Bed Bugs and Hotel Lodgings in 2011 – Should You Be Concerned?
You turn on the travel channel on the TV or open up the travel pages in the your local newspaper and all we seem to note is “bed bugs’ ” a bedbug for every chamber”. Advice for travelers currently is check hotels for these pests, wrap your luggage in plastic coverings, and as well pack sealed enclosures to seal up your bed-clothes on the road, or in the cruise ship cabin from these little pests and parasites. Is nothing sacred you think? Here I save my hard earned cash all year long, plan my vacation and out of nowhere these tiny imbeciles are sucking my blood while I sleep. Is this pest of these blood suckers scurrying in the dark nighttime something new or just over exaggerated by the media to create a fuss? After all “cinches” themselves are nothing new. Reports go all way back in history to the ancient Egyptians. It is something to live with for the most part and endure quietly.Yet you may wonder that when you are away from home that as to why you sometimes sneeze when you know you do not have colds? These sneezing episodes seem to crop up and be more prevalent in motel and hotel rooms. Some may tell you it’s the hospitality industries cleaning supplies – nil-odor and the like masking odors and making you sneeze and snort. Yet you may suddenly find your coughing even you is not sick? These questions could be answered the moment you understand that there are species thrive in mostly comfortable parts or objects in your house but most often, in your room. This article focuses on the discussion about late night insidious attackers of the sheets and blankets of our evening respite and how to get rid of them.Dust mites are known as allergists simply because they trigger allergies in people (their victims). Once these dust mites hit you, you would know since the most common symptoms you will definitely feel are sneezing and coughing unexpectedly. The worst that they can cause any person is asthma. This type of illness is due primarily to allergens produced by dust mites and if they are not treated well they might even pose bigger problems. Thus, it is important to know more about dust mites.What do we know about dust mites?Dust mites are normally measuring 0.4 mm or 0.016 of an inch in length and 0.25 mm in width. The shape of both female and male dust mites resembles like that of a shape of a rectangle and they look like creamy blue. They have 8 legs and they become visible against dark color background in normal light.A dust mite on the average may live from 10 up to 19 days while the pregnant or mated female dust mite may live as long as 70 days. Female dust mite can produce eggs ranging from 60 up to 100 eggs during the last weeks of life. Dust mites can produce 2000 fecal matters and the can eat scores of dust particles covered with enzymes. Not only the sneezing and coughing that one may experience to conclude that indeed there are dust mites. Other symptoms indicative of the presence of dust mites are reddening of the eyes, itchiness, inflammation of eczema, runny nose, and clogging in your lungs.How then do you treat dust mites?There are several methods through which we can eliminate dust mites in our homes such as by cleaning up the rooms, drapes, pillows, and other clothes suspected to contain dust mites. They cannot thrive in hot places and therefore one of the best ways to get rid of them is to dry your pillows and blankets. If it is sunny, then you may bring your pillows outside the house and let sunshine burn and dissipate what your medical doctor would technically refer to as “Dermatophagoides farinae “All in all these tiny creatures of our bed clothes who devour our blood in the dark as well as similar pests are nothing new. You may experience them in hospitality industry lodgings, you may not. There are certain precautions that most of those on journeys and vacations can take. Yet your local Wal-Mart store, with brand new bedding for sale, may have a sign on their front door advising that their bed-clothes and coverings for sale have been found to be full of cinches and insects as well. Hence bed-bugs are ubiquitous. They are nothing new – either to mankind or the traveling public in 2011. Do your best to ask and steer to clean lodgings. Yet in the end all you can do is endure and try your best to enjoy your travels, holidays and vacations.
