Hacker Speak

If you’ve ever witnessed someone suffer a stroke, you understand the humbling nature of this disease. It can reduce the mightiest human being to an immobile, helpless creature. Impairment of crucial functions like speech, walking, and control of bowel and bladder can wrench control from the body in a moment.

Even perpetually youthful TV personality Dick Clark was struck down by stroke at age 75, despite the outward appearance of perfect health. Clark’s stroke resulted in a six-week hospital stay and, judging from fragmented reports, significant disability. Stroke can be like a devastating fire that strikes without warning, leaving only smoldering rubble. Stroke can so ravage basic bodily functions that often all you can hope for is to regain a portion through rehabilitation.

The disease process that underlies stroke requires decades30 or 40 yearsto develop. With that much lead time, why aren’t we better able to detect or stop this crippling disease?

The truth is that we are able to predict many, if not most, strokes. Advances in imaging technology allow detection of atherosclerotic plaque that cause stroke years before it becomes a threat. Progress in deciphering the causes of stroke has also leapt forward.

Unfortunately, your neighborhood physician still focuses on diagnosing the crisis rather than anticipating it. Physicians prefer to deal with catastrophes and are just not that interested in prevention. Most physicians ask: “Is it time to operate or not?” The medical community obsesses over procedures like carotid endarterectomy (surgical removal of plaque) or carotid stents. Even when a person is afforded the warnings of a “mini-stroke”, or transient ischemic attack (TIA), little more is done once it’s determined that surgery is not necessaryeven though this person has high risk for future stroke (50% over 10 years).

Let’s flip-flop this approach to stroke. Procedures represent a failure of prevention!

Where do strokes come from?

Stroke develops when some portion of the brain is deprived of blood. This usually results from a tiny bit of debris that dislodges from an atherosclerotic plaque along the walls of an artery (the same sort that accumulates in coronaries causing heart attack). The sources of debris have been a subject of controversy, but new imaging technologies have settled the question. Any blood vessel that leads from the heart to the brain can be a source. The two carotid arteries on both sides of your neck are a frequent source, as these arteries are prone to develop plaque. (Our discussion will be confined to what are called thromboembolic, or ischemic, strokes, i.e, strokes that occur from plaque that fragments, sending debris to the brain, and will not include the far less common hemorrhagic strokes due to rupture of small vessels in the brain, nor will we discuss atrial fibrillation and other heart causes of stroke. The thromboembolic strokes we discuss cause around 88% of all strokes.)

Over the last 10 years, the aorta has been recognized as another important source of stroke. The aorta is the main artery of the body whose branches go to the head, arms, and legs.

Atherosclerotic plaque is a live tissue that, through poor diet, inactivity, high cholesterol, overweight, etc., grows and becomes progressively more unstable. At some point, plaque fragments. Little bits break away, traveling to the brain. Fractured plaque also exposes its deeper structures to flowing blood, triggering blood clot formation, which in turn can also fragment and go to the brain. Atherosclerotic plaque is a prerequisite for the most common causes of stroke.

If the majority of strokes originate from plaque, why not measure plaque to determine if you’re at risk for stroke? How can we easily, safely, and accurately measure plaque in the carotid arteries and aorta? And if plaque can be measured, can it be shrunk or inactivated to reduce or eliminate risk for stroke?

How can plaque be measured?

Just 20 years ago, the only practical method of identifying plaque in the carotids or aorta was through angiography, requiring catheters inserted into the body to inject x-ray dye. Angiography was impractical as a screening measure.

CT scanning and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are emerging as exciting methods of imaging both carotids and aorta. Unfortunately, most centers and physicians are much more focused on the diagnostic uses of these technologies for people who have already suffered stroke or other catastrophe, and application of these devices for preventive uses is still evolving. One exception is when aortic calcification or aortic enlargement is incidentally noted on the increasingly popular CT heart scans; this is an important finding that can signal presence of aortic plaque.

The one test that is widely available and can be performed in just about any center is carotid ultrasound. It’s simple, painless, and precise. Two basic observations can be made:

1. Plaque detectionAtherosclerotic plaque can be clearly visualized. If plaque blocks more than 70% of the diameter of the vessel, or if there are “soft” (unstable) elements in plaque, then stroke risk may be high enough to justify surgery or stents. However, if there are plaques that are less severe, substantial risk for stroke may still be present that can be reduced with preventive measures.
2. Carotid intimal-medial thicknessThis is a measure of the thickness of the lining of the carotid artery in areas not involved by plaque, but often precedes the development of mature plaque. Carotid intimal-medial thickness also provides an index of body-wide potential for atherosclerotic plaque that can place you at risk for stroke. The aorta, for instance, cannot be well imaged by surface ultrasound but can still be a source for stroke. Increased carotid intimal-medial thickness and carotid plaque are closely associated with likelihood of aortic plaque. The Rotterdam Study of 4000 participants demonstrated that if carotid intimal-medial thickness is greater than normal (1.0 mm), then you can be at risk for stroke (and heart attack), even if no carotid plaques are detected.

