Author: Alerts CC

Despite recent rumors within the hair loss industry, products that combat hair loss are not linked to risk of suicide.

Roughly 40% of men end up having noticeable hair loss by the time they turn 35 years old. Many of these men often seek cosmetic alternates in order to prevent hair loss and keep themselves looking young. Recently, a few rumors have emerged that link hair loss medications to an increased risk in self-harm.

CTV News reports that a common class of medications used to treat both hair loss (in minor doses) and urinary symptoms in men can lead to depression and thoughts of self-harm, although in very rare circumstances.

Although the study does not link these medications to an increased risk of suicide, it resulted in a link between thoughts self-harm and depression.

“It is concerning that we found a small but significant increase in the risk of self-harm and depression,” said Dr. Blayne Welk, a urologist at Western University in London, Ontario, and lead other of the study. “If that depression does happen, it’s something you should talk to your doctor about.”

According to WebMD, the male pattern baldness medications may only result in the risk of depression and increased self-harm thoughts in older men.

“There have been concerns raised by patients and regulatory agencies regarding serious psychiatric adverse effects [in users of 5ARIs], added Welk.

The study, published online in JAMA Internal Medicine, showed no elevation in suicide risk for men using any of these products and was never intended to prove any kind of cause-and-effect.

The researchers did find an 88% increase of risk of self-harm within the first 18 months of using the medications, as well as a risk of depression increase of 94% during the first 18 months of treatment. However, after the 18 month time period, the risk virtually disappeared.

Researchers concluded that the findings should be discussed in certain cases, but the benefits of the 5ARIs medications outlay the low risk of psychiatric effects.

It’s no secret that many fast food restaurants are infamous for serving abused animals. However, Burger King recently announced that it will stop buying chickens from farms that blatantly and grossly mistreat them.

The chain plans to only buy chickens that were raised according to the welfare standards set by Global Animal Partnership, an animal advocacy group. Burger King said they will reduce the suffering of millions of chickens with this effort.

“Chickens raised for meat, also known as ‘broilers,’ are among the most abused animals on the planet…They are bred to grow so unnaturally fast that they are often crippled under their own weight. Many suffer from constant leg pain so severe they cannot stand, and so spend nearly all their time sitting in their own waste,” GAP said in a statement.

According to GAP’s website, certified farmers must provide chickens with access to light and keep their living conditions more sanitary. One nesting box for every four to five hens is generally the minimum for hens to feel comfortable laying in them, but it’s not uncommon to see twice that amount on farms where chicken abuse is rampant. Chickens should also be given adequate medical care. Vets suggest twice-yearly checkups for older household pets, but chickens should be treated anytime they seem ill.

GAP said in the statement that its standards “will require chicken suppliers to breed only higher-welfare strains of chickens, reduce the stocking density of the birds, improve light levels and litter quality inside barns, and use controlled atmosphere stunning to render the birds unconscious before slaughter, dramatically improving slaughter methods and the birds’ living conditions.” GAP worked alongside Mercy For Animals, another animal advocacy group, to develop the policy.

Not only will these efforts improve the lives of millions of chickens, but they could actually improve the health of humans as well, considering the fact that each year, one in six Americans gets sick by consuming contaminated foods or beverages, according to the CDC. Healthier chickens ultimately lead to less contamination and increased overall well-being for both humans and our feathered friends.

GAP said Burger King will utilize third-party auditors to assure that its suppliers remain compliant with the GAP standards.

Other popular chain restaurants have made similar efforts in recent years to improve the treatment of animals in their supply chains. Chipotle, Red Robin, Panera Bread, Starbucks, and Quiznos are just a few examples. One can only hope that more restaurants will continue to make the transformation to more animal-friendly practices.

Florida’s population, thanks to nice weather, recreational opportunities, and job growth, has continued to increase across the state.

Every single day, 1,000 people move to one of Florida’s popular cities. According to U.S. News, three metro areas across The Sunshine State were among the nation’s 10 biggest population gainers during 2016.

Tampa, Florida had the country’s fourth-highest gain last year with 58,000 new residents moving there; South Florida had the seventh highest with a population increase of 48,000; and Orlando added nearly 47,000 new residents during 2016, coming in at the seventh-highest metro increase in the United States.

“I could have moved anywhere, and I have family in Colorado, New York, and California. But the only place I feel comfortable is in Florida,” said Ismael Perdomo, who moved from Colombia to Orlando in 2015. “I found the right job in Orlando.”

According to the Orlando Sentinel, Perdomo, who cited the nice weather and a large Spanish-speaking population as two of the main reasons he relocated, lives in the booming North Orange Avenue area of downtown Orlando. Over the last few years, thousands of apartment units have been built in high-rise buildings along the North Orange Avenue strip.

Although the culture and nice weather play a major contributing factor in the population growth of the area, so does entertainment.

Desiree Siegel was very clear about why she chose to relocate to Orlando five years ago.

“I’m a huge fan of Disney, and the amusement parks here mean there’s always something to do,” Siegel added. “Living downtown gives me lots of options, too.”

