Cottle-Taylor Analysis

Question 1: Cottle-Taylor A company’s marketing mix strategy is key to their success. Thorough analysis is needed to assure that product attributes, distribution strategy, communication strategy and pricing strategy are all in line with the company’s strategic goal. The following analysis is of Cottle-Taylor’s marketing mix strategy in India. Product Attributes: Cottle-Taylor has three product categories in order to reach their three market segments: 1) Low-End Manual, 2) Mid-Range Manual, and 3) Battery-Operated. The manual toothbrush designs include â€Å"a variety of colors; all styles included rubber grips† (HBR 6).In the Low-End category Cottle-Taylor produced 5 different products with varying characteristics ranging from soft bristles, to flexible necks for minimal gum irritation, to kid sized brushes. This category contains a basic toothbrush with no significant innovation. The Mid-Range category has two products that have slightly more advanced fea tures such as multi-angled bristles and tongue cleaner. The Battery-Operated is the most advanced category in terms of innovation and product characteristics. It contains two electric toothbrush models with rotating bristles that perform 3,000 strokes a minute.Distribution Strategy: Cottle-Taylor has three distribution tactics in order to penetrate the large dispersed retail scene in India: 1) 20 distributors that focus on the large retail outlets in urban cities, 2) 250 medium sized distributors serving wholesalers and retailers in semi urban areas, and 3) â€Å"seed† distributors who work with over 300,000 outlets in small villages across the country (HBR 7). In the retail outlets in urban cities Cottle-Taylor mainly supplies their Mid-Range and Battery-Operated models to capitalize on higher-income Indians who shop at supermarkets.Cottle-Taylor uses â€Å"seed† distributors to supply the numerous small villages with its basic line. They see no value in building rela tionships because there are too many small stores and â€Å"seed† distributors speak the language. However, communicating key selling points was hard and assuring their products were visible in the small cluttered stores was impossible. Communication Strategy: Cottle-Taylor had three key communication messages in India: 1) Persuading consumers to brush for the first time, 2) Increasing incidences of brushing, and 3) Persuading consumers to upgrade to Mid-Range or PremiumProducts (HBR 8). They allocated 12% of sales on the advertising budget, which broke down into 9% for advertisements and 3% for promotions. The main target demographics are men and women ages 20-35 in rural and urban areas that currently brush or don’t brush. It is important to build awareness and educate consumers on the benefits of tooth brushing and they did this through the use of TV, radio, billboards and prints ads. Pricing Strategy: Cottle-Taylor prices their toothbrushes in respect to their targ et segments.The low-end brushes range from . 22-. 35 cents, the medium-end ranges from . 52-. 98 cents and the high-end ranges from $1-11. In terms of driving success in India, Cottle-Taylor’s strategy is strongest in the area of communication. They successfully positioned and communicated to customers that they are â€Å"an authority on oral care† (HBR 5) and consumers hold their products in high regard. Partnering with IDA has given their brand great credibility and helped them become an industry leader holding 47% of the oral care market share.As shown in Exhibit 5, Cottle-Taylor has experienced 53% growth in market share for toothbrushes from 2004-2009 and 47% growth in oral care market share. They ran successful campaigns where, â€Å"among rural residents†¦those exposed to the campaigns were twice as likely to adopt tooth brushing within a year than those who had not been exposed† (HBR 5). In just five years they have almost dominated the oral care ma rket and a key contributor to their success is their communication strategy.Their weakest strategy in the marketing mix is product attributes. It appears Cottle-Taylor has not fully understood their market segments when designing products for India. Looking at exhibit 8, it is clear the majority of demand is for the Low-End Manual with 87% of sales. The least amount of demand is for the Battery-Operated brush with only . 5% of sales. With 80% of the population in India living under $2 a day, does it make sense to market a high-end expensive product in India?Exhibit 4 shows that a very small percentage of Indians have sufficient amounts of disposable income to spend on expensive toothbrushes. India has a very small concentration of high income and a very large number of people living in poverty. The Battery-Operated brush is mainly marketed in urban areas however, â€Å"in 2009 roughly 78% of Indians lived in rural towns and villages and 22% in urban settings† (HBR 3). This is a very small percent of the population they are trying to capture with the high-end toothbrush. Overall, this is a very comprehensive marketing strategy.Cottle-Taylor has segmented the market and created specific products for each market. As mentioned earlier, the high-end segment does not have significant demand, which insinuates the segments could have been analyzed more. With this said, Cottle-Taylor has done a good job at navigating the complex retail scene in India through their distribution strategy. It is clear that Cottle-Taylor has successfully marketed their brand through communications mediums because there is high brand awareness and favorable brand positioning.

Epifanio de los Santos Avenue

How shameful a Filipino would be, not knowing his nations own history. The history that brought his parents and his own freedom. Who would even forget the sacrifices that former President Corazon â€Å"Cory† Cojuangco Aquino had given not only for her own good but also for the improvement of the next Filipino generations. Corazon Aquino had been known because of her nonviolent revolution held at Epifanio de los Santos Avenue Quezon City, Metropolitan Manila , with the help of 2,000,000 Filipino citizens as well as several political, military and religious figures, such as Cardinal Jaime Sin who had push their way for a democracy from the hands of an authoritarian President. This revolution had last for four days it is popularly known as EDSA Revolution or People Power and also named as Yellow Revolution because of the scattered yellow ribbons. This protest had been brought by the years of corruption in Marcos government. This history had been shortened and summarize for the leaders of this nation to realize the importance of the freedom that they’re enjoying now, not only for the leaders but also for the citizens of this nation. No one wants to suffer the pain that other countries have to suffer just for them to get there freedom. No one wants to be a slave or to be a prisoner that can be raped, tortured, and can even be killed, killed by the same color, the same nationality and by the same blood that runs through the veins of every Filipino. No one will never give up his or her own freedom just for money, for jewelry and not even for power. No one don’t want to lost it even the highest leader of this nation would not give it off. Remember the quote â€Å"The Filipino is worth dying for†? This quote is given Benigno â€Å"Ninoy† Aquino Jr. when he was interviewed about the death threats his receiving from the military and other pro-Marcos group including former First Lady now Congresswoman of Ilocos Norte Imelda Marcos. August 21, 1983, after a three-year exile in the United States, he was shot at Manila International Airport now known as Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA). His assassination gave shock to many Filipinos, who lost confidence in the Marcos Administration. His assassination caused the economic problems of the country to deteriorate even further, and the government plunged further into debt. And by the end of the year, the country was bankrupt, and the economy contracted by 6. 8%. The assassination of Benigno Aquino also gave Corazon Aquino the guts to continue what her husband had started. â€Å"Money is the root of all evil† seems that it’s true. Even now in the present we hear news about the execution of witnesses and deaths of innocent citizens just to cover up the sins of a suspect or even a leader who wants to eliminate his opponents.

Music Role of a Composer Essay

A person who creates the music the music we listen to by writing a piece of music for theatre, radio, film, TV and computer games where music is needed is known as composer. Composing of music has played a vital role in the lives of composers making others to be considered as princes of music like Josquin and Palestrina yet others had unique styles of composing their music. The roles of a composer are to create music by creating situations in which sounds will basically be. A composer has to devise strategies to ensure coordination of elements of performers set into motion. This is achieved by ensuring that proper notation of music has been done in order to accurately direct musicians. The task of a composer is to write an original piece of music fitting for a specific mission after which the composition will then be performed by musicians. The music composed might be having lyrics or just instrumental. Furthermore, it can be either in the form of country, classical jazz or even folk. The work of composer improved a great deal between 900 to 1820. in the 900’s, composers used to create music in that there is a solo singer and choirs or more probably in an Organum style . In the process of change, music styles became more complex and multiple parts were used for different instruments and this help to bring harmony. The recorder, lute and the invention of printing press that brought about standardization of musical notation. Later the Organum was modified into the modern harmony of today by use of a figured bass to accompany a melody. The introduction of keyboard in equal temperament enabled different keys to be used without alteration. Finally, during the classical period, the composers fostered for loyalty or nobility of the time. The composers of the time were offered with creative tools to build many accredited pieces of music given that the concept of music was abstract and detached allowing them to explore the music industry. Josquin Desprez (1440-1521) was the master of composing in his time . He created his music with careful words which were of marvelous simplicity and sophistication. Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) was the instrumentals in bringing into being the romantic music era. These two men brought about great change in the musical industry and meaning to composers without fear of experimenting. References Fulcher, J. The Composer as an Intellectual. Music and Ideology in France 1914-1940. New York: Oxford University Press, 2005 Smith J. & Carlson B. The Gift of Music: Great Composers and Their Influence. Crossway, 1995

Challenges Faced by Graduates and Volatile Global Economy Essay

Challenges Faced by Graduates and Volatile Global Economy - Essay Example Hence the graduates and aspirants of opportunities are advised to capacitate their personal and professional skills based on the analysis of actual demands of the new business horizons. Various elements are to be considered responsible for the new economic trend of excessive completion in the international job market. Generalised expectations of most of the job market is that graduates from developed countries are basically exposed to luxurious life with the abundance of opportunities while the part of luxury is a rare incident in case of job seekers from emerging economies. As Farley, Malkani and Smith (2008) point out, majority of the graduates are in search of lucrative jobs in developed economies and the employers of the emerging economies find it difficult to fill the positions with efficient people, which will eventually result in reduced productivity and quality performance. Developed and emerging economies are facing the problem of internal competition in most of the producti vity regions in pursuit of claiming a stable economic position in the world. Presently, the world economy is moving through the crisis-hit segments in many spheres of international business owing to the competition among countries those have agreed to collaborating ideas and exchange of human intelligence for industries and trade. â€Å"The world around is being dramatically reshaped by scientific and technological innovation, global inter-dependence, cross-cultural encounters and changes in the balance of economic and political power† (Association of American Colleges and Universities, 2009). A majority of the leading economies in the world are now on verge of declining themselves from their perspectives of economic leadership over other countries over the past few years. This economic policy changes in the recent years are the earmarking revelation of an imminent move for cut-downs and distribution of intelligence requirement among job markets across the world mostly throug h information technology. Apart from the various norms of the governments to regulate the job market, a majority of graduates are forced to the risk of losing their technical knowledge in highly intellectual professions like doctors and engineers if the individual abstains from practice over a long period after the studies. As International Business Report (Sep 28, 2010) points out, in the scenario of volatile global economy, graduates are a target for certain challenges like excessive competition against limited requirements, economic downturns in local job markets, inadequate exposure to quality education with facilities for real-world exposure and also the setback of the height of expectations set above the achievable levels of opportunities to them and the development of intellectual debate between job searching with the graduation and further drive of higher education. Advancement in technology and computerisation in the field of operation of all the industries and offices in t he recent decade demands for a higher level enthusiasm among young aspirants to update their professional skills with the demands of the time. Unlike the traditional belief that industry involved the physical production of certain commodities, the world today is looking for the excellence of graduates in

Weak public transportation in Oklahoma county and its affect on health Term Paper - 1

