Archive for November 18th, 2008

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Used Medical Equipment

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

Are you a physician who is interested in starting your own medical practice but are working on a tight budget and you need to find the best deals on everything you need for your office?  A practical and money saving idea is to look into renting or buying used medical equipment.

Depending on your field of medicine, there are many pieces of used medical equipment available for you to choose from.  Be very careful that you buy from a reputable seller and look for equipment that still has at least part of its warranty active whenever possible. 

No matter what your medical practice may be, you can be assured that you will find every piece of used medical equipment that you need to start your business.  From advanced imaging machines to mammogram units, everything is available for a much smaller price than purchasing new.

Make sure to note, however, that cheaper is not always better.  When first starting a business, saving money is important; however, especially in the medical field, providing your patients with the best possible treatment and care is even more important than cutting costs.  A good rule of thumb is to pick and choose where you want to “splurge” on your spending.  Buy used equipment on pieces that are not of medical importance, such as dental hygienic instruments or trays and pans, etc.  If the medical pieces do not put the patient in medical danger at any time, go ahead and buy used.  Spend a bigger part of your budget on new equipment that will be used often and that you depend on for reliability.

What is Rhodiola Rosea?

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

Rhodiola rosea has long been a favorite plant in traditional medical systems in Eastern Europe and Asia with a reputation for stimulating the nervous system, decreasing clinical depression, promoting work performance, alleviating weariness, and precluding high altitude illness. Rhodiola has been classified as an adaptogen by Russian researchers because of its identified ability to improve resistance to an assortment of chemical, biological, as well as physical stressors. The term adaptogen dates back to 1947 and is most often credited to a Russian scientist named Lazarev.

This herbaceous plant grows at high altitudes within the arctic regions of Europe and Asia, and its root has been utilized within traditional medicine in Russia as well as the Nordic countries for centuries. Analyses of its medicinal applications have appeared within the scientific literature of Sweden, Norway, France, Germany, the USSR and the Republic of Iceland.

Nowadays in Russia, rhodiola rosea is utilized as a tonic and treatment for weariness, deficient attention span, as well as decreased memory; it’s also considered to make workers more productive. In Sweden as well as other Scandinavian nations it’s utilized to improve the capability for mental work. It is commonly utilized in place of pharmaceuticals because rhodiola side effects are few and far between.

Rhodiola rosea extract has been meticulously analyzed in Russia and Scandinavia for more than thirty-five years. A recent rhodiola rosea depression study provided evidence that patients consuming rhodiola for six weeks experience statistically significant improvement in symptoms compared to the consumption of a placebo.

Subjecting animals and humans to a time period of stress brings about characteristic changes in many hormones and parameters connected with the central nervous system as well as the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA). HPA changes include a gain in cortisol, a minimized sensitivity of the HPA to feedback down-regulation, and a disturbance in the circadian rhythm of secreted cortisol.

In order to combat stress and nerve-wracking situations, adaptation is essential. Adaptation may be best thought of as the capability to be exposed to a stressor without exhibiting symptomatic hormonal disruptions.

The effect of herbal adaptogens like rhodiola rosea extract can be seen as similar to the conditioning an athlete goes through in order to develop for competition.

For example, Rhodiola rosea extract use boosts a moderate growth in the measure of blood serum immunoreactive beta-endorphin in rats under basal circumstances. This moderate increase corresponds to when rats have adapted to a regular exercise regiment.

DISCLAIMER: While I hope this helps your understanding of this fantastic adaptogenic, note that I am not a doctor and you should consult with your physician before taking any medical suggestions from the World Wide Web.

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Casting Wax and the Basics of Lost Wax Casting

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

Metal Casting

Metal Casting is an ancient technique that has been used to create very complicated metal castings and involved pieces that would other wise be impossible either because of economic reasons or manufacturing reasons. Everyone from small jewelers to large industrial foundries can use Lost Wax Casting. This process is also called Investment Casting when it is used in commercial industries. Lost wax casting is used frequently by people who make jewelry but you will find others who use the lost wax casting method as well.

