Technology

How to change your small business strategy during the COVID-19 crisis

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Easy ways to create a coronavirus crisis management plan
As small business owners, we are prepared for many things, whether it is a seasonal change in sales or an unexpected employee absence that we need to step in and cover.

But we have never seen anything quite like the COVID-19 pandemic, leaving us unsure how to deal with these strange times.

I know this is a scary and isolating time both personally and professionally. I hope you are staying safe and healthy, and that this article can help you plan for business challenges related to the coronavirus.

I have personally had to turn around many times as an entrepreneur and while it can be stressful, it can also be a time of innovation and growth.

As you create your business coronavirus crisis management plan, here are a few things to focus on:

The importance of helping on the sale

I understand you have a business to run, and I’m not suggesting you start giving things away or risk your health to open a store. What I recommend is that you take a step back and think about your community as you run your business.

Perhaps there is a way that what you offer can help people in this difficult time. One of our clients, The Broken Whisk, has had to stop serving customers at their Agassiz, BC restaurant. Instead, they created a select menu of gourmet meals for just $5 each, which can be ordered ahead and picked up.

And his Facebook post not only gets likes and shares because it’s a delicious offer and a way to give back to the community, but it also started a chain of charitable donations. More and more people are donating money to buy meals for those in need.

Is there a way to adapt your current marketing model to better serve your customers and community?

Online events and offers

Obviously, organizing a conference or an awards dinner is prohibited at this time. A large part of your planning for business challenges related to COVID-19 will include an online marketing strategy.

Think of a few ways you can still connect people from the comfort of home, including webinars, live Facebook videos, and virtual conferences using tools like Zoom. And don’t just focus on coronavirus-related content. Keep producing videos that will benefit your small business marketing strategy long after the COVID-19 crisis is over.

This is a good example of a turn to online marketing. A Stroke of Genius is a client of ours located in North Vancouver, BC. As an interior decorator, Barbara Aylesworth has built her business by working directly with clients and manufacturers. However, with the COVID-19 crisis, she had to change her marketing strategy to include virtual consulting and project management.

Barb is also inviting people to submit their photos of the decorating and design challenges via Instagram, then offering to submit their ideas for possible solutions.

This is a fun and inspiring way to get your community involved when people need it most!

Should you stop trading during COVID-19? Read more on our website.

Unless you sell toilet paper or hand sanitizer, you may be concerned about the impact of the coronavirus on your small business; your revenue, employees and empty marketing funnel. So does that mean you should hunker down and stop your marketing efforts for now? Nope!

I strongly believe in focusing on what we can do and change while finding the opportunities in the midst of adversity. In this article, I share some ways you can tackle the challenge of marketing during a crisis and keep your business going.

Business planning for future growth

Of course, you need to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic with the right message, but don’t have tunnel vision when it comes to your marketing strategy and ad dollars.

While consumers are spending more time online, they are unwilling to make decisions about the future right now. If you have a service that requires your customers to plan ahead or travel, your conversion rate will take a hit during the outbreak. So don’t expect the same content and ads that were driving traffic before the pandemic to continue to appear.

But not all is lost! This can be an opportunity to engage with your customers on social media and increase your brand awareness with content and even paid advertising. With paid ads, you may even find that you have less competition online during an economic downturn, which means you’ll pay less for more views and clicks.

From promoting spring-themed gift cards on your website to creating helpful articles on financial planning during COVID-19, give your customers a reason to stay with you, even if the pandemic is bringing you more business. .

For example, Your Yoga Flow is an online application that offers virtual yoga classes. If anything, they are seeing a spike in sales as people try to stay active and healthy while cooped up at home. Not just selling their services, but providing a free meditation during “these tough times”, they increase brand awareness, give something back, and stay top of mind.

If you’re willing to look ahead while creating your coronavirus crisis management plan, you’ll be better positioned to stay relevant and re-market to your audience at a later time.

Empower your employees

According to recent statistics, more than 500,000 Canadians, or about 2.5% of the workforce, have already filed EI applications. If you haven’t had to make tough decisions about laying off people, how can you keep your team busy and optimistic about the future?

Here are some ideas:

  • Offer training opportunities to help your team and your company in the long run, whether it’s getting a new certification or reading relevant industry books.
  • Consider making vacation policies or work hours more flexible to accommodate employees whose children may be out of school, for example.
  • Share jobs between departments to increase responsiveness to your customers.
  • Involve your team in “after” projects or things you’ve put off because you were too busy before.

If your team is working remotely, make sure you check in with them often. A daily virtual coffee or 15-minute meeting to see how everyone is doing can be vital to the mental health and well-being of your team.

No matter what kind of business you have, your customers are looking for help and security right now. As you develop your coronavirus crisis management plan, keep in mind that everyone is being bombarded with message noise.

That means emails from every business you’ve ever followed on social media, purchased a product, or signed up for an email newsletter! As your small business marketing strategy changes to survive the COVID-19 crisis, make sure all of your communications provide concise, meaningful, and relevant information.