Weak public transportation in Oklahoma county and its affect on health care(problem and solution) - Term Paper Example While the rest have no means of transportation of their own. Moreover, high blood pressure was reported to be about 47% while dental problem was next with about 40%, arthritis was about 36% and finally depression and tobacco which had about 30% and 32% respectively.Teen pregnancy was also another issue such that it ranged between 51% and 60% in a year, not forgetting drug abuse with about 60% among the youth who had also had serious health issues but could not access the public health facilities. According to a survey that was conducted in Oklahoma individuals also claimed that there were fewer health services in the community too. Over 60% individuals have no insurance due to the fact that hours available and transport was the barrier to getting those insurance services.It is alleged that among those who fail to get insurance services, they are poor as they have the lowest incomes. Most of the uninsured personnel’s are between the ages of 62% and 65.They get less income of ab out 18000 dollars. This makes it hard for the persons to access public health coverage or basically impossible.The Oklahoma anti-county Drug network also pointed out that underage drinking, tobacco use, bang and abuse of prescribed medication was among the top issues to the youths in the country (World Bank Washington, DC. 2001). The Oklahoma group of Youth and Risky behavior alleged that 23% of the children in high school smoke cigarette while about 835 reported to have access to alcoholic brew. About 96% of them frequently use alcohol and at the time of use the brew was kind of not harmful. Suicide also health case of concern it is among the top causes of death in Oklahoma. Young adults who die are between age’s 26-35.In Oklahoma, it is also alleged that men are the ones who account for higher percentage of death issues that women due to lack of better transport system. Most of those who

The Relationship between Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Essay

The Relationship between Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Economic Development - Essay Example Economic theory provides a set of thoughts and methods for examining the distribution of limited resources. Unless entrepreneurship ultimately develops products from limited resources, it can be of minimum economic interest, even though it may possess greater social significance. The idea of selection and therefore decision making is essential to economic theory. Entrepreneurship acts as an individual quality which allows certain persons to make decisions with long run outcomes. When economic development is viewed from historical viewpoint, the role of an entrepreneur arrives into central focus. By acting in different ways, entrepreneurs can achieve success which causes other people to change their thoughts and therefore help to alter the historical economic progression. Entrepreneurial efforts are needed for developing an enhanced distribution of resources and transmitting their significant experience to other nations. If two nations differ in their talents of entrepreneurship, then there will be a propensity for developments to invent new things with the copious ability of entrepreneurs. If there is lack of native entrepreneurs in any nation, then foreign entrepreneurs from economically prosperous nations enter the backward country and develop new innovation through proper distribution of resources. At a macroeconomic level, an entrepreneur plays a vital role in the establishment of organizations. Economic theory suggests that there is close relation between personal qualities of entrepreneur and economic success of organization. One of the most exciting aspects of successful entrepreneurs is that they are often drawn from marginal groups in society which try to find alternative possibilities of social progression near them. Thus, it is evident that society and its traditions have a significant impact on the development of entrepreneurs (Casson, 2003). Schumpeter had defined the â€Å"entrepreneur as innovator† as one who drives economic development. A ccording to Peter F. Drucker, â€Å"Innovation is the specific tool of entrepreneurs, the means by which they exploit change as an opportunity for a different business or a different service.† The innovative activity of entrepreneur nourishes the pioneering procedure of creative destruction by initiating continuous instabilities to the economic system and by generating prospects for economic growth. Schumpeter’s theory expects that an entrepreneur can contribute in economic development (Wong & Et. Al., 2005). He was of the view that an entrepreneur can innovate, motivated by competition to develop technology, business and organizational structure. He characterized innovation as an â€Å"industrial mutation† which continuously transforms the financial structure and destroys the existing ones. The procedure of creative destruction is a vital element of entrepreneurship (McCraw, n.d.). Creative destruction is made on dynamic, cautious and commercial efforts to modi fy market arrangements and can be favourable for further innovations and revenue opportunities. Schumpeter’s business cycle is viewed as the outcome of innovation which involves the development of new thoughts and its application in a new product, procedure or service. It can result in the dynamic development of a national economy,

Health epidemiology & statistics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Health epidemiology & statistics - Essay Example It results from the Hepatitis C virus or the HCV. Although the infection is usually asymptomatic, its chronic phase is characterized by a scarred liver and the subsequent development of liver cirrhosis. This takes place after many years (Butt et al., 2010). Some of the key methods through which it is spread include blood-to-blood contact that may result from poor sterilization of medical equipment, intravenous use of drugs and transfusions. About 150 to 200 million people are infected with Hepatitis C all over the world. It is known to infect only human beings and chimpanzees. The virus is persistent in the liver of 85% of those who have been infected. Although there is no immunity against the disease, it can be treated and cured. However, there is still a high and increasing morbidity, co-morbidities, and mortality of the disease (Sweeting, De Angelis, Ades, & Hickman, 2009). The main factors that are associated with this are people, place and time, which form a significant part of the transmission mechanism. In relation to the people, there must be a susceptible host, who must have the necessary conditions of host defenses to enable disease prevention. There is also an important component of place, which refers to the availability of a conducive site for the microbial agent to adhere, enter and infect thus causing the disease within the susceptible host. In terms of time, the natural settings provide a favorable environment for the agent to multiply and survive within the reservoir (Panduro et al., 2010). APN affects the primary, secondary, and tertiary interventions of hepatitis C in the sense that it provides both individual and population prevention methods. Different strategies can be applied in the counselling, screening and therapeutic methods. Butt, S., Idrees, M., Akbar, H., ur Rehman, I., Awan, Z.,

Organisational Change management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organisational Change management - Essay Example changing into the new Strategic Direction are based on the fact that the Suffolk County Council requires radical changes that will reduce their costs. Currently, it has become too slow, complex, overelaborate, risk adverse, serves the regulator more than the customer, and too expensive considering the impeding financial crisis. This program will reshape the Council’ way of thinking and provide radical solutions to the financial problems affecting the council. It will also make the council leaner, smaller, cheaper, more creative, and more innovative by developing more commercial skills which will enable the council to understand its costs better so as to reduce them. The budget gap of the council is expected to rise to  £153 million by 2013. Attempts to reduce the staffing costs the budget gap by laying off promises no solution to the budget gap as it will save only  £55m out of the  £153m from the lost 400 jobs. Furthermore, the council has no capacity of running a big r edundancy programme for its staff. The program is focused on challenging spending and reducing costs so that the  £153m budget gap will not be realized. The program addresses the  £153m budget gap by reducing the demand for their services. This will entail addressing the root cause of social problems and solving them and also building social capital to strengthen communities to be able to solve their own problems. This proposal will include the description of the current situation; this section will address the current issues facing the Suffolk County Council and why changes should be implemented. Next will be the goals of the proposal; based on the assessment of the problems facing the Suffolk County Council, this section will provide the New Strategic Direction and the solution it offers to the council. This section will be followed by proposed Methodology; this section will address a step by step process of implementing the New Strategic Direction until its goals are realized. Time and cost

SPECIFIC MORAL ISSUES (DEATH PENALTY) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

SPECIFIC MORAL ISSUES (DEATH PENALTY) - Essay Example In total, there have been approximately 345 executions within Massachusetts, including 26 convicted of witchcraft. Until 1951, murder in the first degree called for a mandatory punishment of death. In 1951, the law was changed to allow the jury the discretion to recommend against a death sentence after considering mitigating circumstances - in which case the sentence would be life imprisonment -unlessthe murder was committed in connection with a rape or attempted rape, in which case the death sentence was mandatory. In 1968, voters expressed disapproval with this trend in a non-binding referendum, voting 49 to 31 percent in support of continued use of the death penalty. During the 1970's and 80's, a series of judicial rulings eventually eliminated the death penalty altogether under Massachusetts law: In 1972, the US Supreme Court decision of Furman vs. Georgia, threw out Georgia's death penalty as cruel and unusual, citing the arbitrary and capricious manner in which it was administered, and leading to capital statutes throughout the country being overturned. For Massachusetts, this meant that the discretionary death penalty for murder was nullified, but the mandatory death penalty for rape-murder was left intact for the time being (Cf.Commonwealth v. Harrington, 1975). On October 28, 1980, the SJC ruled inDistrict Attorney for the Suffolk Dist. v. Watsonthat a new capital statute signed into law by Governor Edward King the previous November (c. 488, Acts of 1979) was unconstitutionally cruel for all the reasons laid out inO'Nealand their opinion of the proposed 1977 bill. On November 2, 1982, voters approved by referendum (54 to 35 percent) an amendment to Article 26. The amendment, Article 116of the Massachusetts Constitution, states that: No provision of the Constitution... shall be construed as prohibiting the imposition of the punishment of death. This completed the amendment process, which had been initiated in 1980 by legislators acted quickly to draft another new death penalty bill. On December 15, 1982, the House and Senate passed legislation providing for capital punishment for first-degree murder. The bill was signed into law (c. 554, Acts of 1982) a week later by Governor King and went into effect on January 1st. This 1982 statute was invalidated by the SJC on October 18, 1984 in the case ofCommonwealth v. Colon-Cruz. While the death penaltyper sewas no longer forbidden by the Constitution, this particular statute improperly encouraged defendants in murder cases to plead guilty rather than face a jury trial, thus avoiding the possibility of the death sentence, and violating the right against self-incrimination and the right to trial by jury. Massachusetts has remained without a valid death penalty law ever since. Subsequent attempts to reinstate the death penalty have failed: By the time of theColon-Cruzdecision, Michael Dukakis had become governor again. Throughout these two terms, a nearly evenly divided legislature never passed a bill - which the governor would have certainly vetoed. In 1991, William Weld became governor. He, and every governor since, argued for death

Engineering semulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Engineering semulation - Essay Example There are four tasks to be done: first is to show how to plot a specific behaviour of a system; the second task is about choosing the suitable time step for the simulation; in the third task I have to find the best spring stiffness, under certain speed and the last task is to describe the experience of using COSMOSMOTIONS and highlighting its advantages and disadvantages This sub-assembly has two rocker arms, two valves and a camshaft. It has to be analyzed. The least contact force between the rocker and the camshaft is to be found by varying (changing) the spring stiffness. I deleted the lower parts of the complex system as seen in the picture. If it was included, the program will take too much time to calculate such a complex system. For task 1 to plot the contact force, linear velocity and linear acceleration charts, the motor speed was kept at 100 rpm. This is the linear velocity chart. The chart shows the rocker speed first rises up as the rocker rises and reaches a point where the speed becomes zero. Then speed starts decreasing while the rocker is retrieving its position. This motion is periodic and is repeated continuously. Task two: controlling the accuracy in the simulation. The size of the time step is an important factor which affects the error in the simulation. Larger time step increases the error and a very small time step will cause the simulation program to take too much time to calculate; a suitable time step is to be chosen. The program has 98.7% probability that it’s accurate and the 2.3% probability is for a value between 317 and the first 42 value on the force chart. I select the second accurate time step which is 0.00001 for the best efficiency and results in the minimum time. Choosing smaller time step will take more time to calculate, without any improvement in accuracy: Task 2 ends here. For task 3, I set motor speed to 7800 rpm and find

Finance Planning Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Finance Planning - Assignment Example Their monthly expenditure on insurance for their properties is high and does not comprehensively cover their assets since some assets such their stereo is not insured. The critical issues raised above should be addressed in their order of priority. Recommendation for the emergency fund would be to sum up Mark’s 401(k) contribution and bank savings as previously intended, since they are available. Then the Lanes should top up the remaining amount from reductions in their expenditure and by that their emergency fund objective will have been met. Recommendation for the second and middle term objective would be to make a fixed income investment and channel the proceeds to a child education fund. The long term goal of purchasing a house should be met by freeing up money that was used to pay debts and once these are cleared they can channel the income towards payment of a mortgage. They have a short fall of $18,877.5- $3,070= $15,807.5 Recommendation for funding the shortfall includes implementing the proposed debt management plan so as to reduce debt expenses such as payment of credit card interests. The proceeds realized can then be channeled to the emergency fund. The Lanes have been having a poor debt management plan as they have a negative balance sheet and a negative cash flow balance. They should consider implementing the proposed debt management plan as it will assist them clear their debts systematically from the smallest to the largest debt. In order to save a monthly amount for retirement at the age of 55, both Mark and Ava should cut down on their expenditure and reduce their insurance expenditure. In order to do this, they can consider the emergency fund as a form of self-insurance then save the amounts used to pay insurance premiums to save for retirement. The Lanes should not sell any of their investments to

