Category: Conversation

It has not been too long since the Australian cinema witnessed renaissance. Accompanying this renaissance, many genre-related movies encountered output, agreement discourse and enterprise controversy oriented stature, dating to post 1980s period. In order to lure vaster audience, the Box Office has its eyes at commercial filmmakers and entertainment centred movie makers (Zion, 2015). The transformation of speculative Australian film industry into an established and promising marketable media sector is much anticipated, unfortunately, is missing proficient details of its strategy leading to practical execution. However, this debate is missing sync to Australian lineage and cinema. Further the correlation with modern trends and domestic audience is too absent. The arguments posed in this chapter points at the burden that filmmakers have to carry. Although Australian cinema has held its prominent reputation, there are considerable obstacles in the way of filmmakers like meeting the expectations of national and international audience, scarce generation scale and business configurations, current discrepancies among culture and commerce, and finally the recent film finding policy levied by the Australian government. The journey of Australian cinema has not been perfectly steady, but witnessed numerous fluctuations (Ward, 2019). To combat such fluctuations in marketplace and economy, there are several policies to help aspiring and established filmmakers. One of them being the Screen Australia- Producer offset. However, in order to be eligible for such policies an assurance for market place success is required (Producer, 2020).

Over the past two decades, Australian cinema has witnessed a new tide of movies releases around the globe. Australian cinema was largely carved on the basis of national identity agenda since 20th century. However, the resurrection of genre movies, portrays the vein of Hollywood filmmaking which consequently commemorates an explicit milestone in the Australian screen history. The beginning of 21st century glimpsed a miserable marketable feat of Australian movies. Following which a major controversy arose via the wider concern of audiences and the native cinema (Rayner, 2018). The goal is to attract vaster audiences along with better Box Office Performance; Commercial and entertainment centred filmmakers are being looked upon for this (Nowra, 2019).

However, there is high uncertainty at the potential of filmmakers for achieving such milestones with the ongoing national funding policies, as these serve mainly as an obstacle rather than motivators. The public policy makers and AFTRS can be cited as major contributors in formation of such a mentality among the masses. Consequently, the debate has taken a craft based turn (O’Regan, 2019). Still, the lack of inspection of Australian movie culture and its chemistry with the audience and concurrent fashions requires to be acknowledged. As this essay argues, films have inhabited a hard degree under Australian cinema, which further encountered several hardships in terms of festivity with natives, which being evident by achievement of these films greatly overseas than the homeland. However, there too, they confront dominant linguistic barriers. Thus, international success is not sufficient alone (Moran et al., 2015).

Further, this essay focuses at examination of the chronological aspect of films within Australian cinema dating to the late 20th century till present. The aspects to be primarily analysed includes filmmaking tangibility, industrial dynamics and configurations, and entertainment. Entertainment Along the path, the essay will focus at examination of consequences of the recent renaissance of Australian films specifically indicating the advent of the filmmaker’s offset, and evaluation of dilemmas such films have to encounter in the native environments due to variable forces. Several citations to the dis-empowerment of Australian movie lineage have been made since the last century, however insights into Australian movie heritage has mostly been absent.

Celebrated Australian analyst and movie scholar: Brain McFarlane (2009), opine the negligence of potent filmmakers within Australian cinema. Claims like insufficiency of the Australian cinema in rendering everlasting excitement for the speculators prevail. However, some films proved to be exceptions to such claims. To name a few- Death Defying Acts (2007; suspense), Australia (2008; epic), Crocodile Dundee (1986; humour) and Mad Max (1979; trilogy). No doubt, such examples exist but their number is not convincing. So, McFarlane is correct to a certain extent. When viewed from another angle, there are certain other master pieces as well which lacks recognition and acknowledgement (Ryan, 2017). A limitation that comes into picture is the limited infrastructure with the Australian screen which could lend a support for sustainable proceedings. To be specific, movies needing greater budgets, mainly dealing with action, thriller etcetera cannot be produced as effectively. This is the reason that genres like comedy which require lesser material resources and only strong scripts are preferred over their counterparts that have to dominantly depend over government funding and look into the ongoing legal policies and reforms (Victoria, 2018).

A receptacle carved out of film output, culture, policy and criticism is known as national identity. A reference to this identity becomes a necessity here as the previous decades have witnessed autonomous prototype for getting insights into Australian cinema. The cultural policies and subsidies have a significant role in sustainability and fostering of the cinema. It has been put forth as a display and conservation of Australian community, temperament and essence (Maher, 2016).As a result, an emphasis over content centred on quality and culture is given while entertainment and commercial content is often thwarted. Such practises intend to induce a sense of community in the natives of Australia. Another prominent film scholar put it forth as the Australians uninterested in producing films purely meant for entertainment and audience enticement such as horror and action. Promotion of films up to Hollywood like standards is hardly tried by the Australian filmmakers. Public funding environment might also be put to blame for this (George, 2016). Australian cinema must seek inspiration from the minor film enterprises which enjoys relatively healthier associations with Hollywood and competes with the rivals despite their small size (Rayner, 2018). On the other hand, Australian cinema is trying to set a demarcation among itself and the Hollywood rather than initiating collaborations. The notions of a national cinema have evolved due to such opinions.

Now a need is there to choose among either of the opposition arguments which serve as the filmmaker’s dilemma and can be rephrased as: Shall the Australian film industry indulge in production and promotion of heritage specific genres which deal explicitly in Australian realisms and succeed up to a level in domestic market alone, or produce entertainment and demand based movies that would acquire recognition across the globe but defy the national identity norms set up by Australian government for funding (Cunningham, 2017). This indeed is a major dilemma in the motive of producing a film that involves recognition and success. However, such cannot be achieved through funding. Both the forces seem to be mutually exclusive and attainment of one excludes the other (Dallas, 2019). As the phase of year 1980 ended, there were some major reforms in tax write offs for film makers. The 10BA was held back and the taxes were revised to be set at 150 percent from a 100 percent. This change dates to the year 1988-89 and 2001-02. The private investors were motivated by this move and the investments started decreasing gradually. The aftereffects that followed was the falling of diversity in the Australian cinema and film industry. This demise had a devastating effect as a complete sub class which earlier comprised of medium level thrilled, had been completely eliminated (Harley, 2017). Various observations by scholars from film industry followed this change. The insights were necessary as well, as called by Stephen Rowley (1998). Films like the Dark city released in year 1998 and the Matrix in year 1999 are the perfect example of such observation in the former decade of the Australian films.

Further, a major blow was there for filmmakers who were thinking of producing content in genres like fantasy and scientific fiction. It was a disadvantage to think of such ideas because there were budget limitations that were levied upon Australian artists and producers with maximum spirits, as has been quoted by Andrew Mason in Helms. The only option left was a comeback by the Australian government into the film production market. Evidently, the government turned out to be the principal investor for entertainment. Obviously, higher demand films were no longer possible now. As what the public wanted to see, would have hosted too much which the government was adamant not to pay. No reason or logic could be cited against such will of the government. Hence, high budgeted films escaped altogether. If the market then (in 1990) was to be compared with that in 1980s, then sharp contrasts could be seen (Ryan, 2017). It can be summarized as: before this period a spirit to imitate and even overpower the Hollywood prevailed. However, this was no longer the case after government reforms for film funding. The trend that saw elevation was in the local films.

The Australian film market was loaded with such and these focused at the everyday settings which were more relatable and recognisable by the general public. This gave a feeling of documentaries to the viewers. Further, no attempt was made by artists who had potential scope in their works. For example: Strictly Ballroom. Such excerpts indicate that the enthusiasm for global exposure no longer existed in the filmmakers and exclusively Australian content was being produced. Such type of production methods continued, prevailed and dominated till the 21st century embarked (Dallas, 2019).

With beginning of the 21st century, the industry was not lucky enough as a major catastrophe had hit it hard. In the year 2004, the percentage adjacent to local share of box office showed a number of 1.3, which is the minimum ever as observed in the history. Following the trend, in two years the numbers rose to 2.8%, which was no very fascinating for the film makers. As the numbers observed kin the year 2000 were approximately 8% at Screen Australia in 2011. After publication of these figures, the filmmakers and the government were put to blame. They were held liable as the filmmakers had produced such films while the government and the funding institutions had approved a content which was said to cause depression. The people did not find that content entertaining at all rather they were disappointed with such productions (Nowra, 2019). There had been a constant demarcation among national policy schedules and the varieties that audience wanted to consume (Victoria, 2018). While the allocation of funds for the film making in Australia had been chiefly regulated by the strategy intentions, the native speculators have a complete contrasting taste. They do not share a greater inclination for films meant with the federal schedule or any form of artistic identities. (Victoria, 2018).

