Why should I use Digestive EQ?

Our horse’s digestive health plays a pivotal role in their overall health, wellbeing and performance, so it only makes sense that we need to keep this as healthy as possible. During times of stress or perhaps not managing our horse’ diets as well as we could be, we open the door for our horses to develop issues such as weight loss, behavioural problems, performance issues, laminitis, gastric ulcers and tying up. Digestive EQ aims to support optimal digestion by assisting to maintain a healthy gastrointestinal tract and eliminate common causes of upsets, particularly in the hindgut.

What is in Digestive EQ?

There are five active ingredients in Digestive EQ.

Marine source of highly bioavailable calcium and magnesium which acts as an immediate pH buffer for the stomach and also provides nutrients which may assist with improving bone density and reducing excitability in horses.

Added enzymes to aid the digestion of starch from grain based feeds in the small intestine, reducing the likelihood of undigested starch entering the hindgut.

Amino acids which aid in the protection and strengthening of the gut mucosa.

The powerful prebiotic feeds the fibre ingesting bacteria in the hindgut potentially increasing feed conversion from fibre sources within the diet and optimal production of B-vitamins and vitamin K.

Lastly, the dual action mycotoxin binder, whose role is to bind, deactivate and eliminate damaging mycotoxins, which can be found on grains and pasture

What makes Digestive EQ different from other supplements?

There are so many supplements on the market. One of the reasons Digestive EQ was formulated was due to our frustration that many similar products on the market had only one or two modes of action or contained molasses, grain by-products or other sugars not suitable for some horses and other products which you simply didn’t know what was in them.

To support the digestive system, both the fore and hindgut, previously required using multiple supplements which was ultimately expensive and time consuming.

We searched the world for what we believe to be the best products available and with consultation with a Professor of Equine Science and a Doctor of Equine Nutrition, and assistance with other animal and microbiologist specialists we put these products together saving the horse owner time and money. We believe there are no products currently on the market as complete or as premium as Digestive EQ. Unlike many other supplements, Digestive EQ is manufactured at an APVMA registered and approved site. We also use FIAA approved ingredients, guaranteeing you a consistently high-quality product.

My horse has been on long term ulcer medication but I’m not seeing much improvement. Will Digestive EQ help?

Most ulcer medications prescribed by veterinarians aim to restrict hydrochloric acid production (known as proton pump inhibitors) in the stomach. A reduction of hydrochloric acid secretion allows the stomach environment to somewhat neutralise and allow ulcers to heal. These medications only target ulcers within the stomach therefore if you are not seeing any improvement in your horse’s symptoms which may include girthiness, loose manure, poor performance, dull coat, weight loss and colic, your horse may also have further issues in their hindgut which remain unresolved.

Digestive EQ aims to support all levels of digestive health from the foregut to the hindgut. Remember to always seek veterinary advice when concerned about your horse’s heath.

How soon will I see a result from using Digestive EQ?

Horse owners who are trying Digestive EQ are reporting seeing improved behavioural changes in as early as 4-5 days, with horses appearing calmer and more settled.

Another noticeable improvement can come in the way of improved consistency of manure. Some horses that have been scouring for months have reportedly formed solid manure within days of using Digestive EQ.

In as little as two weeks, horse owners are reporting noticeable changes in coat condition and beginning to see improved top line condition, particularly noticing filling out above the flanks around the loin area.

After 3-4 weeks people are consistently noticing significant behavioural, performance and recovery improvements, as well as improved feed conversion and a noted improved suppleness under saddle.

As your horse starts to get a better feed conversion, you may notice them putting on weight. You can then start to reduce the amount of feed you are giving them, which can lead to considerable savings in feed bills.

If you don’t see a result that quickly, don’t panic. Every horse is different with  some taking longer to respond due to ongoing repair of mucosa and repopulation of healthy microbes, particularly  in their hindgut. If your horse doesn’t have obvious outward symptoms of gastrointestinal upset, positive changes are going to be less obvious but can as subtle as improved hoof growth and increased immunity.

But remember, seeing the results is just the start. Supporting optimal digestion and the health of your horse’s gastrointestinal tract longer term with the correct diet in combination with Digestive EQ will ensure optimal health and performance into the future.

How does Digestive EQ work?

Each active ingredient in Digestive EQ has a specific role to play (see What is in Digestive EQ?). Collectively they aim to restore digestive health and support digestion.

Digestive EQ may act as an immediate pH buffer within the stomach. The addition of Digestive EQ to a small (500g) high fibre meal eg. chaff, beet-pulp etc. prior to exercise can assist gastric ulcers by minimising gastric acid damage to the unprotected portion of the stomach. For horses on high grain diets, it can also buffer the acidic pH due to bacterial fermentation of starch within the stomach.

Digestive EQ may also assist in  improving the capacity of the small intestine to enzymatically digest fat, starch, and protein, preventing them from entering the hindgut undigested and negatively impacting the fibre fermenting bacteria. In particular, undigested starch which enters the hindgut undergoing rapid fermentation and the production of lactic acid. If in significant qualities, this can cause the pH to become acidic (aka hindgut acidosis) causing the fibre fermenting bacteria to die. This has several consequences, including decreased fibre fermentation therefore less energy and vitamin production. Secondly, the mucosa lining can become inflamed and damaged making it more permeable for endotoxins to enter the bloodstream causing systemic issues.

The prebiotic used in Digestive EQ feeds the fibre fermenting bacterial in the hindgut. This may result in effectively digesting fibre and converting it into energy (volatile fatty acids), B Vitamins such as B1 (appetite and calmness) biotin (hoof growth), B12 and Vitamin K..

Additionally, damaging mycotoxins (invisible moulds) which can be present on feed stuffs may be eliminated through the use of a dual action mycotoxin binder. Dual action means it combines the ability to bind mycotoxins with the ability to also break them down and deactivate them. Simplistically, the majority of toxin binders have one mode of action, targeting what we call polar molecules including aflatoxins which can be found on grains and cereal hay. For horses on forage-based diet ie. grazing pasture, this type of toxin binder is not effective in binding the mycotoxins of concern (non-polar molecules) which can be present on grasses and legumes. It is also important to note that there is no evidence to suggest that Digestive EQ toxin binder, binds vitamins and minerals.

Lastly, Digestive EQ supplies amino acids which act to maintain, protect and repair the integrity of the gut mucosa. The gut appears to have a large requirement for particular amino acids, and these may not be supplied adequately by the diet or the body may not be producing enough or due to increased demand (during periods of illness) cannot cover the requirements.

What evidence do you have that Digestive EQ is effective?

As part of our research and design phase of Digestive EQ’s development, we undertook a trial with numerous horses across various disciplines. The results were overwhelming with consistent reporting of improved condition, topline, behaviour, manure consistency, performance, appearance and the ability to cope with stress.

We also undertook a field study with a further cohort of randomly selected horses with Professor Andrew Dart (BVsc PHD,Dip ACVS, Dip ECVS) in an attempt to measure observable outcomes.

Every single horse in the study showed a remarkable increase in feed conversion with some horses increasing their weekly weight gain by up to 9 times

“It is difficult to dismiss the relationship between weight gain and the addition of this supplement” commented Prof Dart

There was also improvement in manure consistency, coat and body condition.

All horses found Digestive EQ palatable.

Additionally, the testimonials speak for themselves.

What should I feed my horse if I’m feeding Digestive EQ?

The majority of horses will maintain weight and perform best on a forage-based diet, including those with high energy requirements. Horses have evolved to graze constantly on fibrous feedstuff and how the gastrointestinal tract is designed and functions reflects this.

The bulk of your horse’s diet should be forage, including pasture or hay. As a rule, your horse requires a minimum of 1.5% of their body weight in forage per day to maintain normal gut function. Due to the nature of pasture and hay, both long stem fibre sources, horses are required to chew these for longer compared with alternate forage sources like chaff, hay cubes etc which are comprised of short stem fibre. Increased chewing encourages more saliva production, naturally buffering the stomach and its contents. Increased time spent chewing long stem fibre forage sources also maintains a steady flow of feed into the stomach for a longer period. These long stem fibres also contain what is known as effective fibre, which is fibre that remains undigested as it passes through the gut. Effective fibre is important for allowing the horse to produce manure and shift unwanted material like sand out of the hindgut.

Forage, which is comprised mostly of fibre, provides a major source of energy for your horse. While your horse itself cannot digest the fibre, the billions of bacteria in its hindgut do the job for it. During fermentation of fibre, volatile fatty acids (VFA’s) are produced which are absorbed by the horse and utilised by the body to form energy. As well as providing the horse with energy, important vitamins like B1, biotin and vitamin K are produced during bacterial fermentation of fibre in the hindgut.

If you’re providing adequate high quality forage and your horse and desired body condition is not achieved, you can increase your horses energy intake further with various ingredients.

High energy fibres

Including soybean hulls, copra meal and sugarbeet pulp. These feedstuffs are similar to pasture and hay, however the fibre they contain is more readily digested by the bacteria in the hindgut meaning they contain a similar amount of calories as cereal grains. These feeds are particularly well suited to horses that become excitable and hyperactive when fed grain based feeds.

Cereal grains and grain based feeds

Cereal grains are well known as being high energy feeds and are useful in the diet of horses that have increased energy demands such as horses in heavy exercise, broodmares in late pregnancy or early lactation and some growing horses.

