Samsung Galaxy Note 8 2017

The Samsung Galaxy Note 8 release date WILL happen in 2017. Here we detail the Galaxy Note 8's rumoured specs, hardware and release date

The Samsung Galaxy Note 7 is as dead as 2016. But Samsung will return in 2017 with a follow-up device that, finger’s crossed, will not explode.

Samsung is now taking the precaution of sourcing its battery cells from a new supplier; reports state the firm will bring in fellow Korean OEM LG, or at least its subsidiary, LG Chem, to produce battery cells for the Galaxy Note 8. As far as we are aware, LG hasn't produced an exploding battery smartphone to date, so this SHOULD mean the Galaxy Note 8 will be a safe device for consumers.

The whole Galaxy Note 7 debacle has been an unpleasant thing to watch; we like Samsung's products, we like the Galaxy Note series, so to see the whole thing fall apart at the seams isn't exactly great. However, one of the more distressing aspects of the whole crisis was the idea of the lasting impact on Samsung; whether or not Samsung could recover from such a massive PR disaster and how badly it might affect the firm's earnings - make no mistake, this is the kind of thing that can put a permanent dent in a company's reputation and cash flow if not handled properly.

Samsung has now concluded its investigations into what was wrong with the Galaxy Note 7’s battery, officially ending months of speculation.

Samsung published a 50-minute video detailing exactly what happened and what caused the handsets to overheat and explode, as well as humble apology for the issues it caused its customers.

First of all, I deeply apologize to all of our customers, carriers, retail, and distribution partners. [...] We believe that, as a first step to regain your trust, it is important to provide you with a thorough understanding of the cause behind the Galaxy Note 7 incidents and to implement a comprehensive plan to take preventative measures."

The extent of the investigations was enormous; Samsung built a new building for the express purpose of a thorough investigation. It also commissioned three independent reports and had 700 of its own engineers hard at work on the case.

Samsung Galaxy Note 8 Release Date & Specs: Launch & Release Date

Latest rumours suggest the Samsung Galaxy Note 8 will get a release inside the second half of 2017.

This gives Samsung enough time to market and sell a bunch of Galaxy S8 handsets before it brings its next-generation Note, arguably the more interesting release, to market.

iPhone 8 2017

2017 will mark the 10th anniversary of the iPhone and Apple has something major planned to celebrate the occasion. We're more than a year away from the launch of the iPhone 8, but because of Apple's ambitious plans for the device, there are already an abundance of rumors hinting at the impressive features coming in the 2017 iPhone.

Apple is rumored to be testing more than 10 prototype iPhone models, so it's not entirely clear what we're going to see, and because there are so many test devices in play, rumors are also conflicting and murky at this time.

Rumors suggest it's going to be a radical redesign, with an edge-to-edge display that does away with the top and bottom bezels where features like the Touch ID fingerprint sensor and the front-facing camera are housed. Instead, Touch ID and the camera may be built directly into the display, meaning there will be no Home button. Jony Ive has wanted to introduce an iPhone that looks like a single sheet of glass for several years, and glass is also necessary if Apple wants to introduce wireless charging.

With an edge-to-edge design, the display would take up the entire front of the iPhone, but it isn't clear if the display will grow to fit the iPhone or the iPhone will be shrunken down to fit the display (rumors suggest Apple will use a 5.5-inch or larger display). The display itself is said to be flexible plastic OLED rather than an LCD, allowing Apple to introduce a thinner device that consumes less power and offers a better display with higher contrast ratio and more true to life colors. It may also feature edges that are curved on both sides like the Samsung Galaxy S7, but rumors are unclear on this point. Should the display have curved edges, the edges could respond to touch gestures.

As for the body, rumors suggest Apple is finally going to move away from the aluminum used in the iPhone 5, 5s, 6, 6s, and SE, instead re-adopting a glass body that's similar to the body that was used in the iPhone 4. At least one iPhone model coming in 2017 will use a glass body, according to Apple supplier Catcher Technology, and according to analyst Ming-Chi Kuo, the glass will be built around an aluminum or stainless steel frame. ike the iPhone 7, the iPhone 8 is expected to be water resistant, but it may have an improved IP68 water resistance rating. It will continue to be able to hold up to rain, splashes, and brief submersion in water.

