Biotech Innovation in Europe's Food and Drink Processing Industry: Promise, Barriers and Exploitation

Early optimism about the potential of biotechnology to contribute to "the production of food with improved quality and nutritional content" (ACOST, 1990) has waned in the face of consumer resistance to the use of genetically modified organisms in food. The European food and drink sector has not abandoned biotechnology, however, but it is being very selective in its use. Some of the current applications of biotechnology were not recognized in early predictions about the application of biotechnology to the food and drink sector.

To rank or to classify? Annotating stress for reliable PTSD profiling

In this paper we profile the stress responses of patients diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to individual events in the game-based PTSD stress inoculation and exposure virtual environment StartleMart. Thirteen veterans suffering from PTSD play the game while we record their skin conductance. Game logs are used to identify individual events, and continuous decomposition analysis is applied to the skin conductance signals to derive event-related stress responses. The extracted skin conductance features from this analysis are used to profile each individual player in terms of stress response. We observe a large degree of variation across the 13 veterans which further validates the idiosyncratic nature of PTSD physiological manifestations. Further to game data and skin conductance signals we ask PTSD patients to indicate the most stressful event experienced (class-based annotation) and also compare the stress level of all events in a pairwise preference manner (rankbased annotation).We compare the two annotation stress schemes by correlating the self-reports to individual event-based stress manifestations. The self-reports collected through class-based annotation exhibit no correlation to physiological responses, whereas, the pairwise preferences yield significant correlations to all skin conductance features extracted via continuous decomposition analysis. The core findings of the paper suggest that reporting of stress preferences across events yields more reliable data that capture aspects of the stress experienced and that features extracted from skin conductance via continuous decomposition analysis offer appropriate predictors of stress manifestation across PTSD patients.This research was supported by the Danish Council for Technology and Innovation and by the EU funded FP7 ICT iLearnRW project (project no: 318803). We thank the PTSD patients who chose to support our research with their participation.peer-reviewe

Application of hydrides in hydrogen storage and compression: Achievements, outlook and perspectives

Metal hydrides are known as a potential efficient, low-risk option for high-density hydrogen storage since the late 1970s. In this paper, the present status and the future perspectives of the use of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage are discussed. Since the early 1990s, interstitial metal hydrides are known as base materials for Ni – metal hydride rechargeable batteries. For hydrogen storage, metal hydride systems have been developed in the 2010s [1] for use in emergency or backup power units, i. e. for stationary applications. With the development and completion of the first submarines of the U212 A series by HDW (now Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems) in 2003 and its export class U214 in 2004, the use of metal hydrides for hydrogen storage in mobile applications has been established, with new application fields coming into focus. In the last decades, a huge number of new intermetallic and partially covalent hydrogen absorbing compounds has been identified and partly more, partly less extensively characterized. In addition, based on the thermodynamic properties of metal hydrides, this class of materials gives the opportunity to develop a new hydrogen compression technology. They allow the direct conversion from thermal energy into the compression of hydrogen gas without the need of any moving parts. Such compressors have been developed and are nowadays commercially available for pressures up to 200 bar. Metal hydride based compressors for higher pressures are under development. Moreover, storage systems consisting of the combination of metal hydrides and high-pressure vessels have been proposed as a realistic solution for on-board hydrogen storage on fuel cell vehicles. In the frame of the “Hydrogen Storage Systems for Mobile and Stationary Applications” Group in the International Energy Agency (IEA) Hydrogen Task 32 “Hydrogen-based energy storage”, different compounds have been and will be scaled-up in the near future and tested in the range of 500 g to several hundred kg for use in hydrogen storage applications.Fil: Bellosta von Colbe, Jose. Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Ares Fernández, José Ramón. Universidad Autónoma de Madrid; EspañaFil: Jussara, Barale. Università di Torino; ItaliaFil: Baricco, Marcello. Università di Torino; ItaliaFil: Buckley, Craig E.. Curtin University; AustraliaFil: Capurso, Giovanni. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Gallandat, Noris. GRZ Technologies Ltd; SuizaFil: Grant, David M.. Science and Technology Facilities Council of Nottingham. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory; Reino Unido. University of Nottingham; Estados UnidosFil: Guzik, Matylda N.. University of Oslo; NoruegaFil: Jacob, Isaac. Ben Gurion University of the Negev; IsraelFil: Jensen, Emil H.. University of Oslo; NoruegaFil: Jensen, Torben. University Aarhus; DinamarcaFil: Jepsen, Julian. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Klassen, Thomas. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Lototskyy, Mykhaylol V.. University of Cape Town; SudáfricaFil: Manickam, Kandavel. University of Nottingham; Estados Unidos. Science and Technology Facilities Council of Nottingham. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory; Reino UnidoFil: Montone, Amelia. Casaccia Research Centre; ItaliaFil: Puszkiel, Julián Atilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; AlemaniaFil: Sartori, Sabrina. University of Oslo; NoruegaFil: Sheppard, Drew A.. Curtin University; AustraliaFil: Stuart, Alastair. University of Nottingham; Estados Unidos. Science and Technology Facilities Council of Nottingham. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory; Reino UnidoFil: Walker, Gavin. University of Nottingham; Estados Unidos. Science and Technology Facilities Council of Nottingham. Rutherford Appleton Laboratory; Reino UnidoFil: Webb, Colin J.. Griffith University; AustraliaFil: Yang, Heena. Empa Materials Science & Technology; Suiza. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; SuizaFil: Yartys, Volodymyr. Institute for Energy Technology; NoruegaFil: Züttel, Andreas. Empa Materials Science & Technology; Suiza. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne; SuizaFil: Dornheim, Martin. Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht; Alemani

