Impact of Exposing Personal Data Research Proposal

Impact of Exposing Personal Data - Research Proposal Example Customers provide information online due to many reasons, but most importantly, they provide information mostly on the website. Due to the lack of technology and measures of customer personal privacy, online businesses fail to protect their database by security breaches conducted by hackers or cybercriminals. The data including all the personal information of the customer is breached resulting in exposure of thousands of authentic customer personal information and financial status. In order to conduct a security breach on the web server, cybercriminals use the Internet, as a carrier along with intelligent codes that are purposefully constructed to extract confidential information, the most favorable point of attack is the web server. The information that is provided online by the users is gathered in a database that is connected to the web server. Hackers and cyber criminals deploy various methods to attack web servers in order to extract information that is stored in the database. D ue to this reason, business suffers severe losses from data theft issues as in 2009 investigators related to data breach reported from Verizon business that crooks nabbed 285 million records. (Larkin 2009) Peter Tippett, who is the author of the report and vice president of innovation and technology with Verizon Business, says that the report includes all the IP addresses associated with the account that is used in the thefts, and criminals are identified only because of in-depth investigations by collaborative support of law enforcement agencies including FBI and Scotland Yard,. From this particular report, 90 security breaches were studied out of which 68 were reversed for further investigation to a specific IP address and location. The conclusions highlighted Eastern Europe as a common source followed by East Asia and North America (Larkin 2009). 1.1 Social Networking Sites Moreover, social network sites are another domain that is of prime concerned, in the context of exposing pe rsonal privacy. People are spending an enormous amount of time on these websites, and are becoming habitual of online communication, which portrays a negative impact on face-to-face communication. The teenagers are not aware that the information and published material including pictures can be retrieved even after deletion from the social networking site. By oversharing, personal information may attract cybercriminals, burglars and even employers who can evaluate values of a person by reviewing comments on the site that may compromise the individual to lose his job. There is no credibility of the user authentication of what they are claiming to be on social networking sites. Users trust textual communication from these social networking sites more than emails. The security of these websites can be compromised anytime and can publish communication or personal pictures on the web if breached.  

Should the government have a say on what we eat Research Paper

Should the government have a say on what we eat - Research Paper Example Indeed, this happens to be a very divisive question. There are health experts who support a direct state intervention in the dietary choices made by the people. Yet, there are also groups and bodies who believe that government should have no say in what people eat. Pragmatically speaking, government should not have any say at all in what people eat because government has no right to interfere in the decisions people make, and if government really wants to help people eat healthy, it can do say without opting for a direct intervention. Government should not have any say in the food people eat because government has not right to interfere in expression of the free will of the people (Caplan 175). In any thriving democracy, too much government interference in lives of the people is not good. This trend if allowed to gain grounds could certainly lead to a diminishing of the rights of the people (Caplan 175). The government should not have any right to dictate as to what the tax payers or ordinary citizens should eat. People do have the wisdom and the maturity to decide as to what they and their families need to eat. Diet of people happens to be a social issue and not a legal issue. One of the primary roles of the government is to make new laws. Hence, government does not need to pose interference in an issue that happens to be more of a social problem and not a legal issue. Besides, the purpose of any effective government is not to define the lives of the people, but to assure that people are able to live their lives the way they want to. The other thing is that if the government is allowed to have a say in what people eat, the state may surpass this power to interfere with each and every aspect of the people’s life. This is not good for democracy. There does need to be a limit as to how much the government is allowed to interfere in the lives of the people. Telling people what to

Solvothermal Preparation of CaTiO3 Prism and CaTi2O4(OH)2

Solvothermal Preparation of CaTiO3 Prism and CaTi2O4(OH)2 Solvothermal preparation of CaTiO3 prism and CaTi2O4(OH)2 nanosheet by a facile surfactantfree method Weixia Dong, Gaoling Zhao, Bao Qifu, Gu Xingyong, Gaorong Han Abstract: Calcium titanate (CaTiO3) with prism-like-shaped morphology were synthesized by a simple solvorthermal process without any surfactants. It is found that NaOH concentration plays an important role in the formation of CaTiO3 prisms. A rational mechanism is proposed to illustrate the growth of CaTiO3 prisms. And the CaTi2O4(OH)2 interlaminar structure is illustrated. Keywords: solvorthermal preparation, surfactant-free, CaTiO3 prism, CaTi2O4(OH)2 interlaminar structure Introduction Due to its widespread potential applications in a lot fields, calcium titanium oxides have been considered as one of the most important inorganic materials. The most classic model for shape control is the Wulff facets argument or Gibbs-Curie-Wulff theorem, which suggests that the shape of a crystal depends on the relative specific surface energy of each face or facet of the crystal 1. However, our experiment results show that this pure thermodynamic can not explain well. It can be the concentration of existing monomers by tuning NaOH concentration plays a key role for the evolution of the shapes and phases of the calcium titanium oxide crystals 2. If the pH values can be well-controlled, the growth of crystals with different morphologies should be possible. As a result, the concentration of the remaining monomers after the nucleation process is dependent on the number of nuclei formed. To maintain the correct pH of the solvorthermal system, it is necessary to use alkaline or acidity mineralizers (i.e. pH adjusting agents). NaOH or HNO3 are most convenient for this purpose. However, intermediates are often observed during the preparation of CaTiO3. The presence of this impurity phase significantly affects the material’s properties and, thus, it should be avoided. Therefore, it is worthwhile to compare NaOH concentration that are necessary to obtain phase-pure caltium oxides 