If you want to sell design, don’t sell design - A qualitative study on effectively communicating the value of design to investors and business managers

Effectively communicating the value of design has been a long-standing challenge for designers, design managers and design consultants. The need to understand and measure how design can create value in organizations is also increasing in the management domain. Multiple studies have been conducted both from design and business, for effectively communicating design value with varying results from, tools and indexes built on existing business frameworks, to positioning design to distinct roles according to the cultures and practices of business managers. Even though a plethora of research exists, design agencies are still in need of finding new and more effective ways to communicate this value. This study aims to find ways to effectively communicate the value of design to investors and business managers. The perspective of taking investors and business managers as the stakeholders comes from Pentagon Design, Helsinki as the partner for this thesis. In Pentagon’s view a new investment in a company can act as a catalyst for bringing in new services, this period of change can accelerate the implementation of design at an early stage of the investment by effectively communicating design value to investors and business managers. Further, this thesis, through its approach and findings, argues that limiting the stakeholders to investors and business managers produces a more valid outcome than attempting to communicate the value of design universally. This is due to the impact of professional role, practices and culture of investors and business managers on their perception of design, and its implications on effectively communicating the value of design. The thesis draws upon literature on why the value of design should be measured and the challenges faced in implementing design, further through the literature, the study shows the impact of cultures, attitudes and perceptions of management professionals and their impact on communicating design, and a few studies done on communicating the understandable value of design. For data collection two rounds of interviews were conducted, first round of open-structured interviews to gain understanding of the world of investing and management with six participants, and then second round of semi –structured interviews with ten participants from investors with different investment strategies and board managers. Based on the findings the thesis abductively and deductively proposes three core themes 1) the current perceptions of design and design value for investors and business managers, built on the discrepancies due to their professional roles and practices, (2) what investors and business managers value during an investment, and how positioning design as a value creator in these practices can improve its perception and understanding, and finally (3) methods and best practices that can be used to communicate the value of design to investors and business managers. The thesis identifies challenges and enablers associated with the professional practices and preferences of investors and business managers and their implications on communicating the value of design: Ambiguity of design terms, lack of measurability and granularity, lack of understanding and participation from the board, need for relevant references, positioning as a value creator, translating design terms and processes to understandable business terms, aligning design as part of the investment criteria, honesty through activity, and storytelling as a method to communicate a service. Thus, the thesis proposes a story-telling framework for effectively communicating the value of design, which acts as an integrator of the enablers and navigates the hindrances by aligning them according to a script. The script compromises of 1) Foundational elements that act as background and create guidelines for the story telling framework, (2) Actionable insights that align the script according to the interests of the investors and business managers based on relevant references from the industry, and (3) The Premeditated outcomes and implications that are intended from the storytelling script. Through the framework, the thesis aims to educate the investors and business managers by creating their own conviction of the role, function, and value of design

Marine bacterial, archaeal and protistan association networks reveal ecological linkages

Microbes have central roles in ocean food webs and global biogeochemical processes, yet specific ecological relationships among these taxa are largely unknown. This is in part due to the dilute, microscopic nature of the planktonic microbial community, which prevents direct observation of their interactions. Here, we use a holistic (that is, microbial system-wide) approach to investigate time-dependent variations among taxa from all three domains of life in a marine microbial community. We investigated the community composition of bacteria, archaea and protists through cultivation-independent methods, along with total bacterial and viral abundance, and physico-chemical observations. Samples and observations were collected monthly over 3 years at a well-described ocean time-series site of southern California. To find associations among these organisms, we calculated time-dependent rank correlations (that is, local similarity correlations) among relative abundances of bacteria, archaea, protists, total abundance of bacteria and viruses and physico-chemical parameters. We used a network generated from these statistical correlations to visualize and identify time-dependent associations among ecologically important taxa, for example, the SAR11 cluster, stramenopiles, alveolates, cyanobacteria and ammonia-oxidizing archaea. Negative correlations, perhaps suggesting competition or predation, were also common. The analysis revealed a progression of microbial communities through time, and also a group of unknown eukaryotes that were highly correlated with dinoflagellates, indicating possible symbioses or parasitism. Possible ‘keystone’ species were evident. The network has statistical features similar to previously described ecological networks, and in network parlance has non-random, small world properties (that is, highly interconnected nodes). This approach provides new insights into the natural history of microbes

Clades of huge phages from across Earth's ecosystems.

Bacteriophages typically have small genomes1 and depend on their bacterial hosts for replication2. Here we sequenced DNA from diverse ecosystems and found hundreds of phage genomes with lengths of more than 200 kilobases (kb), including a genome of 735 kb, which is-to our knowledge-the largest phage genome to be described to date. Thirty-five genomes were manually curated to completion (circular and no gaps). Expanded genetic repertoires include diverse and previously undescribed CRISPR-Cas systems, transfer RNAs (tRNAs), tRNA synthetases, tRNA-modification enzymes, translation-initiation and elongation factors, and ribosomal proteins. The CRISPR-Cas systems of phages have the capacity to silence host transcription factors and translational genes, potentially as part of a larger interaction network that intercepts translation to redirect biosynthesis to phage-encoded functions. In addition, some phages may repurpose bacterial CRISPR-Cas systems to eliminate competing phages. We phylogenetically define the major clades of huge phages from human and other animal microbiomes, as well as from oceans, lakes, sediments, soils and the built environment. We conclude that the large gene inventories of huge phages reflect a conserved biological strategy, and that the phages are distributed across a broad bacterial host range and across Earth's ecosystems

Asgard archaea modulate potential methanogenesis substrates in wetland soil.

