About Dialectical Behaviour Therapy : What is it and How Does It Work?

Teen mental health problems Behavioral health professionals offer troubled adolescents with a teen mental health retreat in Washington State that conducts personalized mental health programs. Such programs are modelled after an evidence-based treatment called Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). It’s a therapy that teaches people to use new skills and apply strategies that can make them change their outlook in life.

Many adolescents, not only in Washington but globally as well, have become vulnerable to mental health problems. usually as a result of dire poverty and/or exposure to abuse and violence.

The World Health Organization (WHO) stresses that adolescence is the formative stage that can be adversely affected by emotional, physical and social experiences and changes in envonment.

The WHO reports that globally, 1 in 7 young people with ages ranging from 10 to 19 years suffer from a mental disorder. This age group represents 13% of the world’s burden of mental health disease.

WHO mental health researchers have established that behavioral disorders in addition to depression and anxiety among adolescents are the foremost causes of mental disability and illness.

More often than not, mental health conditions lead to suicide, which researchers say is the leading cause of death among 15 and 29 years old individuals suffering from mental health disorder.

Importance of Family in dadressing mental health problems Mental health experts say that failure to address mental health issues of adolescents and teens could extend the problem into adulthood. The consequences of such failure will likely impair not only mental but also physical health when the affected teens reàch adulthood.

If so, there’s a likely possibility that mentally challenged persons will have limited access to opportunities that will enable them to find fulfilment in their life.

Overview of How Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) Works in Addressing Mental Illness

DBT is also known as talking therapy since the term dialectical pertains to discussions of opinions and ideas in accordance with the rules of logic. At the Avery’s House personalised mental health programs are available not only to teens in Washington State but also in the neighboring areas. The staff of mental wellness therapists at the clinic follow a program called the Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT).

A DBT program starts by making individuals acknowledge that they are exhibiting behaviors brought about by feelings of anxiety and depression. In accepting that they are suffering from a mental condition, their DBT therapist will guide them in making positive changes to help them manage and control their untoward behaviors.

A standard DBT program encourages patients to learn practical skills on which to focus their thoughts. The goal is to use such skills as an alternative to giving in to tendencies of dwelling on negative thoughts and unhealthy outlooks. Doing so will keep them preoccupied, leaving them little time to think about distressing notions.

Underfloor Heating System Running on Hybrid Heat Pumps – Why the Dutch Gov’t Mandates These Technologies

In The Netherlands, underfloor heating systems have been trending as house improvement projects since the Dutch government has made its installation mandatory. The great news is that the government is providing low and middle income homeowners a zero-percent financing package to cover the underfloor heating installation costs. Moreover, since the main objective of the mandate is to eliminate the use of coal-fueled boilers, a subsidy of up to 30% of the cost of a heat pump is available to qualified cash-strapped homeowners.

Although the government wants to fast track completion of all warmtepomp vloerverwarming (heat pump underfloor heating) projects by 2026, Hugo de Jonge, the Dutch Minister for Housing and Spatial Planning reminded members of the parliament, the importance of codifying standards that manufacturers, suppliers and installers must observe and follow.

Minister de Jonge, clarified that where the house or building is too old and not suitable for underfloor heating technology and heat pump, there’s no need to force the issue. Not unless the building or house will undergo major renovations.

How Does the Underfloor Heating Technology Work?

An underfloor heating technology consists mainly of water-heating pipes installed underneath floors and connected to a gas boiler or a hybrid heat pump

An underfloor water heating system consists of pipeworks installed directly beneath the floor and connected to a heat pump. Installing underfloor heating systems is a lot easier in a new building when compared to installations carried out as a renovation project.

Through the circuit of underfloor pipeworks, the heat of the warm water produced by the heat pump is distributed and provided as low temperature heating beneath finished floors in specific zones. Additionally, an AI-supported thermostat monitors and controls the heat distribution process throughout individual zones.

Basically the Artificial Intelligence running the thermostat will make sure that the heat pump produces radiant heat in the most energy efficient manner. This is why the Dutch government specifically mandates hooking up the underfloor heating technology to a hybrid heat pump. Mainly because a hybrid heat pump alternately draws warm air between outside air and the boiler of the heat pump, whichever provides the most energy efficient and consistent warm temperatures in specific indoor spaces.

A Close Look at How a Hybrid Heat Pump Works?

