Treatment Of Inflammation And Chronic Systemic Inflammation

Inflammation is one of the body's essential defense mechanisms and plays a vital role in protecting us against microbial attack, external and internally-produced toxins, as well as damaged and diseased cells and tissues.

Unfortunately, the inflammatory process is inherently destructive and both acute and chronic inflammation may cause damage to healthy tissues.

Typically, the longer the inflammatory process lasts, the more damage it does to the tissues involved. In the case of a local infection, inflammatory damage often manifests itself as scar tissue and if a wound becomes infected or fails to heal quickly, it will leave more scar tissue than it would have had it healed normally.

Similar but less visible processes are at work in a more sinister process called chronic systemic inflammation that can cause widespread damage to a range of different tissue types and which ultimately leads to specific disease entities.

Chronic systemic inflammation is a low-grade, pervasive form of inflammation that has been implicated as a major causative factor for several serious chronic diseases.

Although chronic systemic inflammation and local, acute inflammation share the same biochemical processes, the former is not restricted to a specific tissue or organ, but instead involves the endothelial lining of blood vessels and several other tissue types.

As a result the disruptive effects of chronic systemic inflammation are far reaching, causing damage to the cardiovascular, nervous, endocrine and other systems. This damage may, in turn, precipitate or exacerbate a wide variety of other pathological processes.

Chronic systemic inflammation is, for example, closely implicated in the development of insulin resistance ? and thereby metabolic syndrome and diabetes.

Damage to the arterial lining and the subsequent development of heart disease has also been linked to chronic systemic inflammation which has also been implicated in some forms of depression and even sleep disorders.

Causes of Chronic Systemic Inflammation

? Obesity: Several substances involved in the inflammatory response are produced in adipose tissue. Central, abdominal fat is involved in the production of excessive amounts of pro-inflammatory cytokines and other markers of inflammation.

? Infections: Chronic infections like kidney or bladder infections, gall bladder infection, chronic tonsillitis, diverticular disease; chronic viral diseases like hepatitis, HIV, cytomegalovirus and infectious mononucleosis or any other chronic infection such as Lyme disease or brucellosis.

? Periodontal Disease: Periodontal infection is believed to be one of the major causes of chronic systemic inflammation. Dental plaque is often responsible for initiating periodontal disease by releasing bacterial and protein toxins, and organic acids that contribute to a low-grade chronic systemic inflammation in tissues far from the mouth. The treatment of periodontal disease can actually reverse some of the damage done to the endothelial lining of the arteries.

? Environmental Toxins, Drugs and Tobacco: Most foreign substances can trigger an inflammatory response. This is probably one of the reasons that smoking tobacco is associated with an increased risk for heart disease and stroke. Inflammation in response to tobacco toxins is known to cause damage to the arterial endothelium, thereby aggravating the development of atherosclerosis.

? Autoimmune Diseases: Autoimmune diseases are pathological conditions where the immune system reacts inappropriately to normal tissues. These conditions, which include rheumatoid arthritis and lupus, vary widely in their intensity and usually precipitate serious inflammatory-mediated tissue damage.

Spices and Chronic Systemic Inflammation

The first step in dealing with chronic systemic inflammation is to find and treat the cause of the inflammation. This may require improving dental hygiene, stopping smoking or losing weight. Such interventions can be dramatically augmented by the consumption of spices, several of which have powerful anti-inflammatory effects.

Among the most potent of these are bay leaf, garlic, ginger oregano, rosemary, thyme and turmeric. Other spices, in particular black pepper and garlic, counteract chronic systemic inflammation by modulating the immune system thereby limiting the excessive production of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Furthermore, as many of the causes of chronic systemic inflammation are associated with oxidative stress, the antioxidants found in most spices help control this condition too. In short, spices have all the attributes required to minimize the impact on our health of the insidious, destructive and potentially lethal effects of this destructive inflammatory process.

Dr Keith Scott is a medical doctor with a special interest in nutrition and complementary therapies. He has written several books including "Medicinal Seasonings, The Healing Power of Spices" and "Natural Home Pharmacy". Find out more how spices can help to prevent and treat many inflammatory conditions and why they are the "missing links" in nutrition at: http://www.medspice.com

Retail Intelligence: Improving Sales Through Cctv Systems

If you think security is the primary reason stores put up CCTV systems, think again. They are not there to watch shoplifters; they are there to count people.

Security Versus Sales
The British bed store, Dreams, had CCTV systems installed for two reasons: the first, marketing; the second, security.

Dreams' use video surveillance shows a strong trend surfacing in the market in recent years. Stores put up CCTV systems not so much to prevent losses, but to increase sales. This is a logical move. While shoplifters and negligent employees cause stores to lose money, these losses are minimal compared to loss of potential earnings.