The more value you can offer your customers right now, the more successful you will be as we shift to a new way of marketing and emerge from a global crisis that made our world so much smaller.

Business

Tips for Hiring a Commercial Real Estate Agent

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If you don’t want to handle your commercial lease renewal or relocation project yourself, you can use a commercial real estate agent. All you have to do is choose the right professional for your needs. Below are 6 things you may want to consider during your evaluation. keep reading

sympathy

A relocation or lease renewal is similar to a construction project. The difference is that it takes a little longer than expected. So, it’s a good idea to go with someone you like. In this way you will enjoy your entire trip and the negotiation process can also go well.

Confidence

Make sure the professional agent you are hiring can be trusted. It can be difficult to find out who you can trust, but it can be done during the interview. By asking a few relevant questions during the interview, you can get a pretty good idea of ​​whether they are trustworthy or not.

Conflicts of interest

What causes a conflict? In reality, conflict can occur when you go with an agent who is already a representative of many property owners in the same area. Now, the agent wants to serve you even though he has given his word to landlords that he will find a way to earn the highest rental rate possible. Therefore, you may want to have a clear idea of ​​the seriousness of the conflict and how important it is to you.

Experience

The experience of the agent is of paramount importance when choosing the best professional. Ideally, it’s a good idea to go with a commercial real estate agent who has over 10 years of experience in the field. His gray hair may be a sign that they have been in this business for years. You can ask about their experience during the interview.

age

The professional’s age should not be taken as evidence of their experience in the field. The million dollar question is how long have they been actively involved in the business. You should keep in mind that commercial real estate is on the list of those businesses that people do part-time. Therefore, make sure you choose a professional who has been working full-time as an agent. What matters is the experience, not the age of the agent. After all, age is just a number.

Specialization

Agents generally specialize in two ways. They can do it by industry vertical or location. When it comes to importance, location specialization carries more weight. An agent with a localization specialization has a pretty good idea of ​​what’s going on in the market. They know the best deals and the best owners. Apart from this, his trading style is quite impressive.

In a nutshell, if you have been thinking of hiring the services of the best commercial real estate agent, we suggest you take these factors into account. This will help you choose the best service provider.

Home Kitchen

Avoid headaches from a home improvement project

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My house is old, very old. Recently. one of the basement windows needed to be replaced because the cat kept using it to get out. More problems followed. The kitchen sibk had a hole in it, which meant it had to be ripped out, as water seeped into the foundation of the house. Something needed to be done immediately, so I approached a home improvement store. I asked for a window and was told a representative would visit me in a few weeks.

1. Should have emphasized the urgency of getting the project done as soon as possible. It was a few weeks before a representative contacted me and mentioned when he would visit me to measure the window. It arrived in the middle of May. He said the new window would be installed in 6 weeks.

In the meantime, family and friends tried to provide a window covering that the cat couldn’t push or move. A friend got a wooden deck and nailed it in place. The cat couldn’t get the panel out.

2 For counter and sink replacement, I first tried at a home improvement store in April. Three months later, the project hadn’t even started and he was desperate to do something.

The reason was that my project was not prioritized and was placed at the bottom of the list. I requested and received a refund of my deposit. Apologies were offered that materials were delayed and/or not available. So I tried the second home improvement store. This time, I measured the counter and drew a sketch to take to the store.

.3. Providing measurements and maybe a quick photo or two helps speed things along, though a polite question when someone will arrive to take measurements can’t hurt either. Your peace of mind matters!

4. The second store had counter and cabinet materials available to choose from. And the fact that those materials did NOT have to be ordered saved me a three month wait.

If the store already has the items you need in stock, choose the material items available in stock. You may get a discount or find out that those items are on sale!

5. Ask when the measurements will be taken. And once they are, remember to follow up by calling customer service and asking when the installation will take place and how much the job will cost. NEVER ASSUME THAT THINGS WILL BE DONE WHEN YOU EXPECT OR THAT EVERYTHING WILL BE AFFORDABLE. It probably won’t be.

6. Go ahead and demand the information you need to know and clearly mention any emergencies. You will save wasted time and complete your project. Good luck!

Digital Marketing

Like a rockstar interview

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Tips on how to be a rock star in an interview

After interviewing several grocery and retail store managers about their hiring experiences, many common themes emerged regarding the interview process. Several managers expressed disappointment in the interview skills among candidates seeking entry-level positions. After collecting your concerns and compiling a list, I decided to share some tips on how to interview like a rock star and land the job. Here are some important tips to follow:

Research the company. Google the company and learn about its history, how big it is, what products the company focuses on. If you know someone who works at the company, ask them about it. To be informed! Having knowledge of the company will impress the interviewer because it shows that you took the time to do your homework.

external appearance. Make sure you are professionally dressed. One manager told me that he has seen interviewees wearing shirts with holes, dirty clothing, and inappropriately revealing clothing. He stands out for not wearing: sagging pants, t-shirts, jeans, shorts, revealing tops or short skirts, flip flops or sneakers. For the interview, make sure you are dressed in an outfit that your grandmother would like to see you wear, or you could wear it to a very nice wedding. You want to make a good first impression and how you are dressed will make an impact in seconds.