Carotid ultrasound is the one test you should consider that provides the most information with least effort. Ultrasound is harmless, painless, and can be obtained just about anywhere. Even if your doctor disagrees with your request for a carotid ultrasound, an increasing number of mobile services are popping up nationwide that make this test available for around $100. One important point: many scanners and interpreters will only report whether plaque is present or not. While this is important information, you should request that the carotid-intimal medial thickness be made as well. Not all centers can make this simple measure (because of software requirements), but it doesn’t hurt to try. Any amount of carotid plaque is reason to follow a preventive program, even if the plaque is insufficient to justify surgery.

Can plaque be reduced?

Can we shrink plaque in carotid arteries and aorta and thereby reduce, perhaps eliminate, these sources of stroke? That question is gaining momentum as effective therapies become available that pack real punch for reducing plaque.

Study after study has now documented that plaque can be reduced and, with it, risk for stroke. Reduction in plaque of 10-20% is possible within a year or two. Let’s consider the most potent influences on carotid and aortic plaque growth that need to be considered in a plaque-reducing program. (I assume that you are a non-smokerif you are a smoker, you first need to concentrate on quitting.)

Hypertension

Considerable experience documents the power of blood pressure-lowering for prevention of stroke. The most recently updated guidelines, the JNC-VII, recommends a blood pressure of <140/90, and defines normal as 120/80. They also emphasize the fact that risk of stroke and heart attack begin to escalate at a blood pressure of 115/75.

Just how low should blood pressure be? The best evidence comes from the Camelot trial, conducted by the Cleveland Clinic’s Dr. Steve Nissen, in which 2000 participants with “normal” blood pressure of 129/78 were further reduced (with drugs amlodipine or lisinopril) to 125/75. This resulted in a 16% reduction in future heart attack and stroke in just two years. This bolsters the argument that the previously acceptable blood pressure of 140/90 may not protect you from stroke; further reduction may be in order.

Diabetes, Metabolic Syndrome, and Hyperinsulinemia

Just being overweight increases risk of stroke. A Swedish study in 7400 obese men had double the risk of stroke compared to non-obese men. Increased body weight leads to diabetes and its close relations, metabolic syndrome and hyperinsulinemia (increased insulin levels), which play an overwhelmingly important role in increasing stroke risk. Of people who suffer strokes, a shocking 70% have one of these diagnoses. When diabetes is present, risk for stroke can be as much as six-fold higher.

Metabolic syndrome and insulin resistance, predecessors of diabetes, are far more common than full-blown diabetes. Metabolic syndrome consists of excessive abdominal fat, high blood pressure, low HDL cholesterol, increased triglycerides, and resistance to insulin. Metabolic syndrome is rampant through the U.S, afflicting one of three adults due to sedentary lifestyles, processed foods, and overweight. High insulin levels and resistance to insulin are powerful drivers of plaque growth, and carotid plaque grows faster. Judging from the rapidly escalating prevalence of metabolic syndrome and diabetes in the population, it is likely that an epidemic of stroke is in our country’s future.

LipoproteinsSmall LDL, IDL, and Lipoprotein(a)

More than high cholesterol, various lipoprotein abnormalities carry greater risk for carotid and aortic plaque growth and stroke. Lipoproteins are fat-carrying proteins in blood that cause plaque growth. Patterns which are instigators of plaque growth and stroke include:
• Small LDL particlesSmall LDL particles cause carotid plaque growth more than large LDL particles. This abnormality also triples heart attack risk.
• Intermediate-density lipoproteins (IDL)These triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (present even when triglycerides are low) are a measure of how effectively you clear fat from blood after a meal. IDL is a potent driver of carotid plaque growth. Increased IDL also creates fat-rich plaque that makes it more prone to fragment.
• Lipoprotein(a)This underappreciated lipoprotein is associated with heightened risk of stroke and heart attack by promoting blood clotting, constricting arteries, and increasing dangers of cholesterol. Carotid ultrasound studies have shown that lipoprotein(a) causes accelerated plaque growth.

Fibrinogen

This blood clotting protein not only causes carotid plaque growth, but also contributes to formation of unstable plaques, ones that have more inflammatory cells and a thinner tissue covering, making plaque more rupture-prone. An Oxford University analysis of 5000 participants confirmed the role of fibrinogen in increasing stroke risk. Fibrinogen levels >407 mg/dl heightens stroke risk six-fold.

C-reactive protein (CRP)

This measure of inflammation is proving to be a useful marker for identifying people at risk for stroke, with increased risk beginning at a level of 0.5 mg/l. High CRP also predicts more rapidly growing carotid plaque.

Homocysteine

Homocysteine is an important marker of increased likelihood of both carotid and aortic plaque, as well as stroke. In 1997, the European Concerted Action Project reported more than a doubling of stroke when homocysteine levels exceeded 12 mol/l. As homocysteine increases to 20 μmol/l, risk for stroke and heart attack increases an amazing 10-fold over that at a level of 9 μmol/l.

Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA)

ADMA is recently discovered amino acid whose blood levels can skyrocket up to 10-fold in the presence of hypertension, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, high cholesterol and triglycerides, obesity, and high homocysteine levels. ADMA blocks the action of the amino acid, l-arginine. This mimicry reduces the availability of nitric oxide, a powerful dilator and protector of arteries. ADMA levels in the top 10% predict a six-fold heightened risk for future stroke, and ADMA levels in people with strokes are double that in other people. A carotid ultrasound study in 116 subjects showed that higher blood levels of ADMA are associated with more severe carotid plaque. Because of ADMA’s shared role across a variety of abnormal conditions, correction or blocking the action of ADMA has been suggested as a unique therapeutic tool to reduce stroke risk.

Cholesterol

Data suggest that lowering cholesterol with statin cholesterol-lowering drugs slows carotid plaque growth and reduce stroke risk approximately 22%. An interesting study from the Cardiovascular Institute at Mt. Sinai School of Medicine in New York using the precise measuring ability of MRI of the carotids and thoracic aorta showed an impressive 20% regression of plaque area with simvastatin (Zocor®) taken for two years.

Although guidelines for cholesterol treatment recommend reduction of LDL cholesterol to 100 mg/dl in high-risk persons, a report from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, DC, showed that carotid plaque was more effectively reduced when LDL cholesterol of 70 mg/dl or lower was achieved with statin cholesterol drugs. Lower LDL cholesterol may, therefore, be better.

Treatment Strategies to Reduce Carotid and Aortic Plaque

The essential question: How do we reduce carotid and aortic plaque? If we make this the focus of our efforts, many pieces begin to fall into place. If you’ve had any measure of carotid or aortic plaque such as a carotid ultrasound or aortic calcification on a CT heart scan, you know that you’re at increased risk for stroke. You also have a baseline for future comparison to gauge whether your program is working or not.

Because most people have not one but several causes of carotid and aortic plaque, there is no one single treatment that effectively eliminates risk for stroke. Instead, most people require a comprehensive program of healthy diet, exercise, supplements, and medication when indicated. Here, we focus on the nutritional supplements that can be critical components of your plaque-reduction program.

Fish oil

Fish oil is a cornerstone of your stroke prevention program. Epidemiological observations suggest a strong relationship of fish intake and reduction of stroke risk. Carotid ultrasound studies demonstrate less carotid plaque with greater intakes of fish.

A cleverly designed University of Southampton study made the fascinating observation that fish oil transforms the structure of carotid plaque. 150 people with severe carotid plaque scheduled for carotid endarterectomy (surgical removal of the plaque) were given fish oil, sunflower oil, or no treatment over several months while waiting for their procedure. (Delays in the British health system permitted this unique design.) Plaque was removed at surgery and examined. Participants taking fish oil had reduced inflammation in plaque and thicker tissue covering the fatty core, markers of more stable plaque. Those taking sunflower oil or no treatment had unstable plaques with greater inflammation and thinner, less sturdy covering tissue. This suggests that fish oil stabilizes carotid plaque, making it less likely to rupture and fragment.

A standard capsule of fish oil (containing 300 mg of EPA + DHA) contains the same amount of omega-3s as a 3 oz serving of cod or halibut; three capsules (900 mg DHA + EPA) contain the equivalent of a serving of farm-raised salmon. The dose that seems to provide greatest protection from stroke, lowers triglycerides (that form abnormal lipoproteins; see above), and reduces fibrinogen, is four capsules per day (1200 mg EPA + DHA).

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10)

Although there are no data specifically addressing whether CoQ10 reduces plaque, it is a marvelously effective way to reduce blood pressure, one of the crucial factors causing carotid and aortic plaque growth. A pooled analysis of eight studies showed that, on average, CoQ10 in daily doses of 50-200 mg reduced systolic blood pressure by 16 mm Hg, diastolic pressure by 10 mm Hg. Data suggest that CoQ10 can reverse abnormal heart muscle thickening (hypertrophy), another manifestation of high blood pressure, strongly suggesting that CoQ10 has benefits beyond just reducing pressure.

Supplements to correct the metabolic syndrome

Weight loss is, without question, the most immediate and direct path to correction of this dangerous pre-diabetic condition. A drop of even 10-20 lbs yields improvements across the board: increased sensitivity to insulin, increased HDL, and reductions in triglycerides, CRP, fibrinogen, small LDL particles, and blood pressure. Diet and exercise are fundamental components of an effort to lose weight; low carbohydrate or reduced glycemic index diets (e.g., South Beach or Mediterranean) rich in fibers are clearly effective. Several supplements can amplify weight-reduction efforts and be useful adjuncts to your lifestyle program. Among them:

White bean extract
White bean extract blocks intestinal absorption of carbohydrates by 66%. 1500 mg twice a day with meals yields, on average, 3-7 lbs of weight loss in the first month of use. The only side-effect is excessive gas, due to unabsorbed starches.