Flexible nitrogen oxide (NOx) abatement from power plants in the eastern United States

Thesis (S.M. in Technology and Policy)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2009.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 90-93).Ozone formation is a complex, non-linear process that depends on the atmospheric concentrations of its precursors, nitrogen oxide (NOx) and Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC), as well as on temperature and the available amount of sunlight. The dependence of ozone formation on meteorology makes the timing of emissions important, suggesting the need for a temporally differentiated regulation for NOx emissions. Such a flexible NOx regulation policy, so-called "smart trading", which is designed to target ozone episodes by reducing NOx emissions prior to and during forecasted episodes, has the potential for reducing the compliance cost and helping to solve the persistent ozone non-attainment problem in the Eastern United States. However, the total compliance cost of this new policy depends critically on the accuracy of ozone forecasting. This thesis aims to address the question of whether a NOx trading program that differentiates across emissions by time could reduce ozone concentrations more cost-effectively than the conventional command-and-control method in the Eastern U.S. given the uncertainty in ozone forecasting. A cost-effectiveness analysis is conducted to compare the average cost for achieving a certain amount of ozone reduction under the proposed smart trading plan and the command-and-control policy. The probability distribution of the compliance cost under a smart trading policy is simulated using a stochastic decision model based on the simulated electricity generation and air quality data.(cont.) This study demonstrates the scientific and economic feasibility of a time-differentiated trading scheme. I explore whether such a regulatory design is justifiable with respect to ozone forecast accuracy by conducting sensitivity analysis of ozone prediction errors and discover that uncertainty in ozone forecasting may not be a major limiting factor for the feasibility of a time-differentiated NOx cap-and-trade program.by Lin Sun.S.M.in Technology and Polic

HRA*: Hybrid randomized path planning for complex 3D environments

Trabajo presentado al IROS celebrado en Tokyo del 3 al 7 de noviembre de 2013.We propose HRA*, a new randomized path planner for complex 3D environments. The method is a modified A* algorithm that uses a hybrid node expansion technique that combines a random exploration of the action space meeting vehicle kinematic constraints with a cost to goal metric that considers only kinematically feasible paths to the goal. The method includes also a series of heuristics to accelerate the search time. These include a cost penalty near obstacles, and a filter to prevent revisiting configurations. The performance of the method is compared against A*, RRT and RRT* in a series of challenging 3D outdoor datasets. HRA* is shown to outperform all of them in computation time, and delivering shorter paths than A* and RRT.This work has been partially supported by the Mexican Council of Science and Technology with a PhD Scholarship to Ernesto Teniente, by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under project DPI-2011-27510 and by the EU project ARCAS FP7-287617.Peer Reviewe

Engineering aspects of hydrothermal pretreatment: from batch to continuous operation, scale-up and pilot reactor under biorefinery concept

Different pretreatments strategies have been developed over the years mainly to enhance enzymatic cellulose degradation. In the new biorefinery era, a more holistic view on pretreatment is required to secure optimal use of the whole biomass. Hydrothermal pretreatment technology is regarded as very promising for lignocellulose biomass fractionation biorefinery and to be implemented at the industrial scale for biorefineries of second generation and circular bioeconomy, since it does not require no chemical inputs other than liquid water or steam and heat. This review focuses on the fundamentals of hydrothermal pretreatment, structure changes of biomass during this pretreatment, multiproduct strategies in terms of biorefinery, reactor technology and engineering aspects from batch to continuous operation. The treatise includes a case study of hydrothermal biomass pretreatment at pilot plant scale and integrated process design.The authors gratefully thank the Secretary of Public Education ofMexico – Mexican Science and Technology Council (SEP-CONACYT,Mexico) for the Basic Science Project -2015-01 (Ref. 254808), EnergySustainability Fund 2014-05 (CONACYT-SENER), Mexican Centre forInnovation in Bioenergy (Cemie-Bio), Cluster of Bioalcohols (Ref.249564) and the BMBF for the financial support (reference number:031B0660A).info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Optimizing Biomedical Discoveries as an Engine of Culture Change in an Academic Medical Center

Academic discovery in biomedicine is a growing enterprise with tens of billions of dollars in research funding available to universities and hospitals. Protecting and optimizing the resultant intellectual property is required in order for the discoveries to have an impact on society. To achieve that, institutions must create a multidisciplinary, collaborative system of review and support, and utilize connections to industry partners. In this study, we outline the efforts of Case Western Reserve University, coordinated through its Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative (CTSC), to promote entrepreneurial culture, and achieve goals of product development and startup formation for biomedical and population health discoveries arising from the academic ecosystem in Cleveland. The CTSC Office of Translation and Innovation, with the university’s Technology Transfer Office (TTO), helps identify and derisk promising IP while building interdisciplinary project teams to optimize the assets through key preclinical derisking steps. The benefits of coordinating funding across multiple programs, assuring dedicated project management to oversee optimizing the IP, and ensuring training to help improve proposals and encourage an entrepreneurial culture, are discussed in the context of a case study of therapeutic assets, the Council to Advance Human Health. This case study highlights best practices in academic innovation

Understanding the development of teaching and learning resources: A review

This paper is a literature review of research concerned with the production of learning resources in higher education (HE). It forms part of a larger research project in progress