ASU Scholarship Showcase

In this synthesis, we hope to accomplish two things: 1) reflect on how the analysis of the new archaeological cases presented in this special feature adds to previous case studies by revisiting a set of propositions reported in a 2006 special feature, and 2) reflect on four main ideas that are more specific to the archaeological cases: i) societal choices are influenced by robustness–vulnerability trade-offs, ii) there is interplay between robustness–vulnerability trade-offs and robustness–performance trade-offs, iii) societies often get locked in to particular strategies, and iv) multiple positive feedbacks escalate the perceived cost of societal change. We then discuss whether these lock-in traps can be prevented or whether the risks associated with them can be mitigated. We conclude by highlighting how these long-term historical studies can help us to understand current society, societal practices, and the nexus between ecology and society.

Background: Cancer diagnosis in both dogs and humans is complicated by the lack of a non-invasive diagnostic test. To meet this clinical need, we apply the recently developed immunosignature assay to spontaneous canine lymphoma as clinical proof-of-concept. Here we evaluate the immunosignature as a diagnostic for spontaneous canine lymphoma at both at initial diagnosis and evaluating the disease free interval following treatment.

Methods: Sera from dogs with confirmed lymphoma (B cell n = 38, T cell n = 11) and clinically normal dogs (n = 39) were analyzed. Serum antibody responses were characterized by analyzing the binding pattern, or immunosignature, of serum antibodies on a non-natural sequence peptide microarray. Peptides were selected and tested for the ability to distinguish healthy dogs from those with lymphoma and to distinguish lymphoma subtypes based on immunophenotype. The immunosignature of dogs with lymphoma were evaluated for individual signatures. Changes in the immunosignatures were evaluated following treatment and eventual relapse.

Results: Despite being a clonal disease, both an individual immunosignature and a generalized lymphoma immunosignature were observed in each dog. The general lymphoma immunosignature identified in the initial set of dogs (n = 32) was able to predict disease status in an independent set of dogs (n = 42, 97% accuracy). A separate immunosignature was able to distinguish the lymphoma based on immunophenotype (n = 25, 88% accuracy). The individual immunosignature was capable of confirming remission three months following diagnosis. Immunosignature at diagnosis was able to predict which dogs with B cell lymphoma would relapse in less than 120 days (n = 33, 97% accuracy).

Conclusion: We conclude that the immunosignature can serve as a multilevel diagnostic for canine, and potentially human, lymphoma.

The threat of West Nile virus (WNV) epidemics with increasingly severe neuroinvasive infections demands the development and licensing of effective vaccines. To date, vaccine candidates based on inactivated, live-attenuated, or chimeric virus, and viral DNA and WNV protein subunits have been developed. Some have been approved for veterinary use or are under clinical investigation, yet no vaccine has been licensed for human use. Reaching the milestone of a commercialized human vaccine, however, may largely depend on the economics of vaccine production. Analysis suggests that currently only novel low-cost production technologies would allow vaccination to outcompete the cost of surveillance and clinical treatment. Here, we review progress using plants to address the economic challenges of WNV vaccine production. The advantages of plants as hosts for vaccine production in cost, speed and scalability, especially those of viral vector-based transient expression systems, are discussed. The progress in developing WNV subunit vaccines in plants is reviewed within the context of their expression, characterization, downstream processing, and immunogenicity in animal models. The development of vaccines based on enveloped and non-enveloped virus-like particles is also discussed. These advancements suggest that plants may provide a production platform that offers potent, safe and affordable human vaccines against WNV.

In order to improve the efficiency of government spending, it is necessary for the decentralized irrigation management to gain support from local institutions. Efficient institutions take on several distinct configurations in different irrigation districts. In this research, we upgrade Tang’s (1992) framework focusing on incentives, to a framework that includes institutional incentives and coordination. Within the framework, we then classify 5 institutional variables: water pricing reform (P), government funding (F), coordination by administration (C), having formal monitors (M) and self-organized management (S). This article processes the data obtained through a field survey (2009–2011) in 20 of China’s southern counties, where they implement the “Small-scale Irrigation and Water Conservancy Key Counties Construction (Key Counties Construction)”, a national project supported by the central government. Next, it applies Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to measure the efficiency of government spending and uses Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) to extract efficient institutional configurations. It concludes that there are generally three types of institutional configurations able to improve the efficiency of government spending, which are respectively: “government funding combined with coordination by administration”, “water pricing reform combined with self-organized management and coordination by administration or water pricing reform combined with self-organized management and government funding and formal monitors” and “self-organized management”. Among these, the second configuration is a mixed governance structure with multiple institutions coexisting, and this configuration occurs in the most efficient key counties. For that reason, it is viewed as the mainstream irrigation management approach, and we expect it to be the development trend in the future. Although Chinese irrigation policies are formalizing effective local institutions, they are still not sufficient. Future policies are needed to 1) promote institutions of government support for water laws in order to build stable expectations for both water user associations (WUAs) and farmers, 2) guide water pricing reform by ensuring farmers’ water rights and regulating water markets, and 3) provide opportunities for hiring professional monitors and crafting formal rules.