Chewing gum or eating candy during the interview is not an option. First, this is rude. Second, eating interferes with talking and is very distracting.

Keep your cell phone hidden and turn it off before the interview. Never look at your phone while in the presence of the interviewer. If you do, you’re sending a non-verbal message that the phone is more important than the interview. Do not turn the phone back on until you are done with the interview and out of sight of the interviewer. Hiring managers say interviewees have responded to text messages during the interview and find it disrespectful and unacceptable.

Shake hands with the interviewer when you first meet them. A firm handshake and eye contact show a strong sense of trust. This is very important because hiring managers are looking to see how you perform.

Thank you- Always say thank you when the interview is over. Also, send a post interview thank you email reaffirming your interest in the job.

Ask questions. If you’ve done your research, chances are you have questions. Ask about hours, days available to work and training.

Summary – Bring a paper copy of your resume. Show that you are prepared. Offer the interviewer your copy. You want to be remembered and reminded that you were prepared.

Following these ROCK STAR tips will give you an edge over others who are unprepared. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, so you want to impress the interviewer and be offered the job.

Relationship

What happens to a person who is dying of glioblastoma multiforme

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If you recently discovered that you, a family member, or a friend has been diagnosed with glioblastoma mediformis (gbm), chances are you’re wondering, “What’s going to happen?” Of course, this is just one of the many thoughts that will go through your mind. How do I know this? Because I was with my brother when he was diagnosed.

He did not survive, but was able to receive treatment that allowed him to spend 6 years with his family before succumbing to GBM.

We discovered the tumor after he suffered a grand mal seizure in 1994. He was home alone with his three children, 6, 2½ and 1, when it happened. Her 6-year-old son ran to a neighbor and told him something was wrong with her father. Tests at the hospital revealed that she had a tumor, that’s all we understood. The doctor said we needed to put a “hatch” in my brother’s skull so they could remove the tumor, but be able to repeat the procedure frequently. Why would they repeat the procedure? Because removing a tumor means removing a small portion of the tumor at a time; then when he came back the doctors would go into my brother’s brain again and take out some more of the tumor.

Not satisfied with that!

Doing what I do best, I researched everything I could find: I contacted medical contacts to find the names of the best doctors near us. My brother and I traveled to New York to see a neurologist on Park Avenue. Apparently he was well known for his understanding of brain tumors. At the end of the visit, he recommended my brother to get his affairs in order, because he only had a few months left to survive. He told us that the tumor was cancerous and that surgery would not fix the problem.

A friend of my mother had a nephew who was a neurologist in Boston. We sent you my brother’s MRIs, X-rays and test results. She immediately called and said that the neurosurgeon in Boston could help my brother. We made an appointment and met the doctor. What a difference!

This doctor explained everything so clearly. He offered hope, but no promise of a perfect life.

So what happened next?

Kim, my brother, was scheduled for surgery; but he first had to go through a series of MRIs (flash MRIs) which provided information for the doctor to create a 3D image of my brother’s brain so he could prepare for surgery. During the surgery, Kim had to stay awake so the doctor could ask questions. Kim had to identify pictures and words and answer questions during surgery so the doctor could determine if he was resecting (removing) tissue too close to functional areas of his brain.

He ended up shaving his entire head, because what little hair he had left seemed out of place. The rest of her head had scars that her two-and-a-half-year-old daughter described as looking like a baseball. (I’m sure she was referring to the seams on the ball; Kim’s skull had similar seams.) The risks of this operation included:

  • Infection: the patient could get a wound infection or a deeper infection from exposure in the hospital
  • Bleeding: This could be a superficial bruise or a deeper collection of blood.
  • Loss of smell or loss of cerebrospinal fluid from the nose if the doctor uses a frontal approach to remove the tumor
  • Cranial nerve damage resulting in facial numbness, vision loss, or double vision
  • The need for a blood transfusion during or after the procedure.
  • Weakness, numbness, slurred speech, or paralysis (symptoms similar to those of a stroke)
  • Epilepsy, which may require medication (this happened to my brother)
  • Surgery may not cure this condition and additional treatment may be needed.
  • eat or die

This was just the beginning, but that surgery allowed Kim another six years with her children. In the meantime, she underwent aggressive radiation twice a week and chemotherapy through a combination of IVs and pills. He was incredibly sick from the treatment (vomiting, nausea, exhaustion), but he continued to work. It wasn’t an easy job either; he was a floor sander, lifting 300-pound machines up several flights of stairs. It was during one of these escalations approximately three years after the resection that he had an incredible headache, the worst he had ever experienced.

The local emergency room revealed that he had suffered a brain aneurysm, this is when a weak area in an artery that supplies blood to the brain bulges out. However, when one of these aneurysms ruptures, it causes bleeding that leads to further brain damage or even death. The doctor explained that the only reason my brother did not die from this hemorrhage was because the removal of the tumor had left a cavity or hole in his brain that allowed blood to pool. He further explained that one possible reason the artery weakened was because of the radiation.

