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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused huge and disruptive technological changes in the healthcare sector, transforming the way businesses and societies function. To respond to the global health crisis, there have been numerous innovation projects in the healthcare sector, including the fast design and manufacturing of personal protective equipment (PPE) and medical devices, and testing, treatment, and vaccine technologies. Many of these innovative activities happen beyond organizational boundaries with collaboration and open innovation. In this paper, we review the current literature on open innovation strategy during the pandemic and adopt the co-evolution view of business ecosystems to address the context of change. Based on a detailed exploration of the COVID-19-related technologies in the UK and global healthcare sectors, we identify the key emerging themes of open innovation in crisis. Further discussions are conducted in relation to each theme. Our results and analysis can help provide policy recommendations for the healthcare sector, businesses, and society to recover from the crisis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient deconstruction of lignocellulosic biomass by pretreatment is important for the production of fermentable sugars and biofuels. This study used butyric acid as a novel catalyst for corn stover pretreatment. The effects of butyric acid pretreatments on chemical composition and enzymatic digestibility were systematically investigated. The results indicate that a high linear correlation between xylan removal and fermentable sugars yield (r 2 = 0.91) was found. Pretreatment of corn stover with 50 g/L butyric acid at 180 °C for 0.5 h removed 83.17% of xylan and recovered 86.99% of glucan, and fermentable sugars yield of pretreated corn stover reached 97.16%. The physiochemical characterization results show that crystalline index (CrI) of corn stover was increased from 30.13% to 45.04%−48.38% after pretreatments, and the chemical structure and morphological features also exhibited positive changes for enhancing enzymatic hydrolysis. Meanwhile, the liquid fraction of pretreated slurry can be used for recycled pretreatment with 73.81% of fermentable sugars yield after four cycles. Additionally, the residual butyric acid was re-utilized as the co-substrate for Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824 to produce biobutanol via acetone-butanol-ethanol (ABE) fermentation. The final production of butanol and solvents reached 8.38 g/L and 12.63 g/L under an optimized intermittent feeding strategy with a higher butanol/acetone ratio of 2.40 g/g. Overall, this work presents a novel pretreatment strategy to co-produce fermentable sugars and advanced biofuel from abundant lignocellulosic biomass. [Display omitted] • A novel butyric acid pretreatment method was developed for corn stover utilization. • The xylan removal has a positive effect on glucose and fermentable sugars yields. • Butyric acid pretreatment improved the glucose yield by 2.59-fold with cellulase. • Liquid fraction of pretreated slurry can be used for recycled biomass pretreatment. • Butanol titer was enhanced by 22.51% under intermittent feeding butyrate strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we analyze the deficiencies of specific frictional resistance in heating engineering. Based on economic specific frictional resistance, we put forward the concept of comprehensive specific frictional resistance, which considers the multiple factors of technology, economy, regulation modes, pipe segment differences, and medium pressure. Then, we establish a mathematical model of a heating network across its lifespan in order to develop a method for determining the comprehensive specific frictional resistance. Relevant conclusions can be drawn from the results. As an application, we have planned the heating engineering for Yangyuan County in China, which demonstrates the feasibility and superiority of the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction to the journal is presented in which the editor discusses various reports in the issue on the topics including supply chain management capabilities, the other on global markets of Japan and the third on increasing prevalence of networks, alliances and public goods.