Inside, the iPhone 8 is expected to have a 10-nanometer A11 chip that will be both faster and more efficient, plus rumors suggest it could also include features like wireless charging and biometric additions like iris, facial, or gesture recognition. In higher-end models with a dual-lens camera, both lenses are expected to feature optical image stabilization.

Apple is said to be planning to position the OLED iPhone 8 as a ~5-inch "premium" model that will perhaps be sold alongside standard 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhone models with traditional LCD screens.

All three models may include glass bodies and wireless charging, but it is unclear if the two LCD models will feature the same curved edge-to-edge display rumored for the higher-end device and what differentiating features will be included. Rumors suggest the OLED iPhone is going to be pricy, with multiple rumors referring to it as "premium" and one rumor suggesting it could sell for upwards of $1,000, which is a good deal more expensive than previous iPhones.

The iPhone 8 is still under development and will likely launch in the fall of 2017, and in the months ahead of its launch, we'll undoubtedly learn more about the specs of the device.

ISTANBUL TRAVEL GUIDE

Plan Your Istanbul Vacation

 
The only city in the world that can lay claim to straddling two continents,

Istanbul—once known as Constantinople, capital of the Byzantine and then the Ottoman Empire—has for centuries been a bustling metropolis with one foot in Europe and the other in Asia. Istanbul embraces this enviable position with both a certain chaos and inventiveness, ever evolving as one of the world’s most cosmopolitan crossroads.

Top Reasons to Go to Istanbul

Change continents: Spend the morning in Europe and the afternoon in Asia, with just a ferry ride in between; how cosmopolitan is that?

Cruise the Bosphorus: Taking a boat ride up the strait, past scenic waterfront neighborhoods and forested slopes topped with fortresses, is quintessentially Istanbul.

Haggle in the bazaars: Bargain like the locals do as you make your way through the Grand Bazaar and Spice Bazaar—it may be a bit touristy, but it’s fun.

Marvel at ancient domes: From the stunning Aya Sofya to the graceful Süleymaniye Mosque, the city’s greatest works of imperial architecture never cease to impress, especially from the inside as you look up.

Ogle at opulence: With their sumptuous decor and fascinating harem quarters, the Topkapı and Dolmabahçe palaces offer a glimpse of the splendor of the Ottoman Empire.

History in Architecture

Byzantium was already 1,000 years old when, in AD 326, Emperor Constantine the Great began to rebuild it as the new capital of the Roman Empire. On May 11, 330, the city was officially renamed "New Rome," though it soon became known as Constantinople, the city of Constantine. Constantine's successors expanded the city and gave it new walls, aqueducts, and churches.

Under the emperor Justinian (ruled 527–65) Constantine's capital reached its apogee, with the construction of the magnificent Hagia Sophia, or Church of the Holy Wisdom (known as Aya Sofya in Turkish) on the site of a church originally built for Constantine. This awe-inspiring architectural wonder still dominates Istanbul's skyline. Constantinople became the largest, wealthiest metropolis the Western world had ever seen.

The Byzantine Empire began to decline toward the end of the 11th century and a devastating blow came in 1204, when the Western Europeans of the Fourth Crusade, who were supposed to be on their way to recapture Jerusalem, decided that instead of going another thousand miles to fight a load of Muslims, they'd instead sack and occupy the Eastern Orthodox Christian city of Constantinople. The members of the Byzantine dynasty were forced to flee to Trabzon on the Black Sea coast, and although they eventually regained control of Constantinople, in 1261, neither the city nor the Byzantine Empire recovered.

Constantinople in the late Byzantine period was more a collection of villages set among ruins than a city. Byzantine artists set to work, however, to restore and redecorate the damaged churches, and in their work in the mosaics and frescoes of the Church of the Holy Savior in Chora, we can see the first breath of the Renaissance that would later be carried west to Italy by artists and intellectuals fleeing the arrival of the Turks.

The Ottoman sultan Mehmet II, known as Fatih (the Conqueror), conquered the much-diminished Constantinople in 1453, rebuilt it, and made the city once again the capital of an empire. The Turks named the new city Konstantiniyye, but in time Constantinople seems to have been shortened to "Stanbul" by the Greeks and Westerners, and to "Istanbul" by the Turks. Another explanation says the name Istanbul is derived from the Greek eis tin polin, meaning "in the city" or "to the city"—for the Byzantines, "The City" was truly one and only.

