New high technology product development: The case of light emitting diodes

New high technology products usher in novel possibilities to transform the design, production and use of buildings. The high technology companies which design, develop and introduce these new products by generating and applying novel scientific and technical knowledge are faced with significant market uncertainty, technological uncertainty and competitive volatility. These characteristics present unique innovation challenges compared to low- and medium technology companies. This paper reports on an ongoing Construction Knowledge Exchange funded project which is tracking, real time, the new product development process of a new family of light emitting diode (LEDs) technologies. LEDs offer significant functional and environmental performance improvements over incumbent tungsten and halogen lamps. Hitherto, the use of energy efficient, low maintenance LEDs has been constrained by technical limitations. Rapid improvements in basic science and technology mean that for the first time LEDs can provide realistic general and accent lighting solutions. Interim results will be presented on the complex, emergent new high technology product development processes which are being revealed by the integrated supply chain of a LED module manufacture, a luminaire (light fitting) manufacture and end user involved in the project.

Low-grade inflammation, diet composition and health: current research evidence and its translation

The importance of chronic low-grade inflammation in the pathology of numerous age-related chronic conditions is now clear. An unresolved inflammatory response is likely to be involved from the early stages of disease development. The present position paper is the most recent in a series produced by the International Life Sciences Institute's European Branch (ILSI Europe). It is co-authored by the speakers from a 2013 workshop led by the Obesity and Diabetes Task Force entitled ‘Low-grade inflammation, a high-grade challenge: biomarkers and modulation by dietary strategies’. The latest research in the areas of acute and chronic inflammation and cardiometabolic, gut and cognitive health is presented along with the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying inflammation–health/disease associations. The evidence relating diet composition and early-life nutrition to inflammatory status is reviewed. Human epidemiological and intervention data are thus far heavily reliant on the measurement of inflammatory markers in the circulation, and in particular cytokines in the fasting state, which are recognised as an insensitive and highly variable index of tissue inflammation. Potential novel kinetic and integrated approaches to capture inflammatory status in humans are discussed. Such approaches are likely to provide a more discriminating means of quantifying inflammation–health/disease associations, and the ability of diet to positively modulate inflammation and provide the much needed evidence to develop research portfolios that will inform new product development and associated health claims.

Achieving customer satisfaction through integrated products and services: an exploratory study

Complex products such as manufacturing equipment have always needed maintenance and repair services. Increasingly, leading manufacturers are integrating products and services to generate increased revenues and achieve customer satisfaction. Designing integrated products and services requires a different approach to new product development and a clear understanding of how customers perceive the value they obtain from actual usage of products and services—so-called value-in-use. However, there is a lack of research on integrated products and services and how they impact customer satisfaction. An exploratory study was undertaken to understand customers’ views on integrated products and services and the value-in-use derived from such offerings. As value-in-use and its impacts are complicated concepts, a technique from psychology—Repertory Grid Technique—was used to gather data in 33 interviews. The interviews allowed a deep understanding of customer views on integrated products and services to be obtained, and a systematic analysis identified the key attributes of value-in-use. In order to probe further, the data were then analyzed using Honey’s procedure, which identified the impact of the attributes of value-in-use on customer satisfaction. Two key attributes—relational dynamic and access—were found to have the most influence on customer satisfaction. This paper contributes to the innovation field by identifying customer needs for integrated products and services and how these impact customer satisfaction. These are key points and need to be fully considered by managers during new product and service development. Similarly, the paper identifies a number of important areas for further research.

Development of a quantitative tool for the comparison of the prebiotic effect of dietary oligosaccharides

Aims: To develop a quantitative equation [prebiotic index ( PI)] to aid the analysis of prebiotic fermentation of commercially available and novel prebiotic carbohydrates in vitro, using previously published fermentation data. Methods: The PI equation is based on the changes in key bacterial groups during fermentation. The bacterial groups incorporated into this PI equation were bifidobacteria, lactobacilli, clostridia and bacteroides. The changes in these bacterial groups from previous studies were entered into the PI equation in order to determine a quantitative PI score. PI scores were than compared with the qualitative conclusions made in these publications. In general the PI scores agreed with the qualitative conclusions drawn and provided a quantitative measure. Conclusions: The PI allows the magnitude of prebiotic effects to be quantified rather than evaluations being solely qualitative. Significance and Impact of the Study: The PI equation may be of great use in quantifying prebiotic effects in vitro. It is expected that this will facilitate more rational food product development and the development of more potent prebiotics with activity at lower doses.

