Friday, March 20, 2020
History of Psychology
History of Psychology Free Online Research Papers People are constantly questioning who they are and where they have come from, these questions can easily be classified as the most common psychological, and at the same time, philosophical ideas that people face each and every day. Psychology and philosophy have much in common, including the fact that they both study human mind that is influenced by historical and cultural forces. Psychology can assist all people to organize their thoughts and gain perspective on possible mental disorders. During the mid 19th century, Wilhelm Wundt, a German physiologist started using scientific research methods to look into reaction times. This is the time when it is said that psychology actually began since this is when Wundt created the first psychology laboratory in Leipzig. In the time since psychology has cut itself off from philosophy. The exploration of psychology was begun with structuralism; this was the idea that the object of psychological investigation should be the conscious mind. This approach had its challenges and for this reason was soon replaced by functionalism. William James was the creator of this new school of thought and eventually led him to become the leading American Psychologist of his time and his principals of psychology made him the father of American Psychology. Functionalism focused on how the human behavior works towards helping people exist comfortably in their respective environments. Functionalists like to use methods such as direct observatio n. Next came Sigmund Freud, Freud took the Psychology field by storm with his ideas of the unconscious human mind being responsible for the majority of psychological disorders. Freudââ¬â¢s work with patients who suffered from ailments such as hysteria led him to believe that our early childhood experiences (Goodwin, C.J.) and our unconscious impulses are what lead us into becoming the individuals that we are as adults. Freudââ¬â¢s thoughts and ideas had such an impact on the 20th century psychology field that he actually influenced the mental well being as well as in many other fields such as art and literature. Behaviorism also emerged during the 20th century and psychology began a dramatic evolution. Behaviorism focused more on the observable behaviors and rejected the previous ideas of the conscious as well as the unconscious mind. Behaviorism became such a dominant force in the field of psychology that this school of thought reigned supreme for almost fifty years. Even though, over time, this school of thought did loose some of its steam the basic principals of behaviorism are still used today. Many therapeutic methods such as behavioral modification are often used to help children overcome maladaptive behaviors and also assist in them learning new skills. Conditioning is another type that is still used in most situations ranging from education to parenting. As we have seen, behaviorism and psychoanalysis dominated the first half of the 20th century but a new school of thought, known to us as humanistic psychology emerged during the latter half of this century. This school of thought was most frequently referred to as the ââ¬Å"third forceâ⬠in psychology and this theoretical concept lays emphasis on conscious experiences. Throughout time there have been enormous changes throughout the psychology field and there has also been an enormous amount of growth since the days of Wundt. Psychology continues to grow and change as we learn more and more about whom we are and why we are here. Recent psychological research centers mostly on the many aspects of the human behavior and experience, starting at the impact of cultural and social factors and continuing through the biological influences on human behavior. Those who practice in the field of psychology today tend not to classify themselves under one particular school of thought but rather focus on certain specialty perspectives or areas. These individuals usually draw their conclusions from a wide range of theoretical backgrounds. Due to these recent changes we must conclude that the field of psychology will continue to evolve and change throughout time and that we can still add our input to assist in the shaping of the future of this quizzical field. References Goodwin, C.J. (2008). A History of Modern Psychology (3rd ed.) Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Research Papers on History of PsychologyThree Concepts of PsychodynamicEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenAssess the importance of Nationalism 1815-1850 EuropeHip-Hop is ArtBook Review on The Autobiography of Malcolm XMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductGenetic EngineeringStandardized TestingThe Spring and AutumnTrailblazing by Eric Anderson
Wednesday, March 4, 2020
Abroad and Overseas