 However, some grains and grain based feeds are more suitable than others.  When selecting grains to feed it is critical that the starch within the grain (which is the high energy component) is digested in the small intestine. Grains that are digested in the small intestine will provide your horse with more calories and ensure your horse avoids problems with hindgut acidosis. To ensure the starch is digested in the small intestine, select grains or grain based feeds that have been cooked/micronized/extruded.

Cereal grains should not be used in the diets of horses with Cushing’s disease or those susceptible to laminitis.

High fat feeds and oils

Are the highest energy feedstuffs you can give a horse. Fats and oils hold two major advantages over high energy fibrous feeds and cereal grains. The first is they are energy dense meaning you don’t have to add large quantities to the diet.

 The second advantage of high fat feeds and oils is they don’t tend to make a horse as hyperactive as the same quantity of energy supplied in the form of cereal grains. In addition, they do not carry the risks of digestive upsets that accompany cereal grains.

 Lastly, make sure your horse’s diet is balanced from a protein, vitamin and mineral perspective. We recommend using FeedXL Horse Nutrition Software or seeking independent nutritional advice to help balance your horse’s diet. Additionally, always read the labels of any feed or supplement you are using, so you know it is suitable for your horse and tells you exactly what you are putting in your horse’s mouth

Why haven’t you used a probiotic?

Digestive EQ has a powerful prebiotic included. We have not included a probiotic as the research is not conclusive about the efficacy of probiotics in horses. Despite widespread availability and use, scientific, peer-reviewed evidence behind commercial probiotic formulations in horses appears limited.

When should I use a veterinarian approved gastric ulcer treatment?

If you suspect your horse has gastric ulcers, call your veterinarian. They should be able to properly diagnose stomach ulcers via gastroscope and determine if your horse requires treatment with a prescription medication. Once your horse has been successfully treated for ulcers, Digestive EQ can be used (alone or in conjunction with treatment) to assist with maintaining a healthy pH in your horse’s stomach and supply nutrients to support repair of the mucosa. Many of our customers are reporting that they have successfully weaned their horses off long term use of gastric ulcer treatments, saving them considerable money and more importantly that their horses are performing better.

What is the difference between Digestive EQ and a gastric ulcer treatment?

Effective gastric ulcer medications work through inhibition of hydrochloric acid from proton pumps in the glandular region of the stomach. Digestive EQ works instead to buffer the pH of the stomach, promoting an optimal stomach environment. While inhibition of hydrochloric acid release through medication aids in the quick healing of gastric ulcers, longer term maintenance doses may impact digestion of some nutrients. The mostly acidic environment caused by secretion of hydrochloric acid is essential for digestion of feed including activating the enzymes that break down protein and fat, separate minerals from their complexes allowing absorption in the small intestine and help protect against many microorganisms in feed.

It is important to remember, that this is only one of many functions Digestive EQ has.

Can Digestive EQ be used with laminitic horses?

Digestive EQ can safely be used in horses with laminitis and does not contain any ingredients that may cause laminitis.

Laminitis is caused by carbohydrate overload (undigested starch and fructans entering the hindgut) can be triggered by a shift in hindgut pH which then destroys good bacteria. These then release damaging endotoxins which enter the bloodstream and  can trigger laminitis. Digestive EQ aims to reduce the likelihood of this happening with improved digestion of starch in the small intestine and promotion of a strong population of good bacteria that minimises the impact of shift is pH within the hindgut.

For any horse with active laminitis or prone to laminitis, strict dietary management is essential. Always seek veterinary advice if you’re unsure of the best management.

What is the feed rate and how long will a 4kg tub last?

A horse weighing up to 200 kg has a daily dose of 45 gm per day which equates to 89 doses;

200-400kg has a daily dose of 95 gm per day (42 doses);

400-600kg has a daily dose of 130 gm per day (31 doses);

Horses over 600 kg have a daily dose of 195 gm per day (20.5 doses)

What other sizes does Digestive EQ come in?

We also stock a 15 kg bucket, which is 10% cheaper than our 4kg tub on a per kg basis. This is priced at $350-360 pending postage and freight charges.

What is the stress dose for and how much do I use?

Research has shown that events such as travelling, competition, worming and other such events can impact your horse’s gut bacteria in a negative way. You have the option of giving your horse a stress dose of Digestive EQ to help buffer the impact of such events. Many of our clients have reported the benefit of doing just that and have now decided to use the stress dose as part of their competition preparation.

The label tells you the recommended stress dose for your horse.

What does Digestive EQ look like and how do I feed it?

Digestive EQ is a powdered feed supplement that is added to your horses normal feed. It is a green powder. You can mix it with any oils or add your wet feeds such as beet fibre or mix through your feed and wet down.

Where can I buy Digestive EQ?

We have trained distributors throughout Australia that can not only supply the product but can also assist you with your questions. They have all been trained in horse gut health and are a great resource for you. Additionally, we have it available in select retails stores. To find your closet distributor or retail store head to our “Locate Our Products” page

Does the Toxin Binder bind any other nutritional or health products?

Mycotoxins in animal feed are a serious issue worldwide, causing widespread losses in animal production.

Mycotoxins cause innumerable negative effects in all animals including horses, ranging from serious liver damage to reproductive issues and behavioural changes. Mycotoxins are insidious, in that if you get more than one mycotoxin in feed, which is common, they tend to have a cumulative negative effect as one mycotoxin magnifies the effect of another. This allows them to cause issues even when each mycotoxin is present only at low levels.

For decades now feed manufacturers in the pig, poultry and ruminant industries have been adding toxin binders to feeds to essentially trap or cut up these mycotoxins and stop them from affecting animals. And to date it is still a very effective strategy at reducing the negative effects of mycotoxins on animal health.

Quality toxin binders have a specific mode of action and while they are very effective at binding the mycotoxins they are designed to work on, they won’t randomly bind nutrients like vitamins and minerals nor will they deactivate medications. With vitamin and mineral nutrition having very real and measurable effects on animal production in intensive animal industries, the manufacturers of toxin binders have long been concerned with ensuring their products don’t bind nutrients.

The toxin binder in Digestive EQ is a proprietary formulation that has been designed to bind and then deactivate harmful toxins. This active that we have chosen has research that shows us this work had been done and we are satisfied that our product won’t be having a negative effect on a horse’s vitamin and mineral nutrition nor compromise any worming activities.

What else do I need to know?

Digestive EQ was initiated by a passionate, dedicated horse owner who was frustrated with the amount of money and time she was spending on feed supplements that weren’t working to the level she wanted. A consulting team consisting of a Professor of Equine Science, an Equine Nutritionist who completed her PhD on starch digestion in the horse, an Animal Scientist and a Microbioligist helped make her dream to create Australia’s most complete and affordable gut supplement come true. Poseidon Equine is committed to helping horses become the healthiest they can be, allowing them to perform at their optimal level.

Why should I use Digestive VM?

Digestive VM is a comprehensive vitamin, trace mineral and amino acid supplement. It supplies nutrients known to be important for your horse’s everyday functions and health based on established daily requirements.

Digestive VM has been formulated to fill nutrient gaps of forage (pasture or hay) based diets, unfortified grain diets, or diets whereby less than the recommended feeding rate of a commercial feed is being fed.

The yeast derived prebiotic supports the good bacteria in your horse’s hindgut, making fibre digestion more efficient and keeping the good bacteria happy to support overall health. It provides vitamins and minerals in their most bio-available form, including natural Vitamin E, organic selenium and organic chromium.

It does not contain grain, grain by-products or molasses, making it a good option for horses prone to laminitis, diagnosed with PPID (cushings) or PSSM and overweight horses on an energy restricted diet.

What is in Digestive VM?

Digestive VM is scientifically designed with combination of minerals, essential vitamins and amino acids with an added yeast derived prebiotic.

It contains the maco minerals Calcium, Phosphorous and Magnesium as well as trace minerals Copper, Zinc, Selenium, Manganese, Iodine and Chromium. A complex vitamin premix including Vitamin E, plus amino acids Threonine, Lysine and Glutamine.

Do I feed VM once or twice daily?

The daily dose rate of Digestive VM can be fed once per day or divided between two meals per day, if more than 0.5kg per 100kg of body weight in grain-based feed is being fed per day.

Why would I use VM over other vitamin & mineral supplements?

Digestive VM is formulated to fill the nutrient gaps in most common forage and unfortified diets, meaning you’ll only need one supplement to meet your horse’s daily nutrient requirements for trace minerals and vitamins. It contains the additional benefit of supplying essential amino acids to build top line, strong hooves and promote gut integrity. Plus it supplies a powerful prebiotic to support a healthy hindgut environment which promotes optimal fibre fermentation to supply your horse with a cool source of energy and production of vitamins including b-group vitamins for calm behaviour.

Can both Digestive VM & Digestive EQ be included in my horse’s diet?

Digestive VM has been formulated to compliment the use of Digestive EQ, or be used on its own if your horse doesn’t require Digestive EQ. The combination of the two products aim to promote overall health by supporting gut health and providing essential minerals and vitamins required by your horse.

If I feed Digestive EQ & Digestive VM is that too much calcium in the diet? What happens if I exceed daily calcium requirements?

This greatly depends on your horse’s requirements and what the rest of your horse’s diet consists of including forage type, complete feed (if any) and other supplements used.

Calcium is a pretty safe mineral if fed in excess of your horse’s requirement however it is recommended that you seek nutritional advice from an independent nutritionist or use FeedXL Horse Nutrition Software to access your horse’s diet.

Can I use Digestive VM on laminitic horses?

