Archives for October 2015

How to choose the best Gas fireplace surrounds

October 26, 2015

fireplace, surrounds, mantels, gas fireplace

Gas fireplace surrounds have been maintained by homeowners for thousands of years. The best gas fireplace mantel and surrounds should have several basic elements which should be considered such as its durability to withstand high temperatures, construction of the surrounds to determine its quality and a design that enhances the overall architectural style of the home. Manufacturing companies offer different types of surrounds in every shape, material and size to suit every design style needed by customers whether it’s marble, wood or a wood, stone, faux stone, tile and more. The type of mantel you choose will depend greatly on the design and style of your home, a contemporary or modern gas fireplace mantel is characterized by simple decoration compared to traditional homes.

The best gas fireplace mantel is one that adds beauty to your home’s design. Having a beautiful gas fireplace adds character to the room in which it belongs, and you can design a beautifully stylish focal point using a mantel’s natural design and additional decor. If your home is modern, selecting a gas fireplace mantel and surrounds that continues the modern theme of your home is a great idea however If your home is more formal and classical, a more formal and classical style that reflects the architectural details of your home will be more suitable for you.

Take note that the best fireplace surrounds for gas firesis characterized by high quality craftsmanship and that inexpensive, materials that are of low quality might deteriorate sooner than more expensive mantels. The flames of a gas fireplaceremain very consistent therefore it is advisable to go for the best because the best surround for a gas fireplaceis one that endures constant high temperatures. Excellent choices for a long-lasting and beautiful gas fireplace surround ideas are marble, tile, stone and hardwood.

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The secret weapon of every young entrepreneur

October 26, 2015

mentor, entrepreneur, secret weapon, business

Being an entrepreneur isn’t a one day’s job, it involves so many responsibilities and only people who have the strength to bear risks involved in a business as well as business experience are likely to take up the challenge of being an entrepreneur. As an entrepreneur, you are responsible for the success of your business or organization and starting up isn’t often easy, having a great idea to startup coupled with sourcing for financial cash is often the main issue with starting up as an entrepreneur and having startup cash makes a real positive difference coupled with knowledge of the business you are getting into, other issues like office space or land and management is also very important, but there is the most powerful weapon an entrepreneur can have and that is having a good mentor.

I cannot emphasize it enough how much difference having a mentor is in starting up a business, you leverage on the mentors experience and ideas in order to better your business, as they say experience is the best teacher so there you go, a mentor shares his highs and lows in business in order to encourage you and guide you through in your business. A good mentor in every business is totally indispensable because there are so many opportunities he could make you see you are not taking advantage of and therefor boost your income sales, what about during troubles in business? A good mentor navigates you out of troubled waters.

My grandfather was an entrepreneur was the earliest mentor to me that I can remember, he sold natural Shea butter and when my brother and I got of age and wanted to start our small business, you cannot imagine the wealth of wisdom we got from him, from sourcing funds to secret of handling customers, handling our accounts and all of that, with his help we developed the right marketing strategy and as you can imagine we succeeded.

We had a mentor who was an instrument to our success in business years ago, he had the skills and knowledge to keep us focused in business and we trusted him because he cared deeply about us. He helps us to attain greater heights by spurring us to more entrepreneurial goals. He really helped us to build our confidence in business and to realize what it’s like to work for ourselves, all these happened long time ago but I still remember his advice and hopes of encouragement when we are making or planning decisions.

In business there is nothing better than having confidence in your work, service or product that you provide because that spurs you on to interact better with customers and attain greater heights because if you don’t believe in yourself, who will? However, some entrepreneurs aren’t lucky enough to get a mentor among their family but it is possible to find one or two mentors for you. Here are some important tips to getting the right mentor or a group of mentors that would make and a difference for you as an entrepreneur:

1. Realize your needs as an entrepreneur.

Determining your needs is an important step in getting that mentor you desire, what are the mentoring needs you need in your business? Do you have trouble with your numbers, operations or market strategy? This will determine the exact kind of mentor you want now but bear in mind that mentoring needs tend to shift as you start and build your business. Create a wish list for your mentor as related to the support and skills you need to take the next step in your business.

2. Networking is important

Networking is important not only in sourcing for clients but also in getting the kind of mentor you want. You have to find the right mentor that fits the description qualities you want, do you want someone who’s knowledgeable about the market operations and can guide you in the right direction or someone who sits in his office connecting through the business community through magazines he reads? The choice is yours.

