International Market Entry Methods

ExportingExporting is the direct sale of goods and / or services in another country. It is possibly the best-known method of entering a foreign market, as well as the lowest risk. It may also be cost-effective as you will not need to invest in production facilities in your chosen country – all goods are still produced in your home country then sent to foreign countries for sale. However, rising transportation costs are likely to increase the cost of exporting in the near future.The majority of costs involved with exporting come from marketing expenses. Usually, you will need the involvement of four parties: your business, an importer, a transport provider and the government of the country of which you wish to export to.LicensingLicensing allows another company in your target country to use your property. The property in question is normally intangible – for example, trademarks, production techniques or patents. The licensee will pay a fee in order to be allowed the righ t to use the property.Licensing requires very little investment and can provide a high return on investment. The licensee will also take care of any manufacturing and marketing costs in the foreign market.FranchisingFranchising is somewhat similar to licensing in that intellectual property rights are sold to a franchisee. However, the rules for how the franchisee carries out business are usually very strict – for example, any processes must be followed, or specific components must be used in manufacturing.Joint ventureA joint venture consists of two companies establishing a jointly-owned business. One of the owners will be a local business (local to the foreign market). The two companies would then provide the new business with a management team and share control of the joint venture.There are several benefits to this type of venture. It allows you the benefit of local knowledge of a foreign market and allows you to share costs. However, there are some issues – there c an be problems with deciding who invests what and how to split profits.Foreign direct investmentForeign direct investment (FDI) is when you directly invest in facilities in a foreign market. It requires a lot of capital to cover costs such as premises, technology and staff. FDI can be done either by establishing a new venture or acquiring an existing company.Wholly owned subsidiaryA wholly owned subsidiary (WOS) is somewhat similar to foreign direct investment in that money goes into a foreign company but instead of money being invested into another company, with a WOS the foreign business is bought outright. It is then up to the owners whether it continues to run as before or they take more control of the WOS.PiggybackingPiggybacking involves two non-competing companies working together to cross-sell the other’s products or services in their home country. Although it is a low-risk method involving little capital, some companies may not be comfortable with this method as it i nvolves a high degree of trust as well as allowing the partner company to take a large degree of control over how your product is marketed abroad.Turnkey projectsA turnkey project refers to a project when clients pay contractors to design and construct new facilities and train personnel. A turnkey project is way for a foreign company to export its process and technology to other countries by building a plant in that country. Industrial companies that specialize in complex production technologies normally use turnkey projects as an entry strategy. One of the major advantages of turnkey projects is the possibility for a company to establish a plant and earn profits in a foreign country especially in which foreign direct investment opportunities are limited and lack of expertise in a specific area exists.Potential disadvantages of a turnkey project for a company include risk of revealing companies secrets to rivals, and takeover of their plant by the host country. Entering a market wit h a turnkey project CAN prove that a company has no long-term interest in the country which can become a disadvantage if the country proves to be the main market for the output of the exported process.

Contribution to Radio Programme “Changing Time”

Imagine your local radio station is producing a series of programmes entitled â€Å"Changing Times†, in which teenagers are asked to give their views on the changes they welcome in the world around them. You have been invited to contribute. Write out the text of the presentation you would make. There are many changes that I welcome in the world around me; but I would like to discuss four specific ones with you on air here today. The first change that I welcome into today’s world is the internet. The introduction of this will be remembered by man forever.Now we have this ability, we wonder how we ever survived without it. With the introduction of sites like Facebook, Twitter and Youtube, we are now able to catch up with friends we met 3 years ago at Irish camp, or something as simple as checking out the photos from suchabody’s 18 birthday party that we attended last night. But the abilities of the internet extend way beyond the fickle holds of 21st century social networking. Using the internet enables us to research anything we could possibly think of and more. Google it† has now become such a commonly used phrase; we have students complaining if they are not allowed to use the internet for a project – since Google â€Å"knows everything†. Moving beyond social networking, the internet allows us to not only keep in touch with friends and family in all four corners of the earth (from emailing your granny over in Blackrock, to ‘skyping’ your friend Tom who moved down under to Australia); but also to meet new people who share our interests. Foreign language students are able to make new friends online with students their age in other countries and communicate quickly and easily with them.The internet is also an excellent news source. With news broadcasters such as Sky, CNN and even closer to home with RTE news all setting up websites, we are able to catch up on anything from terrorist attacks to the latest showbi z gossip in an instant. Relating to the internet; the next change, or introduction, that I welcome into our world today is the phenomenon of portable handheld internet devices; such as laptops, iPhones and the latest â€Å"must-have† – the iPad. Such devices enable us to not only reap all the benefits of our beloved internet, but we can do this whilst window shopping on Grafton Street; on he DART into work on a Monday morning; or anywhere we please for that matter. With the younger generation branching out and becoming oh-so-much-more independent than our parents and grandparents, the technology around us is clearly changing with the times. The â€Å"portable† debate brings me on to my third change, that I think has had a huge impact on the society of today, and that is mobile phones. Excluding the likes of the iPhone and the latest android phones, which seem to be able to do almost anything you could possibly want from a phone, the simple mobile phone has been of huge benefit to the ordinary Joe Blogs on the street.For the unorganised working man, his phone can now hold his daily calendar; to remind him that he has a meeting with the boss man in 40 minutes or that it is his 14th wedding anniversary tomorrow and he needs to buy his wife a present – that’s if he remembers the date of his wedding anniversary to enter it in the phone in the first place I suppose. For the cautious one, who is yet to attempt the ‘Skype Experience’, the mobile phone is perfect for keeping in touch with everybody.With so many deals and special offers being offered by service providers, it is even relatively cheap nowadays to run a pay-as-you-go mobile phone. Another benefit of our friend the Nokia, Samsung, or whatever make it is you happen to have at the moment, is reporting crime. Robberies, fires, attacks, can all be reported to the Gardai a lot quicker that running down the road trying to find the nearest phone box. Speaking of crim e, the final change which I welcome to our society today is the issue of the smoking bans, making it an offense to smoke in public places.Personally, I welcome this change with widely spread open arms. Looking firstly at the issue of smokers’ personal health, preventing them smoking in public places, is going to impact severely on the time they have to smoke. I mean, how long are you really going to want to spend huddled up against the January rain trying to light your cigarette while all your friends have the craic inside? Cutting down this might help to encourage smokers to stop, or at least cut down on the amount they smoke daily. On top of that, preventing smoking in public places helps to cut out passive smoking.As a non-smoker, I found it highly unfair that we’d have to be opened to all the risks of passive smoking, just because that guy over there fancies a cigarette with his dessert. So overall, I think it is clear that there have been many changes in our socie ty over the past number of years, and although not all of them may have been truly welcomed, I feel that the internet; portable handheld internet devices; mobile phones and the non-smoking laws have truly benefited our society and I honestly welcome them in the world around us.

Checkpoint: Management Structures Essay

You manage a counseling center that services victims of domestic abuse. Your organization is happy to have you on board and trusts your decisions. Due to an increase in demand for services in your area, your center will be increasing the number of employees by 100%. Your employer asks you to participate in an expansion plan. Your task is to research possible organizational structures that best suit the needs of your clients and your organization. I think that our services for domestic abuse patients should be split into different departments for several reasons. Departments make people focus on only the work that is assigned to them, like getting people to the Human Services help for a first step, then sending them into counseling, and finally getting them rehabilitated and out of the system. Other approaches to department and service areas exist, like having a north segment and a west segment to divide responsibilities. The major disadvantage to departmental division is that you might lose track of a client, or just lose contact with them when they move out of your department. People who need these human services need extra individual attention, not a rabble of people that they have to talk to while they get help. The situation is almost the same for a matrix organization. Yes, it is more efficient to have several people working in one area, but the client will not get particular help from one person, which is important for these clients. I truly believe that Human Service work should be leading in a transformational style. I think that, for us, the Project Team model is the best way to organize our services. This model is the best one because a group of people works together to accomplish particular things for their client. They all communicate inter-group, and therefore everyone gets better at helping clients. One problem with this model is that team members might start to discuss their client in a way that would break confidentiality laws. A collegial model is another approach, and it raises understanding because employees report their affairs to you, which keeps people enthusiastic about their tasks. This way is also an option, but I think that it might lead to employees doing things only to please a manager.

Amazon vs. Borders Books Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Amazon vs. Borders Books - Essay Example Having seen the huge growths of Borders, Kmart acquired it in 1992 and renamed the company name as Border Group. It started international expansion during the latter periods of 1990’s and started its first international office in Singapore in 1997. Subsequently the company was expanded to many other overseas countries and was in good shape till 2004. However, it started to face many problems from 2004 onwards and currently one the verge of destruction. It filed bankruptcy suit for closing its 200 stores in 2011. Comparison of the management approaches each company took to Internet marketing and sales Amazon formulated many strategies to keep the visitors for longer periods in its website. They were aware of the fact that spending more time by surfers in their website may definitely increase their sales. They did everything possible to tie up the visitors in their website. Since majority of the internet surfers are teenagers, Amazon focused more in catering the needs of the tee nagers while they visit Amazon’s website. In short, Amazon’s internet marketing strategies were primarily based on the teenage community. Advertising, E-retailing, Channeling, ,  Affiliation, Franchising, Subscription etc were some of the internet marketing approaches developed and implemented by Amazon management for exploiting the market opportunities. On the other hand, Borders committed so many strategic blunders which brought many challenges to the existence of the company. For example, â€Å"Borders made a major strategic error in 2001 when it handed off its online business to Amazon†(Wahba, 2011). Instead of exploiting the opportunities in online business, Borders tried to stay away from it. They thought... The essay "Amazon vs. Borders Books" talks about the activity and competition of two largest booksellers in the world. The paper analyzes why in different situations one of them was successful and the other one was a failure. Amazon.com is currently one of the topmost online booksellers in the world. It was started in the mid-1990s and was not profitable in the first few years. However, with innovative business strategies, it overcame the initial challenges and became the leader in online bookselling. On the other hand, Borders Books was the second largest bookseller in America. It was started in 1971. Until 2004, Borders faced little problems and was running profitable. However, after 2004, it started to face many management and business problems which forced them to file for Chapter 11 in 2011. The management of Amazon adapted wonderfully to the changing market conditions whereas Borders failed to do so. While Amazon was quick to realize the opportunities in online business, Borders failed to recognize it. Amazon has introduced customer friendly websites to attract the online customers whereas Borders relied heavily on the abilities of sales staff in selling their books from its store. Amazon produced innovative websites with the help of modern technologies to communicate effectively with the customers. Interactive components were some of the facilities available in amazon websites. Borders stayed completely away from its online customers and it was a major blunder committed by the company.