It took him several months to heal from this. But when she was cured, she went back to work and raising his three children alone. That’s when things really started to go downhill for him. Doctors gave him high doses of steroids to reduce swelling and Depakote to prevent seizures.

These were some of the side effects he endured:

  • insomnia
  • Increased appetite and possible weight gain
  • Personality changes (ranging from mood swings to psychosis)
  • Muscle loss (particularly in the thighs, which support the patient’s weight when standing, sitting, and walking)
  • Puffy appearance (distended abdomen, cushingoid swelling of the face, and sometimes a hump in the neck)
  • Fluid accumulation in the extremities
  • Potential for steroid-induced diabetes

unfortunately my brother made developing diabetes and receiving insulin injections and blood sugar tests several times a day; that was one of my jobs. He had been an extremely athletic and active person (for example, getting up at 4:00 a.m. to pull lobster pots (200 pots) as a hobby before work; then sanding and polishing floors all day; after work he would assemble either her touring or mountain biking for 20 to 30 miles; and finally, she would clean the house and take care of her three children). He really struggled to become sedentary and gain almost 100 pounds.

He was working fine, but he was slower, less coordinated, and his speech was slurred. He had MRIs every three months for two years and then every six months for the next four years. In the fall of 2000, just a few months after a regularly scheduled MRI came back clear, Kim’s speech worsened and she started having headaches again. We went to the hospital and what they told us broke us.

The tumor had not only returned, but it was the worst type of tumor, the fastest growing and inoperable. The tumor had suddenly grown like scattered fingers all over his brain.

Kim quickly lost the ability to walk, talk, feed herself or use the bathroom. She lost all dignity at this point. He had to be fed, diapered and was bedridden. He survived like this for about six months. He didn’t want to give up his independence and tried to walk, but he fell to the ground. He had been 6’2″ and 160 pounds before the cancer; after all the medication, treatment and sedentary lifestyle, he was still 6’2″ but weighed 260 pounds. Trying to lift it was difficult, in fact, impossible. My parents were over 70 years old and trying to pick it up; it took the three of us to get him back to bed many nights. It was exhausting, but absolutely heartbreaking.

Kim stayed at my house until she died. I will never forget the volunteers who came to my home just to sit with my brother, read, talk or tell stories, anything to allow the family a little break from constant care. His willingness to serve kept us from feeling lonely and allowed us opportunities to go to the store without worrying.

The hospice came towards the end and monitored him. He had difficulty communicating. His breathing was so labored that he was rarely lucid and he was in pain. Hospice workers gave him morphine to ease the pain and he stopped fighting for life just a day later, on March 16, 2001. He was 49 years old.

I hope this information helps even one person understand what families facing a GBM diagnosis may be experiencing.

Legal Law

Get healthy hormones

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Medical science and the deciphering of the human genome have given us, and give us, great insights into how our bodies work and how we are susceptible to disease and the aging process.

Our new insights now allow us to significantly increase our healthy longevity. And when we take advantage of these new findings, we make ourselves available to take advantage of even newer technologies that are being developed.

There are seven basic causes that combine to make us vulnerable to disease and aging. One of the main causes is that our endocrine system fails to secrete sufficient amounts of certain enzymes and hormones to keep up with the cells’ battles against the buildup of pollutants.

Our hormones decline with age, but we can do something about it.

Our hormones regulate and control most of the functions of our body. Testosterone and estrogen, the main sex hormones in men and women respectively, give us the need and ability to reproduce and continue the survival of our species.

But once we’re not at our reproductive prime, our hormone levels drop. This results in a lack of sexual desire, insomnia, impotence, weight gain, and countless other potential health problems that significantly diminish our quality of life.

So we see that our hormonal system was designed primarily for reproduction for the survival of the species. Our bodies produce large amounts of certain hormones and enzymes during our youth. These give us our youthful vitality, strength, and stamina. They aid in the battles against free radicals and help provide nutrients for cell repair. They keep our cells clean from the ashes of metabolism and environmental toxins.

As long as our bodies produce sufficient amounts of these enzymes and hormones, we will stay young. But we, and all plants and animals, were designed to stay healthy until we have reproduced and raised our young. Mother Nature has little interest in us once we have passed on our genes to the next generation.

As we age beyond our prime reproductive years, we are no longer able to produce sufficient amounts of the enzymes and hormones needed to keep our cells “young and fit.” With too little of these substances, our cells begin to lose their battles against free radicals and other destructive elements.

The cells begin to age and die. The organs from which they are separated become ineffective. We become brittle, we die.

But now we can do something about our hormonal decline.

To make sure you’re around when new health discoveries are tested and available, you need to understand your hormones and what they do for you and what you can do to keep them working.

One of the most important hormones is the human growth hormone (HGH). I will limit the discussion in this article to just that.

The effectiveness of HGH in improving health and slowing aging was originated by Dr. Rudman in 1989.