Anti-Cancer Drug Screening in Vitro Essay Example for Free

Anti-Cancer Drug Screening in Vitro Essay Introduction: The incidences of cancer remain high despite advances in our understanding of cancer. Cancer is a class of diseases characterized by out of control cell growth. Normal cells are constantly subject to signals that control whether the cell should divide, differentiate into another cell or die. Cancer cells develop a degree of independence from these signals, which results in uncontrolled growth and proliferation. If this proliferation is allowed to continue and spread, it can be fatal (1). Almost 90% of cancer-related deaths are due to metastasis – the complex process of tumor spread through the lymphatic system or bloodstream. The emergence of genomic technologies holds therapeutic potential for personalized cancer management. Personalized cancer management combines standard chemotherapy and radiation treatments with genomic profiling and in vitro cell proliferation studies. Individualized genomic profiling allows the researcher to identify specific genes that contribute to unregulated cellular mechanisms that normally control cellular growth. By determining the molecular profile of a specific cancer, suitable treatment can be considered that target those gene products (2). Cultured cancer cells have the capacity to dramatically exceed normal doubling times to almost indefinite levels, unlike normal cells. HeLa cells are a great example of this. One of the most widely used continuous cell lines in research is the HeLa cell line, which was derived in 1951 from Henrietta Lacks, a cervical caner patient in 1951. These cells continue to grow and proliferate in hundreds of laboratories across the world to this day. These cancer cells have been called ‘Immortal’ as they have bypassed the senescence regulators within the cell and acquired the capacity for unlimited division. Measurement of cell viability and proliferation forms the basis for numerous in vitro assays of a cell population’s response to external factors. The reduction of tetrazolium salts is now widely accepted as a reliable way to examine cell p roliferation. MTT viability assays is based on the ability of a mitochondrial dehydrogenase enzyme from viable cells to cleave the tetrazolium rings of the pale yellow MTT and form a dark blue formazan crystals, which is largely impermeable to cell membranes, thus resulting in its accumulation within healthy cells. The resulting  intracellular purple formazan can be solubilized and quantified by a spectrometer and is then subject to examination to evaluate cell viability. These measurements can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of certain treatments to cells. These anti-cancer drugs in vitro allows drugs to be tested against live cells which helps determine drug effectiveness and side effects. Cell proliferation, also known as cell growth, cell division, or cell replication is the basic process through which cells form new cell. Cell proliferation is the increase in cell number as a result of cell division and growth. The quantification of cellular growth, including proliferation and viability, has become an essential tool in any laboratory working on cell-based studies. These techniques enable the optimization of cell culture conditions, and the determination of growth factor and cytokine activity. Even more importantly, the efficiency of therapeutic agents in drug screening, the cytostatic potential of anticancer compounds in toxicology testing, and cell-mediated toxicity can be assessed when quantifying cell growth (3). This practical is designed to evaluate the sensitivity and response of putative anti-cancer drugs using a modified anti-proliferative drug assay. Using a modified MTT drug assay, the sensitivity and response of anti-cancer drugs can be determined. In this blind trial, three unlabeled drugs are tested to discover their properties. The trial of these drugs was carried as a blind trial to insure that the results obtained with unbiased. Results In this practical, we were given three drugs. One of the drugs had no known anti-cancer properties; one was a known chemotherapeutic agent and the third was a mystery drug with putative anti-cancer properties. The HeLa cells were also treated with a no-drug, medium-only control. The objective of the study was to identify the nature of the unlabeled drugs. The identities of these three drugs were unknown in order to make the experiment a blind trial. Doing the study as a blind trial allowed any bias data to be avoided in data interpretation (2). Calculations: From the raw data obtained column 0 acts as the control, this column contains the HeLa cells but no drug, and is used to see if the unknown drugs A,B and  C have an effect on the viability of HeLa cells. The last row on the 96 well plates contained no HeLa cells and acted as a reference to observe whether column 0 contained living cells. When the absorbance value for column 0 was similar to the no cell value, that data set would be ignored, as this would indicate no cells were present in column 0 which would have been invalid as column 0 contained medium only. This method was applied when choosing appropriate data sets for data interpretation. Discussion: In this study we were given three drugs. One of the drugs had no known anti-cancer properties, one had a known chemotherapeutic agent and the third was a mystery drug with putative anti-cancer properties. The objective of this blind trial study was to identify the nature of these unlabeled drugs.  By observing the overall averages from the results (Table 1 Figure 1) we can conclude that drug A had the highest percentage cell viability out of the three drugs. The percentage value of A is similar to the percentage value of the control (0). The control consisted of a medium-only solution and not meant to effect the cell viability of HeLa cells at all, this implies that Drug A has no anti-cancer properties and has little effect on the HeLa cells viability. From this data we can conclude that Drug A was the drug with no known anti-cancer properties (negative control). By observing the percentage cell viability of drug B, we can conclude that drug B had the smallest cell viability value that was close to 0%. Small percentage viability indicates that there is a reduction in cell proliferation occurring in the HeLa cell line, however 0% cell viability would indicate that there are no viable cells in the well, meaning there was a complete reduction in cell proliferation. Lack of cell proliferation means an absence of mitochondrial succinic dehydrogenase activity to metabolize MTT into its results purple formazan, producing a lower absorbance value (4). From this we can conclude that drug B has anti-cancer properties as it had a large negative effect on HeLa cell viability. By observing drug C, we can determine that drug C also has a relatively low percentage cell viability value. This would indicate that drug C, like drug B, has a negative effect on cell viability, meaning it causes a reduction in cell proliferation in HeLa cells. From this we can conclude that Drug C also had anti-cancer properties as it had a negative effect on HeLa cell viability. At this point, two drugs have yet to be identified, Drug B and Drug C. Both Drug B and Drug C have anti-cancer properties, shown by their low cell viabilities values. A positive control will be a drug that will give a large cell viability percentage. From this, we would conclude that Drug B was the positive control with a chemotherapeutic agent leaving Drug C to be the mystery drug. However we cannot accept this without actually knowing what the mystery drugs anti-cancer properties are. The mystery drug could have stronger anti-cancer properties than the positive control. In this scenario, Drug B would be the mystery drug as it observed the lowest cell viability, making it the most effective against cancer cells. For this reason, we cannot accurately identify drugs B and C without more information about the mystery drug. However if we accept that the mystery drug has a smaller  effect on cancer cells than the positive control, we would then conclude that Drug B is the positive control and Drug C is the mystery drug. If we observe the overall data used to calculate the average cell viability percentages for each drug, we can see there are values higher than 100% and values lower than 0% (negative values). Values higher than 100% would indicate that there are more viable cells present in drug A compared to our control. Since we know drug A has no effect on the cancer cells, we would expect the cell viability of drug A to be similar to the control. These anomalies could be due to cell proliferation in the drug A column, meaning the HeLa cells grew and divided to create new cells, meaning the number of cells in column A increased, resulting in a higher absorbance value, due to the increase in MTT reduction. A higher absorbance value in the no cell row compared to the drug B column results in a negative value. Absorbance values that are lower than the control cells indicate a reduction in the rate of cell proliferation. Conversely a higher absorbance rate indicates an increase in cell proliferation. Values lower than 0% would indicate that there are fewer cells present in the drug B wells compared to the no cell wells. This could be due to human error where cells where accidently transferred due to poor lab technique, or been caused by a high absorbency of the buffer used in the no cell row. In this study, the reduction of the MMT is used to estimate cell viability and proliferation. However recent studies have shown that superoxide can also reduce tetrazolium salts, such as MTT. Therefore studies investigating the cytological effect of HeLa cells may encounter misleading results when using MTT to measure viability proliferation. This is because MTT assays may yield inaccurate results due to the increase in superoxide formation in cultured HeLa cells (7). This kind of limitation may have played apart in this study and could have caused our abnormal values discussed in the paragraph above. To overcome this limitation, we could use different techniques to measure cell viability. One way of assessing cytotoxicity is by cell integrity. Compounds that have cytotoxic effects, such as the drugs we are investigating, often compromise cell membrane integrity. An example of this method is a Tryphan Blue exclusion test (10). This exclusion test can be used to determine the number of viable cells present in a cell suspension. It is based on the principle that viable cells have intact cell membranes that are impermeable to dyes,  such a trypan blue, whereas dead cells do not. In this test, a cell suspension is mixed with the tryphan blue dye and then visually examined to determine whether cells take up or exclude the dye (11). A viable cell will have a clear cytoplasm whereas a dead cell will have a blue cytoplasm. Tryphan blue is not affected by superoxide formation so will yield more accurate results than the MTT assay. The problems that arise from dye exclusion tests is that they are operator depend and are subject to human error. Another way of assessing cell viability via membrane integrity is by using fluorescent DNA binding dyes such as SYBR Green I (10). SYBR Green I is a fluorescent dye used as a nucleic acid dye. SYBR Green I binds to DNA and the resulting DNA-dye-complex absorbs blue light and emits green light (9). This is based on the principle that an increase in cell proliferation will cause an increase of DNA in the cell suspension. More SYBR Green 1 will bind to the DNA and more green light will be observed under blue light.