How to Get Quick Cash With a Payday Loan
What is a payday loan? A payday loan is considered a short term loan. Say you have an important emergency that requires cash fast. What do you do if you don’t have the money? You can take out a payday loan. You borrow this loan until your next payday when at this time you repay the loan.While this may sound reasonable enough there are some disadvantages. Many of these payday loans are a short two weeks or so. Interest rates usually apply as well so depending on the interest amount, the loan may not be worth it.The primary people that use payday loans are lower and lower middle class people. This can be a burden to some because of the rates that apply. Many people with bad credit use payday loans because they see that as their only option.If you get a payday loan, you want to try and keep yourself from becoming trapped. If high interest rates are applied to your loan, you could end up repeating your borrowing of money; being unable to repay in time or even having your check held because you couldn’t pay in time. You want to steer of these risks if possible.There are many ways to keep from having to use a payday loan. While sometimes you may not have any other options, there are ways to not end up in that situation. A great way to keep this from happening is to build an emergency fund.Some people may find this unreasonable because they already do not have enough money. If you can set aside at least ten dollars a paycheck, over time you will have money to use for emergencies instead of having to get a payday loan. Open a savings account if you think you might spend it if you can access it easier. Yes this will require discipline on your part but it can be done.Every household needs a budget. Having a budget can help ensure you will have the funds available for emergencies so you don’t have to rely on payday loans. Or should you happen to get a payday loan, you might be able to repay the loan easier using your emergency fund if needed.Picking up extra work for extra money or selling something you no longer use of value can also keep you from having to get a payday loan. You might have a problem spending all your money at once because of all your bills. Get credit counseling or meet with a financial advisor that could help you set your budget, etc.Alternatives to payday loans would be better such as borrowing from a close friend or family member. Put in writing the terms of the loan; what you borrowed, when you will pay it back by, etc. This can save any hard feelings or complications further down the road should something happen.If you have high credit card balances, etc, consider transferring them to a different card with a lower interest rate. This will help you pay them off faster and have more extra money for those emergencies, further avoiding having to get a payday loan.Always use common sense when signing something pertaining to money. Did you buy a new car? Did you make sure you got the best deal you could find, etc.? Many people do not think about little things that might happen in the future that their present purchases could have an effect on.If you have no other option than getting a payday loan, find a place that has the best interest rates and policies. Some companies will take money out of your paycheck to repay your loan if you are unable to pay it back in time. Try to avoid this if possible.Some states are required to extend their payment plans if needed, so be sure to see if this applies to your payday loan or not. Use your common sense and better judgment to be sure if a payday loan is what you need. You might be better off borrowing from somebody else.
Organic Garden – Helpful Ideas and Tips
Organic gardening is growing in popularity as people increasingly see the need to avoid chemicals and synthetic products. Organic gardens also provide protection form genetically modified organisms (GMO) in the garden.Those who take up organic gardening often are at a loss as to where to buy supplies. They don’t know what products they need for soil nourishment or pest control. They may not know how much water to supply, or how to go about composting kitchen scraps for their gardens. They need more than a few organic garden tips and ideas.Organic garden helpful ideas and tips are widely available, if you know where to find them. Here are a few places to begin your search.Organic Garden Helpful IdeasOne of my favorite organic garden tips is this one. The most important thing you can do to control pests in the organic garden is to keep the soil healthy. Healthy soil produces healthy plants. Healthy plants, like healthy humans, are better able to withstand disease.A second helpful organic garden idea I like is to control pests with ladybirds (ladybugs). These beautiful little red insects with shiny black spots control aphids naturally and totally. You can order them from several organic garden places on the Internet. Until they arrive, spray every part of aphid-infested plants with well diluted soapy water. Rinse with clear water.My third favorite organic gardening idea is to plant guardian plants around and among tender vegetables. Marigolds make the organic garden border colorful, and ward off many pests. Onions and garlic are also great deterrents to pests that would like to break in and steal organic produce.Sources for More Organic Garden Helpful IdeasWe do not give specific websites here, but most of these groups or products can readily be located on the Internet. Simply use key words from any one of these categories in your search engine to find more organic garden ideas.