Yes – Digestive VM contains no grain or grain by-products or molasses making it an excellent vitamin and mineral supplement choice for laminitic prone horses.

How long will a 4kg tub of Digestive VM last?

Each 4 kg tub will vary in the time that it lasts your horse.

In formulating Digestive VM we have been very specific with the feeding rates for each horse and will vary depending on their body weight, age and exercise workload. All feeding rates are clearly outlined on the label.

What does Digestive VM look like and how do I feed it?

Digestive VM is a cold pelleted product that has a lucerne aroma. It is fed in your horse’s daily feed/s and mixed throughout.

Where can I buy Digestive VM?

Additionally, we have it available in select retails stores. To find your closet distributor or retail store head to Locate Our Product

Alternatively, you can buy it directly via our website and it will be posted to you within 24 hours.

Do I need to feed Digestive VM all year?

Horses have daily requirements for nutrients and therefore it is recommended to feed Digestive VM every day for optimal health.

Even when pasture of good or excellent quality is available or new season hay is fed in adequate amounts, forage-based diets and unfortified grain diets may still be lacking in trace minerals and essential amino acids. So, while your horse may be receiving adequate energy, protein and major minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium) from these unfortified diets, it is likely that nutrients like copper, zinc, selenium and iodine may be deficient within the diet. In addition, the vitamin content of hay decreases rapidly after harvesting and therefore supplying additional vitamins is essential for horses where hay is the sole forage source.

What does organic and chelated mean?

A chelated mineral is one whereby it is attached to an amino acid, also called a proteinate.  Chelates are described as organic minerals in contrast to inorganic minerals, those that are not bound to amino acids. Minerals commonly used in horse feeds and supplements in chelated form include iron, selenium, chromium, cobalt, copper, zinc and manganese.

Based on results from other species, it is thought that some chelated minerals are more digestible than non-chelated forms.

If the pellets are cold pressed will that affect efficacy?

The process of cold pressing a vitamin and mineral supplement into a pellet ensures vitamins are not damaged by heat, as can occur with steam-pressed pelleted supplements. The benefits of pressing a supplement into a convenient tasty pellet is that it minimises the likelihood of your horse sifting out the supplement.

How can I be sure my diet is balanced?

Digestive VM is formulated to fill the nutrient gaps commonly found in many diets, including  forage based (hay or pasture) diets with or without unfortified grains and to top up nutrients in situations where less than the recommended rate of a commercial feed is being fed. You can give yourself peace of mind that you’re providing your horse with balanced diet by consulting with an independent nutritionist or using a program such as FeedXL to assess the diet for yourself.

I’m using a feed that has vitamins & minerals in it, so can I use Digestive VM?

Are you feeding the full recommended feeding rate of a good quality commercial feed  according to your horse’s age, workload and body weight? If so, it is unlikely you will need additional vitamins and minerals as supplied by Digestive VM. However, if you’re feeding less than the recommended feeding rate it is likely you’ll need to top up some nutrients to ensure the diet is meeting your horse’s requirements. It will depend on your preferred commercial feed as to how much Digestive VM is required to fill nutrient gaps. Again, consult with an independent nutritionist or use a program such as FeedXL to assess the diet for yourself.

What horses will best benefit from Digestive VM?

All horses benefit from a diet which meets their nutritional requirements. So, whether your horse is on a forage only diet and not currently feeding a vitamin and mineral supplement or you’re looking for a supplement to compliment your mix-your-own style ration, Digestive VM will fill common nutrient gaps in these types of diets and have your horse feeling, looking and performing at their best.

Why does Digestive VM have B Vitamins in it, when the bacteria make B vitamins in the hindgut?

While we know microbial fermentation in our horse’s hindgut produces B-vitamins, it is unknown to what extent this process can fulfil their requirement for these vitamins.


The strategy charts for all non-wild card games are organized the same way. The hand with the highest average return goes at the top of the strategy chart. For most video poker pay tables that hand is the royal flush. It is followed by lower paying hands and partial hands in order of decreasing return. Keep in mind that partial hands that are not winners themselves will at times be included above hands that are winners because they have an average return (for all possible outcomes) that is higher than a dealt winning hand. For example, in most games four cards of a royal flush is listed above a full house because of the possibility of that hand turning into a royal flush. However, that is not the only hand that can be made from a hand with four cards of a royal flush. There is also the possibility that the hand could become a straight flush, a flush, or a straight with the proper cards being drawn. See the examples below.

To get a better understanding of video poker, it is necessary to look back at its history. The first video poker games sprung up in the 1970s. These were physical machines, emerging during the same era as personal computers. The first such machines came from Fortune Bell Company. However, it wasn’t until 1979 that video poker machines began to breach the mainstream.


Where Hands Touch

Genre: Drama , Romance , War

Plot: The title of this movie is Where Hands Touch which was first released in the year 2018 and takes part in the drama, romance, war genres. You can enjoy the 122 minutes of it here, on Putlocker, for free. As far as the storyline goes you can watch the trailer. Putlockers provided a link for this movie where you can watch it in HD.


Who are your Energy Vampires……and how to get rid of them (without needing garlic).

Although we may not know it, we all have Energy Vampires in our life.

What do I mean by an Energy Vampire? Well it’s a person or event that robs you of your strength, energy and vitality. Something or someone that ‘bleeds’ you dry.

It’s that relative who is always asking you for a favour or the boss who is never satisfied with your work buts keeps asking more and more of you. It’s that friend who rings for a brief chat but is still talking to you an hour and a half later while you try to end the conversation. It’s the committee that keeps asking for your assistance although you are the one who volunteers all the time.

It’s the long queues at Christmas or the people who ring you at all times of the day or night. It’s the family members who expect you to do all the work and never step up to help themselves.

These are all Energy Vampires and we all have them in our lives at some point or other.

What can we do about them? The first step to eliminate them (and yes it is possible), is to recognise what people or events in your life drain your energy.

Once you know what they are, you can start implementing strategies to either remove them or to lessen the impact they have on you. Have a think about the people or events that cause the most fatigue or stress for you. Write them down. Remember that if you are stressed, your energy reserves are being depleted.

Start putting some strong boundaries in place around your time and energy.

If you are asked to help out, say you will let the person know. If you are too tired or really don’t want to commit, this gives you time to think about it and decide what really suits you.

If a chatty friend rings, say you only have a short time available and keep an eye on the clock. Then politely tell them you have to go.

If you boss is being unreasonably demanding, explain how you can be more productive if given extra time to finish something.

If you get phone calls out of hours, don’t answer and check your messages later. Most things can wait.

If the queues at Christmas exhaust you, shop early in the day before it’s too busy or shop online. Many things can easily be bought that way.

If family are putting unreasonable demands on you, tell them you cannot help this time.

Learn to say No and start implementing some boundaries around your availability and your time. You will find that some people may not like this but that’s okay. We are not here to please everyone.

Give yourself time to think before agreeing to something. The more you do to respect yourself and your own needs, the more energy you will have. The more you learn to say No, the more people will respect your boundaries.

People are often unaware of the amount of stress they cause or the energy they take from you. This may be because their own boundaries are weak. Be an example for them so that they can rethink the way they treat others and themselves.

Learn to prioritise what is important in your life. Do more of the things that fill your soul, make you happy and revitalise you. Let go of what isn’t important or delegate it to another day.

Let go of these vampires. Put yourself first and you won’t need any garlic. I can guarantee it!

Warmest wishes,

Judy xxx

Ps. Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

You can also like our page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/solevitalityreflexology

Understanding your fatigue …… and what you can do about it!

Feeling tired is something we are all familiar with. It can occur at the end of a busy day or after extensive exercise. It can happen after a run of late nights or after a stressful situation.

But what if you are tired all the time? Fatigue that lingers and is still present after a good night’s sleep needs to be looked at. It can occur as a result of a sleep disorder, or  a medical condition such as anaemia and can creep up on you over a period of time. Often we just keep going until we suddenly realise that we are tired all the time and have been so for ages.

You can also be chronically fatigued without having Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. The latter requires that you have certain symptoms before you are diagnosed. These include the obvious, fatigue, as well as unrefreshing sleep, impaired memory and concentration, exhaustion after exercise, joint pain, muscle pain, headaches and tender lymph glands. Always seek medical advice if you are always tired. It may be from a metabolic disorder such as a thyroid problem or an infection such as glandular fever and needs to be treated appropriately.

Another form of fatigue is Adrenal Fatigue. Although it is not recognised by many conventional doctors, those who work in Integrative medicine certainly recognise and treat it. It has been described as the 21st century syndrome. Our adrenal glands produce adrenaline and cortisol as part of our ‘flight or fight’ response to danger or stress. This enables the body to respond quickly, at times when we are under extreme stress or in danger. However if we are always on alert or in this ‘flight or fight’ mode, our adrenal glands end up exhausted. Left untreated, this can affect every organ and system in your body.

Now this all sounds very dramatic and obviously any persistent symptom of fatigue needs to be investigated. In the meantime however, what can you do, yourself to help alleviate your constant tiredness?

Here are a few suggestions:

1. Try going to bed earlier and stick to a routine. If you are fatigued, make an effort to be in bed by 10pm most nights. Make sure your bedroom is dark without any distracting lights from tv’s, computers or clock radios. Try and switch off from all devices 30 to 60 minutes before going to bed as their bright lights effect your melatonin levels, (the hormone responsible for our sleep cycle).

