Month: October 2015

Glomerulonephritis: How to Diagnose and Prevent It at Various Levels

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Glomerulonephritis is an inflammation of the glomeruli in the kidney. The glomeruli is constellation of small blood vessels in the kidney that act as a filter to remove excess fluid, electrolytes and nitrogenous wastes from the blood into the urine.

It is divided into:

  • Acute Glomerulonephritis- The symptoms develop suddenly.
  • Chronic Glomerulonephritis- The symptoms develop gradually.
  • In glomerulonephritis, the glomeruli lose their filtering capacity thus blood proteins and red cells are excreted in the urine in various quantities depending on the severity of the glomerular damage.

DIAGNOSIS OF GLOMERULONEPHRITIS

Accurate diagnosis is essential in the successful treatment of glomerulonephritis.

Diagnosis is highly dependent on the clarity of symptoms, examination and investigation findings.

SYMPTOMS

  • Passage of coca-colored urine due to the presence of red blood cells in the urine. This is called haematuria.
  • Passage of foamy urine due to excess amount of proteins in the urine. This is called proteinuria.
  • Presence of peri-orbital and ankle swelling.

EXAMINATION FINDINGS

  • Peri-orbital and pedal edema.

· Elevated blood pressure.

INVESTIGATIONS

  • Urinalysis-This reveals diagnostic findings such as red blood cells, casts, white blood cells and proteins in the urine.
  • Blood test- Blood level of electrolytes, urea and creatinine. This is mainly done to assess the extent of kidney damage.
  • Radiological imaging tests-This is done usually when the blood tests suggest some level of kidney damage. E.g Renal scan or abdominal CT scan is done.
  • Kidney biopsy- This entails using a clinical procedure to extract some pieces of kidney tissues for microscopic examination. This is the only test that confirms glomerulonephritis.

TREATMENT

This is based on the following principles:

  • Treat underlying health conditions quickly.
  • Use of corticosteroids to reduce the degree of inflammation and immunological responses.
  • Dialysis- This is used for individuals with acute kidney injury or kidney failure.
  • Anti-hypertensives such as ACEI, ARBs- This is used to control hypertension in some selected individuals.

PREVENTION STRATEGIES

There are 3 levels of prevention namely: primary, secondary and tertiary.

PRIMARY PREVENTION

The aim of this is to prevent the onset of glomerulonephritis.

It entails the following:

  • Throat swab should be done for suspected bacteria cause of sore throat. If streptococcus is suspected, oral penicillin should be commenced as soon as possible.
  • Prompt treatment of individuals with bacteria endocarditis.

SECONDARY PREVENTION

This involves early diagnosis and prompt treatment of glomerulonephritis.

It specifically entails the following:

  • Routine urinalysis to be done periodically for individuals at risk of streptococci infections and for individuals greater than 40 years.
  • Periodic monitoring of blood urea and creatinine levels should be done for individuals with compromised kidney function.

TERTIARY PREVENTION

This involves activities and interventions put in place for individuals with glomerulonephritis from developing complications such as kidney failure and to reduce the disease progression.

  • Optimal control of co-morbidities like hypertension and diabetes mellitus.
  • Reduce intake of high protein diet.
  • Restrict salt intake.
  • Cessation of smoking.
  • Regular clinic follow up by a Nephrologist.

Finally, glomerulonephritis is a very lethal kidney disease of which the onset and progression can be prevented if an individual adheres to the activities in the various levels of prevention highlighted above.

Is There a Houston Real Estate Bubble?

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The real estate bubble refers to the bursting of the real estate market based on economic instability. It is what a lot of consumers worry about prior to investing their money in real estate. Realtors believe that real estate markets cannot crash because of several key factors. The real estate market is based on local or micro-local economies that are more stable than the world economy. They also believe that the real estate market is actually a compilation of local economies that have never been down since the 1960s.

The Houston real estate market has been subject to a lot of “bubble” rumors in recent years. Houston has seen a decline in its job market in the recent years, making Houston quite unpopular among professionals. Although living in Houston is fairly affordable, its lack of professional opportunities, compared to other urban areas, makes it less preferable. This may be one of the reasons behind the Houston real estate bubble. Local realtors, however, believe that the local economy is growing, and real estate sales have not declined significantly. This is accompanied by promising projections of more careers available in the years to come.

Real estate agents believe that the Houston real estate bubble has no basis at all, contending that real estate price appreciation rates may be considered high at almost 4 percent. Desirable neighborhoods in Houston still fetch high prices and may be sold even higher in a few years or when properties are developed further. Houston offers a little bit of everything, which makes it appealing to young families, especially with the insurgence of computer industries that are setting up facilities in Houston. The number of educational institutions in Houston that offer students a competitive edge over other areas also attracts a lot of individuals to Houston. Aside from these, Houston, despite being the fourth most populous city in the United States, has a fairly low crime rate. All these reasons make it quite improbable that the Houston real estate market will crash and never come back.

The Ways to Improve Fundraising

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Donor management is never easy no matter how easy it may seem; there is always some information that you will need to get and some that you will need to impart in order to learn some of the best ways of it.

In the many things about donor management the one that counts to be the most important of all is improving fundraising and getting into the skills of it all for the best results. Here in this article are the ways you need to follow and imbibe to improve the fundraising program for your nonprofit or church.