The year 2005 governed an introduction of a fresh funding module that aimed to covert the former deal driver model by removal of subsection. The deal driven model used to access films based on their performance in the presales attained at bit national and worldwide levels. However, the feeder model was based on an assessment inculcating strength of the script, potential of the audience engaged, the star casts associated with the film and other such relatable factors to analyse the expected market acquisition (Zion, 2015). Initially, such returned proved to be fruitful as they helped in uniting the commercial filmmakers and the audiences under a mutual shade, however, the following years governed something deviating. As it was announced that the funding structure would undergo further reforms which aimed at marking a contemporary era for the Australian market. Probably that did not prove to be true in the forthcoming period (Dallas, 2019). The content, script and the movies altogether, do not lack potential. So what is refraining the Australian cinema from acquiring the best recognition? That is probably the various fences, separating the local filmmakers and the Australian cinema. Simply producing a genre film, promoting it at social media, and the audiences will come. The process is certainly not as simple as this in any way (Moran, 2015).

The attitude and reactions delivered by the policy makers for the supporters of conventional Australian genre cinema within the industry is not favourable to its best. Further, another hurdle as cited by the producers is the cultural discount which being the difficulty in comprehension of Australian agent by the audiences around the globe. To cite an instance, comedy Kenny (2006) performed exceptionally well at the local box office and won the title for the best grossing Australian film (Eltham, 2015). Conversely, at the international markets it could hardly gain any recognition and failed terribly. A slap on the producer’s face was put when it was deliberately released in the United States. Ironically, the film itself was in English language, and the accompanying subtitles were too in English language. For the people investing their time, money and efforts in the films, such types if cultural threats deviate them and demotivate for further production of such movies. There have been other instances as well when the producers were criticised badly for their decisions to produce such transnational movies. It would be worth mentioning here that the transnational achievement of Australian films is scarcely commemorated within familial film culture. While domestic box-office revenue is diligently documented and publicized regularly by prominent media like Screen Australia. Annual breakdowns are also celebrated, there are a few names that either publish or celebrate the Australian film’s performance in the international market (Ryan, 2017). This is an indicative of, importance of Australian cinema with the local box office alone whilst excluding the international marketplace. This certainly is a continuation of heredity of the nationwide personality and the cinema schedule. Until recently, the determining factors for measuring a film’s achievement and dignity had been limited to household theatre production accompanied by global acclaim, framed critically (Ryan, 2017). Conversely, earnings, global revenue, and global box office sales used to be unimportant interests.

The essay has assessed a comprehensive narrative of chronology of movies in Australian cinema. Three major degrees, namely significance, perception, and assistance inside of the industry and national agreements have been discussed, serving as the milestones achieved by the Australian films. However, there are certain restrictions and obstacles in the way of filmmakers who aim at gaining recognition worldwide by indulging in various genres. But the current government policies aiming at the national identity prove be a constraint for them. This conventional approach requires reconsideration. As I have argued, the filmmakers can not solely carry the burden of all restriction being levied upon them and the pressure for success of the movie even adds to it further. The Australian creature films have to cross the hurdles like cultural status, restricted resources, cultural and commercial discrepancies, the contrast among domestic and international market, and most prominent of all- the national identity agenda. Additionally, a commercial turn is being witnessed that might only be a newer session of experimentation. Thus, it becomes mandatory to acquire certainty before the needle of policy starts to point at cultural and national identity even with higher strictness. In order to untangle the mysteries and tensions among the aspirations of local filmmakers and policy makers, dynamics need to be explored more effectively. An agreement is required that would compensate the aspirations of both the parties. As having single handed inclination might prove to be harmful in the long run. However, that might be skipped if sustainability is not the goal. To conclude, two unique Australian entities in the marketplace viz. national identity and the filmmakers with varied aspirations needs to come together with a settlement. Specifically, the genres relating to thrill, fiction related to science, and adventure etcetera have obtained a restrictive distinct. The Australian cinema based on genres has the potential to serve as a wholesome and provide additional sub-genres for further creativity. It needs to be associated with a generic identity than a national identity for this purpose. More policies by institutions like Screen Australia are required.

The beginning of plant transitions happened a couple million years ago,it was hard to figure out the dates because they were not much fossil evidence available to observe and calculate. The cooperative arrangement with fungi aided in the transition and developed into a Bryophytes ,for example, mosses, liverworts and hornworts and Tracheophyta such as ferns and other plants. Most plants transition to land to get more sunlight ( the need for photosynthesis), more carbon dioxide, oxygen, more space to grow, and more nutrients. Most plants in water find it hard to be stable in a perfect spot in the middle of the good sunlight from the surface of the water and still get their nutrients. On the other hand, there are disadvantages for water based plants to transition to land because of how different the conditions are which leads to loss of water, and lack of structural support. Water has an advantage by being the primary place for the plants, for example: water support, easy production (no need for vascular tissue), light, carbon dioxide, and oxygen. With all the advantages there are more disadvantages, for example, lack of nutrients (plants do not have easy access to nutrients as they are use to in the water), harder to extract oxygen than land, and varying amount of light depending on location. Plants are capable of adaption throughout the years at a slow pace (million of years). In order for plants to transition to land, there are requirements for each plant, first water conservation ability which needs a constant supply and a way to prevent losing water. Second reproduction ability which is how to reproduce without the help of water like zygotes that may dry out. Third, the most important transportation ability which is how to bring the energy from photosynthesis and water and nutrients distributed throughout the plant.

Although there are some disadvantages to the characteristics of plants, the plants create a land rich in food and resources.Conifers, mosses, and ferns were one of the many plants to transfer from water to land with the adaptations that they had to make in order to survive. Moses did not have any stiff support tissue, conducting tissues, true leaves, stems, roots, pollen, seeds, flowers, and fruits. It does require water for fertilization. Ferns have adaptation characteristics that they become developed throughout the years such as stiff support tissue, conducting tissues, true leaves, stems, roots, and pollen, seeds, flowers, and fruits are absent. Plus it does require water fertilization. As plants evolved from aquatic to land environments, there were restrictions throughout the way. One difficulty is the structural support because in water, organisms are floatable, light and gravity is not as strong as in land. Besides, the Kelp plant which has a structure with a gas-filled sack that allow the plants to float. However, on land, in order for a plant to grow in height and in general, it needs to stand firm against gravity force which is more difficult than a plant that grows in the water where there is minimal gravity and does not require strong structural support. Along with the fact that rigid cell walls are developed to provide support as well, as did various types of supportive tissues like the woody tissue in a tree. The mosses lack strong woody like tissues or any strong stiff and rigid cells. This support is found in the ferns plants but is present fairly.

During transition plants to land, it is an obstacle to bring sex cells together (sperm and egg). In an aquatic environment, the sperm can swim to the eggs, but on land, this can only happen in very moist climates, for instance, mosses and ferns. Although mosses also reproduce asexually which helps them increase the population to help them adapt to the environment. By some of the adaptations that the plants have, it allows these plants to fertilize. This happened when the mature generation (sporophytes) that produces spores that produce microscopic gametophytes within structures that provide and help with water and nutrients. The male gametophytes develop within pollen grains. Along with the female gametophytes, which produce eggs and develop within ovaries (in the flowering plants). Pollen is transported by wind essentially help to transport sperm to eggs, in which it does need water as a transportation factor. Another barrier for land plants resulted in the growth of the seeds. In aquatic environments, the fertilized egg develops into an embryo that can not be dehydrated because it is in water. And the embryo receives water and nutrients directly from its surrounding environment which is the exact opposite of land because they need other factors to help them get nutrients and especially water if it is not in a moist area. So, in land plants, an embryo can dry out easily therefore while transitioning they need a damp and moist atmosphere to help with the transition to land. This is how the embryo is developed and how they get the nutrients.

The study of language has a unique history as modern linguistics began to develop in the 18th century, with work focused on reconstructing Indo-European studies. Current linguistics still practice reconstruction. However, further development has been issued on understanding why languages exist, and whether or not a certain form of speech is considered to be a dialect or a creole. Studies on language in Korean consist of comprehending the argument between dialects and language. The Korean language consists of 6 different dialects (Tranter, Nicolas. 2012). They consist of Seoul (Standard Korean), Gyeongsang, Chungcheong, Jeolla, Yeongseo, (which belong to their respected provinces), and Jejueo (Jeju being an island off the southern coast of the Korean peninsula). However, the majority of studies specifically target the dialect of Jejueo. Ongoing debates question the validity of Jejueo being its own separate language. Linguists are nonhomogeneous when deciding whether Jejueo should be classified as a dialect of mainland Korean, or its own language. Although substantial research has been done on Jejueo as to whether it should be considered as a dialect of Korean, the few studies of the language and its components prove otherwise.