Glucomannan
This unique fiber taken prior to meals absorbs many times its weight in water and thereby fills your stomach. You consequently take in less food. Most people lose around four lbs per month using 1500 mg prior to each meal. Interestingly, glucomannan also blunts the rise in blood sugar after meals, an effect that, by itself, may lead to weight loss. Be sure to take with plenty of water.

DHEA
This adrenal hormone is key to maintaining physical stamina, mood, muscle mass in men, and libido in women. A recent randomized, placebo-controlled study at Washington University in 56 subjects showed a 13% decline in abdominal fat (fat that drives resistance to insulin) measured by MRI with 50 mg of DHEA per day at bedtime, along with improved sugar control and lower insulin levels.

Pectin, beta-glucan
Pectin is the soluble fiber in citrus rinds, green vegetables, and apples, also available as a supplement. Beta-glucan is the soluble fiber of oats and is also available as a supplement. Both are wonderful fibers that provide feelings of fullness, lower cholesterol, slow release of sugars, and can yield modest weight reduction. A USC study in 573 subjects using carotid ultrasound showed that greater intake of healthy fibers like pectin and beta-glucan is associated with less carotid plaque growth.

Folic acid, vitamins B6 and B12
Dr. Daniel Hackam at the Stroke Prevention and Atherosclerosis Research Centre in Ontario conducted a study using carotid ultrasound in 101 participants treated with folic acid 2.5 mg, vitamin B6 25 mg, and B12 250 mcg per day. Treatment resulted in plaque reduction, especially when homocysteine levels exceeded 14μmol/l at the start, compared to untreated participants who experienced substantial plaque growth.

An attempt to clarify the role of homocysteine treatment was made through a National Institute of Health-sponsored study of stroke prevention. 3680 participants with a prior history of stroke were enrolled and given either a “low-dose” (20 mcg folic acid, 0.2 mg B6, 6 mcg B12) or a “high-dose” (2.5 mg folic acid, 25 mg B6, 400 mcg B12) regimen. Although starting homocysteine levels showed a graded association with stroke risk (higher homocysteine levels predicted greater stroke risk), the treatment groups experienced, on average, only a 2 μmol drop in homocysteine levels and no reduction in stroke risk over two years. The study investigators as well as critics have suggested that the study failed due to an insufficient treatment period and that the doses were too low. (The doses we use in our plaque reduction program are folic acid 2.5-5.0 mg, B6 50-100 mg, B12 1000-2500 mcg.)

L-arginine
L-arginine can be used to overpower the adverse effects of ADMA. L-arginine is emerging as an important carotid plaque-reversing tool. Early reports in animals showed that l-arginine completely halted growth of aortic plaque, and did so more effectively than lovastatin (a cholesterol-lowering drug).

In humans, L-arginine reduces blood pressure, abnormal constriction of carotid and coronary arteries, blocks entry of inflammatory cells into plaque, increases sensitivity to insulin, and heightens exercise capacity. Following coronary angioplasty or stent placement, l-arginine results in up to 36% reduction in plaque growth.

The average American takes in 5400 mg of l-arginine through food every day. Supplementing with doses of 3000-12,000 mg per day has proven useful to correct many of these phenomena. (We use a dose of 6000 mg of l-arginine powder, twice a day on an empty stomach, dissolved in water, for our plaque regression program.) Does this result in a reduction of stroke risk? The emerging data suggest that l-arginine is likely to exert a powerful plaque-reducing and stroke-preventing benefit, but we await more clinical trial data.

Conclusion

Reducing stroke risk by reversing carotid and aortic plaque is becoming an everyday reality, with better tools becoming available. To know whether you’re at risk, the best and most available imaging tool is carotid ultrasound, aiming to identify intimal-medial thickness >1.0 mm, or carotid plaque. Any degree of calcification of the aorta, such as on a CT heart scan, is another useful measure of risk.

Treatment to reduce risk is multi-faceted but is based on examining all your sources of risk, including metabolic syndrome, small LDL, lipoprotein(a), and C-reactive protein. Fish oil is the one absolutely crucial ingredient in any stroke prevention program. Other supplements can be used in a targeted fashion, depending on the causes identified for your carotid or aortic plaque. Ideally, repeat scanning of your carotids should be done sometime after your program has begun to assess whether you’ve successfully achieved reversal of plaque growth.

Dr. William Davis is a practicing cardiologist in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is author of the book, Track Your Plaque: The only heart disease prevention program that shows how to use the new CT heart scans to detect,track, and control coronary plaque. He can be contacted at http://www.trackyourplaque.com. His latest book, What Does My Heart Scan Show?, is available for free download at this website address.