2. Drink plenty of water during the day. Every cell in your body needs water to survive and often fatigue can be attributed to dehydration. Keep a water bottle with you even when you are at home. I find that I drink the most water when I am sitting at the computer with a glass at hand.

3. Eat a healthy diet and include vegetables, good fats such as avocado, coconut oil and some protein into your meals. Don’t skip meals as this plays havoc with your insulin levels. Breakfast is especially an important meal as it should carry you through to lunchtime without the need for snacks. Include a cereal such as oats, homemade muesli or buckwheat with berries rather than a piece of toast.

4. Do regular meditation even if it’s 5 or 10 minutes. Numerous studies have shown the benefits of meditation in reducing stress and increasing your energy. It also gives you a mini power nap, as you switch off from everything.

5. Exercise every day. This may sound counter-intuitive if you are feeling tired, but even a short walk boosts your circulation, decreases stress and increases the release of those ‘feel good’ hormones.

6. Start implementing some boundaries into your life. Learn to say NO if something wears you out or you’re not happy doing it. Many cases of fatigue occur due to burnout or overwhelm. If we are always saying Yes to everyone else, we leave little time for our own needs or energy. Put boundaries in around your time and don’t always be available for everyone. You deserve some space too.

7. Ask for help. We don’t need to do everything on our own. Who actually benefits from this? It’s good to teach your children how to help out around the house and it’s so important for their own growth and learning. They need to respect you and your time, so be a good example for them. Let go of some of that control. Ask for help in cleaning and preparing meals. Yes it may not be done the way you do it, but does it really matter. I was in the same position and felt I had to ‘run’ the house. This only led to resentment and exhaustion. I now ask for help and accept that even though the dishwasher isn’t stacked like I would do it or the house isn’t vacuumed perfectly in my eyes, it doesn’t really matter.

8. Have regular treatments such as Reflexology to reduce stress. As previously mentioned, stress plays a huge part in whether we have energy or feel fatigued.

Learn to recognise your fatigue. If there isn’t an obvious reason for it, such as a very late night, then have it investigated. If your conventional doctor dismisses it, see an integrative one. There is always a reason why you are tired!

It’s your health and your life. You deserve to have the very best of both!

With warmest wishes,

Judy xxx

You can also like our page on Facebook: www.facebook.com/solevitalityreflexology

References: www.medicinenet.com/fatigue/articles, www.adrenalfatigue.org, photo from Pixabay.com

Feeling Stressed…………is it all in my head?

Stress has become synonymous with our daily lives and it’s something that we all encounter at some time, if not on a daily basis. “I’m feeling stressed’ has become the new byline. Just think to yourself how often you say that you are stressed or your life is very stressful.

Does thinking that you’re stressed actually contribute to the stress response? If I think I’m stressed, will I actually feel stress?

Stress is our body’s response to a distressful or dangerous situation. It’s that ‘fight or flight response’ that protects us from harm. Adrenaline and Cortisol are released and our heart rate increases, our blood pressure goes up, glucose is released to our muscles. All these responses help our body prepare for flight or react in an emergency.

More and more research is showing the connection between our thoughts and the physical changes that they may cause in our bodies. As soon as we perceive a situation to be stressful, we tense up, become anxious and may feel ‘butterflies’ in our stomach. A part of our brain, called the Thalamus detects negative thoughts as a real danger, not just a perceived one and sends sensory and motor signals to the rest of our body. Hence even thinking negative or stressful thoughts will cause physical changes.

Stress can also be beneficial in that it can help you stay focused, be more energetic or prepare for a challenge. If the stress is short term, our bodies return to normal but if the stress is ongoing over a long period of time, harmful changes may occur.

Every part of your body is affected by stress. It can suppress your immune system, lead to chronic fatigue, affect your digestive and reproductive systems, speed up ageing and increase the risk of heart attack and stroke. It may also lead to depression, anxiety and mood disorders.

The good news is that we can change our thoughts and hence diffuse the situation and decrease the stress response. If we are under constant pressure, take time out to see what changes you can make. What can you cut back on?

Learn to say ‘No’. Delegate! Ask for help. Everything doesn’t have to be done at once. Learn to prioritise.

Don’t try and be everything to everybody. Respect yourself and your time. If you can help someone, do it, but if it stresses you or exhausts you, politely say ‘no’. You might always try and do it all yourself, but perhaps it’s time to let go of that control and ask for help.

Look at how you react to others. Why do they trigger you? Can you respond differently and see their point of view as well. Trying to diffuse a potentially stressful situation may help avoid the stress altogether.

Also, try meditation. Numerous studies have shown the huge benefits of stress reduction from regular meditation practice. If we calm our minds, we become more focused, less reactive and our bodies become calmer. Reflexology is another great tool to deeply relax you and reduce your stress response.

Take some time out from those stressful thoughts. They may only be in your head but they affect every part of your body.

Take care and please let me know what you think.

With love,

Judy xxx

Ps. You can also like our page on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/solevitalityreflexology/

References: www.helpguide.org/articles/stress, www.powerofpositivity.com/negative-thinking-affects-your-brain/

Put Your Oxygen Mask on First

Most of us have flown at some time or another and will remember the emergency drill.

In the event of an emergency where the plane loses pressure, the air hostess will instruct you to put your oxygen mask on first. The reason for this is that you immediately receive oxygen and remain conscious so that you are able to help others. If you fiddled around trying to put on the mask of someone close to you, you would most likely pass out and be of no use to anyone.

The same can be said in life. If we constantly put the ‘oxygen mask’ onto others first, we leave ourselves depleted. How do we do this, you may ask? By always being there for everyone else and meeting their needs before you even begin to consider yours.

You feel tired but your boss wants you to stay back and do more work or attend one more meeting. You are ill but your child needs to attend sports training or ballet. You feel exhausted but dinner needs to be cooked.

You don’t want to let your friends down so you go out even when you would prefer to stay home and have an early night. You are already multi-tasking but say yes to one more task. You clean the house even though you haven’t the energy.

You push and push yourself until you become ill or completely exhausted. Then you not only feel disgusting but you can no longer be there for anyone else, let alone for yourself.

We have all done one or more of these things, myself included.

I could always fit in one more thing, I hated to say ‘no’ just in case I let anyone down and I always thought that I needed to be involved in everything going on around me. The result was chronic exhaustion where I was forced to stop and re-evaluate my life. I had to slowly learn to stop saying ‘yes’ to everything and learn to ask for help. This was quite foreign to me as I always thought that I could and should cope!

However to regain my health, I learn’t to say “no” and let others take on some of my so-called responsibilities. I started to let go of always being in control and controlling every situation around me.

If I was asked to help, I would say ‘yes’ if I was able to but more often that not, I would say that I would get back to the person asking and leave myself time to think about it. If I really didn’t want to do something, I would say ‘no’. I asked my husband for more help around the house with the cooking and cleaning and although it wasn’t done in the way I would do it, I learn’t to keep quiet and let it go.

I didn’t need to be wonder woman.

It was okay to ask and it was okay to say if I was tired or didn’t want to do something or go somewhere. It was okay to put myself first.

I also put stronger boundaries around my time so that I wasn’t always available for everyone. I slowly learned to put my own needs first and think of how I was feeling. I knew that for me to be available for my family, my friends and my clients, I would need to honour and respect myself more. I needed to put some nurturing back into my life and rediscover my passion and creativity.

So how about you? Where is your ‘oxygen mask’? Are you wearing it or is it on everyone else? What can you do today to change things?

Can you take a day off and stay in bed if you feel ill? Can you ask a friend to pick up your child so that you can have a rest? Can you ask for help around the house so that you don’t have to do everything? Can you have a day in nature instead of cleaning the house? Can you start to say ‘no’?

The more you do for yourself, the more you will begin to appreciate your life. The more nurturing you do for yourself, the more you will love and respect yourself.

The stronger boundaries you have, the more energised you will feel and less of a ‘door-mat’. Yes you will feel guilty, at first, but believe me, this soon fades. Your energy will slowly start to return and you will want to do more for yourself. Your sense of fun and creativity will return and you will be a lot happier and less resentful.

Also by doing more for yourself, there will be more of the happy, rested, fulfilled YOU available to meet the needs of others.

Let me know if you are wearing your ‘oxygen mask’ and how you are achieving this. Please comment below.

Take care,

With love,

Judy xxx

Disclaimer: Please note that all information in this article is the opinion of the author and obtained through her research and knowledge. It is not meant to replace medical advice and a medical opinion should always be obtained for any health condition.

adrenalglandDo you wake up tired every morning and hit the alarm for 5 more minutes of sleep, then drag yourself into the shower and don’t fully wake up until that first strong coffee? Do you find yourself experiencing a brain drain around 4pm which temporarily eases after a snack and another coffee before going to bed exhausted, falling into a dead sleep and repeating the same thing over again the next day? Does this sound familiar? If so, you could be experiencing some degree of Adrenal Fatigue.

So what is Adrenal Fatigue? It is a collection of signs and symptoms that occur when our adrenal glands don’t function to their full capacity. It usually occurs after periods of intense or prolonged stress but may also occur after an acute or chronic infection such as the flu or bronchitis. The main symptom is fatigue that is not relieved by rest or adequate sleep. You look normal without any obvious signs of illness but you just ‘don’t feel well’ or always feel tired. In really serious cases where the adrenal glands are exhausted, you may only be able to get out of bed for a few hours at a time. Adrenal fatigue is known as the ’21st century syndrome’ due to the pace of our hectic lives this century. Although there are no current statistic on its prevalence, it is believed to affect most people at some time in their lives.