Pros and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana in the U.S Article

Pros and Cons of Legalizing Marijuana in the U.S - Article Example The legalization of marijuana or otherwise known as cannabis could yield positive effects since it can be used to aid in treating some medical diseases. Marijuana is useful to cancer patients to reduce nausea and vomiting resulting from chemotherapy. It is more reasonable than using conventional drugs to treat these side effects for those patients whose health does not improve even after being subjected to them. In some cases, researchers have found some drugs used during the treatment, for example, promethazine cause dizziness, hallucinations or dysphoria (Harman, 2000). Cannabis has been used since the 19th century to relieve pain. Researchers have published numerous articles recommending the use of cannabis as an alternative medicine for curing disorders and other ailments. This narcotic is useful to patients with nerve damage, spasticity, nausea, and even glaucoma since it is an excellent pain and stress reliever. People suffering from HIV/AIDS and Dementia could also benefit from marijuana since it has proven to be an appetite stimulant (Harman, 2000). These are among the many diseases that the patient’s health could be greatly improved by the use of marijuana. The American Research Society and the American Medical Association support the view that clinics used for research should be granted access to more cannabis for better potential medical health improvement. Marijuana has no proven research to show that it is addictive. The anti-legalization of Marijuana group does not give facts that it is bad for one’s health. It is an assump tion based on the bad image people have about it.  Ã‚  

Living Arrangments Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Living Arrangments - Essay Example The general living conditions of each type of housing must be taken into account if a college student wants to be successful in achieving his or her goal. It cannot be argued that living in a single apartment, with no one around to disturb you or interfere with your plans is a desirable situation. The peace and quiet of your own space cannot be measured in concrete terms and being master of your own time and space is an important psychological element of growing up. It is often a necessary step in distancing yourself from parents who are accustomed to treating you as a small child rather than recognizing your adult status. There is also no one inviting their friends over and making loud noise during these times as might happen when living with friends. However, there is also no one around to do your laundry for you or to cook dinner for you and make sure there is food in the house, all of which is normally taken care of when you live at home. There is no one around either to help you with homework or difficulties or to keep you company when you’re alone as there would be with a number of roommates. With no clear cut answers provided in considering living conditions, it is also necessary to consider the likelihood of your college success in terms of available study time. When you live on your own in a single apartment, you have all the time you could want to study in peace and quiet. There are no parents coming in to bother you with other responsibilities and no friends bringing over other friends to encourage you to push the books aside. At the same time, parents are often helpful in encouraging you to take time to study, which can make the difference between college success and college failure and friends can sometimes be very helpful in understanding work that you just don’t get. In considering both living conditions and study time, the concept of support emerges as an

Inventory Management and Replenishment of Components Assignment

Inventory Management and Replenishment of Components - Assignment Example The critical replenishment parameters for item H1: Item H1 reflects a non-existing or poor inventory control strategy. The need to adopt floor-ready merchandise would address the uncertainty of replenishment. Such model allows the implementation of a rapid stock-replenishment strategy. Besides, adoption of continuous replenishment or supplier-assisted inventory replenishment would assist in streamlining H1. Adoption of Periodic review and Continuous review (Silver, 1998; Moustakis, 2000). Refers to the frequencies of evaluation that determines when to place an order for the replenishment. To place a replenishment order, a pre-determined level (re-order level or re-order point) is set so guide continuous reviewing process when the stock falls below the inventory level. Continuous review is most appropriate for companies using IT systems in tracking inventories. H1 could also be reviewed periodically. Under this model, inventories are evaluated at a particular frequency. During the rev iew, if the stock levels are below the predetermined level a replenishment order would be placed (Silver, 1998; Moustakis, 2000). However, if it is still within the cycle, the reordering would be ignored. Using the fixed stock quantity (230 units) together with a reorder quantity of 300 units are used alongside the continuous review. It assumes an Instantaneous replenishment of order. Involves placing orders when it falls below the 300 units re-order level (which is predetermined). The process triggers order when the stock falls below a predetermined reorder level.

Cyber Attacks on Financial and Energy Sector Thesis

Cyber Attacks on Financial and Energy Sector - Thesis Example As it is with most cases the views on the risks of cyber attacks, both perceived and real, vary between two groups of expert opinions. While some experts opine that cyber attacks are not only inevitable but imminent and could bring all sectors of the US economy to a standstill, others say that the threat of cyber risks have been blown out of proportion, as critical structures of the country are well protected. According to Richard Clarke (White House cyberspace advisor till 2003), as quoted in the Washington Monthly, 2002, companies know that they will lose a certain amount of revenue from cyber attack and since cyber attack is not considered to be an important threat, the amount spent on cyber security is even less than the amount spend on coffee in the office. Financial institutions, which not only include banks and other depositories but also investment companies, insurers, security dealers, etc, comprise the critical financial sector of the US economy. As more and more of the financial sector is getting dependent on information technology, the risk of cyber attacks has become very real. In the President’s Commission on Critical Infrastructure Protection of 1996 and 1997, analysts clearly predicted the growing risk that the financial sector would be facing due to systems vulnerability. Almost every sector today works with data that is on the system rather than being physically on paper. This has not only increased the vulnerability of the sector but also made it more system-dependent. Cyber attacks are taking various forms such as theft of credit cards, misuse of private information, and stealing of intellectual property; the estimated costs by way of financial loss was found to be approximately USD 200 billion in 2004. The Computer Emergency Readiness Team (CERT) reported 80,000 cases of cyber attacks on the financial, defense, aerospace and computing industries, among others, in March 2007. Here is an example to

Legal Writing And Taking Question Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Legal Writing And Taking Question - Essay Example There are a few issued involved. First: There was no paper contract. All agreements were verbal. Second: Does Don's offer to have Peter's father move in constitute an offer? Did Peter's last statement constitute a counter-offer? An enforceable contract has the following elements: Competent parties, legal subject matter, offer, acceptance and consideration (O'Brien et al, 2005). Both parties here were legally competent. The underlying subject matter, purchasing nursing home assistance, is wholly legal. It is the last three that might be problematic. An offer is simply a proposal to make a deal. There are the offerer and the offeree: Don and Peter, respectively. Any counter-offer made by the other party rescinds this. Acceptance is a communication of desire to accept the offer. Consideration is, effectively, payment, either of money or of services rendered. Finally, verbal contracts have the force of law. However, if a contract is verbal, it has the risk of being difficult to enforce d ue to disagreement as to underlying fact, and some verbal contracts fall under fraud laws, specifically, if they involve more than a certain amount of money and cannot be performed within a given time. Verbal contracts tend to be enforceable when concrete steps were taken to comply with them.  Following the conversation closely, the last statement Don makes is an offer. Effectively, Don offered Peter two weeks to move his father in, after Peter spoke with his sister.  

The difference Between Indonesian and Amercian Culture Research Paper

The difference Between Indonesian and Amercian Culture - Research Paper Example In this way, they vary in social, religious, and language functions that contribute in the virtues and traits that people adhere to. The Indonesian and American culture have different characteristics as discussed below (Wanning). Indonesian Culture The Indonesian culture is basically focused on their ethnic customs and a bit of foreign practices. Their official language is called Indonesian or in their terms â€Å"Bahasa Indonesian† which was formed through the Malay dialect. There are other regional dialects that the people of Indonesian use like Minangkabau or Javanese, which are spoken at home, or social places. However, the official language â€Å"Indonesian† is acceptable in schools, official functions, and at workplaces (Forshee 47). Indonesians appreciate the value of communal effort by coming together in groups, village, or island to complete tasks. They mainly define themselves in terms of ethnic setting, family, and birth place. Indonesian family structure is largely traditional in nature while members of the family adhere to strict roles and interdependence eon each other. Hierarchical relationships are vital to ensure that respect is given to individuals with status, power, position, and even age. This is common in the village administration and office where the senior person has the right to generate ideas and decisions. The superiors are refereed by â€Å"bapak† or â€Å"ibu† which is a title that means leader, father, or madam (Forshee 44). Indonesian strive to maintain group unity and therefore, the idea of â€Å"face† is crucial. It is apparent that the people try enormously to avoid causing shame â€Å"malu† especially in public places. In this way, they watch how they speak and interact by avoiding behaviors of ridicule or shouting at another person. In the same manner, they ensure that one does not blame another in public. For instance, they phrase words in a way that the other individual would not be offended even when being turned down. It is actually true that the words â€Å"yes† and â€Å"no† have more than twelve meanings for each of them that are used politely (â€Å"The Latest! Cultural Clues†¦.†). Greetings within the Indonesian community take a formal notion and this is appreciated as a way of showing respect. Handshakes is the form of greeting and followed by the term â€Å"Selamat,† while most Indonesians often give a slight bow, or place the hands on the heart after the hand shake. When a visitor is introduced a group of people, one must greet the eldest person first and use their titles to show respect. When it comes to giving gifts the process will be determined by the ethnicity of the receiver. For instance, is a person is of Chinese Indonesian descent, it is good to initially refuse a gift before taking it. This is an indication that the receiver is not a greedy person and therefore acceptable in the community. This community also advocates that items like scissors and knives cannot be given as gifts because it signifies trying to split a relationship. For Indonesian Muslims alcohol is forbidden and all gifts must be â€Å"halal.† Items that are not halal are things that include alcoholic components and those with pork byproducts like gelatin. Gifts must be given to the receiver using the right hand only to indicate respect and should not be unwrapped immediately (â€Å"The Latest! Cultural Clues†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ). Dining i s done in a relaxed and organized manner in Indonesian culture. Food is set in the middle and visitors have to wait for an invitation before beginning to eat. Dressing among Indonesians is conservative especially among the women. Women put on clothes that must cover everywhere including the ankles and neck. In business

