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Mesothelioma Cancer

What is Mesothelioma?

Mesothelioma is a serious malignant tumor that affects the torso of the human body. There is a strong link between mesothelioma and contact with asbestos particles via breathing or swallowing.

There are three common forms of mesothelioma:

1. Pleural Mesothelioma is the most common form of Mesothelioma. It starts in the chest cavity (after breathing the particles) before spreading to other areas.

2. Peritoneal Mesothelioma starts in the abdomen (after swallowing the particles) and accounts for about 10-20% of Mesothelioma patients.

3. Pericardial Mesothelioma is the rarest form of Mesothelioma. It starts in the cavity that surrounds the heart.

Mesothelioma is difficult to diagnose early on because the symptoms are often mistaken for those of other, less serious ailments. To make matters worse, it often takes many years for the symptoms to show up after the contact with asbestos takes place. Individuals with a history of extended asbestos exposure are at the highest risk for developing malignant mesothelioma. Even a small exposure to this cancer-causing material can result in malignant mesothelioma. However, mesothelioma has a latency of up to thirty-forty years, and many individuals previously exposed to asbestos are now displaying symptoms. This means the average age of mesothelioma patients is between 50 and 70 years. Men are typically affected more, because of the common presence of asbestos in industrial settings. There are three major types of malignant mesothelioma. Epithelial, sarcomatoid, and mixed. Epithelial mesothelioma is most common. Symptoms may include, but are not limited to respiratory distress, a lasting cough, and pneumonia. In addition, symptoms are often mistaken for less serious ailments, and many patients do not show any signs at all.

Individuals with pleural mesothelioma may amass some fluid between the lung lining and chest cavity. This can be detected through a chest x-ray, as well as CT scans.

Diagnosis of Mesothelioma is based on a biopsy. This exam will test a tissue sample for the presence of malignant and/or pleural mesothelioma.

Causes of Mesothelioma

Asbestos is the principal cause of Mesothelioma. Asbestos is a type of insulation material, which was commonly utilized in the past in the following industries:

Steel Workers

Brake Mechanics

Insulators

Boilermakers

Ship fitters

Maintenance Workers

Pipe Fitters

Construction industry

Shipbuilding industry

Automotive industry

Other manufacturing industries

Mesothelioma appears most often in people who worked in the above industries and were exposed to asbestos in their workplace. The utilization of asbestos was very prevalent after 1940’s. However it would take 10-40 years after the first exposure for the first symptoms of mesothelioma to become noticeable, which made it very difficult to diagnose. The peak in mesothelioma cases is projected to be reached near year 2010 according to studies. There are three frequently used types of asbestos: white, brown, and blue. Brown and blue asbestos are more frequently associated with mesothelioma. These types of asbestos have been restricted by most countries in the 1990s. A record of asbestos exposure at work is reported in about 70 percent to 80 percent of all cases.

Asbestos is a very dangerous material and can cause serious damage to your health. It is made up of very minute fibers, which can find their way to pleura (outside lining of the lung) and damage the cells pleura are made of. These fibers can also be passed on to clothing, which makes them dangerous not only to the person exposed to asbestos, but to their family members as well.

Smoking

Smoking does not appear to increase the risk of mesothelioma. However, the combination of smoking and asbestos exposure drastically increases a person’s risk of developing cancer of the air passageways in the lung.

Symptoms of Mesothelioma

Symptoms of mesothelioma may not materialize until 30 to 50 years after exposure to asbestos. Shortness of breath and pain in the chest due to an accumulation of fluid in the pleura are often symptoms of pleural mesothelioma. Symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma include weight loss and abdominal pain and swelling because of a buildup of fluid in the abdomen. Other symptoms of peritoneal mesothelioma may include bowel obstruction, blood clotting abnormalities, anemia, and fever. If the cancer has spread beyond the mesothelium to other parts of the body, symptoms may include pain, difficulty swallowing, or swelling of the neck or face. These symptoms may be caused by mesothelioma or by other, less serious conditions. It is important to see a doctor about any of these symptoms. Only a doctor can make a diagnosis. Once Mesothelioma is diagnosed, the likelihood of recovery varies according to several factors, including the size and location of the tumor, how much it has spread, and the age of the patient.