Our Adrenal glands are two small glands that sit on top of our kidneys. They produce steroid hormones such as cortisol, aldosterone, testosterone and adrenaline and are also known as our stress glands as they produce hormones in response to stress. When we encounter a stress, our body goes into the ‘fight or flight mode’ regardless of the stress. Adrenaline and cortisol are released to help you cope with the stress. Your heart rate goes up, your blood pressure increases, blood is diverted from your digestive system to go to your brain and muscles and your blood glucose levels increase to give you more energy. In the short term, this is a wonderful response because it helps your body cope with the demands of the stress. However it is when this response becomes prolonged, that we run into problems.

Cortisol will continue to be produced to maintain your need for glucose, your heart rate and blood pressure will remain elevated and your adrenal function will become depleted and start to slow down. We can have a major stress that exhausts us or a cumulation of small stresses that build up over time but if we don’t give our adrenal glands a chance to recover, adrenal fatigue will result, along with the risk of more serious illnesses such as heart disease, diabetes, stroke and chronic fatigue.

The adrenal glands affect the functioning of every tissue, organ and gland in our body and also have an important influence on the way we think and feel. We cannot live without them and the very quality of our life depends on how well they are working.

Apart from exhaustion, other signs of adrenal fatigue may include:

  • You feel tired when waking up in the morning even after a long sleep.
  • Have trouble getting to sleep even if you go to bed early.
  • Feel overwhelmed and ‘on edge’.
  • Have difficulty recovering from stress or an illness.
  • Crave salty and sweet snacks.
  • Are depressed, anxious, easily irritated and you find it difficult to concentrate.
  • Have weight gain, inability to lose weight.
  • Increased effort to do everyday tasks.
  • Decreased sex drive. Worsening of PMS or menopausal symptoms.
  • Decreased ability to handle stress.
  • Light headed when standing up. Low blood pressure.
  • Low body temperature. Decreased tolerance to cold, cold extremities.
  • More prone to colds, flu and infections. Take longer to recover from infections.
  • Increased allergies
  • Skin problems

You may recognise some of these symptoms and many may not apply to you. But if you are feeling constantly tired you can do something about it. Firstly know that most doctors DO NOT recognise adrenal fatigue. They believe that the adrenal glands either work or they are compromised by some known medical condition. They often think that adrenal fatigue is psychological. However if the adrenal glands are exhausted, the whole energy system of the body is exhausted and the whole body’s chemistry needs to be rebalanced and toxins removed. If you are experiencing any continued fatigue, you should always see your doctor first to eliminate any other causes. Naturopaths and doctors working in integrative or functional medicine will definitely support and guide you. They can do specific tests such as a saliva test or hair mineral analysis to check your Cortisol and DHEA levels to see whether you have adrenal fatigue and the extent to which your adrenal glands are fatigued.

Treatment is effective though it can take a number of years to fully recover.

  • It involves a combination of a nutritional diet filled with lots of vegetables and animal protein (unless vegetarian), supplements to support your adrenal glands and lifestyle changes.
  • Include gentle exercise as tolerated, (avoid heavy workouts at first and increase gently as your energy levels increase).
  • Sleep and regular early nights (be in bed by 10pm) at least to start with.
  • Afternoon naps (1/2 hour rest in the afternoon is great for recharging the batteries).
  • Regular Reflexology treatments to calm your mind, relieve the stress and gently balance the adrenal glands.
  • Meditation to calm that anxious mind and reduce that stress.
  • Develop boundaries around your time. Don’t be available for everyone. If you are too busy looking after everyone else, you will never fully recover.
  • Recognise the energy vampires in your life. By this I mean the people or things that suck up all your energy. You know the ones that I mean – the friends or relatives that talk for hours on the phone, the people that always ask for just one more favour, the things that make you angry or cause you to react. Stay AWAY from them all or at least limit your time with them. You don’t need to be rude, just explain politely that you are busy or have something else to do….and yes you have! You are busy looking after yourself!
  • Spend time in nature enjoying the sun and outdoors. See friends whose company you enjoy but limit your lunches or dinners so they don’t exhaust you.
  • Ask for help! Don’t feel that you have to do everything. All women work, if not outside the house, then definitely in it! Don’t feel that you have to be in control. Ask your partner to share the chores and ask the children. It helps them to be more responsible and it helps take some of that pressure off you.

Metaphysically, problems with the adrenal glands mean you are not caring for yourself, are anxious, fearful, bored with your life or frustrated at the life you are living. Take steps to look at your fears, are they realistic, can you change your job, what can you do to make your life more meaningful? Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I, myself was ‘running on empty’ for a long time before I realised it and sought assistance. Adrenal fatigue is not disastrous. It can be treated and can be resolved. Often it is a timely reminder to have a good look at the way we are living and to learn to really care for ourselves.

We all experience fatigue at some point in our lives but if we really listen to our body, we can avoid it becoming more serious or sustained.

Disclaimer: Please note that all information in this article is the opinion of the author and obtained through her knowledge and the following references. It is not meant to replace medical advice and a medical opinion should always be obtained for any health condition.


New Metric: ETH Severely Undervalued, While EOS, XLM & NEO Overvalued?

in threespeak •  17 days ago

▶ Watch on 3Speak

In this video we'll be taking a look at a new metric called the Network Value to Token Value (NVTV).

This data could suggest one of two things: either Ethereum is highly undervalued, or that other smart contract platforms such as EOS, XLM, WAVES and NEO are overvalued.

Let's take a closer look.

▶ 3Speak

Authors get paid when people like you upvote their post.
Sort Order:

Very interesting the NVTV ratio based in that chart i can understand very well how eth has a huge potential and maybe EOS too. Regards

Well, from a dollar standpoint, Bitcoin is worth 60% of it's all time high right now ($19,982) and Ethereum is only worth 17% of it all time high of $1,399.65. Bitcoin dominance is waaaay up right now...

This was a good analysis. I would love to hear your response to critiques about ethereal as it relates to various perceived centralized chokepoints (infura for example). Also a response to the critique that the ethereumn blockchain is too large for anyone to run a node

Posted using Partiko iOS

This post earned a total payout of 27.445$ and 20.635$ worth of author reward which was liquified using @likwid. To learn more.

In the world of cryptocurency, all coins can go down or go up significantly at any time. So there is no reason to underestimate one coin.

Since the fluctuation of the coin is not stable there is no need to decide on the coin for now

I think the only one coin which has huge potential is bitcoin and the coins are behind that if bitcoin fails all other will be failed.

That is really true, maybe that data seems to be less utilize, ethereum for instance is low in its growth, like the Steem suffering every single day. By the way, the video is just great!

Glad to see the NVTV chart, I never thought that EOS was so overvalued . This changed a part of my decisions on EOS.
Thanks for the Video

Wow, Nice!


7 Things To Do When A Spread Isn’t Working For You

Ever see a spread on pinterest or tumblr and think “I wanna try that?” and yet it’s stupidly hard to get into? Like reading a book or a watching a movie that is dragging slowly. You want to finish it but it’s just not happening.

Let’s be honest: sometimes you’re distracted and that’s why nothing’s happening. Sometimes it’s the wrong time for that reading or that information for you. Or you’re using a deck that doesn’t like that spread or is feeling uncooperative.

But maybe it’s because some spreads don’t like you as much as others.

I believe that spreads, like any works of the mind and self can captured the energy of the creator. Not all people get along so why would you get along with their art?

For example, I create a lot of spreads. Not all of them reach the light of day. The easiest ones I’ve ever used are the ones that I created because they felt right. I created them because they didn’t need to fulfill a particular need, but because I wanted to make them.

When reading these spreads, I can complete the reading at least twice as fast and with less effort and energy than a smaller spread that doesn’t mesh as well with me.

Still, sometimes you need to work though a spread. Here’s my tips on how that.

Rephrase the spread

Sometimes the wording of a spread isn’t working for you. Rephrase the questions in the spread and see if that helps.

Try a different deck

This may mean you need to break out a different tarot card deck, an oracle deck rather than a tarot card deck, etc. If you don’t own another deck, try using an online app! Download your favorite tarot app (I use Galaxy Tarot) and draw a card for each position of the spread.

Tell a story with the spread

What is this spread suppose to do? Tell a story with it. “Once upon a time there was a girl who [first question in the spread or the purpose of the spread]. She wanted to know / change her life’s path, so she [next question/ position in the spread].” So on and so on.

Break time!

Get up and have a break. Take a walk, stretch your arms and legs. Have a snack, watch some TV, or play with your pet. Sometimes, you just need to stop banging your head against what you’re working on and do something different for a while.

Change the environment

Sometimes an environmental change can make all the difference. Try a different playlist, head to a local coffee shop, set up camp at a local park. It can make a world of difference to change your environment and your perspective along with it.

Lighten up

Sometimes we take ourselves WAY too seriously. Lighten up. Accept that the cards are snarking back or things are just being way too serious. You may not emotionally be on the same level as a playful spread at the time. You may be using a super serious deck for a silly reading. Sometimes, things just don’t mesh well. Try again later, in a different mood, or with a different tool.

Make your own spread

Maybe it’s the layout messing with you. Maybe the questions just don’t feel right. Summarize the spread’s questions and write up your own spread with that summary. I caution against using the newly created spread in professional readings, because it might qualify under plagiarism, but it’s a very useful tool in understanding a particular spread.