Microsoft Corp.s Pricing Policies Essay Example for Free

Microsoft Corp.s Pricing Policies Essay Executive Summary This case study focused on the Microsoft Corporation and charges made by their competitors, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Department of Justice of antitrust violations and a monopoly of the computer operating systems and applications software, software development tools (e.g., programming language software), and hardware peripherals (e.g., Microsoft Mouse) that Microsoft specializes in. It focused on numerous issues that would lead one to believe that Microsoft was in fact monopolizing the entire industry they were in. . In order to adequately discuss and analyze the issues of this case, I have broken this paper up into four separate sections. Section 1 Key Terms Concepts: Description of the key terms concepts that pertain to this case Section 2 The Case Against Microsoft: Identify the facts and information that support my case against Microsoft Section 3 The Defense of Microsoft: Identify certain facts and information that support a defense of Microsoft Section 4 Discussion: What I have learned from the case After reading this case study, I went back to the email that I received from you and went over the questions that you suggested we consider. The first question was: If you were the DOJ how would you build a case against Microsoft or a dominant leader? I will attempt to do this in Section 2 The Case Against Microsoft. The second question was: If you were Microsoft how might you defend yourself against DOJ claims? I will cover this in Section 3 The Defense of Microsoft. I will attempt to show why it was very necessary for the DOJ to bring a case of monopoly and antitrust violations against Microsoft. In doing this, I will attempt to put myself into Microsofts shoes and defend their claims that they have not created a monopoly. Section 1 1. Key Terms Concepts The reason I decided to include these terms and concepts was to make it easier for me to write this paper and use certain terms without describing them each time I used them in my paper. Department of Justice, Antitrust Division: The Assistant Attorney General for Antitrust, a presidential appointee, ran the Antitrust Division of the DoJ. When the Division thought the evidence was sufficiently persuasive, it brought criminal charges. The Division also entered into negotiations with businesses to end litigation in exchange for consent decrees in civil cases, or nolo contendere (no contest) please in criminal cases DOJ: Department of Justice: The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States according to the law and to ensure fair and impartial administration of justice for all Americans (http://en.wikipedia. Org /wiki / United_States_Department_of_Justice) DOS: Disc Operating System FTC Federal Trade Commission: The FTC enforces federal antitrust and consumer protection laws by investigating complaints against individual companies initiated by consumers, businesses, congressional inquiries, or reports in the media (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Trade_Commission) ISVs: Independent Software Vendors MS-DOS: Microsoft Operating Systems NDAs: Non-disclosure agreements OEMs: Original Equipment Manufacturers OS: Operating Systems PC: Personal Computer Sherman Anti-Trust Act: it made illegal any form of contract or combination between entities in regards to trade and commerce that would have the effect of restraining trade. And it also put responsibility on government attorneys and district courts to pursue and investigate trusts http://en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/ Sherman _ Antitrust_Act) The Clayton Act of 1914: The Clayton Act was designed to prevent monopoly in the beginning rather than to remedy its effects. To accomplish this goal, Congress authorized antitrust prosecutions whenever business practices maysubstantially lessen competition or tend to create a monopoly in any line of commerce, in any section of the country. Section Two of the act forbade sellers from discriminating in price selling goods of like grade and quality to different buyers at different prices when such differences were neither cost justified nor necessary to meet competition. Section Three limited the use of tying and exclusive dealing contracts. Tying contracts required purchasers or leases to acquire a second, separate product in order to obtain the desired product. Exclusive dealing contracts obliged a purchaser or lessee not to deal in products of competitors Vaporware: is software or hardware which is announced by a developer well in advance of release, but which then fails to emerge, either with or without a protracted development cycle. The term implies deception, or at least a negligent degree of optimism; that is, it implies that the announcer knows that product development is in too early a stage to support responsible statements about its completion date, feature set, or even feasibility (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporware) Section 2 2. The Case Against Microsoft In order to make my case against Microsoft and prove that they are most assuredly in violation of monopoly and anti-trust regulations, I will answer the following questions: 1. Is this a case of monopoly? 2. Is this case a violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act? Is this a case of monopoly? When I began considering my approach to this paper, I first thought about situations where I was absolutely sure I had been the victim of a monopoly. In order to do this, I first had to make sure that I fully understood exactly what a monopoly was. The American Heritage ® Dictionary defines a monopoly as Exclusive control by one group of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service. In simpler terms, I have always thought of a monopoly as a big corporation doing its best to screw-over the little guy (A.K.A the customer) by doing its best to make as much money as possible. The first situation that came to mind when I thought of a monopoly was how the Comcast cable company had a virtual strangle-hold on the cable service in my homes area. Since they had exclusive control of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service, in this case they were the only cable provider in our area, you were forced to settle for Comcasts service unless you had satellite television or you were willing to settle for the wonderfully fuzzy reception from the antiquated rabbit ear antennas of years past. As a result, we unfortunately had to deal with Comcasts horrible service and always rising rates. Luckily for us, another competitor came in to the picture when WOW! (Wide Open West Internet-Cable-Phone) set up service in our area. We switched cable providers almost immediately and we couldnt have been happier. They have provided excellent customer service and their rates are consistently lower  than Comcasts. As a consumer, we definitely benefited from the increased competition and eventual abolishment of the cable company monopoly in our area. With that out of the way, I was forced to look at whether or not Microsoft had a monopoly in their particular industry. Based on the information in this case, I cannot say that Microsoft has a monopoly on any single entire industry. Do they dominate the majority of endeavors that they choose to participate in? Of course they do. Just look at some of these numbers: As you can see from Table 1, Microsoft dominates the market shares of suite software in the United States. The only problem with these numbers is the fact that they are limited in their time range. In my experience, three years is a long enough time to make an approximate forecast for future happenings, from a financial standpoint. However, that is from a transportation and supply-chain perspective where the main variable happens to be the customers shipping fluctuations. In a volatile and constantly evolving market such as software development, these numbers could sway tremendously with the introduction of a new and sought after product or changes in consumer wants and desires. Table 2 shows the financial numbers of Microsoft and three of their competitors: This also tells a lot about Microsofts market dominance, but this time from a financial standpoint. Two things that stand out to me in this table are the fact that Microsoft has almost twice as much net revenue than their nearest competitor (Microsoft has 4,649 and Novell has 1,998). The second thing that jumped out to me is the fact that all of the competitors show an increase in net revenue from 1984 to 1994. Based on the growth of Microsofts competitors (which there are more than one), I feel confident in saying that Microsoft does not have a monopoly in their industry. They do not meet the standard set forth by the simple definition in the dictionary of Exclusive control by one group of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service. As you can clearly see from the tables, Microsoft  does not have exclusive control of the means of producing or selling a commodity or service. However, Microsoft does in fact hold a monopoly on many other counts, one of which is that Microsoft Windows, the Microsoft OS, is installed on most personal computers that can be purchased from Dell, Hewlett Packard, Compaq, and the like. Because this OS comes pre-installed, we as the consumers do not have much of a choice and there is not much of an alternative for us to go with unless we want to switch to an Apple Macintosh OS. Although Microsoft isnt a natural monopoly in the classically defined or economic sense that Ive identified above, it is a natural monopoly in the land of cyberspace. Microsoft is the path of least resistance for government, consumers, and programmers alike. Microsoft may have many faults, but they make a lot of things easier too. Most of us are willing to accept a monopoly such as Microsoft has for increased convenience and usability. Microsoft is a one-product company, no matter how it may sometimes appear. Their success is fundamentally due to the success of Windows. It rose to power with one product, and it resides there because of the success of that product. Unfortunately for us, this is not only the best product on the market, it is the only true alternative for us to use. In my book, regardless of the textbook definition, this constitutes a monopoly by Microsoft. Is this a case a violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act? As I stated in Section 1, the Sherman Anti-Trust Act makes illegal any form of contract or combination between entities in regards to trade and commerce that would have the effect of restraining trade. Based on this case and the readings from week #7, there is proof that Microsoft did violate the Sherman Anti-Trust Act, particularly Sections 1 and 2 of the Act. Section One prohibited contracts, combinations and conspiracies in restraint of trade while Section Two outlawed monopolies and attempts to monopolize. Microsoft violated the Sherman Anti-Trust Act by illegally using its market power to restrain trade in the high tech industry. A filing from the DOJ on December 19, 1999 stated that Microsoft engaged in illegal conduct in five separate ways: * by tying browser sales to sales of the operating system; * by using its market power to illegally maintain a monopoly; * by attempting to monopolize the browser market; * by imposing exclusive dealing arrangements between itself and Internet service providers and/or developers; and * by imposing first boot-up and screen restrictions on computer makers. http://news.com.com/2100-1001-233992.html The DOJ filing in December of 1999 shows exactly why Microsoft was in violation of the Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Some of the things that Microsoft has done that clearly violate the act include, but are certainly not limited to: Microsoft customers upgrading their copies of Microsoft Office at the Microsoft website, but using the competitions web browser, are greeted with a message insisting on the use of MSIE for the full edition of the update. On November 18, 1998 the digital greeting card company Blue Mountain Arts discovered that beta versions of Microsofts Outlook Express (which comes free with Internet Explorer) were automatically filing Blue Mountains e-mail greeting cards into the junk folder rather than the inbox. Shortly afterwards, Blue Mountain Arts discovered that Microsofts WebTV service was blocking their e-mail greeting cards as well. When the courts ordered Microsoft to ship Windows without an integrated Internet Explorer, the company complied by offering a non-functional version of the OS, claiming that the browser was now so completely  integrated into Windows to remove it was tantamount to breaking the operating system. -All three of these examples were taken from the following website: http://www.vcnet. com /bms/departments/dirtytricks.shtml To summarize, Ive identified the following facts: Microsoft does have a monopoly in their industry Microsoft did violate Acts 1 and 2 of the Sherman Anti-trust Act It is convenient for Microsoft to say that their success is solely based on them being able to produce good products. Although they do devote extraordinary resources to improving their technologies, they also work diligently to stifle growth and in-roads from their competition. Section 3 3. The Defense of Microsoft I am not going to spend a great deal of time attempting to defend Microsoft. They have spent millions and millions of dollars working tirelessly to do it themselves. Furthermore, I firmly believe that they have established a monopoly and that this monopoly serves to futher one parties interests: Microsofts. However, I did some research online and came up with the following paragraph from an article titled The Microsoft Antitrust Suit written by Peter Tracey. In it, he wrote The persecution of Microsoft is an assault on the free market, and on the intelligence of the American people. It is the result of long-held envy by Microsofts competitors, including Netscape and Oracle. It is in violation of the constitution, being both ex post facto and vague (Getman). The governments persecution of Microsoft should be stopped, moreover, the antitrust legislation that has exposed business to unfair and unreasonable practices should be repealed. (http://www.levelthreesolutions.com/ peter/msantitrust.html) In Microsofts opinion, the government should not get involved in determining what means a company uses to produce their products. They feel that they have been able to succeed through hard work, tenancity, and superior products. Although it may be unfortunate for their competitiors, Microsoft feels that if you cant stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen. In essence, Microsoft makes the most money doing what they do by taking solid ideas from other people, such as the Disc Operating System, and making them better. Microsoft doesnt monopolize the industry. They simply work harder, take risks, and capitalize where other companies have floundered. Section 4 4. Discussion Before I discuss this particular case study, I must tell you that I have always been a big fan of Microsoft and Bill Gates. I have enjoyed the relatively cheap cost of Microsofts software such as Microsoft Excel and Word. I have also felt that with each successive upgrade of these products I have only been able to improve my performance both at work and school. I also thought it was impressive that Bill Gates could take his ideas, push forward with his undefeatable will, and become one of the richest people in the entire world. However, this case study and the analysis that Ive done with it has really opened my eyes to the seamy side of Microsoft and Bill Gates. I was so moved by this case that I even went and downloaded one of Microsofts few internet browser competitors, Netscape, to compare its product with Internet Explorer. When my wife asked me what my paper was I about I told her it was about Microsoft and whether or not they were a monopoly in the industry. Her very quick and wry response said it so perfectly: Duh, of course they are. Even I know that. I think this says it all so succinctly. Do I think Microsoft needs to be disbanded or separated in to two different operating companies? Not really. Like I said before, I enjoy Microsofts products and I use them constantly. In fact, I am writing  this paper using one of Microsofts products, Microsoft Word. I just honestly think that fair competition and a level playing field for Microsofts competitors would only benefit the consumer in the long run. More people with new insights will be given the chance to expand the technology already in place. Too many companies are skittish about taking on Microsoft because of the monopoly and the fear of being annihilated. Finally, I have learned that cases of anti-trust and monopoly are not always as clear cut as one may think. I always thought that Microsoft had a clear monopoly and that there was nothing any of us could ever do to remedy it. I also really didnt care as long as they continued to improve Windows and the accompanying Office Suite. I can see now that competition in all economic arenas, whether it is cable television or fast-food or computer software, is important, no vital, for lower prices and increased technological growth.

