Commercialization Program Research Articles

Mining the chemical diversity of the hemp seed (Cannabis sativa L.) metabolome: discovery of a new molecular family widely distributed across hemp.

Hemp (Cannabis sativa L.) is a widely researched industrial crop with a variety of applications in the pharmaceutical, nutraceutical, food, cosmetic, textile, and materials industries. Although many of these applications are related to its chemical composition, the chemical diversity of the hemp metabolome has not been explored in detail and new metabolites with unknown properties are likely to be discovered. In the current study, we explored the chemical diversity of the hemp seed metabolome through an untargeted metabolomic study of 52 germplasm accessions to 1) identify new metabolites and 2) link the presence of biologically important molecules to specific accessions on which to focus on in future studies. Multivariate analysis of mass spectral data demonstrated large variability of the polar chemistry profile between accessions. Five main groups were annotated based on their similar metabolic fingerprints. The investigation also led to the discovery of a new compound and four structural analogues, belonging to a previously unknown chemical class in hemp seeds: cinnamic acid glycosyl sulphates. Although variability in the fatty acid profiles was not as marked as the polar components, some accessions had a higher yield of fatty acids, and variation in the ratio of linoleic acid to α-linolenic acid was also observed, with some varieties closer to 3:1 (reported as optimal for human nutrition). We found that that cinnamic acid amides and lignanamides, the main chemical classes of bioactive metabolites in hemp seed, were more concentrated in the Spanish accession Kongo Hanf (CAN58) and the French accession CAN37, while the Italian cultivar Eletta Campana (CAN48) demonstrated the greatest yield of fatty acids. Our results indicate that the high variability of bioactive and novel metabolites across the studied hemp seed accessions may influence claims associated with their commercialization and inform breeding programs in cultivar development.

Diversity Analysis for Grain Nutrient Content and Agronomic Traits among Newly Bred Striga-Resistant and Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. strigae (FOS)-Compatible Sorghum Genotypes

The parasitic weed, Striga species, is among the major causes of yield and quality losses of cereal and legume crops in sub-Saharan Africa. The development of nutritionally enhanced genetic resources with Striga resistance is an overriding consideration in sorghum breeding programs. The objective of this study was to determine the genetic variability among 12 elite and newly bred sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) lines with variable Striga resistance for agronomic performance and nutritional traits. The sorghum genotypes were analyzed for protein, amino acid profiles, and selected minerals. For agronomic traits, significant variations were observed for yield per plant that varied from 51.74 to 15.12 g/plant, with a mean of 29.77 g/plant. The tested genotypes showed significant (p < 0.05) variation in protein, amino acid, iron, and zinc contents. The crude protein content varied from 9.59 to 13.60%, with a mean of 11.64%. The lysine values ranged from 1.13 to 3.08%, with a mean of 2.15%, while methionine content varied from 0.42 to 1.58%, with a mean of 0.87%. Iron content ranged from 35.26 to 156.32 mg/kg with a mean of 78.32 mg/kg, while zinc content varied from 14.45 to 44.46 mg/kg with a mean of 24.91 mg/kg. The following genotypes: AS1, PAN8816, 672, Macia, AS436, 3984 × 630, AS426 × 672, and 105 × 654 were identified as having superior agronomic and nutritional qualities for commercialization and sorghum breeding programs.

Pitfalls and potential pathways to commercialization of indigenous food crops, fruits, and vegetables in Africa

All foods have local origins, but their commercialization and global acceptance remain challenging. Agricultural commercialization involves producing agricultural products for financial gain and market purposes beyond family consumption. Indigenous foods have vast societal benefits, including cultural, employment, medicinal, food security-related, nutritional, and financial. However, indigenous food consumption and demand are constantly declining because exotic foods are replacing them, despite recent campaigns for their increased commercialization. The study investigates the challenges associated with indigenous food commercialization, possible pathways to commercialization, and the role of the government in commercializing indigenous food. It offers a hypothesized structure and essential blueprint for sustainable indigenous food (crop) commercialization. The methodology involved a review of the literature using various search engines, scholarly sites, and print books, combining quantitative and qualitative research. Scaling indigenous food for sustainable commercialization beyond dependency on the wild product takes specific steps, including domestication, certification, and effective government-private collaboration. Policies to improve the sustainability of indigenous food are urgently required to save them from extinction and meet future demand. Many indigenous foods are hindered by low-status perception, poor value addition, inadequate knowledge of their potential, lack of market penetration, and global acceptability challenges. Indigenous food commercialization lacks a holistic and systematic approach involving careful planning, procedural steps, and an aggressive market-spreading mechanism for global adoption. An excellent strategic relationship between government and stakeholders is a prerequisite for indigenous food commercialization, but the onus is on the government to commit to indigenous food commercialization programs.