The roles of Asgard archaea in eukaryogenesis and marine biogeochemical cycles are well studied, yet their contributions in soil ecosystems remain unknown. Of particular interest are Asgard archaeal contributions to methane cycling in wetland soils. To investigate this, we reconstructed two complete genomes for soil-associated Atabeyarchaeia, a new Asgard lineage, and a complete genome of Freyarchaeia, and predicted their metabolism in situ. Metatranscriptomics reveals expression of genes for [NiFe]-hydrogenases, pyruvate oxidation and carbon fixation via the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway. Also expressed are genes encoding enzymes for amino acid metabolism, anaerobic aldehyde oxidation, hydrogen peroxide detoxification and carbohydrate breakdown to acetate and formate. Overall, soil-associated Asgard archaea are predicted to include non-methanogenic acetogens, highlighting their potential role in carbon cycling in terrestrial environments

Diverse microbiome functions, limited temporal variation and substantial genomic conservation within sedimentary and granite rock deep underground research laboratories.

BACKGROUND: Underground research laboratories (URLs) provide a window on the deep biosphere and enable investigation of potential microbial impacts on nuclear waste, CO2 and H2 stored in the subsurface. We carried out the first multi-year study of groundwater microbiomes sampled from defined intervals between 140 and 400 m below the surface of the Horonobe and Mizunami URLs, Japan. RESULTS: We reconstructed draft genomes for > 90% of all organisms detected over a four year period. The Horonobe and Mizunami microbiomes are dissimilar, likely because the Mizunami URL is hosted in granitic rock and the Horonobe URL in sedimentary rock. Despite this, hydrogen metabolism, rubisco-based CO2 fixation, reduction of nitrogen compounds and sulfate reduction are well represented functions in microbiomes from both URLs, although methane metabolism is more prevalent at the organic- and CO2-rich Horonobe URL. High fluid flow zones and proximity to subsurface tunnels select for candidate phyla radiation bacteria in the Mizunami URL. We detected near-identical genotypes for approximately one third of all genomically defined organisms at multiple depths within the Horonobe URL. This cannot be explained by inactivity, as in situ growth was detected for some bacteria, albeit at slow rates. Given the current low hydraulic conductivity and groundwater compositional heterogeneity, ongoing inter-site strain dispersal seems unlikely. Alternatively, the Horonobe URL microbiome homogeneity may be explained by higher groundwater mobility during the last glacial period. Genotypically-defined species closely related to those detected in the URLs were identified in three other subsurface environments in the USA. Thus, dispersal rates between widely separated underground sites may be fast enough relative to mutation rates to have precluded substantial divergence in species composition. Species overlaps between subsurface locations on different continents constrain expectations regarding the scale of global subsurface biodiversity. CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses reveal microbiome stability in the sedimentary rocks and surprising microbial community compositional and genotypic overlap over sites separated by hundreds of meters of rock, potentially explained by dispersal via slow groundwater flow or during a prior hydrological regime. Overall, microbiome and geochemical stability over the study period has important implications for underground storage applications

Closely related Lak megaphages replicate in the microbiomes of diverse animals.

Lak phages with alternatively coded ∼540 kbp genomes were recently reported to replicate in Prevotella in microbiomes of humans that consume a non-Western diet, baboons, and pigs. Here, we explore Lak phage diversity and broader distribution using diagnostic polymerase chain reaction and genome-resolved metagenomics. Lak phages were detected in 13 animal types, including reptiles, and are particularly prevalent in pigs. Tracking Lak through the pig gastrointestinal tract revealed significant enrichment in the hindgut compared to the foregut. We reconstructed 34 new Lak genomes, including six curated complete genomes, all of which are alternatively coded. An anomalously large (∼660 kbp) complete genome reconstructed for the most deeply branched Lak from a horse microbiome is also alternatively coded. From the Lak genomes, we identified proteins associated with specific animal species; notably, most have no functional predictions. The presence of closely related Lak phages in diverse animals indicates facile distribution coupled to host-specific adaptation

Protein clustering of huge phage

Dendrogram of protein clustering results in newick format

Bilateral multiple supernumerary premolars in a non-syndromic patient: A rare case report

Supernumerary teeth are extra teeth above the normal erupted teeth number. Supernumerary premolars are rare developmental anomalies when compared to mesiodens and other supernumerary teeth. Supernumerary premolars are more common in the mandible than the maxilla. This article reports a rare occurrence of supplemental premolars bilaterally present in the maxilla and mandible arches in a non-syndromic patient. Keywords: Supernumerary teeth, premolars, bilateral, maxilla, mandible</jats:p

Rare microbes from diverse Earth biomes dominate community activity

AbstractMicrobes are the Earth’s most numerous organisms and are instrumental in driving major global biological and chemical processes. Microbial activity is a crucial component of all ecosystems, as microbes have the potential to control any major biochemical process. In recent years, considerable strides have been made in describing the community structure,i.e. diversity and abundance, of microbes from the Earth’s major biomes. In virtually all environments studied, a few highly abundant taxa dominate the structure of microbial communities. Still, microbial diversity is high and is concentrated in the less abundant, or rare, fractions of the community,i.e. the “long tail” of the abundance distribution. The relationship between microbial community structure and activity, specifically the role of rare microbes, and its connection to ecosystem function, is not fully understood. We analyzed 12.3 million metagenomic and metatranscriptomic sequence assemblies and their genes from environmental, human, and engineered microbiomes, and show that microbial activity is dominated by rare microbes (96% of total activity) across all measured biomes. Further, rare microbial activity was comprised of traits that are fundamental to ecosystem and organismal health,e.g. biogeochemical cycling and infectious disease. The activity of rare microbes was also tightly coupled to temperature, revealing a link between basic biological processes,e.g. reaction rates, and community activity. Our study provides a broadly applicable and predictable paradigm that implicates rare microbes as the main microbial drivers of ecosystem function and organismal health.</jats:p