3. Always talk less and listen more.

This is an old age advice that has never failed, most times due to some entrepreneurs youthful exuberance, staying silent might be a hard task, however to get that mentor you desire it is wise to talk less and listen more, you will end up learning a lot when you pay attention and you will also be able to get the right mentor by just listening.

4. Act like a person who needs a mentor

When you think you know everything and act like that, it is going to be difficult to get a mentor because most people who definitely back away. In order to learn, you must listen and consider ideas that may not match your own opinions.

5. Be flexible

Despite having a mentor, you may also gain good advice and benefit from people who provide some insightful ideas, also if you are in the company of someone who is rarely available, use that opportunity to gather a lot of information as much as possible and gain knowledge. Also your mentor might be skilled in one particular area so be open to good suggestions.

6. Nontraditional mentors are also useful

Don’t overlook nontraditional mentors as they can help you through their seminars, books, videos, TV programs, internet and their speeches. There are so many nontraditional mentors that provide mentorship to millions of people round the world without ever meeting them; Richard brandson is one good example such mentors.

7. Appreciate your mentors

It is always good manners to thank people who help you with or without their knowledge. The satisfaction of a mentor is the fact that they helped another person grow and attain greater heights in business, think of what you can do to show your appreciation to them.

8. Become a mentor to others

The beauty of learning is so that you can also teach others because you may never be able to pay your mentors back so becoming a mentor to others is a good way of passing on the knowledge you have learnt to support other people with the same goals and dream as yours.

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7 Ways to lower cholesterol

October 9, 2015

cholesterol, high cholesterol, food, eggs

High cholesterol is risky because it increases your risk of heart attacks and heart diseases which is now common in many people round the world. You can lower your cholesterol which these 7 healthy lifestyle changes.

1. Eat healthy foods

Eat heart healthy foods which nutrients that nourish the heart. Choose healthier fats like leaner cuts of meat, low fat diary and monounsaturated fats. Also eliminate trans-fats found in fried foods like cookies, crackers and snack cakes. Also eat foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids like mackerel, salmon and herring fish as the work wonders for the heart.

2. Exercise

Exercise on most days of the week and increase your physical activity in order to improve your cholesterol levels. Even a 10 minutes exercise daily can go a long way in improving your cholesterol level; consider swimming, riding your bike or even just taking a walk. All these can help a lot. You can also join an exercise group or find an exercise buddy to stay motivated

3. Stop smoking

If you are a smoker you have to quit smoking as quitting might improve your cholesterol levels. Smoking does more harm than good to your cholesterol levels and should be stopped.

4. Drink alcohol in moderation.

You should shop excessive alcohol if you want to improve your cholesterol levels, it means one drink a day, preferably red wine which is good for the heart, alcohol should be avoided if possible because too much alcohol can lead to serious health problems like heart failure, stroke and high blood pressure which leads to death if not managed.

5. Weight loss

Weight loss is a contributing factor to improving cholesterol. Loosing as little as 5 to 10 percent of your weight can work wonders on your overall health. Try not to eat mindlesslesly and look for ways to incorporate more activity into your daily routine.

6. Fibre.

Foods rich in fibre like beans, fruits and other foods help in improving cholesterol levels, it also easily fills you up and you don’t feel hungry so easily plus an added advantage is the fact that it doesn’t have a lot of empty calories.it is also cheap and easily to get at most supermarket and grocery stores.

7. Supplements

There are supplements prescribed by doctors which can help and improve your cholesterol levels in your system. These supplements in addition to living a healthy lifestyle is meant to help you achieve the best help possibly.

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Relocating to Spain

October 9, 2015

The beautiful country of Spain is known for its sea, sun, sand and culture not to talk about its employment opportunities no wonder it harbors a lot of UK emigrants. More than 400,000 UK inhabitants live in the country because of a lot of opportunities that can be found there and its fairly good economy which ranks 14^th largest in the world has a low cost of living with prices for property, food and alcohol lower than what you find in the UK. They also have a great healthcare system there. Spain is synonymous with relaxation and it is common to see lots of retirees spend their sunset years in this country. Moving to Spain involves a lot of planning but there are companies that make relocating easier and less stressful.