Abroad and Overseas Abroad and Overseas Abroad and Overseas By Maeve Maddox Lucia Waterman asks: What is the difference between abroad and overseas? When use it? As adverbs meaning out of ones own country, abroad and overseas are used interchangeably, as can be seen in these headlines and the text that follows them: Renewable energy money still going abroad, despite criticism from Congress Money from the 2009 stimulus bill to help support the renewable energy industry continues to flow overseasâ⬠¦ Lawyer Barred from Going Abroad Authorities ban a Chinese rights lawyer from traveling overseas. Overseas and abroad can also be used as adjectives, but overseas is used before a noun, while abroad always comes after the word it describes. In an increasingly global economy, overseas employment is becoming a realistic alternative for many people. Thin U.S. job market translates study abroad into work abroad Heres a headline that manages to use both overseas and abroad as adjectives to describe the same noun: Overseas Jobs Abroad, International Jobs in Caribbean Cayman Islands As adverbs, overseas and abroad are not always interchangeable. Travelers from the United States to Canada or Mexico can be said to be going abroad, but it would make little sense to say that they are going overseas. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:Five Spelling Rules for "Silent Final E"Phrasal Verbs and Phrasal Nouns
Monday, February 17, 2020
Organisation and Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words
Organisation and Management - Essay Example Now the imperative point to understand here is the fact that learning can not only be at the highest level, rather the knowledge management can even take place at the middle cadre and the special trainings help at doing their best as far as the lower level management is concerned. An organization which can learn can understand what are its responsibilities with regards to the society, the environment, its stakeholders and customers, its functions and different processes which have to be looked down up at with a legal and ethical perspective. This means that the organization emancipates its working methodologies in line with its already set values and moral principles. Moreover, it knows what are its obligations and compulsions towards all the above-mentioned. The organization is always willing and eager to learn from its mistakes, ready to bring in newer and fresh processes within its folds and always encouraging its stakeholders and employees to invest more money and time, respectively. Managing an organization is also an important function which comes under the learning principles. It has case studies and best case scenarios to look up to whenever there is a problem or trouble at hand and it knows who the right person is to contact whenever there is some discrepancy within the system. Add to that the organization tries to keep its contacts, no matter in which capacity they are, at a maximal point and always keeps on increasing so as to become a socially active player within the relevant industry. The management aspect also stems from the fact that its knowledge base is intact and knows what is required of it. This knowledge base has the role of continuously improving the systems and working methodologies. It also has the best available middle management employees who know the technical basis of running the organization and whose potential can largely benefit the sound workings of the company. Thus it is very
Monday, February 3, 2020
Payless Shoe Source Paying Less for Fashion Case Study - 1
Payless Shoe Source Paying Less for Fashion - Case Study Example Payless is not the first to chart this territory as retailers such Target and Zellers have tried to peddle high fashion products at everyday prices. This new strategy has allowed Payless to claim to democratize fashion and has given new life to an outdated brand. The method for setting an items value changes when the item is the piece of an item blend. Mostly, firms search at a set of costs that amplifies the benefits on the aggregate item blend where evaluating is troublesome on the grounds that the different items have related request and expenses and face distinctive degrees of rivalry. There is five distinctive item blend evaluating systems that can be utilized for a firm. These are, for example, the product offering valuing, discretionary item pricing, captive-item evaluating, by-item estimating and in conclusion, item package estimating. A pricing approach that considers the brain science of costs and not just the money making concerns; the cost is utilized to say something in regards to the item. For instance, $19.99 or $9.99 kind of "odd costs" that can round of by one final digit number. With the new line and new system, Payless expand the cost of their items. Be that as it may, if the abruptly change their cost by expanding a great deal, clients would not feel good and they wouldn't prefer it whatsoever. Along these lines, they can utilize this sort of technique of Psychological evaluating so as of now expanding of costs, however, make their clients agreeable.