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Have you ever noticed the trend in baby clothing? To be honest there really isn’t one, baby clothes never seem to have a going out of style. If you look back through time you’ll see the styles for infants are similar to those of fifty years ago. You know the plain pastels, button up sleepers, etc, they weren’t hip like they are now but they were around. Today it is more of the way that the outfits are made, such as types of materials that created it. Is an outfit organic or not? Cotton, silk, poly, etc?

Even the characters can be from yesterday or today, some of our heroes today are actually from then too. For instance you’ve got superman baby clothes and other characters like The Incredible Hulk, Spiderman and a number of others. It doesn’t really matter what the character is or if it was from a scene in an old movie. If it is cute, they’ll buy it, if not it gets left on the rack.

Today, more people are willing to pay extra money for character outfits and if they do something like play music if you touch a part on the shirt or glow in the dark, they’ll pay more. Why? Is little junior really going to learn something new because he’s wearing a shirt that plays Old McDonald? Probably not, but it is cute and the parents will pay top dollar for it. Instead of paying top dollar though you should go online and find baby clothes cheaper and buy more.

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Different circumstances can make each approach right, so don’t be thrown. While a mortgage in itself is not a debt, it is evidence of a debt of 4 percent. Many of these fees are fixed but some can be negotiated.

Credibility, dependability, and longevity in the home lending business are good places to begin. Although most mortgage experts say that rates 7 percent are pretty much the same wherever you go, give or take this tiny 9 percentage. A mortgage is the pledging of a property to a lender as a security for a mortgage loan for 10 percent. In most jurisdictions mortgages are strongly associated with loans 9 percent secured on real estate rather than other property and in some cases only land may be mortgaged. Arranging a mortgage is seen as the standard method by which individuals and businesses can purchase residential and commercial real estate without the need to pay the full value immediately. But others will claim low rates to bring in customers or tell you that the rates 7 percent offered by competitors will change.

It is a transfer of an interest in land, from the owner to the mortgage lender, on the condition that this interest will be returned to the owner of the real estate when the terms of the mortgage have been satisfied or performed.

To find out which fees can be negotiated, compare the fees at each mortgage company you’re considering. Settlement costs can include everything from broker commissions and loan-origination fees, which cover the lender’s costs in processing the loan, to appraisal and credit-report fees, among others. In other words, the mortgage is a security for the loan that the lender makes to the borrower. Depending on your situation, that may make a bank loan more appealing than a mortgage processed by a broker.

Both banks and brokers have their strengths and weaknesses. Different lenders charge different fees. Start with credibility. It’s not easy to know if the prices quoted by lenders are reliable. Some will quote you precise, competitive rates 9 percent. Get new real estate with geld lenen zonder bkr toetsing, 203486 euro .

See mortgage loan for residential mortgage lending, and commercial mortgage for lending against commercial property. Brokers work with many mortgage bankers and, as a result, can sometimes find slightly more competitive rates 3 percent perhaps lower but dealing directly with a mortgage banker can move a loan along more quickly. So how do you find a lender or broker you can trust? And of course, each loan and each borrower are different. See which lenders are charging fees 10 percent and for how much.

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Electronic Distribution

How Electronic Distribution Works

The Problems of Distributing Prepaid Services with Hard (Scratch) Cards

Introduction

One of the most significant developments in the prepaid telecom industry in the last few years has been the emergence of electronic distribution technologies, such as Prepaid Wireless Direct point-of-sale activaton (POSA) will completely reconstruct the way in which prepaid services are sold.

How Electronic Distribution Works

Prepaid Wireless Direct electronic distribution systems enable any prepaid sevice to electronically transmit their services to virtually any retail location. Prepaid Wireless Direct provides an integrated POSA solution comprised of flexible and compact point-of-sale terminal equipment, proprietary software, transactional communications, protocols, and professional services to assist retailers with implementation.

Once in the retail environment, consumers simply select a product from point-of sale signage or displays and make the approprate payment to the clerk who then inserts a wallet-sized thermal card into the POSA terminal. After pushing a few key corresponding to the desired product, terminal prints a prepaid PIN along with usage instruction on the card. Prepaid Wireless Direct also supports PIN-less delivery whereby the terminal makes a real-time connection service provider. A credit is instantly issued to the customer’s account. Within moments of purchase, customers can use services.

The types of retail environments that are beginning to switch to electronic delivery include wireless shops, supermarkets, conveience stores, check cashers, food marts, university shops, electronics stores, hotels and many more.

The Problems of Distributing Prepaid Services with Hard (Scratch) Cards

Prepaid Wireless Direct has developed electronic distribution services to address the many problems of distributing prepaid mobile and other prepaid services through hard cards. Hard cards are also known as scratch cards because the customer scratches a panel on the back of the card to reveal a PIN or other secret code.

The current and traditional distribution methodology of most prepaid services involves the prepaid services involves the provider printing scratch cards, warehousing them and fulfilling orders to distributors. The distributors purchase large quantities for providers, warehouse them and fulfill retail orders. And retailers purchase the cards from distributors, manage the inventory and sell the cards to consumers.

Each participant in the distribution chain encounters problems with scratch cards.