In general, the earlier that Mesothelioma is diagnosed, the greater the likelihood of survival. If you feel that you have experienced any of the typical Mesothelioma symptoms, pay a visit to your doctor for professional advice.

Mesothelioma diagnosis

Diagnosing mesothelioma is often complicated, because the symptoms are similar to those of several other conditions. Diagnosis begins with an assessment of the patient’s medical history, as well as any history of asbestos exposure. A physical examination may be performed, including x-rays of the chest or abdomen and lung function tests. A CT (or CAT) scan or an MRI may also be useful. A CT scan is a series of detailed pictures of areas inside the body created by a computer linked to an x-ray machine. In an MRI, a powerful magnet linked to a computer is used to make detailed pictures of areas inside the body. These pictures are viewed on a monitor and can also be printed.

A biopsy is needed to confirm a diagnosis of mesothelioma. In a biopsy, a surgeon or a medical oncologist (a doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating cancer) removes a sample of tissue for examination under a microscope by a pathologist. A biopsy may be done in different ways, depending on where the abnormal area is found. If the cancer is in the chest, the doctor may perform a thoracoscopy. In this procedure, the doctor makes a small cut through the chest wall and puts a thin, lit tube called a thoracoscope into the chest between two ribs. Thoracoscopy allows the doctor to look inside the chest and obtain tissue samples. If the cancer is in the abdomen, the doctor may perform a peritoneoscopy. To obtain tissue for examination, the doctor makes a small opening in the abdomen and inserts a special instrument called a peritoneoscope into the abdominal cavity. If these procedures do not yield enough tissue, more extensive diagnostic surgery may be necessary.

If the diagnosis is mesothelioma, the doctor will want to learn the stage and extent of the disease. Staging involves more tests in a precise effort to find out whether the cancer has proliferated and, if so, to which parts of the body. Knowing the stage of the disease helps the doctor plan treatment. Mesothelioma is described as localized if the cancer is found only on the membrane surface where it originated. It is classified as advanced if it has extended beyond the original membrane surface to other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, lungs, chest wall, or abdominal organs.

Mesothelioma treatment

Treatment for mesothelioma depends on the location of the cancer, the stage of the disease, and the patient’s age and general well being. Typical treatment options consist of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Sometimes, these treatments are combined.

Surgery is a frequent treatment for mesothelioma. The doctor may remove part of the lining of the chest or abdomen and some of the tissue around it. For cancer of the pleura (pleural mesothelioma), a lung may be removed in an operation called a pneumonectomy. Sometimes part of the diaphragm, the muscle below the lungs that helps with breathing, is also removed.

Radiation therapy involves the use of high-energy rays to kill cancer cells and shrink tumors. Radiation therapy affects the cancer cells only in the treated area. The radiation may come from a machine (external radiation) or from moving materials that produce radiation through thin plastic tubes into the area where the cancer cells are found (internal radiation therapy).

Chemotherapy is the use of anticancer drugs to kill cancer cells throughout the body. Most drugs used to treat mesothelioma are given by injection into a vein (intravenous, or IV). Doctors are also studying the effectiveness of applying chemotherapy directly into the chest or abdomen (intracavitary chemotherapy).

To ease symptoms and control discomfort, the doctor may use a needle or a thin tube to drain fluid that has accumulated in the chest or abdomen. The procedure for removing fluid from the chest is called thoracentesis. Removal of fluid from the abdomen is called paracentesis. Drugs may be administered through a tube in the chest to prevent more fluid from accumulating. Radiation therapy and surgery may also be beneficial in alleviating symptoms.

Note of Urgency

Mesothelioma is a life-threatening disease and cannot be left untreated. The sooner it is diagnosed the better a patient’s chances are of fighting this deadly cancer. Please contact a qualified doctor immediately if you or someone you know has been diagnosed with mesothelioma.