Sunday, January 26, 2020
A Review On VBNC Bacteria
A Review On VBNC Bacteria Viable but Non-Culturable (VBNC) state is a unique survival strategy of many bacteria in environment in response to adverse environmental conditions. VBNC bacteria cant be cultured on routine microbiological media but they remain viable and retain their virulent capacity too. VBNC bacteria can be resuscitated when provided with appropriate conditions. A good number of bacteria including many human pathogens have been reported to enter VBNC state. Though, there was disputes on the existence of VBNC in past, extensive molecular studies have resolved most of them and VBNC has been accepted as distinct survival state by all. VBNC bacteria are considered as threats to public health and food safety due to their non-detectability and virulence as food and water have been reported to be contaminated with pathogens at VBNC state though conventional methods declared them as safe and clean. A number of outbreaks have also been reported where VBNC bacteria has been implicated as causative agent. Further molecular and combinatorial research in conjunction with predictive modeling are needed to elucidate the mechanisms and to identify the critical points to tackle the threat posed by VBNC bacteria with regard to public health and food safety. Key words: VBNC, Pathogen, public health, Food safety, Detection Introduction The cells that form colony in specific media are the culturable cells. Viable means metabolically or physiologically active. So the cells those are metabolically or physiologically active but cant be cultured on specific media are the viable but non-culturable cells (VBNC) (Bogosian Bourneuf, 2001). Most microorganisms growing in nature have yet to be cultured in the laboratory. In fact less than 1% of the microorganisms in natural water and soil samples are cultured in viable count procedures (Barcian Arana, 2009). In 1982, Prof. Rita Colwell and co-workers introduced the term Viable But Non-Culturable Bacterial Cells (VBNC) to distinguish particular cells that could not form colonies on solid media but obtained metabolic activity and the ability to elongate after the administration of nutrients (Xu et al., 1982). According to Oliver (1995), VBNC can be defined as a metabolically active bacterial cell that crossed a threshold in this way, for known or unknown reasons and become unable to multiply in or on a medium normally supporting its growth. Most of the bacteria that enter VBNC state are gram negative species belonging to the gamma subclass of the Proteobacteria branch, except for Rhizobium, Agrobacterium and Helicobacter-Campylobacter species (Oliver, 2000). History Debra Bashford and colleagues announced that they had recovered Vibrio cholerae from streams and drainage ditches, including sites with negligible chance of sewage contamination. Around the same lime, Rita Colwell was also finding Vibrio cholerae in Maryland. She and her coworkers showed that both this bacterium and E. coli, incubated in artificial sea water remained viable but lost the capacity to form colonies on culture media (Colwell Grimes, 2000). Soon Salmonella enteritidis, Shigella sonnie and Legionella pneumophila joined the list of organisms known to be capable of entering a state in which they failed to show up on nutrient agar yet took up substrates and signaled in other ways that they were certainly not dead. The use of laboratory media to recover and enumerate bacteria and lo link them with or absolve them from pathological and other activities became obsolete by the new discoveries and a term VBNC (viable but non-culturable) came (McDougald et al., 1998). VBNC Microorganisms that do not grow in culture methods, but which are still metabolically active and capable of causing infections in animals and plants are said to be in VBNC state. Traditional laboratory culture conditions methods cannot meet the requirements of VBNC organisms to resume growth (Yamamoto, 2000). Semi-starved bacteria usually resume growth immediately when appropriate nutrients conditions are provided. Viable but non-culturable cells will not resume growth even when nutrients are provided (NystrÃÆ'-m, 2001). VBNC cells exhibit active metabolism in the form of respiration or fermentation, incorporate radioactive substrates, and have active protein synthesis but cannot be cultured or grown on conventional laboratory media. They have been detected by observing discrepancies between plate count enumeration of bacterial population and direct staining and microscopic counts (Sachidanandham Gin, 2009). These cells may be of particular problems in the environment if they are pathogens, for example, viable but non-culturable cells of Vibrio