"BIOTECHNOLOGY IN KNOWLEDGE-BASED BIOECONOMY"

Chair: Prof. Dr. Doru PAMFIL
University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine Cluj Napoca, Romania

Co-chair: Prof. Dr. hab. Monica BUTNARIU
Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine ’’King Michael I of Romania’’ Timisoara, Romania

The Session IV: Biotechnology in knowledge-based bioeconomy held in the Blue Amphitheater, Building of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine.

The Session IV had five oral presentations: a presentation from the USAMV Iasi; a presentation from the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovak Republic, Nitra, Slovakia; a presentation from the USAMV Bucuresti, Romania and two oral presentations from the Banat's University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael I of Romania”, Timisoara, Romania.

During the session, working methods of the research area and their prioritization were discussed.

Also included in the section were seventeen posters. They were from the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra (1) and from the universities of USAMV Cluj (9) and Banat’s University from Timisoara (7).
There was a consensus among the participants that Biotechnology has the subcategories : Biotechnology and Biomedicine; Trends in Biotechnology; Animal Rearing and Pathology and Bioengineering of Animal Resources, which represent  significant areas of endeavor for the Life sciences, with one that is and will stay up-to-date.

Even so, it is known that biotechnology is not a new field for the Life sciences, and that investigations had been made in analyzing the opportunities and challenges linked with biotechnology. Participants expressed that biotechnology, although of interest to the Life sciences, should be kept in perspective as one part of a broadly integrated program at the centers of research and universities.

The participants agreed that biotechnology is relevant across a range of Life science activities; too often, the focus of discussion appears to be almost entirely on opportunities associated with crop improvement. A major aspect of  Life science work with animals is directly related to applications of biotechnology, often with direct links to cutting-edge science (for example in presentation from the Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Slovak Republic, Nitra, Slovakia, and the presentation from the USAMV Bucuresti, Romania). Microbial organisms were noted in the discussion, particularly with respect to plant-soil relationships and other natural resource management areas (for example in the presentation from the USAMV Iasi). The centers for research and universities  have discussed the understanding and assessing effects on agro-ecosystems associated with biotechnological research. Several speakers revealed the importance of considering the needs of the substandard (substandard farmers), in regard to the scientific and related socio-cultural issues.

Presentations:

• IV_01_IBANESCU.pdf
• IV_02_TVRDA.pdf
• IV_03_MUSELIN.pdf
• IV_05_BURLACU.pdf
• IV_06_SIMINA.pdf

"ENERGY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND BIODIVERSITY - RELATED ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES"

Chair: Prof. Dl Dr. Dr.h.c. mult. Martin H. GERZABEK
University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (BOKU), Vienna, Austria

Co-chair: Prof.Dr. Florian BORLEA
Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine "King Michael I of Romania" from Timisoara, Romania

The session consisted of five oral and 11 poster presentations. The contributions covered a wide range of topics. Major emphasis was put on the impact of climate change on water resources, discussing aspects of soil water balance and agricultural irrigation, river ecology and water quality parameters. Methods to derive forest biodiversity were discussed using an example of a nature reserve. Diversity itself was presented in the session on different scales. Research on benthic communities and the impact of biological parameters were reported. Advanced concepts for green spaces for pedestrians in a Romanian city in a marvellous landscape as a measure to improve attractiveness of the city for the development of tourism was presented. A larger number of lectures and posters were related to energy, specifically renewable energy. They focused on the dynamical analysis of solar collectors as well as the optimization of diesel engines, powered by biofuels and biological additives produced in a biorefinery process. The utilization of equivalent thermal network in a modelling ground heat exchanger was another interesting contribution, as were the discussions of "good practices" for the design of wind power stations – including the ongoing dispute of their environmental and social acceptability - and finally the impact of ecological events on the consumption of electricity. Energy and the carbon cycle are intimately connected. Important contributions, therefore, focussed on the carbon footprint of agro-municipal resources used in an Alpine municipality and the carbon footprint of table grape production in Eastern Austria, in order to make wine production more sustainable. Single presentations touched on soil nitrogen leaching as a possible environmental hazard influenced by fertilization and microbial activity, plant growth promotors and plant protection aspects. The application of fungi promoting plant growth and improving resilience against fungal diseases was a well-received contribution. Overall the session was comprised of high quality contributions and experienced lively discussions. It was especially delightful to see the excellent contributions from younger researchers and PhD students, which contributed to the dynamic mood of the scientific interactions.