Read more Facts about Mesothelioma. Alan Hood is a contributing writer at Houston Medical Center

Most of the times a new website is launched one of the primary objective is to generate revenues or leads from that website. The most commonly adopted strategy to accomplish this is SEO and Link Building.
However in order for any site promotion to be successful the Webmaster must understand website visitors preferences. Only then will the Webmaster be able to enhance revenues from the site.

The Webmaster must undertake real time visitor activity monitoring of his website. The information which a webmaster must have access to is – Who refers most visitors to the website, the keywords being used in search engines to find the site, the country from which most visitors come, web pages through which visitors enter and exit the site.

The Webmaster must understand the visitor behavior of the website and must know the average amount of time spent by visitors on the site. The pages where the visitors spend the least amount of time on the website must be reviewed and improved upon. On the other hand most downloaded files (white papers, brochures etc) should also be understood and improved upon.

The Webmaster must monitor the effectiveness of various search engine promotion programs, and the frequency with which search engines and web crawlers visit the website. If the site caters to visitors from much geography than the site content must be modified to suit the geographical location of visitors

Since my diagnosis with diabetes at the age of eleven, my own diet has changed dramatically. I maintain my current healthy weight with a great diet/eating plan. If you do plan on losing more than about a stone in weight then I would visit your doctor for more tips on how to do this without risk.

I’ve had diabetes for seven years now, but to tell you that how I maintain weight is perfect would be totally wrong of me. However, I can advise you to follow my steps because I know what works and what doesn’t. Before I really begin I must also say that I have been brought up by great parents who taught me to eat everything, and so I do! If there is something that you don’t like, there are loads of other diabetic recipes and ideas that you will eat and appreciate.

I am a university student and I like to buy fresh and organic produce from where I live. I believe that this is important because it can be the most good for your body and contain more nutrients and vitamins than most supermarket produce. I like to source food from my fortnightly farmers market in town, which sells amazing meat and dairy produce and fresh in season fruit and vegetables. This is another important thing to remember, that eating fruit and vegetables in their season means that they will taste better as well as doing you good. I have a lot of influence from Western European cuisine (mainly France and Italy) as you will tell, but I do not profess to be a chef and everything is easy to make and very convenient.

I have read countless diet books and diabetic recipe/diet books, and I came to a conclusion that I think really works. I fused all the good things from the diets (but not from every diet) and sort of put together my own one. I call this my Juvenile Diabetes Healthy Diet!

The “rules” that I would lay down are as follows:

1. Cut back on snacks and then change the type of snacks you eat.
Certainly my biggest downfall although it wasn’t really apparent to me. When I first started at University, I had little or no routine which meant that filling my day was difficult and popping into the kitchen for a snack, no matter how healthy it felt, was a regular occurence. This is one of the hardest things to do for some people, but establishing a great routine is essential to great diabetes care. The types of snacks to be eating are unsalted nuts, dried unsweetened fruit, fresh fruit, fresh vegetables (I love fresh red pepper and cucumber), dark chocolate (richer and nicer and you only want 2 squares usually).

2. Cut back on white flour and embrace wholemeal carbs.
This is the most essential part of your diet, and the thing that can show the biggest increase in loss of weight. Some diets in fact jsut focus on this point, and are very successful. Wholemeal (especially stoneground wholemeal) is so good for you and has so much more flavour in it that switching is much easier than you think. Most people are really surprised at the ranges you can get in you supermarket, again remember that the bread that is best for you is the one that is freshest with least perservatives or added ingredients. Also, brown or basmati rice is great with a lovely nutty texture. Wholemeal pasta is great and for your potatoes I would totally recommend the smaller new potatoes.

3. Stop drinking cocktails, start drinking wine.
Cocktails are full of sugar, colourants and preservatives. As a student I have had loads of practice at going out and not drinking cocktails, so my drink of choice is Malibu and Diet Coke if I feel I have to drink something and I make it last all night. I can then top up with Diet Coke (which has almost no sugar in it) and it looks as though I am drinking Malibu, who is to know. If you are out at a restaurant, red wine is much better than anything else you can order, (except water of course!) and it has been proven that the anti-oxidants in red wine are great for keeping a healthy heart. The recommended amount is one glass a day with your evening meal.