       In 1459 Mehmet II began building a palace on the hill at the tip of land where the Golden Horn meets the Bosphorus. Later sultans embellished and extended the complex until it grew into the fabulous Topkapı Palace. Most of
the finest Ottoman buildings in Istanbul, however, date from the time of Süleyman the Magnificent (ruled 1520–66), who led the Ottoman Empire to its highest achievements in art and architecture, literature, and law. Süleyman and his court commissioned the architect Sinan (circa 1491–1588) to design buildings that are now recognized as some of the greatest examples of Islamic architecture in the world, including the magnificent Süleymaniye Mosque, the intimate Sokollu Mehmet Paşa Mosque, and the exquisitely tiled Rüstem Paşa Mosque

iPhone 6

Apple's new iPhone 6 will be introduced at a September 9 media event at the Flint Center, the same location where Apple debuted the original Mac 30 years ago. An overwhelming number of iPhone 6 rumors and part leaks have given us a near-complete look at the device ahead of its launch.

         With the iPhone 5, Apple increased the screen size of the device from 3.5 inches to 4 inches, and with the iPhone 6, the phone's display is going to grow even larger. Though Apple experimented with a range of screen sizes, the company settled on 4.7 inches and 5.5 inches for its two devices, which will bring the next iPhone in line with competing Android and Windows phones that have adopted larger displays.

   Over the course of the last several years, consumer preference has shifted towards bigger screens, and Apple is now prepared to meet consumer demand for larger devices.

Along with a larger screen, both models of the iPhone 6 are expected to adopt design elements from the iPad and the iPod touch. Alleged iPhone 6 schematics and part leaks have suggested the iPhone 6 will be considerably thinner than the current iPhone 5s, which is 7.6 mm. The final version of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 is said to be 6.9 mm thick, 138 mm long, and 66 mm wide. The 5.5-inch iPhone 6 is said to be 7.1 mm thick, 158 mm long, and 78 mm wide.

 
The phones will also include rounded iPad-style corners, pill-shaped volume buttons, thick antenna bands, a rounded True Tone dual-LED flash, an embedded Apple logo, and a power button located on the right side of the device.

Rumors have suggested at least some models of the iPhone 6 might feature a durable sapphire display and both the 4.7 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 are expected to see camera improvements. The larger 5.5-inch iPhone 6 might incorporate Optical Image Stabilization as a differentiating feature from the 4.7-inch iPhone 6, and it is also possible that the larger iPhone 6 will be the only model with a 128GB storage capacity, which has been mentioned in rumors and seen in leaked schematics. As a result, the larger phone might have a higher price tag.


Images of a completed logic board have suggested the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 will continue to offer 16GB of storage space at the low end, along with 1GB of RAM, support for NFC, and a Qualcomm MDM9625M LTE Modem that supports speeds of up to 150 Mbps. Specifications for the larger 5.5-inch iPhone remain unknown, but the device will likely include many of the same components.

New iPad 3: all the latest details

The new iPad launch kicked off at 10am PT/6pm GMT on Wednesday 7 March.

Browse back through our new iPad launch liveblog - or read on for a roundup of all the new iPad announcements.

Before talking about the new iPad, Apple's Tim Cook unveiled anupdated Apple TV box, bringing 1080p video streaming to the device which has a release date of 16 March and a price of $99. We've got the lowdown in our Apple TV: what you need to know post.

But it's the new iPad that grabbed the headlines:

New iPad announced
Apple has announced the new iPad to the world, featuring a raft of new tech over the previous version including a super high-res screen.
Read New iPad announced: Retina display confirmed for the full details.

Apple slates Samsung in new iPad keynote
Apple had a bit of a pop at Samsung at the launch of the new iPad with Tim Cook dissing the look of the apps on a Samsung Galaxy Tab when compared with apps on an iPad.
Read Apple slates Samsung in new iPad keynote to see what Cook said.

New iPad release date revealed
The new iPad release date is 16 March, with pre-orders starting from today. New iPad prices are as follows: 32GB is $599 and 64GB for $699.
For more details and additional prices, read New iPad release date revealed

New iPad: everything you need to know
OK, we now have all the details of Apple's new iPad which comes complete with the new iOS 5.1.
Read New iPad: everything you need to know for, well, everything you need to know.