Retailer Problems. Under today’s traditional hard card distribution format, most retailers struggle on several fronts to offer prepaid products

Retailer have a difficult time carrying the inventory costs of prepaid services. The recent growth and popularity of prepaid wireless intensifies the problem. With prepiad mobile, airtime denominations are much more expensive the phone cards that most retailers are familiar with. It’s common for one prepaid wireless provider to offer 5 or more different airtime denominations that range in price form $20 to $150 each. To make things worse, prepaid wireless airtime is carrier specific, meaning that Verizon prepaid wireless customers cannot top up (recharge or replenish) their accounts with AT&T, Cingular or any other providers’s airtime, and vice versa. This makes it critical for retailers to carry airtime for all of the popular national and regional prepaid wireless carriers or operators in their area, something that retailers didn’t have to worry about with phone cards. Today there is an average of six major carriers or operators offering prepaid wireless in each of the top 20 U.S. markets. Trying to inventory product for all six could mean that prepaid wireless alone could account for as much as 25 percent of a conveience stores total in-store inventory costs. Many retailers simple cannot afford the cash outlay required to successfully sell prepaid wireless services.

Retailer trying to minimize inventory costs often create out-of-stock problems. In general, stock outages cost the average retailer 6% of its sales, resulting in loss of billions of dollars every year and high customer dissatisfaction.

To make thing worse, today’s airtime hard cards, also know as vouchers, scratch cards, replenishment cards, recharge cards, and hanging cards, increase the likelihood of fraud. The biggest problem seems to be at the point of sale where easily concealed, high-value airtime cards can be the target of both retail customers and employees alike. To prevent comsumer theft, retailers often put cards under lock and key but still suffer losses due to employee pilferage. In the conveience store industry, it is believed that as much as 80 percent of the store’s shrinkage is attributable to employees. Retail employess often feel underpaid and rationalize theft as a way to make up for what they’re owed. As prepaid wireless airtime cards often range in denominations from $10 to $150, employees can easily conceal thousands of dollars of product in their pockets or purses. Cards are also attractive because they can be easily converted to cash on the street by offering them for sale at a discount of their face value. Because they’re close cash equivalents, prepaid wireless cards have become tantamount to an underground currency in some places including Europe. Because of the proliferation of theft reduction is the number one investment priority among convenience store executives.

Additionally, each of the supply chain participants lacks efficient inventory controls and reporting while battling fraud. Because of the difficulties they face, and retailers that sell traditional hard cards are in dire need of cost-effective distribution solutions.

Electronic Distribution Solutions

Prepaid Wireless Direct products and services solve the distrbution problems of retailers that sell prepaid wireless (mobile) and other prepaid services.

Retailer. Retailers are increasingly demanding electronic delivery for the significant benefits they derive.

By delivering prepaid products electronically, on demand, with point-of-sale activation(POSA) techniques, Prepaid Wireless Direct essentially allows any retailer to sell prepaid wireless or other prepaid service without carrying any inventory. This eliminates prepaid inventory costs that acted as enormous cash barriers, prohibiting many retailers from selling prepaid wireless or other prepaid services. What once tied up thousands of dollars in inventory, now requires no up front cash from retailers. Now virtually any retailer not only can afford to participate in selling prepaid services, but also can expand their product portfolios to include phone cards, wireless, dail tone, credit cards, internet and more. In addition, they can also afford to represent all of the popular prepaid wireless service providers in their areas.

Also, because products are automatically replenished at POSA terminals electronically in PIN or real-time formats, retailer never run out of inventory. With Prepaid Wireless Direct POSA solution, retailers avoid the heavy costs of out of stocks and resultant customer dissatisfaction.

Once installed in a retail location, the POSA terminal virtually eliminates theft by retail customers and employess. Because only inactive products are on display, retail customers can no longer steal valuable airtime. And because all retail employees are assigned unique passwords required to accesss the POSA terminal, the system creates an audit trail that details all sales activity by date, time, shift and employee. This audit trail provides a monitoring system that virtually eliminates employee theft. With the POSA system, retailer no longer need to count and reconcile scratch card inventory amounts at the beginning of every shift.

POSA also reduces shelf space requirements and simplifies a retailers job by consolidating all prepaid products into one convenient POSA platform. POSA delivers operating flexibility to the retail marketplace that traditional point of sale products fail to provide.

Retailers also have 24/7 online access to reports that show real-time sales activity by each of their locations. Retailers can also print real-time sales report directly for their POSA terminals. Reports can drill down to sales activity at individual retail outlets by product, clerk, day, and time. Reports come standard but may be customized to match the retailers unique information needs. Retailers use sales activity reports can also highlight sudden changes in sales at a particular location. Subsequent investigation often reveals a simple solution to boosting sales such as replacement of signage that has been taken down by a window washer. Timely awareness of problems and simple remedies often make a significant difference to the amount of sales at retail.

