Thursday, October 31, 2019
Argument and further work Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words
Argument and further work - Essay Example To investigate further this hypothesis, this emerging area of research needs further work, where study of interaction of oxaliplatin with survivin may lead to more insight into this phenomenon (Ngan et al. 2008). Since survivin is an expressed protein, its detection would need specific procedure, and hence the question is whether selection of Western Blot test is an appropriate one for this purpose. In Western Blotting, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE) is considered to be the standard tool of protein analysis. The survivin analysis involves reaction with an antibody, and from this perspective, sufficient information can be gathered by employing a staining technique employed for the proteins in the gel. From these two angles deployment of Western Blot analysis offers many advantages, which are improved accessibility to these proteins offering ease of handling and the advantage of storing the immobilized proteins for future analysis (Fowler, 1995). There are several instances in experimental literature on survivin expression in response to oxaliplatin that use Western Blot assay. Fujie et al. (2005) has used anti-survivin rabbit polyclonal antibody to detect survivin under-expression in oxaliplatin treated cancer cell lines with commendable success (Fujie et al. 2005). Wilson et al. (2008) also used Western Blot tests to detect markedly reduced expression of survivin in oxaliplatin treated cells (Wilson et al. (2008). Prewett et al. (2007) also demonstrated how Western Blot could be used to demonstrate oxaliplatin suppressed survivin expression (Prewett et al. 2007). The effect of oxaliplatin on the number of the cytosol can be investigated by immunohistochemistry method. In this method, some antibodies against cytosolic proteins have been used. This proposition is based on the idea that is apoptosis induced by oxaliplatin is partly contributed to by Cytochrome C mediated triggers, then the anticancer activity of oxaliplatin can be quantified by
Tuesday, October 29, 2019
Khatami Presidency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words
Khatami Presidency - Essay Example Practical wisdom can be observed in every activities of Mohammad Khatami as Iranian President. He was responsible for laying foundations for economic reforms and liberalizations in Iran. While Ahmadinejad tried to make Iran as a military power, Khatami was keen in the economic development of Iran. He has contested two elections and won both. In fact, he has secured more than 70% of the total votes poled in his first election. During his president ship, Khatami tried to respect all types of human rights such as freedom of expression and tolerance to other religions. Moreover, he worked hard to strengthen Iranââ¬â¢s diplomatic relations with other states including United States, Asia and European Union. He did everything possible to enhance the free market concept and also for the enhancement of foreign direct investments in Iran. In short, Khatamiââ¬â¢s president ship helped Iran immensely in political, economic and cultural circles. This paper critically analyses Khatamiââ¬â ¢s political life in general and his economic reformation policies in particular. How Khatami came to power? Iran was a constitutional monarchy (Afkhami 171), until the 1979 revolution. Until 1979, Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi was in power. Even though Shah allowed parliamentary democracy in Iran, he was not ready to leave the legal and executive powers. Even though Shah initially enjoyed a ceremonial position, he had slowly increased his executive power and started to implement autocracy in Iran. But, Iranian people under the Supreme Leadership of Ruhollah Khomeini captured power in 1979. Since then, parliamentary democracy was implemented in Iran. Even though democracy was established in Iran in 1979, religious leaders started to control Iranian politics since 1979. They were keen in promoting their factional interests than trying to make room for all groups and perspectives (Mirsepassi 99). As a result of that Iranian people started to lose faith in the abilities of religious leade rs. They were keen in avoiding religious fundamentalism from politics. In Mohammad Khatami, Iranian people started to see a leader they were looking for. Until the 1997 parliament elections, Khatami assumed many critical ministerial posts in Iran. While working as a minister of Iran, Khatami revealed his liberal attitudes many times. It should be noted that Khatami has resigned in 1997 from the post of Minister of Islamic guidance in support for freedom of press and freedom of art and culture (Mirsepassi 120). Even though majority of the Iranian politicians worked