How to implement ‘access to medicine’ AND enhance economic performance:business model options for global access

‘Access to medicine’ or ‘global access’ is at the core heart of corporate responsibility for pharmaceutical companies. Corporate responsibility, however, is not restricted to a philanthropic dimension (such as donations), which is often referred to as corporate citizenship. It also includes corporate social responsibility (in the narrower sense) and corporate governance and thereby paves the way for linking corporate citizenship – “to be a good corporate citizen and contribute to the community” – on the one hand and economic performance on the other hand. In the domain ‘access to medicine’ providing market access to the bottom of the pyramid is an instrument addressing both sides – corporate citizenship (”giving to the public”) and corporate responsibility to its (economic) stakeholders (”creating economic value”)

Concentration-dependent sedimentation and diffusion coefficient in analytical ultracentrifugation experiments

Experimental data of analytical ultracentrifugation (AUC) experiments is defined by sedimentation and diffusion transport of molecules in solution. While the sedimentation properties define the position of the measured sedimentation boundaries, information on the diffusion is included in the broadening. Both effects are then analysed with well-established finite element solutions of Lamm’s equation The results from this multidimensional analysis provide e.g. molecular mass or size distributions or information on core-shell structures [1,2]

Water Policies: Regions with Open-Pit Lignite Mining (Introduction to the IIASA Study)

There is an apparent need for the analysis of long-term regional water policies to reconcile conflicting interests in regions with open-pit lignite mining. The most important. interest groups in such regions are mining, municipal and industrial water supply, agriculture as well as the "environment". A scientifically sound and practically simple policy-oriented system of methods and computerized procedures has to be developed. To develop such a system is part of the research work in the Regional Water Policies project carried out at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in collaboration with research institutes in the German Democratic Republic, Poland, and in other countries as well. A test area that includes typical water-related elements of mining regions and significant conflicts and interest groups has been chosen. The first stage in the analysis is oriented towards developing a scenario generating system as a tool to choose "good" policies from the regional point of view. Therefore a policy-oriented interactive decision support model system is under development, considering the dynamic, nonlinear and uncertain systems behaviour. It combines a model for multi-criteria analysis in planning periods with a simulation model for monthly systems behaviour. The paper outlines the methodological approach. describes the test region in the GDR, and the submodels for the test region

Exploring the sensitivity of Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation to different surface temperature forcing using a statistical-dynamical atmospheric model

Climate and weather conditions in the mid-latitudes are strongly driven by the large-scale atmosphere circulation. Observational data indicate that important components of the large-scale circulation have changed in recent decades, including the strength and the width of the Hadley cell, jets, storm tracks and planetary waves. Here, we use a new statistical-dynamical atmosphere model (SDAM) to test the individual sensitivities of the large-scale atmospheric circulation to changes in the zonal temperature gradient, meridional temperature gradient and global-mean temperature. We analyze the Northern Hemisphere Hadley circulation, jet streams, storm tracks and planetary waves by systematically altering the zonal temperature asymmetry, the meridional temperature gradient and the global-mean temperature. Our results show that the strength of the Hadley cell, storm tracks and jet streams depend, in terms of relative changes, almost linearly on both the global-mean temperature and the meridional temperature gradient, whereas the zonal temperature asymmetry has little or no influence. The magnitude of planetary waves is affected by all three temperature components, as expected from theoretical dynamical considerations. The width of the Hadley cell behaves nonlinearly with respect to all three temperature components in the SDAM. Moreover, some of these observed large-scale atmospheric changes are expected from dynamical equations and are therefore an important part of model validation

Understanding Mn-nodule distribution and evaluation of related deep-sea mining impacts using AUV-based hydroacoustic and optical data