3. In the present work, calcium tantium oxides was prepared by a solvorthermal method by tuning NaOH concentration. A rational mechanism is proposed to illustrate the growth of CaTiO3 prisms. And the CaTi2O4(OH)2 interlaminar structure is analysised by XRD, SEM and FT-IR . Experimental procedure Synthesis The CaTiO3 crystals were synthesized in an aqueous medium by a solvothermal route. In a typical synthesis, 0.01mol Ti(OC4H9)4 (Sigma Aldrich, 99%) were mixed with molar ratio of water/enthonal=10/10. In particular, pH value of deionized water was adjusted 1 by adding HNO3. Then added to 10 ml of a 1 M CaCl2 ·5H2O solution under vigorous stirring at room temperature. After the solution was stirred for 5 min, various NaOH concentration (0.005 M, 0.01 M, 1 M, 3 M, 5 M, 7 M) was added to adjust the pH. Subsequently, the autoclave was sealed and maintained at180  °C for 36 h, followed by natural cooling to room temperature. Afterward, the final products were centrifuged, washed with deionized water and absolute ethanol several times, and then dried at 80  °C for 15 h in air. Characterization The morphologies of the powders were investigated by field emission scanning electron microscopy (FESEM, Hitachi S-4800, Japan). The crystal phases of the products were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD, PANalytical X’Pert Pro, Holland), in a 2ÃŽ ¸ range from 100 to 800, using Cu-Ka radiation. UV–Vis absorption was measured by a TU-1901 spectrophotometer equipped with a reflectance attachment and BaSO4 was used as the reference material. Infrared spectra of the samples were obtained using a Nicolet Nexus 470 Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer in the 400-4000 cm1 region by KBr pellet. Results and discussion We have systematically investigated the system in various NaOH concentrations while keeping the other reaction conditions unchanged, as shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Fig. 1 XRD patterns of samples synthesized at different NaOH concentrations: (a) 0.005 M, (b) 0.01 M, (c) 1 M, (d) 3 M, (e) 5 M, (f) 7 M. Fig. 1 shows the XRD patterns of the samples synthesized in various NaOH concentrations. When NaOH concentrations is 0.005 M, the sample is CaTi2O5 (JCPDS card 25-1450) phase. When NaOH concentrations is 0.01 M, the sample is pure CaTi2O4(OH)2 (JCPDS card 39-0357) phase (Fig. 1(b)). When NaOH concentrations increases to 1 M, intensity of CaTi2O4(OH)2 phase increases. Further increasing NaOH concentration to 3 M, CaTi2O4(OH)2 phase disappears and CaTiO3 (JCPDS card 42-0423) appears with a little trace of Ti3O5 and Ti4O7. When NaOH concentrations is above 5 M, pure CaTiO3 is obtained and peak intenisity of CaTiO3 further increases, which indicates well crystallized. Fig. 2 FESEM images of the samples synthesized at different NaOH concentrations: (a) 0.005M, (b) 0.01M, (c) 1M, (d) 3M, (e) 5 M, (f) 7 M. When NaOH concentrations is 0.005 M, CaTi2O5 aggregated particles are obtained (Fig. 2(a)). When NaOH concentrations is 0.01 M, CaTi2O4(OH)2 porous needlelike and floating irregular clouds-like particles are obtained (Fig. 2(b)). When the NaOH concentrations are 1 M, CaTi2O4(OH)2 morpholgy is mainly composed of overlap leaves (Fig. 2(c)). When the NaOH concentrations are 3 M, nanosheets disspeared, and a lot of aggregated particles with a little trace of prisms(Fig. 2(d)). Whereas above 5 M, CaTiO3 rectangular prisms were formed (Fig. 2 (e)-(f)). On the basis of all the above observations, it is indicated that the presence of NaOH concentrtion in the solution is necessary for the formation of calcium titanium oxides. From the viewpoint of the chemical composition effect, the NaOH concentration may influence the combination of free Ca2+ and release Ti4+ ions of TiO2 in the solvothermal process [4]. Due to forming a lower amounts of active OH ions and small amounts of TiO2 soluble species in low NaOH concentration (0.005M, 0.01M), reactive Ca2+ and TiO2 causes the reaction to be controlled by the transport of TiO2 soluble species from hydroxide crystals to an interface bearing reactive Ca species. A shortage of TiO2 soluble species near Ca2+ will halt the reaction to form CaTiO3. Instead, owing to the small solubility of titanium dioxide in the acid conditions, CaTi2O5 forms. Increasing NaOH to 0.01M, the solvothermal processing accelerate the TiO2 formation and promote TiO2 to transform small amounts of Ti4+ ions [4-5], which are involved in a reaction with Ca2+à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’leading to the formation of CaTi2O4(OH)2 crystallites. However, a large amount of Ti(OH)4 was formed when NaOH concentration was increased to 1M, O-H group of TiO6 octahedron free end decreases, the probability of Ca2+ into the lattice of the increase, the formation of tetragonal CaTiO3 particles. With the increase of NaOH concentration to 5 M, i. e. in the high OH ion concentration, because of solvothermal synthesis of CaTiO3 crystal defects and grain size effect, CaTiO3 particles are formed. For the cubic phase CaTiO3, (110) and (100) surfaces can exist at the same time, gamma (110) is slightly larger than the gamma (100) crystal[3-4], which makes the tetragonal CaTiO3 nanocrystals along (110) plane and (100) surface growth, so CaTiO3 particles will give priority to the relatively low surface energy (100) surface growth, resulting in the formation of prism. Further increasing NaOH concentration, prism further Ostwald ripening, formi ng distinct edges and corners of CaTiO3 prisms [3-4]. A detailed time study is obvious for the growth process of the CaTiO3 prism in the case of 7 M NaOH. Unfortunately the experiments show the CaTiO3 prism are quickly fromed due to the fast growth rate, which prevents the direct observations of its detailed growth process. Howerver, based on the morphology evolution (Fig. 2(a)-(f)) , the growth process of CaTiO3 prism by the solvothermal process with 7 M NaOH is simply illustrated in Fig. 3. Fig. 3 Schematic representation of the growing process of CaTiO3 prism-like structures. In previous researches, our work found that CaTi2O4(OH)2 may have photocatalytic and electrochemical properties [5-6]. On view of the potential application, the structure of CaTi2O4(OH)2 is what we want. Fig. 4 shows FT-IR spectra in the range of 400-4000 cm–1 of CaTi2O4(OH)2 sample. The peaks at 3425 cm1 can be attributed to the O-H stretching. Compared with free –OH ( 3600 cm-1 )à ¯Ã‚ ¼Ã…’the absorption peak shifts to low wavelength, which is due to the coordinated water molecules via hydrogen bonding interaction to the CO32- of the interlamination [5]. The broad absorption band observed at 3200 cm-1 is originated from the presence of hydroxyl groups of water 7. The absorption peak at 1538 cm-1 attributes to H-O-H bending of the lattice water 8. The sharp absorption peak at 1357 cm-1 attributes to C-O-C bending of carbonate ion. A band centered at 750 cm-1, which is attributed to isolated tetrahedron TiO4 stretching vibration. The absorption bands below 500 cm-1, i . e. bands centered at 495 and 425 cm-1 can be ascribed to Ca-Ti-O bending vibrations 8. From XRD and FT-IR results, the interlamination contains CO32-, H2O, isolated tetrahedron