for the betterment of the community which they belong, Khatami was different. He worked hard to protect the interests of all Iranians rather than the community he represents. Khatamiââ¬â¢s base of support cut across regional and class lines with its core consisting of the modern middle class, college students, women and urban workers. His campaign was based in theory on the rule of law, democracy and the inclusion of al l Iranian in the political decision making process (Mirsepassi 113). In Mohammad Khatami, Iranian people found a true democratic leader. Khatami began as a Khomeinist (Keddie 267). However, later he shaped his own visions about the future of Iran. He advocated greater freedom to women, Sunnis and other minorities and emphasized the importance of civil society during his tenure as the president of Iran. His call for greater freedom, civil rights, rule of law and
Sunday, October 27, 2019
Side Effects of Tumor Size Reducing Drugs | Experiment
Side Effects of Tumor Size Reducing Drugs | Experiment Manish Kumar Tiwari 1. Introduction: Objective: Pfizer have developed a new drug that appears to reduce the size of specific tumors but are concerned about what effect the drug might have on normal tissue. Outline how you would use DNA technology to address this issue. Cancer disease has large complexities in terms of genome variations at genetic level and epigenetic level. Immortalization and tumor genesis are the two fundamental characteristics of cancerous cells. This disease is caused by mutations in genes such as oncogenes, DNA repairing genes and tumor suppressor genes. Recent researches suggested that more than one mutations are needed for the cancers. One of the major drawbacks of the medicines or drugs that are used to treat cancer is its side effects on normal cells. The cells which are mostly affected by drugs are rapidly dividing cells such as blood cells, hair follicles cells, cells found in tract of reproductive organ and digestive system, and cells from immune system. Side effects on normal cells due to chemotherapy has become major challenges for researchers. Transcriptome or protein expression profiling for cancerous cells treated with specific drugs may provide useful information about possible side effects on normal cells. When a ny drugs or medicines are given for the treatment of any specific tumor disease, it binds with specific receptors (cell surface receptors, Cytoplasmic receptors or nuclear receptors) and leads to transcription and translation process and generate specific proteins that can be able to stop the cell cycle or initiation of apoptosis. But generally these drugs may also responsible to translation of unwanted proteins that can cause side effects on normal tissues. 2. Approach: Mode of action of many drugs that reduces the size of tumor are related to growth cycle (like mutagen, MAP kinase pathway) or DNA modifications (transcription, translation etc.). This method is more suitable for in vivo testing in rats or mammalian cancerous cell lines which has been described here. The added tumor size reducing drug must bind with specific receptors on the tumor cells. So first step is the identification of pathway via which it acts. In the downstream signaling of the pathway, some transcription factors will be activated and will bind to target promoter and reduces the size of tumor. So then transcription factors need to be quantified by qPCR as well as the sequence of their promoter through DNA Foot Printing. Now two plasmids need to be constructed (minimum two plasmids, if there are more transcription factors and promoters, more plasmids with different fluorescent proteins are needed) containing above identified promoter coupled with red fluorescent protein (RFP) and containing a tumor inducible promoter coupled with green fluorescent protein (GFP). Now for in vivo testing, mutant mouse are created and transfected with above two plasmids. During the growth, the known tumor inducing compounds/radiation is given to the mouse to induce the tumor. As the drug is added, it will cause induction of RFP through the body but level may be higher in tumor cells but GFP should be induced only in the tumor cells. If GFP is induced in other normal cells it means that this drug may cause side effect on that cells. A fluorescent mapping of mouse will reveal the efficacy and side effects of drug based on RFP and GFP intensity.à à Figure 1: Schematic presentation of approach. The image of mice is taken from internet which has been used to explain the method. 