Freezing Point Depression Osmometer

Freezing Point Depression Osmometer 1. Osmolality is a commonly used unit of measurement that represents the concentration of a solution as the total number of solutes per kilogram of pure solvent (mOsm/kg): where Ø is the osmotic coefficient accounting for the degree of molecular dissociation; n is the number of particles left after the molecule dissociates in solvent, where n = 1 for non-electrolytes; and C is the molal concentration of the solution (moles/kg of water). As a variant of molality, only osmotically active particles that affect a solutions osmotic pressure are considered. It is the number, rather than the size of type, of these solutes that controls the osmotic pull of a solution. Specifically, the presence of solute particles dilutes the solvent and restricts it to remain as a liquid as it is entropically favorable. Fittingly, the freezing point depresses proportionally with the increase in solute concentration since the temperature continues to drop instead of reaching a plateau during the process of crystallization as more pure solvent becomes separated from solution leaving behind a smaller mass of liquid with higher solute concentration. Accordingly, the concentra tion of a solution can be determined by its relationship with this colligative property; thus, osmolality is really a measure of the chemical ac of water in an aqueous solution of dissolved particles. Overall, this term-independent of temperature and pressure-is used in medical laboratories (as opposed to osmolarity (mOsm/L) for bedside calculations) to describe the osmotic strength of bodily fluids as it can be easily attained by freezing point osmometry. A freezing point depression osmometer quantifies the amount of osmotically important body fluid chemicals dissolved in blood serum by the relationship that 1 mole of particles decreases the freezing point of 1 kg of water by 1.86à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ °C. This device is calibrated using standards within the osmolal range of interest (250-350 mOsm/kg for blood serum). Applied on a paper slide, the sample is inserted into an insulated-cooling module of circulating ethylene glycol and water refrigerants that chill the solution below its freezing point. An operating head then slides down on the sample container, immersing a thermistor temperature probe and stirring wire. Once the solvent molecules have aggregated and been supercooled, the stirring is set to vibrate more rapidly and aggressively to seed the solution with crystals, partially freezing it into a slush. During this liquid-to-solid phase transition, thermal energy is released into the solution as heat of fusion and proceeds until a tem perature plateau that is slightly below the true freezing point is reached. The thermistor responds to this temperature change by altering its electrical resistance, thereby creating small variations in current sensed by a galvanometer, which also detects the direction of current flow in the Wheatstone bridge that subsequently measures the unknown resistance. Lastly, a balancing potentiometer adjusts this resistance until the galvanometer returns to its null position of zero current, sequentially displaying the osmolality that is calculated by the following formula: where kf is the cryoscopic constant (1.86 Kà ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ ¦kg/mol) and ΆT is the temperature change. Diabetes mellitus is a chronic endocrine disease characterized by abnormally high serum glucose (>360 mOsm/kg). In a study conducted by Siervo et al., they measured blood serum osmolality levels in diabetic and non-diabetic older adults as an indicator of their hydration status, which is correlated to this disease. By using the Bland-Altman method to compare to a measured reference standard (via an osmometer), a successful serum osmolarity prediction formula-based on freezing point depression-was used to assess osmotically important chemicals in the control and study group: Calculated Osmolarity = 1.86 ÃÆ'- (Na+ + K+) + 1.15 ÃÆ'- glucose + urea +14 (mmol/L) (eq.3) With 79% sensitivity and 89% specificity, this equation serves as a first-stage screening method for diabetes diagnosis. Individuals with diabetes mellitus was shown to have higher serum osmolality levels (> 300 mOsm/kg) and glucose levels characteristic of their dehydration state. 2. Fluorescence anisotropy describes the phenomenon that occurs when a fluorophore that has been excited with linearly polarized light emits fluorescence with unequal intensities along different polarization axes as its absorption and emission transition moments lie along specific directions within its structure. The degree of this linear polarisation in its emission-resulting from photoselection of an optically isotropic sample-is described by its steady-state anisotropy: where I|| and Ià ¢Ã…  Ã‚ ¥ are relative intensities detected for emission that is parallel and perpendicular to the electric vector of linearly polarized incident light, respectively (where a non-zero reveals a polarized emission). The denominator represents total fluorescence intensity (I) as it incorporates the three mutually orthogonal emission components, including the second perpendicular emission plane that sets anisotropy apart from polarization. By timeà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ resolved measurements, this quantifies depolarisation of fluorescence emission mainly caused by an energy transfer to another molecule of a different orientation or rotation (due to Brownian motion). Subsequently, enzyme-substrate binding constants and reaction kinetics can be studied since the rotational correlation time of a molecule would change, which is related to anisotropy by a Perrin equation thus allowing for determination of its molecular size and mobility: (eq. 2) where ro is fundamental anisotropy of the fluorophore; à Ã¢â‚¬Å¾ is the fluorescence lifetime; and ÃŽÂ ¸ is the rotational correlation time. The purpose of the study conducted by Schrell et al. was to develop a microfluidic biochemical test that can monitor insulin secretion dynamics upon glucose stimulation of single islets via interactions between insulin and its antibody. They were inspired by the fact that assays available today involves difficult separation systems that pose a challenge to non-specialized laboratories. This device can examine mechanisms behind abnormal secretions of metabolic diseases such as diabetes mellitus in real-time. Islets of Langerhans were isolated from male mice and incubated in RPMI-1640 media. A singlet islet was housed in a microfluidic chamber and stimulated with various levels of glucose from a gravity-based perfusion system. These channels have inputs for low and high glucose concentrations. Flowing from a top-to-bottom direction, most of t he mixed perfusion solution is sent to waste through a shunt channel while a portion of it is directed to a sealed islet chamber. The total perfusate containing the islet secretions then combines with solutions of high affinity insulin antibodies (Ab) and Cy5-labeled insulin* as it passes the assay mixing channel where both insulin and insulin* competitively bind to Ab. Since insulin* has a smaller rotational time compared to the Ab-insulin* complex, its emission is more depolarized and by measuring the bound/free ratio of the Ab-insulin* complex and free insulin*-via capillary or microfluidic electrophoresis-insight on insulin secretion dynamics can be gained as it is indirectly proportional to the amount of insulin in the sample. With a laser-induced fluorescence detection system, linearly polarized light from a 635-nm laser passes through a linear polarizer and reaches a dichroic mirror that focuses the beam towards the microfluidic channel (to excite the immunoassay mixture) vi a a microscope which also collects the fluorescence light emitted from the sample. It then travels back to the dichroic mirror and through an emission and 635-nm notch filter for removal of stray incident light. Next, a cube-shaped polarizing beam splitter splits the emission into parallel (Ià ¢Ã‹â€ Ã‚ ¥) and perpendicular (Ià ¢Ã…  Ã‚ ¥) component intensities to individual linear polarizers before detection by PMTs. The fluorescein-PMT signals are converted to anisotropy via eq. 1 and by using its online fluorescence anisotropy immunoassay calibration curve, insulin concentration (thus its online secretion dynamics) can be determined. 3. Created primarily by plasma cells, antibodies (or immunoglobulins) are large Y-shaped proteins recruited by the immune system to neutralize foreign agents via a precise lock-key binding mechanism. They attach to the epitope of antigens using the paratope of its fragment antigen-binding (Fab) region with high specificity. Although widely established and characterized in proteomics, antibodies have limited target potential since their targets must elicit a strong immune response for these proteins to be produced. Recently, the revolutionary development of a simple, controlled, and scalable in-vitro technique called systematic evolution of ligands by exponential enrichment (SELEX) has allowed for the isolation and identification of aptamers which were evolved from random oligonucleotide pools. Unlike their protein counterparts, these small oligonucleotide or peptide ligands can fold into unique 3D structures than can bind to many classes of target biomolecules due their wide range i n molecular recognition. Therefore, these high-affinity ligands have the benefit of unlimited diagnostic and therapeutic applications. Aptamers can now supplement monoclonal antibodies in pharmaceutical research since they have greater advantages in their stability, in-vitro capability, size, immunogenicity, target potential, production, and ability to be modified. First, the temperature resistance of aptamers prevents denaturation and loss of structure, providing them stability at room temperature. Antibodies, contrastingly, require refrigeration as proteins denature easily, degrade over time, and have a shorter shelf life. Though, proteins have the benefit of not being affected by nuclease enzymes found in the body, which specifically cleave nucleic acid bonds. Second, aptamers are made in-vitro via SELEX; this selection means that they can be manipulated to adapt to any conditions. For antibodies, the adaptability of proteins made in-vivo are restricted to the environment of the host animal as their distribution requires the stimulation of an immune response in that live organism. Third, these smaller-sized aptam ers enable them to interact with targets that may be inaccessible to the larger proteins like cell surface targets and fragments. Also, despite their improved bioavailability, they have a shortened half-life due to susceptibility to kidney filtration. Fourth, the immunogenicity of aptamers protects them from recognition by the immune system and a subsequent negative immune response. Conversely, antibodies are frequently tagged as foreign substances which, with higher dosing, increases their chances of eliciting an immune response. Fourth, with unlimited target potential, aptamers have a greater selection of targets compared to antibodies since their targets are independent of the immune system. Fifth, aptamer synthesis does not require the large-scale production of many different colonies in cell cultures that antibodies depend on which is costly, subjected to viral or bacterial contamination, and may cause variation per batch created. Lastly, aptamers can readily adopt conjugation chemistries such as dye or functional group attachments without it being stochastic, negatively affecting activity, or leading to product mixtures hence any shortcomings such serum degradation, variable pharmacokinetic and systemic properties, can be combated with additional modifications. The SELEX process is an useful technique that can decipher a proteins binding site on ss-DNA/RNA or peptides. This enrichment protocol requires the following steps: (1) define the target molecule; (2) form a large combinatorial double-stranded oligonucleotide library of DNA/RNA ligands with primer binding sites at its ends and wobble bases in the middle for potential PCR amplification; (3) expose this pool of oligonucleotides to the target molecule; (4) partition and isolate the successful binding aptamers that have been selected by the target molecule from the non-binding ones then amplify and subject them to additional selection cycles for further enchainment; (5) from the remaining small amount of high affinity binding molecules: isolate and sequence the individual aptamers, then refine them with altered nucleoside triphosphates like 2-fluoro-dCTP to increase stability against endonuclease degradation by becoming unrecognized. 4. Total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy is a high axial-resolution imaging technique used to visualize a thin region of live specimen cells that have been incorporated with fluorescent molecules. Supported on a glass slide, this microscope optically sections the cell-substrate interface and emphasizes near membrane molecular events that are within ~100nm of the sample-coverslip contact region. Accordingly, single molecule fluorescence can be detected for fluorophores situated near adherent cell surfaces as they are being selectively irradiated, thereby minimizing excitation of fluorophores outside this focal plane and increasing the signal-to-noise ratio. This removes any out-of-focus intracellular fluorescence and reduces cellular photodamage, allowing for high-contrast and spatial resolution image production. With these advances, the biochemical kinetics and spatial-temporal dynamics of single biomolecules that are associated exclusively with process occurring at or ne ar the plasma membrane can now be studied. Depending on the incidence angle and refractive index differences of the two media, the collimated light beam can be reflected at the interface or refracted as it enters the second medium limiting most of the light to the higher-index medium. In TIRFM, total internal reflection occurs as the laser excitation on the glass microscope slide (n = 1.518) propagates the light wave towards an interface of a lower-index, aqueous medium (n = 1.33-1.37) at an incident angle greater than the critical angle. The critical angle can be calculated by Snells Law: (eq.1) where n(1) is the higher refractive index; n(2) is the lower refractive index; sin(ÃŽÂ ¸c) is the critical incident angle relative to the normal of the interface; and sin(90à ¯Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ °) is the corresponding refracted angle. When the beam completely reflects into the microscope slide, a highly restricted electromagnetic field is induced in the specimen medium, immediately adjacent and perpendicular to the interface. With the same frequency as the incident light, this evanescent field extends a few hundred nanometers into the specimen. Since its intensity decays exponentially with distance, it can selectively excite fluorophores near the glass surface given that the energies of their electronic transitions match the wavelength bandwidth of the beam relative to its resonance conditions: (eq.2) where E(z) is the energy at a perpendicular distance z from the interface; E(0) is the energy at the interface; (d) is the penetration depth. The secondary fluorescence emission of the fluorophores is confined to a thin region and detected by microscope optics by the prism or objective lens method. Bowser and Khakh conducted a study to decipher the mechanisms behind astrocyte transmitter release during exocytosis by using TIRFM to image individual SpH-laden vesicles and discovered that these events were either evoked or occurred spontaneously. They used mixed hippocampal neuron-astrocyte cultures that were transfected with synaptopHluorin cDNA because this genetically encoded fluorescent SpH reporter allowed visualization of exocytosis at the single-vesicle level by exploiting changes in pH. With the objective lens adjusted to a high numerical aperture, total internal reflection was attained with a coherent laser source and the subsequent evanescent field event excited SpHs near the coverslip-sample interface. These SpH events appeared as spontaneous increases in fluorescence intensity as the loaded vesicles became brighter when they entered the evanescent field. Eventually, as the vesicles fused with the plasma membrane, the signal rapidly decreased as the fluorescently label ed contents diffused out of the cell. In agreement with the hypothesis, ionomycin (a calcium ionophore) increased its frequency during this event, which proves that these SpH events are representative of exocytosis. For further support, the investigators compared this control group with a negative control cells transfected with plasmids encoding for the light chain of botulinum toxin E. As expected, no SpH events were seen since this neurotoxin specifically cleaves proteins involved in synaptic vesicle exocytosis. 5. Gel electrophoresis is a laboratory method that uses an electric field to push a mixture of charged molecules-macromolecules or nanoparticles-through a porous (agarose or polyacrylamide) gel which serves as a separation medium. Unlike oligonucleotides, proteins and their fragments are not only separated and analyzed based on differences in size, but mostly by the magnitude of their charge. Generally, nucleic acids are sorted and visualized using agarose gel electrophoresis after being dispensed into the wells-by an operator-made during the casting of the gel. It takes advantage of DNA being negatively charged at neutral pH in the presence of ionic solutions like TAE or TBE due to its sugar-phosphate backbone. Connected to a power source, the gel is placed in an electrophoresis chamber. When an electric current is applied, they migrate from the cathode to the positively charged anode across the agarose matrix. The buffer solution serves to maintain the pH and salt concentration and contains 0.5-2.0% w/v of added agarose to successfully form a porous lattice to retard molecular motions by a sieving mechanism. Hence, shorter substrates travel faster and farther than longer ones as they can easily move through the pores, creating distinct bands based on their differential rates of migration. The gel can then be visualised with a U.V. trans-illuminator after staining the DNA with ethidium bromide. Contrarywise, capillary electrophoresis uses a fused-silica capillary tube that is filled with a polymer solution (such as hydroxyethylcellulose) instead of the traditional physical gel. It is essentially electrophoresis being conducted in a capillary tube, which also accomplishes size separation by inserting positive and negative platinum electrodes at its two ends, application of DC current and high voltage with a power supply, using buffer reservoirs for the mobile phase, and employing an on-column detector. However, the DNA samples are loaded differently by electrok inetically injecting them into the separation medium at inlet end. A positive charge is created at the outlet of the capillary to attract these negatively charged DNA via suction, which will then travel to the detector to produce a signal used to create an electropherogram. This method is the most efficient modern separation technique due to its shorter loading time and higher-resolution results, which is governed by the Van-Deemter formula where a smaller plate height indicates a higher efficiency of separation. The velocity of solute transport down the capillary tube is governed by the following equation: (eq. 2) where Veo is the electroosmotic velocity; Ve is the electrophoretic velocity; and Vtotal is the apparent ionic velocity. Specifically, the electroosmotic flow of the solution describes the nature of fluid movement and occurs due to the charge distribution at the silica/capillary interface. The negatively charged, surface bound silanol groups of the fused silica (~pKa 4) contains tightly adsorbed cations above it is the net positively charged-diffuse part of the double layer that is rich in cations. Beyond this, the bulk solution is electrically neutral. In other words, an electric double layer forms at the capillary wall. Under an electric field, the excessive solvated cations pull the water molecules during migration from the anode (inlet) towards the cathode (outlet) of the capillary, where the detector is located. This net movement of the solution front is described by the following formula: (eq. 3) where Veo is the electroosmotic velocity; ÃŽÂ ¼eo isthe electroosmotic mobility; and E is the electric field strength. Moreover, the electrophoretic mobility of the solute is based on the movement of a charged molecule under an electric field, which is proportional to its charge/solute size (q/r) ratio: (eq. 4) where Veo is the electrophoretic velocity; ÃŽÂ ¼eo isthe electrophoretic mobility; and E is the electric field strength. In the presence of electroosmotic flow, the magnitude of velocity for positive ions is greater than negative ions since they are naturally inclined to travel in the direction of the cathode rather than in reverse. References Question 1: http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/100/3/867.short http://www.karger.com/Article/Pdf/345770 http://panza.uchicago.edu/Phys.261/materials/Osmometer/ http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1476-4431.2008.00311.x/pdf http://www.geminibv.nl/labware/advanced-instruments-inc.-3300-micro-osmometer/advance-micro-osmometer-3300-users-guide.pdf/view https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3886624/ http://www.openisbn.com/preview/0471285722/%20 http://www.iupui.edu/~cletcrse/380/ch3suppos.htm https://books.google.ca/books?id=z9SzvsSCHv4Cpg=PA57lpg=PA57dq=osmometer+instrumentationsource=blots=JphQsqNWnFsig=UJ3t-Ax6d3kHyQEjdA40I5S8wx8hl=ensa=Xved=0ahUKEwjDyYqH7ZXSAhUb0IMKHSScAgcQ6AEIRjAH#v=onepageq=osmometer%20instrumentationf=false https://www.khanacademy.org/test-prep/mcat/physical-sciences-practice/physical-sciences-practice-tut/e/-using-a-freezing-point-depression-osmometer-to-measure-serum-osmolality Question 2 http://pubs.rsc.org/en/content/articlehtml/2017/ay/c6ay02899c https://www.iupac.org/publications/pac/pdf/2013/pdf/85030589.pdf http://www.horiba.com/fileadmin/uploads/Scientific/Documents/Fluorescence/Tech_Note2_-_Anisotropy.pdf http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-0-387-46312-4_10 https://www.picoquant.com/applications/category/life-science/fluorescence-anisotropy-polarization http://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/~traceslab/FLD_Anisotropy.pdf Question 3 http://aptamerstbc2013.wixsite.com/aptamers/vs-monoclonal-antibodies http://www.nature.com/nrd/journal/v9/n7/box/nrd3141_BX1.html https://www.researchgate.net/post/Why_is_the_monoclonal_antibody_used_more_than_the_aptamer http://www.basepairbio.com/research-and-publications/aptamer-applications/aptamers-antibodies/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17627883 https://www.google.ca/search?safe=strictespv=2q=advantages+of+antibodies+verus+apatmersoq=advantages+of+antibodies+verus+apatmersgs_l=serp.3..30i10k1.10392.13224.0.13547.15.15.0.0.0.0.155.1255.8j5.13.0.01c.1.64.serp..2.9.9150i22i30k1j33i160k1j33i21k1.QfKckWwb9sI http://www.nature.com/nprot/journal/v5/n6/full/nprot.2010.66.html https://www.trilinkbiotech.com/tech/selex.asp https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21720957 Question 4 http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0091679X08006079 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11733042 http://www.olympusmicro.com/primer/techniques/fluorescence/tirf/tirfhome.html http://jcs.biologists.org/content/123/21/3621.short https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2964103/ http://www.pnas.org/content/104/10/4212.full https://www.microscopyu.com/techniques/fluorescence/total-internal-reflection-fluorescence-tirf-microscopy http://www.nature.com/nprot/journal/v1/n6/full/nprot.2006.449.html Question 5 http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/emfpu/genetics/explained/electrophoresis https://www2.chemistry.msu.edu/courses

