapter concludes with discussing new trends and theories capturing the sustainable element of business models.
Circular Economy: New Business Models
Authors: Ditlev-Simonsen Caroline D. 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThis chapter begins with an overview of the key challenges faced by society with a linear economy and proceeds to the concept of circular economy, its potential, and associated challenges. Key elements in circular economy will be addressed including issues like “refuse”, “reduce”, reuse”, “refurbish”, and “recycle”. I provide numerous examples to illustrate the different approaches in practice. The role of different stakeholders in the process of achieving a circular economy is discussed. Lastly, the transition from selling products to providing services is addressed.
Sunlight Glinting on Clouds: Deception and Autonomous Weapons Systems
Authors: Sharkey Amanda , Sharkey Noel 
Published: December 2021

AbstractThe art of deception has played a significant role in military conflict for centuries and has been discussed extensively. Yet there has been an absence in the literature of any scrutiny of the risks posed by the deception of Autonomous Weapons Systems (AWS). After explaining the nature of AWS, we overview reasons given in their favour and arguments against them. Examples of military deceptive strategies are considered, together with reflections on the nature of deception. The core of the paper is a technical examination of some of the ways that AWS could be deceived and the potential humanitarian consequences. Since AWS have, by definition, an absence of meaningful human control, any deception could remain hidden until too late. We conclude that awareness of the vulnerability of sensing and image processing systems of AWS to deception reinforces and strengthens the case against their development and use.
Symbol alphabets from tensor diagrams
Authors: Ren Lecheng , Spradlin Marcus , Volovich Anastasia 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
We propose to use tensor diagrams and the Fomin-Pylyavskyy conjectures to explore the connection between symbol alphabets of n-particle amplitudes in planar $$ \mathcal{N} $$
N
= 4 Yang-Mills theory and certain polytopes associated to the Grassmannian Gr(4, n). We show how to assign a web (a planar tensor diagram) to each facet of these polytopes. Webs with no inner loops are associated to cluster variables (rational symbol letters). For webs with a single inner loop we propose and explicitly evaluate an associated web series that contains information about algebraic symbol letters. In this manner we reproduce the results of previous analyses of n ≤ 8, and find that the polytope $$ {\mathcal{C}}^{\dagger}\left(4,9\right) $$

C
†

4
9

encodes all rational letters, and all square roots of the algebraic letters, of known nine-particle amplitudes.
Dark photon bounds in the dark EFT
Authors: Barducci Daniele , Bertuzzo Enrico , Grilli di Cortona Giovanni , Salla Gabriel M. 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Dark photons are massive abelian gauge bosons that interact with ordinary photons via a kinetic mixing with the hypercharge field strength tensor. This theory is probed by a variety of different experiments and limits are set on a combination of the dark photon mass and kinetic mixing parameter. These limits can however be strongly modified by the presence of additional heavy degrees of freedom. Using the framework of dark effective field theory, we study how robust are the current experimental bounds when these new states are present. We focus in particular on the possible existence of a dark dipole interaction between the Standard Model leptons and the dark photon. We show that, under certain assumptions, the presence of a dark dipole modifies existing supernovæ bounds for cut-off scales up to $$ \mathcal{O} $$
O
(10–100 TeV). On the other hand, terrestrial experiments, such as LSND and E137, can probe cut-off scales up to $$ \mathcal{O} $$
O
(3 TeV). For the latter experiment we highlight that the bound may extend down to vanishing kinetic mixing.
SU(N) gauge theories in 3+1 dimensions: glueball spectrum, string tensions and topology
Authors: Athenodorou Andreas , Teper Michael 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
We calculate the low-lying glueball spectrum, several string tensions and some properties of topology and the running coupling for SU(N) lattice gauge theories in 3 + 1 dimensions. We do so for 2 ≤ N ≤ 12, using lattice simulations with the Wilson plaquette action, and for glueball states in all the representations of the cubic rotation group, for both values of parity and charge conjugation. We extrapolate these results to the continuum limit of each theory and then to N = ∞. For a number of these states we are able to identify their continuum spins with very little ambiguity. We calculate the fundamental string tension and k = 2 string tension and investigate the N dependence of the ratio. Using the string tension as the scale, we calculate the running of a lattice coupling and confirm that g2(a) ∝ 1/N for constant physics as N → ∞. We fit our calculated values of a√σ with the 3-loop β-function, and extract a value for $$ {\Lambda}_{\overline{MS}} $$