Jejueo has been documented unlike other endangered languages since 1913. According to Dong-Ho Ko (Yang, Sejung. 2018), “ as of 2014, about 500 linguistic studies on Jejueo have been published.” This is surprising, considering that Jejueo itself is minute compared to the vast majority of dialects in the world. Analysis on the first PhD dissertation on Jejueo, provides a perspective on where linguists were focusing their attention to, when researching the morphology of the language. The Jejueo language uses 9 vowels. It maintains the arae-a vowel system which has been lost from standard Korean. Vowels such as, “ㅓ” [ə], are pronounced similarly, but with less opening at the back of the throat. The pragmatics of Jejueo also differ from Standard Korean, as speech formality or honorific form of language is missing. If we take for instance the phrase, “반갑습니다 ” (ban’ gapseumnida) in Standard Korean, which translates to, “Pleasure to meet you” in English, it ends with the suffix 습니다 (seumnida). The 습니다 here addresses a honorific speech pattern that implies to the person receiving the phrase, that the speaker is being polite. However, the same phrase in Jejueo has the 습니다 suffix missing in the speech pattern. A fluent Jejueo speaker would say, “반갑수다” (ban’gapsuda), which roughly translates to, “howdy”. The Standard Korean language itself is very strict on honorific forms in speech as there are different ways to address individuals based on their superiority. Children to adults would speak differently as children to their friends; and adults to their parents would speak differently as adults to their friends. In order to understand the argument between Jejueo as a language or dialect, we must first decipher the speech patterns provided by Jejueo and its superstrate. The obvious contrast we can observe is that Jejueo lacks formal morphemes. The speech pattern presents that Jejueo follows a casual form of communication when it comes to language, whilst Standard Korean has developed to be more sophisticated. This observation is considered to be one of the main reasons why linguists believe Jejueo should be considered a dialect, rather than its own language, as it seems Jejueo is “inferior” to Standard Korean. However, the same juxtaposition could be used in favor for the opposing linguists, as stated before, the missing honorific speech patterns provide evidence to suggest that Jejueo is completely different from Standard Korean. Dialects branch off from the original language, but keep the same roots. However, Jejueo has a different vowel system and speech pattern that is closer to the original Korean language, than Standard Korean.

Another determining factor between language and dialect is the level of comprehension that fluent speakers face when introduced to the other’s form of speech. A study conducted by the Department of Linguistics at the University of Hawai’i at Manoa, challenged this inquiry by analyzing comprehension levels between four closely related Korean “dialects” (O’Grady, William. 2015). These dialects include Jejueo Native Speakers, Seoul (Standard Korean), South Jeollado, and South Gyeongsangdo. These dialects were chosen, as Jejueo represented the control, questions in the “dialect” of Jejueo as the independent variables, and the other three dialects as the dependent variables. The experiment focused on the central thesis, “to determine whether residents of mainland Korea who had not previously been exposed to Jejueo could understand it.” The study had 10 individuals per dialect, with a total population size of 40. Participants first listened to the test without interruption, then repeated the study as the recordings were replayed in segments, varying from one to three clauses. The results noted the accuracy each speaker had on the comprehension questions. As expected, Jejueo Native Speakers scored the highest at 89.21% accuracy, whilst Seoul followed second at 12.03%, South Jeollado at 6.00%, and South Gyeongsangdo at 5.26%. If we compare the comprehensibility scores produced with this study and other studies conducted on language comprehension (e.g. Polish and Russian, or Spanish and French), the scores fall within the average range presented by the previous studies. The variety of accuracy presented by the study, not only demonstrates that Jejueo is not systematically comprehensible to the other dialects of Korean, but also supports the clear conclusion that Jejueo is a distinct language, not a dialect of Korean.

An important aspect of language is the idea of endangerment. An endangered language is a language that is most likely to be extinct in the future due to circumstances that inhibit its ability to thrive. Compared to western society, which focus on independence and individualism, East Asian countries such as Korea, focus on collectivism (Cortina, Kai S. 2017). This is important in understanding why Jejueo became an endangered language. Similarly to Hawaiian Pidgin, strong stigma was placed on those who used Jejueo in the public domain and in the school system for the past several decades. Why learn a language that is considered inferior by society? This led to an obvious distaste to learn Jejueo as people would rather learn Standard Korean in order to fit in with the norm. Without context, it is easy to judge how unethical societal standards obstructs Jejueo’s ability to thrive. However, we must understand the circumstances of the situation. To the people of Korea, they don’t see themselves as being unethical when they consider a certain dialect as inferior. They are considering that individuals should learn Standard Korean, as that is what the majority of society is speaking. To them, Jejueo is inferior because it lacks a form of speech that Standard Korean had implemented (honorific form). It doesn’t help either that this stigma of Jejueo being inferior has been repetitively conditioned by societal pressures to younger individuals. East Asia’s reliance on collectivism supported this stigma indirectly because as more people learned Standard Korean, more societal pressure was given to those who spoke the “inferior” language.

Despite all of these issues affecting Jejueo and its ability to thrive, language revitalization efforts on Jejueo has been active for some time. The Jeju Ministry of Education established “The General Plan for Jejueo Education” (GPJE). The primary objective of GPJE is to integrate Jejueo based education into public schools. Two public schools were used as test subjects for the program, where they were taught the Jejueo language. The program reported positive outcomes in attitudes towards Jejueo and the ability to speak it. According to the report by the first public school, Udo Middle School, 55% of their students increased their vocabulary in Jejueo. The second school, Gwangryeong Elementary School, reported that 91.1% of the students scored less than 60 out of 100 on the vocabulary test before the program, then 87.3% after the program. However, as of 2018, Jejueo is not being taught as specific subject, rather, an extracurricular activity (Yang, Sejung 2018). Although these percentages are isolated to a smaller population than expected for revitalization research, positive conclusions provide evidence to suggest that the efforts being made to restore Jejueo is not in vain.

Obviously, more research needs to be done to definitively describe Jejueo as its own language. The problem with research is that it requires motivation. The need for declaration or revitalization is not a priority for the Republic of Korea. Until then, we can only infer with the data we have that Jejueo is in the process of independence.

Work Cited

1. Cortina, Kai S., et al. “School Belonging in Different Cultures: The Effects of Individualism and Power Distance.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 5 Oct. 2017.
2. O’Grady, William. ‘Jejueo: Korea’s other language.’ World Congress Of Korean Studies. 2015.
3. Seals, Corinne A., and Sheena Shah. Heritage Language Policies around the World. London : Taylor and Francis, 2017.
4. Tranter, Nicolas. The Languages of Japan and Korea. Routledge Ltd – M.U.A., 2012.
5. Yang, Changyong, et al. “Toward a Linguistically Realistic Assessment of Language Vitality: The Case of Jejueo.” Language Documentation & Conservation, vol. 11, 2017, pp. 103–113.
6. Yang, Sejung. ASSESSING LANGUAGE KNOWLEDGE IN JEJU: VOCABULARY AND VERBAL PATTERNS IN JEJUEO AND ENGLISH. Diss. UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI ‘I AT MĀNOA, 2018.

Introduction

The question of how to define what a species is has been a contentious issue for as long as the concept has been around. Even without a consensus on definitions the idea of a species is fundamental to all fields of biology, especially so with evolutionary biology. The term “I know it when I see it” can be a good way to define a species, however, while historically morphology has been used to classify organisms into species, mimicry as well as the tediousness and expertise required to fully describe an organism does not allow for the widespread adoption of morphology to accurately describe the natural world (Kasap, Linton, Karakus, Ozbel, & Alten, 2019). The switch from looking at phenotype to genotype when classifying species can be done via DNA barcoding. Marker genes are utilized for this purpose to act as a “barcode” for a species. Genes that have high interspecies variation and low intraspecies variation are what are used as marker genes (Wang, Wen, Edihara, & Li, 2016). For photosynthetic organisms the gene rbcL is used to barcode (Wang et al., 2016). rbcL codes for ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBisCo) an enzyme ubiquitous in plants by such a degree that it may outnumber all other proteins on Earth (Wang et al., 2016). Once rbcL, or any other gene used as a barcode is extracted and amplified the sequence can then be determined and compared with other gene sequences to determine an organism’s relationship to others quantitatively (Newmaster, Grguric, Shanmughanandhan, Ramalingam, & Ragupathy, 2013).