Widely targeted metabolomic analyses of albino tea germplasm ‘Huabai 1’ and ‘Baiye 1’

‘Huabai 1’ is a novel albino tea germplasm that has a stable albino phenotype and prolonged albino period. In this study, widely targeted metabolomics was employed to analyze the metabolic profile of ‘Huabai 1’, and compare metabolites between albino shoots of ‘Huabai 1’ (HBW) and albino shoots of the broadest cultivated cultivar ‘Baiye 1’ (BYW). A total of 359 differential metabolites were identified in ‘Huabai 1’. Comparative analysis of differential metabolites revealed that 83 and 161 differential metabolites were specific for HBW and BYW, respectively. The phenylpropanoid and flavonoids biosynthesis are the key metabolic pathways, contributing to the color change in ‘Huabai 1’, while the purine metabolism and lipid-related metabolites may play important roles in regulating albinism in ‘Baiye 1’. Comparative analysis of amino acids and catechins revealed that the umami taste of albino tea may be due to the internal balance of amino acid components and the decrease in phenol-ammonia ratio. In addition, lipid-related metabolites, the main contributors to the aroma of tea, were significantly enriched in BYW, while, HBW possess higher antioxidative components than that of BYW, such as apigenin and genistein etc., suggesting that the ‘Huabai 1’ may have high prospects in commercialization and future breeding programs.

The Role of CoLab and GAITS in Enabling the RADx Tech Program.

The RADxSM Tech initiative required a massive mobilization of the biomedical community. It was chartered with the extremely ambitious goal of rapidly developing and deploying innovative tests to detect people infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It needed to do so at a scale and with urgency to get the country back to daily activities such as school and work as soon as possible. It required forming and supporting a diversity of teams with members from around the country and beyond. These teams collaborated in complex workflows that needed to be carefully monitored and tracked. This paper describes the key elements of the secure, web-based infrastructure that was configured to enable the efficient and effective operation of RADx Tech's key processes and address its unique and urgent challenges. One such challenge was to manage the flow of applications through a multi-stage, interactive selection process (using the CoLab platform) and another was to support and facilitate the progress of projects selected for support and funding through an accelerated commercialization program (using the GAITS platform).

Effect of Participation in Commercial Production of Medicinal Plants through Community-Based Conservation Groups on Farm Income at Kakamega Forest, Kenya

ABSTRACT Forest conservation by peripheral communities is one of the most advocated strategies for ensuring sustainable supply of forest goods and services. In Kenya, although conservation activities generate considerable environmental improvements, studies evaluating the economic benefits are very limited. This study aimed at assessing the impact of participating in the commercialization training program by forest adjacent communities on farm income. Utilizing matching techniques, the analysis is based on the data collected from a randomly selected sample of farm households around Kakamega forest in Kenya. The results show that age, forest distance, forest benefit, market distance, and farming experience are the main factors that influence the participation in the commercialization program. Also, participating in commercial production of medicinal plants has a positive and significant effect on farmers’ income. The average treatment effect on the treated (ATT), based on three estimation algorithms, ranges from KSH. 80,047 to KSH. 176,788 per hectare, per year, implying that policy efforts that focus on the participation in the commercialization program of medicinal plants can enhance incomes among farm-dependent households. The findings from this study suggest that upscaling the participation in the commercialization program to other areas.