What The Dsm Attempts To Do Psychology Essay

What The Dsm Attempts To Do Psychology Essay DSM-IV is a classification of mental disorders that was developed for use in clinical, educational, and research settings. American Psychiatric Association, DSM-IV-TR, 2000 What the DSM attempts to do is have specific criteria for specific disorders, but at the same time, not have the manual be used in a cookbook fashion. Meaning that the specific diagnostic criteria in the DSM are meant to serve as guidelines concurrently with clinical judgment. As we all know, each disorder included in the DSM has a set of diagnostic criteria that signify what symptoms must be present in order to meet the criteria for a diagnosis. Conversely, there are some disorders where there are symptoms that must not be present in order for an individual to be eligible for the diagnosis. A strong point of this particular set-up of the DSM manual makes finding the disorder and its diagnostic criteria easier because of its conciseness. The use of the DSM diagnostic criteria to diagnose has been shown to increase diagnostic reliability (Mezzich, 2002). As noted above, the DSM-IV is a manual that helps outline mental disorders. A major strength is that healthcare professionals such as physicians, psychologist, psychiatrists, and others combined their resources and knowledge to create a universal manual (Well in the US anyways) (Speigel, January 3, 2005). Also, the DSM is used for appropriate coding for billing and insurance purposes which, for most psychologists, is imperative in order to receive reimbursement for treatment. Another strength of the DSM is that it allows researchers to gather a group of patients who meet the described criteria for the disorder, try different treatments, and compare the results. For example, a percentage of patients with social phobia might be helped by placebo, and if a greater number will be helped by a psycholeptic, or psychotherapy, or whatever the treatment is in their design, then one of these treatments can be found valuable. This is important because the idea of evidence based treatment appeal s to the general public, to the field, and is just common sense. Therefore, it is known that empirical data is more useful than untested theories and endless debates that are not proven by research. One weakness that I have found is the reoccurrence of including the social effects of disorders in the criteria by which the same disorders are identified (Widiger Sankis, 2000). It has been argued that when a person meets or exceeds the criteria for a disorder, the DSM does not satisfactorily take into account the context in which a person is living, and to what degree there is a disorder of an individual versus a psychological response to their negative environment (Chodoff, 2005). Therefore, should someone who is in a very poor living situation (emotional or physical abuse, in poverty, ect) these may be the sole factor for some their symptoms, so should it still be assessed in the criteria? Sometimes, an individuals quantity of impairment is often not correlated with symptom counts, and can stem from various individual and social factors, the DSMs standard of distress or disability can often produce false positives (Spitzer R.L., Wakefield J.C., 1999). However, the reality still is that some individuals who dont meet all the symptom criteria may still experience similar suffering or dysfunction in their life. The DSM-IV is practically known as a categorical classification system. The categories are models, and a patient with a high relation to the model is said to have that disorder. The DSM-IV (2000) states, à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"there is no assumption each category of mental disorder is a completely discrete entity with absolute boundariesà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ã‚  At the same time, unique, mild, or non-criterion symptoms are not given any importance in the diagnosis (Maser, JD., Patterson, T., 2002). On the other hand, qualifiers are sometimes used when explaining the level of disorder; for example: mild, moderate or severe forms. For many the disorders, symptoms must be adequate to cause à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒâ€¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. (APA, DSM-IV-TR, 2000) It has been said that ever since the DSM was created, it has been argued that its system of classification makes indiscrete categ orical distinctions between disorders, and uses somewhat random cut-offs between normal and abnormal (Widiger Coker, 2003, p. 3). I agree that the cut-offs seem a bit arbitrary, and though it is not always voiced, my professors seem to silently have the same opinion. It has been argued that rather than using a categorical approach, a fully dimensional or continuum approach may enhanced the diagnosis people and make it more individualized. (Dalal P.K., Sivakumar T., (2009). What I feel would make the next version DSM superior comes from a suggestion by Dr. Kraemer at the American Psychiatric Association 2007 Annual Meeting, in San Diego, California. (Busko, June 14, 2007) She stated that the purpose of a diagnostic system of mental health disorders, such as the DSM, is not to say what is normal or acceptable but to describe the presentation of a person who comes to get clinical help. The point being made is when a healthcare professional uses the DSM they have to answer this question,Does the patient fit this mental disorder category? Right now, there are only 2 options: Yes or No, which makes the DSM very categorical. However, a dimensional diagnosis, would give us 3 or more potential values that can be ordered. An example, provided by Dr. Kraemer was: While I think that having more than a binary option is a good idea, I am not sure about this Absolutely Sure or Unsure categorization that is presented. Yes, the diagnostic classification should lead to a diagnosis that is reliable and valid, but it should also trust in the professionals life experiences and knowledge in determining how any one disorder is presented in an individual. At the same time, I am cautious about having a classification system that starts running into subclinical diagnosis. I feel that this would lead into everyone leaving a psychologists or psychiatrists office with a disorder. One side note I would like to add, is that as it has been presented by the APA, the DSM-5 is leaning towards making Aspergers Syndrome a combined disorder with Autism Spectrum Disorder. As a person who has a brother with Aspeger and having worked with the general Autistic community, I feel abhorred that such a thing would be considered. They are similar, but not the same thing. Especi ally when we are discussing an individuals ability to live independently and function in their community. For me, this would be like combining Schizoid personality disorder and Schizotypal personality disorder. Well, I will just stop my rambling for now. Hello Ms. XD, I hope you are doing well. After our evaluation and my consultation with my supervisor, we have determined that you have Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia. Within Panic Disorder, you can have panic attacks. A panic attack can described as an event of very intense fear or uneasiness that comes on rather quickly. People can experience Panic Disorder in different ways, but some of the symptoms are: chest pain, feeling like you are choking, a feeling like you might be dying, feeling like you may have not control of your emotions. You can also have hot flashes, chills, nausea, numbness, shortness of breath, sweating. fast heartbeat, or you may start shaking. Once again, these symptoms can start all of a sudden and usually gets more intense as time goes on, but these feelings usually peak within 10 minutes. You also have Agoraphobia along with your Panic Disorder. This means that you may have a strong fear of being in a difficult or embarrassing situation that you cannot escape from. Some people who have severe agoraphobia may not want leave home. There may be certain locations or situations that may make you concerned that you will have a panic attack. These feelings can have a big impact on your social, work, or educational life. It may make it difficult for you to be around others because you may be concerned that you will have another panic attack. Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia is one of the most common anxiety disorders. Approximately 1-2% of the general public have this disorder. Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia can start at anytime during someones life, but it usually starts in adolescence and mid 30s. It is rare to have Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia over the age of 45. So you fit the within common age range of occurrence. Also, with Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia, females are 3 times more likely than males to have it. If someone in your immediate family also has this disorder, you are 8 times more likely to get it. Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia is generally considered chronic. This means that it is not likely to go away in the near future. However, the severity can go from very low to very high while you have Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia. You may eventually stop having panic attacks, but it is common to still have the symptoms of agoraphobia. There are many reasons on how Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia happens, but there is no one direct cause. Some think there is only a genetic reason why this happens. That means that it is in your genes that were transferred on from your parents. It is also believed that panic disorder may be a learned behavioral response to stressful situations. This means that you may have learned at some point during your life that, maybe unconsciously, it was okay for you to react in a certain way and that is what has lead you to have panic attacks. It is also thought that some peoples brains are wired in a way that makes it easier and more common for them to have a panic attack. These are all possibly reasons why you have Panic Disorder with Agoraphobia, but the important thing now is to look into what the best way to treat it. There are many different options. For medications, there are a variety to choose from, but the most common medicine to use is called an SSRI. Some medicines that you have h eard of before, such as Prozac and Zoloft, are SSRIs. You have about a 60% chance of being panic attack free if you stick with your meds. However, if you dont, it is very likely that you will have more panic attacks. Another choice is using a specific kind of psychotherapy called Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT is a type of therapy that helps you focus on how you think about things and how you behave. Within CBT is something called Panic Control Treatment. This would meant that you would experience the symptoms of a panic attack in a safe environment. Along with this you would learn deep breathing and relaxation. I highly recommend that you go with this therapy. Therapy and medicine can be combined, but that is up to your physician or psychiatrist to decide. Ms. XD, I hope the best for you and please let me know you if you have an issues or concerns.

