Bio Fluidic Devices

ALine has available a product called Fluoro Vette, a flowcell useful in fluorescence detection. Molecular biologists often have a need to detect small amounts of DNA. Fluoro Vette can be helpful in this regard and can be used to assess double stranded DNA.

PicoGreen, from Invitrogen in Carlsbad, California, is a reagant discussed in the linked paper. PicoGreen is a nucleic acid stain. It fluoresces when it binds to double-stranded DNA. PicoGreen can be used with ALine's Fluoro Vette. Results are more than satisfactory according to ALine.

ALine manufactures and markets bio micro fluidic devices. They can be applied with medical diagnostics, laboratory and field research and cell cultures. The company is located in California.

H-2B Non-Immigrant Workers

What do businesses do when faced with the need for temporary help even if temporary extends to several years? Hire of course. Sometimes it is more advantagous to hire foreign nationals. The law provides a variety of non-immigrant visa classifications to cope with the demands for employees from beyond the boundaries of the United States. One such category is known as H-2B. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website features a press release titled Questions and Answers: USCIS Finalizes Streamlining Procedures for H-2B Temporary Non-agricultural Worker Program. Interested employers must pursue a petition process before H-2B status is accorded to an individual. The process can involve separate government agencies which include the Department of Labor and the State Department in addition to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The name of the immigration form, used to file for H-2Bs, is Form I-129, also known as the Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker. The employer/petitioner must show a temporary need by documenting that the need "is a one-time occurrence, a seasonal need, a peak-load need, or an intermittent need." Prior to filing the Form I-129 an employer must obtain an approved temporary labor certification issued by the Department of Labor having jurisdiction in the relevant location.

The final rule also includes this requirement:

Require petitioners to provide notification to USCIS within 2 work days in the following instances: (a) where an H-2B worker fails to report to work within five work days of the employment start date on the H-2B petition; (b) where the non-agricultural labor or services for which H-2B workers were hired is completed more than 30 days earlier than the end date stated on the H-2B petition; or (c) where the H-2B worker absconds from the worksite or is terminated prior to the completion of the non-agricultural labor or services for which he or she was hired;

Easy to Read Instructions Can Alter the Bottom Line

Motivation can be a critical factor for many worthwhile endeavors. Motivation can be enhanced or lessened by written instructions. Difficult To Read Instructions Decrease Motivation is a Science Daily article describing research documenting the importance of easily read directions.

An investigation of University of Michigan researchers Hyunjin Song and Norbert Schwarz focused on an how thinking about a task influences our attitude toward that task. Whether a task is seen as simple or complex affects attitude. But what determines the level of ease we associate with a task? Apparently it can be as simple as how easy or difficult it is to read related instructions.

College students were tested with respect to two different tasks. One entailed an exercise regimen and the other the preparation of sushi from a recipe. For both groups half the tested students were given directions in an easy to read font and the remainder in a difficult to read font. Not surprisingly groups having the easier to read exercise instructions and easier to read recipes believed that the workouts and the sushi preparation would take less time and would be easier to do. More significant though was the fact that the respective groups were more inclined to make exercise a daily routine and start the recipe. Clearer instructions lead to better understanding. That in turn leads to a greater likelihood that readers will take action and implement instructions. Initial perceptions of ease and difficulty influence initiative.

Strong Indicator that a Business is Thriving

UFC looms closer to the mainstream is a Yahoo Sports article written by Kevin Iole. Iole writes of one of the most phenomeonal success stories in the business of sports which could be a template for businesses success in any field. The driving force behind the success of the UFC, the leading organization in the world of ultimate fighting, is UFC President Dana White. White is a former fighter who is very familiar with all aspects of the sport but whose business acumen has lead the UFC from obscurity to the verge of joining the mainstream sports world.

One of the markers of the UFC's growing popularity is their fine showing in pay-per-view cards. Some recent events have exceeded a million in pay-per-view sales. This in spite of competition from boxing and another ultimate fighting sponsor. White and his partners Lorenzo and Frank Fertitta have increased the value of the UFC from the purchase price of 2 million in 2001 to a current value of over one billion.

What accounts for the meteoric success of the UFC? There are several factors. One, already alluded to, is the resourceful leadership of the company. Timing is another factor. The sport is on the rise and the UFC is riding a wave while making plenty of waves of their own. The company has been very aggressive yet wise at the same time. Every opportunity is taken to expand the sport into locations not previously exploited. Europe has become a target market. The U.S. has become an established market. Japan and Brazil, which furnish many ultimate fighters, are venues already familiar with the sport.

Yet not long ago ultimate fighting faced numerous legal obstacles within the United States. Legislators threatened to ban the sport and state athletic commissions withheld needed sanctioning. The UFC reacted with key rule changes intended to make the sport safer while mollifying critics. The strategy has worked and while some states are still holding out there are enough big market states available to host events. Ultimate fighting is here to stay and the UFC is a big part of it.