cholerae, Enteropathogenic E. coli, Legionella pneumophila and various other bacteria have been shown to regain culturability after they have entered the intestinal tracts of animals (Colwell et al., 1996). The VBNC state is defined as a state of dormancy triggered by environmental harsh conditions, such as nutrient starvation (Cook Bolster, 2007), temperature (Besnard et al., 2002), osmotic stress (Asakura et al., 2008), oxygen availability (Kana et al., 2008), several food preservatives (Quirà ³s et al., 2009), heavy metals (Ghezzi Steck, 1999), exposure to white light (Gourmelon et al., 1994) and decontaminating processes, as pasteurization of milk (Gunasekera et al., 2002) and chlorination of wastewater (Oliver, 2005). VBNC state is believed to be a unique survival strategy of bacteria in response to environmental stresses (Oliver, 2010). It is also considered as an important reservoir of many human pathogens in the environment (Lleo et al., 2007). VBNC state has been a matter of dispute for ling since its inception, due to the difficulty of differentiation of VBNC cells dormant cells through resuscitation phenotypic studies, recent molecular studies, data of which supported the existence of VBNC state, the dispute has mostly been put to rest (Barer and Harwood, 1999). VBNC Pathogens Following list includes but not limited to pathogenic bacteria that can enter VBNC state (Oliver, 2010)- Aeromonas hydrophila, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, Burkholderia cepacia, Campylobacter jejuni, Enterobacter aerogenes, Enterobacter cloacae, Enterococcus faecalis, Escherichia coli (including EHEC), Helicobacter pylori, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Legionella pneumophila, Listeria monocytogenes, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella typhimurium, Shigella dysenteriae, Shigella flexneri, Shigella sonnei, Streptococcus faecalis, Vibrio alginolyticus, Vibrio cholerae, Vibrio harveyi, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, Vibrio vulnificus (types 1 and 2) Characteristics of Bacteria in VBNC state 1. Maintain apparent cell integrity; 2. possession of some form of measurable cellular activity (Lai et al., 2009); 3. possess apparent capacity to regain culturability (Anuchin et al., 2009); 4. respond to external stimulus by specific gene expression (kell et al., 1998); 5. low metabolic activity (oliver, 2005); 6. Exhibit dwarfing (Costa et al., 1999); 7. reduced nutrient transport; 8. High ATP level and high membrane potential (Signoretto et al., 2000); 9. extensive modifications in cytoplasmic membrane fatty acid compositions (Day Oliver, 2004); 10. Changes in cell wall peptidoglycan such as increasing cross linking, increasing muropeptides bearing covalently bound lipoprotein shortening of average length of glycan strands (signoretto et al., 2002); 11. Higher autolytic capability than exponentially growing cells; 12. Plasmids are retained; 13. changed antibiotic sensitivity as metabolic activity is lower, most bacteria at VBNC state demonstrate high antibiotic resistance (Ol iver, 2010); 14. Changes in outer-membrane protein profile (Muela et al., 2008); 15. Continuous gene expression (Maalej et al., 2004) etc. Conditions stimulating VBNC state In the environment, bacterial cells can enter VBNC state may be due to- 1. Lack of nutrients; 2. Lack of temperatures; 3. High pressure; 4. Sharp changes in pH or salinity (Cunningham et al., 2009); 5.damage to or lack of an essential cellular component; 6. DNA damage; 7. activation of lysogenic phages or suicide genes such as sok/hak or autolysins (Aizenman et al., 1996); 8. Nutrient starvation; 9. incubation outside the normal temperature range of growth; 10. elevated or lower osmotic concentrations; 11. oxygen concentrations (Mascher et al., 2000); 12. food preservatives; 13. Heavy metals (Del Campo et al., 2009); 14. exposure to white light; 15. pasteurization of milk (Gunasekara et al., 2002); 16. chlorination of wastewater (Oliver, 2005) etc. Public health significance of VBNC Though virulence of bacteria in VBNC state is still not very clear, many believed that pathogens in VBNC state are unable to induce infection/disease but still retain their virulent properties has potential to cause disease infection following resuscitation and resume of active metabolic state, which occurs when they pass through host animal (Baffone et al., 2003). The VBNC state appears to be the common to many bacteria especially those which have aquatic habitats, and may represent a mechanism to survive adverse environmental factors as temperature, salinity etc. or have a means of inducing cross protection against other adverse factors (Du et al., 2007). Among these bacteria entering this