Opportunities for Carbon Dioxide Removal Within the United States Department of Agriculture

Farming and ranching communities in the United States sit at the front lines of climate change impacts and responses. In particular, terrestrial atmospheric carbon dioxide removal (CDR) can reduce climate change impacts while increasing resilience to extreme weather. Currently, many CDR technologies and strategies are still under research and development (R&D), and lack sufficient federal support to reach widespread deployment. Here, we provide an assessment of the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) existing programs and organizational structure, its capacity to support research and demonstration of CDR, and recommendations for expansion of these capabilities. We summarize USDA’s previous and current efforts to incorporate CDR R&D within their research, education, and economics mission, as well as opportunities to refocus and expand existing programs. Potential future actions to expand CDR R&D capabilities include: 1) the establishment of a new extramural research agency and an intramural technology commercialization program within USDA, 2) improved coordination between the Foundation for Food and Agriculture (FFAR) and USDA, 3) improved intra-agency and inter-agency coordination, and 4) congressional action to establish and fund new CDR programs within USDA. USDA can pursue multiple strategies to enhance CDR, driving development, demonstration, and deployment across the United States.

Technology commercialization programs performance evaluation issues in Kazakhstan

Due to lack of resources in the economy, the issue of public subsidies into science and innovation is always acute. The existing scientific literature reflects the results of research on the topic of public subsidies efficiency, both at the national level and at the level of various state programs. In Kazakhstan, this research question has been poorly studied. This research attempts to fulfill this gap. The authors analyze the theory and practice of using indicators to assess the performance of programs of research and developments commercialization. The indicators of technology commercialization programs of Kazakhstan, such as the programs of the International bank of development and reconstruction and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Science Foundation, the National agency of technology development are studied. The analysis of the Norwegian program FORNY in developing their indicators is made. The comparative study shows that evaluation of the commercialization programs performance requires a transition to a permanent and systemic basis. Particular attention should be paid to the development and exploration of indicators of behavior additionality and involvement of local authorities in the assessment of the programs performance at the regional / local level, which will increase their level of involvement in the implementation of these programs.

Doxorubicin-loaded protease-activated near-infrared fluorescent polymeric nanoparticles for imaging and therapy of cancer.

IntroductionDespite significant progress in the field of oncology, cancer remains one of the leading causes of death. Chemotherapy is one of the most common treatment options for cancer patients but is well known to result in off-target toxicity. Theranostic nanomedicines that integrate diagnostic and therapeutic functions within an all-in-one platform can increase tumor selectivity for more effective chemotherapy and aid in diagnosis and monitoring of therapeutic responses.Material and methodsIn this work, theranostic nanoparticles were synthesized with commonly used biocompatible and biodegradable polymers and used as cancer contrast and therapeutic agents for optical imaging and treatment of breast cancer. These core–shell nanoparticles were prepared by nanoprecipitation of blends of the biodegradable and biocompatible amphiphilic copolymers poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid)-b-poly-l-lysine and poly(lactic acid)-b-poly(ethylene glycol). Poly-l-lysine in the first copolymer was covalently decorated with near-infrared fluorescent Alexa Fluor 750 molecules.ResultsThe spherical nanoparticles had an average size of 60–80 nm. The chemotherapeutic drug doxorubicin was encapsulated in the core of nanoparticles at a loading of 3% (w:w) and controllably released over a period of 30 days. A 33-fold increase in near-infrared fluorescence, mediated by protease-mediated cleavage of the Alexa Fluor 750-labeled poly-l-lysine on the surface of the nanoparticles, was observed upon interaction with the model protease trypsin. The cytocompatibility of drug-free nanoparticles and growth inhibition of drug-loaded nanoparticles on MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells were investigated with a luminescence cell-viability assay. Drug-free nanoparticles were found to cause minimal toxicity, even at high concentrations (0.2–2,000 µg/mL), while doxorubicin-loaded nanoparticles significantly reduced cell viability at drug concentrations >10 µM. Finally, the interaction of the nanoparticles with breast cancer cells was studied utilizing fluorescence microscopy, demonstrating the potential of the nanoparticles to act as near-infrared fluorescence optical imaging agents and drug-delivery carriers.ConclusionDoxorubicin-loaded, enzymatically activatable nanoparticles of less than 100 nm were prepared successfully by nanoprecipitation of copolymer blends. These nanoparticles were found to be suitable as controlled drug delivery systems and contrast agents for imaging of cancer cells.