[bookmark: _Hlk23409206]DNA Barcoding is not just of interest to biologists trying to construct a phylogenetic tree but to other areas of interest as well. Conservation, epidemiology, and food and drug quality control are just several the fields that utilize DNA barcoding to understand and address issues in their fields. Regarding conservation, the problem of using species concepts such as morphology or the biological species concept, the concept that defines species based on the ability to produce viable offspring, is that many organisms, particularly plants, can develop viable offspring via interspecies reproduction thereby producing a novel species thereby complicating the process (Wang et al., 2016). DNA barcoding allows for a relatively rapid and accurate identification of plants (Zhang et al., 2019). Somewhat related is the usage in epidemiology as the tracking of vectors that carry diseases can be done at a far greater capability than by any other means (Kasap et al., 2019). Unscrupulous additives in food and supplements are also an area of concern as the regulations regarding listing ingredients was found to be ill enforced (Zhang et al., 2019). DNA barcoding can be used by monitoring agencies to regulate and enforce accurate listings of ingredients and deter fraudulent conduct (Newmaster et al., 2013) (Zhang et al., 2019).

To test the efficacy of DNA barcoding in what was believed to be blueberries from Kroger®, referred to as test sample, were processed to extract DNA. PCR was conducted to amplify the blueberries rbcL gene. The Amplified PCR products were then purified via washing. Gel electrophoresis was conducted to determine successful amplification of the rbcL gene. Extracted DNA and the Unpurified DNA were used as negative and positive controls respectively. The Purified DNA was the test sample. Sequences were submitted to BLAST and analyzed. The goal of this experiment is to determine the identification of the test sample utilizing DNA barcoding.

Materials and Methods

I. DNA Extraction and PCR

15 mg of the test sample was ground thoroughly. 300 µl of nucleic lysis solution was added to the ground sample. The resulting slurry was further ground thoroughly. The final ground test sample/nucleic lysis solution slurry was incubated at 65 ℃ for 10 minutes. Following incubation, the slurry was centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 4 minutes. 150 µL of the supernatant from was transferred to a new tube where then 10 µL of silica gel was mixed with the supernatant. The tube was incubated at 57 ℃ for 15 minutes. The tube was then centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 30 seconds where then the supernatant was discarded. 500 µL of ice-cold wash buffer was added to the pellet. Centrifugation at 14,000 rpm for 30 seconds was repeated, as was the removal of the supernatant, and washing with 500 µL of ice-cold wash buffer. Another centrifugation was conducted at 14,000 rpm for 30 seconds. The supernatant was discarded, and 100 µL of molecular biology grade distilled water was added. The was pellet resuspended via vortexing . This was followed by incubation at 57 ℃ for 5 minutes and centrifugation at 14,000 rpm for 30 seconds. 90 µL of the supernatant was transferred to a new tube.

23 µL of an Orange G loading dye and rbcL primer solution was added to a PCR tube that contained Ready-To-Go PCR Beads™. 2 µL of the supernatant from the extraction procedures was transferred to the PCR tube. 88 µL of the remaining supernatant was saved for gel electrophoresis and shall be referred to as Extracted DNA (D). PCR was conducted with the following thermocycler program: 94 ℃ for 15 seconds for denaturation, 54 ℃ for 15 seconds for annealing, and 72 ℃ for 30 seconds for extension. The cycle of Denaturation, annealing, and extension was repeated for 35 cycles after which it was held at 4 ℃. The PCR product was then stored at -20 ℃.

II. DNA Purification and Gel Electrophoresis

20 µL of the PCR product was transferred to a 1.5 mL centrifuge tube. The remaining 5 µL was saved for gel electrophoresis and shall be referred to as Unpurified DNA (U). 30 µL of water was added to the 1.5 mL centrifuge tube followed by an addition of 250 µL of buffer PB to the solution. This was centrifuged at 7,000 rpm for 30 seconds. The solution in the 1.5 mL tube was transferred to the upper chamber of a QIAquick spin column. This was centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 1 minute. The filter was removed, and the collection tube was emptied before the spin column was reassembled. 750 µL of buffer PE was added to the upper chamber of the spin column. This was centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 1 minute. The filter was removed, and the collection tube was emptied before the spin column was reassembled. To dry the spin column was centrifuged at 14,000 rpm for 1 minute. The collection tube was discarded and replaced. 50 µL of elution buffer was added to the spin column. The spin column was centrifuged at 7,000 rpm for 3 minutes. The collection tube was saved for gel electrophoresis and shall be referred to as Purified DNA (P).

The gel was made with 1g of agarose to 100mL of 1X TAE buffer. 10 µL of Purified DNA, 5 µL of Unpurified DNA, and 10 µL of Extracted DNA were each prepared with 4.5 µL of ethidium bromide and 3 µL of deionized water. Electrophoresis was conducted at 170 V for 25 minutes

Results

Three of four wells show bands. Well 1 contains the Carolina pBR322/BstNI molecular weight ladder which shows four bands at 1058bp, 929 bp, 383 bp, and 121 bp. Well 2 is Purified DNA and shows a band (P band) between 929 bp and 383 bp. Well 3 is the Unpurified DNA and shows a band (U band) between 929 bp and 383 bp, the band is slightly higher than the P band. Well 4 shows no band and is the Extracted DNA. Wells 2 and 3 contain the amplified rbcL marker gene and are the test sample and positive control respectively. Well 4 contains no amplified DNA of any kind and is the negative control.

Works Cited

1. Kasap, O. E., Linton, Y.-M., Karakus, M., Ozbel, Y., & Alten, B. (2019). Revision of the species composition and distribution of Turkish sand flies using DNA barcodes. Parasites & Vectors, 12(1). doi: 10.1186/s13071-019-3669-3
2. Newmaster, S. G., Grguric, M., Shanmughanandhan, D., Ramalingam, S., & Ragupathy, S. (2013). DNA barcoding detects contamination and substitution in North American herbal products. BMC Medicine, 11(1). doi: 10.1186/1741-7015-11-222
3. Wang, F.-H., Lu, J.-M., Wen, J., Ebihara, A., & Li, D.-Z. (2016). Applying DNA Barcodes to Identify Closely Related Species of Ferns: A Case Study of the Chinese Adiantum (Pteridaceae). Plos One, 11(9). doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160611
4. Zhang, M., Shi, Y., Sun, W., Wu, L., Xiong, C., Zhu, Z., Zhao, H., Zhang, B., Wang, C., & Liu, X. (2019). An efficient DNA barcoding-based method for the authentication and adulteration detection of the powdered natural spices. Food Control, 106. doi: 10.1016/j.foodcont.2019.106745

Ojibwe is a language that is spoken by early native people in Minnesota. This language is one of the world’s most endangered languages. The reason why Ojibwe is dying is because of the age range of speakers in this language. Not many children are learning this language anymore and it is because ‘“the government banned the practice of native traditional practices and established ‘English only’ boarding schools which children were required to attend”’ (Unknown. Ojibwe: An endangered Minnesota Language). Most of the Ojibwe speakers range from 70 years and older in the United States.

The Ojibwe language is trying to be kept alive because of its rich culture. John Whitehead has produced and edited a film called “The First Speakers: Restoring the Ojibwe Language.” I believe that this film will make the Ojibwe language known around the world because not many people know about it. A film is a great way to inform people on the culture and language characteristics of a certain language. Many people are trying to revitalize Ojibwe by bringing back the Ojibwe language into charter schools. The goal for native speakers of this language is to begin a new generation of first speakers. If their plan succeeds, then I believe Ojibwe will be around in one hundred years because the children would grow up speaking Ojibwe as their primary language and can pass it on to their children. The new generation of Ojibwe speakers would keep the language alive and the elders would not have to worry about their cultural language dying. Their culture had gone through damage due to the early polices in the U.S. which caused many Ojibwe to disappear in North America. The United States wanted to assimilate the Native Americans into European Americans, which means they wanted to get rid of their cultural traditions and richness because they did not want anyone to be different. Everyone who lived in the U.S. had to follow a certain way of living.

The political influence that the Ojibwe had was bad because they were moved out from their land by the Europeans and forced into small reservations in Minnesota. The Indians were always seen as “bad” people because the whites made them seem that way to the world. Until the 1970s, the Ojibwe were finally able to continue parts of their traditions such as fishing and hunting. Suddenly, the conservationists began complaining but this did not stop the Native Americans. The treaties made over a century ago allowed the natives to fish and hunt. Since, the Native Americans were seen negatively because of the whites, movies about Native Americans were created and showed their true colors and the positive light of them. These movies caused people around the world to create a better perception on native people. Nowadays, the Ojibwe are still discriminated against but there has been an awareness of the importance of their culture.

There is prestige associated with Ojibwe because language diversity is important to our world. Ojibwe is “the antidote to global climate change, environmental destruction, and unhealthy lifestyles” (The Ojibwe People’s Dictionary). Ojibwe people believe this because of the wisdom Ojibwe has and all the knowledge it contains has developed through generations. The native speakers honor Ojibwe because they have goals to keep their language alive and want to go back to how it was when everyone in their communities spoke Ojibwe. It is understood that when a language is lost so is its culture, therefore people that originally spoke Ojibwe need to pass on their knowledge onto to new generation.