state are many significant human pathogens and indicator bacteria of these pathogens; such cells may represent a public health hazard and may be a factor in human health and/or disease (Rivers Steck, 2001). Even today, it is still not possible to cultivate most bacterial species directly from the environmental samples or after exposure of previously culturable cells to environmental conditions unfavorable for growth and multiplication in vitro. The passage of VBNC through an appropriate animal host will induce return of culturability. Even these VBNC bacteria retain their pathogenicity and may trigger life in vivo and thus cause severe disease (Sardessai, 2005). Under normal condition it is not possible to culture or detect VBNC. Many diagnostic laboratory set up does not have sufficient molecular facilities to detect VBNC. In case of food and water quality control test, such VBNC may not be detected. Even some indicator of some pathogenic bacteria undergoes VBNC state and may remain undetected (Signoretto et al., 2004). Upon consuming such food or after drinking such water, one may be infected by those VBNC that can trigger life as well as pathogenicity (Adams et al., 2003). Thus, environmental and clinical samples no longer can be considered free from pathogens if culturing yields negative results. For the general public, the presence of VBNC in water and food may be related to low-grade infections or so called aseptic infection. For example, Vibrio cholerae O1 in the surface water remain as non-culturable state. These water sources are used for domestic purpose regularly and posed a risk of infection (Edwards, 2000). When conditions are not favorable for growth then it transforms to the non-culturable state in association with crustacean copepods. Persistence of Vibrio cholerae in water in the VBNC state is an important public health factor, since detection will not be successful if only conventional cultural methods are used (Barer et al., 1993). Similarly, Shigella can undergo VBNC state in water but become a threat when enter in human body. Thus it is important to recognize that non-culturable bacteria are capable of producing diseases. The first evidence of pathogenicity of non-culturable cells was the demonstration of fluid accumulation in rabbit ileal loop assay (RICA) by VBNC Vibrio cholerae O1, followed by human volunteer experiments (Amel et al., 2008). VBNC E. coli non-culturable cells were re-isolated after passage through rabbit ileal loops 4 days post inoculation and chick embryos died when injected with non-culturable cells of Legionella pneumophila, led to the conclusion that VBNC pathogens remain potentially pathogenic. So, VBNC has a huge significance in public health care (Cappelier et al., 2007). Previous studies indicated that a good number of pathogenic bacteria can survive food water treatment processes persist as well as retain virulence in processed food, pasteurized milk, potable water environment (Colwell et al., 2000). Many evidences suggested that recurrent urinary tract infections in many individuals are caused by uropathogenic E. coli cells which remain in VBNC state (Anderson et al., 2004) thus resistant to antibiotic treatment cause reinfection when resuscitate back to active metabolic state (Steck, 2001; Mulvey et al., 2001). Studies also showed that uropathogenic E. coli retain enteropathogenicity at VBNC state through continued production of enterotoxin (Pommepuy et al., 1996). Nilsson et al. (2002) showed that VBNC Helicobacter pylori cells can express virulence factors such as cagA, vacA and vreA. All these above evidence proved that many deathly pathogenic strains not only enter but also persist survive in VBNC state in environment most of them remain infectious as well. VBNC state of foodborne bacteria- a challenge in food safety Many evidences suggested presence of VBNC bacteria in food (Ordax et al., 2009). For example, in stored wine, acetic acid and lactic acid bacteria entered VBNC state as consequence of lack of oxygen and presence of sulphites, respectfully (Millet and Lonvaud-Funel, 2000). Food and its surrounding environment is a complex system, in which physic-chemical characterisitcs (pH, aw, chemical composition) and environmental factors (storage temperature and time, decontamination treatments, packaging under modified atmosphere) act simultaneously on contaminating bacteria (Sun et al., 2008). For example, it has been demonstrated that refrigerated pasteurized grapefruit juice induced VBNC state in E. coli O157:H7 and S. typhimurium within 24 hours of incubation (Nicolo et al., 2011). Again, Gunasekera et al. (2002) reported that in pasteurized milk which have undergone thermal treatment, contaminating bacteria