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Additional file 1. Supplementary information about the equations used for the construction of the model and supporting information about examples given within the main document.

Biomass feedstock can be used for the production of biofuels or biobased chemicals to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Earlier studies about the techno-economic performance of biofuel or biobased chemical production varied in biomass feedstock, conversion process, and other techno-economic assumptions. This made a fair comparison between different industrial processing pathways difficult. The aim of this study is to quantify uniformly the factory-gate production costs and the GHG emission intensity of biobased ethanol, ethylene, 1,3-propanediol (PDO), and succinic acid, and to compare them with each other and their respective fossil equivalent products. Brazilian sugarcane and eucalyptus are used as biomass feedstock in this study. A uniform approach is applied to determine the production costs and GHG emission intensity of biobased products, taking into account feedstock supply, biobased product yield, capital investment, energy, labor, maintenance, and processing inputs. Economic performance and net avoided GHG emissions of biobased chemicals depend on various uncertain factors, so this study pays particular attention to uncertainty by means of a Monte Carlo analysis. A sensitivity analysis is also performed. As there is uncertainty associated with the parameters used for biobased product yield, feedstock cost, fixed capital investment, industrial scale, and energy costs, the results are presented in ranges. The 60% confidence interval ranges of the biobased product production costs are 0.64–1.10 US$ kg ?1 ethanol, 1.18–2.05 US$ kg ?1 ethylene, 1.37–2.40 US$ kg ?1 1,3-PDO, and 1.91–2.57 US$ kg ?1 succinic acid. The cost ranges of all biobased products partly or completely overlap with the ranges of the production costs of the fossil equivalent products. The results show that sugarcane-based 1,3-PDO and to a lesser extent succinic acid have the highest potential benefit. The ranges of GHG emission reduction are 1.29–2.16, 3.37–4.12, 2.54–5.91, and 0.47–5.22 CO 2eq kg ?1 biobased product for ethanol, ethylene, 1,3-PDO, and succinic acid respectively. Considering the potential GHG emission reduction and profit per hectare, the pathways using sugarcane score are generally better than eucalyptus feedstock due to the high yield of sugarcane in Brazil. Overall, it was not possible to choose a clear winner, (a) because the best performing biobased product strongly depends on the chosen metric, and (b) because of the large ranges found, especially for PDO and succinic acid, independent of the chosen metric. To quantify the performance better, more data are required regarding the biobased product yield, equipment costs, and energy consumption of biobased industrial pathways, but also about the production costs and GHG emission intensity of fossil-equivalent products. © 2019 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts, and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. © 2019 The Authors. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining published by Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This study covers four main aspects of the conceptual design of sustainable integrated microalgae-based biorefineries using flue gas from CO2-intensive industries (i.e. 100% CO2): i) screening of technologies (4 options for cultivation, 3 for culture dewatering, 3 for cell disruption, 4 for lipids extraction & purification, and 4 for fractions upgrading); ii) analysis of processing variables (parametric study of the main cultivation conditions affecting the global performance of the biorefinery systems); iii) combination of final products (10 biorefinery configurations are generated from the combination of 9 final products); and iv) assessment of sustainability criteria (i.e., non-renewable energy use (NREU), greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and economics). The used approach compares processing options and operation conditions to identify those combinations of production processes that minimize NREU and GHG emissions. In a second step, 10 integrated biorefinery concepts are selected and compared with respect to their environmental and economic performances. The impacts of choosing different microalgae species, locations, and nutrient sources were also studied as part of the scenario analysis. The results showed that the biorefinery systems with the best economic and environmental performances are those where microalgae oil-free cake is used as nutrient for substitution of animal feed and where lipids are used for substitution of vegetable oils. The worst economic and environmental performances of biorefineries were obtained when microalgae oil-free cake is anaerobically digested to biogas and lipids are converted to either biodiesel or green diesel. Regarding the cultivation technologies for the biorefinery systems with the best performance, favorable environmental results were obtained for flat panel photobioreactors (FPPBRs), followed by open ponds (OPs), vertical photobioreactors (VPBRs) and horizontal photobioreactors (HPBRs). In contrast, the best economic results were found for FPPBRs followed by VPBRs, HPBRs and OPs.