TiO4 and –OH ions, Fig. 5 shows diagrammatic sketch of CaTi2O4(OH) 2 sample. Fig. 4 FT-IR spectra in the range of 400-4000 cm–1 of CaTi2O4(OH)2 sample. Fig. 5 Diagrammatic sketch of CaTi2O4(OH)2 sample. Conclusion In summary, we report here a simple solvothermal process for the formation of pure calcium tantium oxides without any surfactants. It is also found that the appropriate concentration of NaOH is vital for the formation of CaTiO3 prism. A possible mechanism has been proposed to explain the formation of CaTiO3 prism. And the CaTi2O4(OH) 2 interlaminar structure is illustrated. Acknowledgement The present work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation (Grant No. 51262014 and 51172201). References H. Hosono, Y. Mishima, H. Takezoe and K. J. D. MacKenzie. ‘Nanomaterials: From Research to Applications’ Elsevier Ltd., Oxford, 2006, pp. 206 W. Dong, B. Song, G. Zhao and G. Han. ‘Effects of pH on morphosynthesis and properties of calcium titanium oxides via a facile aqueous strategy’, Mater. Res. Bull., 2013,11, 4633-4640 Y. J. Huang, H. T. Chiu, C.Y. Lee, Growth of CaTiO3 dendrites and rectangular prisms through a wet chemical method, CrystEngComm, 11 (2009)1904–1909. W. Dong, G. Zhao, B. Song, G. Xu, J. Zhou and G. Han. ‘Surfactant-free fabrication of CaTiO3 butterfly-like dendrite via a simple one-step solvothermal route’, CrystEngComm, 2012, 14, 6990 6997. W. Dong, B. Song, G. Zhao, and G. Han. ‘Controllable synthesis of CaTi2O4(OH) 2 nanoflakes by a facile template-free process and its properties’, Ceram. Int., 2013, 39, 6795-6803. W. Dong, B. Song, G. Zhao, and G. Han. ‘Synthesis and Characterization of CaTi2O4(OH) 2 Nanosheets for Lithium-Ion Battery’. INT. J. ELECTR. SCI., 2013, 8, 4551-4559 G. M. Duffy, S. C. Pillai and D. E. McCormack, J. Mater. Chem. 2007, 17, 181-184. K. Nakamoto. ‘Infrared and Raman Spectra of Inorganic and Coordination Compounds’, Fifth edn, Wiley, Toronto, 1997, pp.67-78.

Splice: The Movie Essay -- Film Review GMOs

Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are the central subject of the movie Splice. A couple of brilliant but rebellious scientists combine genes from different plant and animal species to create a new life form. While this is a fictional film, GMOs are very real. The use of GMOs is currently under serious scrutiny and debate. Our foods and some animals are already being genetically modified, are humans the next step? Splice performs this ultimate experiment, and then suffers the ethical challenges and consequences the decision triggers. By making one catastrophic moral choice the scientists compromise themselves both morally and ethically, paving the way for further moral degradation. Does one bad ethical choice make it easier for the next one? According to Splice, the answer is most definitely. The main ethical dilemma presented in the film is the use of genetic modification technology in humans. The scientists initially approach this dilemma by thinking like classic teleologians. â€Å"By incorporating human DNA into the hybrid template, we can begin to address any number of genetically influenced diseases†¦Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, even some forms of cancer†. (Splice, 2009) They are producing a greater good by choosing this ethical path. This is the core motive for the current use of GMOs. According to the Human Genome Project (U.S. Department of Energy Genome Programs, 2008), GMOs have a variety of applications; To increase the yield of crops and animal products, to make plants and animals more resistant to certain disease, and more efficiently processed are but a few. The end product of these applications is, in theory, to benefit humanity. If we are already genetically modifying plants and animals, is a... ... endure the consequences of their actions. This film could be taken as a worst case scenario of human gene modification. As the technology continues to evolve, we can only hope that the leading scientists have a higher ethical standard than those portrayed in the movie Splice. References Hoban, S. (Producer), & Natalie, V. (Director & Writer). (2009). Splice [Motion picture]. France: Warner Bros. Pictures. Lemaux, P.G. (2006). Introduction to genetic modification. Agricultural Biotechnology in California Series, 8178. Retrieved from http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8178.pdf Purtillo, R. (2005). Ethical dimensions in the health professions. Philadelphia, Elsevier Saunders. U.S. Department of Energy Genome Projects. (2008). Genetically modified foods and organisms. Retrieved from http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml Splice: The Movie Essay -- Film Review GMOs Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are the central subject of the movie Splice. A couple of brilliant but rebellious scientists combine genes from different plant and animal species to create a new life form. While this is a fictional film, GMOs are very real. The use of GMOs is currently under serious scrutiny and debate. Our foods and some animals are already being genetically modified, are humans the next step? Splice performs this ultimate experiment, and then suffers the ethical challenges and consequences the decision triggers. By making one catastrophic moral choice the scientists compromise themselves both morally and ethically, paving the way for further moral degradation. Does one bad ethical choice make it easier for the next one? According to Splice, the answer is most definitely. The main ethical dilemma presented in the film is the use of genetic modification technology in humans. The scientists initially approach this dilemma by thinking like classic teleologians. â€Å"By incorporating human DNA into the hybrid template, we can begin to address any number of genetically influenced diseases†¦Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, diabetes, even some forms of cancer†. (Splice, 2009) They are producing a greater good by choosing this ethical path. This is the core motive for the current use of GMOs. According to the Human Genome Project (U.S. Department of Energy Genome Programs, 2008), GMOs have a variety of applications; To increase the yield of crops and animal products, to make plants and animals more resistant to certain disease, and more efficiently processed are but a few. The end product of these applications is, in theory, to benefit humanity. If we are already genetically modifying plants and animals, is a... ... endure the consequences of their actions. This film could be taken as a worst case scenario of human gene modification. As the technology continues to evolve, we can only hope that the leading scientists have a higher ethical standard than those portrayed in the movie Splice. References Hoban, S. (Producer), & Natalie, V. (Director & Writer). (2009). Splice [Motion picture]. France: Warner Bros. Pictures. Lemaux, P.G. (2006). Introduction to genetic modification. Agricultural Biotechnology in California Series, 8178. Retrieved from http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8178.pdf Purtillo, R. (2005). Ethical dimensions in the health professions. Philadelphia, Elsevier Saunders. U.S. Department of Energy Genome Projects. (2008). Genetically modified foods and organisms. Retrieved from http://www.ornl.gov/sci/techresources/Human_Genome/elsi/gmfood.shtml

