Designed to Fail: Why Most Commonly Used Designs Will Fail and How to Fix Them

https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/cbep-presentations/1069/thumbnail.jp

Effects of ocean sprawl on ecological connectivity: impacts and solutions

The growing number of artificial structures in estuarine, coastal and marine environments is causing “ocean sprawl”. Artificial structures do not only modify marine and coastal ecosystems at the sites of their placement, but may also produce larger-scale impacts through their alteration of ecological connectivity - the movement of organisms, materials and energy between habitat units within seascapes. Despite the growing awareness of the capacity of ocean sprawl to influence ecological connectivity, we lack a comprehensive understanding of how artificial structures modify ecological connectivity in near- and off-shore environments, and when and where their effects on connectivity are greatest. We review the mechanisms by which ocean sprawl may modify ecological connectivity, including trophic connectivity associated with the flow of nutrients and resources. We also review demonstrated, inferred and likely ecological impacts of such changes to connectivity, at scales from genes to ecosystems, and potential strategies of management for mitigating these effects. Ocean sprawl may alter connectivity by: (1) creating barriers to the movement of some organisms and resources - by adding physical barriers or by modifying and fragmenting habitats; (2) introducing new structural material that acts as a conduit for the movement of other organisms or resources across the landscape; and (3) altering trophic connectivity. Changes to connectivity may, in turn, influence the genetic structure and size of populations, the distribution of species, and community structure and ecological functioning. Two main approaches to the assessment of ecological connectivity have been taken: (1) measurement of structural connectivity - the configuration of the landscape and habitat patches and their dynamics; and (2) measurement of functional connectivity - the response of organisms or particles to the landscape. Our review reveals the paucity of studies directly addressing the effects of artificial structures on ecological connectivity in the marine environment, particularly at large spatial and temporal scales. With the ongoing development of estuarine and marine environments, there is a pressing need for additional studies that quantify the effects of ocean sprawl on ecological connectivity. Understanding the mechanisms by which structures modify connectivity is essential if marine spatial planning and eco-engineering are to be effectively utilised to minimise impacts

A Model for Interactive CSR Campaigns using Storytelling

ABSTRACT Companies today are expected to engage in corporate social responsibility (CSR) and they spend a lot of time, money, and other resources on these tasks. However, in relation to their investment, the gain for most companies is marginal, because their efforts are only perceived by a small number of people. In this paper, our goal is to improve on this situation by involving a greater number of people in CSR campaigns and increasing media attention, while reducing expenses. We propose a model that utilizes storytelling on alternate realities to link social media with CSR tasks. Consumers are engaged in a story through interactive storytelling interfaces, which allow them to contribute to the CSR campaign. The company is always able to monitor and control their running campaign and can profit from social media contributions that spread the campaign goals. We describe the capabilities of the model as well as the problems it faces with storytelling on huge numbers of automatically extracted stories. The main challenge of the kind of storytelling we report is to find an adequate storytelling structure for an automatically generated story

A Macroeconometric Model of Income Disparity in China

This Paper examines what impacts, if any, macroeconomic performances and macroeconomic policy have and on income inequality in China during the period 1995-1998. A vector autoregression mode (VAR) is estimated which includes measures of macroeconomic performance, such as inflation and unemployment, and of macroeconomic policy such as money supply and fiscal expenditure. The VAR techniques, “innovation accounting” and “Granger causality,” are utilized to examine the causal linkage, if any, between “macro-factors” and income disparity in China. We find that fiscal spending and unemployment appear to be the most important sources of change income dispersion as far as the “macro” factors are concerned. [C32, D31,011 and 053]

Development of anti-CD32b antibodies with enhanced Fc function for the treatment of B and plasma cell malignancies

The sole inhibitory Fcγ receptor CD32b (FcγR2b) is expressed throughout B and plasma cell development and on their malignant counterparts with the highest expression found on multiple myeloma. Additionally, CD32b expression on tumor cells is known to sequester IgG Fc whereby providing a mechanism of resistance to therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAb) with Fc dependent activity. Taken together, CD32b represents an attractive tumor antigen for targeting with a mAb. To this end, two anti-CD32b mAbs, NVS32b1 and NVS32b2, were developed. The complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of these antibodies bind the CD32b Fc binding domain with high specificity and affinity while the Fc region is afucosylated to enhance activation of FcR on immune effector cells. NVS32b mAbs selectively depletes CD32b+ healthy and malignant B cells but spares myeloid cells and CD32a+ cells. These antibodies mediate potent killing of opsonized cells via antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity and phagocytosis (ADCC & ADCP), as well as complement dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). Additionally, NVS32b CDRs block the CD32b Fc binding domain, thereby minimizing CD32b mediated resistance to therapeutic mAbs with Fc dependent activity, including rituximab, obinutuzumab, and daratumumab. NVS32b mAbs demonstrate robust antitumor activity against CD32b positive xenografts in vivo and immunomodulatory activity including recruitment of macrophages to the tumor microenvironment and enhancement of DC maturation in response to immune-complexes. The activity of NVS32b mAbs on CD32b+ primary malignant B and plasma cells was confirmed on samples from CLL and MM patients. NVS32b mAbs demonstrated great therapeutic potential, as a single agent or in combination with other mAb therapeutics

Development of Anti-CD32b Antibodies with Enhanced Fc Function for the Treatment of B and Plasma Cell Malignancies

The sole inhibitory Fcγ receptor CD32b (FcγR2b) is expressed throughout B and plasma cell development and on their malignant counterparts with the highest expression found on multiple myeloma. Additionally, CD32b expression on tumor cells is known to sequester IgG Fc whereby providing a mechanism of resistance to therapeutic monoclonal antibodies (mAb) with Fc dependent activity. Taken together, CD32b represents an attractive tumor antigen for targeting with a mAb. To this end, two anti-CD32b mAbs, NVS32b1 and NVS32b2, were developed. The complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) of these antibodies bind the CD32b Fc binding domain with high specificity and affinity while the Fc region is afucosylated to enhance activation of FcR on immune effector cells. NVS32b mAbs selectively depletes CD32b+ healthy and malignant B cells but spares myeloid cells and CD32a+ cells. These antibodies mediate potent killing of opsonized cells via antibody dependent cellular cytotoxicity and phagocytosis (ADCC & ADCP), as well as complement dependent cytotoxicity (CDC). Additionally, NVS32b CDRs block the CD32b Fc binding domain, thereby minimizing CD32b mediated resistance to therapeutic mAbs with Fc dependent activity, including rituximab, obinutuzumab, and daratumumab. NVS32b mAbs demonstrate robust antitumor activity against CD32b positive xenografts in vivo and immunomodulatory activity including recruitment of macrophages to the tumor microenvironment and enhancement of DC maturation in response to immune-complexes. The activity of NVS32b mAbs on CD32b+ primary malignant B and plasma cells was confirmed on samples from CLL and MM patients. NVS32b mAbs demonstrated great therapeutic potential, as a single agent or in combination with other mAb therapeutics