As we grow up from childhood and begin to develop, hormones once held dormant, begin to be released and cause many changes in physical appearance. There are also many internal differences as well. Female hormones are responsible for all the specialized development that a girl goes through in becoming a woman. The process usually takes around four years and in this time varying hormone levels can be difficult to adapt to. As the process begins, the hypothalamus begins to release hormones that will in turn trigger another endocrine gland, the pituitary gland, to release two other hormones. These two hormones are luteinising hormone (LH) and follicle stimulating hormone (FSH). These are sent to the ovaries, which are then stimulated to create their own female hormones.

Female hormones are also necessary in regulating a women’s menstrual cycle, allowing her to give birth. The main hormones produced by the ovaries are progesterone and estrogen. These along with LH and FSH have a large role in a women’s natural cycle. Hormones take a drastic change when a woman becomes pregnant as well. Estrogen and Progesterone levels remain high in the body during this time. There are many different hormones as well. Each hormone involved in pregnancy serves a vital role in this complex cycle.

After a pregnancy, hormone levels yet again take another drastic change, reverting back to normal levels. This can be difficult for some women to adapt to and there are a number of negative symptoms that are believed to be caused by the many hormonal changes occurring in the body. Female hormones and their affect on emotional and psychological behavior are still not very well known however.

Women undergo another change in hormone levels at around the age of 45-50. At this point the ovaries become unable to produce normal amounts of female hormones. This is known as menopause. When the process begins there may be irregularities in the menstrual cycle until finally it ceases altogether. This can have a negative effect on many aspects of health as estrogen serves many functions including protecting the heart and bones. There are also various other negative side effects caused by menopause such as hot flashes and bone loss. There are however, a number of ways to treat the side effects including with hormone replacement therapy. Hormone replacement therapy may even be able to protect against osteoporosis and heart disease however this therapy requires a balance that should be discussed with your doctor.

From the very beginning of life, female hormones have a great effect on a woman’s life. They shape appearances, make having children possible and are responsible for many important experiences for a women. Knowing all you can about these important parts of your body is important in keeping healthy.

Tiffany

Dear Tiffany:

Put the dog in a crate. Not only will she be UNABLE to get onto your bed, but when she goes to your parent’s house, you will be able to take the crate with her so she will have a familiar place to sleep at the different residence. By crating her at night, you’re providing her with her own “den” since dogs derive more satisfaction from small places than we do. She will more than likely put up a fuss in being confined beyond her control, but it should go away after a few nights as she becomes more comfortable with the crate. Do not give her any attention while she is whining, as this will only reinforce the behavior. Some people go so far as to buy earplugs for those first nights.

Introduce the crate in a positive manner, with lots of treats and praise. Put her bed in it so it has her scent in it. Feed her in her crate so she gets the idea that no one will disturb her and the crate is a safe place. When you have to shut her in, give her a special “crate toy.” Many people have had success with Kong toys stuffed with peanut butter or cheese/liver paste and freezing these.

The crate is also useful for confining the dog when it can’t be supervised to keep it out of trouble (see the first article above).

When we think of the word, ‘poster,’ most of us imagine a garish, wrinkled picture with tattered corners and torn edges, scotch-taped to the back of teen-ager’s bedroom door or a college student’s dormitory wall.

Certainly, not a Van Gogh by any definition!

However, with all the great framing and laminating options available today, it is possible to turn your favorite dog or puppy print into a masterpiece that any dog lover would be proud to display!

A great option for protecting and displaying your dog prints is wood-mounting. Laminated, wood-mounted posters or prints are chic, appealing and appropriate in any surroundings!

When you choose to have your dog poster wood-mounted, it is fastened to a 3/8 inch wood fiber board and then laminated with an ultraviolet filtering film. This film insulates your dog poster or print from dirt, moisture, fingerprints and other potentially damaging elements.

Your wood-mounted dog poster is then trimmed, beveled and finished in black to create a beautiful, elegant piece of art!