In this study ship- and AUV-based multibeam data from the German Mn-nodule license area in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ; eastern Pacific) are linked to ground truth data from optical imaging. Photographs obtained by an AUV enable semi-quantitative assessments of nodule coverage at a spatial resolution in the range of meters. Together with high resolution AUV bathymetry this revealed a correlation of small-scale terrain variations ( 1.8° and concave terrain. On a more regional scale, factors such as the geological setting (existence of horst and graben structures, sediment thickness, outcropping basement) and influence of bottom currents seem to play an essential role for the spatial variation of nodule abundance and the related hard substrate habitat. AUV imagery was also successfully employed to map the distribution of re-settled sediment following a disturbance and sediment cloud generation during a sampling deployment of an Epibenthic Sledge. Data from before and after the "disturbance" allows a direct assessment of the impact. Automated image processing analyzed the nodule coverage at the seafloor, revealing nodule blanketing by resettling of suspended sediment within 16 hours after the disturbance. The visually detectable impact was spatially limited to a maximum of 100m distance from the disturbance track, downstream of the bottom water current. A correlation with high resolution AUV bathymetry reveals that the blanketing pattern varies in extent by tens of meters, strictly following the bathymetry, even in areas of only slightly undulating seafloor (< 1 m vertical change). These results highlight the importance of detailed terrain knowledge when engaging in resource assessment studies for nodule abundance estimates and defining minable areas. At the same time, it shows the importance of high resolution mapping for detailed benthic habitat studies that show a heterogeneity at scales of 10 m to 100 m. Terrain knowledge is also needed to determine the scale of the impact by seafloor sediment blanketing during mining-operations

Three principles for co-designing sustainability intervention strategies : Experiences from Southern Transylvania

Transformational research frameworks provide understanding and guidance for fostering change towards sustainability. They comprise stages of system understanding, visioning and co-designing intervention strategies to foster change. Guidance and empirical examples for how to facilitate the process of co-designing intervention strategies in real-world contexts remain scarce, especially with regard to integrating local initiatives. We suggest three principles to facilitate the process of co-designing intervention strategies that integrate local initiatives: (1) Explore existing and envisioned initiatives fostering change towards the desired future; (2) Frame the intervention strategy to bridge the gap between the present state and desired future state(s), building on, strengthening and complementing existing initiatives; (3) Identify drivers, barriers and potential leverage points for how to accelerate progress towards sustainability. We illustrate our approach via a case study on sustainable development in Southern Transylvania. We conclude that our principles were useful in the case study, especially with regards to integrating initiatives, and could also be applied in other real-world contexts.Peer reviewe

Exploring the sensitivity of Northern Hemisphere atmospheric circulation to different surface temperature forcing using a statistical–dynamical atmospheric model

Climate and weather conditions in the mid-latitudes are strongly driven by the large-scale atmosphere circulation. Observational data indicate that important components of the large-scale circulation have changed in recent decades, including the strength and the width of the Hadley cell, jets, storm tracks and planetary waves. Here, we use a new statistical–dynamical atmosphere model (SDAM) to test the individual sensitivities of the large-scale atmospheric circulation to changes in the zonal temperature gradient, meridional temperature gradient and global-mean temperature. We analyze the Northern Hemisphere Hadley circulation, jet streams, storm tracks and planetary waves by systematically altering the zonal temperature asymmetry, the meridional temperature gradient and the global-mean temperature. Our results show that the strength of the Hadley cell, storm tracks and jet streams depend, in terms of relative changes, almost linearly on both the global-mean temperature and the meridional temperature gradient, whereas the zonal temperature asymmetry has little or no influence. The magnitude of planetary waves is affected by all three temperature components, as expected from theoretical dynamical considerations. The width of the Hadley cell behaves nonlinearly with respect to all three temperature components in the SDAM. Moreover, some of these observed large-scale atmospheric changes are expected from dynamical equations and are therefore an important part of model validation.</p

The North Wyke Farm Platform: A New UK National Capability for Research into Sustainability of Agricultural Temperate Grassland Management

The North Wyke Farm Platform is a new UK National Capability that will enable studies that can be closely monitored and controlled under different land-use options at the farm-scale. As a Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council-funded National Capability, the Farm Platform provides centralised scientific facilities including core data (field and water chemistry, water flow rates, greenhouse gas emissions from soils, livestock and agronomic data, and farm management records). Access to the Farm Platform for experimental work or to data will be available to other research users and collaborators. This shared approach will enhance the depth and breadth of information gained for the benefit of the wider community