Real Men Drink Coke

CASE ASSIGNMENT: COKE ZERO Chapter # 8) Do Real Men Drink Diet Coke? When a couple of marketing managers for Coca-Cola told attorney Elizabeth Finn Johnson that they wanted to sue their Coke Zero colleagues for â€Å"taste infringement,† she was baffled. She tried to talk them out of it, but they were determined. They argued that Coca-Cola Classic should be protected from the age discrimination it would suffer with the introduction of a newer, younger soft drink that tasted exactly the same as the original. Frustrated, Finn Johnson held up the Coke can and shouted, â€Å"It’s not a person! Title VII doesn’t cover these things! † What she didn’t know was that the marketing managers were actors. Hidden cameras had been planted around the meeting room to capture the reactions of several unsuspecting attorneys who had been asked to consider the case, including an immigration lawyer who was asked if he could get the Coke Zero marketing head deported back to Canada. The short videos were strategically placed on websites like YouTube. om to promote Coke Zero as the hip, new alternative to Diet Coke for men. The Coca-Cola Company knows it has to be creative if it’s going to sell more soda after sales dropped two years in a row in 2005 and 2006. Morgan Stanley analyst Bill Pecoriello explains, â€Å"Consumers are becoming ever more health-conscious, and the image of regular carbonated soft drinks is deteriorating rapidly. † In an attempt to appeal to con sumers concerned with nutrition, Coke introduced Diet Coke Plus in 2007, a sweeter version of Diet Coke fortified with vitamins and minerals. But what they really needed was a way to reach young male consumers, and Diet Coke Plus, marketed with tag lines like â€Å"Your Best Friend Just Got Friendlier! † wasn’t going to do it. A few new products appealed to certain male demographics, such as Coca-Cola Blak, a cola with coffee essence created for older, more sophisticated consumers who are willing to pay more, and Full Throttle Blue Demon, an energy drink with an agave azule flavor (think margaritas) designed to appeal to Hispanic men. However, research showed that there was still a big demographic hole to fill as young men between the ages of 18 and 34 were abandoning the Coca-Cola brand altogether. They didn’t want all the calories of regular Coke, but they weren’t willing to make the move to Diet Coke, either, which has traditionally been marketed to women who want to lose weight. Katie Bayne, chief marketing officer for Coca-Cola North America, says that the men who weren’t put off by the â€Å"feminine stigma† of Diet Coke often rejected it anyway because of its aspartame-sweetened aftertaste. What we were seeing before Zero launched was that more and more younger people were interested in no-calorie beverages but weren’t going to sacrifice taste,† Bayne said. â€Å"So when they got interested in no-calorie, they were like, ‘Forget it, I’m not going to Diet Coke. ’† Testing showed that the name â€Å"Coke Zero† would be an effective way to sell a low-calorie cola to men without using the word â€Å"diet. † And advances in artificial sweeteners made it possible for Coke to finally create a product that tasted more like the â€Å"Real Thing. So expectations were high when Coke Zero was introduced in 2005 with a big marketing push, including a commercial that remade the famous 1971 â€Å"Hilltop/I’d Like to Teach the World to Sing† ad—this time with rapper G-Love on a rooftop singing that he’d like to teach the world to â€Å"chill. † Unfortunately, the commercial didn’t catch on, and neither did the product it was selling. Despite disappointing sales in the U. S. , however, Coke Zero was an immediate hit in Australia, selling more than three times the number of cases expected during its first year on the market. In the U. S. , the packaging was white and silver, making it difficult for consumers to see the difference between Coke Zero and Diet Coke. In Australia, the bottles and cans were black, making the product stand out on the shelves and look more like the â€Å"bloke’s Coke† it was intended to be. The U. S. marketing team took notice and reintroduced Coke Zero with a black and silver label in 2007. Coca-Cola is now investing more money in Coke Zero than any other brand its size, hoping it will someday be a megabrand for the company alongside Coca-Cola Classic and Diet Coke. Chief Marketing Officer Bayne is enthusiastic about the impact it may have on the company. â€Å"We do see this as potentially a bit of a white knight. There’s huge opportunity to grow here. † SOURCES: Jerry Adler, â€Å"Attack of the Diet Cokes,† Newsweek, May 14, 2007; â€Å"Coke’s New ‘Coke Zero’ Faces Tough Going, UPI NewsTrack, June 13, 2005; Duane D. Stanford, â€Å"0: That’s Zero. As in No Calories,† The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 20, 2007; â€Å"Coca-Cola Co. ,† MMR, October 30, 2006; http://www. cocacolazero. com. Open-ended questions 1. Describe the specific type of consumer that the Coca-Cola Company is targeting with each of the following products: Diet Coke, Coke Zero, Diet Coke Plus, Coca-Cola Blak, and Full Throttle Blue Demon. What types of demographic segmentation is each product’s marketing most likely to include? 2. Some industry analysts think soft-drink companies should develop products that will bring new customers into the market rather than just creating variants on the old. They warn that products like Coke Zero will cannibalize lost market share from other soft drink categories instead of increasing the number of consumers overall. Which Coca-Cola products are most likely to lose customers to Coke Zero? 3. Why do you think that the hidden-camera videos used to promote Coke Zero were an effective way to reach its target market? Do you think a similar strategy with a viral marketing campaign on the Internet would appeal to the target market for Diet Coke Plus? 4. Do you think Diet Coke could have been repositioned to change consumers’ perceptions of it enough to be considered a drink equally appealing to men? Why or why not? CASE ASSIGNMENT: Terracycle (Chapter # 10) Turning Worm Poop into a Product Environmentally friendly products have never been as hot as they are now, and the number of brands touting their â€Å"green† credentials has never been higher, but TerraCycle Plant Food may be the ultimate organic product to ever hit the market. A college student named Tom Szaky founded TerraCycle in 2003 after buddies from Canada, â€Å"where they have more liberal rules about growing certain plants,† he says, taught him how to use worm droppings as cheap and eco-friendly fertilizer. Szaky based his business model on recycling, starting with the trash that TerraCycle turns into compost and feeds to millions of red worms. The worm castings are then liquefied and put into previously used plastic water and soda bottles. Even the company’s shipping cartons come from recycled materials. TerraCycle’s organic plant food hit the shelves in 2004 with labels boasting that it â€Å"Contains Liquefied Worm Poop! † It didn’t