The history of the Ojibwe goes back to the days where nothing was recorded, the 1600s. Traditional stories have been passed down by generations to keep their people’s past alive. The Ojibwe nation began near the Atlantic Ocean, but climate change caused them to move west. The Ottawa and the Ojibwe were close and had an alliance together. They would trade furs and soon the French became involved with this trading network as well. The Ojibwe were able to gain European goods through the Ottawa which was good because they did not encounter the white people. The problem began when the United States was born because the treaties began to bargain land between the Native Americans and the new settlers. The Ojibwe had to sell their land because they had been in debt with fur traders and that was the way of repaying them. The Ojibwe were in a land that had a great amount of copper and lumber which was very valuable for the whites and they agreed to buy their land happily. Although, the Ojibwe went through rough times, they are still today one of the largest groups of native people around.

If the Ojibwe language became extinct the cultural traditions, history, and uniqueness would be lost. Ojibwe is a language that should be kept alive because it is unique, and the people tried so hard to create their own words instead of being like other languages that borrowed from each other. The Ojibwe people have a great history, they did not let their past struggles bring them down, instead they worked hard to keep their traditions alive even though they lost their mainland. I can tell that the native speakers of Ojibwe are really trying their best to teach the new generations this language and I believe that with all the work they are doing they can achieve it.

Although Ojibwe is an endangered language, I believe it will be alive in one hundred years because the new generation will keep it alive. When something is on its way to becoming extinct it depends on us the people to keep it alive and if we really want to, we can because anything is possible.

Introduction to the Evolution of English Through Technology

English is a global language, which dictates the various aspects of the world such as culture, diplomacy and tourism. It is the official language in 63 countries with 2017 statistics record showing that English is spoken everywhere throughout the world by very nearly 1 Billion individuals, 600 Million of which are non-native speakers, or second language, speakers (Favilla, 2019). Today English functions as a lingua franca employed as a method of correspondence between speakers of different national origins. Additionally, due to its popularity as ‘the dominant business language’, being coherent in English increases one’s job’s opportunities in a multinational company both within a home country or abroad (Crystal, 2019). Moreover, to be fruitful and to contend in a global marketplace, instant communication in English is a need in the present day. This essay aims to discuss how technological developments have changed and continue to change the English language by examining the invention of the printing press in 1439, the influence of social media on English, the introduction of mobile phones, emails as well as instant text messaging and the launch of search engines and online encyclopedias.

The Historical Milestone: Invention of the Printing Press

Over time technological advancements have revolutionized how we read, write, and communicate in ways no one could have predicted. Linguists and lexicographers acknowledge that technology is by a wide margin the most significant force modifying the English language to date (Albaugh 1997). It is therefore believed, by the younger generation, most notably that languages that do not experience change are ‘dead’ languages. Hence since English evolves regularly, it proves to be both ‘alive and active’ (Crystal, 2006). Gradually it has grown from the use of ‘Old English,’ to ‘Middle English,’ ‘Early Modern English,’ to present day ‘Modern English’. In ancient times, several civilizations inclusive of England, Egypt and China had an organized postal system to deliver messages to different regions of their empires employing horses or carrier pigeon. Later on, the 15th century welcomed the invention of the printing press by Johannes Gutenberg in 1439, of which William Caxton introduced to England in 1476 (Williams, 2015). Before the printing press, all writings were scribed painstakingly by hand and concepts were lost and rediscovered at different times and places. Initially, the upper-class preference for the delicate calligraphy and vocabulary in hand-inked books, which to them was a representation of grandeur, made mass-produced books seem cheap and only acceptable for the lower and middle classes (Angel and &rarr, 2019). Soon, however, printed material became the primary method of spreading information, thus supporting the distribution of scholarly ideas for academics and intellectuals to benefit. Through the printing press, writing became a broadcast medium for authors and scholars to form new expressions and publish their work on a large scale, therefore, increasing the availability of books and literature.

Within the European civilization, this generated a growing literate general public since widely accessible for the first time were Greek texts and Latin translations by philosophers like Aristotle and Plato. Its invention also played a principal role in Latin’s demise as ‘the lingua franca of the educated’ during the Renaissance era as nations sought a universal language of communication thus encouraging the standardization of the English language, it’s grammar and spelling (Burkeman, 2009). Linguist Benedict Anderson discussed, ‘it is this decline that prompted the rise of the vernacular and nationalism’ which eventually lead to the formation of the framework of political relationships between sovereign states (Murray, 2014). Furthermore, through the emergence of newspapers in the 1500s, communities became linked by similar interests, and as long as English spread, the need to learn to read and write, it became a new necessity. Sequentially people were gradually acquiring sufficient vocabulary and knowledge, which enabled them to question past concepts and develop new ways of expressing their thoughts. Provoked by the increasing literacy of the middle class, this set in motion the growth of a public that ‘desired to read and develop their views through the expression of language’ (Williams, 2015). Entwined in this new intellectual foundation were scientists in the 1600s, which were working on the similar queries in distant locations but were now equipped to print the solutions of their work in order to share and compare with their colleagues accurately (Williams, 2015). With its global reach, the effect of social media through the development of the Internet has changed correspondence, where individuals can communicate on a worldwide scale as often as possible. There have been a few adjustments in the manner where individuals compose and communicate in English in light of the likely change in correspondence via web-based social media platforms.

Social Media’s Impact on Modern English

Nowadays, the vast online audience of social media continuously connotes different word and symbol arrangments to represent ‘Modern day English’. From the instigation of new words to new meanings for old words, social media is making adjustments at a fast pace (Crystal, 2006). Crystal (2006) recognized that ‘user-generated content’ of social media was becoming ‘increasingly altered through platforms like mySpace, Twitter and Facebook’. The ‘dumbing down’ of English in this medium will always have positive and negative opinions, but without it, we would not have the version of English spoken today. A case of this adjustment in regular use is the presentation of words and abbreviations. For example, ‘selfie,’ ‘images,’ ‘unfriend’ and ‘LOL’ (laugh out loud), ‘OMG’ (Oh my God), ‘TTYL’ (talk to you later) are examples of today’s shorthand which as simplified methods of expression prioritize to a lesser extent the use of the language itself and instead focus on getting the message across faster and with less effort in both verbal and written everyday discussions. ‘Selfie’ which was at first utilized in 2002, in an Australian Internet discussion was picked up notoriety in 2013 and was later drafted into the Oxford lexicon as their Word of the Year (Favilla, 2019). ‘Un-friend’ however, is a term to describe the act of removing another user from your list of friends on either Facebook. Other than the introduction of words and abbreviations, there is a new perception that even without a physical presence, the tone of a writer can be detected by their use of the ‘CAPS’ button on a computer keyboard. To further explain this revelation; it is believed that words typed in the upper case represent shouting, or anger while lower case writing is the accepted form for normal speech. English being the most dominant language on the planet accompanies an expanding interest for fast correspondence, where people more often than not send messages to each other without utilising appropriate English.

The choice of vocabulary is the most significant result of practical life on English where specific words, which had obvious implications, presently bear various definitions relying upon the setting of the application. This has affected English verbal correspondence as the English language has turned out to be increasingly unstable with similar words developing each day, where Internet slangs are acknowledged as English words. For instance, ‘wall’ which used to mean a structure that encases or partitions a region of land currently alludes to Internet profiles where individuals in a social media site share and express their thoughts or feelings. Another word is ‘troll’ who used to mean a revolting, dastardly beast currently speaks of a person who deliberately incites others for excitement on the Internet (Burkeman, 2009). Moreover, there have been a few utilizations of slang, which have deceived people into utilizing incorrect spelling and grammar. The utilization of slang has spread so much that a few words have moved toward becoming English, in this manner, diminishing language abilities because of contractions and incorrectly spelt words, and shortened forms. Additionally, the use emoticons, i.e. ’emojis’, are now being used to express how a user is feeling without actually having to write it. Some may say this dilution of the English language is lazy, but in its defense, ‘social media is not a creative writing process’ (Reed, 2019). Because of this upcoming change, web-based social networking correspondence is reasonable among youngsters; be that as it may, older people at times battle understanding it on account of its practical nature. Besides, abbreviations and inappropriate language seem to have made English more straightforward, yet the capacity to communicate deep thoughts is disintegrated.