such as E. coli and Pseudomonas putida enter into VBNC state but retained transcription and translation machineries. Several foodborne outbreaks has been reported in Japan, where pathogen such as Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica (Asakura et al., 2002) and E. coli O157 (Makino et al., 2000) in food in VBNC state were responsible for the outbreak. Therefore, the role of food and treatment for food preservation in induction of VBNC state has to be elucidated. Predicitve models offered by biomathematics and bioinformatics would be very helpful tools, in order to evaluate the possibility that, under certain conditions, pathogen bacteria contaminating a tipology of food may enter the VBNC state (Fakruddin et al., 2012). Methods of detection of VBNC bacteria 1. Bright Field Microscopy with Nalidixic acid For detection of Bright-field or light microscopic is usually used. Cell division inhibitor such as nalidixic acid (20-40 mg/L) is used to stop cell division. After such treatment the viable cells, which actively growing, will be appeared as lengthen and the non-viable/ metabolically inactive cell will remain as it is. The cells are then observed under microscope. Viable cells will be seen as elongated whereas VBNC/ dormant cells will be seen as oval and large. 2. Fluorescent Microscopy Various fluorescent staining procedures are used in combination with other procedure to determine VBNC organisms. Frequently used stains are Acridine orange, 4,6- Diamino-2-phenyl indole (DAPI), Fluorescein isothiocyanante (FITC), Indophenyl-nitrophenyl-phenyl tetrazolium chloride (INT), 5-cyano-2,3-ditolyl tetrazolium chloride (CTC) etc (Villarino et al., 2000). Table: Fluorescent dyes used for detection of VBNC bacteria Dye Mechanism Reaction Acridine orange Acridine orange stain cells depending on the ratio of DNA to protein in the cells Actively reproducing cells appear green but slow-grower or non-reproducing cells at time of staining appear orange Di-amino-phenyl-indole (DAPI) Living cells look green under fluorescent microscope Indophenyl-nitrophenyl-phenyl tetrazolium chloride (INT) INT deposit red dye in cells that have active dehydrogenase and thus determine which of the observed cells are metabolically active INT react with dehydrogenase enzyme to produce formazone and red color, thus living cells appear red. Nalidixic acid (NA) Lengthen metabolically active cells, VBNC cells remain as it is Cells that are dividing appear to be longer in size than VBNC Fluorescein isothiocyanante (FITC) Enzyme activity in living cell FITC stain living cells violet or blue In recent years, a new differential staining assay, the BacLightà ® Live/Dead assay, has been developed. The assay allows to simultaneously count total and viable (metabolically active) cells, by using two nucleic acid stains, that is green-fluorescent SYTOà ® 9 stain and red-fluorescent propidium iodide stain. SYTOà ® 9 propidium iodide has significant difference in their cell membrane penetration capability. SYTOà ® 9 stains both live and dead bacteria whereas propidium iodide penetrates only bacteria having damaged membranes. When used together, propidium iodide reduces SYTOà ® 9 fluorescence in staining dead bacteria with damaged membranes. As a result, viable bacteria with intact membranes fluoresce green while dead bacteria with damaged membranes fluoresce red (Rowan, 2011). 3. Gene probe / oligonucleotide probe / hybridization: Molecular analysis can also be used to study non-culturable microorganisms in nature. Oligonucleotide probes of l8-20 nucleotides are proving most useful because they hybridize rapidly to specific DNA sequences of target organisms. These gene probes can reveal closely related organisms or organisms with similar functional capabilities. Especially useful for the analyses of rRNA that demonstrate the presence of diverse microbial populations whose phylogenetic relationships can be ascertained by comparison with rRNA sequences from previously described microorganisms (Josephson et al., 1993). Blotting: There are different types of blotting such as colony blot, slot blot, dot blot and southern blot. The principle of blotting is the use of radio- or non-radioactive or fluorescence labeled probe (DNA/RNA/Antibody) to detect VBNC cells directly from the environmental samples. Fluorescent in situ Hybridization (FISH): In situ hybridization is an alternative format for hybridization probes in which fluorescence labeled DNA or RNA probes are hybridized with target nucleic acids in whole, permeabilized cells. The application of this method to the detection of single microbial cells by using rRNA-targeted probes in combination with epifluorescent microscopy has been developed. This is done through selective targeting of regions of rRNA, which consist of conserved and variable nucleotide regions. By choosing the appropriate rRNA probe sequence, FISH can be used to detect all bacterial cells (a universal probe) or a single population of cells (a strain specific probe) of VBNC. It has lower sensitivity and cannot distinguish live and dead cells. 