Λ

MS
¯

, in units of the string tension, for all our values of N, including SU(3). We use these fits to provide analytic formulae for estimating the string tension at a given lattice coupling. We calculate the topological charge Q for N ≤ 6 where it fluctuates sufficiently for a plausible estimate of the continuum topological susceptibility. We also calculate the renormalisation of the lattice topological charge, ZQ(β), for all our SU(N) gauge theories, using a standard definition of the charge, and we provide interpolating formulae, which may be useful in estimating the renormalisation of the lattice θ parameter. We provide quantitative results for how the topological charge ‘freezes’ with decreasing lattice spacing and with increasing N. Although we are able to show that within our typical errors our glueball and string tension results are insensitive to the freezing of Q at larger N and β, we choose to perform our calculations with a typical distribution of Q imposed upon the fields so as to further reduce any potential systematic errors.
Leaps and bounds towards scale separation
Authors: De Luca G. Bruno , Tomasiello Alessandro 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
In a broad class of gravity theories, the equations of motion for vacuum compactifications give a curvature bound on the Ricci tensor minus a multiple of the Hessian of the warping function. Using results in so-called Bakry-Émery geometry, we put rigorous general bounds on the KK scale in gravity compactifications in terms of the reduced Planck mass or the internal diameter. We reexamine in this light the local behavior in type IIA for the class of supersymmetric solutions most promising for scale separation. We find that the local O6-plane behavior cannot be smoothed out as in other local examples; it generically turns into a formal partially smeared O4.
Die medizinische Habilitation an deutschen Hochschulen: ein Vergleich der Ordnungen über 23 Jahre
Authors: Sorg H. , Ehlers J. , Bagheri M. , Fuchs P. C. , Sorg C. G. G. 
Published: December 2021

Zusammenfassung
Hintergrund
Aufgrund der seit 2010 weiter gesunkenen Anzahl an Habilitationen in der Medizin könnten die generellen Anforderungen an die Habilitation im gleichen Zeitraum gestiegen sein.

Ziel der Arbeit
Die Anforderungen für eine medizinische Habilitation an deutschen Hochschulen im Vergleich von 23 Jahren werden reevaluiert.

Material und Methoden
Es erfolgte eine Analyse der Habilitationsordnungen auf 12 Zielparameter und Bewertung dieser durch ein Scoringsystem (Range 0–34 Punkte).

Ergebnisse
Lediglich das Kriterium der Promotionsvoraussetzung ist im 23-Jahres-Vergleich in der Bewertung gleichgeblieben (1998–2021). Alle Ergebnisse der anderen 11 Kriterien haben sich im Vergleich zur Voruntersuchung aus 2010 verändert. Die Bewertung der Habilitationsleistungen ist von einem Gesamtscore aus dem Jahr 1998 von 15,2 ± 5,1 (95 %-Konfidenzintervall 13,6–16,9) auf nun 25,1 ± 3,6 Punkte im Jahr 2021 gestiegen (95 %-Konfidenzintervall 23,9–26,2; p < 0,001). Die Range der vergebenen Scoringwerte ist im 11-Jahres-Vergleich wieder breiter gestreut mit Werten von 12 bis 31 Punkten. Als auffällig neues Kriterium zeigte sich, dass bei 98 % der bewerteten Habilitationsordnungen nun eine didaktische Weiterbildung in jedoch erheblich unterschiedlicher Anforderung von den Fakultäten gefordert wird.

Schlussfolgerung
Die Anforderungen an eine medizinische Habilitation sind im 23-Jahres-Vergleich weiter signifikant angestiegen mit jedoch breiterer Streuung der Scorings. Die detailliertere Beschreibung kann als direkter Hinweis auf eine Verbesserung der Transparenz angesehen werden. Die breitere Streuung zeigt hingegen, dass ein einheitlicher Bewertungsmaßstab für Deutschland wieder in die Ferne gerückt ist.
Long-term follow-up of full-thickness skin grafting in giant incisional hernia repair: a randomised controlled trial
Authors: Holmdahl V. , Stark B. , Clay L. , Gunnarsson U. , Strigård K. 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Purpose
Conventional repair of a giant incisional hernia often requires implantation of a synthetic mesh (SM). However, this surgical procedure can lead to discomfort, pain, and potentially serious complications. Full-thickness skin grafting (FTSG) could offer an alternative to SM, less prone to complications related to implantation of a foreign body in the abdominal wall. The aim of this study was to compare the use of FTSG to conventional SM in the repair of giant incisional hernia.