3. Method: This method is suitable for in vivo testing in mice or mammalian cells culture. The main steps include quantification and identification of transcription factors and promoter sequences respectively, construction of suitable plasmids coupled with red and green fluorescent proteins, transfection of plasmids in mice body, tumor induction in mice body followed by drug injection and last fluorescent mapping using fluorescent detector. The instruments and techniques which will be used in this methods are qRT-PCR, DNase Foot Printing assay, Suitable plasmids vector, microinjections, Chemicals, fluorescent proteins (red and green), capillary electrophoresis, tumor inducing cells or chemicals or radiation and fluorescent detector. Validation of this method is important so validation could be possible by using this method for any known drug which side effects on normal cells has been identified completely. 3.1. Quantification of Transcription Factor: The exact quantification of transcription factor is the most important part of this method. Micro array or PCR is the good technique for quantification of transcription factors but in this method qPCR/QRT-PCR will be appropriate technique. First step is isolation of cancer cells from mammalian cancerous cell lines. Then inject target anti-cancer drug and incubate for some time because these drugs takes some time to start their function. After proper incubation, total or poly A RNA extraction is the next step. The solution which is used in extraction process should be RNase free otherwise it can degrade our RNA so that exact quantification could not be possible. Sample should be treated with DNase to remove genomic DNA contamination. Flow Chart 1: Steps involved in quantification of Transcription factors Electrophoresis and qPCR methods could be used for determination of purity and accurate concentration because these factors are very important for proper gene expression profiling. Then C DNA synthesis and validation of C DNA quality and quantity could be done by using qRT-PCR. For performing qRT-PCR assay there are two important steps such as selection of appropriate reference genes and designing of PCR primer labeled with fluorescent dye must be needed. For data analysis fluorescent detector can be used to detect transcription factors and their associated genes. Now once genes have been identified by using above method so the identification of their promoter sequence DNA Foot Printing assay will be performed. 3.2. Identification of Promoter Sequence: DNase Foot printing assay method can be used to identify target promoter sequence. Steps involved in this method is amplification of target DNA through PCR using fluorescent labeled primer at 5ââ¬â¢ end. Then cleavage of the amplified DNA by using DNase enzyme followed by the capillary electrophoresis. The cleavage pattern will vary due to the presence of transcription factor, because the binding sites are protected by the protein from the cleavage. By using this method we can identify the promoter sequences. By using capillary electrophoresis we can identify the amount and size of DNA fragments and about the bases which are not cleaved by the DNase enzyme. Figure 2: Identification of promoter sequences through DNA Foot Printing assay. The graph between amount and size of DNA fragments in this figure is showing the bases which are protected by the transcription factor against DNase enzyme. 3.3. Construction of Suitable Plasmids: Construction of suitable expression vectors for mammalian cells, that can carry the desired promoter sequence coupled with fluorescent protein must be needed. The most important characteristics of vectors is presence of all elements that is suitable for expression in host cells. The important elements are promoter, stop and start codon, binding sites for ribosome, ORI region and appropriate selection markers. Some examples of vectors like adenoviral, PSV and pCMV are generally used for expression in mammalian cells. In this method, our expression vectors should contain promoter sequence labeled with red and green fluorescent protein and other important elements. Minimum two type of plasmid vectors need to be constructed. One plasmid should have promoter coupled with RFP which has not induced by the tumor inducible transcription factors. Other plasmid should have tumor inducible promoter coupled with green fluorescent protein. Our main idea is to inject these vectors into the mutated mice body so that we also need to remove the other elements of vectors that can cause any unwanted diseases in mutated mice. The vectors like pED and Pz can be used for the expression in mammalian cells. Figure 3: Construction of plasmids containing promoter coupled with Red and Green fluorescent protein. The very first step for the construction of the recombinant plasmid is the cleavage of both plasmid and target DNA with promoter sequence coupled with fluorescent protein using suitable restriction enzymes. The restriction enzymes creates sticky or blunt ends (depends on type of restriction enzyme used) in both plasmid and target DNA. Next step is the hybridization of both DNA and plasmid using DNA ligase enzyme. Selection of cells having plasmid with desired sequence is very important so further we need to selection of appropriate vector by using selection markers like antibiotic resistance genes. 