Individuals Suffering from Alcohol/Substance Abuse and Mental Illness E

Individuals Suffering from Alcohol/Substance Abuse and Mental Illness In this day in age, there are many diseases that one can contract. Sometimes a person contracts a disease because it was contagious, and others because they are genetically prone to it. Still others contract diseases and disorders in ways that are not clear to doctors and medical researchers. In recent years, alcoholism and substance abuse have been labeled as diseases because of new research findings that doctors have discovered regarding the biological and psychological factors causing someone to become an alcoholic or a substance abuser. Anyone who has a friend of family member who suffers from any form of substance abuse knows the extreme difficulty of helping the suffering individual seek help and recover. The same goes for individuals suffering from a mental illness. In the past two decades doctors have discovered that at least 50 percent of mental ill individuals in this country also suffer from either alcoholism or substance abuse. (4) Some studies indicate that this percentage translates to 7.2 million individuals between the ages of 18 and 54 are suffering from both a substance abuse problem and a mental illness. (2) These numbers are simply staggering. Many of these numbers apply to the adolescent demographic in particular, who the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) say are most prone to having a mental illness "...that may in fact lead to self-medicating with street drugs and alcohol." (1) NAMI's fact sheet on Dual Diagnosis also states that mental health professionals are discovering Dual Diagnosis in such high rates that they have come to expect that individuals with a substance abuse problem will also have a p... ...sorder by the general population, it will become easier to identify multiple problems in an individual family member or friend, and aid them in seeking treatment. Sources Ccited: 1) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), general information on Dual Diagnosis http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Child_and_Adolescent_Action_Center 2) The Dual Diagnosis Pages , Dual Diagnosis Conference Reports http://www.toad.net/~arcturus/dd/pepp2.htm 3) Kathleen Sciacca's website , leading resource on treatment methods and program sites http://users.erols.com/ksciacca/ 4) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill , Fact Sheet on Dual Diagnosis http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=54&ContentID=23049 5) About.com article on Dual Diagnosis http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/dual/a/aa981209.htm Individuals Suffering from Alcohol/Substance Abuse and Mental Illness E Individuals Suffering from Alcohol/Substance Abuse and Mental Illness In this day in age, there are many diseases that one can contract. Sometimes a person contracts a disease because it was contagious, and others because they are genetically prone to it. Still others contract diseases and disorders in ways that are not clear to doctors and medical researchers. In recent years, alcoholism and substance abuse have been labeled as diseases because of new research findings that doctors have discovered regarding the biological and psychological factors causing someone to become an alcoholic or a substance abuser. Anyone who has a friend of family member who suffers from any form of substance abuse knows the extreme difficulty of helping the suffering individual seek help and recover. The same goes for individuals suffering from a mental illness. In the past two decades doctors have discovered that at least 50 percent of mental ill individuals in this country also suffer from either alcoholism or substance abuse. (4) Some studies indicate that this percentage translates to 7.2 million individuals between the ages of 18 and 54 are suffering from both a substance abuse problem and a mental illness. (2) These numbers are simply staggering. Many of these numbers apply to the adolescent demographic in particular, who the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI) say are most prone to having a mental illness "...that may in fact lead to self-medicating with street drugs and alcohol." (1) NAMI's fact sheet on Dual Diagnosis also states that mental health professionals are discovering Dual Diagnosis in such high rates that they have come to expect that individuals with a substance abuse problem will also have a p... ...sorder by the general population, it will become easier to identify multiple problems in an individual family member or friend, and aid them in seeking treatment. Sources Ccited: 1) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill (NAMI), general information on Dual Diagnosis http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=Child_and_Adolescent_Action_Center 2) The Dual Diagnosis Pages , Dual Diagnosis Conference Reports http://www.toad.net/~arcturus/dd/pepp2.htm 3) Kathleen Sciacca's website , leading resource on treatment methods and program sites http://users.erols.com/ksciacca/ 4) National Alliance for the Mentally Ill , Fact Sheet on Dual Diagnosis http://www.nami.org/Template.cfm?Section=By_Illness&Template=/TaggedPage/TaggedPageDisplay.cfm&TPLID=54&ContentID=23049 5) About.com article on Dual Diagnosis http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/dual/a/aa981209.htm

The Monkeys Paw :: essays research papers

The Monkey's Paw By (author) W.W.Jacobs   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The mystery of the Monkey's Paw is a cleverly thought out short story. This story had three main parts. These parts were the first wish, the second wish, and the third wish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first wish was the only tragic wish that was granted. Mr.White, his son Herbert, and an old man were sitting around playing chess. There was a knock at the door and Mr. White answered it to let the man in. His name was Sergeant-Major Morris. He sat down in the seat nearest the fire, and after several glasses of whiskey he began to talk. He talked about some of his war experiences, and then of India.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  His last story was about a magical mummified monkey's paw. The sergeant-major tells the family that the old dried out monkey's paw has a spell put on it by an old fakir. The story continues and then Mr.White and the sergeant-major trade. Later Mr. White wishes for 200 pounds. A man comes and visits the Whites telling them that their son Herbert had been killed, and then he gibes them 200 pounds. The consequence of Mr. Whites first wish is the main reason he uses a second and third wish.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Mr. White did not want to use a second wish but his wife insisted that they wish their son back to life. Mr. White wishes his son back to life, but nothing happens so they go to sleep. They are sleeping when they hear a knocking sound at their front door. Mrs. White goes downstairs to answer the door even though Mr. White told her not to answer the door. Mrs. White approached the door while Mr. White looked for the monkey's paw.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  At the very moment Mr. White unlocked the door Mr. White found the monkey's paw and made his third and final wish. Just as he made his wish the knocking stopped, and his wife opened the door. What was the last wish? The author never really says, but one can assume that he wished he had never made

Christos Fabricated Fun-world :: Essays Papers

Christo's Fabricated Fun-world. Imagine the coast of Little Bay in Sydney, The Pont Neuf in Paris and the foyer of the Art Gallery of NSW, wrapped mercilessly in hundreds and thousands of metres of fabric. They are all the works of the controversial Christo, known to be the world's greatest big-scale artists in history. One of his most recent works, Surrounded Islands, was a contentious issue around the world. The astonishing 603,850 square metres of brightly coloured pink fabric surrounded eleven of the islands of Biscayne Bay. In the two weeks that the amazing installation was exposed, it attracted numerous visitors enjoying the wonderfully luminous fabric that complemented the tropical waters and wildlife. Though constructing this massive work of art was not easy. Hundreds of volunteers were needed to help tend to the floating fabric and 79 patterns were painstakingly stitched together to complete the silhouettes of eleven islands. The bright pink fabric gave a stark contrast to the deeps dark sea and looked as if they were large floating inflatable pool toys. Aerial views of the islands were breath taking as the fabric highlighted the curvy contours of the islands which would not have been nearly as obvious without the magic touch of Christo. The work of the pink fabric gave the islands an almost angelic aura around them. The beautiful pink is wonderfully feminine which can also represent the reason the way the shapes of the islands were portrayed: curvy and feminine. Surrounded Islands is Christo's first attempt in doing a floating fabric art work. Many of his other art works were wrapped around objects, buildings or structures that had significance. He guides the audience into considering the area in a whole new light. That is, compelling the viewers to notice the area more not just when it is wrapped, but even more importantly when it is unwrapped. With Surrounded Islands, Christo truly and utterly pushes the boundaries of traditional and contemporary art forms. His art works have no hidden meaning. He is not depicting the dark and crusty

