Antimicrobial Activity of Coconut Water | Research Proposal

Antimicrobial Activity of Coconut Water | Research Proposal Urinary tract infection (UTI) is the common term for the heterogenous group of conditions in which there is growth of bacteria in the urinary tract.1 UTIs occur in 3-5% of girls and 1% of boys. After the first UTI, 60-80% of girls will develop a second UTI within 18 mo. In boys, most UTIs occur during the 1st yr of life. UTIs are much more common in uncircumcised boys. The prevalence of UTIs varies with age. During the 1st yr of life, the male : female ratio is 2.8-5.4 : 1. Beyond 1-2 yr, there is a striking female preponderance, with a male : female ratio of 1 : 10.2 According to the National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey and National Hospital Ambulatory Medical Care Survey, UTI accounted for nearly 7 million office visits and 1 million emergency department visits each year.3 UTIs are caused mainly by colonic bacteria. In females, 75-90% of all infections are caused by Escherichia coli, followed by Klebsiella spp. and Proteus spp. Some series report that in males older than 1 yr of age, Proteus is as common a cause as E. coli.2 UTI can cause significant morbidity if not properly identified and treated. Therefore early recognition and prompt treatment is important to prevent late sequelae, such as renal scarring, hypertension, and renal failure.4 Coconuts, which are native in our country, play an important role in the society. Not only do they provide shelter and livelihood for mankind but they are also the source of important physiologically functional components. Nowadays, coconut has been gaining too much popularity because of its potential antimicrobial benefits.5 Coconut water is incredibly healthy and one of the best drinks to hydrate the body. Besides helping to remove toxins from the body and aiding digestion, coconuts have amazing anti-viral, anti-fungal and anti-microbial properties that help to cure the disease.6 It contains high levels of lauric acid, a substance responsible for these properties.7 However, no study has been done to document or confirm its antimicrobial properties against UTI pathogens, thus, this study was conceptualized. Thus, it is the aim of this study to explore adjunctive treatment for urinary tract infection. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Lauric acid which is found in high quantity in Virgin coconut oil was proven to have antibacterial activity against various viruses, protozoal and bacterial pathogens. However, one study conducted here in Davao City dated September 2004 showed that commercially available virgin coconut oil has no antibacterial activity against the urinary tract pathogens, E. coli and K. pneumoniae.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Urinary tract infection is a serious health problem affecting millions of people each year. It is treated with various antibacterial drugs which are readily available in the market. However due to the increasing cost of these drugs, many people cannot afford them and sort to self medication with natural remedies. The result of this study will aid the community on using an adjunctive medicine that is readily available for the treatment of one of the common diseases in children. OBJECTIVES General Objective: To determine the antibacterial activity of coconut water using the zone of inhibition on Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Proteus mirabilis (most common causes of UTI). Specific Objectives: To determine the zone of inhibition of coconut water on E. coli, K. pneumoniae and P. mirabilis To determine which among the bacterial pathogens in UTI is the most sensitive to coconut water. DEFINITION OF TERMS Zone of inhibition this is the clear area formed around the filter paper disc after 24 hours incubation of the petri dishes. Control disc impregnated disc with Amikacin and Cotrimoxazole used as standards for comparing the zone of inhibitions of coconut water against common urinary tract pathogens. Coconut water is the clear liquid inside young coconuts METHODOLOGY The study will be conducted in a school microbiology laboratory wherein the preparations of the materials and the interpretation of the results will be done. The young coconut fruit will be freshly obtained from the tree and then the water will be separated from its pulp. The test organisms, E. coli, K. pneumoniae and P. mirabilis will be obtained from positive cultures isolated from urine cultures of both pediatric and adult patients. Sensitivity testing for each organism will be performed to determine the type of antibiotic that will be used as control for the study. The Mueller-Hinton Agar will be used as the medium for the susceptibility testing. The Schieler and Schull filter paper will be used to prepare 6mm disc using a puncher. The materials that will be used in the experiment proper will be sterilized in the autoclaved at 15psi for 15 minutes. After sterilization, the agar will be dispensed in the sterilized petri dishes with a depth of 5mm and allowed to solidify. Three trials with 9 cultures of each bacterial strain will be tested using the Kirby-Bauer Disc Diffusion Method. Each bacterial strain will be made into a broth suspension and streaked evenly onto the surface of the medium using a sterile cotton swab. The sterile filter paper disc will be dipped into the coconut water. The prepared discs will then be allowed to dry for 3-5 minutes after which, they will be on the agar using a sterile forceps and gently pressed down to ensure contact. For the control, commercially impregnated discs with Amikacin and Cotrimoxazole will be used. The plates will be incubated at 37oC for 24 hours and will be investigated for antibacterial activity using the zone of inhibition. The zones of inhibition will be determined in millimeters using a digital caliper. The measured zones of inhibition will be classified as follows: 0mm-6.99mm as negative, 7mm-12.99mm as weak, 13mm-19.99mm as moderate and >20mm as strong.