Along with Austin, Texas; Las Vegas, Nevada; and Raleigh, North Carolina, Orlando was one of four metro areas in the U.S. that rank in the top 25 for both sheer numbers gained and population growth.

For the next few years, Millennials will continue to be the most popular demographic for advertisers to target.

According to the 2016 State of Social Business study, average social advertising budgets increased by 73% last year, and advertisers plan on spending even more in 2017 to better engage Millennial consumers. And perhaps the most important aspect of advertising to this demographic is creativity.

“If an ad is unique or funny enough, I’ll click just to see how the rest of the experience might be,” Ed Terpening and Aubrey Littleton wrote in their report. “If the ad is good, hopefully the rest of the brand is, too.”

Gone are the days when boring print advertisements could attract attention. For instance, nearly half of all 18 to 34 year old consumers (47%) surveyed found that eccentric advertisements like car wraps were especially memorable.

In addition to the importance of creativity within an advertisement, in order to reach the Millennial market, an emphasis is being placed on getting personal. Because of how much time Millennials spend on social media networking sites, advertisers are able to gather detailed personal information on people and create custom, individualized ads geared specifically for them.

“I notice when a brand is talking specifically to me and I pay attention,” Ed and Aubrey added.

Case in point: the Chicago Business Journal reports that Groupon is now leading the charge for reaching this Millennial market.

The newest Groupon ads focus on saving a few bucks a week in order to try fun, new, and exciting things.

“As we continue to build on our successful 2016 ad campaign, which was about showcasing the experiences available on Groupon that make life great, we’re expanding our target audience and focusing on high-frequency categories with the message that customers can use Groupon every day to save money,” said Jon Wild, Groupon vice president of marketing for North America.

In addition to showcasing these commercial spots, Groupon is not just advertising on traditional cable channels, but reaching out through YouTube, Hulu, Crackle, and even working alongside The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon, who is known for his active online presence.

It is no secret that insulation in a home is important for both the comfort of the homeowners and durability of the structure itself. In fact, proper attic insulation can save homeowners anywhere between 10 to 50% on their heating and cooling bills annually, along with preventing the formation of ice dams and saving money on expensive roof repairs.
However, one Houston couple made the shocking discovery that there was more than just insulation between the walls of their home.
Brand new homeowners, who have chosen to remain anonymous, were doing some routine maintenance around their home when they shifted a board in the attic, looked down into the wall, and found a jumble of human bones and red drugstore glasses.
Neighbors believe the remains are of the previous homeowner, 61-year-old Mary Cerruti, who has been missing since March of 2015. No one knows exactly what happened to the retired retail worker, as she just suddenly seemed to disappear; her mail started to pile up, her lawn went unmowed, and her bills were unpaid without any rhyme or reason. Some neighbors contacted the police, one even hired a private investigator, but there was a lack of evidence and her fate was determined to be inconclusive.
So while rumors swirled about her whereabouts, the bank who owned the mortgage on the 1,161 square foot, 1930s-era home was forced to foreclose on the property and put it up for resale.
Despite this, nothing about Cerruti’s disappearance was put in the seller’s disclosure agreement, so the new owners were completely taken off guard. They immediately called the police and abandoned the home within a couple of hours.
And while this is a sad turn of events, many of the original neighbors are hopeful that an autopsy can at least shed some light on Cerruti’s fate. As of right now, no one knows if Cerruti was a victim of foul play, or just fell into the wallboards and was unable to get out.
Nonetheless, it is not completely clear if the bones are actually those of Mary Cerruti. Autopsy results are pending.

Self-driving cars have been a hot-button topic in recent years, particularly because they have the potential to improve passenger safety. Not only can they recognize other cars on the road, but they can also observe and react to pedestrians and even animals like birds and squirrels. But there’s a very popular entity they aren’t able to see so well: bicycles.

In fact, bikes are among one of the toughest challenges technological developers face in terms of detection. They’re smaller than cars and move quickly.

Nuno Vasconcelos, a visual computing expert at the University of California, San Diego, notes, “A car is basically a big block of stuff. A bicycle has much less mass and also there can be more variation in appearance — there are more shapes and colors and people hang stuff on them.”

The physical differences between bikes and cars is really throwing these vehicles’ detection systems for a loop. The algorithms on these systems train themselves based on the images they see. But many of the training sessions performed don’t feature bikes. As a result, the systems don’t consistently register them.

The Deep3DBox algorithm, for example, was able to recognize 89% of cars on the road when subjected to an industry-recognized benchmark test. But the system wasn’t nearly as proficient when it came to cyclists. In the test, it was able to spot only 74% of bicycles — and this score is the highest among such technologies.

With an increased emphasis on reducing carbon emissions and improving physical fitness, it’s no surprise that 3 million Americans age seven and up rode a bicycle at least six times in 2015. But if developers expect self-driving cars to become the standard, this technology will need to improve quickly.

Fortunately, companies are already starting to take action. High-definition maps, like the ones created by Israeli company Mobileye, can help these algorithms identifying bicycles by making them stand out against the landscape. Their Road Experience Management system could make huge improvements to the way these algorithms are trained. Google’s self-driving vehicle, Waymo, shows that improvements can certainly be made; that auto contains sensor technology with increased recognition for bicycles.

