Implementation of Systems Engineering Approach in Academic Projects: Software Defined Radio Technology Development as a Case Study

Each year, federal and private agencies spend billions of dollars on research projects that academic institutions conduct for them. However, the communication language between these agencies as clients and academia as hosts, is not very efficient and well-established. This has resulted in lack of clarity in clients’ description of what exactly to be expected and in hosts’ description of their capabilities and challenges. In addition, many of these projects are essentially interdisciplinary and demand the involvement of diverse research teams from different university departments. Lack of cohesive collaboration among these diverse teams results in mismatches between different compartments of project output, and consequently, generation of superfluous product prototypes. Finally, for their real-time tracking and later retrieval, the current situation of documentation of academic projects needs to be significantly altered. We suggest that the presence of a systems engineering team should be an indispensable part of a large academic research project, in order to monitor and manage the various aspects and phases from initiation to completion.For this purpose, we proposed a systems engineering model specific for academic research projects, which considers both strengths and challenges of universities as host research institutes. As a case study, we applied this proposed systems engineering approach on a NASA-funded project at Morgan State University (MSU) which was about design and implementation of software defined radio (SDR) for space exploration. Application of this model significantly improved the professional dialogue and technical clarifications between NASA and MSU partners, as well as within MSU teams. Moreover, the sub-system compatibility among different modules of the implemented product was notably enhanced. Overall, application of systems engineering approach in academic projects can result in mutual benefits for the institution and either federal or private client

STUDY OF EPIPHYTIC ALGAE ON Ceratophyllum demersum L. FROM TWO STATIONS AT SHATT AL-ARAB RIVER

      This study is carried out on the epiphytic algae on Ceratophyllum demersum L. that collected from two             different stations at Shatt al-Arab River to investigate the variations in quantity and quality of the epiphyticalgae according to location of aquatic plant. A total of 80 taxa of epiphytic algae were identified at two studied areas; diatoms were the dominant(57taxa) followed by Cyanobacteria (12 taxa) and Chlorophyta (11 taxa). There were variations in the total algal species at two studied stations. Most of the identified algae wereoriginally benthic but some were planktonic such as (Cyclotella spp.; Coscinodiscus sp.; Stephanodiscussp.; Bacillaria paxillifer and Scenedesmus spp.). Six species appeared during the study period; which may be due to their wide range in temperaturetolerance. Higher value of BOD 5 (22-15 mg/l) associated with higher quantity of Ceratophyllum demersum.This conclusion may apply on epiphytic algae which collected from this aquatic plant.         This study is carried out on the epiphytic algae on Ceratophyllum demersum L. that collected from two             different stations at Shatt al-Arab River to investigate the variations in quantity and quality of the epiphytic algae according to location of aquatic plant. A total of 80 taxa of epiphytic algae were identified at two studied areas; diatoms were the dominant (57taxa) followed by Cyanobacteria (12 taxa) and Chlorophyta (11 taxa). There were variations in the total algal species at two studied stations. Most of the identified algae were originally benthic but some were planktonic such as (Cyclotella spp.; Coscinodiscus sp.; Stephanodiscus sp.; Bacillaria paxillifer and Scenedesmus spp.). Six species appeared during the study period; which may be due to their wide range in temperature tolerance. Higher value of BOD 5 (22-15 mg/l) associated with higher quantity of Ceratophyllum demersum. This conclusion may apply on epiphytic algae which collected from this aquatic plant.

Investigation of Microdevice Performance by Transient Heat Transfer Simulation

The present work considers transient electrothermal simulation of sub-micrometer silicon device and electron-phonon interactions in electrical and thermal fields. A coupled thermal and electrical model is developed for a silicon n n n structure consisting of the hydrodynamic equations for electron transport and energy conservation equations for phonon. The results indicate that, for one electric field the lattice temperature gradient has significant effect on the magnitude of electric current. The transient phonon temperature affects the device performance due to the change of mobility and gradient temperature of electron. At an external voltage of 0.1 V, calculations show that an increase in the junction boundary temperature by 100 °C, cause increasing the drain current by 16% at 3 picosecond and decreases it by 17% up to steady state condition

STUDY OF EPIPHYTIC ALGAE ON Ceratophyllum demersum L. FROM TWO STATIONS AT SHATT AL-ARAB RIVER

      This study is carried out on the epiphytic algae on Ceratophyllum demersum L. that collected from two             different stations at Shatt al-Arab River to investigate the variations in quantity and quality of the epiphyticalgae according to location of aquatic plant. A total of 80 taxa of epiphytic algae were identified at two studied areas; diatoms were the dominant(57taxa) followed by Cyanobacteria (12 taxa) and Chlorophyta (11 taxa). There were variations in the total algal species at two studied stations. Most of the identified algae wereoriginally benthic but some were planktonic such as (Cyclotella spp.; Coscinodiscus sp.; Stephanodiscussp.; Bacillaria paxillifer and Scenedesmus spp.). Six species appeared during the study period; which may be due to their wide range in temperaturetolerance. Higher value of BOD 5 (22-15 mg/l) associated with higher quantity of Ceratophyllum demersum.This conclusion may apply on epiphytic algae which collected from this aquatic plant.         This study is carried out on the epiphytic algae on Ceratophyllum demersum L. that collected from two             different stations at Shatt al-Arab River to investigate the variations in quantity and quality of the epiphytic algae according to location of aquatic plant. A total of 80 taxa of epiphytic algae were identified at two studied areas; diatoms were the dominant (57taxa) followed by Cyanobacteria (12 taxa) and Chlorophyta (11 taxa). There were variations in the total algal species at two studied stations. Most of the identified algae were originally benthic but some were planktonic such as (Cyclotella spp.; Coscinodiscus sp.; Stephanodiscus sp.; Bacillaria paxillifer and Scenedesmus spp.). Six species appeared during the study period; which may be due to their wide range in temperature tolerance. Higher value of BOD 5 (22-15 mg/l) associated with higher quantity of Ceratophyllum demersum. This conclusion may apply on epiphytic algae which collected from this aquatic plant.