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO RELOCATE TO SPAIN?

In relocating to Spain, it is better and cost effective using sea freight than land or air plane which is usually more expensive especially moving house-hold items which may take up a 20ft or 40ft container. Movement from UK to Spain will depend on the volume and size of your possessions and the distance from your home “port” to your destination “port”. An average 20ft container is about £1,250 – £2,250 whereas a 40ft container is about £2,500 – £4,000 depending on the haulage company. It is also necessary when planning your budget to take into cognizance the insurance, time, storage costs and import duty if necessary as these are necessary costs to be incurred while relocating

HOW FREQUENT ARE CARGO BOATS LEAVING TO SPAIN FROM THE UK?

Cargo boats take about 3-5 days to move properties by sea to Spain hence it doesn’t take long before you can settle in with your personal possessions. Air transportation is faster but more expensive. Cargoes have their daily schedules and so you can easily find out their schedules and ship when you want you can also contact us for more information.

HOW CAN I SAVE MONEY ON MY MOVE?

It would be best to compare the shipping companies to find out their prices and get the best price you are comfortable with, Also cutting down some items is necessary as you can easily get most items in spain, you can also store household possessions with the removal company’s storage services, this will ensure you only relocate with items that you think are absolutely necessary and cut down on costs.

CUSTOMS AND INSPECTIONS

Spain is part of the Schengen area member states and the European Union so this means members are allowed free circulation of goods and EU citizens and residents within the union. No animal food products can be brought in and you must provide certain documentation such as passport, details of your residency status, bank guarantee if there is no residency documentation and a letter may also be required with authorizes your agent to clear your shipment but if you do not have these documents or they are not complete you may be forced to pay import duty and if there are delays in getting the complete documents, the goods might be auctioned after a month if uncleared.

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Technology and innovation in Medical laboratory.

October 9, 2015

technology, medical laboratory, innovation, invention

The scientific impact of technology in this modern era cannot be overemphasized; this is as a result of its various benefits to the society especially in the health sector. The medical technology used in the health sector advances and develops in order to monitor, diagnose or treat diseases or medical conditions to improve the lives of individuals throughout their lifespan.

Medical technologies can be expensive and not affordable to some hospitals and laboratories around the world especially in developing countries therefore technology companies are focusing on products that deliver faster, cheaper and more efficient care to patients. Technology innovation in medical science becomes necessary to adapt to the needs of low and middle income countries with increased demand for cost-effective healthcare. The medical laboratories where tests are carried out have tools that may be too expensive for some countries or simply not available in some places due to lack of adequate development and that’s where innovation comes in. Technology innovation can be seen as processes whereby new technology are transformed and developed to reach a wider range of people. This becomes imperative to address the wide problems in the health sector in different countries and communities round the world and to cater to the health needs and challenges of a community.

In the poorest countries of the world, science and technology requires a large amount of investment and the lack of resources in state laboratories produces pressure that forces scientists to use their creative abilities to reuse and invent as much as possible for example simple cocktail party ice crushers can substitute for crushed ice machines that are expensive and needed in laboratories, purchasing a transilluminator can be replaced by building your own from a makeshift box and an ultraviolet light bulb which would help a medical scientist in a situation the transilluminator is unavailable or too high a cost, a substitute for a microcentrifuge for your samples can be created out of a blender and an aluminum bowel and even a revamped record player can be a substitute for a fancy lab shaker.

Harvard university researchers found out bubble wraps which is a cheap alternative to glass test tubes and culture dishes are useful in saving high cost of lab gear in developing countries, the bubble wrap serves as a container for performing bio-analyses and storing liquids, these liquids were injected into the sterile air-filled pockets of bubble wraps and sealed with a nail polish hardener and with this they were able to conduct blood tests for diabetes and anemia, measure ferrocynaide electrochemically, grow caenorhabditis elegans nematode worms and culture E.coli all within the bubbles. This is a welcomed material adaptation innovation in laboratories where glass test tubes are not easily available or are expensive, although there are some limitations like the tiny test tubes can easily be popped out. These are some of the low cost technology innovations that can be used in developing countries with no access to steady power supply and medical equipments needed in the laboratory.