* Cooperative Extension Office: The Cooperative Extension System is a nationwide network. Every U.S. state and territory has a state office at its land-grant university. They also have a network of local or regional offices. The staff at these offices includes at least one expert who can give you useful, practical, and research-based organic garden helpful ideas.* Park and Recreation Departments: If you live in a large neighborhood, your local park and recreation department will be a good source of helpful ideas for your organic garden. Classes may be available on topics such as organic garden plans, planting seed, and how to compost.* YMCA / YWCA: In some areas, these organizations provide workshops on organic garden topics, with plenty of helpful ideas and tips. These are led by local organic garden experts. They may include vegetable organic gardens and organic gardening of flowers.* Gardening Stores: An increasing number of gardening stores are beginning to offer organic garden products, seeds, and supplies. Many try to have at least one person on staff who can give organic garden helpful ideas.* Nurseries: Local nurseries may have helpful ideas and tips for your organic garden. As the demand becomes greater, they are learning that they must provide not only organic fertilizer and seedlings, but advice also.* Magazines: Organic gardening magazines have been around for many years now, and are filled with organic gardeners’ helpful ideas and tips. Visit your public library and browse the magazines. Some are aimed at small farming size organic gardens. Others focus on organic gardening of vegetables for family or farmers’ market. Choose one that has the most helpful tips for you, and subscribe for ongoing organic garden help.* Seed Catalogs (catalogues): Many times, seed catalogs have not only organic seeds, but also ideas and tips for the organic garden. Look for major seed companies’ catalogs.* Books: If you are new to organic gardening, you will want to invest in at least one good book on organic gardens. Books can explain how seeds and produce are certified organic. They can provide organic gardening advice from ants to weed control.* Family and Friends: They say we all have a circle of 250 acquaintances. Within that circle, you will likely find at least one person who is experienced in organic gardening and has ideas or tips that will help you. Their own organic garden may be only a container, or it could be 50 containers. Anyone who does any organic gardening will be eager to share the tips and helpful ideas they have received.* Internet: The Internet excels in providing information. It is a wonderful source of organic garden helpful ideas and tips. Become a member of an organic gardening forum and share ideas. Read organic gardeners’ blogs. Finally, visit Cornell University’s organic garden website. They offer an online class in organic gardening. The professor is sure to have helpful organic gardening ideas and tips.
What are anti-ligature blinds?
Anti-ligature blinds are becoming increasingly popular in a range of different settings. The way these blinds differ from traditional blinds is that they are designed to prevent suicide by hanging.
Initially, uptake for this type of blind was largely restricted to high-risk environments such as psychiatric hospitals and prisons, where suicide is common. In mental health environments and detention centres, suicide via hanging is common and preventative measures must be implemented. A huge range of objects could be used to create a ligature point, meaning anti-ligature systems are highly important.
Over the years, anti-ligature blinds have been supplied to hospitals, schools, student accommodation and even hotels.
How do they work?
There are a range of different systems on the market, but the most reliable could well be the magnetic anti-ligature system. YewdaleKestrel® products utilise load release magnets which separate when a downward force is exerted on the product. This means that the product falls to the ground safely and prevents suicide via hanging.
The magnetic systems used in Yewdale’s products are highly reliable because magnets don’t lose their strength for hundreds of years, guaranteeing a lifetime of lifesaving functionality.
Anti-ligature blinds usually have a magnetic connection point above the blind’s barrel. The blind is easy to reconnect to the magnetic bracket after it has fallen to the floor.
If you are considering an anti-ligature blind, Yewdale is a highly recommended company. Based in the UK, Yewdale produce a wide range of anti-ligature products, commercial blinds, and healthcare products including hospital cubicle tracks and medical curtains.
Yewdale produce other anti-ligature products too including a soft, lightweight en-suite door and other accessories such as soap dispensers, toilet roll holder, shelves and artwork. You can see the full range on the website using the link below.
