Identifying strategies for strengthening market position

This research aims to comprehend how an organisation operates its business and to identify the strategies adopted by it to strengthen its position in the market. The research starts with the background of the restaurant, which is followed by an internal and external analysis of the business to better understand its business environment. This includes SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, and an understanding of the competition. Then the scope of the research is mentioned, and further explained in the literature review. The areas covered in the literature review include interior design, competitive advantage, analysis of customer base and satisfaction, human resources and expansion strategies. Then the methods used to conduct the research are discussed. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used for this research. Then the results obtained, and observations made from conducting the interview and questionnaire are covered. A complete detained analysis of the results is included in the discussion. The results section primarily highlights the most likable factor about the restaurant and its position in the market. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations made for the organisation to increase their sales are provided on the basis of the results obtained. It has been observed that the organisation faces stiff competition and needs to take measures to improve its market position

Aberrant origin of left vertebral artery: a rare case

The Vertebral Artery (VA) is classically described as originating as the first branch of the ipsilateral subclavian artery. The VA origin is variable and has been identified at the aortic arch, Common Carotid Artery (CCA), and Internal Carotid Artery. The VA arising from the carotid artery is an extremely uncommon variant. Left VA origin from the left CCA has been reported only thrice. These rare anomalous origins of the VA usually are asymptomatic. We describe symptomatic aberrant origin of left vertebral artery from left common carotid artery, a rare case

Subarachnoid haemorrhage mimicking as myocardial infarction

Electrocardiographic (ECG) changes due to subarachnoid haemorrhage (SAH) are seen frequently and mimic acute myocardial infarction. For appropriate therapeutic management it is very important to distinguish acute coronary syndrome from neurogenic myocardial injury, which is a reversible condition. A 35 year old male presented to us with history of acute chest pain, ECG suggestive of anterolateral myocardial infarction for which he underwent anticoagulant therapy. It was subsequently diagnosed to be a case of SAH due to ruptured anterior communicating artery aneurysm

Can we predict the need of nutritional support following pancreatoduodenectomy?

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Investigating the ability of Thermal Cycling to reduce the growth of Biofilms

The objective of this research was to determine if thermal cycling can reduce the growth rate of thermophilic bacteria during milk powder production. The test bacterium selected for the experiment was Geobacillus stearothermophilus, which has been found in the milk powder production plant as a contaminant. G. stearothermophilus persists in the manufacturing plants as biofilms on the various stainless steel and seal surfaces available in the production line. A biofilm can be defined as an aggregation of microbial cells and their associated extracellular polymeric substances (EPS), actively attached to, growing and multiplying on a surface (Johnstone, Ellar, & Appleton, 1980). Biofilm formation can cause film accumulation on food contact surfaces, and microbial colonization in milk storage tanks, fouling of heat exchangers and adhesion of contaminating spores on packaging material surfaces. The need to comply with permissible thermophilic spore count in the milk powder forces shut down of the plants for cleaning earlier than would be the case if non-microbial fouling of the heat exchangers were the only concern (Hinton, Trinh, Brooks, & Manderson, 2002). Consequently, the operational costs soar and profit decreases. The species in question may not pose a threat to health but represent a continuing problem of spoilage and production of out-of-specification products. The bacterial culture was grown in tryptic soy broth (TSB) in a water bath at 55°C for 6 hours. The treatment was manipulated on three parameters: • Step change temperature (55°C to 30°C or 35°C) • Step change duration • Period between step changes The milk for the experiments was prepared by dissolving milk powder acquired from Fonterra into warm deionized autoclaved water. The experimental set-up consisted of a sterile plastic bottle (milk reservoir), two inlet tubes passing from either of two water baths maintained either at step-change temperature or control temperature. The tubes then entered a two-way solenoid valve through which the milk passed into a reactor tube having 10 coupons of 1 cm2 area inserted, and then to a pump tube, which finally drained the milk into a sealed collection vessel (a 5000 ml Schott-Duran glass bottle). The culture was introduced into the experimental set-up by two methods. In one method, the culture was inoculated into the sterile milk and in the other, the culture was inserted into the reactor tube and allowed to stand for 30minutes before being pumped out rapidly with sterile milk. The parameters for the variation were introduced using a Arduino-based software designed for the project, which switched the valve between the milk coming from the water bath at step-change temperature and control temperatures, according to the specific time pattern programmed into the software. To be sure of the temperature, a thermocouple measured the temperature of the milk as it exited from the valve and entered the reactor. The bacterial growth rate was measured by sampling both the coupons and outflowing milk at certain points of time during the trial. The results and data collected during the project clearly indicated a significant reduction in the growth rate of G. stearothermophilus owing to thermal cycling. Based on the conditions tested in this project, for control of both biofilm growth rate and contamination of the outflowing milk, a step-change at 35°C for 35 min with 15 min interval between two step-changes can be recommended as the best trial regime forpilot-scale experimentation for evaluation of effectiveness of thermal cycling

Out of Mind, Out of Sight: A Critical Appraisal of Social Initiatives to Curb Migration in Uttarakhand

The existing state of affairs in the hill and rural areas of Uttarakhand is very dangerous as thestate has more than fifteen hundred ghost villages and this number is growing day in day out. The villagers from these places are moving out to plain areas within and outside the state mainly for employment opportunities and a variety of other reasons also contributes to this unfortunate process. Comprehending the urgency of the situation several individuals, non-government organizations, self help groups and the different agencies of the government have started a number of initiatives to curb this serious issue of migration. This research article makes an effort to study the circumstances, current scenario and predominant causes in relation to migration for the state of Uttarakhand. The research article mainly focusses on some of the successful cases of social initiatives attempted for helping to create a viable environment so that people do not have  to migrate out of their home in search for facilities. The article concludes that such kind of social initiatives have the potential to stop the process of migration and to initiate reverse migration in the state but still a fair distance has to be covered to make this vision palpable