Wood-mounting is available for most posters up to a certain size. If wood-mounting is not available for your preferred size dog poster, you can choose to have it laminated which will extend the life of the print.

The next time you’re shopping online for a new dog or puppy poster to adorn your wall, take the time to consider your framing options. It might cost a little more to have your poster framed, mounted or matted, but the final result will be worth it.

You’ll have a stylish, attractive, well-preserved work of art that you’ll be proud to display on any wall in your home!

Q: How much television do children watch?

A: According to the study released by the Kaiser Family Foundation, in a typical day more than eight in 10 children under the age of 6 use screen media, with those children averaging about two hours a day.

Q: How is TV used in most homes?

A: In many homes, electronic media are used to help manage busy schedules, keep the peace and facilitate family routines such as eating, relaxing and falling asleep. TV can also be used to educate. Thirty-seven years ago, Sesame Workshop changed the history of television with “Sesame Street,” proving educational television can be a positive learning tool for preschoolers.

Now, the nonprofit educational organization behind the show has developed a new line of DVDs called Sesame Beginnings. It’s designed to encourage interaction between caregivers and children, as well as to provide ideas, songs and activities that caregivers can use to promote “teachable moments.”

Q. Why focus on infants and their caregivers?

A. As the recent study found, millions of children under the age of 2 are watching TV and videos. Sesame Workshop’s own research has found that “Sesame Street” videos were among those frequently viewed by children under 2. However, the content and curriculum of “Sesame Street” is designed for ages 2-5. Therefore, the DVDs were created to provide video content for families with younger children-with the goal to model and foster parent-child interaction during viewing and, most importantly, when the video is over.

Q. Are the DVDs designed to promote infant TV/video viewing?

A. No. The purpose of developing these DVDs is to offer parents-who do choose to allow their children to watch TV/video-content that is developmentally appropriate for children under 2 and that reinforces important research-based principles that young children learn best through adult-child interaction. Dr. Truglio is Vice President of Education & Research at Sesame Workshop.

DVDs for the under 2 set-In a typical day, studies show that more than eight in 10 children under the age of 6 watch television.

Photos are usually kept at home in one of three formats:

strong Paper prints:strong  the most common format, usually at sizes like 4X6 and 5X7. Over time paper prints tend to lose their quality. Depending on how well they are kept the paper might turn yellow and bend and the colors might fade.
strong Negatives:strong  also known simply as film. This is the processed film usually 35mm from which the prints where made. Although negatives can get damaged over time they are more likely to maintain their high quality. Negatives are hardly used unless new paper prints are needed.
strong Slides: strong very similar to negatives used for projecting photos on a large screen.

There are many advantages to digital photography. Having your photo album in digital format allows you to easily print paper copies either at home or using a printing service, to view your photos on your computer, to share photos with friends and family and maybe most importantly to practically archive your photos for eternity. So if digital format is that good why not convert all those old photos from traditional paper and negatives to digital? Here is how:

There are different considerations when converting from paper to digital. Professional photographers spend a lot of time and money on this process. For most amateurs and consumers very simple methods can be used which are both cheap and easy. Scanning paper prints and negatives requires different equipment and considerations. For most home users scanning the negatives is not necessary.

<strong>Scanning paper photos prints</strong>

Photo paper prints are easy to scan. You can choose to scan them yourself at home (purchasing a scanner that can do the job is usually cheap and costs less than a $100). You can also choose to mail them (or hand them) to a professional scanning service that will scan them for you and mail you back the originals and a DVD with the digital scans (such services include www.digmypics.com, www.digitalpickle.com, www.britepix.com and many more)

There are pros and cons to scanning at home or using a professional service. If you have a small number of photos scanning at home is easier. If you have plenty of photos using a service might be easier but you can end up spending more money. In addition mailing your one and only hardcopy of your photos is a risk since they might get lost.