Complete weight loss strategy
For those who want to lose weight
Research on the causes of obesity, knowledge about weight loss, and various diets for weight loss are updated every year. However, with the update of knowledge and the release of diet pills one after another, the obesity rate continues to rise every year, and there is no sign of wanting to decline. I used to be very, very fat, and I am also a person who is prone to obesity.
So I understand the voices of fat people, I really want to lose weight, but I tried many ways to lose weight at that time without success.
I have tried the common boiled meals on the market, eating less and moving more, but it was not until I tried other diets that I managed to lose weight. After I lost weight, I began to study the essence and method of losing weight, and wrote him in this weight loss strategy article, hoping to help you.
A few key myths about losing weight
The weight loss myth of eating less and moving more
The phrase “eat less and move more” is actually true, but most people do it wrong. Many people think that they should eat less of everything, so they limit their calories to a very low level, and it feels a bit like eating an ultra-low-calorie fairy meal. Then, for the hyperactive part, the first thing that everyone thinks of is aerobic exercise such as running, cycling, etc., but in fact, this is a very short-term and easy way to regain weight, mainly because eating too little is an easy way to lose weight. The reason for the loss of muscle mass, coupled with the fact that aerobic training is not helpful for muscle mass growth, causes the metabolism to drop too much.
Maybe you can lose 5 kilograms in this way, but if your metabolism declines, you will easily regain the weight. And it’s all the fat that gets back up, not the muscle you lose that makes you look fatter than before. This is what we call the yo-yo effect, lose weight, get fat back, get fatter than before, lose weight, get back on Fat, get fatter than before.
Stop taking diet pills and meal replacements
At this time, you may start to seek other ways, eat weight loss meal replacements, taking diet pills, and so on. But believe me, most diet pills will inevitably hurt the body, especially the gastrointestinal tract. You may actually lose weight in the moment, but when your gastrointestinal tract is damaged, you will be fatter than before.
The key to understanding how to lose weight
You must have thought, why some people will not gain weight no matter what they eat, while some people will gain a kilogram the next day after eating a little bread? What is the cause of obesity? This is not a simple answer that can be solved!
You can see the link to the picture below, mainly talking about the influencing factors of obesity, which are very, very complicated.
Image source: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/296290/obesity-map-full-hi-res.pdf
In the middle of this picture is the heat balance
So we can know that calorie balance is very important
But this article doesn’t keep preaching that calorie balance is the key to losing weight like other sites
If you don’t know what calorie balance is, you can probably imagine that our body has calorie consumption (exercise, thermogenesis, basal metabolism), and calorie intake (eating).
When calorie consumption exceeds calorie intake, the weight will drop, so the truth of weight loss is to eat less and move more, very simple. In the short term, it is really possible to simply achieve weight loss by eating less and moving more, but simplicity is not simple, because the operation of the body is very complicated. Many people think that they can control their calorie consumption, that they can achieve a lot of calorie expenditure by running all the time, and that eating fairy meals (low-calorie meals) can reduce calorie intake and then easily lose it.
However, according to research, 90% of people who use calorie control, eat less and move more to lose weight will fail or regain the weight.
Because eating less and moving more for too long, metabolism will easily drop, hormones will easily become imbalanced, and muscle mass will easily be lost. Even if you lose 10 kilograms, you will easily regain weight.
When losing weight, the body is like a factory
For me, the key to long-term weight loss and maintaining good posture is the environment in the body, such as hormones, the level of inflammation in the body, and the gastrointestinal system.
Think of the body as a factory
-Your hormones are the managers and workers of factory operations
-Inflamed condition is how good factory machinery and hardware are
-Calorie intake is wages for factories as well as fuel
If the manager of this factory is an idiot, or if the hardware in your factory is completely rotten, then no matter how it works, it will create a pile of waste. Just as our hormones are already out of balance and the level of inflammation in the body is very high, no matter how much you eat, if you don’t solve the existing problems, it will easily accumulate into fat. It may be easier to understand with a few examples.