Mostly, it’s important to realize that sometimes, things just aren’t going to work the way you want them to, both in life and in card reading. Don’t worry about it overmuch. Try a different spread. Ask another question. Go back to it later. Its (probably) not the end of the world.


Spring read-only transaction Hibernate optimization

Introduction In this article, I’m going to explain how the Spring read-only transaction Hibernate optimization works. After taking a look at what the Spring framework does when enabling the readOnly attribute on the @Transactional annotation, I realized that only the Hibernate flush mode is set to FlushType.MANUAL without propagating the read-only flag further to the Hibernate Session. So, in the true spirit of open-source software developer, I decided it’s time to make a change.

How does Hibernate READ_ONLY CacheConcurrencyStrategy work

Introduction As I previously explained, enterprise caching requires diligence. Because data is duplicated between the database (system of record) and the caching layer, we need to make sure the two separate data sources don’t drift apart. If the cached data is immutable (neither the database nor the cache is able to modify it), we can safely cache it without worrying about any consistency issues. Read-only data is always a good candidate for application-level caching, improving read performance without having to relax consistency guarantees.


Create better lessons quicker
LASCERATION - Caused by crushing or ripping forces e.g. barbed wire. May bleed less than other wounds, but likely to be more tissue damage. Often contaminated with germs. , PUNCTURE - Caused by the skin being pierced, for example, by a nail or a needle. The entry site is small but the wound may be deep and risk of infection is high., CONTUSION - Caused by a blunt blow which ruptures blood vessels beneath the skin causing discoloration. The skin my be split too. Serious cases indicate deeper damage., GRAZE - Superficial wound where topmost layers are scraped off leaving a raw, tender area. Often caused by falls or friction burns. Embedded foreign particles may cause infection., INCISION - Clean, surface cut from a sharp-edged object e.g. glass or knife. May bleed heavily. Nerves or tendons may be damaged.,

Wounds and Descriptions

Similar activities from Community

Switch template


Following the arrest of a former Irwin County man on a murder charge in connection with the disappearance of Tara Grinstead more than 11 years ago, her parents say the arrest was an answer to prayers and that they hope the community can now heal.

I am primarily the public safety reporter, but also cover a variety of other news events and special features. I am a graduate of the University of Georgia with a degree in Philosophy and have been with the Herald since April of 2016.


Credit downgrade aside, Buffett put his peers to shame this year, proving that all his talk about prudence and conservatism wasn't just bull. And unlike his paid-up peers, he didn't draw an eyebrow raising salary that would bring a negative spotlight on his firm. Just $175,000.

Of course, the guy is one of the richest in the world and Berkshire doesn't do stock options, plus any actual salary would be meaningless to him.


Photo: Timothy Bernard/African News Agency (ANA)
“A wave of foreign-owned start-ups is driving an African tech revolution and prompting fears of digital recolonisation.”

These were the opening words of an article that appeared in the Financial Times Weekend. It highlighted a phenomenon of foreign tech companies that are dressed in African robes to attract investment directed to African tech startups.

The author argues that this development has raised concern among African tech leaders that local tech start-ups are missing out on funding opportunities to foreign-owned tech start-ups. The author highlights the so-called first African unicorn Jumia, as a case in point, since this company has foreign ownership and executives.

While this is a challenge that is worthy of attention, is it really a form of recolonisation of the continent? To some extent, it is. However, the continent has a far bigger challenge of recolonisation that is brought about by technology in the form of global tech companies that operate in Africa.

To understand this you have to look at the following scenarios. The first scenario relates to the recolonisation of Africa’s transport systems by Uber. On December 29, 2017, ahead of New Year, Uber released the following statement:

“People around the world will rely on Uber to get to and from their New Year’s Eve festivities so they don’t need to get behind the wheel. Even on one of our busiest nights of the year, anyone, anywhere should be able to push a button and get a ride within minutes.

“Given we’re expecting millions of rides to occur on just this one night, fares will likely be higher than usual. We expect demand to be highest from midnight to 3am local time. With upfront fares, there are no surprises. We show you the price before you request your ride so you know how much you’ll pay. And when fares are much higher, you’ll be asked to confirm the higher fare before request.”

Users of Uber will know this as surge pricing, which gets activated whenever there’s high demand at a specific area.

Basically, Uber charges higher prices whenever there’s high demand in a specific area. Uber once activated surge price during a time of crisis in Sydney, Australia.

Due to a hostage crisis, there was a gridlock, which led to high demand for more transport.

What this illustrates is that Uber, a company based in California, US, can influence prices anywhere, including within the continent, without even consulting with local transport authorities whenever it feels the need.

Uber can choose to make transport either disappear or available. The local national transport department would have no control over the transport provisions.

This is just one example that a global tech company can usurp power from local powers whilst at the same time providing services that are considered to be adding value to society.

Another example is the imminent cryptocurrency, Libra, backed by Facebook and other powerful technology companies. If the Libra becomes a reality, it could disrupt financial systems, especially in the African continent. Emerging countries are the main target of the planned cryptocurrency by Facebook and partners.

If people suddenly decide to use the Facebook-backed cryptocurrency for transactions online, what will this mean for African currencies online?

These two scenarios illustrate a picture that could emerge if Africa adopts foreign-owned technology fully in the name of progress.

Slowly the continent will be ceding control to foreign tech companies to regulate prices and many other key activities that were traditionally the domain of governments.

In the short run what everyone will see is progress and modernisation, but in the long run it’s a loss of power.

In the absence of technology platforms and systems within Africa, it makes sense to adopt already existing technology to modernise the continent. This, however, should be implemented in parallel with the development of local technology platforms and systems to replace in the long run platforms and systems that are adopted from elsewhere.

In addition to the implementation of foreign owned platforms regulatory systems have to be strong to prevent abuse.

Ideally as Africa adopts these technologies there should be arrangements in place to ensure that local tech start-ups develop similar technologies to ensure local control and presence. This is important to avoid a situation of dependency that may arise in the future.

As Africa embraces concepts such as smart cities and 5G, one of the most important assets to protect is local data. Local leaders should do everything in their power not to give away the African data.

Failure to protect data will lead to a situation where African behaviour patterns such as buying, traffic patterns and others will be controlled by foreign elements to the detriment of local businesses and institutions.

There’s little that can be done to prevent the current wave of foreign-owned start-ups driving the African technology revolution.

Entities such as Jumia add value to local eco-systems and they also have some form of local ownership (eg MTN is a shareholder in Jumia).

Local regulators should ensure that the ownership of e-commerce data emanating from companies such as Jumia resides within the continent and it’s regulated locally.

The risk of the African continent being re-colonised is real and requires serious attention by entities such as the African Union.

There’s now a need for a continental body to be set up to safeguard the sovereignty of the continent from surveillance capitalists and new colonisers enabled by technology.

Wesley Diphoko is the editor-in-chief of The Infonomist. He also serves as the chairperson of the IEEE Open Data Initiative. @WesleyDiphoko


Self-Care Ritual: "Mat Time"

I clearly remember the first time I became aware of the sacredness of my yoga mat. I was a junior in college, at a yoga studio in New Orleans, with twinkly lights around all of the windows and the relaxing smell of incense filling my nostrils and mind. I was new to yoga, but familiar enough to understand the rhythm of a class and just barely beginning to tap into the quiet calmness that the practice can cultivate.

My favorite yoga mat of all time from Manduka

My favorite yoga mat of all time from Manduka

As I rolled out my mat to rest in child's pose before the class began, I looked around at everyone else creating their own peaceful little space. Folded over my knees, I thought to myself that over the course of my lifetime, through every change and chapter; this mat, and this pose, would always be there for me. On that particular day, I was in a relaxed state without much besides my normal routine taking up my headspace. As I rested quietly, I let my mind wander down different projections of my future.

Someday, I would be on my yoga mat while grieving the loss of someone I love deeply, or filled with worry about leaving a new baby at home for the first time. I became poignantly aware that in the future, as I moved through the happiest days of my life, and the worst days of my life, as I changed and transformed, this mat and this space would be there for me. I'm prone to overthinking, so you can imagine what a rabbit hole this turned into for me. I spent the whole class swept up in imagining my return to this mat through different seasons of my life; broken hearted, lost, engaged, as a mother, etc. Envisioning all of the twists and turns ahead of me, but knowing that this place would be a constant refuge and witness to it all, felt like a big revelation.

My yoga practice, along so many other activities I enjoyed, suffered immensely as I shifted from episodic to chronic migraine. I felt like my body was pushing me farther and farther away from everything that made me, “me”. My relationships suffered, as I was filled with anger and fear and couldn't comprehend why everyone around me didn't feel the same way too. I started to dread seeing friends, as plans filled me with anxiety instead of excitement. Simply interacting with people predictably triggered migraine pain, something I was so desperately trying to keep at bay. Exercise felt punishing, as doing anything aerobic started a pounding in my head that relentlessly morphed into the familiar sharpness behind my eyes, over and over again. As I stood on this new, desolate, storming island of chronic, daily pain, desperately waving my hands for help, it felt like nobody could hear me. Afraid of what was happening to me, unsure of the person I was becoming, I shifted into survival mode.

It took at least a year and a half until I started to scrape together some coping tools that helped me begin to feel like myself again. Working with a chronic pain psychologist was a pivotal part of my treatment, and helped me to cast out lifelines to my family and boyfriend. Learning how to communicate my needs, own my emotions and share my experience in a way that was healthy, improved my relationships dramatically. I also started working with a health coach (Sarah Small, highly recommend!) and exploring the emotional side of healing.