During a six-month trial of 12 men aged 61 to 81 (against a control group of 9 men), the men lost 14.4% of their body fat and gained 8.8% lean body mass. Their skin thickened, their bone density increased, and their livers and spleens swelled to youthful sizes.

Dr. Rudman showed that HGH could change the frail and frail elderly from 61 to 81 years old to their previous biological ages of 41 to 61 years. In effect, he reversed their ages by 20 years, over a period of 6 months. He concluded: “The general deterioration of the body that comes with aging is not inevitable.”

In their six-month follow-up study with the same men, their muscle mass increased an additional 6% (up from the original 8.8%) and they lost an additional 15% fat (after the original 14.4% loss) .

Others have repeated Dr. Rudman’s tests and obtained similar results. There was a cry for the FDA to approve it as an anti-aging therapy. But, the FDA has been reticent.

However, it hit the black market and began to be widely used by bodybuilders.

Then, in 1991, Texas businessman Howard Turney opened the El Dorado Rejuvenation Clinic in Mexico, outside of FDA control.

And in 1994, Dr. Edmund Chein found a loophole (he was also a lawyer) in the FDA restriction. He went to court and argued that since the FDA had approved HGH for stunted growth disorder, then a licensed physician should be able to prescribe it for whatever purpose he sees fit. He won his argument and opened his Palm Springs Life Extension Institute in California.

Since then, he has treated thousands of people between the ages of 31 and 92 to slow, stop or reverse their aging. It has reversed the aging of most. And he reports that he has had no significant adverse side effects during any of his operations.

Chein’s results for increased muscle mass were a 10.0% and 8.0% increase over two six-month periods, which are similar to Dr. Rudman’s results.

The UK researchers duplicated Rudman and Chein’s results. And, Dr. Bengtsson from Sweden showed greatly improved energy levels and improved mood.

Frenchman Dr. Thierry Hertogh showed that his patients experienced a 23% to 30% reduction in the size of their “rims.”

HGH makes fat more available for fuel. Fat cells have hormone receptors that trigger a host of enzymatic reactions when HGH is present.

HGH has also been shown to improve the effectiveness of the immune system. One of the main ways it does this is by increasing the thymus gland’s production of T cells (which destroy invading “germs”). This is especially important for people over 40 years of age. The thymus normally shrinks to the size of a raisin by the age of 40.

Evidence also indicates that HGH can reverse heart disease by thickening the walls of weakened ventricles.

Dr. Ronald Klatz, president of the American Academy of Antiaging, sums up the benefits of HGH replacement therapy:

“HGH is the best anti-aging therapy. It affects every cell in the body, rejuvenates the skin and bones, regenerates the heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys, and returns organ and tissue function to youthful levels. It is the most effective anti-obesity agent ever discovered, accelerating metabolism to youthful levels, reshaping the body by selectively reducing fat in the waist, abdomen, hips, thighs while increasing muscle mass May be the most powerful aphrodisiac ever discovered, revives weakened sexuality and potency in men and women It’s a facelift in a bottle, smoothes facial wrinkles, restores elasticity, thickness and contours to youthful skin, reverses extracellular water loss that causes older people look like old dried plums Has healing powers that close ulcerated wounds and regrows burned skin Reverses insomnia in later life, restores do the “slow wave” or deepest level of sleep. And, it’s an uplifting mood, lifting the spirit along with the body, bringing back a zest for life that many people thought was long gone.”

Dr. Edmund Chein is more succinct: “It’s a doddle! This (HGH) is 100% effective!”

The Internet is full of advertisements for HGH replacement therapies. The vast majority are sponsored by unqualified individuals and organizations.

HGH has been shown to be very effective, but it has not been shown to be safe.

You should talk to your doctor to see if he suggests HGH. In any case, you should observe the progress of the safety programs in order to participate when it is proven to be safe.

Lifestyle Fashion

Fertility preservation in women and men with Hodgkin lymphoma

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Lymphoma is cancer of the lymphocytes, the cells that are part of the human immune system. The disease was first described in 1832 and can start anywhere lymphocytes are found (lymph nodes, spleen, bone marrow, or digestive tract). Two types are recognized; Hodgkin’s lymphoma (HL) and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). The American Cancer Society estimates that approximately 3,800 women and 4,600 men will be diagnosed with HL in 2010. Most people diagnosed with HL are children and young adults (ages 15 to 40). Modern treatment carries high survival rates. (>80%). However, HD, by virtue of the disease itself or its treatment, poses a considerable risk to fertility in women and men, especially if it recurs after treatment.

When HE is usually suspected because of enlarged lymph nodes or other symptoms such as fever, weight loss, or night sweats, a lymph node biopsy is required for diagnosis. Biopsy requires special stains (CD15, CD30) for characteristic cell surface proteins. Once certain imaging studies (especially PET) have been confirmed to detect the extent of the disease.

Chemotherapy for Hodgkin’s lymphoma; combination chemotherapy uses ABVD, BEACOPP, or MOPP-ABV. Each of the letters represents a drug. The drug combination is used for several cycles, usually 3 to 6. This is the main treatment for HL.