GE healthcare is an example of a global company which is also known as “frugal innovation” they produce low cost medical tech equipments needed to cater for the health needs in developing countries.GE believes that medical innovation can benefit the west from learning about the frugality and resourcefulness poorer nations tackle and apply to health problems. The company also takes into cognizance the local conditions like voltage flunctuations, intensive equipment use and power outages when developing new products.

The Galapagos Islands is an example of the evolution theory by Charles Darwin. Several islands and inhabitants are nearly in their full natural state with little influence of human activities which shows that natural selection is fully at work whereby the toughest survive therefore innovation by the animals on how to survive with other creatures is necessary in inhabiting the area which is not so much populated by humans.

Innovation occurs in such an island whereby natural selection is frequently at work and how the different species adapt to their different environments which means that living things can survive in their environment if they master their habitat therefore this helps in realizing how technology innovation works in different countries that by understanding and adapting to their environment, human beings can produce and invent relevant equipments that can be substituted for those used in westernized countries.

Simulation centers are used as a practice for real life situations or a representation of the functioning of a system. Medical simulation is necessary in acquiring clinical skills through practice and the tools serve as an alternative to real life patients whereby a trainee can learn and make mistakes without the fear of harming a patient.

Medical errors have contributed to loss of lives over the years as a result of medical personnel not enough practice; this has also contributed to the cost of medical care all around the world and has given rise to an innovative medical curriculum which emphasizes the need for proficiency rather than mere acquisition of skills by medical graduates. This acquisition is the key to appropriate health education because it is common in developing countries for students to complete their educational programs in the universities without the necessary clinical skills needed for their work and this has caused disasters in the medical fields therefore the importance of simulation as a teaching method for medical students whether undergraduate or postgraduates. However simulation laboratories can be quite costly but its advantages are the highly trained medical graduates less likely to make life-threatening mistakes or costly medical errors.

There are many simulation centers that can be found in many American universities and some examples are the Northwestern simulation center located in the Chicago medical campus of the northwestern university Feinberg School of medicine, the Penn state Hershely clinical simulation center, the clinical simulation laboratory in University of Vermont College of medicine and so many others. However there are not so many simulation centers in developing countries and inadequate practice often lead to medical mishaps.

The future looks promising for researchers and patients in the developing world because new tools are created with global applicability in mind thus low cost technologies are adapted into tools appropriate for healthcare applications and in medical laboratories. many countries have different level of scientific proficiency and technological development like china,brazil,india,argentina are self sufficient in terms of training, reagents and equipment while poorer countries are more dependent on developed countries for scientific equipments and are often scientifically isolated. However the flexibility, conservation and efficiency of medical colleges in inventing substitutes useful in medical laboratories in developing countries provide important lessons for the developed world.

REFERENCES

1. Jeffrey Heer, 30 Stanford University. “TR35: José Gómez-Márquez, 32”. Technology Review. Retrieved 2012-04-18.

2. BMJ. 2004 Nov 13; 329(7475): 1160–1162.doi:10.1136/bmj.329.7475.1160

3. Coloma J, Harris E. Science in developing countries: Building partnerships for the future. Science’s Next Wave 2002. Sep 27.

4. Harris E. A low-cost approach to PCR: appropriate transfer of biomolecular techniques. New York: Oxford University Press, 1998.

5. J Family Community Med. 2010 Jan-Apr; 17(1): 35–40.doi:10.4103/1319-1683.68787

6. Flangan B, Nestel D, Joseph M. Making patient safety the focus: Crisis resorce management in the undergraduate curriculum. Med Edu. 2004;38:56–66. [PubMed]

7. Gordon JA, Wilkerson WM, Shaffer DW, Armstrong EG. Practicing medicine without risk: Students’ and educators’ response to high-fidelity patient simulation. Acad Med. 2001;76:469–72. [PubMed]

8. Owens Brian.What can ‘frugal innovation’ do for development? SciDev.Net,12/12/13.

9. Laura Helmuth.Evolution World Tour: Galápagos Islands, Ecuador.Smithsonian Magazine, january 2012.

10. Harvard University Researchers Turn Bubble Wrap into Tiny Test Tubes that Could Be Used for Clinical Pathology Laboratory Testing in Developing Nations | Dark Daily Published: July 8 2015

11. Schiff Jaclyn.Developing Nations: Laboratories For Health Care Innovation | Kaiser Health News Developing Nations: Laboratories For Health Care Innovation,April 9,2010.

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Archives for October 2015

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