Fueling the bio-economy: european culture collections and microbiology education and training

A survey of European Microbial Biological Resource Centers and their users provided an overview on Microbiology education and training. The results identified future increases in demand despite several shortcomings and gaps in the current offer. Urgent adjustments are needed to match users' needs, integrate innovative programs, and adopt new technologies.

Innovation Process and Organizational Adoption of Disruptive Innovation: Empirical Evidence from Finnish Bio-Economy Companies.

The thesis aims to build a coherent view and understanding of the innovation process and organizational technology adoption in Finnish bio-economy companies with a focus on innovations of a disruptive nature. Disruptive innovations are exceptional hence in order to create generalizations and a unified view of the subject the perspective is also on less radical innovations. Other interests of the thesis are how ideas are discovered and generated and how the nature of the innovation and size of the company affect the technology adoption and innovation process. The data was collected by interviewing six small and six large Finnish bio-economy companies. The results suggest companies regardless of size consider innovation as a core asset in the competitive markets. Organizations want to be considered innovators and early adopters yet these qualities are limited by certain, mainly resource-based factors. In addition the industry, scalability and Finland’s geographical location when seeking funding provide certain challenges. The innovation process may be considered relatively similar whether the idea or technology stems from an internal or external source suggesting the technology adoption process can in fact be linked to the innovation process theories. Thus the thesis introduces a new theoretical model which based on the results of the study and the theories of technology adoption and innovation process aims on characterizing how ideas and technology from both external and internal sources generate into innovations. The innovation process is in large bio-economy companies most often similar to or a modified version of the stage-gate model, while small companies generally have less structured processes. Nevertheless the more disruptive the innovation, the less it fits in the structured processes. This implies disruptive innovation cannot be put in a certain mould but it is rather processed case-by-case.

Progress in upscaling Miscanthus biomass production for the European bio-economy with seed-based hybrids

Funded by UK's Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). Grant Number: LK0863 BBSRC strategic programme Grant on Energy Grasses & Bio-refining. Grant Number: BBS/E/W/10963A01 OPTIMISC. Grant Number: FP7-289159 WATBIO. Grant Number: FP7-311929 Innovate UK/BBSRC ‘MUST’. Grant Number: BB/N016149/1

Public service culture collections of microorganisms: are they important for biotechnology?

Microbiology as a scientific discipline recognised the need to preserve microorganisms for scientific studies establishing from its very beginning research culture collections (CC). Later on, to better serve different scientific fields and bioindustries with the increasing number of strains of scientific, medical, ecological and biotechnological importance public service CC were established with the specific aims to support their user communities. Currently, the more developed public service CC are recognised as microBiological Resources Centres (mBRC). mBRC are considered to be one of the key elements for sustainable international scientific infrastructure, which is necessary to underpin successful delivery of the benefits of biotechnology, whether within the health sector, the industrial sector or other sectors, and in turn ensure that these advances help drive economic growth. In more detail, mBRCs are defined by Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) as service providers and repositories of the living cells, genomes of organisms, and information relating to heredity and functions of biological systems. mBRCs contain collections of culturable organisms (e.g., microorganisms, plant, animal cells), replicable parts of these (e.g. genomes, plasmids, virus, cDNAs), viable but not yet culturable organisms, cells and tissues, as well as database containing molecular, physiological and structural information relevant to these collections and related bioinformatics. Thus mBRCs are fundamental to harnessing and preserving the world’s microbial biodiversity and genetic resources and serve as an essential element of the infrastructure for research and development. mBRCs serve a multitude of functions and assume a range of shapes and forms. Some are large national centres performing a comprehensive role providing access to diverse organisms. Other centres play much narrower, yet important, roles supplying limited but crucial specialised resources. In the era of the knowledge-based bio-economy mBRCs are recognised as vital element to underpinning the biotechnology.