The Rise of Mobile Communication and Its Linguistic Consequences

The later introduction of mobile phones, emails and instant text messaging has also made a profound impression on the English language. When the first cell phone was created in 1956, it lacked mobility but overtime, phones have shrunk in size and became more portable therefore enabling consistent usage. Even though the language used to communicate ‘online’ tends to be more malleable in comparison to formal writing. Its reduced likelihood of interception and speedy delivery remains unrivalled (Reed, 2019). The words that surround us daily now influence the words we use more often. Since a majority of written language is now available on the screens of our computers, smartphones or tablets, the English language now evolves depending on our interaction with technology; to accommodate this various ‘online’ abbreviations have been devised. While even the older generation has accepted to adapt to the use of mobile phones and emails, a small minority still implement the language in its older state (Walters, 2015). It can be reasoned that they simply use these devices because it enables them to maintain contact with others.

On the other hand, today’s younger generation remains focused on being up-to-date with the changing trends of vocabulary used in ‘Telecommunication’. In support of the impact of Telecommunication, it can be evidenced that these days, a vast majority of people prefer text messaging instead of physically speaking. This innovation has made it possible and therefore easier to avoid unwanted interaction with other people. Even still, one of the more irritating events nowadays is waiting on an unanswered phone call, which would later be reconciled within just a few minutes via a simple text message. Through this minor observation of society’s need for urgent communication, ‘are people unbothered or do they just forget how to use modern language in their daily lives? Unfortunately, it would seem to be the case but as consumers, we are responsible for letting technology to replace spoken word and IMO (a popular online abbreviation for ‘in my opinion’) is not always the best thing.

The Business World’s Adaptation to Technological Communication

In the 1990s, as e-mails became more frequently used, marketers observed an opportunity to begin advertising to both local businesses and international consumers. On a business front, as companies ‘went global’ from whichever country they are originally based, it became a major necessity to tackle any language barriers that they could potentially encounter overseas with employees and consumers (Angel and &rarr, 2019). Moreover, dabbed ‘the dominant language of business and the Internet’, global organizations often chose English as their common communication language even though there are more Chinese speakers in the world (Miraj, 2011).

This was primarily due to its universal popularity, which in effect has bridged the international gap between both native and non-native English speaking companies. Undoubtedly even through the emailing system, the English language has been exposed to cultural diversity which through interactions like these, have also contributed to the shaping of the various subtypes of the English language. However, the effortlessness of using emails and instant messaging has consequentially reduced the importance of formality and often results in unprofessional communications online (Walters, 2015). This aforementioned effortlessness repeatedly causes a decline in the accuracy of information being relayed between users since as an increasingly informal forum, users usually respond to messages immediately without actually reviewing the content being sent/exchanged. Additionally, to the pressure placed on employees to provide customers and/or colleagues with immediate responses, there is an increased risk of misconception and misinterpretation due to incorrect information exchanges which can sometimes prove difficult to correct because of the swift distribution of emails to the other parties involved.

An example of this trend would be the informal, casual text message exchange between aspiring authors or entrepreneurs of today who want to pitch an idea for a book or business deal respectively to bigger organizations (Reed, 2019). Unlike before, where a majority of business-related ideas were always presented as hard-copy letters that were appropriately addressed, envelope stamped and postal delivered, many organizations now recognize the convenience of swift electronic communication while simultaneously trying to promote the conservation of trees (Walters, 2015). The new varieties of technology have ‘reconstructed’ society’s means of communication in what seems like overnight. In consideration of the various factors discussed, it is clear that since its ‘birth’, technology’s presence has always had an impact on the English language. Once communication was structured around personal hand-written letters, while now there are text messages and emails to serve the same purpose in a quick and unmatched time-frame, some may say that they do miss the personal touch and effort from the ‘good old days’ and others may leap towards the convenience of simply clicking the ‘send’ icon on a message.

Moreover, regardless of the type of individual one would categorize them to be, whether it is ‘old-fashioned or up-to-date’, we cannot avoid the reality that technology has modified spoken and written English forever (Murray, 2014). Finally, seeing as this era has also sustained lesser importance for grammatical correctness within sentence structure, the English language is bound to experience many more modifications resultant of various factors, but technological advancements still prove to be the more dominant force. In a BBC News interview (2019), Crystal rightfully quoted author Grigor Baghdasaryan in saying; ‘any living language gradually evolves, which is quite inevitable in this highly developed technological era’. He added, ‘language itself changes slowly, but the Internet has sped up the process’. That is to say; as a parallel correlation in which technological developments play a pivotal role in manipulating language, the change will always be due where the global currency of knowledge is the expanding evolution of available information.

Search Engines and Online Encyclopedias: The New Language Educators

The 21st-century launch of search engines and online encyclopedias have too embedded themselves into the determination of the ‘correct’ use of grammar and vocabulary for the proper sentence structure of Modern day English.’ To Google’ has now become a universally known verb and as many countries continue to develop their version of slang, the internet must, therefore, be able to keep up with the variation of national tongues (BBC News, 2019). Language systems like ‘Google Translate’ have made it easier to translate and apply different languages without previously learning them in classrooms. The practical benefits of ‘Google Translate’ and similar software applications are undeniable, but some literature enthusiasts like Douglas Hofstadter feel that ‘there is still a deep misunderstanding in the approach being conveyed by machine translation’ (Hofstadter, 2019). The drawback of software translations is that it sometimes does not correctly comprehend the context and therefore, the grammatically correct structure that a sentence need is not attained. An example of grammatical, cultural differentiation is where in Modern British English one would say in present continuum, ‘I know what you said’, in comparison to an ‘Indian-English’ speaker would be expressed as ‘I am knowing what you said’. This software flaw presents an accuracy issue for self-taught language learners who may not realize that ‘Google Translate’ has misunderstood the context of the sentence that they are attempting to formulate. Hofstadter (2019) stressed that machine translation has never prioritized the real understanding of language. Instead, he feels that its approach is to attempt to ‘decode’ the message without actually considering its real meaning. Here Hofstadter questioned whether ‘it could be that the true understanding of the English language is no longer necessary in order to translate properly.

Opinion

Since the ancient times and till now, flowers have been considered as a significant entity and nature’s gift. Flowers imparted several key roles in art, religion, health and ornamental arena. Like other recent innovative studies, exploring human microbiota especially the gut microbiome the plant microbiota or plant microbiome has also gained a grained vision to unfold the hidden mysteries of biological world. Moreover, symbiosis of plants with the microbes are also an interesting debate nowadays [1,2]. Although it was shown in 1800’s that flowers inhabited with microbes but the ecological relationship between them remained undiscovered [3,4]. Aforementioned already a long time in history, when flowers and other parts of plants studied but the relation of plant in respect to microbe was first investigated by Lorenz Hiltner dated back to 1904 [5]. The gradual understanding of complex associations and ecological role between plants and respective species of microbes opened unknown concepts. In addition to this, a term “phyllosphere” was coined by F.T Last in 1955 further stretching the chain of information, calling the aboveground portion of plants as the habitat for microbial communities [6].

The studies exploring to the new habitats of microorganisms in plants come up with the rhizosphere (roots), the phyllosphere (leaves), the caulosphere (stem), the anthosphere (Flowers), the carposphere (fruits), and the endosphere (indigenous or inner all parts). Here, we want to introduced a new term for studying flowers in relationship with microorganisms that is “Flower Microbiology”. As anthosphere is a term above mentioned dedicated towards the flowers and microbes, but in general, to the best of our knowledge no such term or word has been used previously to describe in simple terms as “Flower Microbiology”. We believe that need of time also demanded this field to pay attention and awareness as well because of the increasing burden of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) day by day. No doubt, some synthesized literature and piece of data we have today but we cannot neglect scarcity in the available information and the existing gaps between flowers and microbes. The most significant among is the edible flower microbiota or the edible flower microbiome.

So, Flower microbiology aim to give an idea to better understanding and classifying the flower microbes. Flower microbiology can give a way of taxonomical arrangements of groups. For example, edible flowers, non-edible flowers, medicinal flowers etc. This field is no doubt has been in negligence so far, due to lack of knowledge and insufficient data but we believe strongly that the “Flower Microbiology” arena could have been a strong potential to limit or eradicate AMR providing us as an alternative approach to drugs. This has proven by several reports that flowers have been a potent agent of phenolics and antioxidants fulfilling the nutritional need and showing medicinal properties as well by eliminating the hazardous substances during endogenous metabolic processes such as reactice oxygen species (ROS) [7]. Moreover, antibacterial activities of many flowers has also provide a way to control the AMR. Antimicrobial resistance has s strong relation with the origin of drugs.

In a nutshell, the term “Flower Microbiology”, convey an easy approach towards the better understanding and keeping differentiation between other related areas of microbiology. This can also lead us to further minute disciplines within it and much more.

Conclusion

We recommend the general and broader use of the field of flowers and respective microbes with the term “Flower Microbiology”. This may help in easy illustration and classifying the known and as well as the unknown concepts about the ecological relationship between microbes and flowers. Moreover, this can be helpful in uprising the importance of flowers and their microbiota as well because of the simple meanings and can be studied as newly synthesized science discipline.