Hormones vs Weight Loss
This study looked at the effects of sleep and weight loss
Research source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20921542
Both groups of humans were calorie-restricted, but one group slept 5.5 hours a night and the other 8.5 hours. Both groups lost weight, but the group that slept less lost 55 percent less body fat and 65 percent more muscle mass than the group that slept more. It is equivalent to losing weight, but most of the loss is muscle mass, which reduces metabolism and makes it easy to regain weight later.
There is such a big difference mainly because poor sleep has a negative impact. The imbalance of the secretion of these things will easily increase fat and reduce muscle.
This next study looks at the effect of insulin sensitivity on body composition!
Research source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19471290
Basically, many chronic metabolic diseases, obesity, and poor muscle-building effects are closely related to low insulin sensitivity. Insulin is an anti-catabolic hormone whose main function is to store nutrients in cells. For example, after heavy training, our muscles will be more sensitive to insulin, and the nutrients we eat will be more easily absorbed into the muscles. When insulin sensitivity is low, the nutrients we eat are more likely to be stored as fat rather than absorbed into muscles.
We can simply say that the nutrients in the food eaten by people who are insulin insensitive are more likely to be stored as fat, and the relative fat mass will be much higher than the muscle mass.
To put it simply, the key to losing weight is actually to improve hormones, improve inflammation in the body, and add an appropriate calorie deficit. It is not difficult to achieve a calorie deficit. What is more difficult is how to choose the type of food that suits your body to improve hormones and achieve a long-term good body.
If you only pursue short-term weight loss and rely on a lot of calorie deficits to achieve the effect of weight loss, and then the hormones are still the same after the loss, then I can guarantee that you will gain weight very easily.
With so many ways to eat on the internet, which diet should I try?
When talking about losing weight in Taiwan 30 years ago, everyone would definitely want to use boiled meals
When it came to losing weight five years ago, everyone might think of using a low-sugar diet. When it came to losing weight in the past two or three years, everyone might directly think of the ketogenic diet.
I lost 30kg in 3 months on a low-sugar diet myself for the first time, so I used to believe that a low-sugar diet was the best way to lose weight
But after my long-term understanding of weight loss-related research, genetic cognition, and observation of students, there is no diet that is most suitable for everyone! Although it is said that high-carbohydrate foods will most stimulate insulin secretion, which in turn promotes the storage of nutrients into fat, some people are naturally good at metabolizing carbohydrates, so they can still be healthy and strong after eating high-carbohydrate throughout their lives.
For example, this study compared the responses of people with high and low insulin sensitivity to high- and low-carb diets.
Research source: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1038/oby.2005.79
The study concluded:
-For people with high insulin sensitivity, eating high-carb and low-fat to lose weight is very helpful
-However, people who are insulin insensitive use a high-carb low-fat diet to lose fat, but the weight loss effect is not so good.
But on the contrary, studies have also shown that people with low insulin sensitivity have a very good weight loss effect on a low-carb high-fat diet, which shows that improving insulin is very important for weight loss, and it also shows that people with insulin insensitivity are more suitable
Lose weight with a high-carb diet.
So if you have been obese for a long time, you know that you eat carbohydrates easily, or you know that you have diabetes in your family and want to lose fat, then I would suggest that you can start by reducing carbohydrates, which is what we call low carb diet!
The Negative Impact of E-Levy on Mobile Banking.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
Mobile Banking is a service provided by a bank or other financial institution that allows its customers to conduct financial transactions remotely using a mobile device such as a smartphone or tablet.
Electronic Transaction Levy or “E-Levy” is a tax applied on transactions made on electronic or digital platforms.
ADVANTAGES OF MOBILE BANKING
Mobile banking offers numerous benefits such as ease of transaction, convenience, time-saving, managing your finances, and budgeting. Some advantages of Mobile Banking in remote areas include:
Financial Inclusion — mobile banking offers convenient and easy banking services to people in remote areas. Thus, it allows banking on the go and offers all benefits of a banking system to rural areas without the presence of a financial institution.