Strateginen osaaminen ja strategiset kyvykkyydet biotaloustoimialarahastossa

Työn tavoitteena oli biotaloustoimialarahastolta vaadittavien organisaation osaamisen ja kyvykkyyksien tunnistaminen. Vaadittavan osaamisen ja kyvykkyyksien kartoituksessa oli huomioitava rahaston luonne ja tavoite. Rahaston on toimittava samanaikaisesti liiketoimintalähtöisesti ja kiihdytettävä biotaloustoimialan kehittymistä Suomessa. Tutkimusmenetelminä käytettiin kirjallisuustutkimusta sekä asiantuntijahaastatteluja. Kirjallisuustutkimuksen avulla tutustuttiin biotaloustoimialan ja sen keskeisten teknologioiden kehittymiseen sekä rahastotoimialan perusrakenteisiin. Asiantuntijahaastatteluilla kartoitettiin rahastoliiketoimintaa harjoittavien organisaatioiden osaamisia ja kyvykkyyksiä. Haastattelut toteutettiin organisaatioissa jotka rahoittavat sekä yrityksiä että projekteja. Rahoituksen kohdetoimialoiksi määriteltiin energia- ja metsäteollisuus sekä ympäristönsuojeluhankkeet. Tutkimuksessa on hyödynnetty NICHEINNO–projektissa toteutettua toimiala-analyysiä sekä projektissa muodostettua biotaloustoimialarahaston liiketoimintamallia. Tässä työssä muodostettiin rahaston tavoitteiden ja liiketoimintamallin edellyttämät ydinosaamiset ja kyvykkyydet. Tutkimuksen tuloksena syntyneitä ydinosaamisten kuvauksia voidaan hyödyntää biotaloustoimialaa rahoittavien organisaatioiden osaamisten ja kyvykkyyksien kehittämiseen.

Paperi- ja selluteollisuus: Kestävän kehityksen rooli alalla ja alan tulevaisuus: Delfoi-tutkimus

Tutkimuksen tavoitteena oli hahmottaa paperi- ja selluteollisuuden nykytilaa ja tulevaisuutta kirjallisuuden sekä empiirisen tutkimuksen avulla. Tutkimuksen avulla hahmotettiin erityisesti kestävän kehityksen ja CSR:n merkitystä paperi- ja selluteollisuudessa, paperi- ja selluteollisuuden tämänhetkistä tilannetta sekä kilpailuedun lähteitä ja liiketoiminnan mahdollisuuksia alalla tulevaisuudessa. Tutkimuksen tutkimusmenetelmä oli kvalitatiivinen ja tutkimusmenetelmänä käytettiin Delfoi-menetelmää. Tutkimuksen perusteella voidaan todeta, että kestävä kehitys on tärkeä aihe paperi- ja selluteollisuudessa ja sen voidaan olettaa tulevaisuudessa olevan alalla vieläkin merkityksellisempi. Ympäristöllisistä tekijöistä ja näkökulmista on metsäteollisuudessa puhuttu jo vuosikymmenten ajan ja alan kansainvälistyminen sekä alalla viime aikoina tapahtuneet muutokset ovat nostaneet kiinnostusta kestävää kehitystä kohtaan entisestään. Tutkimuksen mukaan paperi- ja selluteollisuuden nykytilanne on tällä hetkellä haastava ja kilpailu alalla on kovaa. Syitä alan haastavaan tilanteeseen ovat alalla viime aikoina tapahtuneet muutokset ja kilpailun kiristyminen. Tulevaisuuden kilpailuedun lähteinä alalla voidaan nähdä muun muassa kestävään kehitykseen liittyvät tekijät, uudet tuotteet sekä materiaalit, markkinarakojen hyödyntäminen sekä kannattavuuden parantaminen. Uusia liiketoiminnan mahdollisuuksia alalla tulevaisuudessa ovat erikoistuotteet, bioenergia, innovaatiot, sivutuotteiden käyttö, kierrätettävät materiaalit, pakkausmateriaalit sekä biotalous.