New iPad: where can I get it?
The new iPad has been announced, and we've been in contact with all the UK networks to see who is stocking it.
Hit New iPad: where can I get it? if you're itching to buy one.

New iPad 'better than Xbox 360 and PS3'
Whoah. The new iPad has a better screen resolution and more memory than both the Xbox 360 and the PS3? But those aren't exactly new consoles, are they?
More: New iPad 'better than Xbox 360 and PS3'

Garageband, iMovie and iPhoto land on new iPad
Garageband and other iLife for OS apps have been shown off at Apple's new iPad event.
More: Garageband, iMovie and iPhoto land on new iPad

Below are the rumours that we reported on before the new iPad was revealed.

The web was teeming with rumours about the new iPad 3 / iPad HD processor, cameras and display, so we gathered together as many details as we can on its possible specifications ahead of the launch.

Of course, some of these can be taken with a pinch of salt, but there's definite patterns occurring and we'd say the final iPad 3 release won't be that far removed from many of these rumours.

It's time to place your bets, what do you think the iPad 3 / iPad HD will bring? But wait, what's this - Sky Bet has pulled its iPad 3 betting after certain trends occurred: "If the money is correct, then the new hardware will definitely not have a new carbon fibre casing, will not be called the iPad 2S and will have 128GB of storage!".

Steam Power – Water Cycle In Boilers

Steam power - water cycle In steam boilers

Steam boiler at a power plant

High purity water for steam boilers
Power generation plants vary widely in size but most power plants share the same requirements for pure water. Raw water enters the power generation plant and is purified through several stages of filtration and demineralization.

This continuous stream of purified waterbecomes the steam boiler feed water. The boiler generates steam that drives the turbines to generate electricity. Some of the steam is also used to preheat the high purity boiler feed water. Ultimately, the steam is collected as condensate, mixed with pure make-up water, preheated and recirculated as steam boiler feed water.

Unfortunately, high purity water is corrosive to steam boiler and condensate systems. In addition, leaks in the system can add unwanted chemicals that increase corrosion potential. For example, in the condenser, raw cooling water can leak into pure water.

To counter these effects, trace level corrosion inhibitors and oxygen scavengers are typically added to the steam boiler feed water to reduce these risks. Effective chemical treatment of the boiler feed water is critical to maintaining the steam boiler and condensate systems and protecting the capital investment of the power generation facility.

Rather than determining corrosion occurrence over a period of time using an outdated technique, corrosion can now be monitored like any other process variable (i.e., pressure, flow, level, temperature, pH) by the power plant operator.

Steam condensate reclamation  Steam is used in almost all industrial boilers. Steam generated in the boiler plant is transferred to the various facilities in different pressure ranges. As energy is consumed from the steam, condensate is formed, and returned to the steam boiler plant for reuse. Steam in the boiler plant is produced from water of very high purity.

Steam condensate application challenge
Steam condenstate is collected and returned back to the boiler. It needs to be re-treated as it often acquires particulates that will cause scaling, pitting, or corrosion of the boiler tubes. Unless this condition is corrected, the steam boiler will need to be rebuilt, with extensive downtime and high costs. 

Steam condensate application solution
Depending on the size and type of steam boiler, CorrTran MV corrosion monitoringshould be installed in a location that is most susceptible to corrosion. CorrTran MV evaluates both general and localized (pitting) corrosion, as well as conductivity, in the same industrialized transmitter housing.

The use of aspirin

Aspirin is one of the most common drugs in use today. It has been in use since the 1890’s and has proven to be a drug of many uses in that time.

 What is aspirin?

 Aspirin is the general name for acetylsalicylic acid (ASA); it is also the trademark of the drug produced by Bayer in Germany. In eighty countries, aspirin is a registered trademark, but in other places the term aspirin refers to ASA by itself or as an ingredient in other drugs.

 The synthetic drug was developed as an analgesic (painkiller) and this is still the main purpose of the drug in most people’s minds. It was the first NSAID (nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug), and probably still the most effective.

 Two complete families of drugs have been developed from ASA in the years since 1897.

 How does it work?

 When you are injured, your body produces prostaglandins which are complex fatty acids that act like hormones within body tissues. Prostaglandins act by stimulating the dilation (getting bigger) of blood vessels and muscle contraction; they are also the start of you feeling pain.