The influence of context upon consumer sensory evaluation of chicken-meat quality

There is an apparent lack of research investigating how different test conditions influence or bias consumer sensory evaluation of food. The aim of the present pilot study was to determine if testing conditions had any effect on responses of an untrained panel to a novel chicken product. Assessments of flavour, texture and overall liking of corn-fed chicken were made across three different testing conditions (laboratory-based under normal lighting; laboratory-based under controlled lighting; and, home testing). Least favourable evaluations occurred under laboratory-based conditions irrespective of what lighting was used. Consumers perceived the product more favourably in terms of flavour (p < 0.001), texture (p < 0.001) and overall preference (p < 0.001) when evaluated in the familiar setting of the home. Home testing produced more consistent assessments than under either of the two laboratory-based test conditions. The results imply that home evaluation should be undertaken routinely in new food product development.

Europe’s biocidal products directive: benefits and costs in urban pest management

The European Commission’s Biocidal Products Directive (Council Directive 98/8 EC), known as the BPD, is the largest regulatory exercise ever to affect the urban pest control industry. Although focussed in the European Union its impact is global because any company selling pest control products in the EU must follow its principles. All active substances, belonging to 23 different biocidal product types, come within the Directive’s scope of regulatory control. This will eventually involve re-registration of all existing products, as well as affecting any new product that comes to the market. Some active substances, such as the rodenticides and insecticides, are already highly regulated in Europe but others, such as embalming fluids, masonry preservatives, disinfectants and repellents/attractants will come under intensive regulatory scrutiny for the first time. One of the purposes of the Directive is to offer enhanced protection for human health and the environment. The potential benefit for suppliers of pest control products is mutual recognition of regulatory product dossiers across 25 Member States of the European Union. This process, requiring harmonisation of all regulatory decision-making processes, should reduce duplicated effort and, potentially, allow manufacturers speedier access to European markets. However, the cost to industry is enormous, both in terms of the regulatory resources required to assemble BPD dossiers and the development budgets required to conduct studies to meet its new standards. The cost to regulatory authorities is also tremendous, in terms of the need to upgrade staff capabilities to meet new challenges and the volume of the work expected by the Commission when they are appointed the Rapporteur Member State (RMS) for an active substance. Users of pest control products will pay a price too. The increased regulatory costs of maintaining products in the European market are likely to be passed on, at least in part, to users. Furthermore, where the costs of meeting new regulatory requirements cannot be recouped from product sales, many well-known products may leave the market. For example, it seems that in future few rodenticides that are not anticoagulants will be available within the EU. An understanding of the BPD is essential to those who intend to place urban pest control products on the European market and may be useful to those considering the harmonisation of regulatory processes elsewhere. This paper reviews the operation of the first stages of the BPD for rodenticides, examines the potential benefits and costs of the legislation to the urban pest control industry and looks forward to the next stages of implementation involving all insecticides used in urban pest management.

Optimization of a sponge cake formulation with inulin as fat replacer: structure, physicochemical, and sensory properties

The effects of several fat replacement levels (0%, 35%, 50%, 70%, and 100%) by inulin in sponge cake microstructure and physicochemical properties were studied. Oil substitution for inulin decreased significantly (P < 0.05) batter viscosity, giving heterogeneous bubbles size distributions as it was observed by light microscopy. Using confocal laser scanning microscopy the fat was observed to be located at the bubbles’ interface, enabling an optimum crumb cake structure development during baking. Cryo-SEM micrographs of cake crumbs showed a continuous matrix with embedded starch granules and coated with oil; when fat replacement levels increased, starch granules appeared as detached structures. Cakes with fat replacement up to 70% had a high crumb air cell values; they were softer and rated as acceptable by an untrained sensory panel (n = 51). So, the reformulation of a standard sponge cake recipe to obtain a new product with additional health benefits and accepted by consumers is achieved.

Introduction: perspectives for economically important wild species and neglected crops in the Mediterranean

The Mediterranean region is one of the major centres of origin and diversification of cultivated plants and many crop wild relatives are found there. In addition, many native species are still widely harvested from the wild for food, medicine and other uses and some of these have potential for development as alternative crop especially in marginal zones. While there have been several recent initiatives that address the cataloguing and conservation of these species, such as the Network on Identification, Conservation and Use of Wild Plants in the Mediterranean Region (MEDUSA and the Bioversity International (IPGRI) studies on Underutilized Mediterranean Species (VMS), no comprehensive assessment has yet been made and little work undertaken on their agricultural potential. It has been confidently predicted that consequences of global change in the Mediterranean region - population movements and migrations, changes in disturbance regimes, and climate change - will be serious. One the one hand, this will affect the survival prospects of many of these underutilized species and on the other hand it will enhance their importance as the source of potential new crop germplasm. The conservation and availability of genetic diversity of both crops and underutilized species is essential if we are to be able to meet the increasing demand for food and other crops that will be adapted to the new ecoclimatic envelopes that will develop in the region as a consequence of global change. The rapid rate of climatic and other change that is expected adds urgency to the task of assessing, conserving and sustainably using this rich diversity of wild species of economic value in the region but new strategies will be need to be developed to achieve this. The Mediterranean region has the potential of becoming a major source of new crop development in the coming decades.