Sustainable production of biologically active molecules of marine based origin

The marine environment offers both economic and scientific potential which are relatively untapped from a biotechnological point of view. These environments whilst harsh are ironically fragile and dependent on a harmonious life form balance. Exploitation of natural resources by exhaustive wild harvesting has obvious negative environmental consequences. From a European industry perspective marine organisms are a largely underutilised resource. This is not due to lack of interest but due to a lack of choice the industry faces for cost competitive, sustainable and environmentally conscientious product alternatives. Knowledge of the biotechnological potential of marine organisms together with the development of sustainable systems for their cultivation, processing and utilisation are essential. In 2010, the European Commission recognised this need and funded a collaborative RTD/SME project under the Framework 7-Knowledge Based Bio-Economy (KBBE) Theme 2 Programme 'Sustainable culture of marine microorganisms, algae and/or invertebrates for high value added products'. The scope of that project entitled 'Sustainable Production of Biologically Active Molecules of Marine Based Origin' (BAMMBO) is outlined. Although the Union is a global leader in many technologies, it faces increasing competition from traditional rivals and emerging economies alike and must therefore improve its innovation performance. For this reason innovation is placed at the heart of a European Horizon 2020 Strategy wherein the challenge is to connect economic performance to eco performance. This article provides a synopsis of the research activities of the BAMMBO project as they fit within the wider scope of sustainable environmentally conscientious marine resource exploitation for high-value biomolecules. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

An expert model approach to assess the potential of non-wood forest products for forest owners

Mestrado em Engenharia Florestal e dos Recursos Naturais - Instituto Superior de Agronomia - UL

Developing Iowa’s Bio-science Workforce: The Role of the Community Colleges of Iowa In Creating Skilled Workers for the Emerging Bio-science/Biotechnology Sector, 2006

The Iowa economy is undergoing great change. Among the sectors deemed important to Iowa’s economic future is bioscience. Definition of what constitutes the bioscience sector but suggests it includes agricultural, medical, plant-life sciences, and related industrial activity.

‘Green Consumption’ beyond mainstream economy: A discourse analysis

In contemporary society, green consumption is a popular concept. The life styles of people and consumption behaviors are moderated in accordance to the ‘green ideology’. The process of green consumption can be observed through social behaviors such as preference of bio foods, recycling, reusing, limiting the over consumption and using environmentally friendly transport systems. However, mainstream economic analyses on green consumption argued that consumer behaviors are due to the rational choice of individuality based on utility and self-preferences. The hypothesis of this paper on consumer behavior in green consumption is configured by discourses according to the discourse analysis.

An exploration of the drivers to bio-security collective action among a sample of UK cattle and sheep farmers

At present, collective action regarding bio-security among UK cattle and sheep farmers is rare. Despite the occurrence of catastrophic livestock diseases such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and foot and mouth disease (FMD), within recent decades, there are few national or local farmer-led animal health schemes. To explore the reasons for this apparent lack of interest, we utilised a socio-psychological approach to disaggregate the cognitive, emotive and contextual factors driving bio-security behaviour among cattle and sheep farmers in the United Kingdom (UK). In total, we interviewed 121 farmers in South-West England and Wales. The main analytical tools included a content, cluster and logistic regression analysis. The results of the content analysis illustrated apparent 'dissonance' between bio-security attitudes and behaviour.(1) Despite the heavy toll animal disease has taken on the agricultural economy, most study participants were dismissive of the many measures associated with bio-security. Justification for this lack of interest was largely framed in relation to the collective attribution or blame for the disease threats themselves. Indeed, epidemic diseases were largely related to external actors and agents. Reasons for outbreaks included inadequate border control, in tandem with ineffective policies and regulations. Conversely, endemic livestock disease was viewed as a problem for 'bad' farmers and not an issue for those individuals who managed their stock well. As such, there was little utility in forming groups to address what was largely perceived as an individual problem. Further, we found that attitudes toward bio-security did not appear to be influenced by any particular source of information per se. While strong negative attitudes were found toward specific sources of bio-security information, e.g. government leaflets, these appear to simply reflect widely held beliefs. In relation to actual bio-security behaviours, the logistic regression analysis revealed no significant difference between in-scheme and out of scheme farmers. We concluded that in order to support collective action with regard to bio-security, messages need to be reframed and delivered from a neutral source. Efforts to support group formation must also recognise and address the issues relating to perceptions of social connectedness among the communities involved. (c) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Bio-based PLA_PHB plasticized blend films: Processing and structural characterization

Bio-based films formed by poly(lactic acid) (PLA) and poly(3-hydroxybutyrate) (PHB) plasticized with an oligomer of the lactic acid (OLA) were used as supporting matrices for an antibacterial agent (carvacrol). This paper reports the main features of the processing and physico-chemical characterization of these innovative biodegradable material based films, which were extruded and further submitted to filmature process. The effect of the addition of carvacrol and OLA on their microstructure, chemical, thermal and mechanical properties was assessed. The presence of these additives did not affect the thermal stability of PLA_PHB films, but resulted in a decrease in their crystallinity and in the elastic modulus for the active formulations. The obtained results showed the effective presence of additives in the PLA or the PLA_PHB matrix after processing at high temperatures, making them able to be used in active and bio-based formulations with antioxidant/antimicrobial performance.