The hybrid heat pump is regarded as the most ideal heating device to complete the underfloor heating system that will replace fossil-fueled water boilers. It actually works as the central provider of heat, while its hybrid nature is due to the gas boiler that poses as an integral component of the heat pump. The gas boiler is the cost-efficient producer and provider of hot water demanded by household members.

A hybrid heat pump can draw and furnish warmth either from surrounding external air or from the heated water produced by the boiler. The technology is configured to decide which of the two sources has the higher temperature to supply as heat in a particular space.

Medical Technologies Used as Therapeutic Remedies for Neuropathy Patients

The link between the brain and the body allowed technology developers to provide advanced therapeutic solutions to people suffering from painful neuropathy. One such solution is called TENS therapy, which stands for Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation, has been acclaimed to have brought not only relief, but also hope, to people experiencing neuropathy.

What is Neuropathy?

Neuropathy is when the nerves of an individual malfunctions or gets damaged, and in worst cases, the nerves die. Affected nerves are usually found in areas near the epidermis and peripheral nerves, which could worsen by stretching down to the toes and fingertips.

Neuropathy patients experience prickling sensations, electric shocks, burning, or pinching in their bodies, while some lose sensations in particular areas and feel numb. People with this condition have trouble sleeping as the pain in their feet and legs can be unbearable. The condition can be crippling, especially if not properly addressed with medication and other methods of pain relief.

About Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation (TENS) Therapy

The TENS therapy involves the placing of electrodes onto the skin to send electrical current in different frequencies, in levels proven to alleviate the pain felt by neuropathy patients. Actually, a TENS machine is powered by a battery when it sends electrical pulses via electrodes attached to the skin where the affected nerves are located. When prescribed by a physician, neuropathy patients use their TENS device consistently everyday for 30 minutes for about a month.

TENS therapy is most recommended to patients suffering from health conditions determined as cause or causes of painful neuropathy:

  • Low back pain
  • Peripheral artery disease
  • Chronic pelvic pain
  • Osteoarthritis
  • Tendinitis
  • Labor pain
  • Diabetic neuropathy
  • Bursitis
  • Fibromyalgia

Alternative Treatment to TENS

Still, with the continuous developments of technology for the treatment of painful neuropathy, an alternative solution has been gaining popularity among neuropathy patients. This new treatment involves the use of monochromatic infrared energy. Through infrared technology, more blood will circulate in areas where nerves are affected, including the surrounding tissues that send messages of pain to the brain .

However, the treatment will not be successful through vibrations produced by infrared energy alone. In order for infrared technology to work toward lymphatic improvements and inflammation reduction, the therapy must combine with a healthy diet and taking of neuropathy treatment supplements among neuropathy sufferers. .

Why Most Providers of Window Replacement Services in CT Recommend Vinyl

In Connecticut, professional providers of window repair and replacement services often recommend ct vinyl siding as the best option for replacement windows. While suggestions include sidings as components of windows, the use of vinyl is the oft recommended material because of its energy-efficiency, affordability, durability and aesthetic quality.

While many among us are familiar with the term vinyl as the traditional music album played on turntables or record players, vinyl is also known in the construction world as PVC, which stands for polyvinyl chloride. Due to their availability and durability, numerous construction materials are made of vinyl or PVC; e.g. floor tiles, water pipes, gutters, downspouts, cable insulators and wall coverings, just to name a few.

In learning about the wide use of vinyl, it also piqued our interest to know the technology behind vinyl or PVC to fully understand the benefits it offers as an alternative to other window siding materials like wood and steel.

How is Vinyl Made?

As mentioned earlier the term vinyl is a derivative of the chemical compound polyvinyl chloride or PVC represented by the chemical formula C2H3Cln. The vinyl chloride combination undergoes a process known as polymerization to artificially produce a man-made resin.

https://youtu.be/NSmLF94-89Q

The polymerization process involves exposing polyvinyl chloride to highly reactive compounds (oxygen, hydrogen chloride and copper) that act as initiators in enabling double-bonding monomers or single-unit molecules to connect. Bonding actions transpire repeatedly to form a chainlike network of bonded monomers, to eventually develop into a huge polymer resin known as polyvinyl chloride (PVC) or vinyl for short.

When dealing with the colorless and flammable gas produced by the process, it is approached with the use of special protective equipment as it is toxic and a cancer-causing agent.