References

1. Berg, G., Mahnert, A., & Moissl-Eichinger, C. (2014). Beneficial effects of plant-associated microbes on indoor microbiomes and human health?. Frontiers in microbiology, 5, 15.
2. Mendes, R., Garbeva, P., & Raaijmakers, J. M. (2013). The rhizosphere microbiome: significance of plant beneficial, plant pathogenic, and human pathogenic microorganisms. FEMS microbiology reviews, 37(5), 634-663.
3. Boutroux, L. (1884). Sur la conservation des ferments alcooliques dans la nature. Annales des Sciences Naturelles, Série IV, Botanique, 17, 145-209.
4. Hansen, E. C. (1890). Nouvelles recherches sur la circulation du Saccharomyces apiculatus dans la nature. Ann. Sci. Nat. IV. Ser. Bot, 11, 185-192.
5. Hartmann, A., Rothballer, M., & Schmid, M. (2008). Lorenz Hiltner, a pioneer in rhizosphere microbial ecology and soil bacteriology research. Plant and Soil, 312(1-2), 7-14.
6. Last, F. T. (1955). Seasonal incidence of Sporobolomyces on cereal leaves. Transactions of the British Mycological Society, 38(3), 221-239.
7. Zheng, J., Yu, X., Maninder, M., & Xu, B. (2018). Total phenolics and antioxidants profiles of commonly consumed edible flowers in China. International journal of food properties, 21(1), 1524-1540.

Do the comforts of modern society have a positive effect on people? From my point of view, they do not have a positive effect , in fact, it has a negative one. First, let’s start by saying what “comforts of the modern society” means. It refers to things that make society live better lives.

One of the bad effects that technology has on people is that it can make people obsessed with.When referred to “ making people obsessed with it “ means that, now people focus more on their electronic devices instead of attending to their responsibilities.Some people confuse the words obsession and addiction. An addiction (based on Dr. Larry Rosen´s article,”Our obsessive relationship with Technology”) “Addiction means that you are trying to get your brain to release neurotransmitters that we have learned a pleasurable experience. Obsession also involves neurotransmitters but those chemicals are associated with symptoms of stress or anxiety.” Basically, an addiction is when a person depends on a certain thing to live(cope with life) and an obsession is when someone is obsessed with something. According to, Michael Osuch and Steren Turner´s article “Addiction to modern technology: what the science say.” Addiction disorders connected to people’s interaction with games ,the internet and social media .” Meaning that most addictions with electronic devices have a connection with social media.

Technology can have another major effect in our lives ,in our social life especially because it can make people stop socializing. People now go to a park and instead of just(trying) to start a conversation ,people just use their phones.That is because society has been given a device that can entertain them more than a real conservation. According to the Techspirited article “What is the impact of technology on society” “Web communication facilities have deprived mankind of the warmth of personal contact”This means , because there are ways of communication people have “stopped” socializing more with their real life friends and decided to check what is happening on their social media.

It is understandable that these comforts (such as electronic devices and social medias ) help entertain people but social medias can affect us in multiple ways.One way is by physical health. It affects people because if people use their phones too much (texting) it can hurt their wrist or hands and it may give you the Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Also, it may give you eye problems , fatigue(by staying up too late), lack of exercise,by staying in bed or a couch and not doing any type of physical activities. Now, the way that it can cause an even more negative impact is by damaging our mental health. Mental health is the most important thing about ourselves . According to (Matt Battochio´s article in global news.com)” Quite a few people who come to see me who have anxiety and depression,many of them talk about their online use and social media use and how they sort of feel compelled to use it,but afterwards they actually feel more lonely”said by Brad Hagen (psychologist)Meaning that some people share how they feel through talking to some people they still feel the same or even worse.That might be because they realize all the friends they could have if i was not for their mental conditions. Also ,Hagen said,”we do not post pictures of us being alone on a Saturday night, but we do post about our vacations.”” You get this false image of what everybody else life is like and people seem smarter-(happier-)etc. And too much social media use ,can make us feel like we do not measure up.” What he is trying to say is that everybody posts pictures about their vacations or pretty places but they do not post about their real life and seeing that makes people feel worse about the way our life is, compared to others; because it is not perfect like everybody else.That makes everybody want to be a specific way instead of themselves.

Comforts of modern society can help people with a lot of things ,but can also cause a lot defective things. My recommendation is try to use the electronic devices in a moderate way .Then , you will see all the stuff you can achieve by stopping the constant use of electronics. You will begin to focus more, you will stop being so anxious , and you will begin to be more independent. That is why electronic devices (which are comforts of modern society) have a negative effect on people.

Abstract

Chemical industry represents a highly successful sector of manufacturing and a vital part of the economy in many industrialized and developing countries. The range of chemical industry is vast which makes an invaluable contribution to the quality of our lives. However, the manufacture of chemical products also leads to enormous quantities of environmentally harmful waste and the health of the environment is declining rapidly. Despite the great success and importance of chemistry to our society its public image has deteriorated. A major reason is that the industry is perceived as being polluting and causing significant environmental damage. “Green” chemistry is an effort of terminating or reducing the use and generation of hazardous chemicals in the design, manufacture and applications of chemical products. Green chemistry efficiently utilizes renewable raw materials, eliminates waste and avoids the use of toxic and/or hazardous reagents in the manufacture and applications of chemical products thereby it plays an important role for pollution control and sustainable development & conservation of environment and Biodiversity.

Introduction

Society has been very much benefitted from Chemical products synthesized. Chemical industry represents a highly successful sector of manufacturing and a vital part of the economy in many industrialized and developing countries. The range of chemical industry is vast which makes an invaluable contribution to the quality of our lives. However, the manufacture of chemical products also leads to enormous quantities of environmentally harmful waste and the health of the environment is declining rapidly.

Atmospheric air is polluted by exhaust gases from chemical industries which seriously affect Biodiversity. Lower life forms are more affected e.g. Lichens, Bryophytes, Fungi. On land, Plants are more prone than animals. It is also observed that due to air pollution some species declines but some expand to full fill space of declined species. Contamination of soil by anything is called Soil Pollution. It occurs when pollutants in the soil reduce soil quality and make it inhabitable to organisms such as insects. In recent decades, the use of inorganic fertilizers has increased dramatically. Chemical runoff from pesticides and fertilizers can degrade soil quality. Industrial development has been associated with both physical degradation and chemical contamination of soils. The industry is also responsible for dumping industrial chemicals and heavy metals (such as mercury) onto soil and thus polluting it. Soil pollution can lead to the lack of biodiversity in an ecosystem. The life of bird, insect, mammal and reptile species who live in the soil can get affected by pollution. The soil is an important habitat. When it rains, surface run-off carries contaminated soil into water sources causing water pollution. The contaminated water is thus unfit for both animal and human consumption. It will also affect aquatic life since the organisms that live in these water bodies will find their habitats inhabitable.

From all the described species of biodiversity, 6% belongs to fresh water. Effluent from Chemical Industry drastically affects the aquatic life and thus affecting the biodiversity.

The pesticides are used to kill fungal or animal pests. As they are sprayed across the entire agricultural field affects lives of many species. Also, most of the pesticides after their use remains in the environment get transferred through food chain and causes many serious problems related to reproduction rates.

Major problems in chemical production are handling of waste, the search for environmentally tolerable procedures, the preservation of resources, and the increase in the efficiency. Industry is increasingly realizing that environmental standards are a lifeline to profitability in the highly competitive global and community markets that exist today. The so-called ‘triple bottom line’, which seeks simultaneous economic, environmental and societal benefits, is seen as a realistic evolutionary goal in chemical manufacturing. This has led to the development of eco-friendly chemical processes to replace the current hazardous processes. Hence, the drive is towards so-called ‘Green Chemistry’ or ‘Cleaner Technology’.

Results and Discussion

“Green” chemistry is an effort of terminating or reducing the use and generation of hazardous chemicals in the design, manufacture and applications of chemical products. The concept of green chemistry was formulated by Paul Anastas at the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to address the environmental issues of both chemical products and the processes by which they are produced. The guiding principle is the design of environmentally benign products and processes, which is embedded in the 12 principles of Green chemistry, which in short can be narrowed down as: Green chemistry efficiently utilizes renewable raw materials, eliminates waste and avoids the use of toxic and/or hazardous reagents in the manufacture and applications of chemical products. Green chemistry eliminates waste at source, i.e. it is primarily pollution prevention than waste remediation.

Principles of Green Chemistry

These principles provides a frame work for learning about the green Chemistry and designing or improving materials, products, processes and systems.