Bio-fuelling the Hummer? Transdisciplinary Thoughts on Techno-Optimism and Innovation in the Transition from Unsustainability

An overarching aim of this chapter is to offer an informed and critical analysis of ‘techno-optimism’, informed by an explicitly transdisciplinary approach. A transdisciplinary perspective is one in which knowledge production goes beyond the academy to include end non-academic stakeholders and users. In effect it seeks to ‘upstream’ the involvement of non-academic interests in research design and knowledge production, as opposed to limiting those non-academic interests to the dissemination end point stage of research, which is the dominant research model. Techno-optimism is understood as an exaggerated and unwarranted belief in human technological abilities to solve problems of unsustainability while minimising or denying the need for large-scale social, economic and political transformation. More specifically, techno-optimism is the belief that the negative environmental and social costs of high-consumption, affluent, consumer societies and associated ways of life within capitalist orthodox economic growth orientated socio-economic systems, can be solved or eradicated through technological innovation and breakthroughs. Business as usual can be ‘greened’; a capitalist, growth-based economy can be made more ‘resource efficient’, consumerism less ‘resource intensive’ (and maybe a little bit more ethical). Techno-optimism, to be deliberately provocative for a moment, can therefore be described as a ‘biofuel the hummer’ response to the challenges (and opportunities) of the crisis of unsustainability. What I mean by that analogy is the seductive promise and premise of techno-optimism of not questioning or doubting the status quo (the hummer), hence it’s putative (but entirely false) non-political character. The capitalist, consumerist, growth-based socio-economic system is thus removed from critical analysis (usually on the implicit or explicit assumption of either the normative rightness of this system, or on strategic political grounds that it is naive or utopian to envisage widespread support for a non or post-capitalist consumer system). Techno-optimism simply enables a different means (biofuel) to the same ends.

Ammonium uptake, transport and nitrogen economy in forest trees

AMMONIUM UPTAKE, TRANSPORT AND NITROGEN ECONOMY IN FOREST TREES Francisco M. Cánovas, Concepción Avila, Fernando N. de la Torre, Rafael A. Cañas, Belén Pascual, Vanessa Castro- Rodríguez, Jorge El-Azaz Departamento de Biología Molecular y Bioquímica, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Málaga, Spain. Email: canovas@uma.es Forests ecosystems play a fundamental role in the regulation of global carbon fixation and preservation of biodiversity. Forest trees are also of great economic value because they provide a wide range of products of commercial interest, including wood, pulp, biomass and important secondary metabolites. The productivity of most forest ecosystems is limited by low nitrogen availability and woody perennials have developed adaptation mechanisms, such as ectomycorrhizal associations, to increase the efficiency of N acquisition and metabolic assimilation. The efficient acquisition, assimilation and economy of nitrogen are of special importance in trees that must cope with seasonal periods of growth and dormancy over many years. In fact, the ability to accumulate nitrogen reserves and to recycle N is crucial to determine the growth and production of forest biomass. Ammonium is the predominant form of inorganic nitrogen in the soil of temperate forests and many research efforts are addressed to study the regulation of ammonium acquisition, assimilation and internal recycling for the biosynthesis of amino acids, particularly those relevant for nitrogen storage. In our laboratory, we are interested in studying nitrogen metabolism and its regulation in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster L. Aiton), a conifer species of great ecological and economic importance in Europe and for which whole-transcriptome resources are available. The metabolism of phenylalanine plays a central role in the channeling of carbon from photosynthesis to the biosynthesis of phenylpropanoids and the regulation of this pathway is of broad significance for nitrogen economy of maritime pine. We are currently exploring the molecular properties and regulation of genes involved in the biosynthesis and metabolic fates of phenylalanine in maritime pine. An overview of this research programme will be presented and discussed. Research supported by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and Junta de Andalucía (Grants BIO2015-69285-R, BIO2012-0474 and research group BIO-114).