take long for the products to take off. By 2006, the company had been named â€Å"The Coolest Little Start-Up in America† by Inc. agazine and had passed the $1 million mark in sales, growing as much as 300% from the previous year. They snagged shelf space in retail giants such as Target, Walmart, and Home Depot. Founder and president Tom Szaky liked to refer to his company as â€Å"the anti-Miracle-Gro. † But the industry giant disagreed. It turns out that Scotts Miracle-Gro thought that, if anything, TerraCycle w as encroaching too closely on the industry giant’s territory. In March of 2007, Scotts sued Szaky’s fledgling company for trademark infringement and for making â€Å"false claims† that its organic products are superior to synthetic versions. Small companies can easily fold under the weight of such a lawsuit. Even if they win, the legal costs can cripple them. So TerraCycle took their case to the Internet with the blog www. suedbyscotts. com, hoping to stir public support and raise contributions for its legal fees. â€Å"I knew there was no way I could out-lawyer Scotts,† Tom Szaky says. â€Å"So as I thought about it, I wondered what core competency our company had that we could exploit. Guerrilla marketing seemed to be the obvious answer. He adds that they hope to get so much public support for their cause that Scotts will drop their suit. The blog offers a comparison chart titled â€Å"David vs. Goliath† that illustrates the differences between the two companies. A photo of TerraCycle’s modest headquarters behind a chain-link fence in New Jersey is contrasted with Scotts’s grand, pillared entryway in Ohio. It lists TerraCycle’s â€Å"CEO major perquisite† as â€Å"unlimited f ree worm poop,† whereas Scotts’s CEO enjoys â€Å"personal use of company-owned aircraft. The blog also counters Scotts’s claims that consumers might be confused by its â€Å"overly similar yellow and green packaging† by posting photographs of TerraCycle’s wacky and unusual bottles in their variety of shapes and sizes beside Miracle-Gro’s uniform and professional looking ones. Scotts is insisting that they change their labels, but TerraCycle’s general counsel, Richard Ober Jr. , says that changing packaging now would hurt their sales momentum. â€Å"There’s the loss of customer recognition. † Su Lok, a Scotts spokesperson, argues that the blog is just one of TerraCycle’s PR â€Å"tactics† nd insists that none of their arguments has merit. â€Å"We’ve spent a lot of time building up brands that consumers trust,† she says, â€Å"and we are going to protect those brands. † So far www. sued byscotts. com has gained massive media attention, leading major newspapers and magazines to cover the story and hundreds of bloggers to defend TerraCycle’s cause. Although online donations have totaled less than $1,000 to date, overall company sales surged 122% within weeks of the blog’s launch. And TerraCycle’s main Web site, which averages about 1,000 visitors a day, spiked to as high as 13,000. They expect to bring in revenue highs approaching $5 million by the end of 2007. Ira J. Levy, an intellectual property lawyer, warns that Scotts may have more to lose by pursuing TerraCycle than it’s worth. â€Å"By pursuing a trade dress case,† Levy says, â€Å"they can allow a small player to promote itself on the national stage. When word gets out that the mega-conglomerate is suing the little guy, you risk having bloggers launching boycotts, and the plaintiff ends up injuring his own business. † Which is precisely what Tom Szaky hopes will happen. The lawsuit isn’t something he would have wanted to fight, he says, but it’s a chance to generate buzz. â€Å"It’s like The Art of War,† he says. â€Å"You need to have a villain to be up against, and for us, that’s Scotts. † SOURCES: Jack Neff, â€Å"When the Worm Poop Hits the Fan, Market It,† Advertising Age, April 23, 2007; Adam Aston, â€Å"Now That’s Really a Turf War,† BusinessWeek, April 23, 2007; Gwendolyn Bounds, â€Å"A Growing Dispute: Fertilizer Start-Up Uses Web as Defense,† Wall Street Journal, May 22, 2007; Mike Hofman, â€Å"Legal Lemons, PR Lemonade,† Inc. June 2007; Rob Walker, â€Å"The Worm Turns,† New York Times Magazine, May 20, 2007; www. terracycle. net; www. suedbyscotts. com. Open-ended questions 1. What type of consumer product is TerraCycle’s plant food: convenience, shopping, specialty, or unsought? Why? 2. Go to www. terracycle. net and look at the types of produc ts the company sells. Describe their product mix. How wide is it? Which basic product lines does it sell? How long are they? 3. Do you think that product line extension or product line contraction would make more sense for TerraCycle at this stage of the company’s growth? Why? 4. How well do TerraCycle’s bottles perform the four packaging functions discussed in this chapter? Go to www. suedbyscotts. com to see what TerraCycle’s products look like compared to the Miracle-Gro line. Do you think TerraCycle’s package design distinguishes their products well enough from those of the industry giant, or are they similar enough to cause customer confusion? CASE ASSIGNMENT: Nordstrom’s (Chapter # 15) How to Succeed by Selling Just One Shoe Upscale retailer Nordstrom has been famous for superior customer service for over 100 years. Robert Spector, coauthor of The Nordstrom Way, says his favorite story is of a woman with one leg who jokingly bet a Nordstrom salesperson that he wouldn’t sell her just one shoe. He was more than happy to split up the pair, though, to her surprise, and Nordstrom gained a life-long customer in the process. â€Å"Who knows how many times she’s told that story? † Spector asks. â€Å"Do you think that that’s worth the price of a shoe? I do. † This kind of word-of-mouth publicity means that Nordstrom spends much less on traditional advertising than its competitors do. And the stories told by satisfied customers are much more persuasive than an ad in the Sunday paper. Patrick McCarthy, who was the first salesperson to generate $1 million, cites an example of a customer who was traveling and accidentally left his plane tickets in the store. An employee who found them paid for a cab to the airport with her own money so that the customer wouldn’t miss his plane. This, McCarthy says, is an example of â€Å"heroic service,† and at Nordstrom they expect nothing less. Industry observer Lior Arussy calls Nordstrom’s business strategy â€Å"greed through love. † They have perfected the art of focusing on the right customers and giving them undivided attention. A salesperson will often continue the relationship with a customer for years. They may exchange business cards, set future shopping dates, and call customers when new merchandise comes in. â€Å"It’s a heart experience,† says McCarthy, who kept handwritten notes on all 12,000 of his personal customers over the years. Most companies are head experiences—bean counters are running them. When the heart is running them, it becomes exciting. † Nordstrom is also known for its generous exchange policy. In a familiar story that has been forwarded around the Internet for years, a man claims he was allowed to return snow tires, even though the store never sold auto parts. It may be an urban myth, but it