 Aspirin appears to stop the production of prostaglandins by attaching to an enzyme, and thus stops the pain message reaching your brain. By reducing the production of a prostaglandin called thromboxane, aspirin can also prevent blood clotting and acts as an anticoagulant. This is an important clinical use in heart patients.

 As aspirin is absorbed into the blood stream, it can travel to all parts of the body; prostaglandin production is high only in injured areas so aspirin is only effective in those areas and thus relieves the pain wherever it is felt.

 By preventing prostaglandin production, aspirin is also reducing some necessary body functions. A single tablet every so often won’t have much impact on these functions, but care must be taken in regular users. Taking aspirin for pain relief for a wound can actually slow healing as platelets can’t clot to form scabs. Drugs based on aspirin, such as ibuprofen, naproxen and acetaminophen (Tylenol,) have been developed to avoid some of these adverse effects.

 What is it used for?

 During its history, aspirin has been found to have a number of uses besides pain relief. Many experiments have been carried out to test aspirin’s abilities in various areas and potential side effects, and some areas are still under investigation.

 Current uses of aspirin include:

v     Over-the-counter pain relief, especially for headaches

v     Reduction of swelling and inflammation in arthritis and injuries

v     Anti-coagulant given to sufferers of heart attack, mini-stroke and unstable angina

v     Can reduce severity of heart attack if taken at first symptoms

v     Recovery after cardiovascular surgery (eg bypass operation)

v     Treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis and other rheumatoid diseases

 Possible benefits of aspirin are being researched in:

v     Migraine treatment

v     Improving circulation in the gums

v     Fighting ovarian, breast and colon cancer

v     Prevention of cataracts

v     Controlling pre-eclampsia

v     Improving brain function, especially memory

v     Reducing colorectal cancer repeating

v     Prevention of adult leukaemia

v     Prevention of HIV replicating

v     Reduce prostrate cancer risk

v     Increasing success rates of IVF programs

 Is it suitable for everyone to use?

 In short, no it isn’t.

 Aspirin isn’t advised for the following groups without medical advice:

v     Children under 16

v     Asthmatics

v     Women in last trimester of pregnancy (can bring on labour & harm baby)

v     Anyone under 20 with a fever

v     People with bleeding disorders

v     Anyone with an ulcer or persistent stomach problems

v     Diabetics on medication

v     Breastfeeding mothers

v     Heavy alcohol drinkers

v     Healthy people for more than ten days

v     G6P deficiency diseases

v     Reduced kidney function or liver disease

v     People on low sodium diets (buffered aspirin tablets contain sodium) 

Are there any side effects?

 Like all drugs, there are some risks of side effects from aspirin. Many are uncommon enough to be considered an acceptable risk for most patients, but there are some significant risks attached. Healthy people using aspirin occasionally as directed are unlikely to develop serious side effects.

 The use of aspirin in children and teenagers with a fever, especially after a viral infection, has been associated with the development of a potentially fatal condition called Reye Syndrome. For that reason, it is recommended to NEVER GIVE ASPIRIN TO ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 16 or to anyone under 20 who has a fever.

Overdoses with aspirin are quite common and it is essential to keep them out of reach of children.

Aspirin can irritate the stomach, leading to nausea and vomiting, so it is best taken with or just after food. Other problems may be ringing in the ears, excessive bleeding, heartburn, indigestion and allergic reactions.

 Analgesics like aspirin are excreted via the kidneys, and thus have the power to damage the kidneys and long term, low dose usage reduces renal function. Certain medical conditions and heavy drinking increase the risk of kidney damage.

Note: NEVER take aspirin if it has a vinegary smell as this means it is “off”.

Aspirin is an effective, useful drug when taken as directed and/or under medical supervision; however, it needs to be treated with respect.

Antibiotics

It is unlikely that you have never used any antibiotics, and virtually impossible that you haven’t heard of them.

Antibiotics are drugs that can only be obtained through a pharmacy by prescription. There is a wide range of antibiotics available and the Doctor will choose the one best suited t the time and in the appropriate does.

Sometimes people don’t understand why they did or didn’t get an antibiotic prescription, or why theirs was different to someone else’s. Some basic knowledge about antibiotics may help reduce such confusion.

What are Antibiotics?

In simple terms, antibiotics are chemicals that kill bacteria. There are other chemicals that can kill bacteria; the difference is that antibiotics are naturally produced, rather than invented by humans.