4. Start cooking more fruit and vegetables.
Fresh fruit and vegetables are a great way to get all the vitamins and minerals you need. And there are so many different ways in which to cook vegetables, but I find that raw is the best followed closely by steamed. Both of these ways preserve all their natural goodness as well. I will follow this post with another diabetes recipes post.

5. Drink more water.
I know you have heard people say this many times before, but the benefits of drinking more water are endless. A few tips on how to get more water into your day are firstly to put bottles of water at all the places you go in the house or work. So keep one in your desk, on your desk, a glass in the kitchen, the bedroom, the sitting room, etc. Try and drink all these glasses up and you will be well on your way to 8 glasses a day. The trick is to add a glass every few days or so, if you try to drink all that water in one go you won’t be so inclined to drink 8 glasses again, trust me! Have a go, it’s amazing how great you will feel.

For further tips on living with diabetes, visit Juvenile Diabetes blogspot

This article was submitted by Alissa Carter, she is also owner & creator of the Prom dresses website.

Alissa was diagnosed with juvenile diabetes at the age of 11. She is now at university, managing her diabetes with an insulin pump and enjoying life.

There are a lot of theories and myths going around about links on websites. When are they appropriate? Can link exchange programs actually help increase your ranking on search engines? And how do banners fit in there?

First of all, whenever someone else links to your website, it counts as one “vote” for your website. It especially helps if the link uses keywords that you want people to search for. If an image is used, the “alt” tag should have keywords in it. So technically, yes, link exchange programs can help increase your ranking on some search engines.

However, you still have to decide if putting reciprocal links on your website will be appropriate. After all, it does you no good to get people to your website if they immediately leave because you have a lot of unprofessional looking links on your site. Here are some guidelines for what kind of links are appropriate and useful:

Links that are to websites…

• Related to your industry
• Not competing directly with your business
• That have the same target audience you do
• For businesses you have some sort of partnership with
• That will give more information on products/services on your site

In general, link exchange programs and most banner programs will not be able to consistently give you results that are appropriate. Instead, spend a little extra time on your website and handle all the links and advertising yourself. Not only will you have much more control over what is displayed, but you cut out the middle-man with advertising, which means that much more revenue for you. And, of course, it will make your site that much more professional looking.

Tim is the owner and senior web designer at T&S Web Design. His company has developed and maintained website for dozens of small businesses and organizations. Tim also maintains a blog with free website advice for small business owners, GetASiteOnline.com.

So what is extreme body modification, or hardcore body modification? There really is no answer for that, as it’s really up to each person. But assuming we’re dealing with an average Joe, most people consider hardcore body modification to be lots of facial piercings, tattoos on their heads or faces, and even the new craze of tongue splitting (yes, people split their tongues for complete aesthetic purposes).

Now, if you walk to something that’s a little bit deeper in the body modification scene, that’s nothing! Hardcore body modification to them would be splitting the head of your penis, suspending yourself from a single hook in your chest, or doing what’s known as skin peeling (where long strips or shapes of skin are sliced off).

If you go even deeper, the more hardcore body modifications would be amputation or nullification (from the removal of part of a finger, to an entire arm). The obvious question that most people would have after reading this is, “Why?” And the answer is simple. It’s because they wanted to! That’s it! That’s the beauty of each and every one of us having our own lives, we get to do what we want with it. For the same reason someone wouldn’t get a tattoo, another person would. These are basic civil liberties that every human has been with for thousands of years and will always have.

So, the next time you want to know why, think why not! If you want to see photos of people sharing their experience is various hardcore body modifications, head on over to http://www.BodyMod.org, and have fun looking through the galleries. And if one day you decide to venture down this road, post a pic of it. We’d all like to see!

When it comes to the millionaire mindset and wealth building
there is a major key to massive success you don’t want to miss.

Especially if you want to learn how to become a millionaire.

Many people who dream of more success and wealth building have
a fear of risk.