The Who and When in the Discovery of Vinyl or PVC

The technology behind the development of vinyl was first discovered in 1835 by a French chemist named Henri Victor Regnault, and improved on by a German chemist Eugen Baumann in 1872. Years later, another German chemist named Friedrich Heinrich August Klatte discovered the practical use of PVC in producing solar radiation that can act as initiator for polymerization, a process which this German chemist sought patent licensing rights in 1912 .

In 1926, Waldo Lunsbury Semon, an American chemist employed by B.F Goodrich Company in the U.S was able to successfully manufacture plasticised Polyvinyl chloride. Semon’s success in developing plasticised PVC caused the boom in commercially-produced polymer. The company’s first uses of the plastic polymer were in coating cloth products, as shock-absorbing seals, and insulations for electric wires under the trademark Koroseal.

Today, there are several other uses of vinyl aside from its popularity as material for window sidings, as the highly durable plastic also found use in the medical industry, in the manufacture of car fixtures and accessories, electronic components and equipment, toys, furniture and an assortment of kitchen items.

Smart Gardening Devices – A Cursory Look at New Gardening Technologies

Smart gardening devices are being developed to give serious gardeners the ability to automate tasks they are unable to fastidiously perform for one reason or another. However with the vast range of new technologies to explore, it would be easy to miss information about innovations that allow gardeners to do more than just automate gardening tasks.

Eco-Friendly Smart Gardening Devices

Automatic water sprinklers are of great help, but in8 these times when unnecessary water consumption could contribute to possible water shortage, serious gardeners can do better with smart water sprinklers.

A water sprinkler is smarter and eco-friendlier if it works in conjunction with a sprinkler controller, which takes into consideration the weather forecasts as well as the data collected from your garden. That way, the automation of the water sprinkling system runs not only according to time-schedule but also on the basis of need in any given time. .

Smart Gardening Devices are Proactive Rather Than Reactive

Smart gardening devices can help gardeners perform actions in advance by receiving notification from weather sensors specifically developed for gardening purposes. Rather than be caught off guard by an unexpected weather occurrence, a gardening weather sensor app enables users to monitor temperature, anticipate rainfall, wind chills and heat index in addition to basic weather metrics.

Receiving notifications or timely information about weather-related elements will empower gardeners to grow and sustain both outdoor and indoor plants with success. Most weather sensor apps integrate with Alexa as a means of providing users with detailed and accurate weather forecasts that extend beyond smart gardening purposes.

Smart Gardening Devices Can Also Give Users Extra Edge for Competition Purposes

While some gardeners are into growing plants as a hobby or as a form of physical/mental; therapy, there are those who bring their gardening skills to competition levels. Aside from water and weather sensing-technologies, having additional knowledge about the current conditions of one’s garden soil will eliminate issues about stunted growth or sudden occurrence of plant diseases.

Smart soil sensors analyze data collected from one’s soil to keep uses in the loop about the soil’s current demand for moisture and/or fertilizers.

However, to make certain that a smart gardening device can deliver the important work it promises, consumers need to check if it’s a certified smart product, as indication that the special capabilities have been tested.

On the other hand, if you are in the business of selling smart gardening devices and/or applications, keep in mind that these products belong to a special niche. That being the case, you need to fully support your business website with marketing campaigns and SEO strategies.

Improve results by increasing external links that point to your smart gardening business website. Using creative and unique guest posts about smart gardening write for us and for other websites, as a way not only to promote your product but also to increase your website’s visibility to search engine crawlers.

Efficiency of Hunting Apps and of Crossbows

Hunting apps have become useful tools because they enable users to access information they need in their hunting endeavors while in the field. Whether one is looking for a new ground in which to hunt or information about the expedition; on potential partners or just staying up to date with weather developments, hunting apps can make a hunter well-prepared and at the same time, make him or her feel a lot safer.

 

Choosing a Hunting App

Different hunting apps have been developed for a variety purposes. Yet no matter what the app intends to specifically provide, its main use is to make hunting experiences a lot easier and the outlook more circumspect. That being the case, hunting applications to be truly functional must include the following features:

1. Provide maps and detailed information about the hunting area being covered. In addition, it allows for map sharing among hunting partners

2. Information must include a snapshot of the game, their movements and patterns of their activities.

3. Allow multiple app users to connect with each other to make known their positions as a means of avoiding mishaps or accidents.