DIY Metal Casting is the ideal and preferred method for artists who are interested in making items like sculptures or rings from a variety of alloys like bronze, steel, or copper. This process is quite involved but not all that complex as long as you have some kind of metal casting know-how. For anyone wanting to experiment with different casting methods Lost Wax Casting is a great option because it involves a few materials and methods that are not normally found in other methods like Sand Casting.

The most noticeable difference of Lost Wax Casting from other castings is exactly what’s in the name; the wax. To use Lost Wax Casting you do not necessarily have to be an artists but some skill in sculpting might be nice. You are going to start off by creating a sculpture from wax that will be the original.

You will then create a mold of the original. The mold is usually created from plaster with latex lining to help preserve the details of the original. If this is your first attempt at Lost Wax Casting you may want to make an original without a lot of detail just to get the feel for the entire process and so you do not become discouraged if something does not work out. Remember metal casting is a skill that must be learned by research, trial, and error. Chances are that you will not be completely successful, the first time around. The original piece is usually lost after the construction of the mold. Don’t worry because this is actually fairly normal and will happen from time to time but if you don’t want it to happen then you can use metal to create your design.

When the mold is ready you are then going to pour molten wax, you’re not ready for metal just yet, into the mold. The wax you will need and the amount of wax you will need really depends on how thick you want the material to be. Once the copy is ready, you are going to remove it very carefully from the mold. You will remove any of the impurities from the copy. This is called chasing.

You will then sprue the copy. Spruing is the act of carefully placing paths that will let the molten metal in and air out. Afterwards, a ceramic shell is created around the copy. The shell isn’t really ceramic but a combination of liquid silica and sand. Traditionally, and in some areas still, animal dung and dirt is used to create the shell. The choice of which shell material you want to use is up to you. The shell is hardened in the kiln and the wax melts out. If you want to reuse the wax then collect it during this step. Wax can be reused a number of times and if you are on a budget or are just trying out different designs and methods, collecting the wax is encouraged. Once the wax is gone and all that remains is the hollow shell you will want to run water through it to make sure there are no leaks. If there are then you will need to patch them before pouring the molten metal.

Pouring the metal without reheating the shell will cause it to crack and you will be out of luck. The shell is still on the sprue tree so pouring the metal is an easy process. When the metal has hardened, then break the shell carefully and remove the cast. Afterwards, it is up to you to finish the piece to your liking and preference.

Lost Wax Casting process is an enjoyable experience but it does use a few tools that you might need to purchase before hand, like the wax and spruing tree. At the very least, you might want to try Lost Wax Casting once or twice to get a feel for it. This way you have another casting process at your disposal.

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How to Budget your Finances

Tuesday, November 18th, 2008

Introduction
Learning to budget your finances is one of those things where some people have no problem, yet others cannot do it for the life of them. Those of us who find budgeting easy and satisfying don’t really understand those people who can never manage their money properly.

1. Mr Macawber in David Copperfield by Charles Dickens, states the concept of budgeting. “Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen pounds six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pound nought and six, result misery.” Charles Dickens, David Copperfield, 1849 English novelist (1812 – 1870)

Spend a penny more than you get and you will always be poor, as I found to my cost when first setting up my website development business, specialising in cms, But spend a penny less than you get and you will always feel rich which we have now achieved. This may seem very apparent, but how often do we find we are spending more than we can afford? There are tempting offers within our grasp every day and it’s difficult to resist when they try to make us believe we might never get such an opportunity again.
• Hands up if you are someone who has difficulty managing your money?
• Hands up if you do not know how to budget your finances?
• Hands up if you find it difficult to resist tempting offers?
• Hands up if you are over your head in debt?
• Hands up if you don’t know how you are going to make ends meet for the next week?

If you have all your hands in the air (and your feet!) it’s time to do something about it. (In other words take yourself in hand!!) Sorry about the pun.

2. The first thing you need to understand is that people who are selling are in business to make money and they want their businesses to grow. To do this they have to increase sales, so they have to make things irresistible to the customers like you and me.

So remember, the next time you are in debt and struggling to pay the bills, there is some big guy out there raking in the profits. They are taking your hard earned cash and leaving you poor.