reinforces the company’s reputation for putting custom ers first. Even though the company loses some money on returns, they believe it’s worth it to keep customers coming back. Nordstrom has 157 stores in 27 states, but they plan to open 19 more by 2010, expanding into Boston, Ohio, and other untapped U. S. markets. Eric Nordstrom, the company’s president, visits each potential location himself before signing off on it. He says his gut instinct about a location is almost as important as the demographics and statistics they analyze. â€Å"Plenty of places look good on paper and we say no. † Even though Nordstrom values the traditions that come with its long history, Nordstrom direct president Jamie Nordstrom says that they’re not afraid to evolve with the times. We see the way people shop changing very dramatically,† he says. The company analyzed barriers between its sales channels and realized that it was limiting sales opportunities. Customers who purchased Nordstrom merchandise online couldn’t return it in the retail stores, for example, and customers who shopped in the stores couldn’t always find the same products online. The company now aims for a â€Å"seamless† shopping experience across all sales channels, whether mail order, online, or in-store. The company has also benefited from a new computerized inventory system that gives buyers and salespeople the necessary data to make smarter decisions about what is needed in the stores—and what isn’t. Choosing the right handbags to stock, for example, in the right styles, quantities, and colors, enabled them to sell more items at full price, which in turn improved the bottom line. Eric Nordstrom says that they want a customer’s experience to be â€Å"aspirational and upscale, so people feel they are treating themselves. Therefore, he says, the company refuses to hop on the price-promoting bandwagon. â€Å"We don’t rely on promotions, be it one-day sales, coupons, or ‘friends of friends’ sales. We think our regular pricing has to have integrity. † In 2006 when many retailers were struggling, Nordstrom thrived, posting $8. 6 billion in sales, a 10. 8 percent increase from the year before. â€Å"We have momentum,† Eric Nordstrom s ays, â€Å"but it’s not easy sustaining it. Retailing is not for everybody. It’s a competitive, high-energy business. Every day, you’ve got to open your doors and sell something. Even if it’s just one shoe. SOURCES: Monica Soto Ouchi, â€Å"Sharper Focus Helps Nordstrom,† Seattle Times, February 27, 2007; â€Å"Sticking with the Family Formula,† WWD, May 22, 2006; Dave DeWitte, â€Å"Nordstrom Leader Says Retail Business Is Changing,† Gazette, October 12, 2006; Monica Soto Ouchi, â€Å"Nordstrom Sees a Fashion-Forward Future,† Seattle Times, May 23, 2007; Alexandra DeFelice, â€Å"A Century of Customer Love,† CRM Magazine, June 1, 2005. Open-ended questions 1. What type of retailer is Nordstrom? Describe the characteristics it shares with other retailers of this type. . How would you describe Nordstrom’s level of service on the continuum from full service to self-service? Why? Give an example of a store that woul d be on the opposite end of the continuum and explain their differences. 3. Which of the six components of Nordstrom’s retailing mix do you think have been the most important to the company’s success? Why? 4. What are the primary challenges Nordstrom faces in the current retail climate? How has the competition changed in recent years, along with consumer expectations? CASE ASSIGNMENT: HBO (Chapter # 16) HBO’s Blood Virus When prominent occult film bloggers and fans began receiving strange letters written in dead languages and mailed in wax-sealed black envelopes, a shockwave of curiosity and excitement rippled through the horror-film fandom. A legion of bloggers and message-board posters set to work translating the letters from languages like Babylonian and Ugaritic into English, discovering that the missives led them to a mysterious and macabre Web site featuring an image of a seductive lady vampire. The site advertised a beverage called TruBlood—a synthetic blood developed by the Japanese, which vampires could drink as an alternative to feeding on humans. As visitors explored the site, they discovered short webisodes for the then-upcoming HBO television series that incorporates the TruBlood beverage into its storyline. The letters and Web site were developed as part of a viral marketing campaign by HBO and Campfire Media, an independent agency founded by two of the creators of the successful 1999 film The Blair Witch Project. Viral marketing is the propagation of brand or product awareness through pre-existing social networks, using unconventional media, with the hope that the campaign spreads as a cultural phenomenon. In addition to the letters, Campfire established a fictional blog and MySpace pages written by characters from the show, launched a human–vampire dating service, advertised TruBlood on vending machines, and strategically leaked tidbits of information and multimedia about the show. Campfire employees closely monitored popular horror blogs and message boards in order to gauge and encourage public interest, as well as orchestrate the release of new materials. The campaign was an incredible, if somewhat subversive success—not only did Campfire generate momentous interest in the show, but a number of individuals actually tried to locate a TruBlood distributor. â€Å"We didn’t mean to dupe people,† said Zach Enterlin, HBO’s vice president of advertising and promotions. â€Å"We just wanted a campaign that breaks through and resonates a little bit. It’s a testament to how true to form the ads are. Some people aren’t paying close attention. † Viral marketing campaigns are ideal for shows like True Blood, whose fans fervently share and discuss ideas within Internet communities. In addition, as it’s based on the popular Sookie Stackhouse series of books by Charlaine Harris, True Blood came with an avid built-in fan base of those already familiar with the story. Viral marketing has been a successful part of many advertising campaigns, such as those of 2008 films Cloverfield and The Dark Knight. Cloverfield, a film in which gargantuan monsters rampage through New York City, is captured on handheld video cameras. It was introduced to viewers through an untitled, unexplained teaser trailer that played before 2007’s Transformers movie. As speculation mounted, Cloverfield marketers unveiled a number of enigmatic Web sites, as well as a tie-in campaign for the fictional Slusho! beverage and a Japanese drilling company, both of which play a part in Cloverfield’s mythology. In May of 2007, 42 Entertainment began a viral campaign for The Dark Knight, a sequel to 2005’s Batman Begins. The campaign focused on the film’s antagonists: a Web site titled â€Å"I believe in Harvey Dent† was created as an advertisement for district attorney candidate Harvey Dent (played by Aaron Eckhart), as was a site titled â€Å"I Believe in Harvey Dent Too,† a defiled version of the former which slowly revealed the first image of The Joker (played by Heath Ledger) as visitors sent e-mails through the site. The Joker’s catchphrase â€Å"Why so serious? † spread virally on the Internet, and was used as the URL of a Web site that sent visitors on a Joker-themed scavenger hunt. As True Blood’s premier drew near, HBO and Campfire turned to less obtuse, if still unorthodox, methods of advertisement. A prequel comic book about an elder vampire and the development of the show was handed out for free at 2008’s San Diego Comic-Con, the largest pop cultural convention in the world. The first episode of True Blood was distributed on DVD for free to thousands of moviegoers at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival, and was made available for rental from Blockbuster Video several days before it aired on television. True Blood premiered on HBO on September 7, 2008—six months after Campfire’s subtle marketing campaign began. According to Nielsen Co. , the first three-quarters of 2008 saw HBO’s viewership drop by nearly 23 percent compared to the previous year. However, thanks to interest in new shows such as True Blood, HBO saw a 2. 