Se presentan siete trabajos para revelar los antecedentes y consecuencias de la felicidad y el optimismo en el trabajo y validar estrategias para incrementarlos. El primero es una revisión teórica de los conceptos; el segundo y tercero muestran los resultados de un proceso de verificación psicométrica de instrumentos que los miden; el cuatro examina la mediación de la satisfacción laboral entre el crecimiento psicológico y el desempeñó laboral; el quinto explora el efecto indirecto del optimismo sobre la satisfacción con la vida a través de felicidad en el trabajo; el sexto revisa si el contrato de trabajo afecta la felicidad en el trabajo y el séptimo evalúa los efectos de seis estrategias para incrementar la felicidad y el optimismo en el trabajo controlando el género. Se trabajó con diversas muestras y con técnicas de análisis cuantitativo. Al final se discute el sentido y las implicaciones de los hallazgos., Seven papers are presented. They show happiness and optimism antecedents and validate strategies to increase them. The first one is a theoretical revision of the concepts. The second and third ones show the results of a psychometric verification process of instruments that measure them. The four examines the mediation of job satisfaction between psychological growth and job performance. The fifth one explores the indirect effect of optimism on satisfaction with life, through happiness at work. The sixth one reviews whether the work contract affects happiness at work. And seventh one evaluates the effects of six strategies to increase happiness and optimism at work, controlling gender. We worked with various samples and with quantitative analysis techniques. The meaning and implications of the findings are discussed at final.

An early stage assessment method is applied to the production of isobutanol from lignocellulosic biomass, and to three multiproduct portfolios from the conversion of isobutanol: Case 1: production of isobutyl acetate and glycerol tert-butyl ether (GTBE), Case 2: production of isobutyl acetate and ketones, and Case 3: production of isobutyl acetate alkanes. The method screens and compares each route with its equivalent petrochemical counterpart. The method is composed by different indicators involving economic and environmental aspects. Sensitivity analyses were carried out to account for variation in prices, weighting factors and distribution of isobutanol to isobutyl acetate (in multiproduct portfolios). Results show that bio-based isobutanol has advantages over fossil-based isobutanol. In multiproduct systems, case 1 performs better, followed by cases 2 and 3. Screening using economic or environmental aspects show to have a significant effect on the results, where bio-based systems tend to perform better when environmental aspects are included.

This work investigates the potential for polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) production from wastewater, from a techno-economic and an environmental perspective, examining scale-up opportunities and bottlenecks prior to commercialisation. Conceptual process design, economic, environmental impacts and sensitivity analysis are developed for one fermentation process and three downstream processing routes, based on alkali, surfactant-hypochlorite and solvent treatments. Environmentally and cost-wise, the alkali treatment is the most favourable with production costs of 1.40€/kg PHB, global warming potential of 2.4kgCO2-eq/kg PHB and non-renewable energy use of 106MJ/kg PHB. The solvent-based process yields the highest costs and environmental burdens: 1.95€/kg PHB, 4.30kgCO2-eq/kg PHB and 156MJ/kg PHB. The production of PHB from wastewater is identified as an interesting alternative to pure culture-polyhydroxyalkanoates production from sugars. However, these results are not yet competitive with those for the petrochemical counterparts. Additional performance improvements may be possible, through process integration and optimisation.

Las sílicas mesoestructuradas MCM-41, SBA-15 y HMS, de fase hexagonal y la MCM-48 de fase cúbica, fueron sintetizadas y funcionalizadas con el grupo propil acidosulfónico, por los métodos grafting y co-condensación. La caracterización estructural, físico-química y morfológica de los materiales se realizó por las técnicas XRD, FT-IR, TGA y SEM. Entre las dos rutas de síntesis evaluadas los mayores grados de funcionalización se lograron por la vía de co-condensación, para las mesofases MCM-48 y SBA-15. Los altos grados de funcionalización generaron materiales térmica y estructuralmente menos estables que los funcionalizados por la ruta grafting. Hexagonal (MCM-41, SBA-15, and HMS) and cubic (MCM-48) mesostructured silicas were synthesized and functionalized with the propylsulphonic acid group, by grafting and co-condensation methods. Structural conformation, physical-chemistry characterization, and morphology of the materials was performed by XRD, FT-IR, TGA, and SEM techniques. Higher functionalization degrees were reached by co-condensation method, for MCM-48 and SBA-15 mesophases. These higher functionalization degrees lead to less thermally and structurally stable materials than those obtained by the grafting method.