4. Have pages that will let the app users analyze his or her hunting data in order to monitor the progress achieved.

In having those basic features, members of the hunting team will be able to gather data they can use in organizing a hunting trip with higher potential for achieving success, regardless of the hunting weapon to use.

When it comes to choosing their weapon, most millennials are more inclined to choose a crossbow as their hunting gear.

The Rising Popularity of Crossbows as Ultimate Kill-Gears

Actually, it does not come as a surprise why crossbows have become the ultimate kill-gears in the hunting realms. After all, the prehistoric inventor of this weapon actually had hunting in his mind when he assembled the first composite bow.

 

Yet in today’s recreational hunting expeditions, crossbows just like hunting apps, make the hunting exercise more enjoyable because they promote greater ease.

1. First off, crossbows come with quivers or those magazine-type attachments that allow users to load 5 up to 10 bolts; making reloading of ammunition much easier and faster. Crossbow bolts, by the way, are the shorter versions of the arrows of conventional composite bows.

2. Still, what is probably the first and foremost reason why many choose a crossbow as hunting gear is that becoming skilled in the use of one, does not require intensive practice. Unlike with composite bows, to which an archer has to practice techniques for applying the right draw weight in order to produce a commensurate speed. With a crossbow, a hunter can fire bolts in realistic ranges, typically between 30 to 40 yards, whilst requiring minimal adjustments. .

3. Moreover, greater accuracy can be achieved by mounting a scope as additional crossbow feature.

4. When reading information on why many are choosing crossbow for hunting, it will interest readers to know that once gun season is over, use of archery gears for hunting allows hunting for a longer period.

Still Using Zoom? Time to Consider Other Options

Zoom, the video-conferencing tool that millions started using while in the wake of the Covid-19 lockdown, has come under fire for critical security flaws. Although the company has made updates in order to address the security lapses, use of the cloud-based platform has already exploded into a series of massive hacking incidents.

As nations went into lockdown, people video-called each other, institutions and companies tele-conferenced and held meetings, while learners attended online classes chose to use the cloud-based service. Although many found the platform user friendly, they were not aware that ease of use came with a price: a flawed security system.

In a short span of time in the midst of an ongoing lockdown, cyber criminals were able to steal and sell more than 500,000 accounts.

The new term “Zoombombed” came to be used to describe incidents in which uninvited attendees maliciously infiltrated and disrupted streamed meetings and/or virtual gatherings.

Although at first perceived by Zoom fans as mere rumours intending  to discredit the company, because Zoom’s stock market value had quickly doubled to nearly $35 billion. However as security experts scrutinized and pointed out the weaknesses of Zoom’s privacy and security measures, the company’s CEO Eric Yuan had no other choice but to acknowledge the lapses.

Zoom CEO’s Statement Conveyed via Live YouTube Stream

After being confronted with reports disclosing Zoom’s serious security lapses and with one lawsuit after another being filed against the company, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan came out with a public apology last April 08, 2020, via the company’s live YouTube webinar, captioned as “Ask Eric.”

After saying he is “deeply sorry” for his company’s failure to meet user security and privacy expectations, the Zoom CEO went on to explain that the design of the platform was made without foreseeing that in just a few weeks, nearly everyone across the globe would be using Zoom; not only for socializing, but also for working and studying from home. To that he added that because

”The system’s new user base was using the platform in a number of “unexpected ways;’ we were faced with challenges that we failed to anticipate during Zoom’s conception.”

Yuan also gave assurance that they are taking the issues seriously as they are now looking into each issue, albeit with a less assuring statement:

” If we find an issue, we will acknowledge it and we will fix it.”

One might take that statement to mean that if Zoom’s staff will base security updates on a per case basis and not entirely on safety protocols that will make the cloud-based platform a secure environment in which to communicate.

Based on the Zoom CEO’s acknowledgment that they still have a lot of work to accomplish in order to ensure the security of all the new consumer use cases, it would be wise for Zoom users to reconsider their choice of video-chat and tele-conferencing platform.

As an aside to this technology post, readers looking for an affordable replacement for their weary laptop speakers; or otherwise wishing to enhance their laptop audio, would find it interesting to know that there are under 100$ laptop speakers from which they can choose.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act : How Does it Affect Tech Businesses?

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) is a sweeping reform of the tax code that was signed into law by president Donald Trump in Dec. 22., 2017. The new tax law includes mostly tax breaks, reduction of tax rates and significant increases in personal deductions for individual taxpayers.