Monitoring Foot Traffic
Foot traffic is important to business owners and managers, and this is where CCTV systems come in. Cameras map store traffic. They show patterns of movement from department to department, from floor to floor. They show, for example, where customers are most likely to pass to get to Department X after exiting Department Z.

In malls, areas with the heaviest foot traffic are the costliest to rent. In stores, the same areas are where latest or the most steeply-priced products are displayed. Dreams knew this, and thus had CCTV systems mounted.

Why Count People?
Stores count visitors to monitor sales. A decline in foot traffic could only mean one thing: reduced sales. After all, with fewer people entering stores, fewer purchases would be made. CCTV systems, used together with need-specific software, are able to alert owners and managers to decreases in visitor density. These people could, in turn, take corrective action.

Uses of CCTV Systems in Marketing
1. Pinpointing desirable location
Cameras can show which areas draw the most visits from people. Decision-makers can use this data to evaluate the impact of decoration themes or adjust rent in relation to traffic value.

2. Revealing the hold factor
The "hold" factor is the ability of any merchandise or store area to make customers stay. CCTV systems can provide answers to questions like:
a) How long do customers stay inside one section of the store?
b) Which area or item do they take the most time to look at?

3. Optimizing promotional spending
CCTV systems help store owners and managers identify areas where advertisements would have the most impact. Marketing teams can then use this information to plan store layout and promotional strategies.

4. Evaluating stock levels
CCTV systems can, at a glance, reveal empty shelves or fast-thinning supplies. This is particularly useful in stores so huge it will take weeks to conduct a complete inventory of items sold and unsold.

5. Improving customer service
Data captured by CCTV systems tell key personnel how many customers flock to the store during certain times of the day. This data is very useful in designating how many employees to assign and where. Frequently, long lines at cash registers frustrate shoppers and cause them to do their buying elsewhere. Identifying prime selling hours and areas will help stores keep their valued clients.

Each shopper that walks through the door represents potential profit. With the right CCTV systems and software, store owners and managers can convert more and more profit potential into actual sale. What businessman could say no to that?

Want to learn more about CCTV system? Find out which of the CCTV camera best suits your needs when you visit Video-Surveillance-Guide.com today!

Did You Hear About The Three Blind, The Elephant And The Systems Analyst

If this story doesn't sum up the average relationship between System Analysts and End Users then I'll turn in my Palm Pilot!

One day three blind men encountered an elephant.

Upon touching the elephant's tail, the first blind man exclaimed "I declare, an elephant is exactly like a rope."

The second blind man, bumping into the elephants side, said "No sir, you are wrong. An elephant is exactly like a wall."

Then the third, having grasped the elephant's trunk, declared "You are both mistaken. The elephant is exactly like a snake!"

Yes, it's all a matter of perspective. And it's that simple word: perspective that creates one of the biggest disconnects between System Analysts and the users they are trying to serve.

The elephant in the room in this case is one called the "abstraction barrier". That barrier represents the difference between how users see a software development project and how analyst's view it.

Users are by nature modal. They see software from the perspective of the data elements that they are required to collect and enter in order to do their job. They see the elephant being represented as "screens" of data that either collects information or displays it.

Most users care very little about databases and tables, properties and procedures, functions or compilers. All they really care about is seeing a visual representation of the screens that they will encounter and use once the software is developed and deployed.

So, why fight city hall?

Once the requirements have been gathered, why not take the easy route and test your understanding of the user's needs by presenting them with the one thing they understand the best? A visual representation of the system that takes them through each use case in a way that most closely matches the actual environment that the user will be working in.

"Um, no duh. We already do that."

Well good for you. If that's the case then you already understand how to provide a holistic view of that elephant. So answer these two questions for me:

1. How much work effort are you expending on creating those screens?

2. And how much more accurate could your presentation be if you were actually using a tool specifically designed to take your user to the "ah ha" level in the shortest amount of time possible?

Let me give you a little bit of help answering those questions.

If you actually are already delivering visual mockup drawings of your proposed system, the chances are good that you are either creating those drawings manually, or you're using a complicated program that requires way too much input before it's willing to crank out those drawings for you.

If you're not actually already delivering visual mockup drawings of your proposed system, then the chances are it is due to either the fact that no one on your team knows how to draw, or you do not have the time, patience, or perhaps the money needed to use those expensive and complicated documentation tools.

Here's the solution to all of those problems. It's called MockupScreens. A descriptive name for a tool that represents the fastest, easiest and least expensive way to smash through the abstraction barrier by presenting one cohesive 'elephant' that all of the users will instantly be able to see in the perspective that most matches their expectations.

It's a consensus-building, "ah ha" moment-generator that is easy to use and inexpensive to own. Better yet, it's so good at reducing project risk that your PM will probably reach right into his or her own pocket and buy it for you themselves!