This paper explores platform strategies along the business ecosystem lifecycle (BELC), based on a multiple-case study. Developing observations on platform strategies from a firm level to a business ecosystem level, the study investigates the issue of platform strategy through three views, respectively technology, application and organisation. As a result, a general evolutional pattern of platform strategy along the BELC is identified, where an open strategy emerges at the birth and expansion phases, then a dominating strategy rises at the authority phase, and finally the opportunistic strategy takes over at the renewal phase. This paper connects the core firms in the business ecosystem with the evolutionary platform strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines how seven process innovations have been shared and adopted (or not adopted) between four factories of a multinational company located in Asia. In contrast to most previous studies in this area, these process innovation diffusions happened in a bottom-up manner in which the decision to share and to adopt is made by the individuals at the sites involved rather than by top management either at a local or corporate level. We observe that the factors enabling or discouraging the adoption of process innovation are highly dynamic. When work priorities shift over time, motivating factors once perceived as primary may become secondary, leading to nonadoption of the innovations. As the engineers face an increasing load of other tasks which also demand time and effort, the decision to adopt the Innovation or not seems to depend more on the effort required to adapt the innovation for local use than other factors. Innovations which are highly embedded in the original settings face slimmer chance of adoption by other sites as they are likely to require more effort in adapting them for local use. In contrast, innovations which are less embedded in original settings are more likely to be adopted due to the low adaptation effort needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Liquid fraction containing glycerol was used for recycled corn stover pretreatment. • Dry cell weight of P. pastoris reached ∼ 40 g/L with glycerol as sole carbon source. • The titer of human lysozyme reached 1.3 g/L by P. pastoris with methanol induction. • Mixing pretreated corn stover with cassava as co-substrate to produce biobutanol. • Final butanol titer of 13.9 g/L was produced from mixed substrates under SSF. Glycerol organosolv pretreatment (GOP) is considered an efficient method to deconstruct lignocellulose for producing fermentable sugars. Herein, the liquid fraction containing glycerol after GOP was utilized for recycled pretreatment of corn stover (CS) for four cycles. Enzymatic yield of glucose after recycled pretreatment was enhanced by 2.4–3.5 folds compared with untreated CS. Meanwhile, residual glycerol was used as carbon source for cultivation of Pichia pastoris to obtain high cell-density, and a final titer of 1.3 g/L human lysozyme was produced by P. pastoris under low temperature methanol induction strategy. Additionally, the pretreated CS was mixed with cassava as fermentable substrates for butanol production by wild-type Clostridium acetobutylicum ATCC 824. Final butanol production of 13.9 g/L was obtained from mixed substrates (25%:75% of CS/cassava) at 10% solids loading by simultaneous saccharification and fermentation. Overall, integration of residual glycerol utilization and butanol production by microbial fermentation provided an efficient strategy for biorefinery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With changes in the outdoor air temperature, the heat consumption of buildings also changes. Timely adjustment of the heating systems to ensure optimal operating conditions is extremely significant to save energy. In this study, the operation conditions of a heating system were analyzed numerically, and the existence, uniqueness, and stability of the optimal operation conditions of the heating system were proved. An operation optimization model that could obtain the optimal operation conditions was also established, and the correctness of the model was verified experimentally. Experimental results showed that when the flow rate was 0.606 m3/h, the supply water temperature was 67.13°C, water return temperature was 65.90°C, and the pump consumed the least amount of electricity. The experimental results and model calculation results showed that the operating cost is lower when the system flow rate is low and the supply water temperature is high under the same heat dissipation and indoor temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Glycerol organosolv pretreatment could efficiently deconstruct corn stover. • The yield of glucose/xylose reached ∼80 % with glycerol pretreatment by cellulase. • l -cysteine-assisted glycerol pretreatment was developed for enhanced enzymolysis. • Fermentable sugars production reached 26.08 g/100 g by the proposed pretreatment. • Effects of raw materials prices on economic feasibility of processes were studied. Deconstruction of lignocellulose via efficient pretreatment is crucial for producing fermentable sugars. In this study, effects of glycerol organosolv pretreatment (GOP) on main chemical composition of corn stover were investigated. Results indicate that the residual corn stover after 80 wt% glycerol pretreatment (at 220 °C for 0.5 h) yielded 75.97 % glucose and 78.21 % xylose after enzymatic hydrolysis, which were enhanced by 3.39- and 6.08-fold compared to the untreated corn stover. Subsequently, an l -cysteine-assisted GOP was proposed with higher yields of glucose (86.20 %) and xylose (91.13 %). When pretreating corn stover with 80 wt% glycerol containing 0.07 wt% l -cysteine at 220 °C for 0.5 h, higher fermentable sugars of 26.08 g were produced from 100 g feedstock after enzymolysis. Intrinsic mechanisms of the proposed pretreatment for enhancing enzymatic digestibility were elucidated by physiochemical characterization technologies and techno-economic analysis was also studied. This study provides guidance for fermentable sugars production from renewable lignocellulose. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] The roadmapping method is applied to analyse the evolution of Chinese EV industry. [•] A ‘Triple Oscillation’ Model presents the emerging industry’s ecosystem evolution. [•] The business ecosystem lifecycle is expanded with one more initiating stage. [•] A conceptual agent-based model is proposed for business ecosystem evolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies how the technological ecosystem extension facilitates the technology substitution in an emerging industry. Specifically, this paper has three findings: 1) the technological ecosystem with an expanded scope including supply, demand and intermediaries; 2) two type of ecosystem extension as the bottom-up and top-down ecosystem extension; 3) the determinants of sustaining the ecosystem extension. We have conducted in-depth interviews in the Chinese low-speed electric vehicle industry, which adopted the bottom-up ecosystem extension by comparing with the traditional car industry with top-down ecosystem extension to the emerging EV industry. This paper also offers managerial implications to the focal firms and policy makers to capture the emerging opportunities within an ecosystem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]