Morphological asymmetry in two marine fish species Acanthopagrusarabicus (Family: Sparidae) and Planiliza klunzingeri (Family: Mugilidae), collected from brackish and freshwater environments in southern Iraq

Morphological asymmetry was analysed in two marine fish species Acanthopagrus arabicus and Planiliza klunzingeri, in brackish and freshwater habitats in southern Iraq. For both species, specimens from the Shatt al-Arab River and Shatt al-Basrah Canal exhibited greater asymmetry values for snout length. In both locations examined, the levels of asymmetry of the physical traits increased as the fish grew. The high levels of asymmetry in the two fish species may be linked to heavy metal pollutants in the two aquatic environments studied.Morphological asymmetry was analysed in two marine fish species Acanthopagrus arabicus and Planiliza klunzingeri, in brackish and freshwater habitats in southern Iraq. For both species, specimens from the Shatt al-Arab River and Shatt al-Basrah Canal exhibited greater asymmetry values for snout length. In both locations examined, the levels of asymmetry of the physical traits increased as the fish grew. The high levels of asymmetry in the two fish species may be linked to heavy metal pollutants in the two aquatic environments studied

Labour-market marginalisation after mental disorders among young natives and immigrants living in Sweden

Abstract Background The aim was to investigate the associations between mental disorders and three different measures of labour-market marginalisation, and differences between native Swedes and immigrants. Methods The study comprised 1,753,544 individuals, aged 20–35 years, and resident in Sweden 2004. They were followed 2005–2011 with regard to disability pension, sickness absence (≥90 days) and unemployment (≥180 days). Immigrants were born in Western countries (Nordic countries, EU, Europe outside EU or North-America/Oceania), or in non-Western countries (Africa, Asia or South-America). Mental disorders were grouped into seven subgroups based on a record of in- or specialised outpatient health care 2001–2004. Hazard ratios (HRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were computed by Cox regression models with both fixed and time-dependent covariates and competing risks. We also performed stratified analyses with regard to labour-market attachment. Results Individuals with mental disorders had a seven times higher risk of disability pension, a two times higher risk of sickness absence, and a 20% higher risk of unemployment than individuals without mental disorders. Individuals with personality disorders and schizophrenia/non-affective psychoses had highest risk estimates for having disability pension and long-term sickness absence, while the risk estimates of long-term unemployment were similar among all subgroups of mental disorders. Among persons with mental disorders, native Swedes had higher risk estimates for disability pension (HR:6.6; 95%CI:6.4–6.8) than Western immigrants (4.8; 4.4–5.2) and non-Western immigrants (4.8; 4.4–5.1), slightly higher risk estimates for sickness absence (2.1;2.1–2.2) than Western (1.9;1.8–2.1), and non-Western (1.9;1.7–2.0) immigrants but lower risk estimates for unemployment (1.4;1.3–1.4) than Western (1.8;1.7–1.9) and non-Western immigrants (2.0;1.9–2.1). There were similar risk estimates among sub-regions within both Western and non-Western countries. Stratification by labour-market attachment showed that the risk estimates for immigrants were lower the more distant individuals were from gainful employment. Conclusions Mental disorders were associated with all three measures of labour-market marginalisation, strongest with subsequent disability pension. Native Swedes had higher risk estimates for both disability pension and sickness absence, but lower risk estimates for unemployment than immigrants. Previous labour-market attachment explained a great part of the association between immigrant status and subsequent labour-market marginalisation

The relationship between perfectionism and psychopathology: a meta-analysis

Objective: The clinical significance of 2 main dimensions of perfectionism (perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns) was examined via a meta-analysis of studies investigating perfectionism in the psychopathology literature. Method: We investigated relationships between psychopathology outcomes (clinical diagnoses of depression, anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and eating disorders; symptoms of these disorders; and outcomes related to psychopathology, such as deliberate self-harm, suicidal ideation, and general distress) and each perfectionism dimension. The relationships were examined by evaluating (a) differences in the magnitude of association of the 2 perfectionism dimensions with psychopathology outcomes and (b) subscales of 2 common measures of perfectionism. Results: A systematic literature search retrieved 284 relevant studies, resulting in 2,047 effect sizes that were analysed with meta-analysis and meta-regression while accounting for data dependencies. Conclusion: Findings support the notion of perfectionism as a transdiagnostic factor by demonstrating that both dimensions are associated with various forms of psychopathology