The first antibiotic, penicillin, was extracted and used in clinical trials in the 1940s and made a huge difference to the capabilities of medical personnel, especially during WWII. A more refined version of penicillin is still the most effective antibiotic available for general use.

Penicillin is naturally occurring in the mould you see on oranges, but many antibiotics prescribed today are synthetic and commercially produced. There are many antibiotics produced naturally, but many are either toxic to humans or of no greater effect than existing ones; some antibiotics are used in other ways.

Research continues to refine different antibiotics to maximise their effectiveness with minimal side effects.

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Interesting Note: Penicillin is actually toxic to Guinea Pigs. If the trials of this antibiotic had been conducted on guinea pigs, the drug may never have left the labs.

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How do antibiotics work?

There are different classes of antibiotics and each works in a different way.

All antibiotics work by destroying part of the bacteria or its life cycle; some weaken the cell walls, some prevent replication and others inhibit enzyme activity. Some highly effective antibiotics aren’t used because they do the same damage to human cells; antibiotic action needs to be selective in some way to be useful.

It is by identifying which bacteria is causing a problem in the patient that a Doctor is able to select the most appropriate antibiotic to use in each case; each bacteria is more susceptible to one class of antibiotic than others.

Antibiotics can kill bacteria other than those which are targeted; naturally occurring bacteria in the body may be killed along with the invading bacteria causing illness. The death of these useful bacteria can have a number of affects on your body: normal processes such as digestion may be interrupted; your body has less resistance to a subsequent attack; and various systems will be out of balance.

Eating yoghurt containing live bacteria such as lactobacilli helps replace some of the beneficial bacteria inadvertently killed.

Antibiotics can NOT kill viruses and thus are useless in fighting colds, flu, chicken pox and other viral diseases. Disease causing viruses are much harder to destroy as they are embedded within the human cells, so destroying one also destroys the other.

Why finish the packet?

Many antibiotics have a quick effect as they kill off the bulk of bacteria rapidly and you begin to feel better. At this stage, people often think they are better and stop taking their antibiotics.

However, as antibiotics work on the replication process in many cases, there may be new cells not killed so quickly. If you continue taking the antibiotics, all new cells developing will be killed as well; antibiotic prescriptions are timed to be appropriate for how that particular antibiotic works.

Think of it this way: a child being toilet trained will need reminders and assistance even after a couple of successes. The training goes beyond an apparent finish until there is a real achievement.

Taking part of the prescribed amount instead of all of it is likely to result in a flare up shortly afterwards.

Antibiotics have saved many, many lives and give us security in our daily lives. As long as we respect their power and use them wisely, antibiotics will serve us well for many years to come.

Neural Tube Defects

Within the first four weeks of pregnancy, the embryo forms and closes a neural tube. This tube becomes the spine and brain of the developing child. If the tube doesn’t close correctly, the baby is said to have a neural tube defect (NTD).

There are two main types of NTD – spina bifida, where the spinal cord isn’t closed properly, and anencephaly, where the brain isn’t closed off. Spina bifida children are paralysed to varying degrees and usually have learning difficulties as well; anencephaly children die during pregnancy or soon afterwards.

NTDs can be tested for at about 16 – 18 weeks of pregnancy, and they catch most cases if they use ultrasound and the triple test.

Who has NTD babies?

Unfortunately, NTD babies can happen to anyone – 95% of cases are in families without a previous history of NTDs.

However, there are some factors that make it more likely for the woman to conceive a NTD baby:

• Having had a NTD baby in a previous pregnancy makes it twenty times more likely subsequent children will have one, too
• Being obese – as defined by a doctor, not just being overweight
• Experiencing high body temperatures in early pregnancy. This could be due to a fever or sitting in a hot spa or sauna (not recommended for pregnant women anyway.)
• Taking some anti-seizure drugs. If you are epilectic or require these drugs for other reasons, discuss whether you need to change medication before getting pregnant.
• Having insulin dependant diabetes
• Hispanic people have a higher rate of NTD

Prevention

As NTDs develop in the first 4 to 6 weeks of pregnancy, they often happen before the woman is even aware of being pregnant so prevention needs to occur before pregnancy.

Obviously, anything that takes you out of the risk groups listed above will cut down the chances of having a NTD baby.