Accessing the bank 24/7 — Mobile banking provides ubiquitous banking services without the need to visit the bank to have access to services. This offers time to benefit and ease of transacting at a distance.
Cost-benefit — Mobile banking saves the banks the cost of building physical infrastructures (branches) and maintaining branches and staff. Also, reduced costs on the customer side since the burden of visiting the bank for services is eliminated.
Improving resilience in the face of poverty — Mobile money acts as both a savings vehicle and a means of transferring funds during times of economic or environmental shocks.
Strengthening the formal economy — For many micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), opening a mobile money account can facilitate access to formal financial services. Mobile money is well placed to address the issue of informality that blights many developing economies and hampers domestic resource mobilization efforts. Mobile Money enables ease of transacting, thus increasing business profits for MSMEs.
Facilitating economic growth — Mobile money has been shown to contribute to economic growth by increasing both productivity and per capita incomes
DISADVANTAGES OF E-LEVY ON MOBILE BANKING
The design of mobile money taxation policy appears to be the antithesis of a well-designed tax system. The disadvantages include:
Inequity — Mobile money taxes as currently structured to create inequity in the tax system. As the tax is mostly borne by the poor and users of the services are subject to additional taxation (unlike bank or cash transactions), the principles of both horizontal and vertical equity in the tax system are contravened.
Uncertainty -. Uncertainty and lack of transparency over taxation systems can have a direct impact on the operations of the tax authority, increasing enforcement costs, as well as discouraging investment.
Inconvenience — The administration of mobile money transaction taxes creates an inconvenience for MMPs who must calculate and collect the tax on the revenue authority’s behalf. There is an additional inconvenience for users of the service for whom remote digital transactions become more expensive or out of reach if they revert back to cash.
Inefficiency — Badly designed mobile money taxes have been shown to have a distortionary impact on demand for mobile money services. This in turn has had negative impacts on overall tax takes, as well as impacting the attainment of national economic and development goals.
EFFECT OF MOBILE BANKING — CASE STUDIES
The decision to impose taxes on mobile bank transactions will trigger so many problems.
Ghana — According to The Fourth Estate Ghana; Although the government projects a 24% decline in transactions when the levy is finally implemented, preliminary findings published by the bank of Ghana indicate the value of mobile money transactions had dropped by 3.2 billion in December 2021, less than 2 months after the proposal to introduce E-levy.
Uganda — An e-levy of 1% introduced in 2018 has led to an overall drop in the person-to-person transaction by more than 50%, and a 24% drop in industry transactions within the same year the tax was introduced according to a report by Global system for mobile communication (GSMA).
Congo — An e-levy of 1% was introduced in 2019. The government had to reverse the tax on cash outs only due to negative results of the levy on Mobile money users such as a decline in mobile money agents (unemployment) and high-value withdrawals by people.
Other countries include Benin (5%) and Cameroun (0.2%). In all these countries, the e-levy has imposed a negative effect on the economy and people. If we want to ensure the financial inclusion of people in rural areas, we need to ensure that we encourage mobile banking by withdrawing the e-levy tax.
Reference:
https://thefourthestategh.com/2022/03/16/e-levy-this-is-what-happened-when-other-african-countries-passed-it/
Purohit, S., & Arora, R. (2021). The benefits and challenges of mobile banking at the Bottom of the pyramid. Journal of Contemporary Issues in Business and Government Vol, 27(1).
Charles G. Kpan, Jr. is an Information Technologist with over 5 years of experience in the provision of Information Technology Services and an emphasis on Web Development and Visual Branding. He’s the managing Director of CYGEC IT SOLUTIONS INC. and holds a bachelor’s Degree in Information Technology from Blue Crest University, Liberia.