Change the Culture of an Organisation Essay

The culture of an organization can be defined by the ‘way they do things’, this means the way they make decisions, operate and how they choose and achieve their objectives. As culture is a set of values and practices, changing it may be difficult and a long process, especially if the change is organized by a new chief executive. Changing the culture of an organization may not be easy especially if the new chief executive does not fully understand the previous culture and therefore does not embrace it in the change. This lack of knowledge may result in an inappropriate culture being chosen that could limit the company’s performance as productivity reduces. An example of a badly imposed culture can been seen with the Chrysler and Damier-Benz merge in 1998. Damier-Benz imposed their traditional and structured German culture on the free-spirited American car company Chrysler. The extremely different cultures created tension that later affected their efficiency as decision-making took longer and the workforce were not happy. The inappropriate culture resulted in a loss of $1.5 billon by 2006. In 2011, the new chief executive of Tesco, Phillip Clarke, also made a cultural change which proved unsuccessful. He proposed a strategy to change Tesco’s brand image to be known for â€Å"highly valued brands† as opposed to their cheaper â€Å"Value† products. The decrease in popular promotion deals such as vouchers and meal deals reduced their sales revenue and share value which fell by 15% by the end of 2011. This suggests that Clarke failed to identify Tesco’s main source of competitively. Therefore, both examples show that cultural changes may be difficult as the new chief executives lack knowledge and experience in the company. Culture change also takes a long time, especially as traditions and values are set. A prime example of this is with Sony. Sony is a Japan-based company who prides themselves in adopting a traditional Japanese business culture. Examples of their culture can be seen with their clear line of authority and their strong belief in respect. However, Sony’s reducing performance and the fast changing world alarmed the new chief executive, Howard Stringer, to change the culture to one that embraces change. Although proposals to change the culture were made in 2007, Sony’s culture has still not fully transformed which is reflected in their still low competitively. Therefore, it may still take some time for Sony to fully embrace an innovative culture as their Japanese culture has largely influenced the organization. It also took a long time for Marks & Spencer to introduce higher levels of technology, such as a stock control system, as they are said to have a ‘backward culture’. This is because they don’t embrace change and are led by system and procedures. These examples provide evidence that change in a business’s culture may not be done quickly as the organization is accustomed to the previous culture. However, changing a company’s culture can be easy if the new chief executive conducts the change in an appropriate manner. As culture change will have a direct impact on stakeholders, it is important for the new chief executive to inform all stakeholders of the changes and to also encourage feedback. The loss of the innovative leader of Apple, Steve Jobbs created much anxiety about the new CEO Tim Cook. Stakeholders feared Cook would change the company and reject all Jobbs practices especially as the two leaders have different personalities. The media worsened the situation with continuous negative press coverage which resulted in a decrease in consumer confidence as well as Apple’s share price. Although Jobbs had planned to make some strategic changes to the company’s practices, he reassured stakeholders by stating that â€Å"Apple will not change†. He also identified these new strategies and their benefits in a press release which justified his decisions and satisfied stakeholders. The newfound trust of stakeholders will enable Apple’s cultural change to be easier and happen more quickly. In view of the above, I believe that it is not easy to change the culture of a business, as the current practices are custom to the organization; this also suggests that the change will be quite a process and therefore won’t be done quickly. This situation is worsened as the chief executive is new and won’t have the necessary knowledge and understanding of the business to enable a smooth and quick transition. However, the ability for the new chief executive to change the business’s culture quickly and easily is highly dependant upon the reaction of the stakeholders. For example, BP’s customers may react positively as the new culture will increase the company’s responsiveness to customers. Shareholders may also react positively as the increase of innovation should increase BP’s competitive advantage which could increase the company’s value and share price. However, the increase in innovation may pose a threat the employees as management will expect higher quality and the need for more qualified personnel may be necessary. Therefore, support from stakeholders will encourage an easier and quickly transformation whereas negativity will not. The skills of the workforce is also important as if they are innovative the cultural change will happen faster. However, Sony is in a creative industry and their strategy to increase innovation still took a long time. This suggests that attitudes and beliefs of the workforce are also important. An easy change is also depend upon the new executives approach, is it forceful or flexible? Damier-Benz’s forceful approach result in a large amount of tension that slowed the change and resulted in a financial loss.