Education System Essay Example for Free

Education System Essay The education system of India is very old. It has started from the ancient times. The Vedas, puranas, ayurveda, yoga represent some forms of education. There are evidences of imparting formal education in ancient India under the Gurukul system. Under the Gurukul system, young boys who were passing through the Brahmacharya stage of life had to stay at the Guru or the teachers home and complete their education. Earlier women and people of lower castes didnt have a right to educate themselves. But Jainism, Buddhism and Sufi movements had some liberating effects. The Britishers can be credited for bringing a revolution in the Indian education system because it is the English language and the reformation movements of the 19th century that had the most liberating effect in pre-independent India. India Education Present Condition  After independence, making education available to all had become a priority for the government. As discrimination on the basis of caste and gender has been a major impediment in the healthy development of the Indian society, they have been made unlawful by the Indian constitution. The 86th constitutional amendment has also made elementary education a fundamental right for the children between the age group- 6 to 14. According to the 2001 census, Total literacy rate 65.38%. The female literacy rate 54.16%. Only 59.4% of rural population is literate as against 80.3% urban population according to the 2001 census. Read more: http://www.ukessays.com/essays/education/education-system-of-india.php#ixzz2KBxKSaq0

Introduction to Field Effect Transistor

Introduction to Field Effect Transistor To sir Mateen Yaqoob Group Members Maira Naseer Aqsa Mahmood The University of Lahore Sargodha, Pakistan Introduction to Field Effect Transistor Transistor: The word transistor is the short form of transforming resistor. Transistor is the special kind of resistor. Resistor whose value changes, based on the input signal, and the resistor changes is transformative. DEFINITION OF FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR: The field effect transistor is a transistor which control the shape by using field effect transistor Field effect transistor (FET): In 1926 julius Edgar Lilienfeld was first patented the field-effect transistor and by Oskar Heil in 1934. But transistor effect was explained and oberserved by the team of william shockley at Bell labs in 1947 after it practical semiconductor were developed. The field effect transistor and the PN junction: The behavior of the field effect transistor hinges on the behaviour of a PN junction that is reverse biased. semiconductoris a material that is not a good conductor and not a good insulator but that when heat, light or voltage is added it conduct more electricity. which has two type ‘P type ‘and ‘N type’. P type and N type material: From type p material that has abundance of positive carriers, we called them holes to the type N material that has abundance of negative carriers, we called them electrons. By the way it’s not that the P material is positively charged and N material is negatively charged ,they both are electricallyneutral. The difference is that the p material has free to move positive carriers and N material free to move negative carriers. PN Junction: Formally we put P type and N type together and we form one we called PN junction. The PN junction was found to very interesting electric properties. It allowed to current to flow from p to n and when blocked current they try to move backward. Forward biased p-n junction: Now look at how p-n junction works when we try to pass current forward trade from p to n. We apply voltage source across a p-n junction such that p-side is positive and n-side is negative ,then this voltage source tries to get current into the p material which effectively means that it pulling out electrons out of the left of p material and by doing that its creating new holes of the left side of the material which increasing the density of holes on the left side of the p material. That source at the same time is pulling current from the right of the n material which is equivalent to saying it to feeding new electrons into the right of the n material which increasing the density of free electrons on the right side of the n material. Observe there is high density holes on the left of the p material and there is high density of electrons on the right of the n material. Is that the gradient of density will move holes towards the right and electrons to the left and they will joining in the center and recombine and disappear. The motion of the holes is facilitated by electric field created by external source. This is the way the p-n junction operates when it forward biased and this process is continuous forever. Reverse biased p-n junction: Now look at how p-n junction works when we try to pass current reverse biased from n to p. We apply voltage source across a p-n junction such that the negative terminal is connected at the p side and positive terminal is connected at the n-side ,then this voltage source tries to take current out of the p material which effectively means that it tries to feed electrons on the left of the p material, if we do that those electron are recombine with some of holes on the left of the p material and the density of holes will decreasing on the left side of the p material and holes disappears. That source at the same time is feed current into the n material and take electrons out of the n material which decreases the density of electrons on left side of the n material. Is that the difference of density in holes and electrons will gap the holes and electrons move away from the junction to even over the density of carries in p-n material when they do that is an uncovering some of the fixed charges near junction creating a region that is depleted of free charges so there is no carrier s in this zone and this is a region that is stationary charges, negative on the p side and positive on the n side and these stationary charges stop the flow of current. Basic information of FET’s : Field effect transistor is the majority-charge-carrier devices, in which the current is carried mostly by majority carriers, or minority-charge-carrier devices. The field effect device consists of an active channel through which charge carriers flow from the source to the drain. Source and drain terminal conductors are connected to the semiconductor. The FETs three terminals are Source (S): Source S is the terminal through which the carriers enter the channel. usually, current entering the channel at S is identify by IS. Drain (D): Drain D is the terminal through which the carriers leave the channel. usually, current entering the channel at D is identify by ID and drain to source voltage is named as VDS Gate (G): Gate G is the terminal which set the channel conductivity.when voltage is apply on gate G it control the ID. Type of FET’S: Junction field effect transistor (JFET’S): P type material and n type material is good conductor by themselves.so it’s possible to place two terminals on say the n material and get electrons to flow through a one end terminal to the other just like a wire and this is the basic junction field effect transistor. Electron flow through the n type region of p-n device from one terminal to the other and the name of this n region is the channel. The channel input is called the source and the channel output is called the drain. AND electrons flow from source to drain. The p type region of this device is called a gate. When there is no voltage applied to the gate electrons are completely free to flow to the channel so the source drain resistance is pretty much is zero ohms. When the JFETs is in this state we say it’s saturated, the channel electrons density is maximum. However, when you reverse biased a gate an interesting thing happens. Reverse biased in the p-n junction causes a depletion region to appear just did in a diode and part of p and n material is convert back to being in insulator but now that depletion region causes the physical with the n channel to become narrow so less electron flow through the channel which rises resistance of the channel . As we increase the negative voltage at the gate, the n channel become even more narrow and channel resistance rises further. If we increase voltage even further at some point the depletion will completely blocked the n channel, no current can flow across a channel and channel resistance is virtually infinite. At this point we say that the fact is cut off .Many also say that it is pinched off and the gate voltage pinched off the channel called the pinched off the voltage is around -4 volts. So this is how fact works, the reverse biased voltage of the gate causes channel resistance between source and drain to increase and it goes to infinite resistance at the pinched off voltage. It’s possible to have channel made of p material instead of n material and we have a gate made of n material instead of p material. This is called a p channel JFET and it works exactly as the same way n channel JFET does accept the polarity are reversed .Electrons still flow from source to drain but this time the gate is reversed biased with positive voltage control in the channel resistance. Difference between BJT and FET. BIPOLAR JUNCTION TRANSISTOR: The full form of BJT is Bipolar Junction Transistor. The BJT is a current-controlled device since its output is determined on the input current. The basic construction of a BJT is two PN junctions producing three terminals. Bipolar junction transistor is high voltage gain. Bipolar junction transistor is Low input impedance. Bipolar junction transistor is low output impedance. Bipolar junction transistor is low input impedance. Bipolar junction transistor is medium nose generation. Bipolar junction transistor have medium switching time. Bipolar junction transistor requires zero input to turn off. Bipolar junction transistor is cheap. Bipolar junction transistor is easy to bias. FIELD EFFECT TRANSISTOR: The full form of FET is Field Effect Transistor. Field effect transistor is a voltage-controlled device, due to its dependence on the field effect of the applied voltage. The field effect transistor construction does not have a PN junction in its main current carrying. Field effect transistor Is low voltage gain. Field effect transistor is high current gain. Field effect transistor is high input impedance. Field effect transistor is high output impedance. Field effect transistor is low noise generation. Field effect transistor has fast switching time. Field effect transistor requires some input to turn off. Field effect transistor is more expensive than BIPOLAR. Field effect transistor is difficult to bias. Advantages of FET: 1: Field effect transistor is high input resistance which is 100 MÃŽ © or more. 2:Field effect transistor is voltage-controlled device, and it show a high degree of separation between input and output. 3:Field effect transistor is depend on majority current flow and it is a unipolar device. 2: With shaping time base current will increase noise, and field effect transistor produce less noise as compare to bipolar junction and it is found in noise sensitive electronics. Disadvantages of FET: 1: field effect transistor has low gain-bandwidth product as compared to a bipolar junction transistor. 2:. When reisitance is â€Å"on† field effect transistor is low and when resistance is â€Å"off† field effect transistor is high and field effect transistor can vanish large amount of power during switching. Uses of FET: 1:.MOSFET is the most commonly used in field effect transistor 2: Field effect transistor used as an amplifier ,because it has large input resistance and low output resistance. FETS effective as a buffer. Page 1 of 9

The Suppression of the Other and Self-Enlightenment in William Wordsworths Resolution and Independence :: essays research papers

My response to William Wordsworth’s Resolution and Independence focuses upon the precept that Wordsworth’s narrator uses the tale of the Leech Gatherer as a means to achieve ‘resolution’ to his own internal crisis. This is highlighted by, in my opinion, the narrator not so much paying attention to the Leech Gatherer’s tale, yet instead his pre-occupation with what he wants to interpret from the tale in order to satisfy his needs. I further argue that in doing so Wordsworth’s poem constructs the Leech Gatherer as the ‘other’, and that his ‘otherness’ is suppressed by converting him into a mere instrument by which the narrator attains enlightenment. Although my reading of the poem is heavily focused on the encounter between the narrator and the Leech Gatherer, this doesn’t occur until the eighth stanza. The poem starts with the narrator out for a stroll, feeling â€Å"as happy as a boy† marveling at the offerings of nature in the sunshine following a â€Å"roaring in the wind all night.† What struck me from these opening stanzas was the rhyming pattern used throughout the poem. Set in ‘rhyme royal’ I found the meter both inviting and accessible, which made for an entertaining read from the outset. However from this pleasant beginning, quite suddenly and apparently inexplicably during the fourth stanza, the narrator undergoes a violent mood swing: ‘As high as we have mounted in delight/In our dejection do we sink so low;/ To me that morning did it happen so.’ This sudden change left me quite disorientated and perplexed as to cause of his depression. After re-reading the passage and considering it in the context of the entire poem I felt that this mood swing was the reader’s first indication of the narrator’s status as a poet. This notion of a poet’s perspective remained at the foreground of my reading and I felt constantly reminded that the narrator’s subsequent quest for resolution and enlightenment came from the perspective of a poet, not merely an individual. My view of the narrator within this context was not an entirely positive one, as in addition to seeming over-analytical and emotionally fragile – ‘Perplexed and long ing to be comforted’ - I felt he came across as condescending toward the Leach-Gatherer; as if he came from a position of higher moral ground by virtue of his occupation as a poet. Within this context, an observation I found significant was

Christopher Columbus vs. Alvez Nunez Cabeza de Vaca Essay -- American

Christopher Columbus and Alvez Nunez Cabeza de Vaca were both explorers for Spain, but under different rulers and different times. The more famous, Christopher Columbus, came before de Vaca’s time. Columbus sailed a series of four voyages between 1492 and 1504 in search for a route to Asia which led accidentally to his discovery of new land inhabited with Indians. Christopher sailed under the Spanish monarchs, Ferdinand and Isabella for his journey to the â€Å"Indies,† whom he was loyal to by claiming everything in their name. De Vaca , followed in Christopher’s footsteps and journeyed to Hispanionola for Spain’s emperor, Charlves V, the grandson of Ferdinand and Isabella. Both, Columbus and de Vaca composed a series of letters addressing the main issue of their journey to the new land, but both were expressed in a different manner, included different material, and were motivated to write for dissimilar reasons. Columbus’ and de Vaca’s purposes to compose letters are quite divergent. Christopher Columbus’ main objective in his Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage, was to list his unnoticed accomplishments, justly sufferings, and devotion in order for the monarchs to save him. He had his heart set on Ferdinand and Isabella’s pity to obtain their permission to go to Rome and other places of pilgrimage. In Columbus’ â€Å"Letter to Ferdinand and Isabella Regarding the Fourth Voyage,† Columbus had the intention to please his majesty by claiming his â€Å"[pure devot...