But, to a certain degree at least, it’s a necessary evil.

If you really want to reach high levels of wealth or master the
millionaire mindset this is an important area to make sure you
have handled.

Willingness to take risks is really all about your level of
self-esteem.

Let me give you a great example of what I mean…

Here’s an excerpt from the book Conversations with
Millionaires where millionaire, Jack Canfield, author
of Chicken Soup for the Soul, talks about this
important topic…

“Basically what we’ve discovered is that self-esteem is like
poker chips.

If you have a lot of poker chips, and you’re playing poker,
you’re more willing to play without fear of losing a few.

So, if I’ve got about 100 poker chips and you’ve got 10, and
we’re playing the same game, with the same level of skill,
if you bet 10 chips and lose you’re out of the game. If I bet
10 chips and lose, I’ve still got 90 chips left.

What we want is to have our self-esteem level high, so that
we’re willing to risk.

For example, when it comes to sales, I have to be willing to
risk in terms of asking for the order. If I’m in a quality
circle meeting, I have to be willing to risk by sharing my
point of view.

If I’m not willing to go out and ask for venture capital,
then I can’t be as successful as someone who is willing to
take those risks.

So, the self-esteem gives me the confidence to be able to
survive rejection.”

Obviously to succeed as an entrepreneur there are certain
areas and situations we have to be willing to take some
risks in.

So, to really develop and master the millionaire mindset,
you have to work on your self-esteem and willingness to
take risks.

The best way to do that is to take some kind of risk you’ve
been putting off.

“Do the thing and you’ll have the power.” – Emerson

So, what area of your life or your business do you need to
take some kind of risk in order to get to the next level?

Figure out what it is. Then go take the leap!

When you do this your self-esteem will go up BIG-TIME!

Plus, you’re willingess to take other risks will go up
right along with it.

The excerpt above is from the #1 best-selling book Conversations with Millionaires by Jason Oman. Develop your millionaire mindset and learn how to become a millionaire now! Get your free copy of Conversations with Millionaires when you visit: http://FreeMillionaireEbook.com

The exchange rate of the Macedonian Denar against the major hard currencies of the world has remained stable in the last few years. Because of the IMF restrictions, the local Narodna (Central) Bank does not print money and there are no physical Denars in the economy and in the local banks.

Thus, even if people want to buy Foreign Exchange in the black market, or directly from the banks – they do not have the Denars to do it with.

The total amount of Denars (M1, in professional financing lingo) in the economy is around 200,000,000 USD, according to official figures. This translates into 100 USD per capita. Thus, even if each and every citizen of Macedonia were to decide to convert ALL their Denars to Deutsch Marks – they would still be able to buy only 150 DM each, on average. These tiny amounts are not sufficient to raise the rate at which DMs are exchanged for Denars (=the price of DMs in Denars).

But will this situation last forever?

According to economic theory scarcity raises the price of the scarce commodity. If Denars are rare – their price will remain high in DM terms, i.e. they will not be devalued against the stronger currency. The longer the Central Bank does not print Denars – the longer the exchange rate will be preserved.

But a strong currency (the Denar, in this case) is not always a positive thing.

The Denar is not strong because Macedonia is rich. The country is in a problematic economic situation. The banking system is perilous and unstable. The reserves of foreign exchange are minimal – less than 30 million USD.

The currency is stable because of externally imposed constraints and an artificial manipulation of the money supply.

Moreover, a strong currency makes goods produced in Macedonia relatively expensive in outside, export markets. Thus, it is difficult for Macedonian growers and manufacturers to export. When they sell their goods in Germany, they get DM for them and when they convert these receipts into Denars – they get less then they should have if the Denar reflected the true relative strengths of the two economies: the German one and the Macedonian one.

They pay expenses (e.g.: salaries to their workers, rent, utilities) in Denars. These expenses grow all the time as true inflation grows (as opposed to the official rate of inflation which is suspiciously low) – but they keep getting the same amount of Denars for their produce and products when they convert the DMs which they got for them.