Always perfect words from  @morganharpernichols

Always perfect words from @morganharpernichols

After working together for a while, Sarah and I were stuck trying to come up with a morning ritual to help me feel grounded and calm in the midst of so much physical chaos. Mornings were, and still are, extremely variable for me, migraine wise. Often before even opening my eyes, I'm confronted with migraine pain which I know will require icepacks, medication and at least four hours (often longer) to begin to subside. Other days, I am able to get up and have a "normal" routine, with what I think will be a tolerable level of pain, only to realize after an hour, that it is not the type of pain I can push through, and I have to go back to bed to rest and treat it.

I felt like this level of variability restricted me from engaging in a morning routine, and struggled to come up with ideas that seemed feasible. Even more than that, I was frustrated that every time I did try to create a routine, I could never sustain it for more than a few days. This inability to commit to a morning routine felt like another cruel compromise to migraine, another area where I could not win.

But during one of our calls, we came up with the idea of "mat time". Mat time would be my morning-(ish) routine, and it could be completed at any time of the day. The only requirement for mat time was rolling out my yoga mat, and being on it physically, for ten minutes every day. During these ten minutes, I could listen to a guided meditation (this is when I started using the Calm app, still my favorite meditation resource), journal, do stretches, write a gratitude list, do yoga or even just move from lying in my bed with ice on my eyes to lying on my mat with ice on my eyes. The point was not about what I did on my mat, but simply that I made it to my mat.

This routine gave me so much confidence and was one of the first small ways I really felt myself taking my power back from chronic migraine. Every single day that I completed my new routine, I felt pride in having done so and anchored to a deeper sense of calm. Rolling out my mat again, I was reminded of the insight I'd had three and a half years before, as a college junior, untouched by chronic illness. I reconnected to the idea I had become so disconnected from, about the sacredness of this mat, this space: about how time and space would change me as a person, but how no matter how circumstances shifted, this mat would be here for every version of me, time and time again.

I had a long hiatus from connecting with my yoga mat, but it somehow reinforced the lesson I had learned so long ago even more. No matter how long you go without kneeling on your mat, it will always be there. To catch you at your lowest low, or to support you during your highest high. Bringing my new consciousness about mindfulness to my yoga mat allowed me to understand and appreciate this special time on an even deeper level. To use it as a tool to anchor me into the present moment, whenever and wherever that moment is.

I think we all have places and spaces like this in our lives, that with awareness, we can recognize and honor. Spaces that no matter what changes, will always be there for us. Today, I don't use mat time daily, as I have lots of other tools in my self-care toolkit to connect me to that sense of calm. But I do still use it, and I know that through all of the seasons of my life, it will be there for me.

Natalie SayreComment


Newell Scholars

Katie Powers - The Inaugural Newell Scholar 2018

Katie Powers ONF PlaqueOn 30th June 2018 Katie Powers became the first Newell Scholar at the ONF Trustees meeting.

The Ossie Newell Foundation is very pleased to help fund Katie’s PhD research linked to the broader Return To Work After Stroke project. Thank you to everyone who has helped to raise funds over the past 21 months to make this possible. This is a very important day in the history of the Ossie Newell Foundation as we make the first step of many towards improving the lives of stroke survivors and their families through this important research.

Katie Powers was born and raised in Washington D.C. in the United States of America. She lived there until she was 17 when she was offered a scholarship to the University of Nottingham. During her undergraduate degree, Katie joined the rowing team as a coxswain where she competed nationally and internationally. After three years of balancing her studies, rowing and various paid and voluntary roles, Katie graduated with a BSc (Hons) in Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience. Over the course of her degree, Katie became interested in acquired brain injury, specifically stroke. Following her graduation, she balanced a part-time job at a local cinema and a part-time job at King’s Mill Hospital working in the Radiology Department. It was in her role at King’s Mill where Katie realised she wanted to work with stroke survivors to help improve their lives after their stroke. She applied and was accepted to the University of Nottingham’s MSc Rehabilitation Psychology programme which she took on part-time. Whilst completing her MSc, she secured a job as a Research Assistant in the Nottingham Clinical Trials Unit conducting neurodevelopmental assessments for a pilot trial involving babies born very preterm.

Katie is currently employed on the Return to Work After Stroke (RETAKE) study as a research assistant. Katie’s research interests are in improving complex rehabilitation stroke trials. She is excited to begin her PhD within the University of Nottingham’s Division of Rehabilitation and Ageing as the first Newell Scholar. Katie’s PhD will explore patient and therapist attributes and whether those attributes affect patient and trial outcomes within a complex stroke rehabilitation trial.
In her spare time Katie is a keen runner, plays the cello and volunteers with a local charity for families in need. She also enjoys travelling, often to visit her family back in America.

Katie Powers - RETAKE embedded study

RetakeThe REturn To work After stroKE (RETAKE) study is a four year study aimed at determining whether early stroke specific vocational rehabilitation (ESSVR), in addition to the usual NHS rehabilitation, is more effective and more cost effective at returning stroke survivors to work, and keeping them there for at least 12 months, than the NHS intervention alone.

The aim of this doctoral study, which is embedded in the wider RETAKE trial, is to understand the effect that patient and therapist characteristics have on how the trial works in practice, looking at both the impact on individual stroke survivors and examining the effect on the outcomes of the trial overall.
The study will look at stroke survivor characteristics such as stroke severity, age, socioeconomic status, motivation, pre-stroke experience of coping and perceived ‘readiness’ for rehabilitation. Occupational therapist characteristics to be examined will include, for example, experience, beliefs about the use of research evidence in practice, and skills in engaging patients in a therapeutic relationship. Information about relevant characteristics will be collected by using a range of different research methods, including questionnaires, interviews, data from therapy records and therapist competency assessments.

The findings from this research will contribute to the stroke rehabilitation literature by indicating which factors influence engagement in and the outcomes of rehabilitation targeted at a return to work. This will be used not only to inform clinical practice, allowing better design of therapeutic interventions and improving specialist therapist training, but will also help to improve future research trial design.

Questions to be explored in the research:

Individual Therapists:
1. Do the occupational therapists’ attitudes toward evidence-based practice (EBP) affect their ability to deliver the intervention as was intended in the research design?
2. Does competency affect the occupational therapist’s ability to deliver the trial intervention as was intended in the research design? [Including competency in negotiating with the employer organisation as well as occupational therapy competency?]
3. To what extent does the patients' perception of the therapist contribute to a successful or unsuccessful relationship with the therapist?
4. What has motivated the trial occupational therapists to take part in a complex rehabilitation trial?
5. How does the response of the participant’s employer affect the ability of the therapist to deliver the trial intervention as was intended in the research design?

Individual Stroke Survivor Attributes

1. Do stroke survivors need to be actively engaged in the intervention for a positive outcome?
2. What motivates stroke survivors to participate in rehabilitation? How does this affect the stroke survivor’s success? (In development) [think about liminality, emotional and biographical disruption, and hope, here?]
3. Does the stroke survivor’s ‘readiness’ for rehabilitation have an impact on the outcome overall?
4. Does the stroke survivor’s beliefs about their own capabilities have an impact on the outcome?

Therapeutic Alliance
1. To what extent does the quality of the therapeutic relationship affect the stroke survivor’s outcome?


Professor Jeremy Thomas

Professor of Ecology

Jeremy’s research focuses on understanding the factors that determine change in species’ abundance, distributions and specializations.

Much of his work involves studying the population, community, functional or evolutionary ecology of insects, and much was inspired by the need to manipulate insect populations in order to solve conservation problems. Successful applications include the re-establishment of the globally endangered Large blue butterfly in the UK.


The proximate cause of the Northern Hemisphere bake-off is the unusual behavior of the jet stream, a wavy track of west-to-east-prevailing wind at high altitude. The jet stream controls broad weather patterns, such as high-pressure and low-pressure systems. The extent of climate change’s influence on the jet stream is an intense subject of research.

This summer, the jet stream has undulated in extreme waves that have tended to block weather systems from migrating. The result has been stagnant high-pressure and low-pressure systems with dire results, such as heat waves in some places and flooding elsewhere.

“When those waves are very big — as they have been for the past few weeks — they tend to get stuck in place,” said Jennifer Francis, a professor of atmospheric science at Rutgers University. Last year, scientists published evidence that the conditions leading up to “stuck jet streams” are becoming more common, with warming in the Arctic seen as a likely culprit.

Gone are the days when scientists drew a bright line dividing weather and climate. Now researchers can examine a weather event and estimate how much climate change had to do with causing or exacerbating it.

Last year, when Hurricane Harvey broke the record for how much rain could fall from a single storm, researchers knew climate change had been a factor.

Months later, scientists presented findings that Harvey dumped at least 15 percent more rain in Houston than it would have without global warming. Theory, meet reality: When the atmosphere is warmer, it can hold more moisture. Climate change does not cause hurricanes to spin up or thunderstorms to develop, but it can be an intensifier.

In Dallas, where the temperature hit 100 on 10 out of 11 days this month, three homeless people have died of heat-related causes in the past week, said Brenda Snitzer, executive director of the Stewpot, a downtown shelter.

In Phoenix, where this week’s temperature hit 116 degrees, Dustin Nye, 36, who spent the day installing air-conditioning units, said he has suffered heat stroke in the past and still gets woozy. “It takes a special breed to do this all day long in this heat,” he said. “You’ve really got to work up your endurance and just buckle down and deal with it.”