Market Structures: Tesco

This task for Business environment is split in two parts. For Part 1 I will be describing the 4 different market structures that economist usually talk about are perfect competition, monopolistic competition, oligopoly and monopoly. Using the 4 market structures I will illustrate using real life case studies and examples how a selected business of my choice has behaved/responded to its market structure and finally describe how the OFT and other regulatory bodies check against anti – competitive behaviours. In the second part of the assignment I will describe the value of international and EU markets to UK firms. My description will include an evaluation of the pros and cons of UK joining the Euro along with that I will describe the impact of 2 EU policies on UK businesses. The business that I have chosen for this assignment is Tesco; this is because Tesco is a multibillion pound international business. Different types of market structures Market structures are the business orientated characteristics of a market; all businesses must focus on these characteristics of the market because these have an effect on the degree of competition in the industry and influence the business product or service pricing decisions. Perfect competition: In a perfect competition there are few entry and exit barriers, in this type of competition the companies target the mass audience and they differentiate their product with minor changes in the product attributes (Homogenous). Homogenous products are identical products or business e.g. aviation all airlines prove one service which is to get their customers from one location to their destination and most customers have no preference or specific type of airline that they want to travel with, most customers will just look for the cheapest airline. In such type of competition most of the companies use Push strategy, i.e. huge efforts will be done through their sales team, the main focus is the product availability. In this type of competition the companies are forced to follow the competitive pricing strategy in order to survive in the industry, i.e. the buyers have the power to influence the price of the product or services. Examples of a perfect competition to its closest definition are in the financial market like stock exchange, currency exchange market and the bonds/certificates market. As the companies are bound to follow market prices the only way the company can have advantage over its competitors is by reducing its operating costs and working at optimum level of efficiency . Monopolistic competition: Under monopolistic competition, the market consists of many buyers and sellers who trade over a range of prices rather than a single market price. A range of prices occurs because sellers can differentiate their offers to buyers. Either the physical products can be varied in quality, features, style or the accompanying services can be varied. Buyers see different in sellers, products and will pay different prices for them. Sellers try to develop differentiate offers for different customer segments and, in addition to price, freely use branding advertising and personal selling to set their offers apart. In this sort of environment the businesses and trades people have somewhat control over their prices because of the products differentiations. Most common examples of monopolistic competitions are: restaurants as in the right area and right type of food they can have their own small portion of monopoly, professional solicitors, building and project managing firms and finally plumbers as there are less of them and more required. Oligopoly: In this type of competition the industry has a small numbers of large dominant firms that have a firm control over the market. In oligopoly there are many entry and exit barriers such as huge investments etc. In this type of industry firms usually follows pull strategy and make huge efforts in marketing and advertising to attract its target customers, the products in the industry could be highly differentiated or even be similar but hard of getting a hold and this is why businesses use branding or homogenous. Due to the low degree of competition theses big giants can decide on their own price which is most suitable for its target audience and these prices will be non-competition prices however there could be potential for collusion and price fixing so that each dominant business can enjoy their market share and have profits accordingly i.e. their profits margin will vary but still always high. Example of oligopolistic business industries are: supermarkets such as Tesco which alone owns 30.4% which is nearly 1/3 of the UK supermarket retail share market share, banking industry, chemicals industry, oil and energy industry, medical drugs and also the news and media broadcasting industry. http://www.retail-week.com/data/kantar-worldpanel/tesco-market-share-up-as-it-piles-pressure-on-asda/5010942.article (Tesco market share) Monopoly: A monopoly has high barriers to entry and firms have strong controls over their prices and they also control the supply of their product which can increase demand of popular products, because a firm with a monopoly has majority of the market share it can decide to have low prices in order to destroy their competitors. A good and most current example of a monopoly is the Apple Company which has created the iPhone, because of the degree of the monopoly there is a high possibility of price discrimination where the customers and the consumers have their choices limited to what is available in the market. There are three different types of monopolies listed as below: Pure monopoly in where the firm is the industry, for example Transport for London, the firm which owns all buses and underground tubes in and around London, this is where consumers have no or very limited choice. Actual monopoly is where the firm has somewhat majority of the market share in the industry, in this case Tesco is the most famous example, Tesco owns over 30.4% of the market share and is the leader in supermarket industry. Natural monopoly is where there are high fixed costs for example the energy industry like gas and electricity as well as water, telecommunications and the transportation industry like underground and rail. The disadvantages of a monopoly is that customer are exploited to high prices and potential supplies have limited choice for demand and this means that the consumers have less choice and again might have to pay higher prices than normal or the monopoly can even use very low price to push their competitors towards administration or bankruptcy. (http://66.102.9.132/search?q=cache:qGV5KxXiB80J:www.bized.co.uk/educators/16-19/economics/firms/presentation/structure.ppt+market+structures&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=uk) What is Tesco's market structure? Tesco's market structure described by the media is believed to be a monopoly, Tesco has also been through the legal proceedings to prove their innocence, Tesco has accused of being manipulative and gaining monopoly by building stores across towns and cities through the country and Europe but realistically Tesco is an oligopoly, although Tesco is the dominant supermarket it has fairly large competitors who also partly control the market. Tesco accused of ‘Manipulative Monopoly' (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23658062-tesco-accused-of-manipulative-monopoly.do) â€Å"A ‘competition test' to curb the power of the supermarkets was unveiled by the Competition Commission last year as part of a planning shake-up designed to boost competition in the multi-billion pound grocery market. But the tribunal agreed with Tesco that the commission did not fully take account of the fact that the test, relating to planning decisions for larger stores, might have â€Å"adverse effects for consumers†, among other matters.† (http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23658062-tesco-accused-of-manipulative-monopoly.do) How has Tesco responded to this structure? Monopoly Vs Oligopoly Tesco has over 4,000 stores across the world and out of those 4,000 Tesco has more than half of them in the UK around 2362 stores and this does not include all the Tesco metro and express stores. (http://www.tescoplc.com/plc/about_us/map/) Tesco themselves say that it is an oligopoly, this is because Tesco is not the only supermarket in the UK, Tesco is the dominant shareholder but cannot be called a monopoly as there are many other firms which are in competition with Tesco e.g. Sainsbury which owns 16.3% of the UK supermarket shares and Morrisons which owns 11.5%, this means the entry barriers to entry are very high because the industry is dominated by small number of large firms which control and own that share market. OFT (Office of Fair Trading) The ‘Office of Fair Trading' is the UK's consumer and competition authority and their mission is to make markets work well for consumers. OFT is a non-ministerial government regulator that was established by government in 1973. Another organisation that does similar commerce to what Office of Fair Trading do, Ofcom is an independent regulator and competition authority, for the UK communications industries, with responsibilities across television, radio, telecommunications and wireless communications services. Competition regulators are important in business and are required to ensure equality and a fair deal for all, How does OFT checks anti-competition? OFT plays a leading role in promoting and protecting consumer interests throughout the UK, while ensuring that businesses are fair and competitive. This work is done using the powers granted to the OFT under consumer and competition legislation. OFT gathers intelligence about markets and trader behaviour from a wide range of sources and then they respond to complaints about markets from nominated consumer bodies, where the OFT is able to see potential problems, the OFT undertakes market studies and recommends to take action respectively. In a recent investigation by the OFT has reviled that British Airways has been found guilty over the price of ‘long-haul passenger fuel surcharges' and has paid a penalty of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½121.5m to be imposed by the OFT, therefore enabling the OFT to close its civil investigation and resolve this case. This penalty to the British Airways has been the highest ever imposed by the OFT for violation of competition law and this demonstrates the determination of the OFT to deal strongly with anti-competitive behaviour. In another case, The Royal Bank of Scotland or RBS has also paid a fine of à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½28.59 million about 2 months ago in March 2010, after admitting breaches of competition law between October 2007 and February or March 2008, the fine for the bank was reduced from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½33.6 million to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½28.59 million and this was done to reflect RBS's admission and agreement to co-operate. The OFT has a 5 step method of keeping a good eye on business and other organisations these 5 steps start with Analysis, Prioritisation, Prevention, Partnership and Evaluation, the details of all the steps are on their website under ‘What we do'. (http://www.oft.gov.uk/ about/what/#named2) How do other supervising bodies monitor anti-competition? As the OFT only supervises what happens in the United Kingdom, there is the European Union which is active in a wide range of policy areas, from human rights to transport and trade, the European Union monitors all of the 27 countries that are part of the union, using similar techniques as the OFT but on a much larger scale, the policy to monitor and control competition is said as â€Å"A fair deal for all† and this policy is described as: â€Å"Effective competition to provide goods and services cuts prices, raises quality and expands customer choice. Competition allows technological innovation to flourish. The European Commission has wide powers to make sure businesses and governments stick to EU rules on fair competition. But in applying these rules, it can take account of the interests of innovation, unified standards, or small business development.† (http://europa.eu/pol/comp/index_en.htm) United Kingdom supermarket share Following are the 4 leading supermarket chains in the United Kingdom Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, these fantastic four have a combined share of 75.6 percent of the UK grocery market accord to the research done in the 12 weeks ending 1 November 2009 (Source: Kantar World pane) http://TNS_Worldpanel What is European Union? (http://europa.eu/abc/panorama/index_en.htm) European Union is a unique economic and political society which is in partnership between 27 democratic European countries. What are its aims? Some of the basic aims of the European Union are peace, prosperity and freedom for its 498 million citizens in a fairer, safer world. What results so far? Under the European Union the members can travel and trade freely without any constraints as long as the members are trading in euro (the single European currency). European Union policies ensure safer food and a greener environment, better living standards in poorer regions, joint action on crime and terror, cheaper telecoms and communication, millions of opportunities to study abroad and more How does it work? To make these things happen, EU countries have set up bodies to run the European Union and adopt its legislation. The main ones are: * The European Parliament (representing the people of Europe) * The Council of the European Union (representing national governments) * The European Commission (representing the common EU interest). How can the members have their say? The European Union is not a perfect society but it is an evolving project and constantly has to be improved. If a community or even an individual has an important point to show to the union they must do some of the following starting with: * Contacting their local MP – European Union policies are part of national politics. * Contacting their MEP and cast vote at the European Parliament elections the European Parliament enacts EU laws: (www.europarl.europa.eu) * Contacting their NGOs (consumer associations, environmental pressure groups, etc.) they work with the EU on shaping policies. The EU has developed a single market system of laws which apply to all member states, and ensures the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital, including the elimination of passport controls by the Schengen Agreement between 26 European Union states which I have listed below. European Union executes legislations in justice and home affairs, and maintains common policies on trade, agriculture, fisheries and regional development. Austria, Belgium, Czech, Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland. (http://www.axa-schengen.com/en/schengen-countries) Value of International markets to UK Non EU Exports * In June 2010 the total value of UK's trade-in-goods exported to countries outside the EU was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10.9 billion. * As a comparison the total value of UK's trade-in-goods exported to countries outside the EU in May 2010 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½9.4 billion and for June 2009 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8.2 billion. * June 2010 showed a 15.5 per cent increase in exports compared to May 2010 and a 33.0 per cent increase in exports compared to June 2009. * The total 2010 year to date value of UK's trade-in-goods exported excluding June 2010 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½45.5 billion, which has been downwardly revised by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½6.9 million. * The final total value of UK's trade-in-goods exported for January 2009 to December 2009 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½101.5 billion. Non EU Imports * In June 2010 the total value of trade-in-goods imported to the UK from countries outside the EU was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½15.4 billion. * As a comparison the total value of UK's trade-in-goods imported to the UK from countries outside the EU in May 2010 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½14.0 billion and for June 2009 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12.0 billion. * June 2010 showed a 9.6 per cent increase in imports compared to May 2010 and a 28.4 per cent increase compared to June 2009. * The total 2010 year to date value of UK's trade-in-goods imported excluding June 2010 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½67.5 billion. * The final total value of UK's trade-in-goods imported for January 2009 to December 2009 remains at à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½147.3 billion. (https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=noneufullreport) It can be concluded that UK has less exports to the