On the other hand, imports to Macedonia become relatively cheaper: it takes less Denars to buy goods in DM in Germany, for instance.

Thus, the end result is a growing preference for imports and a decline in exports. In the long term, this increases unemployment. Export is the biggest driving force in creating jobs in modern economies. In its absence, economies stagnate and dwindle and people lose their jobs.

But an unrealistic exchange rate has at least two additional adverse effects:

One – as a rule, various sectors of the economy borrow money to survive and to expand.

If they expect the local currency to be devalued – they will refrain from taking long term credits denominated in hard currencies. They will prefer credits in local currency or short term credits in hard currencies. They will be afraid of a sudden, massive devaluation (such as the one which happened in Mexico overnight).

Their lenders will also be afraid to lend them money, because these lenders cannot be sure that the borrowers will have the necessary additional Denars to pay back the credits in case of such a devaluation. Naturally, a devaluation increases the amounts of Denars needed to pay back a loan in foreign currency.

This is bad from both the macro-economic vantage point (that of the economy as a whole) – and from the micro-economic point of view (that of the single firm).

From the micro-economic point of view short term credits have to be returned long before the businesses which borrowed them have matured to the point of being able to pay them back. These short term obligations burden them, alter their financial statements for the worse and sometimes put their very viability at risk.

From the macro-economic point of view, it is always better to have longer debt maturities with less to pay every year. The longer the credits a country (single firms are part of a country) has to pay back – the better its credit standing with the financial community.

Another aspect: foreign credits are a competition to credits provided by the local banking system. If firms and individuals do not take credits from the outside because they fear a devaluation – they help to create a monopoly of the local banks. Monopolies have a way of fixing the highest possible prices (=interest rates) for their merchandise (=the money they lend).

Access to foreign credits reduces domestic interest rates through competition with the local credit providers (=banks).

It would be easy to conclude, therefore, that it is an important interest of a country to be open to foreign financial markets and to provide its firms and citizens with access to sources of foreign credits.

One important way of encouraging people (and firms are made of people) to do things – is to allay their fears. If people fear devaluation – a responsible government can never promise not to devalue its currency. Devaluation is a very important policy tool. But the government can INSURE against a devaluation.

In many countries of the West, one can buy and sell insurance contracts called forwards. They promise the buyer a given rate of exchange in a given date.

But many countries do not have access to these highly sophisticated markets.

Not all the currencies can be insured in these markets. The Macedonian Denar, for instance, is not freely convertible, because it is not liquid: there are not enough Denars to respond to the needs of a free marketplace. So, it cannot be insured using these contracts.

These less privileged countries establish special agencies which provide (mainly export) firms with insurance against changes in the exchange rates in a prescribed period of time.

Let us examine an example:

The firm MAK buys combines and tractors from Germany. It has to pay in DMs.

An international development bank offered to MAK a loan to be paid back in 7 years time in DM.

Today, MAK would be so afraid of devaluation, that it would rather pay the supplier of the equipment as soon as it has cash. This creates cash flow problems at MAK: salaries are not paid on time, raw materials cannot be bought, production stops, MAK loses its traditional markets – and all in order to avoid the risks of devaluation.

But – what if the right government agency existed?

If governmental insurance against devaluation existed – MAK would surely take the 7 year loan. It would take, let’s say, 10 million DM.

MAK would apply to the governmental agency with its business.

It would pay the government agency a yearly insurance fee of 2.5% of the remaining balances of the loan (as it is amortized and reduced with each monthly payment). This would be considered a proper financing expenditure and the firm will be allowed to deduct it from its taxable income.

The government will provide MAK with an insurance policy. An exchange rate (let us say, 30 Denars to the DM) will be stated in the policy.

If – at the time that MAK had to make a payment – the rate has gone above 30 Denars to the DM – the government will pay the difference to MAK in DM. This will enable MAK to meet its obligations to its creditors.

MAK will be able to cancel this insurance at any time. If, for instance, it suddenly signs a major contract with a German buyer of its products – it will have income in DM which it will be able to use to pay the loan back. Then, the government insurance will no longer be needed.