The Effects Of Uvb Waves On Dna Bases - 1157 Words

When someone tells you that too much sun is bad for you, they say that because they know that too much sunlight causes cancer. Skin cancer is caused by mutations caused by ultraviolet radiation. This Ultraviolet radiation is detrimental to the human body. Ultraviolet radiation has been established as a genotoxic agent. A genotoxic agent is a chemical agent that damages genetic information within the cell. This causes a mutation and the mutation may lead to cancer ( Bianchi, J. et al. 2013). But what exactly is ultra violet radiation? The sunlight that reaches us is made up of two types of harmful rays: long wave ultraviolet A (UVA) and short wave ultraviolet B (UVB) There’s also a third type of ray, UVC, these are the shortest and strongest, but they are absorbed by the ozone layer and don’t typically reach the Earth ( Bianchi, J. et al. 2013). However, in many experiments UVC is used. What We Already Know on Effects of UVB Waves on DNA Bases. UVB radiation is the most energetic component of solar radiation that hits the earth’s surface. The main photochemical reactions within cellular DNA involve mostly the direct absorption of UVB photons by the DNA bases, mostly pyrimidine constituents, including thymine, cytosine and the minor 5-methylcytosine ( Bianchi, J. et al.). It was also shown recently that purine bases may also be the target of UVB radiation, although to a smaller extent, as the result of the direct absorption of photons within the wavelength range 290–320 nmShow MoreRelatedThe Effects Of Uv Radiation On Human Body Essay2449 Words   |  10 Pagesand the effects that it brings to the human body. Admittedly, the sunshine the body some benefits, such as boosting the body’s supply of vitamin D and enhancing the mood. However, while people are receiving profits, they are also being influenced by some drawbacks. The long time exposure to sunlight brings people quite harmful effects and even destroy people’s skin. The UV radiation can be classified as UVA, UVB and UVC. UVA rays would lead the cause of wrinkles on people’s skin and UVB rays wouldRead More Skin Cancer in Australia Essay3003 Words   |  13 Pagespublic health issue in Australia. Exposure to ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun in the UVA and UVB wavelengths is the primary cause. Australia has been a world leader in efforts to protect the ozone layer, the main line of defense against ultraviolet radiation emitted by the sun. Ultraviolet radiation induces the formation of thymine dimers that cause mutation of skin cells if not repaired before DNA replication. Mutations of tumor suppressor genes can lead to uncontrolled cell growth. UltravioletRead MoreOzone Layer Depletion4985 Words   |  20 PagesISSUES AND CONCERNS ABOUT THE OZONE LAYER DEPLETION INTRODUCTION The ozone layer protects the Earth from the ultraviolet rays sent down by the sun.   If the ozone layer is depleted by human action, the effects on the planet could be catastrophic. In recent years, the ozone layer has been the subject of much discussion.   And rightly so, because the ozone layer protects both plant and animal life on the planet. The atmosphere is divided into five layers:   the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere

The Rhetorical Analysis Of Thomas Paines Common Sense

Political activist Thomas Paine during the beginnings of the American Revolution wrote a pamphlet , Common Sense , to convince the American people and the continental congress to completely break away from England and its monarchy. Paine writes in a passionate tone to explain the differences between society and government, how they both form, and why. Paine aims to convince his audience to cut ties with the motherland through his use of rhetorical appeals, figurative language, and schemes. Thomas Paines passionate rhetorical appeals ,pathos, explains one of his reasons for the need of a split between England and America by comparing society to government, Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness [†¦] The†¦show more content†¦He continues with this thinking by writing, Thus necessity, like a gravitating power, would soon form out newly arrived emigrants into society [†¦ ] and render the obligations of law and government unnecessary ( Paine, Par.4). The quote explains how we unconsciously group together based on common interest and once that happens there is no real reason to have a type of government because at this time we are all working and coming together to achieve one goal. This supports Paines purpose of having America completely break away from Britain by showing the people and congress that there is no reason to be governed by someone across the sea when they through trying to make America successful have already formed a society that has a common goal. The authors stylistic schemes draw in his audience and continues to keep his points on topic throughout this piece. In the introduction of Common Sense the author writes, Society is produced by our wants, and government by our wickedness; the former promotes our happiness positively by uniting our affections, the latter negatively by restraining our vices [†¦] The first is a patron, the last a punisher ( Paine, Par.1). 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That is, you are free to share, copy, distribute, store, and transmit all or any part of the work under the following conditions: (1) Attribution You must attribute the work in the manner specified