Tech businesses, just like any other enterprise and regardless of structure, are likely to benefit from the changes. The legislation of the tax reforms was seen as a way of encouraging businesses to expand and hire more workers.

If a tech business is registered as a corporation, the most important change brought by the Act is the lowering of the Corporate Tax rate from a previous high of 35%, down to a new low of 21%.

Major TCJA Reforms that Allow Greater Reductions on Taxable Business Income

The TCJA modified the following allowable deductions to pose as significant tax reliefs, mainly because they can greatly reduce the taxable income of corporations and/or pass-through businesses.

Pass-through businesses by the way, are usually small or medium-sized enterprises in any industry. They are registered either as a sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC) or S-Corporation. Their main difference from traditional or C corporations is that income generated by the business, passes on as taxable income of the business owner/s, and not of the corporation.

Lump-Sum 20% Deduction on Qualified Business Income

Owners of pass through businesses can apply a lump-sum 20% deduction to further reduce their taxable income. However, this tax relief is available only when the taxable income is less than $157,500 and if the business owner is single; or less than $315,000 for married business owners.

100% Depreciation on Capitalized Expenditure

Capitalized expenditures are those that form part of the assets of the business rather than treated as outright expenses for the year. Traditionally, capitalized expenditures are gradually depreciated over a specific life and only the depreciation for the year gets recognized as an expense that can reduce the taxable income of a business.

The TCJA modified this method of recognizing depreciation expenses by allowing corporations and pass through businesses to treat the full cost of an acquisition on the very first year; instead of spreading them out as depreciation expenses throughout the life of the asset.

This tax amendment encourages businesses to further invest on computers, vehicles and other cost-intensive equipment and major property renovations.

Modification on the Treatment of Net Operating Loss (NOL)

Prior to the enactment of the TCJA, a resulting Net Operating Loss or NOL can be carried back for up to two years. Now, when a business incurred losses instead of profit during the tax year, the NOL amount can apply as further reductions on the taxable income on next year’s tax return. In case, the business incurs another NOL on the next tax year, they can be added to the previous year’s NOL onward, and for an indefinite period of time.

However, this tax relief is something that business owners must work out with a seasoned tax consultant, since the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is not inclined to readily accept NOLs at face value. Expect an IRS examiner to carefully scrutinize the tax return in order to ascertain the propriety of all deductions made against the gross profit.

Gear Up with a High Tech Solar Powered Charger During Extreme Outdoor Adventures

While out on an outdoor adventure whether for purely explorational and recreational purpose or for carrying out a specific mission (e.g. research, competitive training), you will likely be using numerous smartphone apps that can quickly drain the battery off your mobile device.

Taking more than one smart device and a powerbank with you is a good idea, but it is against the principle of “traveling light” during long outdoor travels of the extreme kind. Powerbanks are lightweight enough, but they eventually run out juice, specially if it has to keep up with your frequent charging during days of outdoor tripping. The more sensible thing to do is to bring a highly advanced solar powered charger.

A powerful solar powered charger simply gets its energy from the sun. Now to avoid draining this device, you only need to place it directly under the scorching heat of the sun and let its technology to do the rest. In the meantime, find a shady area in which to fasten your hammock, as you need to avoid overexposure to the sun’s powerful UV rays if you have to stop and rest. Well, when it comes to this camping device, the best type to bring is a parachute hammock, because it is made from the same lightweight but sturdy materials used for parachutes.

Features that Make a Solar-Powered Charger Reliable and Powerful

More often than not the robust kind of solar-powered chargers include the word “Extreme to its brand.” Mainly because they are meant for outdoor activities that commonly take a person away from electrical outlets for days under harsh conditions.

The powerful type usually houses a 9,000 mAh battery, a size that is tolerable enough to load as extra weight in one’s backpack. Moreover, for a solar charger to be powerful under extreme outdoor travel, it must be outfitted with at least a 3 to 3.5- watt solar panel. That way, the charger can take in and store as much solar energy as possible through highly efficient monocrystalline solar cells.

An extreme solar charger includes other features such as waterproof, shockproof, scratch proof and built with a 5V USB port; plus an option for charging via an electrical outlet by way of 12V DC socket. Although 5V USB is pretty standard for any type of portable device, it is still best to check just how much voltage your device can take in case it deviates from the standard.