Fear and Hope in Marigolds :: Literary Analysis, Eugenia Collier

Eugenia Collier’s â€Å"Marigolds† is a memoir of a colored girl living in the Great Depression. The story does not focus on the troubles society presents to the narrator (Elizabeth), but rather is focused on the conflict within her. Collier uses marigolds to show that the changes from childhood to adulthood cause fear in Elizabeth, which is the enemy of compassion and hope. â€Å"Marigolds† is about change. Collier chose a â€Å"fourteen-going-on-fifteen† (1) year old girl because the transition from childhood to adulthood adds layers of conflict to the story. The initially obvious conflict is that of the woman and child inside Elizabeth. She represents the child when she pulls up the marigolds: â€Å"The fresh smell of early morning and dew-soaked marigolds spurred me on as I went tearing and mangling and sobbing† (5). She (as the child) is struggling inwardly against being a woman. At the end of her rampage, she is â€Å"more woman than child† (1), and the child in her loses the battle. As a woman, she wins â€Å"a kind of reality which is hidden to childhood† (5). The second conflict is also symbolic. Elizabeth represents fear. She has the feeling that â€Å" something old and familiar [is] ending and something unknown and therefore terrifying [is] beginning† (1). The marigolds represent hope. The reason for her â€Å"great impulse towards destruction† (4) was a combination of fear for the future and bitterness towards the past. In this conflict, fear wins because Miss Lottie â€Å"never [plants] marigolds again† (5). The third conflict is the most important. It takes place inside of Elizabeth and is also between fear and hope. At the end of the story, fear may win symbolically, but hope wins inside of Elizabeth: â€Å"In that humiliating moment I looked beyond myself and into the depths of another person. This was the beginning of compassion† (5). Not only does Collier use age to create depth of conflict, but she also uses Elizabeth’s attitude. The first conflict (the transition from childhood to adulthood) could stand by itself. If Collier had created an optimistic character it would not have allowed Elizabeth to have a struggle between fear and hope. By creating a pessimistic character, Collier shows that she is bitter and fearful. That is evident in her statement that her â€Å"hatred of [poverty] was still the vague, undirected restlessness of a zoo bred flamingo who knows that nature created him to fly free† (1).

Airline Crisis Communication

Airline crisis communication is very important in saving the reputation of an airline company. The purpose of this presentation is to evaluate the reason why some airline loss their reputations and then make successful strategies in an airline crisis communication In this presentation, the definition of airline crisis communication will be given from two aspects, the aspect of practical way and the knowledge of the scholars.Then an example of an unsuccessful case about NYMPH is chosen to scribe the measures they did after a crisis case happened and the analysis of the negative effects and loss following it will be described in details. After that, the problem of this case will be evaluated and reasons will be explained. Finally, four best strategies based on crisis communication theory and successful examples will be introduced to assist airline take successful strategies in the future.Then it comes to the conclusion that best strategies are effective in a crisis communication. Key w ords: Crisis communication: the perception of an unpredictable event that threatens important expectancies of stakeholders and can seriously impact an organization's performance and generate negative outcomes. Reputation: the opinion that people have about an airline someone or something because if what has happened in the past.

Autonomous Vehicles and Software Architectures

Author: Anonymous Date: Tuesday, August 21, 2012 10:07:54 AM EDT Subject:Week 1 Discussion 2 â€Å"Autonomous Vehicles and Software Architectures † Please respond to the following: * Autonomous vehicles utilize integrated imaging and vision systems, sensor systems, and control systems to â€Å"drive a car†. Determine what you believe are the top-five challenges of integrating these systems. Provide one example for each challenge and explain why you believe it is a challenge. * Explain whether you believe there is a difference between designing and developing software for distributed architectures and stand-alone essay writer help, non-distributed systems.Provide at least five reasons to support your position. Autonomous Vehicles and Top-Five Challenges 1. ) Just for starters, who would be responsible for accidents? Software used in such cars would have to have the same basic reactions as humans, and if there is a computational fault that causes a crash, would the driver or the software-making firm be at fault? Not only this, but vehicle safety standards would have to be assessed and potentially rewritten to account for electronics as well as mechanics — and knowing how governments work, this could take a while. . ) No system is faultless, and everything has a chance of failure. But if a computer system fails when you’re on the highway, not only could it prove more dangerous than usual — as your attention is unlikely to be fully on the road if something else is in control — and so a self-driving car would have to come with a plethora of safety mechanisms in place to cater for these issues. Not only this, but such a system would have to be able to react to unexpected situations. For example, how would an autonomous car react if a child ran out into a road?The technology may be shiny and new, but safety will prove a massive challenge before this kind of technology will be allowed to see the light of day when it comes down to the general public. Specifically, driving in snow is proving challenging because the snow covers the markers and visual cues that the autonomous sensor technology relies on to pilot a vehicle on its own. 3. ) There also may be problems with new roads or changes in street names as well as with situations in which police are manually directing traffic. 4. Another challenge is driving through construction zones, accident zones, or other situations in which a human is directing traffic with hand signals. The cars are excellent at observing stop signs, traffic lights, speed limits, the behavior of other cars, and other common cues that human drivers use to figure out how fast to go and where and when to turn. But when a human is directing traffic with hand signals–and especially when these hand signals conflict with a traffic light or stop sign–the cars get confused. 5. Data Challenges: An enormous amount of data will become available for alternative usage, which is like ly to present challenges and opportunities pertaining to data security, privacy concerns, and data analytics and aggregation. Privacy concerns must be resolved to enable the deployment of integrated sensor-based and cooperative vehicle technologies. A balance between privacy protection interests and other affected interests is essential to resolve conflicts between the stakeholders who will make decisions about how information is collected, archived, and distributed.Potential stakeholder concerns are numerous: disclosure of vehicle data could reveal trade secrets; public personalities, such as politicians and celebrities, could be connected to potentially embarrassing locations or routes; and ordinary citizens could find themselves spammed or stalked as the data enables a variety of harmful applications such a as commercial misuse, public corruption, and identity theft. And what’s to prevent nefarious governments from using the expanded surveillance capabilities to spy on the ir citizens?Data Security: Numerous security threats will arise once personal mobility is dominated by self-driving vehicles. Unauthorized parties, hackers, or even terrorists could capture data, alter records, instigate attacks on systems, compromise driver privacy by tracking individual vehicles, or identify residences. They could provide bogus information to drivers, masquerade as a different vehicle, or use denial-of-service attacks to bring down the network. The nefarious possibilities are mind-boggling—the stuff of sci-fi thrillers.But system security will undoubtedly become a paramount issue for transportation systems with the successful deployment of integrated sensor based and cooperative vehicles. Difference Between Distributed and Non-Distributed Systems A distributed system is a computing system in which a number of components cooperate by communicating over a network. Computer software traditionally ran in stand-alone systems, where the user interface, applicatio n ‘business’ processing, and persistent data resided in one computer, with peripherals attached to it by buses or cables.Inherent complexities, which arise from fundamental domain challenges: E. g. , components of a distributed system often reside in separate address spaces on separate nodes, so inter-node communication needs different mechanisms, policies, and protocols than those used for intra-node communication in a stand-alone systems. Likewise, synchronization and coordination is more complicated in a distributed system since components may run in parallel and network communication can be asynchronous and non-deterministic.The networks that connect components in distributed systems introduce additional forces, such as latency, jitter, transient failures, and overload, with corresponding impact on system efficiency, predictability, and availability [VKZ04]. †¢ Accidental complexities, which arise from limitations with software tools and development techniques, such as non-portable programming APIs and poor distributed debuggers.Ironically, many accidental complexities stem from deliberate choices made by developers who favor low-level languages and platforms, such as C and C-based operating system APIs and libraries, that scale up poorly when applied to distributed systems. As the complexity of application requirements increases, moreover, new layers of distributed infrastructure are conceived and released, not all of which are equally mature or capable, which complicates development, integration, and evolution of working systems. †¢ Inadequate methods and techniques.Popular software analysis methods and design techniques have focused on constructing single-process, single-threaded applications with ‘best-effort’ quality of service (QoS) requirements. The development of high-quality distributed systems—particularly those with stringent performance requirements, such as video-conferencing or air traffic control sy stems—has been left to the expertise of skilled software architects and engineers. Moreover, it has been hard to gain experience with software techniques for distributed systems without spending much time wrestling with platform-specific details and fixing mistakes by costly trial and error. Continuous re-invention and re-discovery of core concepts and techniques. The software industry has a long history of recreating incompatible solutions to problems that have already been solved. There are dozens of general-purpose and real-time operating systems that manage the same hardware resources. Similarly, there are dozens of incompatible operating system encapsulation libraries, virtual machines, and middleware that provide slightly different APIs that implement essentially the same features and services. If effort had instead been focused on rapidly by reusing common tools and standard platforms and components.Distributed Systems Therefore, distributed and non-distributed compute r system are different in these ways. * Distributed architecture has the ability to scale out and load balance business logic independently. * Distributed architecture has separate server resources that are available for separate layers. * Distributed architecture is flexible. * Distributed architecture has additional serialization and network latency overheads due to remote calls. * Distributed architecture is potentially more complex and more expensive in terms of total cost of ownership. Non-Distributed Systems Non-distributed architecture is less complex than distributed architecture. * Non-distributed architecture has performance advantages gained through local calls. * With non-distributed architecture, it is difficult to share business logic with other applications. * With non-distributed architecture, server resources are shared across layers. This can be good or bad — layers may work well together and result in optimized usage because one of them is always busy. Howe ver, if one layer requires disproportionately more resources, another layer may be starved of resources.

Preparation Outline for Informative Speech Essay

Introduction As long as I can remember my family has always had food on the table and a family gathering on the fourth November in our home. We have all heard elementary stories of wood cabins and the Pilgrims and Indians celebrating thanksgiving. Though, I never knew the reason they were celebrating. Today as Thanksgiving is closely approaching, I am going to talk to you about the history of Thanksgiving, its traditions, and how our era and personal preferences influence the traditions in our celebrations. First let’s start by learning the origination of the Thanksgiving holiday. I. According to Caleb Johnson’s The Mayflower, â€Å"The pilgrim’s gave thanks in 1621 (the actual date unknown) for the first time.† A. In this article he has a published Plimouth letter. This letter gives us insight as to why they celebrated a day of thanks and with what foods. B. This being that the pilgrims had a scarce crop the years before that had led to sickness and death. The foods they celebrated with was a variety of foods from their crop, many fish, and wildlife animals. So because in the year of 1621 their crops group plentiful, the people of Plimouth decided give thanks to god for their year of blossoming crops. So they celebrated with food and thanks for 3 days. C. This is also the only known account of the Plimouth’s celebration for years to come. The next account was some twenty years later in a published article by William Bradford. So how did a National Holiday come into effect? Why the fourth Thursday? II. The years leading up to a National Holiday A. The Continental Congress proclaimed the first national Thanksgiving in 1777. Yet, Presidents Washington, Adams and Monroe proclaimed national Thanksgivings, but the custom fell out of use by 1815, after which the celebration of the holiday was limited to individual state observances. B. By the 1850s, almost every state and territory celebrated Thanksgiving. C. The plimoth.org site states, â€Å"In 1827, Sarah Josepha Hale began a campaign to reinstate the holiday after the model of the first Presidents. She publicly petitioned several Presidents to make it an annual event. Though her efforts did not succeeded until 1863, when she convinced President Lincoln that a national Thanksgiving might serve to unite a war-torn country.† D. According to History.com it was not until 1941 that the fourth Thursday of November be the permanent date for thanksgiving. Where does a turkey come into play? What are the traditions of this Holiday? III. Thanksgiving traditions and how they came into effect. A. The simplest tradition of Thanksgiving is to come together and give thanks. B. Thanksgiving is also known as Turkey Day. Why? Well according to slate.com, Turkeys just so happened to not have anything to do with the first Thanksgiving. They were fresh, affordable, and big enough to feed a crowd. Among the big birds, turkey was ideal for a fall feast. C. By 1863, when Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday, turkeys had taken center stage at Thanksgiving. IV. In this era we have added a few Thanksgiving traditions. A. Alder says, â€Å"Pro football has become as big a tradition at Thanksgiving as the turkey and if your Thanksgiving celebrations are like mine, most of the football fans head right for the television as soon as they hit the door.† B. According to USA today, â€Å"A little more than 60 years after the holiday’s formal recognition, another tradition was born: the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Started in 1924, the department store’s first parade included actual animals from the Central Park Zoo.† C. Thanksgiving traditions don’t end on Thanksgiving Day. In the 1950s, the  day after Thanksgiving was called Black Friday by factory managers because so many workers called in sick and the Philadelphia Police Department took to calling the day Black Friday to describe the traffic jams, crowds and shoplifters during the start of the holiday shopping season. Black Friday signals the start of the holiday shopping season, but it may be a tradition that’s continuing to evolve as stores vie to be the earliest to open Thanksgiving Day. In conclusion, the history of Thanksgiving dates back to 1621. It takes many years before it becomes a permanent national holiday for the American society. Throughout the years Americans have in cooperated new traditions as well as maintained the old. As O. Henry says, â€Å"There is one day that is ours. Thanksgiving Day is the one day that is purely American.†