1. Be Transparent with Your Donors – Though this might seem like an obvious point, it is usually the one that is most ignored, and the most important of all. What is important about transparency is your donors being able to trust you with all – from your plans to our ideas and ideologies. Also, this is an important point to note because only when they trust you will they be able to steward their money well and you must be able to show them you are doing so. By ‘transparent’ we mean both financial and program transparency.

Financial Transparency: You might not be considering financial transparency to be an important point but this should definitely be on your list of important things. It is considered important to release a note time to time which would show how you are allocating your funds, but your donors are not going to sit and read through that long document. Make sure you give your donors an easy way to digest how you are investing their money. Create a graph, chart, infographic etc. And if it looks like you spent more in say, fundraising, than expected, explain why. Your donors love your mission and giving them a peek behind the curtain creates a sense of belonging and teamwork.
Program Transparency: Program transparency is all about the IMPACT. If you can show your donors the impact their money has made in changing the lives of those you’re serving or where the money has impacted, you can be sure you’ve done your thing right. Create annual reports showing the graphs of how far you’ve come with the support, meanwhile mentioning exactly where you want more changes and where you’re striving to achieve more.

2. Optimize our Donor Experience – Your donors shouldn’t be there for just one years or only a period of time, and that is possible only if you manage to optimize the donor experience convincing them that there are things that’ll help you stay in contact for more than one donation period. Try personalization (which definitely does no longer mean just hey and the first name); it is always recommended to stay in touch with the donors through emails, letters and phone calls. You can segment based on last gift amount, last gift date, a specific campaign – anything. And then create fundraising messaging around each category.

3. Audit Your Systems – Thought this is not important? Wrong!!! One of the most important points to be considered to improve fundraising is to audit your system – audit on your end – use the right set of tool and the right techniques. Keep the audit impartial and keep it clear – this will help you understanding how far you’ve come with your fundraising program and exactly how far you will be able to go with it.

Fundraising for churches, charities and non profits is the thing that does the most benefit and an increase in the finds over a stipulated period of time is exactly what they’re striving for. It is therefore recommended that you use these set of tips mentioned above and create a draft accordingly of you new ideas and plans for an increase in the funds.

Civil Rights Attorney – Fighting For the Justice You Deserve

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The ultimate goal of a civil rights attorney is to make sure that those who are not treated fairly are given justice. In Los Angeles and the rest of the United States, there are laws in place which state that businesses and the government cannot discriminate against citizens over certain factors, such as gender, race, sexual orientation, or age. If you live in Southern California and feel you may be the victim of discrimination, you might need to see a Los Angeles civil rights attorney.

There are tons of Los Angeles civil rights attorneys. If you do a search on Google, you will find an (seemingly) enumerable number of attorney’s to choose from. But, as with many services, it’s often best to talk to people who’ve had good experiences with the attorney’s service. You can’t get a list of former clients, but what you can do is talk to people and ask for recommendations of attorneys with which they’ve had great experience with.

You should also meet with the attorney and have a serious consultation. Ask them any questions you have and tell them your story fully and truthfully (without getting too emotional). Make sure you understand how they charge and what you might expect to pay. Finally, understand that you are not required to accept services from any attorney, although you may be charged a fee from some law firms for the consultation.

Other questions you might find useful to ask are inquiries about their background, including where they went to school, which states they have practiced law in, and how long they have been practicing law in California. You want to make sure that whomever you choose as your lawyer, that they have particular experience dealing with your type of case. If you’re dealing with a firm, make sure that the person you have a consultation with is the person who will be handling your case, as many firms have several lawyers who handle the workload. This will ensure that you are given the best chance possible of winning your case.

After you’ve decided upon a good Los Angeles lawyer, you will likely feel much more secure in your situation with the support of a professional who understands your situation and is willing to fight for your rights.

Overview of Utility Locating Services

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Before the start of any project – construction or excavation, it is wise to perform utility locating on the site. This is the first step that has to be done if you are planning a project that will require digging up through the ground.

Hiring professionals to map underground utilities will lead to speeding up the construction project. You no longer have to dig carefully and slowly. It is always better to prevent a problem to occur than to handle it. We are able to see, localize and identify the type of utility in the ground, using advanced methods. There are several reasons why utility locating has to be performed before any project. They all point to delivering time, money and safety:

  • Localization of utility lines for further planning
  • Preventing interruption during work
  • Avoiding repair costs…

Except identifying underground utilities, you will get a full covering of your storage tanks, gas pipes and voids. You’ll want to scan for any dangerous material in the ground, that can be harmful to anyone who will be digging through. Having a full coverage package means no need to worry further.

Do you know that some of the utility lines can be re-routed or placed in a different location? Many of them might be old or not effective anymore. So, you need to replace those old utility lines with new ones. This can be done by utility company who has a lot of experience in the field.

Water and utility lines may not cause more damage than power lines can do. However, the interruption will be the same. This will lead to more delays, repair costs and legal consequences. Electromagnetic equipment is used for detecting signals from beneath the ground. Power lines can be detected anytime, regardless of the season. This is not a case for identifying water lines because they sometimes require a combination of different methods: electromagnetic method or Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) or both of them. This radar uses a high-frequency radio signal that is transmitted into the ground and then the signals are returning back to the recipient in a digital form.

During construction excavation, locating the utilities before you start is a best practice. Damaging any critical utility services such as water and power lines or gas piping during construction is costly and most probably dangerous. Just think that something as simple as digging a hole to plant a tree has a potential to damage a property or even cause a loss of life.