Who is left out: exploring social boundaries in entrepreneurial ecosystems

This study attempts to develop our understanding of the ecosystem as a complex social construct by advancing a social network perspective. Based on personal interviews we model the entrepreneurial ecosystems of two municipalities through a diverse network of entrepreneurs, investors, and institutional leaders. The two ecosystems were characterized and compared on measures related to the level of connectivity between actors, the existence of social boundaries, the role and position of actors with certain attributes (e.g. women, minorities) and the presence of ties in multiple social contexts (e.g. friend and investor). Our results suggest that entrepreneurial ecosystems consist of different social clusters, forming boundaries along venture type (e.g. high-growth, lifestyle), type of support institution (e.g. university, government agency), gender, race, and ethnicity. High-growth/technology entrepreneurs, for example, were predominantly white, male and strongly connected to technology commercialization and acceleration programs. In contrast, entrepreneurs operating survival ventures are mainly non-white, female and often socially disconnected from the main institutions. We also found differences with respect to network connectivity between stakeholders in both ecosystems. Based on our findings, we draw managerial implications for different stakeholders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem.

Impact of Sago Crop Commercialization Programs on Gender Roles of Melanau Communities in Sarawak, Malaysia

Melanau men are known for their significant roles in the cultivation of sago palm as smallholder farmers while the women take charge of processing sago-based food products. Melanau sago farmers play important roles in maintaining their rural livelihood as the ethnic minority group in the northwest coastal communities of Sarawak, Malaysia. In an attempt to contribute to the corpus of knowledge on Melanau gender roles and their unique farming practices, this paper adapts gender relations framework in order to assess the impact of sago commercialization programs that were established by the local authority since 1980s. The findings revealed that the changes of traditional gender roles among men and women are influenced by gender relations factors i.e. gender division of labour, access to or control of resources and household decision making. In addition, sago production promises a greater prospect of moving away from low to high commercial level of production only if human capital that makes sago crop difficult to commercialize are tackled in the Melanau community. This suggests that more attention to human factors is needed when authorities formulate policies relating to commercialization program.

Collaborative academic medical product development: An 8-year review of commercialization outcomes at the Institute of Translational Health Sciences.

The Institute of Translational Health Sciences (ITHS), a Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA)-funded program at the University of Washington (UW), established the Drug and Device Advisory Committee (DDAC) to provide product-specific scientific and regulatory mentoring to investigators seeking to translate their discoveries into medical products. An 8-year retrospective analysis was undertaken to evaluate the impact of the DDAC programs on commercialization metrics. Tracked metrics included the number of teams who consulted with the DDAC, initiated a clinical trial, formed a startup, or were successful obtaining federal small business innovation awards or venture capital. The review includes historical comparisons of the startup rates for the UW School of Medicine and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, two ITHS-affiliated institutions that have had different DDAC utilization rates. Between 2008 and 2016, the DDAC supported 161 unique project teams, 28% of which went on to form a startup. The commercialization rates for the UW School of Medicine increased significantly following integration of the DDAC into the commercialization programs offered by the UW technology transfer office. A formalized partnership between preclinical consulting and the technology transfer programs provides an efficient use of limited development funds and a more in-depth vetting of the business opportunity and regulatory path to development.

Demonstration of the Allam Cycle: An Update on the Development Status of a High Efficiency Supercritical Carbon Dioxide Power Process Employing Full Carbon Capture