Change of Mindset
People who do not budget and find it difficult to manage their money seem to have a particular mindset. For instance, there may be an idea from childhood that being careful with money indicates to the world that a person is miserly. Being reckless then equates with generosity and not being largess. If you are loaded then spending money freely is not a problem, but if you are on a limited income or just never seem to have enough, then good financial management looks like a good idea.

3. One of the ways to change your thinking is to ask yourself, ‘who is the best person to benefit from your hard earned money’? Is it the big companies who are making loads of profit already(Fat cats) paying their executives million pound bonuses, or you!

Anxiety about your ability to manage your money and fear of figures may cause you to bury your head in the sand. I had a friend who admitted this to me and when I said I enjoyed the online banking system and being in charge of moving my money around and how easy I found it; she immediately changed her mind set and decided she could handle the online banking system and researched the best way to invest her money to make more of what she had.

Give yourself permission to think that being in control of your money is a practical way to remove the stress you experience around finance. That will give you more energy to enjoy life more and make even more money.

Guidelines to Liquidity
The most difficult thing to do is to face the reality. When someone is on a spending spree they are out of control and out of touch with reality. The fantasy ignores the cost and the consequences of overspending (ie. How it’s going to get repaid).

So the first thing you need to do is keep a record of everything you spend your money on. At this stage do not try to change what you normally do. Have a cash note book and write down all the things you can think of that you buy. This includes household bills and food, mobile phone, TV. Put a figure in the corresponding column. If you have actual amounts put them in, if not make a stab at it. Leave space for the things you don’t remember or even consider expenses. Beer, cinema, clothes even the coins you toss to street entertainers. Categorise it as fun money or entertainment funds.

Every time you take money out of your pocket/wallet/credit card/bank, write down what you use it for. Do this over one month, and by then you will have a fairly comprehensive list of your expenses. Make a total at the bottom of the page and on the opposite page write down all your income. When I first did this I found that one of my largest expenses was shop bought sandwiches every day!

Compare the totals. Have you spent more or less than you receive? Is your life going towards happy or miserable? It is at this point you really need to make a shift in your thinking.

Start by being mean to people who want to sell you things. Look around for the best deals and always ask to renegotiate deals. I went on a negotiating course some years ago and the following week I put into practise what we had learnt. I reduced my spending by $350, just by asking!

Carry only a minimum amount of small change on you so that you are not tempted to fritter away $20 on some impulse purchase you don’t need. Those dollars add up fast and before you know a hundred dollars in your pocket is gone.

Cut up your credit card unless this is the most convenient way to pay regular items and you clear the balance at the end of each month. Use only one credit card, and find one that gives points for purchases. These mount up and you can claim vouchers to spend in your favourite shops. Also find a credit card that will take the full amount by direct debit every month so you don’t miss payments, accrue interest charges and generate a large fine.

Make a list when you go shopping and only buy what is on that list. OK, some things you may have forgotten to put down but make sure you avoid the impulse purchases. Keep a list in the kitchen and only put things on it when you have run out. Use up products in the cool cupboard and freezer to reduce waste and keep spending to a minimum.

Become a frugal shopper and consumer. Try and use up coupons, saving a few saved cents per purchase can really add up. Searching through clearance sections in stores is another way to save money. You may be pleasantly surprised to see how much you can reduce your bill on your usual grocery haul.

Conclusion
Budgeting is not for the fainthearted. It means fighting the urge to buy what is not needed. I run a web design company and if you are like me the temptation is strong to buy all the latest gadgets. But if you can think yourself into a new mind set you will find it much easier to change the habits of a lifetime. Be sure that all expenses are accounted for when you take stock of your situation. Once you have your finances under control, there will be enough surplus to save and allow to grow for the special events you may want to splash out on in life.

If you still have difficulty restricting your shopping habit, take a friend or relative with you on outings. Someone you can trust to steer you away from temptation. Once you conquer your shopping demons, you will be proud of yourself for doing so and feel a great sense of accomplishment. So don’t be overwhelmed, grab that pen and paper and get on track to liquidity.

Happy Budgeting