The biggest means of reducing the risk, however, is by simply taking 400 micrograms of folate (or folic acid.)

Daily doses of folic acid in the month before conception and for at least three months after conception reduce the risk of NTD by 70%. That means, that for every 10 children who would have developed a NTD, 7 of them can be prevented with folate.

Considering that about half of all pregnancies are unplanned and that folate is needed so early in pregnancy, it is important that women who may become pregnant take folate daily. Research is also showing other health benefits from taking folate daily so it is in everyone’s interests for this to happen.

Unfortunately, only about one third of women are getting enough folate in their diets. Many foods are now fortified with folate; some cereals actually have the daily requirements in each serve.

25 Interview Questions

Whether it’s your first interview for your first job or another interview after years of working, going to an interview is nerve wrecking.

To have been given an interview, you either presented well in your resume or have been recommended to the position. In both cases, you can take some confidence from the fact that you were short listed from potentially hundreds of applicants.

In order to give yourself the best presentation, considering what will be discussed at the interview can help. Even better is to do some role playing with a friend playing the role of an interviewer.

Take the time to really consider the following questions and how you could answer them to best effect. Even if they don’t come up in your interview, maybe you will learn some thing useful for yourself!

• What is your greatest strength?
• What is your greatest weakness?
• How do you organise yourself?
• What are the important elements of customer service? (and don’t ignore this question just because you aren’t going to be a salesperson)
• Give an example of when you had to negotiate with a difficult customer
• Can you do {insert relevant skill}? Practise this question for a skill you can’t do …
• Where do you expect to be in five years time?
• Why did you leave your last position? (keep it positive)
• What was best about your previous job(s)?
• What did you least like about your previous job?
• What salary are you after?
• What appeals to you about this job? Or Why are you applying for this job?
• Tell us about yourself
• What were you doing during this gap in your resume?
• You changed careers; why?
• How do you handle stress and deadlines?
• How do you go about making serious decisions?
• What is your biggest achievement in life?
• How do you manage multiple tasks at once?
• Why did you decide on this career/industry?
• What is your ideal job?
• Show an example of working with a colleague you didn’t like
• How do you characterise your working (or supervisory) style?
• What professional organizations do you belong to? How actively do you participate in them?
• Are you computer literate? How competent are you in (software type)?

Some of those questions need to be answered carefully so that you are remaining positive and constructive.

For instance, an accountant I know answers that his greatest weakness is being too pedantic about details; of course, employers want an accountant to be details conscious so this puts him in a good light.

With thought and planning, you can turn hard questions to your advantage.

Top Ten Tips to resume writing for professionals

Unless you are going for a job through a contact, you are likely to require a resume. Of course, the prospective employer will receive many resumes for each job vacancy and towards the end of each school year.

The job of a resume is to get you into an interview; it will not get you the position, so you don’t need to include every detail as you will be able to expand on the resume in the interview.

So, you need your resume to say all the right things about you.

Above all else, consider the basics: it must be typed, on decent paper, in order, spelt correctly and up-to-date. This all applies to the cover letter as well. Avoid anything that may be offensive or considered unprofessional or tacky; this is not the time to showcase your sense of humour or talent at cartoons.

Ensure your contact details are permanent and present professionally; for instance, choose an email address that is simple rather than cute or funny. Use the address of your parents or friends if you don’t have a stable home for the next few weeks.

Set it out clearly and logically. Let each section lead onto the next and have headings to separate sections. Have space around and between the sections so it is easy to read and scan.
Never assume knowledge in the reader, so include the details. Instead of writing “worked as an engineer for 6 months” write “worked at XYZ Company as an electrical engineer between 1/1/03 and 30/6/03.” Make it easy to understand and trust your information.
Keep it relevant.Sure you may have worked as a supermarket cleaner as a teenager, but that won’t help you win a job as Accounting Supervisor as a thirty year old. Of course, new graduates may need to list such part time jobs until they gain more relevant experience.

If all qualified widget makers belong automatically to the widget guild, you needn’t mention it. However, if only selected widget makers are admitted, then it is worth mentioning – assuming widget making is related to the position you are applying for!