Research has shown that construction projects in Saudi Arabia have exhibited poor performance for the past three decades. The traditional risk management practices have been ineffective at helping contractors deliver projects on time and within budget while meeting quality expectations. Studies have identified that client decision making is one of the main causes of risks that occur on projects in Saudi Arabia. This paper proposes a new risk management model that can minimize client decision making, and enable the client to utilize expertise, thereby improving project quality and performance. The model is derived from the Information Measurement Theory (IMT) and Performance Information Procurement System (PIPS), both developed at Arizona State University in the United States (U.S.). The model has been tested over 1800 times in both construction and non-construction projects, showing a decrease in required management by owner by up to 80% and an increase in efficiency up to 40%.

Brazil has had issues in efficiently providing the required amount of electricity to its citizens at a low cost. One of the main causes to the decreasing performance of energy is due to reoccurring droughts that decrease the power generated by hydroelectric facilities. To compensate for the decrease, Brazil brought into use thermal power plants. The power plants being on average 23.7% more expensive than hydroelectric. Wind energy is potentially an alternative source of energy to compensate for the energy decrease during droughts. Brazil has invested in wind farms recently, but, due to issues with the delivery method, only 34% of wind farms are operational. This paper reviews the potential benefit Brazil could receive from investing more resources into developing and operating wind farms. It also proposes that utilization of the best value approach in delivering wind farms could produce operational wind farms quicker and more efficiently than previously experienced.

Delays are a major cause for concern in the construction industry in Saudi Arabia. This paper identifies the main causes of delay in infrastructure projects in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, and compares these with projects around the country and other Gulf countries. Data was obtained from 49 infrastructure projects undertaken by the owner and were analyzed quantitatively to understand the severity and causes of delay. 10 risk factors were identified and were grouped into four categories. Average delay in infrastructure projects in Mecca was found to be 39%. The most severe cause of delay was found to be the land acquisition factor. This highlights the critical land ownership and acquisition issues that are prevailing in the city. Additionally, other factors that contribute to delay include contractors’ lack of expertise, re-designing, and haphazard underground utilities (line services). It is concluded that the majority of project delays were caused from the owner's side as compared to contractors, consultants, and other project's stakeholders. This finding matched with the research findings of the Gulf Countries Construction (GCC) Industry's literature. This study fills an important practice and research gap for improving the efficiency in delivering infrastructure projects in the holy city of Mecca and Gulf countries at large.

There are an increasing variety of applications in which peptides are both synthesized and used attached to solid surfaces. This has created a need for high throughput sequence analysis directly on surfaces. However, common sequencing approaches that can be adapted to surface bound peptides lack the throughput often needed in library-based applications. Here we describe a simple approach for sequence analysis directly on solid surfaces that is both high speed and high throughput, utilizing equipment available in most protein analysis facilities. In this approach, surface bound peptides, selectively labeled at their N-termini with a positive charge-bearing group, are subjected to controlled degradation in ammonia gas, resulting in a set of fragments differing by a single amino acid that remain spatially confined on the surface they were bound to. These fragments can then be analyzed by MALDI mass spectrometry, and the peptide sequences read directly from the resulting spectra.

This paper is part of doctoral research to improve the current Saudi Arabian (SA) procurement system. SA has the largest construction market in the Middle East. However, the use of the traditional procurement system in SA has been identified as one of the causes for poor performance in the delivery of construction. The system has been identified as a major risk to the SA government, due to consistent increased costs and delays of up to 70% on projects. A survey was conducted with 1396 participants including engineers, buyers, contractors, consultants, academics, and architects. The purpose of the survey was to identify the validity of the recent claims that the procurement system in SA is broken. The participants work in both the private and government sectors. The survey results showed that the procurement system is a major risk to projects, affects construction projects negatively, and is in need of improvement.

Recent infectious outbreaks highlight the need for platform technologies that can be quickly deployed to develop therapeutics needed to contain the outbreak. We present a simple concept for rapid development of new antimicrobials. The goal was to produce in as little as one week thousands of doses of an intervention for a new pathogen. We tested the feasibility of a system based on antimicrobial synbodies. The system involves creating an array of 100 peptides that have been selected for broad capability to bind and/or kill viruses and bacteria. The peptides are pre-screened for low cell toxicity prior to large scale synthesis. Any pathogen is then assayed on the chip to find peptides that bind or kill it. Peptides are combined in pairs as synbodies and further screened for activity and toxicity. The lead synbody can be quickly produced in large scale, with completion of the entire process in one week.