non EU zone compared to the European market, in June 2010 total value of goods exported to Europe was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½11.3Billion compared to the total value of goods exported to the international market which was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10.9Billion. International business traffic is an important feature of the UK economy's survival; almost 50% of UK's export is in the Non European Union zone, there fore international market has a vital role to play in UK's economy. The imports of UK data shows that the import from the non European Union zone is increasing i.e. from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½14.0 billion to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½15.4 billion, hence the UK economy is dependent on the import of essential raw and prepared materials; today the service sector is more and more important to the UK economy as a result of the weakening of the manufacturing sector now imports are crucial and that is why using the international market the UK economy is on the growth as the export data depicts that UK's export is increasing from à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½8.2 billion to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½10.9 billion. Value of European markets to UK EU Exports * In May 2010 the total value of UK's trade-in-goods exported to Member States of the EU was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½11.3 billion. * As a comparison the total value of UK's trade-in-goods exported to Member States of the EU in April 2010 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½11.6 billion and for May 2009 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½9.3 billion. * May 2010 showed a 2.9 per cent decrease in exports compared to April 2010 and a 21.3 per cent increase in exports compared to May 2009. * The total value of UK's trade-in-goods exported for January 2009 to December 2009 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½124.2 billion, which has been upwardly revised by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½48.5 million. * The total 2010 year to date value of UK's trade-in-goods exported excluding May was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½46.2 billion, which has been upwardly revised by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½273.6 million. EU Imports * In May 2010 the total value of trade-in-goods imported to the UK from Member States of the EU was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½14.7 billion. * As a comparison the total value of UK's trade-in-goods imported to the UK from Member States of the EU in April 2010 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½15.3 billion and for May 2009 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½12.2 billion. * May 2010 showed a 4.2 per cent decrease in imports compared to April 2010 and a 20.8 per cent increase in imports compared to May 2009. * The total value of UK's trade-in-goods imported for January 2009 to December 2009 was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½162.7 billion, which has been upwardly revised by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½238.0 million. * The total 2010 year to date value of UK's trade-in-goods imported excluding May was à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½59.2 billion, which has been upwardly revised by à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½96.7 million. (https://www.uktradeinfo.com/index.cfm?task=euearlypub) The single market benefits the firms, by making it easier & cheaper to do business in other EU countries. No customs tax is charged on goods that are sold or transported between member states. The EU also tries to make each market as similar as possible to ensure fair competition across national borders. Free Movement of Citizens: European citizens have the freedom to live, work, study, and travel in any other EU country. Since 1995 alone, about 100,000 young Britons have spent time studying in another European country. More Jobs: It is estimated the 3.5 million British jobs are dependent on* Britain's membership of the EU. (Source: UK Jobs Dependent) UK joining the Euro (Pros & Cons) Below I have listed the advantages and disadvantages which were discussed by the chancellor Gordon Brown at the times of between 1999 and the year 2002 when the waves of countries in Europe joined the European Union and the currency: Advantages: 1. A single currency should end currency instability in the participating countries (by irrevocably fixing exchange rates) and reduce it outside them. Because the Euro would have the enhanced credibility of being used in a large currency zone, it would be more stable against speculation than individual currencies are now. An end to internal currency instability and a reduction of external currency instability would enable exporters to project future markets with greater certainty. This will unleash a greater potential for growth. 2. Consumers would not have to change money when travelling and would encounter less red tape when transferring large sums of money across borders. It was estimated that a traveller visiting all twelve member states of the (then) EC would lose 40% of the value of his money in transaction charges alone. Once in a lifetime a family might make one large purchase or transaction across a European border such as buying a holiday home or a piece of furniture. A single currency would help that transaction pass smoothly. 3. Likewise, businesses would no longer have to pay hedging costs which they do today in order to insure themselves against the threat of currency fluctuations. Businesses, involved in commercial transactions in different member states, would no longer have to face administrative costs of accounting for the changes of currencies, plus the time involved. It is estimated that the currency cost of exports to small companies is 10 times the cost to the multi-nationals, who offset sales against purchases and can command the best rates. 4. A single currency should result in lower interest rates as all European countries would be locking into German monetary credibility. The stability pact (the main points of which were agreed at the Dublin summit of European heads of state or government in December 1996) will force EU countries into a system of fiscal responsibility which will enhance the Euro's international credibility. This should lead to more investment, more jobs and lower mortgages. Disadvantages: 1. Twenty seven separate countries with widely differing economic performances and different languages have never before attempted to form a monetary union. It works in the United States because the labour market is mobile, helped by the common language and portability of pensions etc. across a large geographical area. Language in Europe is a huge barrier to labour force mobility. This may lead to pockets of deeply depressed areas in which people cannot find work and areas where the economy flourishes and wages increase. While the cohesion funds attempt to address this, there are still great differences across the EU in economic performance. 2. If governments were obliged through a stability pact to keep to the Maastricht criteria for perpetuity, no matter what their individual economic circumstances dictate, some countries may find that they are unable to combat recession by loosening their fiscal stance. They would be unable to devalue to boost exports, to borrow more to boost job creation or cut taxes when they see fit because of the public deficit criterion. In the United States, Texas could not avoid a recession in the wake of the 1986 oil price fall, whereas demand for Sterling changed in the light of the new oil price, adjusting the exchange rate downwards. 3. All the EU countries have different cycles or are at different stages in their cycles. The UK is growing reasonably well, Germany is having problems. This is the reverse of the position in 1990. Since the war the UK economy has tended to have an economic cycle closer to the US than the EU. It has changed because interest rates are set in each country at the appropriate level for it. One central bank cannot set inflation at the appropriate level for each member state. 4. Loss of national sovereignty is the most often mentioned disadvantage of monetary union. The transfer of money and fiscal competencies from national to community level would mean economically strong and stable countries would have to co-operate in the field of economic policy with other, weaker, countries, which are more tolerant to higher inflation. (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/single_currency/25081.stm) One of the few reasons that the United Kingdom did not want to join the single European currency with the first wave of countries on 1 January 1999 is that according to the chancellor of the Exchequer at that time in 1999 who was Gordon Brown our current prime minister said that, â€Å"although the government supported the principle of the single currency Britain would not be ready to join at least until the second wave of countries† which occurred in 2002 and during that time he told the European Union that the country should begin to prepare for monetary union but up till now there have been no indications of the United Kingdom joining the European Union currency, Euros. From my understanding there are many possible reasons that the government should consider while joining Euro, joining Euro would reduced exchange rate uncertainty for UK businesses and lower exchange rate transactions costs for both businesses and tourists. Eliminating exchange rates between European countries eliminates the risks of unforeseen exchange rate revaluations or devaluation, further those businesses who involved in commercial transactions in different member states would no longer have to face administrative costs of accounting for the changes of currencies. The loss of national sovereignty is the most often mentioned reason for the UK not joining the monetary union is the transfer of money and financial proficiency from national to community level would mean that economically strong and stable countries would have to co-operate in the field of economic policy with other weaker countries. European policies The European Union is currently active in a wide variety of policies from ‘human rights' to ‘transport and trade'; below is the list of some of the policy areas of the European Union. Agriculture Media Competition Consumers Education Employment Environment External trade Fight against fraud Human rights Taxation Transport Justice, freedom Internal market Customs (http://europa.eu/pol/index_en.htm) Impact of European Union's Competition policy on Tesco Competition policy: A fair deal for all Effective competition provides goods and services cuts prices, raises quality and expands customer choice, allows technological innovation. The European Commission has wide powers to make sure businesses and governments stick to EU rules on fair competition. Competition must be fair It is illegal under EU rules for businesses to fix prices or carve up markets between them. A multinational company like Tesco cannot merge with another giant if that would put them in a position to control the market, though practice this rule only prevents a small numbers of mergers going ahead. If Tesco plans to merge with its competitor, Tesco needs approval from the European Commission, the EUC (European Union Commission) marks their decision depending on the amount of business that Tesco has within the European boundaries. The Commission may agree to a company having a monopoly in special circumstances – for example where costly infrastructure is involved (‘natural monopolies') or where it is important to guarantee a public service. The large may not exploit the small In doing business with smaller firms, Tesco cannot use their bargaining power to impose conditions which would make it difficult for their supplier or customer to do business with its competitors. The Commission can, does and has fined companies for all these practices. No props for lame ducks The Commission also monitors closely how much assistance EU governments make available to business (‘state aid'). This aid can take many forms – loans and grants, tax breaks, goods and services provided at preferential rates, or government guarantees which enhance the credit rating of a company compared to its competitors but in this case this does not apply to Tesco till today as Tesco is already on top of its game. Exceptions that prove the rule Some exceptions to the general rules are possible. The European Union Commission can allow companies like Asda and Morisons to cooperate in developing a single technical standard for the market as a whole. It can allow smaller companies to cooperate if this strengthens their ability to compete with larger ones such as Sainsburys and Tesco. Aid for research and innovation, regional development or small and medium-sized enterprises is often allowable because these serve overall EU goals. Checks and balances The Commission's extensive powers to investigate and halt violations of European Union competition rules are subject to legal review by the European Court of Justice. Businesses regularly have to make appeals against Commission decisions if it seems like a unfair deal. The competition policy stops the Tesco from growing further from their potential market share, something which Tesco has known to be done in the recent years. Effective competition provides goods and services, automatically raises quality and customer choices increase with competition. The policy also allows technological innovation and the European Commission makes sure that these innovations are in the European Unions fair competition policy. Environment: The European Union has some of the highest environment standards in the world, developed over decades to address a wide range of issues. Today the main priorities are combating climate change, preserving biodiversity, and reducing health problems from pollution and marking sure that natural resources are being used more responsibly. Climate change Climate change is one of the gravest challenges facing humanity. The European Union plans to reduce greenhouse gases at least 20% by 2020 (compared with 1990 levels), raise in renewable energy's share of the market to 20% and cut overall energy consumption by 20% (compared with projected trends). All businesses like Tesco's are directly affected by this policy as this aims to cut energy consumption and greenhouse gasses by 20%, meaning Tesco will have to recycle more, reuse materials more and reduce wastage and use of non-biodegradable equipment which will have a small dent on their profit. Emissions trading European Union's rewards businesses and organisations, which reduce their CO2 emissions and penalises those that exceed limits. Introduced in 2005, the scheme takes in about 12,000 factories and plants responsible for about half the EU's emissions of CO2. Under the system, European Union governments set limits on the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by energy-intensive industries and if they want to emit more CO2 than their quota, they have to buy spare permits but most supermarkets stores do not manufacture and this means that they will have to use eco friendly methods of business and equipment. Tesco has already proven that they are committed towards being eco-friendly, â€Å"Tesco Plc, the world's No.4 retailer, plans to spend over 100 million pounds with British green technology companies over the coming year as it steps up its drive to halve carbon emissions by 2020.† (http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE61203720100203) Environmental health Noise, swimming water, rare species and emergency response -these are just some of the areas covered under the extensive body of environmental legislation that the EU has established over the decades. EU has set binding limits on emissions of fine particles known as PM2.5. Released by cars and trucks, these microscopic particles can cause respiratory diseases. Under the new law, EU countries will have to reduce exposure to fine particles in urban areas by an average 20% by 2020. In 2007 Tesco received the Top online green award for their zero-emission delivery vans. Sustainable development Sustainable development has long been one of the overarching objectives of EU policy. EU leaders launched the first EU sustainable development strategy in 2001 and updated it in 2006 to tackle shortcomings and take account of new challenges. Since then there have been significant efforts in terms of policy. Now the focus is on putting policy into practice in to UK's market. As Tesco manly sells general groceries they are affected by the European Union's environment policy, in a way that it has to source materials from the suppliers who obey and follow the European Union's environment policy, this means that Tesco has limited span of potential suppliers.