4 percent increase in fourth-quarter viewership compared to 2007. Without question, the success of True Blood is due in part to the novel marketing developed by Campfire Media. SOURCES: Sam Schechner, â€Å"Winfrey Firm to Produce HBO Shows,† Wall Street Journal, December 17, 2008; Guy Brighton, â€Å"Campfire’s True Blood Campaign,† New York Times, February 19, 2009; Lynette Rice, â€Å"Ad Campaign for HBO’s True Blood Confuses Thirsty Consumers,† Entertainment Weekly, July 22, 2008, www. ew. com (accessed February 23, 2009); www. bloodcopy. com; www. hbo. com/events/trueblood/; Douglas Quenqua, â€Å"The Vampires Are Coming, but Only After Months of Warnings,† New York Times, July 15, 2008; Jeff Beer, â€Å"Campfire Sinks Its Creative Teeth into True Blood,† ttp://creativity-online. com/? action=news:article&newsId=130134§ionName=behind_the_work (accessed February 19, 2009). Open -ended questions 1. What is the communication process for viral marketing? Is it different from conventional marketing? How so? . 2. What was the initial promotional mix of the True Blood campaign, and how might it suggest an o bservance of IMC? 2. Did Cloverfield use a push or pull promotional strategy? What about The Dark Knight? Explain. CASE ASSIGNMENT: Walmart (Chapter 20) How Low Can Drug Prices Go? When Walmart rolled out its new prescription-drug plan in 2006, lowering the prices on 331 commonly prescribed medications to a flat $4, Frank Ganci’s doctor told him to check it out. He has no health insurance and his prescriptions were costing him $110 a month at his local pharmacy, so switching to Walmart meant that he could get the same three medications for $12. Now he says he’s a loyal Walmart customer: â€Å"If they don’t make up the money on prescriptions, they’re going to make it up on my clothes and food purchases. Industry analysts speculate that Walmart is counting on customers like Ganci to spend the money they saved at the pharmacy on other products in the store. Walmart insists that it can earn a profit on the $4 prescriptions alone, however, since more expensive medications are not discounted. â€Å"It can only be in our program if it is profitable,† says Bill Simon, a Walmart CEO. It’s true that pharmacies can buy some types of generics from manufacturers for less than $4. For example, a month’s supply of fluoxetine, the generic version of Prozac, can be obtained for 75 cents. But store overhead and pharmacists’ salaries bring the true cost closer to $15. It would be difficult for smaller pharmacies to match the $4 price point, which has some of Walmart’s competitors complaining that it violates predatory pricing laws. â€Å"You can’t just sell something below your cost to drive out the small guy,† says Rick Sain, co-owner of a drugstore in Tennessee. â€Å"You have to at least set a fair price. That’s what all the states that have fair trade laws in place are looking into it—because you cannot dispense a prescription for $4. They are saying you can. † Walmart later increased the price of certain generic drugs from $4 to $9 in order to bring the company into compliance with all â€Å"low-cost laws,† according to a company statement. John Rector of the National Community Pharmacists Association says, â€Å"We don’t know for certain whether it can make a profit on the $4 drugs so they don’t violate these laws. But we strongly doubt it, and the fact is [raising some prices] gives us insight into what its business practices are. Stores like Target and Kmart quickly lowered their own prices to match Walmart’s, but Walgreens and CVS both announced that their prices would remain the same. Tony Civello, CEO of Kerr Drug, insists, â€Å"We will not treat your prescription like t-shirts and blue jeans. Walmart may choose to use some limited prescription drugs as a loss leader. But our patients’ healthcare is not a loss leader. We will not compromise that. † Bill Vaug han, a policy analyst for Consumers Union, argues that the price slashing is actually step in the right direction. It’s the beginning of better competition in a sector where it’s literally pennies per pill,† he said. When a generic drug is introduced, pharmacies can charge as much as they like for it. One study found that markups were often as high as 4,000 percent. Few people compare drug prices from one pharmacy to the next, so pharmacies are able to mark up prices substantially. Walmart’s prescription program seems to be raising consumer awareness as it demonstrates how low the prices of the drugs can go. The discounts are especially welcome among uninsured Americans and seniors living on fixed incomes. Legislators have listened to constituents who rely on the $4 plan and efforts are under way in states like Colorado and Minnesota to either repeal predatory-pricing laws or exempt prescription drugs from them. The prescriptions in Walmart’s $4 program now make up more than 35 percent of all prescriptions they fill, and the company boasts that the program has saved consumers more than $340 million in drug costs already. Walmart executive H. Lee Scott is enthusiastic about its future, saying, â€Å"The $4 prescription program is absolutely one of the coolest things that we have done in a long time. SOURCES: Martin Sipkoff , â€Å"Walmart, Other Discounters Facing Predatory-Pricing Concerns,† Drug Topics, April 2, 2007; Sue Stock, â€Å"Walmart Drug Plan in N. C. ,† News & Observer, October 20, 2006; Jessie Male, â€Å"Generic Concern: Will Walmart’s $4 Prescriptions Do Much to Change Consumers’ Pharmacy Habits? † Grocery Headquarters, November 1, 2006; Pallavi Gogoi, â€Å"Drug Wars at the Big-Box Stores,† BusinessWeek, May 24, 2007; Milt Freudenheim, â€Å"Side Effects at the Pharmacy,† New York Times, November 30, 2006. Chapter 20 Open-ended questions 1. Do you believe Walmart is engaging in predatory pricing with its $4 generic drug program? Why or why not? 2. Do you think that predatory pricing laws should be amended to exclude prescription drugs? Explain. 3. If you owned a pharmacy next door to a Walmart store, what strategies could you try in order to compete? Would you match their prices if possible, or would you find other ways to add value? What could a small pharmacy like yours offer customers that Walmart’s might not?