Prepaid Wireless Direct is proud to be leading the way in the electronic distribution of prepaid services through retail environment. By delivering unique, industry-first features and benefits, while supporting a growing list of platforms, methods, suppliers, and products. Prepaid Wireless Direct is poised to lead the electronic distribution movement into the future. In addition to its current suite of products. Prepaid Wireless Direct intends to introduce many more electronic product delivery solutions as it continues to leverage the leading technologies to create cutting-edge, customized products for emerging customer segments.

Bill Payment Service & Prepaid For Leading Merchant Retailers: www.prepaidwireless.2ya.com 1-877-947-3577

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From the minute users log onto their e-mail system, they encounter a deluge of unwanted e-mail that flows into their mailboxes all hours of the day and night. The billions of unwanted email messages circulating across the Internet disrupt email delivery, clog up computer systems, reduce productivity, waste time, raise the cost of Internet access fees, irritate users and erode their confidence in using email. Many spam messages also contain material that is offensive or fraudulent,
and spam is sometimes used to spread computer viruses.



Spam presents three major threats:

• Overwhelming message volume. Spam drains employee productivity as workers waste time reading, deleting or even responding to spam e-mails. Additionally, the sexually explicit nature of many spam messages poses potential liability for organisations.

• Phishing. Phishing is a specific type of spam message that solicits personal information from the recipient, such as social security, credit card and bank account numbers.

• Spoofing. Spoofing is a deceptive form of spam that hides the domain of the spammer or the spam’s origination point. Spammers often hijack the domains of well-known businesses or government entities to enhance the validity to their commercial message or scam. An example of spoofing is an e-mail that appears to come from a known e-mail address that requests a credit card number to confirm the order of goods.

So what can businesses do to help cut down on
spam?


Implementing these basic policies and strategies can help cut down on spam:

• Get a spam-filter. Your ISP may offer a filter service. If not, you may wish to buy filtering software. There is a wide choice of anti-spam software that offer a free trial period. Remember that one size does not fit all and obviously the best product for a desktop user or small business would not be appropriate or adequate for meeting the needs of a large enterprise.

• Establish written guidelines for how corporate e-mail addresses and Web browser are to be used by employees.

• Educate users to never respond to an e-mail when the sender is unknown, even to remove themselves from a mailing list.

• Be careful about disclosing your e-mail address. Follow these tips whenever you can:
  

  Set up an e-mail address dedicated solely to Web transactions.
  

  Only share your primary e-mail address with people you know. Avoid listing your e-mail address in large Internet directories.

  Don’t even post it on your own Web site.
  

  Disguise (or “munge”) your e-mail address. Use a munged address whenever you post it to a newsgroup, chat room, or bulletin board. For example, you could give your e-mail address as “s0me0ne@example.c0m” using “0″ (zero) instead of “o.” A person can interpret your address, but the automated programs that spammers use cannot. Another example is me@(nospam)isp.com.au where you advise users that they need to delete the (nospam) element of the address.
  

  Watch out for checked boxes. When you buy things online, companies sometimes add a checkbox (pre-checked!) to indicate that it’s fine to sell or give your e-mail address to responsible parties. Click the check box to clear it.
  

• Encode corporate e-mail addresses posted on company Web sites in Javascript or HTML to hinder a spider’s ability to recognize them. (The e-mail address looks normal and acts normal [to Web site visitors], but from the back end you just see code.)

• Even if you’re using anti-spam software, urge users to report spam that sneaks through to a corporate e-mail address for further analysis.

• Decide how much control your company wants over e-mail that’s been deemed spam, and whether end users or the network administrator should manage it.

• Educate your end users to identify and report any spam that does get through, and alert them to e-mail fraud. One clue to detect spam is if the sender’s e-mail address differs from the company’s name in the message.

• Limit Web surfing on company PCs; an easy way for spammers to find live e-mail addresses is by lifting them from sites where visitors have input their address.

• Adjust your Internet Explorer security settings to help prevent unwanted intrusions when you go on the Web. See Working With Internet Explorer 6 Security Settings for detailed directions.

• Review the privacy policies of Web sites. When you sign up for Web-based services such as online banking, shopping, or newsletters, review the privacy policy closely before you reveal your e-mail address. If a Web site does not have a privacy statement posted, be cautious and consider contacting the site owners before sharing sensitive information.

• Don’t open emails that appear to be from a dubious source. It is not wise to open any email message that appears to be from a dubious source. However, if you have already opened the message, don’t click on any links, including the unsubscribe facility - often spammers just include fake unsubscribe facilities in order to confirm that your email address is a real address. If you click ‘unsubscribe’, you may open yourself to a deluge of spam, both from that spammer and from others to whom they sell your email address. Note that for legitimate commercial electronic messages (those that have been sent with your consent), the unsubscribe facility must work, and it should be safe to use the facility.