3.4. Transfection: The transfer of desired plasmid inside the mice body could be possible through many ways such as microinjection, electroporation, shotgun method, through chemicals and viral infections. Transfection through viral infection has some limitations like limited carrying capacity of desired gene and unwanted inflammatory mutations. However, transfection through viral infection have some advantages like easy to handle, easy preparation and easily monitoring during the process. So, in this method transfection of plasmid in mice should be done directly through microinjection into the mice body. One another way for transfection of recombinant plasmids in mice is through recombinant Baculovirus. Baculovirus infects insect cells. Purified budded virus can be isolate from the infected insect cells with recombinant Baculovirus. This purified budded virus can be introduced inside the mice body. For the study of side effects on normal cells in whole body of mice it is very important that this recomb inant plasmids will reach every parts of body along with tumor affected parts. 3.5. Induction of Tumor in Mice: Mammalian cancerous cell lines or cell DNA extracted from virally infected cells can be able to induce cancer in mice. Once theses tumorgenic cells is injected inside the mice body it develop specific tumor. After developing cancer in mice body, anti-cancer drug is administered through injection to show the efficacy and side effects on cancerous and non-tumor cells. When drugs binds with specific target receptors, it will induce both promoters but with varying intensity. The promoter coupled with RFP will show intensities in both normal and tumor cells but may be higher in tumor cells. But GFP should be induced only in tumor cells if it is inducing in other normal cells with high intensity then it may cause side effects on those normal cells. 3.6. Fluorescent Mapping: Analysis of fluorescent mapping of these promoters in different locations of the mice body can provide useful information about possible side effects against designed anti-cancer drugs. For example if GFP will be induced in other cells like hair cells, heart cells, bone marrow cells than we can predict the side effects on these cells because the drug should not induce translational process in normal cells. If this drug induces promoters only in tumor cells then the chances of side effects may be less. We can study possible side effects against various drugs by using this method. Figure 4: This picture has been modified for illustrating the possible results that can be produced by this method. Region B and C in this figure are representing the cancerous cells where GFP has been expressed. Region A is representing the normal cells where GFP has been also expressed so this drug may cause side effects on this cells. 3.7. Validation of the Method: This approach has not been validated because this is the hypothesis only. For the testing of this method whether it is working efficiently or not need to be validated. An efficient approach has been described here. For the validation of this method we need to perform this method on known anti-cancer drugs for specific type of cancers. This method can be apply for known drugs which side effects on normal cells have been identified completely. If fluorescent mapping provide exact location in the body where GFP has been induced and if these locations are related with those areas where this specific drug causes side effects then this method will be validated. But proper validation need to be tested for various anti-tumor drugs which side effects has been completely known. 4. Discussion: There are so many side effects associated with anti-cancer drugs because these drugs mainly affects rapidly dividing cells and immune system. The drugs or medicines that are currently used have always some common side effects like typhlitis, diarrhea and hair loss but sometimes these drugs cause serious side effects like liver damage and cardiac arrest because these drugs are unable to differentiate rapidly growing normal and cancerous cells. So that development of proper efficient method for testing possible side effects for any anti-cancer drugs should be developed. In this section a good approach has been described for the identification of possible side effects on normal cells. The idea is based on the role of transcription factors induced by the drug- receptors interactions. As instance certain anti-tumor drugs causes anemia when used for the treatment of specific tumor. Generally the gene called HBB is responsible for anemia because this gene encode beta globins protein. It mea ns that