Gene Cloning Essay

One aspect of the DNA cloning experiments that is carefully considered is the selection of cloning vectors. A variety of vectors have been created, each being suitable for a particular use. One common vector used in laboratories is a plasmid called pUC19. It is 2686 base pairs long and possesses an origin of replication which allows the production of over 100 copies in a competent E.coli cell. It possesses a multiple cloning site (MCS) which is artificially implanted by adding a polylinker sequence to it. The pUC19 plasmid is also altered by inserting a gene that codes for beta-lactamase which confers resistance to the antibiotic ampicillin (Read and Strachan 2011). The MCS occupies the 5’ end of the gene lacZ (Sherwood, Willey and Woolverton 2012). This gene codes for only the alpha-peptide of beta-galactosidase, an enzyme used to break down the disaccharide lactose into glucose and galactose (Read and Strachan 2011). The aim of this experiment is to incorporate a cDNA called CIH-1, from plasmid pBK-CMV, into pUC19. DNA cloning is dependent on type 2 restriction endonuclease enzymes. They function by cleaving both strands of DNA on specific points known as restriction sites. These sites are reliant on the sequences of DNA that are recognised by them. Different bacterial strains yield varying restriction endonucleases. There are currently over 250 recognition sequences identified (Read and Strachan 2011). Restriction endonucleases can cleave DNA sequences on vectors making them competent for the binding of other DNA fragments cut by the same enzyme. They are thus important tools in the production of recombinant DNA (Ahmed, Glencross and Wang 2011). The first objective of this experiment was to use two restriction endonucleases, EcoR1 and Xba1, to cut pUC19 and pBK-CMV. To ensure that the plasmids were successfully cut, analysis of the plasmid was carried out using gel electrophoresis. Gel electrophoresis is a method of separating DNA molecules using their sizes (Brown 2001). This is made possible due to the negative charge of nucleic acids. The DNA molecules are subjected to an electric field which makes them migrate toward the positive electrode (Hausman and Cooper 2013). The 2nd objective of this experiment was to construct recombinant DNA from pUC19 that was cut by EcoR1 and Xba1. The vector must undergo ligation in order to  form the recombinant. This is achieved by using the enzyme DNA ligase, from the T4 bacteriophage, and ATP to form covalent phosphodiester bonds between annealed DNA molecules in the 3’ to 5’ direction. Ligation takes place at lower temperatures over a long period of time in order to allow optimal activity of DNA ligase (Holmes, Jones, Reed and Weyers 2007). The vector is then taken up by the host cells in a process called transformation. Transformation is an inefficient process as only a very small number of bacterial species can be easily transformed. As a result, the host cells have to undergo some form of physical and chemical treatment in order to make them competent (Brown 2001). E.coli was made competent by incubating it with MgCl2 to achieve the 3rd objective of introducing the recombinant pUC19 to them. Competent E.coli cells have altered cell walls which enable uptake of recombinant pUC19. Transformants can be identified using the selective marker. In the case of pUC19, this is the ampicillin resistance gene. For this reason, the transformed E.coli will be plated in agar containing the antibiotic ampicillin. In order to find transformants with recombinant pUC19, blue white colour selection was has been carried out. EcoR1 and Xba1 cut lacZ out of pUC19 to allow CIH-1 to ligate into it. For this reason, transformants without recombinant pUC19 cannot transcribe the alpha-peptide of beta-galactosidase resulting production of non-functional beta-galactosidase. Non-recombinant pUC19 has the 5’ end of lacZ intact and thus transformants with that plasmid produce functional beta-galactosidase. This can be detected by adding 5-bromo-4 chloro-3-endolyl –beta-D-galactopyrosinoside (X-gal) into the agar plates. X-gal is an analog of lactose which is broken down by beta-galactosidase to produce a blue-coloured product (Sherwood, Willey and Woolverton 2012). For this reason, the transformants possessing non-recombinant pUC19 will produce blue colonies whereas transformants, with recombinant pUC19 will produce white colonies. Isopropylthiogalactoside (IPTG) was also added to the agar in order to induce the transcription of beta-galactosidase. IPTG works by binding to the repressor protein inactivating it (Read and Strachan 2011). Results In figure 1, with the pBK-CMV plasmid, there are two DNA fragments shown as bands on the electrophoresis gel, one band which suggests a fragment size of  approximately 5000 base pairs and one with 500-100 base pairs. These are within range of the predicted band sizes for pBK-CMV. The data collected from the gel electrophoresis gel regarding Puc19 produced only 1 band with the fragment size of roughly 3000 base pairs. This is close to the predicted size of the Puc19 if it has incorporated the CIH-1 molecule (2664+600 = 3264). Table 1 shows the number of colonies of the transformation plates of 3 different samples. Tube 2 which is the positive control, tube 3 which is the negative control and tube 1 which is the colony subjected to transformation and ligation. Dilutions of competent cell colonies are also shown. Tube 1 possessed more white colonies than blue colonies which suggest that most of the competent cells have undergone successful transformation. The colonies produced from tube 2 and 3 are only white as there were no transformation of Puc19 as predicted. Figure 2 shows the results of the separation of DNA fragments from the plasmid DNA of two different white colonies of Ecoli, known as W1 and W2, and a blue colony called B. The DNA fragments from culture B is similar to the fragments produced by normal digested Puc19 in figure 1. There are two distinct DNA fragments of roughly 600 and 5000 base pairs in size shown on both W1 and W2. There is a faint additional band shown on W2. A Nanodrop is carried out in order to determine the DNA concentration of the culture samples B, W1 and W2. The DNA concentration in sample W2 was the highest, with 40.6 ng/uL, which is twice as high as the DNA concentration of W1 and B.