If you are going to scan at home consider the following:

<li><strong>Resolution:</strong> the resolution of a scan is measured by the number of dots per inch that the scanner can produce. Most scanners can scan at 1200 DPI or more. Usually the scanner can be set to scan at different resolutions. The higher the resolution the slower the scan and the bigger the photo file size will be. For most paper prints scanning at 300 to 600 DPI is enough but you can experiment scanning at higher resolutions if you feel it provides better results.</li><br>
<li><strong>Speed:</strong> If you have a small number of photos speed is not an issue. If you have hundreds or more of photos scanning speed becomes important. To get fast scans you would have to scan at the lowest resolution possible that results in good enough scans – for most paper prints 300 to 600 DPI is enough.. Also if you’re going to buy a scanner check the scanning speed (usually measured in the number of scans per minute make sure that you check the speed at the DPI you’re going to use).</li><br>
<li><strong>Photo feeding:</strong> if you only have a small number of photos this is not an issue. If you have many photos make sure that the scanner you buy allows fast and easy loading of photos. Some higher-end scanners will let you load a stack of photos and will automatically feed and scan them for you. These scanners are the right choice if you are planning on scanning hundreds or more photos. </li><br>

<strong>Scanning negatives and slides</strong>

Scanning negatives and slides is harder than scanning paper prints. In most cases it is easier and maybe cheaper to use a professional scanning service (such services include www.slidescanning.com, www.myspecialphotos.com, www.pixmonix.com and many more). If you want to scan at home your standard flat scanner will not be good enough. In most cases you will need to spend money on purchasing a film/slides scanner. Those scanners are more expensive than the flat paper scanners. Negatives and slides are small high resolution sources and thus require scanning at higher DPI than paper prints. In most cases 2400DPI or higher should be used.

The considerations for scanning negatives and slides are similar to scanning paper prints. If you need to scan just a few negatives or slides speed and ease are not important but if you’re going to scan hundreds or more you should spend more money on scanners that can feed the negatives or slides automatically or can just load a roll of film and scan it.

The good news is that in most cases scanning negatives is not needed at all. For most amateurs and consumers scanning home photo paper prints is more than enough and scanning the source negatives is a not needed. It is recommended of course to keep the negatives in a safe place. You can use the digital scans for future prints or just for viewing on your computer screen and sharing with your friends and family.

In conclusion scanning your photo paper prints is easy. You can do it yourself at home or you can use a professional scanning service. You can convert all your memories into digital format with a small investment and make sure that you can enjoy those photos and also keep them in their original quality for eternity.

The experts at Merry Maids offer pet owners the following tips for keeping a clean home and tackling the most common problems.

* Minimizing the mess: Cleaner pets mean a cleaner house. Bathe and brush your pets regularly to minimize the amount of pet hair and dander and to help eliminate odors. Keep a lint brush or damp sponge handy to quickly pick up loose pet hair.

* Removing pet hair: On carpeting, use a vacuum with a good beater brush or brush roll to remove pet hair. On upholstery, use velour brushes, tape rollers or even the rubber bottom of a clean tennis shoe and remove the fur using light, even strokes.

* Lifting stains: Dilute spots using a damp cloth, then clean the area with one quart of water mixed with one teaspoon white vinegar. Cleaning solutions from your local pet store or supermarket also work well in lifting stains and odors. Be sure to follow the label directions and allow them to work for the full amount of time indicated.

When your pet has stomach problems, clean up these accidents quickly, as the acidity can stain your carpet. Treat the affected area using a professional carpet detergent and rinse with clean hot water. Extract the soiled solutions away from the carpet.

In response to the release of epinephrine, and the increase in skin temperature, the horse starts to sweat. Evaporation of sweat is the most important means of losing heat available to the horse. Sweat secreted onto the skin draws heat from the horse as it evaporates. Evaporation from the respiratory tract also plays a role in cooling.

Some heat is lost through convection. The body surface warms the surrounding air, which conducts the heat away. Loss of heat by convection is most effective when the temperature of the air surrounding the horse is low. When the environmental temperature approaches that of the horse’s body, heat loss by convection is greatly reduced. Air movement at the body surface helps by removing the warmed air and replacing it with cooler air.