Radiation external beam therapy is sometimes combined with chemotherapy. The radiation is usually localized to the area of ​​the body that is home to enlarged lymph nodes.

Hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). This treatment is used for resistant HL or HL that has recurred after successful treatment in the past (relapse). This treatment requires 1. a very high dose of chemotherapy and possibly total body radiation and then 2. a transplant of the bone marrow stem cells that make our blood cells. The sources of these cells could be the person (autologous) or a donor (allogeneic).

Effects of Hodgkin lymphoma and treatment on future fertility. It has been shown that men and women who attempted to conceive after treatment for HL were less likely to become pregnant than the general population (Aisner 1993).

Men: There is evidence to suggest that HL itself can affect sperm production in 50 to 70% of boys and men., probably due to the alteration of the immune cells. Chemotherapy can also be harmful to sperm production. Alkylating agents, especially cyclophosphamide, can cause prolonged or permanent azospermia. (no sperm production). The other agents may have a reversible effect with some prospect of recovery after months or years. The final effect of chemotherapy is difficult to predict and is related to the type of regimen and the doses used. For example, the old MOPP regimen for 6 or more cycles results in a very high rate of azospermia, whereas the newer ABVD regimen usually causes reversible azospermia.

HSCT involves the use of high doses of alkylating agents and sometimes radiation. It commonly results in prolonged azospermia. HL or its treatment may also affect sperm quality (sperm shape and motility) in addition to concentration. Suppression of sperm production has been suggested in trials using a group of drugs called gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists (GnRHa), but there is no evidence that they protect the gonads from the effects of treatment in men and women. Tests should be shielded from the radiation field whenever possible.

Women: Chemotherapy for HL may result in reduced ovarian reserve and may reduce future fertility depending on the drug used, dose, frequency, intensity, age, and associated radiation treatment. Multiple studies have suggested that the risk of fertility loss is related to 1. Age > 30 years (or > 25 years with high-dose therapy) 2. Type of chemotherapy. MOPP was associated with fertility loss than ABVD and BEACOPP. 3. Dose and frequency of chemotherapy. The increased dose of BEACOPP used in more advanced HL was more associated with ovarian failure. 4. Exposure of the ovaries to radiation. In one large study, about 20% of women experienced menopause. In another study, about 40% of women were able to conceive after treatment. In general, the published literature is not accurate in reporting fertility potential because they used menstruation as the end point. The resumption of menses after chemotherapy does not accurately reflect fertility potential. High-dose chemotherapy used before HSCT is associated with ovarian failure in the vast majority of women and girls.

Options for preserving fertility in men. 1. semen cryopreservation: This is a widely available and safe option in Adults. One or more sperm samples are obtained and frozen for later use. After referral, the sample is thawed and used for intrauterine insemination or in vitro fertilization. If IVF is used, a single sperm is injected directly into an associated oocyte (ICSI) and the rest of the sperm is refreshed. ICSI is a very powerful tool that can compensate for the lower quality sperm found in men with LH. In preteen boys, sperm can be found in the ejaculate from the age of 12. Asking prepubertal boys to produce a sperm sample may carry some ethical considerations. Most cancer patients are interested in knowing their option about preserving genetic paternity in the future. Despite that, only about a quarter freeze their sperm, mainly due to a lack of information on sperm freezing (Schover et al 2002). A survey of more than 700 oncologists indicated that less than half offer this option to their patients diagnosed with cancer. two. Surgical sperm retrieval (TESE). Testicular sperm extraction is a surgical procedure in which a small amount of tissue is removed directly from the tests to obtain sperm. It is used in men with azospermia before starting treatment. The sample is frozen for future use with IVF-ICSI. This is a common procedure in adults and has been reported in prepubertal children. 3. Testicular stem cell freezing; either within the testicular biopsy or separated cells. This is an experimental method with no reported human pregnancy. It is considered for prepubertal children. The cells or tissue are then transplanted back for sperm production.

Options for preserving fertility in women.

1. Embryo freezing. This technology is widely available and is suitable for women with a partner (or who accept sperm donors) and treatment can be delayed up to 3 weeks. Requires ovarian stimulation and egg retrieval (outpatient procedure under sedation). Embryos can be frozen for a long time and transferred after remission when fertility is desired.

two. egg freezing. It is used in women without a partner and declining the use of donor sperm. It also requires ovarian stimulation and a 3-week treatment delay. It is generally less successful than embryo freezing, although use of the vitrification method can produce comparable results to embryo freezing.

3. Ovarian tissue freezing. This method is experimental. It is used in prepubescent girls or in women who need to start emergency treatment and do not have time to undergo ovarian stimulation. It is also considered in women or girls before undergoing HSCT as it is associated with a very high rate of ovarian failure. An ovary is usually removed using minimal access surgery (laparoscopy). The patient is discharged the same day and can start treatment immediately. The ovary is processed so that the outer part (2 mm thick) is isolated and frozen. The inner part of the ovary (does not produce eggs) is subjected to pathological examination. After remission, the ovary is transplanted back into the abdomen or under the skin.