4. Molecular techniques: Hybridization probes and DNA/RNA amplification: Hybridization probes are nucleic acids (DNA/RNA) which have been (a) chemically or radioactively labeled and are used to detect complementary target DNA/RNA. Hybridization assay DNA/ RNA probes form a stable double stranded structure with target nucleic acid via H-bonding between complementary bases. Amplification of targets: DNA Based methods: Specific amplification of DNA targets in bulk DNA extracts from environmental and clinical samples permits detection of specific organisms or groups of related organisms without the need to cultivate them. DNA recovery procedures do not discriminate between culturable and non-culturable forms of the target organisms- all cells with intact amplification targets will be detected. Confocal laser microscopy in combination with fluorescence-based hybridization assays, also provide a more sensitive method for detecting and identifying VBNC organisms. RNA based methods: Due to the failure of distinguishing between dead or live cells by DNA-based methods, the mRNA level may be a valuable estimate of gene expression and/or cell viability under different conditions (Lleo et al., 2000). RT-PCR: RT-PCR (Reverse Transcriptase PCR) can distinguish between Live and dead cell. This is possible because this is an mRNA based method and mRNA is short lived (half-life less than 1 minute), mRNA is only present in metabolically active cells, not found in nature after the cell death. By this method we can study community relationship and can also detect non-culturable but active or live cells. DNase enzyme is used during the isolation of RNA from environmental samples. Reverse transcriptase and random primers are added to the reaction mixture and the RNA in the sample (both RNA and rRNA) is transcribed into DNA. PCR is then use to amplify the specific sequence of interest (Pai et al., 2000). Is the concept of VBNC is a misnomer? By extending the concept of bacterial self-suicide scientists tried to explain what happens when cells are exposed to chemical and physical injury (Forsman et al., 2000). Thus VBNC organisms came alongside with those, which do not grow in ordinary media but which do grow when offered selective or enrichment media. They said, Such cells are not un-culturable they wrote We are simply failing to provide appropriate conditions to support culture (Sinton, 2006). The reasons, which made the term, VBNC a misnomer are as follow: 1. VBNC bacteria semi-starved bacteria very often mimic each other. Semi-starved bacteria resume growth if provided with appropriate nutrients conditions. But viable but non-culturable bacteria do not resume growth even though nutrients are provided. VBNC cells become too starved to grow on nutrient rich medium directly. This phenomenon resembles a widely accepted condition termed substrate accelerated death (Heim et al., 2002). These starved VBNC cells require an adjustment period to allow phenotypic adaptation back to normal growth state (Epstein, 2009). Sudden shift to nutrient enriched media imbalances metabolic networks of the cells resulting formation of DNA damage agents such as super-oxide free radicals causing cell death (Barer Harwood, 1997). 2. There is yet no complete and perfect media to isolate arid culture all the organisms from environment. 3. Cells are usually-injured or stressed or starved condition in natural environment. So complete system has been devised to enrich or resuscitated the VBNC cells. Culture condition that can be applied in laboratory is not sufficient to recover all microorganisms i.e. yet it is not possible to provide or stimulate exact environmental conditions in the laboratory. Conclusion From the above discussions, it is evident that a number of non-spore forming human pathogenic bacteria enter VBNC state with maintained cellular structure biology persistent gene expression but remain non-culturable by traditional cultural techniques. Thet can survive revert to culturable conditions when provided with appropriate conditions. It is also evident that VBNC bacteria pose significant threat to both public health and food safety. Further research is needed to elucidate the mechanism to combat the threat of VBNC in future.
Friday, January 17, 2020
The Disadvantages That Confront E-Mango.Com If It Does Not Leverage the Competitive Value of the Internet.