The MockupScreens software program is easy to understand and use because it's designed to work in a similar way to sketching screens on paper. MockUpScreens reduces the chances of distracting your users with unnecessary details by keeping everything in black and white. That way everyone's attention is focused on fields and data elements and not screen colors.

You have the flexibility of adding comments, icons, questions and other elements into the drawings and then either hiding them when you create the users' version of the drawings, or displaying everything for the whole world to see.

MockUpScreens can even generate slide shows that will display every screen in the same order that they will appear when the system goes live.

You can make changes to the screens in response to user input, during the presentation if you want to, and then display those changes right in front of their very eyes. MockUpScreens actually helps to increase your professional image, and the users' confidence level in you and your team, at no extra charge.

The best part is that you don't need any artistic or programming skills to extract every ounce of power out of MockUpScreens. You simply fire up MockupScreens and the intuitive interface leads you from there.

There are keyboard shortcuts for every action as well as context-sensitive help everywhere you'd expect it to be.

Built-in features, like automatic screen resizing when new elements are added, free you to concentrate on functionality instead of GUI design.

Actual tests with brand new MockUpScreens users showed that the average inexperienced user was capable of drawing 5 screens in about 10 minutes! It doesn't get any easier than that. You can shave even more time off of the cycle, if you have similar looking screens, thanks to the built-in screen cloning feature.

Look, your job is hard enough without having to conduct multiple user meetings just to explain what an elephant looks like. Find out how to gain user approval of your designs faster and easier than ever before by taking a minute to visit www.MockUpScreens.com. You can even download a fully-functional 30 Day demo copy of MockUpScreens so you can see for yourself how quickly and easily you can develop screen mockups even if you can't draw a stick figure on a cocktail napkin.

Igor Jese works in software development since 1990s, with emphasis on software requirements and development methodology. He is a certified Software Requirements Expert and the author of Mockup Screens, a popular tool for quick GUI prototyping. Find out more on MockupScreens.com

Integrating Engineering & Manufacturing Bill Of Material (BOM) Through ERP Software Solutions

With ever-increasing movements in manufacturing toward a seamless integration of shop systems, enterprise resource planning (ERP) software has proven a viable solution to the problem of communication between departments. The immediacy of graphically-displayed (GUI), real-time data available to operators at the touch of a finger functions to reduce the amount of time and paperwork necessary to make job production run smoothly. However, one of the last vestiges of needless multilayer redundancy in the manufacturing system is shown in the very essence of the production system; that is, the conceptual and actual separations that exist in the engineering and manufacturing bills of material (BOM). While there are, of course, different types of bills of material dependent upon the department that generates them and for their intended purpose, the similarities of ultimate purpose found in engineering and manufacturing BOM?s is the basis by which ERP seeks to their integration within the engineering/production process.

Generally, a BOM describes the product to be produced in terms of its various assemblies, sub-assemblies, and parts. In addition to being a listing of parts, a thorough BOM displays these elements in hierarchical fashion with a master BOM outlining the list of components by broad reference and working its way down through the sub-assemblies and increasingly detailed constituent components necessary for the production of the product. For many ERP software systems utilizing GUI displays, this hierarchical mapping of BOM entry and inquiry is produced in what is termed an exploded tree view, whereby components as kids are easily traced back to their parents. As well, to the extent that BOM?s provide a knowledge of type and quantity of parts necessary for a particular job, they are vital to accurate purchasing and efficient inventory maintenance.

The problem regarding BOM?s in manufacturing is when the classic structure of the engineering BOM needs to be enhanced by the creation of a manufacturing BOM for actual production. In the past, wasteful amounts of paperwork were needed to describe the production in terms of routers?especially when it came to the inclusion of data such as phantom parts. In addition, any engineering change order (ECO) that affects material ordering, purchasing, inventory or any number of other departments could cause great delays in production as they thus affect the manufacturing BOM. In short, the classic separation of engineering and manufacturing BOM?s (where quoting is always in the middle) necessitates the additional step of reorganization of the assembly router.

With ERP software, engineering and manufacturing BOM?s are now integrated to eliminate such reorganization and the need for an additional BOM for manufacturing itself. Tooling information is included directly into the router from engineering as the different tree levels are controlled in ERP software under a single dispatch list. In addition, ECO?s are automatically updated within the GUI and without additional paperwork. In the more robust ERP software systems, the engineering BOM is backward scheduled on the shop floor for more accurate assembly instructions. However, perhaps the greatest benefit of all in the use of ERP to integrate engineering and manufacturing BOM?s is that of a single-system organizational communication structure. Now, engineering and manufacturing are finally working together on the same page, resulting gained efficiencies in direct production costs (such as inventory management) and reduced waste in various in-direct costs (such as off-production labor time).

http://www.globalshopsolutions.com/erp-software/erp-materials-management.asp

Dusty Alexander is the President of Global Shop Solutions. Global Shop Solutions is the largest privately held ERP software company in the United States.