Women and men diagnosed with Hodgkin lymphoma experience a high chance of cure. Counseling about fertility problems before treatment may allow them to save your sperm, eggs or embryos for future use after treatment.

Pets

Cat health questions answered right here

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Let’s explore some typical cat health questions and answer them. For example, will cats have eye problems like people? They sure will. In fact, as cats age, they have many of the same degenerative conditions that people do, such as their eyesight “stopping working.”

Your hearing can “go” too, along with just about everything else. It’s hard to see, but cats, like people, will age and begin to decompose. To keep your aging cat as healthy as possible, it’s important to do the following: take him to the vet for his checkups, make sure he gets some exercise (probably play time), and feed him a proper diet.

Brushing your teeth will also help, if you allow it. We know they won’t leave us often, but it’s good for their teeth and gums, just like it’s good for us: cats and people are very similar physiologically.

Indoor cats live longer than outdoor cats. So we can avoid many health problems simply by keeping our cats indoors. When they get out a lot, they are exposed to the elements, other (possibly sick) cats, and perhaps dirty, toxic water. If you want your cat to live longer and be healthier, keep her indoors.

Now, if the cat is an “outdoor cat,” this might not work in a million years; if they have been outdoor cats all their lives, it will be nearly impossible to keep them happy indoors. But, for city folks who have indoor cats, keeping them indoors will keep them healthy and also offer longevity.

According to studies, neutered cats also live longer and healthier lives. But, if your cat has been neutered, you should reduce the caloric content of their diets. It’s actually pretty simple math, since they don’t need extra calories to fuel their sexual energy, they’ll need fewer calories overall for their bodies.

If your cat is becoming obese you will notice it in the ribcage area, if you notice the pounds piling up on the ribs start reducing the food bowl immediately.

If your cat is losing weight and still eating the exact same diet, then as gross as it sounds, she may have worms; Take your cat to the vet if he begins to lose weight and you can’t find a good reason for it. Taking proper care of your cat’s health is your responsibility, so take it seriously, we know most people will.

If your cat begins to walk more slowly and even limp, this could be a symptom of arthritis; arthritis and diabetes are quite common in older cats. We hope we have answered most of your questions about your cat’s health here. If you have a very specific question, your veterinarian is your best bet for an answer.

Shopping Product Reviews

Retail Connectivity: Unleash the Power of MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform

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Over time, retailers have understood that knowing your customers is essential to building a loyal customer base and standing out from the competition. In today’s age of online shopping, it’s more necessary than ever to access data and use it to transform the customer experience.

Nearly 32% of shoppers buy more from a retailer that offers a personalized experience than those that don’t.

The challenge for retailers is to marshal excess customer data and deliver a personalized shopping experience. To overcome this situation, retailers have started to invest in digital transformation initiatives that help create a 360-degree view of the customer. The initiatives aim to collect customer data in an organized way so that retailers can gain actionable insights.

The connectivity challenge

The fundamental challenge of having a 360-degree view of the customer is the difficulty of keeping the central database updated in real time, as customers shop through multiple channels and have frequently changing preferences. Manually updating data in a monolithic data warehouse is time-consuming and error-prone because it can’t provide the timely, accurate, and consistent view of customers that retailers need to deliver a personalized shopping experience.

About 56% of customers say that retailers provide a disconnected shopping experience across all channels.

The API Approach

For all those who are not into all things technical, some of the questions that come to mind would be

What are APIs? How does it work? What are the benefits?

API stands for Application Programming Interface which is used to integrate two software components to share data functionality. API is more than a technical solution. It’s something you offer as a brand or service, as well as a means of integrating previously unlinked data sets. APIs allow retailers to create new business models different from the original ones.

APIs in retail business include catalogs, product search, order submission, inventory, and recommendations, in addition to existing specific retail lines of business. When a customer shops online, they are using multiple APIs simultaneously.

Let’s know a little about specific APIs!

When you search for an item online, you are using the Catalog and Inventory APIs. If you scroll down the page and see “items you might like,” it’s all thanks to the Recommendations API. When you choose the “place an order” option, it is the Order Shipping API that uses a Geo API in conjunction with the Courier API to calculate shipping rates. Entering payment information uses the Payment API which communicates with your bank to check for sufficient funds. And what is more! All of this happens in near real time!

How about explaining the APIs through an illustration? That will make your life easier!

By now, you must have understood that the Retail API plays an integral role in increasing customer engagement and improving the overall shopping experience. We will take the example of a clothing retail store to explain how APIs work in practice.

A customer walks into the store and, after trying on several sweaters, chooses a specific pattern. However, the color that she had was exhausted in her size.

You might be wondering how the API comes into the picture here.

The customer will go to the self-service kiosks and contact the retailer’s digital touchpoints and access real-time inventory data. You may find that although the item is out of stock at the current store, it is available at another store near you. In this case, you have the option of having it delivered to your home, but since you want to use it the same day, going to a nearby location is a more convenient option. In this case, the store owner also has the option not to provide all access to customers and instead only to staff members.