these drugs also induces transcription factor that is responsible for activation of HBB gene. The fluorescent mapping of unknown anti-cancer drug against specific cancer can provides useful information about possible side effects. The figure 4 which has been modified to illustrate the possible results that can be achieved through this method. If the drug is not inducing GFP in normal cells except cancerous cells it means drug will not cause any side effects on normal cells but vice versa if GFP is expressing in other cells along with tumor cells so we can predict possible side effects on those cells because this method is also useful to find out what type of protein or transcription factors are expressed. By using bioinformatics data bases like PDB, Gene bank etc, functions of expressed proteins or transcription factors can be easily predict. The method which has been described above has not validate yet because this method is only a hypothesis that need further advancement and validation. 5. References: Lohmann, S., Herold, A., Bergauer, T., Belousov, A., Betzl, G., Demario, M., Dietrich, M., Luistro, L., Poignà ©e-Heger, M., Schostack, K., Simcox, M., Walch, H., Yin, X., Zhong, H. and Weisser, M. (2013). Gene expression analysis in biomarker research and early drug development using function tested reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR assays. Methods, 59(1), pp.10-19. Swartzman, E., Shannon, M., Lieu, P., Chen, S., Mooney, C., Wei, E., Kuykendall, J., Tan, R., Settineri, T., Egry, L. and Ruff, D. (2010). Expanding applications of protein analysis using proximity ligation and qPCR. Methods, 50(4), pp.S23-S26. Genetics Home Reference, (2014). HBB gene. [online] Available at: http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/gene/HBB [Accessed 23 Nov. 2014]. Dubensky, T., Campbell, B. and Villarreal, L. (1984). Direct transfection of viral and plasmid DNA into the liver or spleen of mice. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 81(23), pp.7529-7533. Caldana, C., Scheible, W., Mueller-Roeber, B. and Ruzicic, S. (2007). A quantitative RT-PCR platform for high-throughput expression profiling of 2500 rice transcription factors. Plant Methods, 3(1), p.7. Kim, T. and Eberwine, J. (2010). Mammalian cell transfection: the present and the future. Analytical and Bioanalytical Chemistry, 397(8), pp.3173-3178.
Friday, October 25, 2019
The Nature of Disease Causing Organisms :: essays research papers
The nature of DISEASE CAUSING ORGANISMS and the mechanisms employed by man to combat these organisms. What is disease? A disease is a disturbance in the normal structure or function of an organism, group of organisms or the entire body. Diseases affect different organisms in different ways, they may be temporary, they may be chronic, or they may be terminal. They may even be localized or widespread through an entire body. Many diseases have been eradicated, but, some have no cure. Humans and other vertebrates have a system of specific immunity to combat disease. Some disease causing organisms invade body tissues and then destroy them, while others setup a symbiotic relationship with the cells. Most communicable diseases are caused by microorganisms or larger parasites that are commonly called germs, most scientists call them pathogens. What kinds of disease are there, that are caused by organisms? -Infectious disease- caused by living organisms, can be passed by contact. -Viral disease- caused by viruses, difficult to treat because viruses are non-living -Fungal disease- usually cause mild infections, difficult to treat -Protozoan disease- the "tropical diseases" caused by protozoa -Worm infections- mostly in the tropics, worms inside body causing damage -Diseases can be caused by a wide variety of bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoans, and parasitic worms. Some sferre some disease causing organisms, and how do they affect plants? Plant diseases can be caused by microorganisms, parasitic flowering plants, nematodes, viruses, or adverse environmental conditions. Bacterial diseases are marked by symptoms such as soft rot, leaf spot, wilt of leaves and roots, cankers, leaf and twig blight, and gall formation. Most plant diseases are caused by fungi. Fungal diseases have been documented on since biblical times. Fungal diseases are characterized by leaf spots, ulcerous lesions, blights, powdery mildew, cankers, root rots, wilts, and club root. Viral diseases are infectious and spread largely by insects. All economic plants suffer from one or more viral diseases. Symptoms include mosaic patterns, yellowing of foliage, vein clearing, ring spots, stunting and premature death, malformations and overgrowth. Nematodes, or roundworms, are a large cause of disease in plants. They live in and cause damage to the roots, stems, leaves, and bulbs of plants.