Chondrogenesis Of Adult Stem Cells Health And Social Care Essay

1.0 IntroductionDegenerative gristle diseases, such as degenerative arthritis ( OA ) , affect 1000000s of people worldwide and therefore have tremendous societal and economic effects. Osteoarthritis is characterized by progressive devastation of articular gristle and finally the full articulation, associated with variable grades of local redness, motional hurting, puffiness of the damaged tissue and thickener of the articulations. The internal fix capacity of articular gristle is hapless due to several alone features of the tissue, including slow turnover of gristle collagen, deficiency of vascularisation and the low figure of root cells that could lend to the fix. In mature articular gristle, chondrocytes have small intrinsic potency for fix. Repair may happen by an extrinsic mechanism, which depends on mesenchymal stromal cells ( MSCs ) in next connective tissue. Several intervention options have been used for gristle fix in gristle lesions, including soft tissue trades, and chondrocyte and osteochondral organ transplant. However these methods are limited by the hapless handiness of suited donor tissue and the hazard of infection and implant failure associated w ith entire joint replacings [ 14 ] . These restrictions are the driving force behind much research into cell-based methods for efficaciously handling diseased or damaged gristle [ 15 ] . Tissue technology has been defined as â€Å" an interdisciplinary field that applies the rules of technology and the life sciences toward the development of biological replacements that restore, maintain, or better tissue map † [ 14 ] ) . Tissue technology schemes by and large involve the undermentioned phases: ( 1 ) designation and isolation of a suited beginning of cells ; ( 2 ) industry of a device to either carry or encapsulate the cells ; ( 3 ) uniform seeding of cells onto or into the device and appropriate civilization ; and ( 4 ) in vivo nidation of the engineered concept ( Figure-1 [ 16 ] ) . Figure-1: Conventional representation of a tissue technology scheme: ( A ) isolation of an appropriate cell population ; ( B ) fiction of a scaffold ; ( C ) seeding of cells into scaffold and in vitro civilization of cell-scaffold concept ; and ( D ) nidation of tissue engineered device. The field of tissue technology has opened up new possibilities for fix and regeneration of gristle by uniting cells, biomaterial scaffolds, and bioactive signals [ 1, 2 ] . Mesenchymal cells ( MSCs ) offer a promising beginning due to its ability to proliferate extensively and distinguish into multiple cell line of descents in vitro and in vivo, including chondrocytes, bone-forming cells and adipocytes [ 6 ] . MSCs are present in a assortment of grownup tissues, such as bone marrow and adipose tissue. Adult root cells derived from adipose tissue ( adipose-derived root cells, ASCs ) [ 3,4 ] and bone marrow ( bone marrow-derived mesenchymal root cells, BMSCs ) [ 5,6 ] have shown important chondrogenic potency for such a tissue technology attack [ 7-10 ] . The BMSCs or human bone marrow stromal root cells can be cultured, expanded and so transplanted into the injured site or, after seeding on molded polymer scaffolds, placed back in the patient to bring forth appropriate tissue concepts. It is a instead clip overwhelming process for the patients and the research lab employees. Besides, these BMSCs have a low cell figure upon reaping so they need to be expanded and so transplanted to the injured site or seeded on/in a polymer scaffold. The procedure takes much clip as besides the clip it requires in the research lab, the patients need to be operated twice, first to roll up the BMSCs and-or stabilise the defect and so to put the scaffold or transfer the BMSCs. Adipose tissue might be a promising alternate beginning of root cells that could hold far-reaching effects on several Fieldss including gristle tissue technology. It is really good known that root cells derived from adipose tissue are capable to distinguish into adipocytes, chondrocytes, bone-forming cells and myoblasts, like Mesenchymal Stem Cells ( MSCs ) . ASCs have attracted involvement due to ease of isolation process and comparative copiousness handiness of cells as compared to BMSCs [ 11, 12 ] . Large figure of ASCs in adipose tissue makes them an ideal campaigner for so called â€Å" one measure surgical process † for the intervention of osteo chondral defects [ 13 ] . Chondrogenic distinction of these cells may be induced by specii ¬?c cytokines, growing factors [ 22 ] , biophysical stimulation such as hydrostatic force per unit area, hyperosmolarity, hypoxia and proviso of a suited three-dimensional ( 3-D ) environment. In this literature describe the focal point is on methods used for bring oning adipose derived root cells and bone marrow derived root cells into the chondrogenic line of descent and besides to know apart initiation methods between adipose derived root cells and bone marrow derived root cells. This leads to treatments on ( 1 ) rudimentss of gristle tissue technology and the usage of root cells ( 2 ) features and biological facets of BMSCs ( 3 ) features and biological facets of root cells derived from adipose tissue ( 4 ) difference between these two root cells, ( 5 ) Factors used for bring oning adipose root cells in to chondrogenic line of descent2.0 Cartilage2.1 Cartilage biological scienceCartilage is a an avascular, aneural and alymphatic connective tissue nowadays in many sites of the craniate organic structure, including the jointing articulations between castanetss, rib coop, ear, nose, bronchial tubings and intervertebral phonograph record. Cartilage is classified in three s ubtypes based on its morphology and the composing of the extracellular matrix ( ECM ) asA hyaloid gristle, elastic cartilageA andA fibro-cartilage. Out of the three subtypes hyaloid gristle is rich in collagen type II and proteoglycan and it is found in between articulations. Besides it is the lone gristle subtype that can prolong mechanical strain. Articular gristle, which is present at the jointing surfaces of castanetss within synovial articulations, is formed from hyaloid gristle. The location of articular gristle within the articulatio genus articulation is shown in Figure 2. Articular gristle forms a lasting bed with a thickness of 0.5 to 7.0mm at the surface cut downing clash between the castanetss and administering tonss across the full articulation surface [ 89 ] . The one disadvantage of gristle is that unlike other type of tissues, foods are non supplied by blood vass alternatively diffuse through the matrix and gristle is repaired at a slower rate than other connective t issues. This is due to the deficiency of the three-step lesion mending procedure nowadays in other tissues ; i.e. redness, proliferation and tissue remodeling. Chondrogenesis is the procedure by which gristle is formed from condensed mesenchymal connectiveA tissue, which differentiates intoA chondrocytesA and secretes the molecules that form the extracellular matrix. The procedure begins with the collection and condensation of loose mesenchyme. Early in foetal development, the greater portion of the skeleton is cartilaginous. ThisA temporaryA gristle is bit by bit replaced by bone ( Endochondral ossification ) , a procedure that ends at pubescence. In contrast, the gristle in the articulations remains unossified during the whole of life and is, hence, A permanent. Factors such as the bone morphogenetic proteins ( BMPs ) are known to play critical functions in the compression of mesenchymal cells and the defining of the condensation [ 17 ] . As discussed before, onceA damaged gristle has limited fix capablenesss sinceA chondrocytesA are bound inA blank, they can non migrate to damaged countries. Fig-2 Location of articular gristle within the articulatio genus articulation ( adapted from Drury and Shipley 1998 ) .2.2 Cartilage tissue technologyAs gristle healing is limited, there exists a turning demand for cell based schemes for gristle fix. The quickly rising field of tissue technology holds great promise for the coevals of functional tissue replacements, including gristle, by technology tissue constructsA in vitroA for subsequent implantationA in vivo. The basic rule is to use a biocompatible, structurally and automatically sound scaffold that is seeded with an appropriate cell beginning, and is loaded with bioactive molecules to advance cellular distinction and/or ripening. Although advancement has been made late in technology gristle of assorted forms and sizes for decorative intents [ 18 ] , the challenges of technology a weight-bearing tissue, such as articular gristle that consists of multiphasic cellular architecture, are important. Articular gristle provides its ain peculiar challenges for tissue technology. Though its construction appears simple and contains merely one cell type, it has a complex and extremely organized extracellular matrix ( ECM ) . The physical belongingss of articular gristle depend on the construction and organisation of the supermolecules in the ECM. The construction of collagen gives it impressive tensile belongingss, which is utile to bring forth a tissue that is non merely strong in tenseness but besides immune to compaction. This is achieved by make fulling the interfibrillar matrix with a really high content of proteoglycan, chiefly aggrecanA [ 19, 20 ] . The challenge for gristle tissue technology is to bring forth gristle tissue with suited construction and propertiesA ex vivo, which can be implanted into articulations to supply a natural fix that with clip, will go incorporate with the patient ‘s tissues. There have been a figure of successful attacks to weave applied scientist gristle, including the usage of natural and man-made biomaterial scaffolds, allogeneic and autologous beginnings of mature chondrocytes and chondroprogenitor cells, biophysical cues such as hydrostatic force per unit area, hyperosmolarity, hypoxia, chondroinductive growing factors, such as the transforming growing factor-I?s ( TGF-I?s ) , and combinations thereof. Some of the current progresss in cartilage tissue technology are highlighted here.3.0 Characterization and biological facets of Adipose root cells and bone marrow root cells3.1 Bone marrow-derived root cells ( BMSCs )Bone marrow contains three types of root cells, haematopoietic root cells, m esenchymal root cells and endothelial root cells. Hematopoietic root cells give rise to the three categories of blood cells that are found in the circulation white blood cellsA ( leucocytes ) , A ruddy blood cells ( red blood cells ) , andA plateletsA ( platelets ) . Mesenchymal root cellsA are found arrayed around the cardinal fistula in the bone marrow. They have the capableness to distinguish intoA bone-forming cells, chondrocytes, A myocytes, and many other types of cells. Stem cells obtained from bone marrow are found in the stroma of the marrow. These cells are typically obtained from bone marrow aspirates from marrow graft givers. When cultured in vitro, bone marrow root cells exhibit a fibroblast-like morphology. Marrow stromal cells have been studied and certain cell surface markers have been identified which are utile in cell choice and finding of readying of marrow root cell populations [ 21 ] . In add-on to their ability to distinguish into multiple cell line of descents, the usage of bone marrow root cells offer a beginning of cells that is isolated and expanded in vitro. Bone marrow-derived root cells were isolated and described for the i ¬?rst clip by Friedenstein and Owen at the University of Oxford, UK, in the 1960s, followed by intensive work on the survey of the belongingss of these cells [ 23-29 ] . They took bone marrow and incubated for 4 hours in fictile civilization dishes and removed the non-adherent cells. A heterogonous population of cells was retrieved, with some adherent cells exhibiting a spindle form ; besides, they multiplied quickly in vitro, organizing distinguishable settlements called colony-forming unit i ¬?broblasts ( CFU-Fs ) . Finally, these cells were successfully isolated from several mammals, including worlds [ 30,31 ] . In add-on, the CFU-Fs were found to hold multi-potent, therefore connoting that they have stem cell belongingss [ 29,32 ] . These cells differentiated into multiple mesenchymal cell line of descents in vitro, including bone [ 33 ] , ligament [ 34 ] , adipose [ 33 ] , gristle [ 35,36 ] and musculus [ 3 7 ] . Similarly, following the organ transplant of CFU-Fs in vivo, they formed little sedimentations of bone, gristle or fat [ 37-39 ] . This was further supported the multi-potent