From the example above, you can understand how implementing APIs helps streamline business processes and provides a variety of options for your customers to shop at their convenience.

MuleSoft Anypoint Platform

MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform combines existing platforms with additional capabilities for API creation, publishing, and governance—basically everything you need to connect the New Enterprise. Anything related to APIs can be done with MuleSoft’s Anypoint platform along with exposing business data to mobile devices, web applications in a connected and secure way.

Here are some interesting MuleSoft facts for you

1.MuleSoft Anypoint Connectors are pre-built, out-of-the-box connectors from the MuleSoft ecosystem that provide fast connectivity to thousands of REST and SOAP APIs.

two.MuleSoft’s Anypoint Exchange is the exchange and development platform that contains the full list of connectors, templates, samples, and APIs.

3.Each piece of MuleSoft’s Anypoint platform is designed to be stand-alone rather than one feature in a giant stack. This means that you can choose which parts of the platform you want to use.

Four.MuleSoft’s Anypoint platform will take the pain out of accessing data, unlocking it easily and quickly with a built-in integration that offers secure and controlled API access with a one-click policy.

5.MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform is the fastest way to create, compose, and maintain APIs. Instead of days, design new APIs in hours, assemble mashups in minutes, and make all necessary changes on the back-end or front-end with minimal impact to embedded systems and consumers.

6.With MuleSoft’s Anypoint Platform, you can innovate existing APIs with management and engagement layers, turning current assets into modular building blocks that can be easily assembled into new capabilities for future innovation.

7.MuleSoft’s Anypoint platform is built to tackle any integration challenge, whether it’s modernizing legacy systems, publishing device APIs, or connecting SAP and Salesforce.

8.For years, companies have kept some of their most valuable assets locked away in databases and applications. Now they have realized that sharing data can generate new sources of income. One of the easiest ways to do this is MuleSoft’s Anypoint platform, which not only makes the process of creating APIs easier, but also ensures that new APIs are found and used.

In today’s world, retailers must meet customer expectations and enhance their shopping experience, both physical and online, to gain an edge over their competitors. With technology improving every day, it is inevitable that the organization’s internal systems may share data now and in the future.

Want to explore the full potential of MuleSoft’s Anypoint platform for your business expansion? Talk to our experts or visit www.kodytechnolab.com now for more details!

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Tours Travel

Boutique hotels on the rise

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Traveling has always been one of the most important parts of our lives and keeping this in mind, the hotel industry has changed the whole hotel concept very quickly in recent years. Now hotels are no longer a place where you go because you don’t have immediate accommodation in that city, but these hotels have become more than just a place to stay. These hotels now provide many other integrated services and luxuries such as restaurants, swimming pools, gyms, spas and many others.

In the last decade, the rise of boutique hotels has made a big impression on the hotel industry and continues to do so. These boutique hotels now operate in every city big or small, be it New York, London, San Francisco or anywhere in the world. This concept of boutique hotels has basically been around since the 1980s. Initially, these boutique hotels were also known as “designer” or “lifestyle” hotels. The Morgan Hotel in New York was the first to earn this “boutique hotel” label. Nowadays, everyone tries to call their hotel a boutique hotel, but generally, a boutique hotel is one that is comparatively smaller and built for the purpose of serving its personal customers rather than others. The definition of a boutique hotel according to most travel and tour agents and websites of this type is, it is a hotel that has no more than 50 rooms and the objective of this hotel is to make your stay as pleasant as possible. The explosion in the number of boutique hotels has created confusion as more and more in-house hotel owners are opening their own chain of boutique hotels. The most famous are the Starwood and resort hotels.

After the huge popularity of the Morgan hotel in New York, many boutique hotels have sprung up around the world, especially in and around cities that are tourism hotspots. Let’s take London as an example. Until some time ago, it was very difficult to find a boutique hotel there, but now boutique hotels are seen on every street, and in addition, larger hotels are also becoming a boutique hotel. These large boutique hotels are gaining more popularity there as rents are high and small boutique hotels do not operate often. In the last five years, many boutique hotels have gained great popularity in London and some of them are guesthouses in Notting Hill, Baglioni Hotel and Soho Hotel in Soho.

In our second example, Paris, each type of boutique hotel can promise you great success. This is probably why there is such a wide variety and number of boutique hotels to choose from. One of the oldest boutique hotels in Paris is called Montalembert and is located on the Left Bank. Hotels that have been induced as a boutique hotel recently are Hotel De Sers located on Avenue Pierre and Hotel Sezz located very close to the Eiffel Tower.

The interesting fact about boutique hotels is that North American boutique hotels are slightly larger than boutique hotels around the world and this is because the rents there are higher. But still boutique hotels are very famous in America.

It is estimated that as the tourism sector grows, the hotel industry, especially the boutique hotel industry, will also grow and also the fact that the big hoteliers have started their expression of interest in boutique hotels will help this industry flourish. for many years.