But all that sweating has its drawbacks. Prolonged sweating can result in significant loss of fluids. A horse can lose as much as 40 litres of fluid during an endurance ride.

And it is not only the fluid loss that is important. Equine sweat contains electrolytes (salts) such as sodium, potassium and chloride, often in higher concentrations than in the blood.

So prolonged sweating can result in the loss of significant quantities of electrolytes from the body. This can lead to colic, and muscle weakness and can be potentially life threatening.

Evaporation increases in hot dry conditions. The horse may sweat so much that he becomes dehydrated. But humid conditions reduce the heat loss through evaporation. The horse may be unable to lose enough heat and become dangerously overheated.

Horses working in hot conditions are at risk of developing heat stroke or becoming exhausted. Heat stroke is more common in horses doing fast, strenuous work and is the result of the horse being unable to lose enough heat. Affected animals become distressed. The rectal temperature rises above 40 degrees centigrade

Heat stroke is a problem that needs to be corrected very quickly. Affected horses can collapse and die within minutes if not treated.

The horse must be cooled as quickly as possible to avoid permanent damage. The best way to do this is to pour iced water all over the horse’s body. Walking the horse for 30 seconds in between applying the water helps. The movement stimulates the blood supply to the skin, encouraging heat loss. The air movement over the body promotes heat loss through evaporation.

As the horse cools down, offer half a bucket of water periodically. Oral electrolyte solutions are better than plain water, providing the horse will drink them. There is no advantage in offering cooled water to drink. Studies show that horses usually drink more if the water is offered at ambient temperature.

Exhaustion tends to be more a problem of horses taking part in endurance, or other longer but lower speed, activities. The prolonged need for heat loss leads to fluid and electrolyte disturbances.

Exhausted horses are depressed, and have no interest in food or water. Again the rectal temperature is above 40 degrees. The skin is dehydrated. In addition to being cooled, these horses need further treatment to support the circulation and prevent shock. Horses may have lost over 30 litres of fluid which will need to be replaced. But because they have also lost electrolytes they often show no interest in drinking despite the fluid deficit. So it is usually necessary for fluids to be given into the vein or by stomach tube.

If you are competing in hot conditions, what can you do to prevent problems? Make sure that your horse is well hydrated before starting work. Encourage him to drink. Sometimes horses dislike the flavor of the water when they are away from home. Adding flavorings such as apple juice to the water at home and then adding it to the water at the competition may help.

Give the horse as many opportunities as possible to drink during breaks in the exercise. Stand him in the shade whenever possible and take advantage of any breeze to help keep him cool.

Most horses that are in light work, and receiving a balanced diet with access to a salt lick, do not need electrolyte supplements. But horses may benefit from them if they are taking part in more demanding sports, such as endurance riding or eventing.

Giving electrolytes before, during and after strenuous work, helps replace the losses and prevent dehydration. Electrolytes specifically designed for horses are now available. Those that are produced for cattle are not necessarily suitable. Your equine veterinarian will be able to advise you about the most appropriate products.

A great way to find discounted pet products is via online stores. There are varieties of products that you can check out. Pet food products with discounts are the first in the list. Most of the pet owners buy their pet’s food online or at stores. Since they are the first to sell out, they set discounts on different food products and brands. This is advantageous so that the other owners will be able to buy their dogs food products. Most of the discounted food products are the all natural food products. They are quite expensive which is why they are sometimes given discounts. It is not only advantageous to the customers but also for the stores because their sales are also increasing.

The next top discounted products are the pet shampoos or soaps. These are also called the grooming products. These products also sell out easily because they are nearly as important to some owners as their dog’s food. Maintaining your pet’s grooming doesn’t simply add beauty to dogs, but it prevents them from getting different diseases and also some insects and flees on their hair. Pets look good and feel good when they are clean. Your house will also look and smell clean. Pet grooming products are quite expensive because they are made out of special ingredients. Purchasing these products online at discounted prices can save you a lot of money.