potency of CFU-Fs. Similar cells have been isolated from different mesenchymal tissues, including synovial [ 40 ] , sinews [ 41 ] , skeletal musculuss [ 42 ] and adipose tissue [ 43,44 ] . BMSCs are normally isolated from the mononucleate bed of bone marrow after separation by denseness gradient centrifugation. These mononucleate cells are cultured in media incorporating 10-15 % foetal calf or autologous serum [ 45 ] . The BMSCs adhere to the tissue civilization plastic, go forthing little adherent i ¬?broblast-like cells. Thereafter, the cells divide and proliferate quickly. For in vitro chondrogenic distinction MSCs are needed to be kept in high denseness 3-D environment. This can be attained by aggregating the cells in mircomass pellets or as suspension in alginate. Different man-made or biological scaffolds like agarose, collagen suspensions, fibrin gels and biopolymers can be used [ 46-48 ] . Alginate bead civilization is an first-class tool for chondrogenic distinction surveies in vitro. Alginate is a additive polyose which is soluble in aqueous solutions and cells can be homogenously suspended in it. It is cross-linked in presence of Ca or other bivalent ions to organize a polymerized hydrogel. Importantly, it can be easy resolubilized by a chelating agent ethylenediaminetetraacetate ( EDTA ) to divide cells from the ECM [ 49 ] . Chondrogenic distinction is a complicated procedure necessitating good defined conditions, hence, external foetal calf serum ( FCS ) usually used for proliferation of MSCs has to be substituted by defined medium addendum, like widely used ITSa„? . ITSa„? contains insulin, beta globulin, selenious acid and linoleic acid suspended in solution of bovine serum albumen. Insulin as a endocrine addendum is necessary for endurance of cells as it is involved in fatty acid and animal starch synthesis. Transferrin is an iron-binding protein for endocrines and foods, hence, it is critical for in vitro cell growing and selenious acid is a cofactor for glutathione peroxidase necessary for cell membrane unity. Linoleic acid is an built-in constituent of chondrogenic medium, like many unsaturated fatty acids it is an built-in membrane constituent and of import for cell growing. It is non a specific chondrogenic distinction factor but in combination with Tgf-? has profound stimulatory consequence on chondrogenesis. Tgf-? entirely and in combination with Decadron enhance chondrogenesis [ 50,51 ] . The chondrogenic medium has to be enriched with proline because this amino acid is found in really high concen trations in extracellular matrices. Pro-x-gly-pro sequence motive appears really often in collagens where ten is normally a impersonal amino acid. Ascorbic acid is required as an negatron giver, therefore it contributes collagen synthesis by moving as a carbon monoxide factor for lysine proline hydroxylation necessity for the formation of typical-triple coiling collagen constructions [ 52 ] . As all the needed conditions are met MSCs start to lose their fibroblast like features and get down showing chondrocyte particular ECM which can be monitored by look of chondrogenic markers. Several other methods are used to assist distinguish MSCs into osteocytes, adipocytes, myocytes or tenocytes in vitro. Bone marrow aspirates are still being used though there are major restraints. The chief restraints in utilizing BMSCs are: heterogenous population of the cells, painful process to roll up the bone marrow and the population of MSCs nowadays in bone marrow is really low ( 0.001-0.01 % or about 1 MSC per 105 disciple stromal cells ) [ 53 ] . Besides MSCs needs to be expanded in vitro for a longer period of clip before adequate cells are present for seeding the scaffold or organ transplant [ 53 ] . These restraints favours the statement for placing new beginnings as feasible options to cram marrow, but farther surveies in clinically relevant animate being theoretical accounts are needed to better qualify the comparative – in our case- chondrogenic potency. One of these options might lie in the usage of root cells derived from adipose tissue.3.2 Adipose tissue-derived root cellsIn order to utilize adipose tissue for the usage of tissue technology, the composing of this tissue needs to be analyzed foremost. Adipose tissue is specialized connective tissue that maps as the major storage site for fat in the signifier of triglycerides. In grownup mammals, the major majority of adipose tissue is a loose association of lipid-filled cells, which are held in a model of collagen fibres. Adipose tissue, better known as fat is composed of blood cells, endothelial cells, pericytes, fibroblasts, adipose precursor cells, and adipocytes [ 54, 55 ] . Fat is divided into two types ( I ) br own adipose tissue ( BAT ) and white adipose tissue ( WAT ) . The morphology and map of brown fat cells are distinguishable from white adipocytes. The map of BAT is to interpret energy into heat production [ 56 ] . Phenotypically, brown fat cells are rich in chondriosome and accumulate lipoids in multiple little droplets [ 57 ] . The tissue what is normally recognized as â€Å" the fat † , which is besides the larger proportion of the organic structure fat, consists of WAT. Mature adipocytes of WAT are cells with one big lipid droplet and really small cytol with the karyon located at fringe of the cell [ 54 ] . This morphology is described as the signet pealing signifier and the cell may be termed a univacuolar adipocyte. White adipose tissue serves three maps: heat insularity, mechanical shock absorber, and most significantly, a beginning of energy [ 55 ] ( Fig 1 ) Figure 1a†Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ White fat cell and brown fat cell. Note the individual big lipid vacuole in the white fat cell and the legion smaller lipid vacuoles in the brown fat cell. LV: lipid vacuole ; M: chondriosome ; N: karyon. Artwork courtesy of Dr. John Horwitz, U.C. Davis. The white fat cells range in size from 25 to 200 micrometers. Mitochondrions are found preponderantly in the thicker part of the cytoplasmatic rim near the karyon. The big lipid droplet does non look to incorporate any intracellular cell organs. A brown fat cell may make a diameter of 60 micrometers and the lipid droplet within the cell may make 25 micrometers in diameter. The brown colour of this tissue is derived from the cells ‘ rich vascularization and dumbly jammed chondriosomes. These chondriosomes vary in size and may be round, egg-shaped, or filiform in form [ 56,57 ] .3.3 Biological facets of ASCs in vivo and in vitroThe exact beginning of the adipocyte, the chief cells of adipose tissue, is still non to the full understood. The earliest phase in adipocyte distinction is pluripotent root cells which give rise to mesenchymal precursor cells [ 58 ] . These pluripotent root cells are the adipose-derived grownup root ( ASCs ) cells. These ASCs are capable to distinguish in to the chondrogenic, osteogenic, and adipogenic line of descents, neural cells and clamber [ 58 ] . ASCs, besides called processed lipoaspirate cells ( PLA cells ) , are considered a separate cell population within the adipose tissue [ 4 ] . The capacity of ASCs to distinguish into several tissues suggests the presence of a root cell population within adipose tissue, it can non be ruled out though the presence of pluripotent cells from other beginnings, like marrow-derived MSCs from peripheral blood, or dedifferentiation of mature adipocytes will ensue in the coevals of pluripotent cells. However, the presence of MSCs in peripheral blood is non likely. The sum of MSCs in bone marrow is low, i1 MSC per 105 stromal cells [ 6,53 ] and the sum of MSCs in peripheral blood is even lower. One major advantage of ASCs is that it can be isolated from many fat terminals within the organic structure by minimally invasive suction lipectomy and by subsequent enzymatic digestion of adipose tissue [ 4 ] . Besides deficit of autologous donor tissue is, in the instance of adipose tissue, really improbable in most persons. ASCs are located in the stromal-vascular fraction ( SVF ) of the host adipose tissue. Adipose tissues are normally harvested by resection or suction lipectomy and later digested with collagenase type I. Once the stromal-vascular multitudes are isolated, they are cultured in lineage-specific civilization media. For chondrocyte distinction the cells are cultured in DMEM supplemented with FBS, insulin, transforming growing factor ( TGF ) , ascorbate and Decadron at suited concentrations. ASCs are able to defy freeze/thaw direction without any apparent impact on the growing characteristic. However, when adipose tissue is harvested from the organic structure the surgical processs used have some impact on the subsequent growing profile of ASC. Ultrasound-assisted suction lipectomy consequences in a lower frequence of proliferating ASC, every bit good as a longer population duplicating clip of ASC, compared with pure resection and puffy resection. Phenotypic markers are non affected by ultr asound intervention [ 59 ] . Guilak et Al. showed that ASCs ringers derived from lipoaspirates can distinguish along two or more of the adipogenic, osteogenic, chondrogenic and neuron-like cells [ 60 ] . These findings coupled with the fact that ASCs can undergo several population doublings while retaining their distinction capablenesss, supports the hypothesis that ASCs are a type of multi-potent grownup root cells [ 60, 61 ] . In vitro, distinction of ASCs cells can be induced by the supplementation of endocrines and substrates to the growing medium. Some illustrations are: Glucocorticoids ( corticosterone, hydrocortisone, dexamethason, and cortisol ) , phosphodiesterase inhibitors ( IBMX, forskolin ) , peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor ( PPAR I? ) ligands ( adipogenic distinction ) , indomethacin, fibrates ( Atromid-S, bezafibrate, and fenofibrate ) , insulin, and liothyronine. Besides growing factors have been found to modulate distinction, like basic FGF, EGF, PDGF, TGF I? , and TNF [ 44 ] . An illustration of lineage-specific distinction induced by media supplementation is demonstrated by Zuk et Al. [ 44 ] . The experimental and clinical grounds shows that ASCs are an equal alternate beginning for regenerative medical specialty peculiarly because it can be maintained in vitro for drawn-out periods of clip with stable population doublings and low aging degrees [ 4 ] . Although the bone marrow is a dependable beginning of root cells, its crop is an invasive process and the figure of stray cells can be low and age dependant. Pittenger et Al. [ 6 ] showed that merely 0.01-0.001 % of mononucleate cells isolated from the bone marrow lead to colony-forming units. On the other manus, adipose tissue can give big sums of root cells and can be obtained in copiousness. As such, ASCs open legion and promising positions for regenerative therapies.4.0 Factors impacting chondrogenesis4.1 Consequence of Growth factors on chondrogenesisThe usage of cytokines and growing factors is really of import for the development of a defined civilization environment for directing the chondrogenic distinction of root cells. Indeed, legion cytokines and growing factors have been implicated in chondrogenesis. As the procedure of chondrogenesis is so closely related with osteogenesis, many of the cytokines and growing factors that promote chondrogenic distinction are besides some what involved in osteogenic distinction [ 62, 63 ] . Hence, the challenge is to happen an optimized elusive combination of these assorted cytokines and growing factors that would assist in distinction specifically toward the chondrogenic line of descent. Among the most powerful inducers of chondrogenic distinction are members of the transforming growing factor beta ( TGF-I? ) household. Besides the assorted iso-forms of TGF-I? [ 64,66-67 ] and bone morphogenetic protein ( BMP ) [ 65,68 ] , other members of the TGF-I? ace household include activin [ 69 ] , osteogenic protein-1 [ 70 ] , and growing distinction factor 5 ( GDF-5 ) [ 71 ] are used. The effects of cytokines of the TGF-I? ace household on chondrogenic distinction are transduced through two major intracellular signaling tracts, SMAD household of signaling molecules [ 72 ] and involves mitogen-activated protein kinase ( MAPK ) signaling [ 73 ] . Interestingly, both signaling Cascadess are activated by the same TGF-I? receptor composite. Barry et al demonstrated that TGF-I? 2 and TGF-I? 3 iso-forms have stronger chondrogenic potency than TGF-I?1 [ 78 ] . Kim et Al showed that combinations of greater doses of presently known growing factors, TGF-I? 2 and IGF-I, lead to a chondr ogenesis from ASCs