Development Of Industrial Strategy Research Articles

Quillaja saponaria Saponins with Potential to Enhance the Effectiveness of Disinfection Processes in the Beverage Industry

This study examines the in vitro effect of Quillaja saponaria extracts on Asaia spp. planktonic cells and biofilms, in comparison and combination with two disinfectants: peracetic acid and N-ethyl-N,N-dimethylhexadecylammonium bromide. The growth of six bacterial strains was evaluated spectrophotometrically. Biofilm eradication was determined using the plate count method and luminometry. The planktonic cells were characterized by relatively high resistance to peracetic acid and higher sensitivity to N-ethylo-N,N-dimethylohexadecylioamonium bromide. In almost all the tested strains, growth was inhibited by 0.125% (v/v) peracetic acid and 0.0313% (w/v) quaternary ammonium compound. However, combinations of cell pretreatment using saponin and peracetic acid action were the most efficient against both planktonic and biofilm cells. The minimum inhibitory concentrations for peracetic acid were 4–8 times lower than those for bacterial strains without preliminary saponin action. Eradication of Asaia spp. biofilms reduced the number of living cells by 4–5 logarithmic units. These results demonstrate the synergetic action of saponin extract and disinfectant, and could be useful in the development of industrial strategies against Asaia spp. biofilms.

A challenge of integrating technology foresight and assessment in industrial strategy development and policymaking

Appropriate demand articulation of emerging technologies to social needs are vital to the economic and social productivity, and it is essential to grasp the future trends of social needs and technology advancement to promote the strategic technology policy. Japan embarked on technology foresight in the early 1970s and has since been conducting a regular Delphi survey approximately every 5 years. To explore a new intelligent methodology for integrating technological seeds and social needs by articulating future demands, this paper reviews the following two cases: the Delphi-scenario writing (DSW) method, which is applied in 1977 for the home/office small facsimile, and the method of general assessment applied in 1972 for informationalization, which focused on the rapidly advancing information society, with a matrix scoring and policy-simulation method. Those new approaches were proved to be a powerful methodology to integrate the technology forecasting and assessment for comprehensive understanding of the emerging technologies and their social impacts in the form of integrated technology road mapping, which supports the integrated strategic planning methodology for enhancing the future innovation system.