Thursday, October 24, 2019
1970 Jsu Shooting
Destiny Bowie Instructor C. Liegh McInnis English 105-11 September 29, 2012 Understanding the Causes of the 1970 Jackson College Shooting The 1970 Jackson College shooting occurred May 14, 1970. There were many different aspects that lead to the shooting. There was a lot of tension between the white motorist and the JSC students over Lynch Street. Another aspect that contributed to the Jackson College shooting was the development of JSC into a major institution with programs equal to that those offered at white institutions.The last aspect was that police over reaction or poor reaction to an event that had nothing to do with JSC. If society researched and discovered the real reasons behind the JSC shooting theyââ¬â¢ll see how much of a big incident JSC has overcome as a whole. The tensions on the way Lynch Street ran right into the heart of the University was a very large aspect that led to the shooting. With Lynch Street being the only way to get from one city in Mississippi to a nother it caused great risks to the JSC students.The main people driving up and down Lynch Street were white motorist and it caused a lot of tension between them and the African American students that attended JSC due to the fact that they were at an all-time high of tension and activity in America. The African American students eventually got tired of being disrespected on their college campus by white motorist so they decided to take matters into their own hands and stood their ground for the street to be closed.If society understood how important it is to have a closed college campus and understand the risks of having an open campus we could prevent incidents like this from occurring again. When Dr. Peoples became the president of JSC his dream was to develop JSC into a urban and metropolitan university and he made steps to make it such. Dr. Peoples allowed the students of JSC to associate themselves with other students from different schools who took part in the civil rights act ivity.The board of education didnââ¬â¢t take this lightly, Dr. Peoples began to become a thorn in their side and that bothered them. Dr. Peoples didnââ¬â¢t allow the media to attend JSC meeting and this made the College Board feel as if Dr. Peoples wanted to run JSC on his own. If society understood and researched this information weââ¬â¢ll be able to benefit greatly because weââ¬â¢ll start realizing what a tight hold authorities tried to have not just on the students, but on the people who ran the school as well.As a whole society will possibly start becoming more involved with the things that take place in colleges. The police were called to an area about a mile from Jackson College on the night of May 14, 1970 to stop a disturbance between some local African American youth and city workers. After this event, rather than return to their stations, the police along with other law enforcement marched toward JSC where nothing was happening.This information indicates that t he police was trying to get a strong hold on the students who attended JSC and wanted to let them know they couldnââ¬â¢t be protected anywhere. If society learned what really happened before and during the Jackson State shooting, more people will try to do better and treat each other with more respect. The main reason people are getting killed is due to the fact we have no respect for one another. If more people treated one another would respect we possibly wouldnââ¬â¢t have so much violence as it is.Everybody is just trying to get the respect they ââ¬Å"deserveâ⬠and their starting to feel as if violence and making a name for themselves is the only way to get respect. The Jackson College shooting must be studied as a major historical occurrence. Additionally, society could benefit greatly if more people learned more about what happened that night. More people will began to appreciate what todayââ¬â¢s generation is not forced to endure by understanding what their ance stors were forced to endure for the current generation to be able to do what they are doing now.The appreciation and understanding of what put ancestors went through so we could fulfill our dreams and further our education would make our generation want to do better. Itââ¬â¢ll make this generation want to further their education because weââ¬â¢ll start appreciating what they did and what they went through for us they didnââ¬â¢t do it for themselves they did it for the generations after them to be able to live freely.