In Los Angeles, Marty Adams, chief operating officer of the Department of Water and Power, said, “It seems like every year, we’ve had some type of temperature anomaly that we normally would not have.” Residents of beach cities such as Long Beach and Santa Monica, who normally rely on the ocean breeze to cool their homes, have added air-conditioning units, which strains the grid and has contributed to power outages, he said.

Said Hayhoe: “The biggest myth that the largest number of people have bought into is that ‘climate change doesn’t matter to me personally.’ ”

The heat waves have hit hard where people don’t expect them — the Netherlands, Sweden, Britain, Ireland and Canada.

In Ireland, the sun-parched fields revealed a previously hidden footprint of a 5,000-year-old monument near Newgrange.

Human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels, has added greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, trapping heat and making extreme weather events even more extreme. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached 410 parts per million in May, the highest the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii had measured since Charles David Keeling started keeping records in 1958. NASA estimates Earth has warmed almost one degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit) since the late 1800s. Of that, half a degree (around one degree F) has accrued since 1990 alone.

If nothing is done to curb greenhouse-gas emissions, scientists say, the global temperature increase could reach nine degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century, with higher spikes on land and at high latitudes. The Paris agreement, signed by every country in the world, is designed to limit that temperature spike through commitments to cut greenhouse-gas emissions over time. President Trump, who in the past has called global warming a hoax, has vowed to pull the United States out of the accord as soon as that becomes possible, in 2020.

The 2017 National Climate Assessment, released in November, concluded what it has for nearly three decades: Human-made climate change is real, and the impacts have already started.

Average temperature is rising rapidly across the United States. Heat waves are becoming more extreme and will continue to do so.

Overall precipitation has decreased in the South and West and increased in the North and East. That trend will continue. The heaviest precipitation events will become more frequent and more extreme. Snowpack will continue to decline. Large wildfires will become even more frequent.

Kevin Trenberth, a climate scientist with the National Center for Atmospheric Research, said even modest heat from global warming can build up over time.

“The accumulated energy over one month is equivalent to a small microwave oven at full power for six minutes over every square foot of the planet,” Trenberth said. “No wonder things catch on fire.”

Justin Glawe in Dallas, Jeremy Duda in Phoenix, William Dauber in Los Angeles and Jennifer Hassan in London contributed to this report.


Man's physical universe

railroad cars, for electric industrial trucks and tractors, for lighthouses,

for propelling small boats, for store delivery trucks, for mine locomotives,

for electric cap lamps for miners' lights, and many other uses that

are characteristic of modern industrial civilization.

In 1899 E. W. Junger invented the cadmium-nickel battery in Sweden.

This battery has been used industrially in Europe for about ten

years. It is quite similar to the nickel-iron battery in construction

and discharge characteristics.

Displacement Reactions Are Special Examples of Oxidation and

When oxygen combines with any substance, the process is

called oxidation,

and when oxygen is removed from a compound, the process is

called reduction. Thus the rusting of iron is oxidation because this

process, as already mentioned, involves the combining of iron with

oxygen to form iron oxide ; oxygen is an example of an oxidizing agent.

On the other hand, when iron ore is treated with coke in a blast furnace,

the process is reduction because in this case the iron oxide is reduced to

iron; carbon is an example of a reducing agent. The simplest example

of oxidation and reduction is the burning of hydrogen in air to form

2H2 + O2 —>- 2HiO

hydrogen oxygen water

In this case the hydrogen is said to be oxidized because oxygen is added

to it to form water. On the other hand, oxygen is said to be reduced

because hydrogen is added to it to form water.

Organic compounds may be oxidized in steps; for example, the following

compounds represent progressive stages in the oxidation of

CH4 —>- CH3OH —>- HCHO —>- HCOOH —>- CO2

methane methyl alcohol formaldehyde formic acid carbon

CH4 >- CH4O >- CH2O >- CH2O2 >- CO2

oxygen added hydrogen oxygen hydrogen

removed added removed

In this reaction and many other reactions it is apparent that oxidation

may be the result of either an addition of oxygen or a removal of

hydrogen. Reduction would then be the removal of oxygen or the addition

of hydrogen. Thus the terms oxidation and reduction are extended

to include reactions in which hydrogen is added or removed.

Oxidation and reduction may also be interpreted in terms of valence

changes. Inasmuch as uncombined elements represent no combining

More magazines by this user
Similar magazines


The neurological department of Alaknanda is one of the best department in medical field in Purvanchal. The department provides a comprehensive neurosurgical service covering the full range of neurosurgical pathologies, including all cranial and simple spinal conditions. The delicate nerves and the tissues are one of the complicated parts of our body, but the doctors with their experiences and expertness will definitely make the complications easier.


July 2017

Was this the earliest TV mention of "astrobiology"? A scene from the original Star Trek episode "Return To Tomorrow" which first aired on 9 February 1968:

KIRK: "Who are you?"
MULHALL: "Doctor Ann Mulhall, Astrobiology"

Every day, enough sunlight hits the Earth to power the planet many times over -- if only we could more efficiently capture all the energy.

NASA scientists have definitively detected the chemical acrylonitrile in the atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan, a place that has long intrigued scientists investigating the chemical precursors of life.

Saturn's largest moon, Titan, is one of our solar system's most intriguing and Earth-like bodies. It is nearly as large as Mars and has a hazy atmosphere made up mostly of nitrogen with a smattering of organic, carbon-based molecules, including methane (CH4) and ethane (C2H6).

The international Cassini-Huygens mission has made a surprising detection of a molecule that is instrumental in the production of complex organics within the hazy atmosphere of Saturn's moon Titan.

The Breakthrough Listen Initiative is undertaking a comprehensive search for radio and optical signatures from extraterrestrial civilizations.

A new Statistical-likelihood Exo-Planetary Habitability Index (SEPHI) is presented. It has been developed to cover the current and future features required for a classification scheme disentangling whether any discovered exoplanet is potentially habitable compared with life on Earth.

A laboratory experiment is suggested in which conditions similar to those in the plume ejecta from Enceladus and, perhaps, Europa are established.

In order to understand the exoplanet, you need to understand its parent star. Astrophysical parameters of extrasolar planets are directly and indirectly dependent on the properties of their respective host stars.

The recent discovery of habitable exoplanets around Proxima Centauri and TRAPPIST-1 has attracted much attention due to their potential for hosting life.

Discoveries of extrasolar planets in the habitable zone (HZ) of their parent star lead to questions about the habitability of massive moons orbiting planets in the HZ. Around low-mass stars, the HZ is much closer to the star than for Sun-like stars.

TRAPPIST-1 planets are invaluable for the study of comparative planetary science outside our Solar System and possibly habitability.

Despite the fact that the observed gradient in water content among the Galilean satellites is globally consistent with a formation in a circum-Jovian disk on both sides of the snowline, the mechanisms that led to a low water mass fraction in Europa (∼8%) are not yet understood.

One of the primary open questions of astrobiology is whether there is extant or extinct life elsewhere the Solar System.

The National Science Foundation's Arecibo Observatory and the Planetary Habitability Laboratory of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo joined the Red Dots project in the search for new planets around our nearest stars.

Two fundamental problems for extraterrestrial intelligences (ETIs) attempting to establish interstellar communication are timing and energy consumption.

One of the most fundamental questions in exoplanetology is to determine whether a given planet is habitable.

Radio Exploration of Planetary Habitability was the fifth in the series of American Astronomical Society's Topical Conference Series.

Solar coronal mass ejections (CMEs) produce adverse space weather effects at Earth.

We report the first detection and high angular resolution (1.8" × 1.1") imaging of acetic acid (CH3COOH) and gGg′--ethylene glycol (gGg′(CH2OH)2) towards the Orion Kleinmann--Low nebula.

There is a long-standing debate regarding the origin of the terrestrial planets' water as well as the hydrated C-type asteroids. Here we show that the inner Solar System's water is a simple byproduct of the giant planets' formation.

We present experimental constraints on the insertion of oxygen atoms into methane to form methanol in astrophysical ice analogs.

We report the detection of the carbon-chain radical HC5O for the first time in the interstellar medium toward the dark cloud TMC-1 using the 100 m Green Bank Telescope.

The astronomical observation of isopropyl cyanide further stresses the link between the chemical composition of the ISM and molecular composition of the meteorites in which there is a dominance of branched chain amino acids as compared to the straight.


Journal Search Engine
Search Advanced Search Adode Reader(link)
Download PDF Export Citaion korean bibliography PMC previewer
ISSN : 1226-3206(Print)
Studies in Modern Grammar Vol.102 pp.31-51

Verb Movement and Non-Phase Categories in the Parameter

Dae-ik Kim
영산대학교 교수

The position of a finite verb depends on languages. It is located in the v* domain in such a language as English, in the TP domain in such a language as French and in the CP domain in such a V2 language as Swedish. In this article, after showing that verb movement occurs in the syntax, we argue that the parametric difference of verb inflection and movement is attributed to whether T and V in each language are specified to Category. A finite verb in French moves to T after a fully inflected verb is merged in VP whereas a finite verb in English does not move to T due to the fact that T and V are not specified to Category. On the other hand, in Swedish a finite verb moves to C because there is no TP projection in such a language as Swedish. Thus in this article a finite verb moves to T or C according to the status of non-phase categories of T and V.

동사이동과 비국면범주의 매개변인

** 영산대학교 교수