Another bargain you should take advantage of is for pet chains. Since pet chains or belts are part of the training process, many dogs use these. Dogs need chains especially when they are the type of aggressive dogs. Chains should be tough so that they cannot get away that easily from their posts or cages. Chains are quite expensive because they are made out of special and expensive materials built to last. Keeping your dogs restrained with ropes is not appropriate because they can break away from it easily. Pet owners can now buy chains at a good price because of discounts. You can be assured that your dog will stay with you for a long time.

Another way to save money on pet products is to buy wholesale. If you are buying products for your store or simply buying products in bulk, you will probably save money. If the store does not allow discounts at the moment, you can talk to the store owner and make ask for discounts. If you promise to buy from his store more often, he can consider your request and you can start earning for your own business. Keep in mind that in putting up your own pet store business, you will soon offer discounts to your customers so make the most out of your purchase.

Tripod: A tripod is important for one main reason, keeping your images sharp. You’ll want to select a small aperture to maximise depth-of-field, so you should be using a shutter speed of less than 1/60 second. It’s impossible to get a sharp image holding your camera in your hand at these slow speeds.

When choosing a tripod pick one made out of carbon fibres, these are light to carry but are sturdy in the ground. Choose a tripod that the legs will spread out far, this will help to optimise the strength of your support.

Filters:  A small selection of filters is well worth packing when heading off for a trip. They don’t take up too much space and will definitely add a bit of spice to your images. A polarizing filter should be top of the list, while a few Neutral Density filters will certainly help with tough exposures.  A 0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 will help with exposure without affecting colour.

Bring a few warm-up filters to help when the light is cool. The 81-series are the best choice, which will give your images an extra bit of life. There’s a large amount of filters on the market today; these are the most important filters for landscape photography.

Correct Film:  Fuji Velvia is an obvious choice for me when it comes to shooting landscapes. This is a slide film that is high in saturation and is perfect for capturing the colour of all seasons.  It comes in two speeds of ISO 50 and ISO 100.

It’s always handy to have a few rolls of Black and White film in the bag. You never know when you see a scene and know that it’s perfect for B/W.  Whichever film you choose, bring plenty of rolls; don’t be caught in the middle of nowhere without film.

If you are shooting with a Digital SLR bring plenty of memory.

Cable Release: If your camera has a connection for a cable release you should buy one. It is a perfect accessory to minimise the risk of camera shake – especially if you are taking long exposures. It doesn’t take up too much room and is extremely light.

Light Meter: All modern day cameras have light meters built into them, but if you are serious about landscape photography it’s advisable to have a hand-held light meter. These are small and of light-weight, and when used correctly are extremely accurate.

These are the most important bits and pieces for your camera bag; other important accessories include spare batteries,  a grey card and a few spare lenses.

Today, about 16 percent of children ages 6 to 19 are overweight, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK), and the number is steadily increasing.

The dangers of being overweight in childhood are the same as in adulthood: heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, the precursors to type 2 diabetes and even some forms of cancer.

Experts say children need at least one hour of physical activity each day. Is your child this active?

Parents play a big role in shaping children’s eating and physical activity habits. Helping your child maintain a healthy weight requires a long-term commitment with modifications the entire family should embrace.

Here are a few suggestions from the experts at NIDDK.

* Set a good example. Plan family activities, like hiking, biking, dancing or basketball. Include children in active chores like walking the dog, washing the car or mowing the lawn.

* Don’t forget the fun factor. It is likely that younger kids will respond better to exercise if it doesn’t feel like exercise. Try climbing a jungle gym, throwing a Frisbee or playing chase. For older children, encourage physical education classes or urge them to do activities that they like and will do every day.

* Cut down on screen time. Television viewing and other screen usage can hold your child’s interest for hours, which may discourage physical activity and increase calorie consumption. Reduce your child’s screen time by encouraging other behaviors such as playing outdoors or moving around during commercials. A few minutes of physical activity at a time can certainly add up.

Taking a pledge as a family to live a fit and healthy lifestyle is one of the best gifts you can provide your child.