comparable to that observed with BMSCs [ 79 ] . Another household of cytokines that plays an of import function in chondrogenesis is comprised of assorted iso-forms of fibroblast growing factor ( FGF ) . The effects of FGF on chondrogenic distinction are transduced chiefly through MAPK signaling [ 74 ] . This leads to increased look of the written text factor Sox9, which is the maestro regulator of chondrogenesis. Besides the TGF-I? and FGF household of cytokines, insulin like growing factor-1 ( IGF-1 ) [ 75-77 ] has besides been shown to hold effects on chondrogenic distinction.4.2 Effect of biomaterial scaffolds ( biologic, biochemical and biomechanical belongingss ) on ChondrogenesisA broad scope of scaffolds have been used in gristle tissue technology surveies. Cartilage regeneration utilizing scaffolds involves seeding extremely porous biodegradable scaffolds with donor cells and/or growing factors. After seeding the scaffolds with the giver cells and/or grow ing factors, these scaffolds are implanted. Cells attached to the scaffold, so retroflex, distinguish into chondrogenic cells and form into normal healthy bone as the scaffold degrades. These scaffolds may be categorized with regard to the types of stuff used ( natural or man-made, degradable or non-degradable ) , the geometry of the scaffold ( gels, hempen meshes or porous sponges ) and their construction ( entire porousness, pore size, connectivity and distribution ; [ 103 ] . It is important that a tissue technology scaffold is fabricated from a stuff that is biocompatible, allows fond regard of cells, ECM secernment and tissue formation without the initiation of an inflammatory or toxic response [ 104 ] . In order for cells to be able to infiltrate the construction uniformly, it should incorporate a big figure of interrelated pores [ 105 ] . The size of the pores is of import to the infiltration and fond regard of the cells, for chondrocytes an optimal pore size of between 100 a nd 200I?m has been suggested [ 104 ] . The scaffold must besides be permeable, to let diffusion of foods into the matrix and the remotion of metabolic and degradation byproducts from it. Finally, it is of import that the scaffold has mechanical belongingss that allow it to defy nidation and the tonss experienced in vivo Many natural stuffs have been used because of their similarity with gristle ECM constituents, for illustration hyaluronan and collagen [ 106 ] . Other natural stuffs used in gristle tissue technology surveies include agarose, alginate and chitosan. Natural polymers are advantageous in tissue technology applications as they can undergo cell-specific interactions. The usage of natural stuffs, nevertheless, is limited by the big fluctuation between batches, the deficiency of big supplies for commercial usage and as they are frequently derived from non-human tissue they carry the hazard of reassigning pathogens [ 107 ] . Man-made polymers are frequently used in penchant to natural stuffs as it is possible to mass-produce polymers with custom-designed belongingss. Poly ( lactic acid ) ( PLA ) , poly ( glycolic acid ) ( PGA ) and co-polymers of PLA and PGA ( PLGA ) are normally used in tissue technology surveies as they have Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) blessing for usage within the human organic structure. Ideally a scaffold that is to be implanted into the human organic structure should be biodegradable ) and the debasement merchandises should be non-toxic [ 104 ] .4.3 Effect of hypoxia on chondrogenesisOxygen lack within gristle tissues induces a hypoxic province which affects chondrocyte map. Cells exposed to hypoxia respond in many ways by impacting cistron look, distinction, and programmed cell death [ 91 ] . Transcription factor HIF-1I ± is considered as a survival factor for bring oning in hypoxic environments which inhibits proliferation but increases ECM production in mesenchymal ro ot cells ( MSCs ) and chondrocytes [ 92, 93 ] . Conditional omission of the cistron encoding HIF-1I ± in chondrocytes consequences in programmed cell death in hypoxic countries [ 92 ] and besides well reduces the chondrogenic possible [ 94 ] , proposing that hypoxia-induced up-regulation HIF-1I ± supports chondrogenic committedness. HIF-2I ± has besides been shown to command hypoxia enhanced chondrogenesis through both SOX9 dependant and independent signaling tracts [ 95 ] . Thus, hypoxia enhances the chondrogenic potency of mesenchymal cell populations during the development phase and under diseased conditions.4.4 Effect of hydrostatic force per unit area on chondrogenesisHydrostatic force per unit area has been proved to hold positive consequence on gristle in a figure of surveies [ 80 ] as exposure to increased hydrostatic force per unit area coincide with increased gristle thickness in vivo [ 81,82 ] . Cartilage is a extremely hydrous tissue, represent 70 % to 80 % H2O per moisture weight. Cartilage cells located in articular articulations experience hydrostatic force per unit area during periods of lading. The synovial fluid within the joint capsule transmits force per unit area to the H2O trapped within the gristle matrix, bring forthing a unvarying burden on chondrocytes in the tissue. The attractive force of negatively charged proteoglycan molecules within gristle causes its high H2O content, making a matrix that is composed chiefly of interstitial fluid. The swelling force per unit area of the proteoglycans is balanced by the tenseness of the collagen web, leting the tissue to swell significantly but still be a comparatively stiff stuff. High H2O content in the tissue plays a major function in the ability of the tissue to defy big compressive forces. Cartilage is incompressible under physiological degrees of hydrostatic force per unit area ( 7-10 MPa ) , ensuing in minimum tissue distortion [ 83-85 ] . Loading in this mode is comparatively safe for the structural unity of the tissue because it is a pure hydrostatic force per unit area that does non stretch or shear the tissue matrix. When gristle is loaded, the force is transmitted throughout the tissue, the fluid stage ab initio supports the applied burden, because H2O is trapped within the solid matrix of the tissue because of its low permeableness. The alteration in force per unit area from within the matrix finally forces fluid out of the tissue and into the synovial pit. The opposition that the fluid experiences as it leaves the matrix helps disperse energy and allows for a gradual softening of the tissue. This procedure efficaciously cushions the daze of a sudden burden without damaging the cells or extracellular matrix. The force per unit area that is produced by the tight fluid Acts of the Apostless uniformly on the chondrocytes within the matrix. This interstitial force per unit area, which for diarthrodial articulations ranges between 7 and 10 MPa during normal a ctivities [ 83,84 ] , is applied sporadically to the cells when walking, running, or switching weight while standing. Research workers emulated the mechanical stimulation in the research lab to engineer a higher quality gristle tissue [ 85-87 ] . The continuance and magnitude of hydrostatic lading vary widely as demonstrated by different surveies. Smith and associates exposed high-density chondrocyte monolayers to 10 MPa at 1Hz for 4h a twenty-four hours and obtained an addition of 65 % in GAG synthesis [ 88 ] . In another experiment utilizing the same lading regimen on cell monolayers, Smith and associates obtained a 9-fold addition in type II collagen messenger RNA and a 20-fold addition in aggrecan messenger RNA [ 89 ] . In a 3-dimensional experiment by Carver and Heath, concentrations of sulfated proteoglycans in civilized scaffolds were found to be twice every bit high as in controls after utilizing a 3.5-MPa, intermittent force ( 5/15 s on/off for 20 min every 4 H ) [ 90 ] . T hese consequences show that hydrostatic force per unit area is of import to chondrogenesis, particularly when cells are grown in a 3-dimensional environment.4.5 Effect of hyperosmolarity on chondrogenesisDuring mechanical burden, flow of H2O out of joint gristle will take to increase in osmotic force per unit area within the tissue. This indicates that osmotic force per unit area may positively act upon chondrogenesis. Osmotic force per unit area within the tissues additions due to the keeping of the extremely anionic proteoglycan and the necessary cationic counter ions and the osmotic force per unit area around the chondrocyte is changed straight by the burden on the tissue. Assorted surveies conducted to look into the effects of osmolarity on chondrocyte ECM synthesis shown that chondrocyte proteoglycan synthesis can be decreased through the application of hyper- or hypo-osmotic conditions [ 98,100,101 ] . Besides a survey conducted late explained that application of dynamic hypo- osmotic emphasiss resulted in increased look of gristle ECM cistrons [ 96 ] . The survey besides showed an addition in glycosaminoglycan synthesis by articular chondrocytes under hyperosmotic conditions [ 97 ] over 24h civilizations. It besides showed the demand for p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase ( MAPK ) signaling, a transduction pathway known to be regulated by osmolarity in many beings [ 99 ] . Besides Wouter et Al. in his recent survey demonstrated that the application of hyperosmolarity and hypoxia in combination, is able to bring on chondrogenesis in ASCs to the same degree as initiation with transforming growing factor I?1 [ 102 ] .5.0 Conclusion and future waiesThe usage of MSCs in gristle tissue technology applications is a powerful ( new ) tool in the development of clinical schemes for fix of site-specific gristle defects and will assist to handle assorted gristle upsets. Currently bone marrow aspirates are still considered to be the most accessible and enriched beginning of MSCs [ 6 ] . However, the sum of cells at initial crop are limited in bone marrow aspirations, which makes bone marrow non an optimum beginning of MSC [ 4,16 ] . Furthermore, the process of aggregation of bone marrow aspirates is a painful process and therefore other beginnings are preferred. As such adipose tissues have been identified as a beginning from which adequate chondrogenic primogenito r cells can be obtained at initial crop for research lab and clinical usage. It besides provides us an advantage of insulating adequate cells in a short sum of clip during tissue civilization enlargement. Adipose Stem Cells ( ASCs ) have the similar distinction potency, morphology, phenotype and cistron look as MSCs, as demonstrated by several surveies and are considered as a better beginning of multi-lineage mesoblastic root cells for tissue technology in regard to their copiousness and handiness [ 6,43 ] . In decision, we know that there are multiple root cell reservoirs available for gristle TE research and clinical applications ; we should see utilizing the reservoir that is ( I ) available in a big volume with limited morbidity of the environing tissue upon crop ; and ( two ) accessible without or with the lowest sum of hurting. Furthermore the reservoir should ( iii ) clasp cells which are capable of distinction into chondrocytes, produce gristle seeded on biomaterial like scaffolds and ( four ) can be detected by simple research lab methods. In my sentiment adipose tissue provides us menus better in comparing in all the above characteristics. However, to go on to take advantage of ASCs for gristle tissue technology and its applications we require a complete apprehension of how the care and distinction of ASCs are regulated both in vivo and in vitro. Though it is considered to hold greater possible and can be developed as a suited option to cram marrow, farther surveies in clinically relevant animate being theoretical accounts are needed for better proof. Besides regulative issues and safety facets should be addressed exhaustively in presymptomatic and clinical scenes. Standardization of protocols and sooner automated devices for isolation of ASCs need to be pursued with a proper set of surface markers to verify the presence of the right ASCs cells within the primary cell isolate. Future developments in biomaterial for scaffolds and bioreactor design for cell civilization will take without uncertainty to new vehicles for the bringing of ASCs to cartilage defect sites. Besides the development of optimum conditions such as h ypoxia and appropriate biophysical cues, hydrostatic force per unit area and hyperosmolarity for in vitro cultivation can further increase the chondrogenic committedness and the ability of these cells to intercede the coevals of de novo gristle tissue.