Wednesday, October 23, 2019
Gillette Essay
Case Analysis for Gillette: Product and Marketing Innovation 9/11/2012 Abstract Gillette is seeking means to retain dominance in market share they have lead for the last century. Along with sustaining market share Gillette has continued focus on expanding worldwide into less saturated markets. In this analysis multiple alternatives will be explored in order to make a recommendation on steps that would favor Gilletteââ¬â¢s organization in meeting their aspirations. Situation Analysis Product quality and efficient marketing are the core value propositions that set the pace for Gilletteââ¬â¢s success. With continued innovation in both product development and marketing strategies Gillette has been able to retain a commanding worldwide market share in a highly competitive, but mature, razor and blade market. Strong market share allowed Gillette to sustain profits even through economic droughts in recent years. On the flip side, Gilletteââ¬â¢s innovation success also posed challenges. In order to maintain their market share, a dependency on continuous product improvement formed over time. Now Gillette will need to determine how to balance investment in research and development along with other areas of the organization. At times their own innovation of new product lines impacted their leading product lines in the market. During the 1990s Gillette found themselves cannibalizing their own successful products when trying to out due the competition. Even though internal competition shifted sales from one product line to another, Gilletteââ¬â¢s sales were able to re-coop development costs. Expanding market share around the world also revealed challenges with varying religious and culture beliefs. Western influences have started to generate growth with European woman as younger generations watch American movies and television that depict women with sleek underarms and legs. Gilletteââ¬â¢s latest innovation, the Fusion 5(+1) blade, was back in 2006. Since then Schick, Gilletteââ¬â¢s leading competitor has not responded with their own break through. Gillette should be wondering what Schick might do next. Problem As the market Gillette has lead for so long became mature, their growth ultimately declined due to market saturation and increase competition. Fluctuations occurred only when newer, more innovative products were introduced. This put more pressure on development advancements and marketing tactics. Many analysts believe that Gillette and Schick, leaders in razors and blades, have reached the end of meaningful product innovation [1]. In 2006 when the Fusion 5(+1) blade was introduced, it exploded off the shelves. Gillette sold more than 4 billion Fusion razors with in the first two months. The Fusionââ¬â¢s initial success was quickly fleeting as sales reports showed that razors were outselling the cartridge refills. This was very concerning to Gillette as it is well-known that razor manufacturers earn most of their profits from refills, not the initial razor purchase. Critics also questioned why five blades were needed to get the best shave when Gillette had touted its three-bladed Mach3 as â⬠the best a man can get. â⬠ââ¬Å"Consumer reports conclude that there were no additional performance benefits provided by the five-bladed Fusion, especially when compared to the Mach3â⬠[1 pg391]. Economic recession also impacted sales as Gilletteââ¬â¢s products went up in price due to a need to re-coop development costs. How can Gillette continue to maintain or grow market share in a mature market and keep future strategies aligned with customer wants? Alternatives Continue product line and marketing without major change. No additional research and development costs would need to be spent, which in return reduces the need to raise prices for maintaining their profit margin. However the risk looming would be competitor innovation impacting current market share. Schick may produce a new innovative product that would sway consumers from purchasing Gilletteââ¬â¢s products. As stated in the case Gillette must find new ways to innovatively out-produce or out-market the competition. Investing in research and development to create new product line or enhance current products adds considerable expenses. Development costs will need to be re-cooped. This will keep competitors in check, but will be challenging to keep pricing competitive. Compliment current leading product lines that keep consumers happy. Promoting Christmas, Fatherââ¬â¢s day and Motherââ¬â¢s day gift grooming kits that meets more of the consumerââ¬â¢s needs will also introduce consumers to other product lines Gillette has to offer. Focus marketing potential growth opportunities globally by challenging resistance in product awareness and interests. As a Gillette razor consumer, I have encountered an inconvenience that I think can be solved and build customer loyalty. Iââ¬â¢ve been using Mach 3 razors for over fifteen years, and when purchasing refills I have found it difficult to find blades that are compatible with the razor handle that I own. Thinking out of the box, what if Gillette were to make razor handles that are compatible with any of Gilletteââ¬â¢s product line of refills? This would then provide consumers the freedom to purchase from a variety of Gilletteââ¬â¢s product lines without having to spend extra money on a handle that works with the particular product refill. Owning a Gillette universal handle would also encourage customers to stay with Gillette refills as converting to another brand would cost more with the initial required handle purchase. Implementation From the case I would assume Gillette will continue to ââ¬Å"innovatively out-produce or out-market the competitionâ⬠[1]. I believe moving forward with developing a universal handle with Gillette refills would accomplish this. This would require investment into developing a new handle and rollout of the product. Here is an approximate timeline to complete.
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