This very simple government assistance will have the following effects:

• It will encourage firms to obtain foreign credits.

• It will create competition to the local banks, reduce interest rates and encourage a wider and better range of services offered to the public.

• It will encourage foreign financial institutions to give loans to local firms once the risk of re-payment problems due to a devaluation is minimised.

• It will place Macedonia in the ranks of the more developed and export oriented countries of the world.

• It will facilitate activities with longer term credits (such as modernization of plants for which longer terms of payments are required).

As time goes by, the private sector may step in and supply its own insurance against devaluation .

Insurance firms the world over do it – why not in Macedonia which needs it more than many other countries?

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of “Malignant Self Love – Narcissism Revisited” and “After the Rain – How the West Lost the East”. He is a columnist in “Central Europe Review”, United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

As a performance incentive many companies are starting to offer employees the “option” to buy company stock as a part of their compensation packages. These “options” are referred to as stock options and they provide a unique opportunity for an employee to potentially increase his or her wealth along side company shareholders. The employee receiving company stock options should have a good understanding of the characteristics of the different types of stock options in order to maximize their potential benefits.

A stock option is a right granted by a company to an employee to purchase one or more shares of the company’s stock at a set time and predetermined purchase price. The employee benefits when the value of the company stock appreciates over and above the predetermined purchase price following the granting of the stock options, enabling the holder to purchase the company stock at a discount. There are two types of stock options: non-qualified stock options and incentive stock options.

Non-qualified stock options (NQSO) are more frequently offered to employees than Incentive Stock Options because of their flexibility and minimal requirements. NQSOs afford the employee the right to purchase a set number of employer shares at a specific, predetermined price. If the employee wishes to acquire the employer stock then he or she will exercise the option and purchase the employer stock at the predetermined (exercise) price. If the stock’s value has appreciated over and above the predetermined price the employee has received the benefit of acquiring the stock at a discount. The difference between the exercise price and the market value (commonly referred to as the bargain element) will be taxable income to the employee as ordinary income, potentially as high as 35%.

The other type of stock option is the Incentive Stock Option (ISO). In direct contrast to a nonqualified stock option, there is no income tax consequence when an employee exercisers the option to buy the employer stock. The difference between the exercise price and the market value (bargain element) is only taxable upon the ultimate sale of the employer stock. In other words, a gain is only recognized when the employer stock is sold and not when the option is exercised. If the stock is held the appropriate time period before being sold, all the gains recognized may qualify for long-term capital gains treatment, a maximum rate of 15%.

Being able to take part in an ISO program allows an employee to receive a number of tax saving benefits. But with these tax benefits comes added complexity to keep track of and to understand. For example, to qualify for the favorable long-term capital gain taxation, the employee must hold the stock for at least two years from the date the ISO was granted and for at least one year from the date the option was exercised. This is commonly referred to as the “2 year / 1 year rule”. If the employee sells the stock before these requirements are met, gain on the stock is taxed as ordinary income in the year of the sale, essentially converting the ISO to a non-qualified stock option.

An additional complexity of an ISO that should be kept in mind by the employee is the potential for an alternative minimum tax (AMT) consequence upon exercise of an ISO. For this and other reasons, it remains important to work with your financial advisor and tax professional when evaluating the strategies to take full advantage of the opportunities and benefits of stock options.

Fearing the American worker is being left in the dark, Mr. Morris, a fee based Investment Advisor Representative with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., helps 401k participants get the most out of their retirement plan.

Hair growth is one of the most amazing aspects of the human body. And, although you have thousands of hairs all over your body, you probably think nothing of it. Did you know that once a fetus is about 22 weeks old he has developed five million follicles all over his body? And, that is all he will ever have too. Now, what else can we learn about the biology of hair?

What’s It Made Of?

The anatomy of a strand of hair is amazing. First, there is the follicle which is actually embedded into the skin. The hairs grow from the follicle through a shaft. The papilla lies at the base of the follicle as one of the many layers of the follicle. Next, capillaries help to connect the papilla to the blood supply. These surround the bottom of the hair called the bulb.