Presentations:

• IIIa_01_KRAL.pdf
• IIIa_04_MARIN.pdf
• IIIa_07_MERCE.pdf
• IIIb_01_SANDOR.pdf

"TRENDS IN FOOD SAFETY AND FOOD SECURITY"

Chair: Prof. Dr. Teodor TRASCA
Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine "King Michael I of Romania"

Co-chair: Prof. Dr. hab. Ewa REMBIAŁKOWSKA
Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS), Poland

The session "Trends in food safety and security" consisted of two parts: IIa on Monday, May 23th, 2016 and IIb on Tuesday, May 24th, 2016, both held in the Amphitheater "Ionel Jianu", in the Building of the Faculty of Food Processing (yellow building).
    
According to the program of the conference there were 9 oral presentations and 15 poster presentations in this session. All presentations were very interesting and gave us the opportunity to analyze many issues related to food safety and food security. It was a very enriching experience for all involved in this session- for both speakers and participants.  

Briefly, I will describe below the different aspects discussed in this session of the conference.

Many teachers, PhD students and students from Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine ‘’King Michael I of Romania’’ from Timisoara, especially from the Food Processing Faculty attended the sessions. Moreover, on both days of the sessions the students involved in the CASEE-In-Project (from University of Zagreb, Szent Istvan University of Gödöllö/Hungary, Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine “King Michael 1st” of Timisoara, State Agrarian University of Moldova in Chisinau and from University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna) were present.
 
Topics addressed in the oral Session:

1.    Carcass quality in relation to the lung lesions in pigs.
2.    Effect of processing methods on the bioactivity of parsley.
3.    Importance of the grape phenols in the human diet.
4.    Free and encapsulated probiotic, cells viability.
5.    Process design and polyphenols in beer.
6.    The essential oil bioactive metabolites of cumin as antimicrobial agents on the quality of cheese.
7.    The steps involved in development of a new beer type in a brewery pilot plant.
8.    Sarcocystis spp. in pigs and cattle – epidemiology of meat borne pathogens.
9.    Quality and safety of the traditional Romanian meat products.

The level of all presentations was very good or good. The participants discussed about the above mentioned topics and answered the questions. All presenters were able to show their knowledge and involvement on  the topic of food safety and food security.

The Chair of the poster session was Prof. Dr. hab. Ewa REMBIAŁKOWSKA from Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS), Poland. Prof. Dr. Teodor TRASCA from Banat’s University of Agricultural Sciences and Veterinary Medicine ‘’King Michael I of Romania’’ from Timisoara, Romania was a Co-chair.

There were only 13 poster presentations in this session; 2 posters were not presented. The authors were presenting their results to the audience, whereby every poster was 3 minutes.
The predominant topic was the role of different antioxidants, mostly phenolic compounds in the production of new functional products, for example balsamic vinegar with black currant juice. Several posters concerned new analytical methods, for example thin layer chromatography (TLC) separation combined with Raman mapping.
Impact of the valuable food on human health was also presented – impact of honey consumption on tennis players and inhibition of cell proliferation by anthocyanins from selected fruits.
Exploitation of food wastes as valuable sources of bioactive compounds and novel foods were also presented as posters. One poster was related to the organic products (beetroot juices).

To summarize, the level of both oral and poster sessions was very good, indicating deep involvement of young researchers into the innovative and basic problems of food quality and safety in a context of human health. It creates a good opportunity for the future of food science in Central and South Eastern Europe.

Presentations:

• IIa_01_COBANOVIC.pdf
• IIa_02_CATUNESCU.pdf
• IIa_03_COLDEA.pdf
• IIa_04_POP.pdf
• IIa_05_URCAN.pdf
• IIa_06_BORSA.pdf
• IIa_07_RADU.pdf
• IIb_01_IMRE.pdf
• IIb_02_MORAR.pdf

Registration

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Session

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Welcome Reception

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Welcome Session and Keynotes

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