Methods
Patients with a giant incisional hernia (> 10 cm width) were randomised to repair with either FTSG or SM. 3-month and 1-year follow-ups have already been reported. A clinical follow-up was performed 3 years after repair, assessing potential complications and recurrence. SF-36, EQ-5D and VHPQ questionnaires were answered at 3 years and an average of 9 years (long-term follow-up) after surgery to assess the impact of the intervention on quality-of-life (QoL).

Results
Fifty-two patients were included. Five recurrences in the FTSG group and three in the SM group were noted at the clinical follow-up 3 years after surgery, but the difference was not significant (p = 0.313). No new procedure-related complication had occurred since the one-year follow-up. There were no relevant differences in QoL between the groups. However, there were significant improvemnts in both physical, emotional, and mental domains of the SF-36 questionnaire in both groups.

Conclusion
The results of this long-term follow-up together with the results from previous follow-ups indicate that autologous FTSG as reinforcement in giant incisional hernia repair is an alternative to conventional repair with SM.

Trial Registration
The study was registered August 10, 2011 at ClinicalTrials.gov (ID NCT01413412), retrospectively registered.
Modeling studies of the bioluminescence potential dynamics in a high Arctic fjord during polar night
Authors: Shulman Igor , Cohen Jonathan H. , Moline Mark A. , Anderson Stephanie , Metzger E. Joseph , Rowley Clark 
Published: December 2021

AbstractDuring polar nights in January 2012 and 2017, significantly higher bioluminescence (BL) potential emissions in the upper 50 m were observed in the fjord Rijpfjorden (Svalbard, Norway) in comparison to offshore stations (located on the shelf-break, shelf-slope areas and in the deeper water). The objective of this paper is to better understand why, during two polar nights (separated by 5 years), the values of BL potential in the northern Svalbard fjord are higher than at offshore stations, and what the role of advection is in observed elevated BL potential values in the top 50 m of the fjord. To address the above objective, we applied the same BL potential modeling approach and strategies during polar nights for both 2012 and 2017. For both years, advection of BL potential from offshore (including upwelling along the shelf, shelf-slope) produced an increase of BL potential in the fjord area, in spite of the introduction of mortality in bioluminescent organisms. Observations of BL potential indicated high emissions at depths below 100 m at offshore stations for both polar nights. Our modeling studies demonstrated that these high values of BL potential below 100 m are upwelled and advected to the top 50 m of the fjord. We demonstrated that upwelling and advection of these deep high BL potential values (and therefore, upwelling and advection of corresponding bioluminescent taxa) from offshore areas are dominant factors in observed BL potential dynamics in the top 50 m in the fjord.
Continuum microhaemodynamics modelling using inverse rheology
Authors: van Batenburg-Sherwood Joseph , Balabani Stavroula 
Published: December 2021

AbstractModelling blood flow in microvascular networks is challenging due to the complex nature of haemorheology. Zero- and one-dimensional approaches cannot reproduce local haemodynamics, and models that consider individual red blood cells (RBCs) are prohibitively computationally expensive. Continuum approaches could provide an efficient solution, but dependence on a large parameter space and scarcity of experimental data for validation has limited their application. We describe a method to assimilate experimental RBC velocity and concentration data into a continuum numerical modelling framework. Imaging data of RBCs were acquired in a sequentially bifurcating microchannel for various flow conditions. RBC concentration distributions were evaluated and mapped into computational fluid dynamics simulations with rheology prescribed by the Quemada model. Predicted velocities were compared to particle image velocimetry data. A subset of cases was used for parameter optimisation, and the resulting model was applied to a wider data set to evaluate model efficacy. The pre-optimised model reduced errors in predicted velocity by 60% compared to assuming a Newtonian fluid, and optimisation further reduced errors by 40%. Asymmetry of RBC velocity and concentration profiles was demonstrated to play a critical role. Excluding asymmetry in the RBC concentration doubled the error, but excluding spatial distributions of shear rate had little effect. This study demonstrates that a continuum model with optimised rheological parameters can reproduce measured velocity if RBC concentration distributions are known a priori. Developing this approach for RBC transport with more network configurations has the potential to provide an efficient approach for modelling network-scale haemodynamics.
Sex and age differences in attitudes and intention to adopt personalised nutrition in a UK sample
Authors: Stewart-Knox Barbara J. , Poínhos Rui , Fischer Arnout R. H. , Chaudhrey Mutassam , Rankin Audrey , Davison Jenny , Bunting Brendan P. , Frewer Lynn J. , Oliveira Bruno M. P. M. 
Published: December 2021

Abstract
Aim
There has been an increase in the development of technologies that can deliver personalised dietary advice. Devising healthy, sustainable dietary plans will mean taking into consideration extrinsic factors such as individual social circumstances. The aim of this study was to identify societal groups more or less receptive to and likely to engage with personalised nutrition initiatives.