There are two sheaths that are in place to protect the hair shaft from being damaged surrounding the follicle. In one of them, runs next to the hair shaft and stops at the sebaceous gland. The other, the outer sheath, runs from the glad and stops at the erector pili muscle.

Keratin is dead protein cells that are what make up the hair shaft. The inside layer of them is the medulla. The second is the cortex and it provides the most hair shaft. Hair color is determined in this layer. The cuticle is the outside most layer and it has a series of overlapping cells. The luster of the hair comes from this layer.

How Growth Happens

Hair growth happens in three main stages. Did you know that your hair will only grow .3 to .4 millimeters per day? That is only six inches per year! Although it seems like it grows much more it really does not.

The Stages:

Catagen Phase: This is the transition phase. It lasts about two to three weeks. There is no hair growth now, as the goal is for the outer portion of the hair root sheath to shrink and then attach itself to the root.

Telogen Phase: The resting period. About 15% of your hair is in this stage at any given time. It takes about 100 days for the scalp hair and much longer for the body hair to go through this stage.

Anagen Phase: Hair cells are dividing and new hair growth is happening. It can last for as long as two to six years! Do you have trouble growing your hair long? This happens because your hair in this stage does not last nearly this long.

What Can Go Wrong?

There are several hair abnormalities that can happen. These hair disorders can strike just about anyone, but are in most cases rare. One, hirsutism is when individuals, mostly women, have excessive hair growth that is in odd places. For most women, the hair is darker and coarser than it should be. It can occur on the face, chest or the areola.

Another condition known as hypertrichosis is very rare and happens when individuals suffer from hair that grows thickly in areas of the body that it normally would not.

These conditions can be treated fairly well if help is sought out. Hair growth, while a very common and seemingly ordinary thing, actually is much more complex than people imagine. But, understanding how it works can help you to understand how to rid your body of unwanted hair.

As a beauty consultant Nicola is always evaluating new products. Visit her site at http://www.epilator.info for resources, views and information about how to remove body hair.

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These studies begin to point the way to the more permanent
damage that coffee drinking can inflict on the unborn. The use of caffeine during pregnancy has been widely studied. There is much evidence to suggest that caffeine is associated with low-birth weight and related problems.

For example, one recent (1997) study of about 1,000 women in
Yugoslavia showed that, among nonsmoking mothers, a “significant
reduction” in birth weight was observed in babies whose mothers
drank just 71 mg of caffeine a day – less than one cup. Low birth weight is generally considered to be newborn babies weighing less than five pounds.

WHY WOMEN SHOULD AVOID COFFEE

Interestingly, the average caffeine intake of these subjects was
133 mg per day, or nearly double that at which low-birth weight
incidences begin to appear. Part of the problem caused by mothers who use caffeine is the way the female body clears caffeine during pregnancy.

Studies have shown that during their first trimester of pregnancy, coffee-drinking women clear caffeine from their bodies in the same way that nonpregnant women do. But after that, the half-life of caffeine (the time
it takes to eliminate half of the ingested caffeine from the body) almost doubles – from 2.5 hours to 4.5 hours. Therefore, since caffeine remains in the body for a longer period of time, it courses through the veins of the fetus for longer periods of time.

It’s not unusual, then, for studies to consistently report that there is a significant increased risk of miscarriage and low-birth weight when pregnant mothers drink coffee. And the increased risk starts at extremely low amounts – with just one or two cups a day. And why is all this talk about low-birth weight important? Lower birth weight is linked to increased risk of dying in early infancy.

Marina Kushner is the founder of the Caffeine Awareness Alliance, the first non-profit organization dedicated solely to educating consumers about the dangers of caffeine intoxication. She is a reformed coffee drinker, leading investigative journalist and speaker. She is president of Soy Coffee, LLC, makers of the popular caffeine-free coffee substitute “Soyfee”, which is made from soybeans. Certified organic, its brewed just like coffee and comes in 8 delicious flavors like hazelnut, mocha, french vanilla & house blend. Its available at select health food stores or online at http://www.soycoffee.com.