Setzenes Jornades de Foment de la Investigació (Any 2011) Se presentan en este trabajo los resultados del proceso de validación psicométrica de la Escala de Desarrollo Psicológico (EDEPSI), que mide tres dimensiones, a saber, apertura al cambio, manejo del fracaso y flexibilidad. El Crecimiento Psicológico se entiende aquí como un proceso a través del cual las personas interpretan la realidad con el ánimo de conseguir visiones más realistas y positivas sobre el mundo. Para el propósito se aplicó el instrumentó a una muestra de 731 empleados que laboran en las principales ciudades de Colombia. Con los datos recopilados se realizó análisis factorial confirmatorio utilizando el programa AMOS. Se probaron dos modelos, uno de tres factores y otro de un solo factor para poner a prueba el sesgo de la varianza común del método. Se cálculo también la confiabilidad utilizando el alfa de Cronbach, un método que permitió evaluar la consistencia interna de cada una de las subescalas. Los resultados de estos análisis permitieron confirmar la estructura de tres factores, con índices de ajuste adecuados. También se encontraron niveles de consistencia aceptables para cada una de las subescalas. Lo anterior es un indicador positivo de la validez de constructo y confiabilidad de la escala. Se discute el sentido y las implicaciones de estos hallazgos. We present in this paper the results of the psychometric validation of psychological growth scale (EDEPSI). This permit to measure three dimensions: openness to change, flexibility, and management failure. Psychological growth is here understood as a process through people interpret her/his eality with the aim of getting more realistic and positive views about the world. The instrument was applied to a sample of 731 employees who working in the main cities of Colombia. Confirmatory factor analysis was performed with the collected data using AMOS. We tested two models, one of three factors and a single factor to test the bias of the common variance of the method. Reliability was also calculated using the Cronbach alpha, a method that allowed us to evaluate the internal consistency of each subscale. The results of this analysis helped confirm the structure of three factors, with appropriate adjustment indices. Also we found acceptable levels of consistency for each subscale. This is a positive indicator of the construct validity and reliability of the scale. We discuss the meaning and implications of these findings.

La relación entre los beneficios laborales que ofrecen las organizaciones y las necesidades e intereses de los empleados es de gran relevancia por los efectos que tiene sobre la motivación y deseo de permanencia de estos, eso especialmente en el mercado laboral actual. Esta investigación indaga si existe tal relación en cuatro organizaciones colombianas del sector manufacturero. Para hacerlo se tomó el portafolio de beneficios de cada una y se revisó, de acuerdo con taxonomías de necesidades e intereses, si los beneficios se conectaban con ellas. Luego, con base en esas taxonomías se elaboró y aplicó un cuestionario a 237 personas de dichas organizaciones preguntando por sus necesidades no satisfechas e intereses. Esas respuestas se relacionaron con los portafolios de beneficios. Se encontró una baja relación entre los portafolios y las necesidades e intereses. En el análisis por género se encontró que las mujeres tienden a necesidades de protección mientras los hombres de entendimiento, por estado civil que los casados o en unión libre tienen necesidades de identidad, los solteros de participación y otros de subsistencia, respecto a la edad los de 18 a 30 tienen necesidades de afecto, de 31 a 40 de protección, de 41 a 50 de participación y de 51 a 62 de participación. Los hallazgos cuestionan si los beneficios que se asignan en las organizaciones son los adecuados para los diferentes grupos poblacionales y resultan reveladores a la hora de entender los fenómenos de baja motivación y alta rotación que enfrentan algunas organizaciones., The relationship between the labor compensation offered by organizations and the needs and interests of its employees is of great relevance due to the effects it has on their motivation and desire to stay, especially in today's labor market. This paper investigates whether such a relationship exists in four Colombian manufacturing companies. To establish this, the companies' compensation portfolios were taken and reviewed, according to taxonomies of needs and interests, if the benefits were connected with them. Then, based on such taxonomies, a survey was elaborated and applied to 237 people from these organizations asking about their unsatisfied needs and interests. These answers were related to the benefit portfolios. A low relationship was found between portfolios and needs and interests. In the analysis by gender, it was found that women tend to have needs for protection while men have needs for understanding, by marital status those married or in a free union have needs for identity, singles for participation, and others for subsistence, with respect to age, those from 18 to 30 have needs for affection, from 31 to 40 for protection, from 41 to 50 for participation and from 51 to 62 for participation. Our findings raise questions as to whether the benefits assigned in organizations are adequate for the different population groups and are revealing when it comes to an understanding of the phenomena of low motivation and high turnover faced by some organizations. Keywords: compensation, interests, needs, motivation, intention to stay.

