Climate change adaptation through coastal and use management: The context of environmental justice

Despite an increasing literary focus on climate change adaptation, the facilitation of this adaptation is occurring on a limited basis (Adger et al. 2007) .This limited basis is not necessarily due to inability; rather, a lack of comprehensive cost estimates of all options specifically hinders adaptation in vulnerable communities (Adger et al. 2007). Specifically the estimated cost of the climate change impact of sea-level rise is continually increasing due to both increasing rates and the resulting multiplicative impact of coastal erosion (Karl et al., 2009, Zhang et al., 2004) Based on the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, minority groups and small island nations have been identified within these vulnerable communities. Therefore the development of adaptation policies requires the engagement of these communities. State examples of sea-level rise adaptation through land use planning mechanisms such as land acquisition programs (New Jersey) and the establishment of rolling easements (Texas) are evidence that although obscured, adaptation opportunities are being acted upon (Easterling et al., 2004, Adger et al.2007). (PDF contains 4 pages

New taxonomic records and regional trends for the Marquesan prehistoric marine fishery, Eiao Island, Polynesia

Eiao Island (39.2 km2, 577 m elevation), situated at the northern extent of the Marquesas Archipelago, features rocky and steep coastlines with few sheltered embayments that allow easy access to the sea and marine resources. We report the first evidence of prehistoric fishing practices from Eiao Island based on three inland sites (possibly dating from the 14th to 17th centuries), and explore variation in fish exploitation (NISP = 1021; MNI = 157). All previous archaeological fishing records from the archipelago are from coastal sites, with inland Eiao Island assemblages offering comparative data on site location and taxonomic composition. The Eiao Island fish bone assemblages are dominated by piscivorous taxa, specifically grouper (Serranidae). Few tuna, mackerel and bonito (Scombridae) remains were recovered from the Eiao Island assemblages, compared to reports from Ua Pou, Tahuata and Ua Huka. New family-level taxonomic records added for the archipelago include: bonefish (Albulidae), requiem sharks (Carcharhinidae), butterflyfish (Chaetodontidae), flagtail (Kuhliidae), damselfish (Pomacentridae) and rabbitfish (Siganidae). These results further contribute to our understanding of prehistoric Marquesan fishing practices and allow elucidation of subsistence in coastal vs. inland settings, variability in taxonomic composition between islands of the archipelago, and importantly inform on human-environment interactions in East Polynesia

The economic implications of clustering on Hispanic entrepreneurship in the US

This article assesses the effect of Hispanic clustering on Hispanic self-employment in the US and the extent to which endogenous social factors within a cluster may encourage Hispanics to start a business. We address key identification issues in the clustering literature by applying a series of robust econometric techniques to US census data. The study provides empirical evidence on the role of Hispanic clustering on Hispanic entrepreneurship. This article also tackles the constructs of Hispanic entrepreneurial heterogeneity and suggests the clustering of second-generation Hispanics as a potential indicator of the Hispanic entrepreneurial environment. The study derives insight on the economic implications of Hispanic clustering and its benefits and suggests policy recommendations to promote success among Hispanic entrepreneurs. We propose that generational differences across Hispanics is not merely an ethnic control variable, but rather an important factor for the design of strategies and incentives at the federal, state, and local level

Windward vs. leeward: inter-site variation in marine resource exploitation on Ebon Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands

The variation in windward and leeward marine environments has been linked to distinctions in marine subsistence on large, high volcanic Pacific Islands, but these patterns have not been explored on low coral atolls. We document windward vs. leeward islet site variation in the taxonomic composition of fish bone and mollusc shell assemblages from three archaeological sites at Ebon Atoll, Republic of the Marshall Islands, to elucidate the relationship between local environment, archaeological site type and the taxonomic composition of marine archaeofaunal assemblages. While the representation of taxa at each site was broadly similar in terms of measures of taxonomic heterogeneity (richness, evenness and dominance), chord distance and correspondence analysis reported variation in taxonomic composition at each site. For mollusc shell assemblages, variation in taxonomic abundance indicates the influence of the marine environments adjacent to each site and the relative exposure of these coastlines to heavy surf, wind, waves and extreme weather events. Fish bone assemblages recovered from 6.4 mm screens had less inter-site variation in richness, evenness and rank order, but differences were noted in the rank order of fish taxa recovered from selective 3.2 mm screening of archaeological deposits when compared between sites. In contrast to patterns for molluscs, variation in the taxonomic composition of fish bone assemblages likely relates to site function, rather than the marine environments adjacent to each site. These trends highlight for the first time the complex range of factors that influenced the prehistoric acquisition of marine resources between leeward and windward islets, and document variation in prehistoric marine subsistence within one atoll

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

Pacific Islands ichthyoarchaeology: implications for the development of prehistoric fishing studies and global sustainability

The Pacific Islands—consisting of culturally diverse Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia—is the ideal region to investigate the development of prehistoric fishing studies, as nowhere else on Earth is there such environmental contrasts among island types and their marine environments. We review the ichthyoarchaeological literature for the Pacific and assess developments in recovery methods, reference collections, taxonomic identifications, quantification, taphonomy and site-formation processes, ethnoarchaeology, approaches to diet and subsistence reconstructions, sustainability, and the importance of applied zooarchaeology for fisheries management and conservation. Ichthyoarchaeologists are beginning to work more closely with resource managers, fisheries biologists, policy makers, and indigenous communities to produce holistic studies of conservation management, resource sustainability, and assessments of human impacts on marine ecosystems over centuries to millennial time scales