Leveraging the competitive value of the Internet Physical inventories have always been a major cost component of business. Linking to suppliers in real time dramatically enhances the classic goal of inventory ââ¬Å"turn. â⬠The Internet provides a multitude of opportunities for radically reducing the costs of designing, manufacturing, and selling goods and services. E-mango. com, a fruit emarketplace, must take advantage of these opportunities or find itself at a significant competitive disadvantage. Identify the disadvantages that confront E-mango. om if it does not leverage the competitive value of the Internet. Case study Considering that E-mango. com is an online store and it also has a small store outlet which provides all kinds of fruits. a. Fresh fruits b. Dry fruits c. Fruit products such as jams, jellies, fruit syrup etc. In todayââ¬â¢s world Internet has become a major source for marketing. Ebusiness is the conducting of business on the Internet, not only buying an d selling, but also serving customers and collaborating with business partners. Electronic business methods enable companies to link their internal and external data processing systems more efficiently and flexibly, to work more closely with suppliers and partners, and to better satisfy the needs and expectations of their customers. Each and every business are now marketing their business through Internet, as it save time and cost and reaches a large number of customers in short span of time If Emango. com is not using the trends of todayââ¬â¢s world i. e. if the website is not making use of the various facilities in the Internet for marketing their goods then they may have to face lot of challenges. Being a fruit emarketplace, the goods need to be sold out as soon as possible. It also has other competitors who own a fruit emarketplace which makes it difficult to survive. Internet could provide a lot of advantages such as managing the cost, produce profit by the people visiting the website, reach to a lot of people and thus increase the business, provide an e-catalog for the customers thus enabling them to shop easier etc. The costs of not doing e-business include loss of customers to competitors with good websites and loss of potential revenue. The major areas affected without proper use of Internet in Business has been listed. 1. Convenience A visit to a store requires travel and must take place during business hours whereas online stores are available 24 hours a day, where business could be made at any hour of the day. Nowadays Internet access is available at home and office, so shopping would be easier if they are able to shop online. Online stores would be having e-catalog which provides the pictures and prices of the goods available which increases customers ease for shopping. Without a proper website maintained, customers need to come to the stores and search for the fruits, which is time consuming and this would initiate a customer to buy goods through another store which has a well maintained website. The websites will also be having pop-ups of the clearance and the deals for the day which will attract more customers. There are also online transactions which are fast. It can help improve the speed and accuracy of transactions. So as long as there is no proper usage of Internet the income would be less as customers would move to stores which provides a good business . The advantage of having a well maintained website is also that they can display pictures of fruits along with their nutritional benefits and how they contribute to the health, which fruit would taste good as juice and which would taste good as raw etc. Along with business customers would be able to gain a lot of informationââ¬â¢s also, thus the competition for emango. com would always be high. Customers would prefer a better online business which is provided by others. 2. Cost-Effective Marketing and Promotion Using the web to market products guarantees to reach large number of customers at a nominal price. The cost of conducting business in Internet is substantially smaller than the traditional forms of business communication. Advertising techniques like pay per click advertising ensure that the advertiser only pays for the advertisements that are actually viewed. As it is fruit store only dry fruits and fruit products need to ship to far distances. Most of the shipment would be around the local area thus it is cost effective(the local shipment would be similar to that of pap johns). Customers would prefer to have such an online store. The fruits could be bought in bulk or in small quantity. All these could be lacking for the emango. om thus causing loss. The emango. com would not be able to reach its customers and market in an easier way than the Internet. 3. Customer Service Customer service is the most important factor in every business. With an online service the supplier could provide an improved customer service. As the customer enters the website they could be greeted by a pop-u p chat window. Many websites now provide an online chat, where the customers could chat with a customer care executive and clarify all the doubts about the products or any other details. Even the customer could contact the customer service executive through phone which is a 24Ãâ"7 service. Making customers happy is the important factor for improving the business and to gain benefits. All these customer services could not be provided if the Internet is not being utilized. 4. Selection The main advantage of a website is being able to quickly seek out deals for items or services. The deals and discounts could also be viewed as soon as we enter the website. Electronic catalogs and web pages present customers with updated information in real time about goods, services and prices. As with other aspects of ebusiness, it is important to match electronic catalog design and functionality to a companyââ¬â¢s business goals. This ease of ecatalogs cannot be provided without proper use on Internet. 5. Reviews The customers could provide the reviews about the products in the website, which would help to know the views of customer and improve the business. Also with the Internet, itââ¬â¢s easier to summarize and analyze information about customers visiting and buying the website. This information can be used to modify promotional strategies to maximize sales. If there is no proper use of Internet this would not be possible. The rivalry for the E-mango. com is high as it they are not properlyusing the Internet for the better business. The competitors would gain high profit with a better website and better e-business technology. Thus the website e-mango. com needs to enhance itself with the various techniques provided by the internet to attract customers and increase profit. Waiting too long to move in to the track of e-business may cause E-mango. com to lose its place in line entirely. References http://e-business-guide. net/advantages-internet-business-explained. html http://onlinebusiness. volusion. com/articles/e-business-advantages/ http://www. enetsc. com/ebusinessarticles. html
Thursday, January 9, 2020
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