Las competencias tienen la capacidad de predecir y explicar la calidad del desempeño. A su vez, el desempeño es predictor de la productividad de la organización. Esto también sucede en las empresas E-commerce. Teniendo en cuenta que en Colombia este tipo de empresa genera una proporción importante de empleo y se avizora que aumentará en el futuro, la presente investigación se plantea, como objetivo, explorar las competencias que mejor predicen la calidad del desempeño de las personas que trabajan en este tipo de organizaciones. Para conocerlas se entrevistó a ocho expertos en E-commerce con experiencia de 2 o más años en el área de RRHH. A través de análisis de contenido se construyeron categorías emergentes que permitieron descubrir las competencias que mejor predicen la calidad del desempeño de las personas que trabajan en estas organizaciones en Colombia. Al final se discute como estos hallazgos aportan a las organizaciones E-commerce, líderes organizacionales, colaboradores y áreas de recursos humanos, como insumo para procesos de selección, y formación., Competencies have the ability to predict and explain the quality of performance. In turn, performance is a predictor of the organization's productivity. This also happens in E-commerce companies. Taking into account that in Colombia this type of company generates a significant proportion of employment and it is expected that it will increase in the future. The objective of this research is to explore the competencies that best predict the quality of performance of the people who work in this type of organization. To find out about them, (eight) E-commerce experts with experience of 2 or more years in the HR area were interviewed. Through content analysis, emerging categories were built that allowed discovering the competencies that best predict the quality of performance of the people who work in these organizations in Colombia. At the end, it is discussed how these findings contribute to E-commerce organizations, organizational leaders, collaborators and human resources areas, as input for selection processes, and training.

El aumento de las cifras de desempleo causado por la pandemia el último año, la desaceleración económica y las decisiones de reestructuración organizacional, han hecho que la oferta de candidatos en el mercado laboral supere la demanda. Los profesionales con búsqueda activa deben día a día poner a prueba sus competencias para conseguir una vinculación laboral, sin embargo, se sabe poco sobre cuáles son las competencias que efectivamente predicen una pronta consecución de empleo, lo que hace que muchos candidatos no sepan en qué formarse para aumentar sus probabilidades de insertarse en el mercado de trabajo. Por esto, el objetivo de este trabajo fue verificar la capacidad predictiva de un grupo de competencias laborales en diferentes dimensiones (Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Desarrollo de Tareas, Entorno y Gerencial) en la consecución de un empleo, las cuáles típicamente se señalan en la literatura y la experiencia administrativa como competencias deseables en candidatos. Para verificar tal capacidad, se midieron estas competencias con el test CompeTEA en una muestra de 50 personas de media y alta gerencia, con entre 7 y 20 años de experiencia laboral y que dentro de sus asignaciones tienen o han tenido a cargo las contribuciones de un equipo de trabajo. Luego se separó la muestra en dos grupos, uno conformado por aquellas personas que se consideraron como muy empleables (25) y otro a las que se clasificó como poco empleables (25). Finalmente se realizó un test de T de muestras independientes para conocer en cuales de ellas había diferencias estadísticamente significativas entre los grupos. Se encontraron diferencias en las siguientes competencias: Negociación (dimensión intrapersonal); Iniciativa y Toma de Decisiones (dimensión desarrollo de tareas) y; Orientación al Cliente (dimensión entorno). Se discute al final el sentido e implicaciones de estos hallazgos.