The Allam cycle is a novel CO2, oxy-fuel power cycle that utilizes hydrocarbon fuels while inherently capturing approximately 100% of atmospheric emissions, including nearly all CO2 emissions at a cost of electricity that is highly competitive with the best available energy production systems that do not employ CO2 capture. The proprietary system achieves these results through a semi-closed-loop, high-pressure, low-pressure-ratio recuperated Brayton cycle that uses supercritical CO2 as the working fluid, dramatically reducing energy losses compared to steam- and air-based cycles. In conventional cycles, the separation and removal of low concentration combustion derived impurities such as CO2 results in a large additional capital cost and increased parasitic power. As a result, removal in conventional cycles can increase the cost of electricity by 50% to 70% [1]. The compelling economics of the Allam Cycle are driven by high target efficiencies, 59% net for natural gas and 51% net for coal (LHV basis) while inherently capturing nearly 100% CO2 at pipeline pressure with low projected capital and O&M costs. Additionally, for a small reduction in performance the cycle can run substantially water free. The system employs only a single turbine, utilizes a small plant footprint, and requires smaller and fewer components than conventional hydrocarbon fueled systems. The Allam Cycle was first presented at GHGT-11 [2]. Since then, significant progress has been made, including detailed system design, component testing and the construction of a 50 MWth demonstration plant commencing in Q1 2016 and now entering commissioning as of Q4 2016. This paper will review the development status of the Allam Cycle; for the demonstration plant, the construction and commissioning status, schedule, key components, layout, and detailed design; turbine design, manufacturing status; development of a novel dynamic control system and control simulator for the demonstration plant; and other key aspects of the cycle. It will provide an update on the progress of the gasified solid fuel Allam Cycle and then address the overall Allam Cycle commercialization program, benefits and applications, and the expected design of the natural gas 300 MWe commercial NET Power plant projected for 2020.

Conductive polymer-based nanoparticles for laser-mediated photothermal ablation of cancer: synthesis, characterization, and in vitro evaluation.

Laser-mediated photothermal ablation of cancer cells aided by photothermal agents is a promising strategy for localized, externally controlled cancer treatment. We report the synthesis, characterization, and in vitro evaluation of conductive polymeric nanoparticles (CPNPs) of poly(diethyl-4,4′-{[2,5-bis(2,3-dihydrothieno[3,4-b][1,4]dioxin-5-yl)-1,4-phenylene] bis(oxy)}dibutanoate) (P1) and poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) stabilized with 4-dodecylbenzenesulfonic acid and poly(4-styrenesulfonic acid-co-maleic acid) as photothermal ablation agents. The nanoparticles were prepared by oxidative-emulsion polymerization, yielding stable aqueous suspensions of spherical particles of <100 nm diameter as determined by dynamic light scattering and electron microscopy. Both types of nanoparticles show strong absorption of light in the near infrared region, with absorption peaks at 780 nm for P1 and 750 nm for PEDOT, as well as high photothermal conversion efficiencies (~50%), that is higher than commercially available gold-based photothermal ablation agents. The nanoparticles show significant photostability as determined by their ability to achieve consistent temperatures and to maintain their morphology upon repeated cycles of laser irradiation. In vitro studies in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells demonstrate the cytocompatibility of the CPNPs and their ability to mediate complete cancer cell ablation upon irradiation with an 808-nm laser, thereby establishing the potential of these systems as agents for laser-induced photothermal therapy.

Detecting social boundaries in entrepreneurial ecosystems

Research on social networks has introduced various approaches to characterize the social fabric of the entrepreneurial process. Yet, these approaches are often using the individual entrepreneur as a unit of analysis, neglecting their surrounding entrepreneurial (eco)system. This study attempts to develop our understanding of the entrepreneurial ecosystem as a complex social construct by advancing a social network perspective. With the help of 60 in-depth interviews we model the entrepreneurial ecosystems of two municipalities through a diverse network of entrepreneurs, investors, institutional leaders and staff. The two ecosystems were characterized and compared on a set of measures related to the level of connectivity between actors, the existence of social boundaries, the role and position of actors with certain attributes (e.g. women, minorities) and the presence of ties in multiple social contexts (e.g. friend and investor). We found that social boundaries formed along venture type (e.g. high-growth, lifestyle), type of support institution (e.g. university, government agency), gender, and ethnicity. High-growth/technology entrepreneurs, for example, were predominantly white, male and strongly connected to technology commercialization and acceleration programs. We also found that women and minorities are less embedded in the high-growth community than their male and ethnic counterparts. Although woman entrepreneurs were less connected than their male counterparts, they bridged different ecosystem communities.

Healthcare Commercialization Programs: Improving the Efficiency of Translating Healthcare Innovations From Academia Into Practice.

Academic investigators are generating a plethora of insights and technologies that have the potential to significantly improve patient care. However, to address the imperative to improve the quality, cost and access to care with ever more constrained funding, the efficiency and the consistency with which they are translated into cost effective products and/or services need to improve. Healthcare commercialization programs (HCPs) are described and proposed as an option that institutions can add to their portfolio to improve translational research. In helping teams translate specific healthcare innovations into practice, HCPs expand the skillset of investigators and enhance an institution’s innovation capacity. Lessons learned are shared from configuring and delivering HCPs, which build on the fundamentals of the National Science Foundation’s Innovation Corps program, to address the unique challenges in supporting healthcare innovations and innovators.