Sample and methods
Volunteers were recruited via a social research agency from within the UK. The resultant sample (N = 1061) was 49% female, aged 18-65 years.

Results
MANOVA (Tukey HSD applied) indicated that females and younger people (aged 18-29 years) had more favourable attitudes and were more likely to intend to adopt personalised nutrition. There were no differences in attitude toward or intention to adopt personalised nutrition between different education levels, income brackets or occupational groups.

Conclusion
These results imply that females and younger people may be most likely to adopt personalised nutrition in the future. Initiatives to promote healthy eating should target males and older people.
Sexual Attitudes, Beliefs, Practices, and HIV Risk During Pregnancy and Post-delivery: A Qualitative Study in Malawi, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe
Authors: Ryan Julia H. , Young Alinda , Musara Petina , Reddy Krishnaveni , Macagna Nicole , Guma Victor , Seyama Linly , Piper Jeanna , van der Straten Ariane ,   the MTN- 041/MAMMA Study Team
Published: December 2021

AbstractWomen who acquire HIV during the pregnancy and breastfeeding periods have a higher risk of transmitting the virus to their child than women who become infected with HIV before pregnancy. We explore the context of sexual beliefs and practices that may shape both HIV risk and willingness to use HIV prevention products during pregnancy and postpartum in Malawi, South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe. Twenty-three single sex focus group discussions and 36 in-depth interviews took place between May and November 2018 with recently pregnant or breastfeeding women, men, mothers and mothers-in-law of pregnant or breastfeeding women, and key informants. Participants across study groups and sites (N = 232) reported various perceived benefits and harms of sex during pregnancy and postpartum. Participants discussed reasons why men might seek sex outside of the relationship. There is a critical need for alternative prevention options to protect pregnant and breastfeeding women from HIV.
Exploring Different Assumptions about Outcome-Related Risk Perceptions in Discrete Choice Experiments
Authors: Wu Hangjian , Mentzakis Emmanouil , Schaafsma Marije 
Published: December 2021

AbstractEnvironmental outcomes are often affected by the stochastic nature of the environment and ecosystem, as well as the effectiveness of governmental policy in combination with human activities. Incorporating information about risk in discrete choice experiments has been suggested to enhance survey credibility. Although some studies have incorporated risk in the design and treated it as either the weights of the corresponding environmental outcomes or as a stand-alone factor, little research has discussed the implications of those behavioural assumptions under risk and explored individuals’ outcome-related risk perceptions in a context where environmental outcomes can be either described as improvement or deterioration. This paper investigates outcome-related risk perceptions for environmental outcomes in the gain and loss domains together and examines differences in choices about air quality changes in China using a discrete choice experiment. Results suggest that respondents consider the information of risk in both domains, and their elicited behavioural patterns are best described by direct risk aversion, which states that individuals obtain disutility directly from the increasing risk regardless of the associated environmental outcomes. We discuss the implication of our results and provide recommendations on the choice of model specification when incorporating risk.
Unjust History and Its New Reproduction—A Reply to My Critics
Authors: Nuti Alasia 
Published: December 2021

AbstractDemands calling for reparations for historical injustices—injustices whose original victims and perpetrators are now dead—constitute an important component of contemporary struggles for social and transnational justice. Reparations are only one way in which the unjust past is salient in contemporary politics. In my book, Injustice and the Reproduction of History: Structural Inequalities, Gender and Redress, I put forward a framework to conceptualise the normative significance of the unjust past. In this article, I will engage with the insightful comments and try to address the concerns of the contributors to the symposium on my book. I will discuss (i) whether and in what sense my framework incorporates past-regarding duties, (ii) how it is different from causal interpretations of the relationship between past and present injustice, (iii) whether it can carve out a greater place for blame in our thinking about responsibility for (historical) structural injustice, (iv) whether such a responsibility needs to hinge upon an account of solidarity, and (v) how de-temporalising injustice can cast new light on immigration politics. In particular, I will stress and further clarify the importance that the notion of ‘structural debt’, which my book develops to reflect on historical responsibility, can play in thinking about what is owed to an unjust history.