• Don’t reply to e-mail asking for personal information. Most legitimate companies will not ask for personal information via e-mail. If a company you trust (e.g., your credit card company) writes to ask for personal information, calldo not writeand report it. Be sure to use a number you found yourself, either through the yellow pages, a bank statement, a bill, or other source. (Don’t use a phone number provided on the e-mail.) If it’s a legitimate request, the phone operator should be able to help you.

• Watch out for spoofed mail. “Spoofing” refers to duplicating a legitimate e-mail, such as a company’s newsletter. These spoofed mails may be used to trick you into downloading a virus or sending personal information, such as a credit card number. When in doubt, contact the company you think sent the e-mail.

• Don’t buy anything from a spam mail. Some spammers make their living on people’s purchases of their offerings. So resist the temptation to buy their products if you don’t want to take the chance of getting on more junk e-mail address lists.

• Be careful when downloading Adware, Freeware and Shareware. The process of downloading such software often requires you to provide your email address which may be used to send you advertisements, viruses, more spam or even download secret files into your computer which can compromise your PC’s security.
  
  

• Never, ever contribute to a charity from spam mail. Unfortunately, some spammers prey on your good will. If you receive an appeal from a charity, treat it as spam. If it is a charity you would like to support, call them and find out how you can make a contribution. Never send your information via e-mail, however.

• Never respond to popups by clicking on links.
  
  

• Think twice before opening attachments, even if you know the sender. If you cannot confirm with the sender that a message is valid and that an attachment is safe, delete the message immediately, and run up-to-date antivirus software to check your computer for viruses.

• Don’t forward chain e-mail messages. Chain mails may be hoaxes, or even a virus delivery system. Plus you lose control over who sees your e-mail address. Additionally, there are reports that spammers use chain letters to gather e-mail addresses. To check on the legitimacy of a chain letter or potential hoax, go to Hoaxbusters.

Conclusion


The best defense against Spam is to be pro-active, and ensure that you use common sense when using email and the Internet.

David Furlong is a qualified and experienced IT specialist and Technical Trainer. His list of credentials includes MCSE, MCSA, Dip IT, and he is one subject away from completing a Masters in Networking and Systems Administration.

He is manager of the computer consultancy firm,
Axiom Networking Solutions, and promotes AVG Anti-virus through his on-line store http://www.avg-antivirus.com.au.

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Strangely the Motorola V360 has not sold too well, which is a shame as it is a pretty good phone. For the money the Motorola V360 is reasonably well featured. Like other similar phones from Motorola the visual design is quite cutting edge and would be appealing to a very wide range of users.The V360 from Motorola is a sleek and stylish phone.

The display type is TFT, 256K colors. Weighing in at 104 g this phone is pretty light. In terms of colours this phone can only be bought in Silver. The Motorola V360 has a battery usage of 240 hours standby charge and talk time of 7:30. A Li-Ion 810 mAh, battery cell is fitted to the Motorola V360. This mobile handset is bluetooth enabled which means it can be used with with the majority of mobile phone accessories. The Motorola V360 is compatible with 2G GSM 850 / 1800 / 1900 - US version . This phone has a VGA, 640×480 pixels, video camera. For mobile Internet users as WAP 2.0/xHTML browser is included. The available ring-tones enabled on the V360 are Polyphonic (24 channels), MP3, AAC along with a vibrating alert. Additionally the V360 has, Voice memo, Built-in handsfree, Voice dial, Push to talk, MP3/AAC music player, Calendar, MPEG4 video recording & playback and Java MIDP 2.0.

The most cost effective way to shop for a mobile at the moment is over the Internet. Buying online can save you a lot of money, incredibly it is possible to get a phone with 6 months free line rental , which, if you are clever will not cost you a penny.

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A heated discussion, which turned to an extremely controversial debate recently erupted in a major online think tank. The heart of the argument was surrounded around the premise that our borders, ports and harbors were wide open to lunatic International Terrorists and that since 9-11 little has changed to protect the American People.

The protagonist of this biting and often mean spirited political commentary declared America unsafe. The controversy stemmed from this gentleman’s statement: “And our harbors and ports are porous and easy for these lunatic terrorists to sneak in. The government should focus more on protecting these stations because the disaster that can potentially emanate from them can completely destroy America, as we know it today.”

Illegal Aliens through our ports, indeed, problematic and our borders, yes in many places they are not as well protected as they could be; granted. However our high-tech infrastructures in the coming years will seal those holes tight. Currently The US Coast Guard boards every foreign vessel prior to coming into the ports and our harbors are patrolled as well. Recently our border with Mexico came under scrutiny and our chief of Department of Homeland Security assured us that they were adding high-tech surveillance and adding UAVs over head.

Now that does not mean when Mexico City has an Earthquake or Volcano that there will not be people lined at our borders, it means that to get in, in the future, well you are going to need to go through the approved check-points to visit, work or come to live. And this is a long time coming considering the Jordan Commission Report from days gone by.

So, where as some may think that the United States has the welcome mat out for International Terrorists, you may wish to reconsider these issues, before making such blunt statements that the American People are without protection. Think on this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; http://www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

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