Technological Entrepreneurship Framework for University Commercialization of Information Technology

One effective way of accelerating the commercialization of university innovations (inventions) is to execute a “Technological Entrepreneurship” framework that helps the execution of agreements between universities and industry for commercialization. Academics have been encouraged to commercialize their research and findings yet the level of success of commercialization of inventions (innovations) in industry is questionable. As there is no agreed commercialization framework to guide the execution of processes to support inventions moving from laboratories to the right market. The lack of capabilities of appropriate processes have undermined the turning of innovation and products into wealth. The research questions are designed to identify the constraints and hindrances of commercialization and the characteristics of successful processes built from framework based on selected case studies of incubation capabilities within universities commercialization program.

Augmenting Commercialization of New Technology Intensive Firms

Technology licensing and commercialization has increasingly been looked at as a complementary and attractive solution to gain insights into new technology innovations and market products. Stories of successful research commercialization programs from Silicon Valley have become the catalyst that encourages states to provide incentives and established structural reform in the form of state controlled agencies to accelerate and assist the commercialization of potential R&amp;D products. Considerable debate has arisen about the effectiveness of those agencies, but asides for a few lone voices, the scholarly literature has largely neglected the views of grant recipients in commercializing of scientific research. This study hopes to shed some understanding of the impediments that grant recipients face in their endeavor to commercialize scientific research. Qualitative data examination utilizing theme analysis was performed and three main determinants were identified: human resources, market penetration, and financial constraints. We believe these three determinants have wider implication to the modern regime of commercialized scientific research.

Nanotechnology Commercialization and Research in USA : Two Case Studies

Undoubtedly, nanotechnology has the potential to impact numerous facets of human life andsociety. Thus, the case for expeditious commercialization of this technology is strong. However,several factors, such as long time between nanotechnology research and development ofcommercial products, large capital investment needed for a viable commercial venture, andfinancial/operational risks associated with commercial applications of nanotechnology, havebeen an obstacle in the way of rapid adoption of this technology in the commercial domain.Substantial government funding and involvement of academic institutions and researchlaboratories are viewed as an effective response to these barriers. In USA, two progressiveinstitutions of higher learning, The Pennsylvania State University and The University at Albanyin New York state, have made very significant contributions in the domain of nanotechnologycommercialization. This has been accomplished through education/training initiatives forworkforce development, and through partnerships with large and small industrial organizationsfor conducting R & D, and commercialization programs. In this manuscript, the two leadingconsortia involving these universities, namely Albany Nanotech/ Tech Valley and Nanofabare described as role models for other educational institutions that are interested in conductingnontechnology R & D and commercialization projects.

Smallholder agricultural commercialization for income growth and poverty alleviation in southern Africa: A review

This review paper explores the concept of smallholder agricultural commercialization highlighting cases from Southern Africa. With most of southern Africa’s rural poor primarily depending on agriculture for livelihoods, shifting production from current subsistence towards market orientation (commercializing) can significantly increase the income and welfare of small farmers (smallholders) as well as contribute to economic growth and poverty alleviation. Smallholders face many environmental and individual constraints to commercialize. However, the changing environment driven by growing population, urbanization, income, global interconnectedness, policy reforms, technology, food industry restructuring and climate change presents opportunities for smallholder market participation. Efforts made in the region produced varying degrees of success depending on contexts and strategies, but collaborative efforts have been the most successful. While some negative effects can emerge, the expected income-mediated positive results at household and societal level are greater. The key components of commercialization are its drivers, determinants, processes, strategies, indicators and effects - which can be synthesized into a conceptual model useful in planning, implementation and review of commercialization programs. Future research needs to comprehensively define and measure commercialization and develop models which stimulate multi-stakeholder support for smallholders, joint investments, attitude change and entrepreneurship to succeed in smallholder commercialization. Key words: Agricultural commercialization, smallholder, income growth, poverty alleviation, southern Africa.