Does Social Capital Explain Small Business Resilience? A Panel Data Analysis Post-Katrina

How small businesses fare after a natural disaster and what it takes for them to survive is very important to the economy because they employ approximately half of America’s private workforce (SBA, 2013) and are a critical component of and major contributor to the vitality of cities, states, and the country (Cochrane, 1992; Robbins, 2001). It is widely known that small businesses tend to feel greater economic repercussions after natural disasters when compared to larger businesses (Schrank et al., 2013). Following a disaster, a business can be closed or remain operating, but this status varies with time and depends on the business’ vulnerability or its level of resilience (Alesch, 2003; Cutter, 2008), especially after considering that small business owners are hit twice by disasters: as business owners and as local citizens (Runyan, 2006). Post-disaster resilience is a multidimensional and complex process that takes place over time, is related to the rebuilding of the life of individuals, businesses, communities, and institutions, and is strongly influenced by the interaction of the agents that are affected by a disaster (Chang, 2010; Olshansky, 2005). Aldrich (2012) illustrated how social capital—networks that formally or informally offer resources—explains the ability to withstand a disaster and build resilience by quickly disseminating information and financial and physical assistance within a community. This study takes a step further and aims to understand how social capital explains the resilience of small businesses after Hurricane Katrina. Most studies have focused mainly on the macroeconomic impacts of disasters using aggregated data and have lightly addressed small business resilience using the business as the unit of analysis (Zhang et al., 2008; Aldrich, 2012). Although the aggregated analysis is useful to understand the effects of disasters on the recovery of businesses, it does not shed light on the how and why of the resilience process. This study uses the Small Business Disaster Recovery Framework (SBDRF) to assess how social capital explains the resilience of small businesses hit by Hurricane Katrina (Marshall and Schrank, 2014). Based on the SBDRF, post-disaster operating businesses were categorized as closed, survived, recovered, and resilient depending on the comparison between pre- and post-disaster indicators (Marshall and Schrank, 2014). After a disaster, a business can be closed or open, and for those businesses that are can be classified as survived, recover, or resilient. The SBDRF categorizes operating business as survived as those that have not reached pre-event levels, a recovered business has return to its pre-disaster state, and a resilient business has exceeded the baseline performance pre-disaster (Bruneau et al., 2003; Marshall and Schrank, 2014). A panel regression was used with the level of gross revenues pre- and post-Katrina as dependent variables (2004, 2011, and 2013). To assess the level of post-disaster business resilience this study used quantitative (e.g. gross revenues comparisons) and qualitative indicators (owner’s perceptions of success). The methodology addresses the assumptions that 1) simultaneity between resilience, recovery, and survival can create possible endogeneity, and 2) the status of the business as open or closed may involve a non-random sample selection. Business owner’s perceptions are key for studies on small businesses and these tend to be ignored if research and conclusions are drawn only from simulation models or aggregated data. This study addresses the lack of a finer measurement of social capital in economic and social studies by incorporating multiple categories of the key independent variable, social capital, such as bonding (support received from similar individuals such as family and friends), bridging (support received from dissimilar individuals such as communities), and linking (support received from institutions) (Aldrich, 2012; Hawkins and Maurer, 2010). This study incorporated several control variables at the community, family, and small business level often included in small and family business studies. For instance, this study included control variables for human capital, financial capital, location, a county socioeconomic vulnerability index, a rurality index, and demographic variables of the business and business’ owner that can affect the operation of the business after disaster. The data for this study comes from the first and second wave of the Small Business Survival and Demise after a Natural Disaster Project (SBSD). This data set is unique because it includes information about both open and closed businesses at different points in time and allows us to determine the differences to those that remained operating. The primary sampling unit within the model is the small business, which was defined as those that had 0-200 employees and were headquartered in the state of Mississippi. Of the 2,610 business owners reached, the cooperation rate was 19.12% providing a random sample size of 499 businesses. Preliminary results show that from the 420 small business used in this study, 11.90% of the business are closed and 88.10% are operating. From those operating, the majority have survived and only 18.81% have recovered and 25.00% are resilient. The results suggest that few business are resilient or even recovered. Small business that received social capital were significantly more likely to be operating after Katrina and the probability of being resilient significantly increases with the level of social capital. For instance, small businesses are 23.95%, 28.57%, and 21.35% (at P<0.001) more likely to be resilient when they received support from family and friends, the community, or institutions, respectively. In addition, the results suggest that linking is the most effective type of social capital to build small business resilience. This study bridges the gap existing between the impact of natural disaster and small businesses to analyze how social capital explains business resilience. Two main questions were answered. First, does social capital explain small business resilience after Hurricane Katrina? Second, what is the most effective type of social capital for building small business resilience? The results illustrate how small business owners, especially those who lack physical and financial resources, connected to their communities and forming part of tighter local networks can overcome disaster and build resilience. The more links business owners have to the community, families, friends, and institutions (i.e. the more social capital they have), the better off they will be when they go through a crisis; therefore, self-reliance only cannot assure post-disaster recovery. This study shows that social capital, sources of information and assistance during crisis, should be taken into account as another tangible asset for mitigation and recovery. Finally, scholars, planners, and government agencies can use these results to advocate for increasing social capital by incorporating incentives and interventions to support the creation and strengthening of bonds between citizens and local social networks through community participation and leadership development