Make it as short as possible – nobody wants to, or is likely to, read a long resume. If you can’t shorten it, consider a summary page with all contact details and a timeline of experience and qualifications. Alternatively or jointly, make sure the resume has clear sub headings so that the overall pattern can be seen and the detailed bits can be read if desired.
Present the resume professionally. That is, avoid the use of:

Ø      fancy fonts that are hard to read

Ø      a mixture of fonts

Ø      italics and underlining, except for document titles

Ø      pretty graphics – unless you are a graphic artist after a graphics position

Ø      chatty and casual sentences

Describe the major tasks from each work experience listed, but do so briefly and in formal tones. For instance, “Assisted in research and analytical reports for mechanical engineering department” or “Lead a team of eight in a two year project to develop a new in-house software program.”
Make your headings and job titles tell a story and then you’ll need less description. Describe your past experience as “Computerised Account Recorder” or “Sales and Service Manager for State X”, rather than “account clerk” or “Sales representative.”
Qualify your tasks where this enhances your appeal. National Coordinator tells more than coordinator, as does “managed accounts for 1,000 suppliers” compared to “managed supplier accounts.”
List your skills in terms of the benefit to an employer. Would you choose the person who has “worked on quality assurance issues” or who has “reduced costs by 20% in the human relations department”? Think about how your skills can benefit the employer and tell him or her!

 Ideally, your resume should be rewritten for each position you apply for. Thus, you can highlight the relevant parts for that employer – reorganise points so the most important is first and bold certain elements to stand out.

 Analyse each ad or company and tailor the resume and cover letter accordingly. Each employer has specific wants and needs for the position, so your resume must assure them that you can fill their criteria, and more.

What is Networking?

Funny how one little word can cause so many to cringe and others to be confused, and yet be such a useful tool for successful businesses.

Maybe you dread it because of a bad experience, or you’ve heard bad reports or maybe you think you are too shy for it; perhaps you don’t really know what networking is.

What is networking, really?

If you want to catch fish, you would not use long pieces of string individually; a single string won’t help you. However, when a number of strings are tied together as a net, they can catch many fish.

Essentially, business networking is the same; by interconnecting with other businesses, each one increases its ability to catch prospective clients.

The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines it as a ‘chain of interconnected persons’ which really describes most of your everyday life; business networking is simply recognising a normal process as a useful tool.

Why should I network?

The best networks are built on relationships between the people who own and run businesses.

The obvious impact of networking relationships is that people trust you and may use your service or product at some time. In this sense, networking is useful but has limited scope unless you spend a lot of time talking to other business owners.

Beyond this, networking can do much more for your business. Within a networking relationship, trust and knowledge is built between business people. By learning about other businesses, you are able to refer them to your clients who want something you can’t offer.

On a purely business level, the advantages to you of promoting another’s business are:

☺    You earn goodwill from that business, thus increasing your chance of serving them at some point

☺    Your customers will be happy to find what they are after easily and with a recommendation – this is called value adding and will build customer loyalty

☺    Providing more to customers increase the likelihood of them praising you to others

☺    Your networking partner(s) will also be promoting you at appropriate times

Whenever your business is recommended to another person, this is called word of mouth advertising and it is the most powerful form of advertising there is.

By networking, you are also increasing the range of people who can hear about your business. You may be able to tell three people a week about your business; a group of ten people may each tell one person a week about your business. That has already increased your exposure by about three times!

On a different level, by networking you are exposing yourself to new people and new ideas, and potentially gaining support and resources for your own business. Belonging to a good networking group can be a major factor in business growth.

How do I network?

Every time you speak to someone about your business you may well be networking. Networking is all about talking to people and spreading the word about your business.

You can limit your networking to casual conversations with friends, acquaintances and local business owners, or you can take a more formal approach.

There is a wide variety of networking options available:

☺    Join an online business community – either a general business site or one  related to your particular area

☺    Join a formal networking group – these groups meet regularly and limit membership to one of each business type

☺    Attend networking functions – such functions are run by various bodies, including formal and online networking communities, and often include a guest speaker. Some are members only and most incur a charge.

☺    Join a community group of business people working in the community – this is not a business network as such but is a great opportunity to contribute as well as meet people with common interests

☺    Arrange some cross promotions with complementary businesses – perhaps have some of each others’ business cards available for clients or share some ad space in an expensive magazine.

 Thus, networking is of great benefit to a business and can provide support as well; it can even be fun! And you don’t have to be an outgoing person for it to be effective; honesty and an interest in others are all you need to succeed.