• Prevention : It is better to prevent waste than to treat or clean up waste after it has been created.
• Atom Economy: Synthetic methods should be designed to maximize the incorporation of all materials used in the process into the final product.
• Less Hazardous Chemical Synthesis: Wherever practicable, synthetic methods should be designed to use and generate substances that possess little or no toxicity to human health and the environment.
• Designing safer Chemicals: Chemical products should be designed to affect their desired function while minimizing their toxicity.
• Safer solvents and auxiliaries: The use of auxiliary substances (e.g., solvents, separation agents, etc.) should be made unnecessary wherever possible and innocuous when used.
• Design for Energy Efficiency: Energy requirements of chemical processes should be recognized for their environmental and economic impacts and should be minimized. If possible, synthetic methods should be conducted at ambient temperature and pressure.
• Use of renewable feedstock: A raw material or feedstock should be renewable rather than depleting whenever technically and economically practicable.
• Avoid Derivatization: Unnecessary derivatization (use of blocking groups, protection/ deprotection, temporary modification of physical/chemical processes) should be minimized or avoided if possible, because such steps require additional reagents and can generate waste.
• Catalytic Reagents: Catalytic reagents (as selective as possible) are superior to stoichiometric reagents.
• Design for degradation: Chemical products should be designed so that at the end of their function they break down into innocuous degradation products and do not persist in the environment.
• Real-time analysis for Pollution Prevention: Analytical methodologies need to be further developed to allow for real-time, in-process monitoring and control prior to the formation of hazardous substances.
• Inherently Safer Chemistry for Accident Prevention: Substances and the form of a substance used in a chemical process should be chosen to minimize the potential for chemical accidents, including releases, explosions, and fires.

It is now generally accepted that the two most useful measures or “Green Metrics” of the environmental acceptability of chemical processes are the ‘E factor’ and the ‘atom efficiency’. One of the major goals of green chemistry is to demonstrate that adoption of the principles, by the industry, can create a competitive advantage.

E Factor: E factor is defined as the mass ratio of waste to the desired product. It takes the chemical yield into account and includes reagents, solvent loss, all process aids and in principle even fuel; excluding water. Higher E factor means more waste and consequently greater negative environmental impact; ideal E factor being zero. So, Chemical synthesis should be developed such that there is minimum E factor.

The concept of atom economy – Among the progenitors of Green Chemistry is Stanford Chemistry Professor Barry Trost, who first proposed the concept of ‘atom economy’ in 1973. The atom economy of a process is calculated by dividing the molecular mass of the desired product by the sum of the molecular masses of all substances produced in the stoichiometric equation.

Molecular masses of substances produced

Simply, when all the raw chemicals/materials are completely converted into the desired product, there will be no waste generated that is no pollution and there is less effect on environment and biodiversity. Hence, chemical synthesis should be developed in such way that almost all the starting material is converted to product.

Conclusion

Green chemistry will be one of the most important fields in the future. Scientists, Biologist, engineers and industrialists should work together to promote the development of this field. There is no doubt that the development and implementation of green chemistry will contribute greatly to pollution prevention and thus will play an important role in Conservation of Environment and Biodiversity.

References

1. Poliakoff, M.; Fitzpatrick, J. M.; Farren, T. R.; Anastas P. T. (2002), “Green Chemistry: Science and Politics of Change”, Science, Vol. 297, pp. 807-810.
2. Sheldon, R. A. Chemtech., (1994), “Consider the environmental quotient”, 3, pp.38-47.
3. Sheldon, R. A.; Arends, I. W. C. E.; Hanefeld, U.(2007), “Green Chemistry and Catalysis”, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim
4. Anastas, P. T.; Heine, L. G.; Williamson, T. C. (2000), “Green Chemical Syntheses and Processes”, ACS, Washington DC.
5. Anastas, P. T.; Warner, J. C. (1998), “Green Chemistry: Theory and Practice”, Oxford University Press, Oxford.
6. Tundo, P.; Anastas, P.; Black, D. S.; Breen, J.; Collins, T.; Memoli, S.; Miyamoto, J.; Polyakoff, M.; Tumas, W., (2000), “Synthetic pathways and processes in green chemistry. Introductory overview” Pure Appl. Chem. Vol. 72, pp 1207-1228.

Introduction

Costus speciosus (Koen ) Sm medicinal important plant belong to family Zingiberaceae. All plant parts of Costus speciosus have different uses so demand of this plant increased day by day .So now a days Costus speciosus become endangered species. Tissue culture technique play an important role to conserve the endangered species.Different concentration of various phytohormones auxin,cytokinin,gibberellins directly effect on invitro regeneration of Costus speciosus.The ratio of auxin and cytokinin hormone in media are totally responsible for root and shoot initiation. Auxin are useful for the formation of roots. Cytokinin promote cell division and responsible for shoot regeneration. Different auxins like IAA,NAA and cytokinins like BAP,Kinetin etc. This type of conservation method saving the plant from extinction . The plant are useful as an ornamental purpose and medicinal point of view.The rhizome are the main source of diosgonin . It is also used for diabetes and jaundice. The root extract is useful in fever,cough ,skin disease and snake bites. The important morphological applications of plant tissue culture in micropropagation ,small amounts of tissue can be used to raised plantlets due to the presence of totipotency capacity .

Materials and methods

Costus speciosus plant collected from Vindhya herbal , Bhopal. Rhizomes were washed thoroughly in Tween -20 for 15 min.,and then washed under running tap water for 2 -3 hrs. Whole rhizome were surface decontaminated with 70% ethanol and 0.1% Hgcl2. Rhizomes cut into small pieces and inoculate in MS Media containing with growth hormones. MS medium was used as basal medium and media was supplemented with sucrose and agar . Different phytohormones at different concentration were added to the medium. The ph of the media was adjusted to 5.8 before being autoclaved at 121 0C for 20 min. and 15 lbs sq inch pressure. Explant is the starting material for micropropagation. Specific medium selection is necessary with special reference to concentration of particular growth hormones. Plant growth hormone added as per requirement and dissolved properly. Different concentration of BAP and NAA were used for shoot induction and study the effect of different hormones on regeneration.All the cultures were incubated at 25 .C under white fluorescent tube. The initiated shoots can be subcultured . The normal period between subcultures is 3 weeks and during this time the number of shoots available for subculture.

Shoot induction Experiment

The effect of season,age of explants and the effect of various hormones on initiation of shoots were studied simultaneously. For these studies the sterile rhizomes were inoculated on Murshige and Skoog (1962) basal medium supplemented with cytokinin like BAP and Auxin NAA in different concentration . This medium containing with sucrose and agar also.

Results and observation

In preliminary studies conducted it was found that the response of the explants in culture was dependent on the age of the explants and season of inoculation. Rhizome used as a explants shows better results during the month of November to January were more vigorous and responded more.The time period of the treatment of surface disinfectant (0.1% Hgcl2 ) was standardized from 2-3 minutes for explants.

The inoculated culture were maintained at 250 C and 16 hour photoperiod.After 25 days small shoot initiate from the rhizome .The best response was observed in the medium supplemented with BAP combination with NAA. In these media the explants induced healthy and vigorous shoots which was elongated to 4-5 cm in 30-50 days

The present work has shown that cutting the rhizome into segments and cultured them on to suitable medium supplemented with phytohormones can initiate the explants. The success was not achieved when the rhizome segment were cultured on MS media. Initiation was observed when MS media supplemented with NAA and BAP.

Conclusion

In India several important and necessary steps have to be taken up for its propagation . In vitro studies on Costus speciosus results in fast regeneration of this plant and thus to fulfill the growing demand of Costus speciosus diosgonin. Due to the medicinal importance of rhizome, Costus speciosus is rapidly disappearing from its natural habitat. Therefore its important to develop methods for the propagation and and conservation of this endangered species.

References

1. Chaturvedi, H. C., Misra, P., Jain, M., 1984. Proliferation of shoot tips and clonal multiplication of Costus speciosus in long term culture. Plant Sci. Lett. 35, 67-71.
2. Punyarani, K., Sharma, G. J., 2010. Micropropagation of Costus speciosus (Koen.) Sm. using nodal segment culture. Not. Sci. Biol. 2(1), 58-62
3. Malabadi, R.B.,Mulgund, G.S. and Nataraja. K.2005.Effect of Triacontanol on the micropropagation of Costusspeciosus (Koen.) sm. using rhizome thin sections. In vitro cell. Dev.Biol-plant.41,129-132.
4. Robinson, P. J., Britto, J. S., Balakrishnan, V., 2009. Micropropagation of Costus speciosus (Koem. Ex Retz.) Sm., an Antidiabetic plant by using explants of pseudostems. Bot. Res. Intl. 2(3), 182-185.
5. S. S. Purohit 2005 Biotechnology Fundamentals and Applications