While some experts are skeptical that self-driving cars will ever completely replace human-operated ones, these improvements could definitely help ensure the safety of everyone on the road. That being said, the new technology needs to be carefully tested before going to market. Otherwise, drivers will be much better off relying on their own vision and skills to avoid an accident.

The housing market is constantly changing. Even for the most experienced property buyers, certain aspects of the hosing market can be extremely confusing and lead to costly mistakes. First-time homebuyers, on the other hand, are at a severe disadvantage when it comes to purchasing a home because they have virtually no experience.

Of all the people in the market for homes today, roughly 32% of prospective buyers are actually first time buyers. That 32% equates to the highest number of first-time homebuyers since 2007.

According to KPLC, one of the more common mistakes that these novice homebuyers are making is not consulting with professional realtors. Professionals can offer prospective buyers knowledge that they might not get anywhere else. If someone goes into a buying situation with little to no knowledge about both property ownership and real estate purchasing, they might end up having to pay for things that they did not plan for.

“You don’t want to have any unknown things pop up when you buy a property, those are major expenses,” said Andrea Bryant, real estate managing agent. “Buying a home for the first time, you’ve got things like down payment, large expenses that come out of your pocket so you’re not going to have a lot of money necessarily to make those repairs.”

According to the BBC, during 2016, there were roughly 335,750 first-time buyers, which is the highest figure since the beginning of the financial crisis in 2007, at 359,9000 first-time homebuyers.

“Government schemes such as Help to Buy have improved affordability, enabling more first-time buyers to buy their own property,” said Martin Ellis, a housing economist who attributes the first time buyer boom to low mortgage rates in addition to high levels of employment.

Although there are more first-time buyers than ever before, because property values have also increased, there are many more long-term mortgages being taken out by these younger buyers.

Despite where the president chooses to make his own merchandise, the Trump campaign focused on making sure jobs in the U.S. go to hardworking Americans. Now, due to threats of increased import taxes — and perhaps in an attempt to butter up the new administration — Samsung Electronics may create a new manufacturing plant for home appliances in the United States.

According to sources, Samsung is giving serious consideration to adding U.S. production facilities. Although the company has declined to comment on any specific plans, a statement sent via email to Reuters said that they’ve already made substantial American investments, including the $17 billion they’ve spent on a chip plant in Austin, Texas.

“We continue to evaluate new investment needs in the U.S. that can help us best serve our customers,” said the email.

The rumors have not gone unnoticed by the president, who tweeted at the company: “Thank you, @Samsung! We would love to have you!”

Trump is said to be a Samsung user himself, so his interest in the move may be personal, too. He supposedly uses a Samsung Galaxy S3 or S4 to send tweets from his personal Twitter account.

For large corporations like Samsung, building a U.S. plant would not be a financial burden; however, border taxes would present a bigger hardship, as it would be much more difficult to compete with U.S.-based competitors.

Samsung is based in South Korea, which has not yet been targeted by an impending import tax increase. However, other companies based there, like LG and Hyundai, are already exploring the possibility of having a U.S. plant. Considering that revenues of electronics and appliance rental alone in the U.S. were projected to reach $5.7 billion last year, these companies may be smart to think ahead. Americans will have to wait and see whether these rumors pan out for additional job opportunities or competitive costs in the future.

According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, more workers died from occupational injuries in 2015 than in any year since 2008.

This census of workplace fatalities has been in use since 1992, and its goal is to provide a transparent view on workplace safety across the nation. The report is broken down by demographic groups and the occupations most at risk for on the job injuries.

The key findings of the report show that 4,836 workplace fatalities were reported in 2015, which is the highest annual number since the 5,214 deaths in 2008. This overall rate of fatalities was 3.38 per 100,000 full-time workers, which, while still high, was lower than the 3.43 rate of 2014.

Hispanic and Latino workers were the demographic most affected, suffering 903 fatal injuries, followed by workers of all races over 65, who incurred 650 deaths. Non-Hispanic Black or African Americans suffered 495 fatalities, and the overall fatalities for foreign-born workers were at the highest level since 2007. The majority of these foreign workers were born in Mexico, but overall represented 100 different countries and nationalities.

Of the major causes of workplace fatalities, transportation-related deaths topped the list, with 2,054. Falls, slips, and trips were the cause of 800 deaths, contact with objects and equipment was 722, violence from animals or other workers 703, exposure to harmful substances or hazardous environments 42, and fires and explosions counted for 121.

It should be noted that the majority of these fatalities were within the construction industry. For example, according to a study performed by the Ohio Safety and Health Administration, of the 4,585 workplace fatalities in 2013, 20.2% were due to construction related accidents. In other words, this equates to 20% of all workplace fatalities happen while on a construction site.

The only positive in this report is that the number of on-the-job suicides fell 18% from 2014.

According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, by the year 2025, the average global cost of solar power may be less than coal. Already, solar power is cheaper than generating energy from coal in some parts of the world. In 2016, Chile and the United Arab Emirates were able to provide solar power for less than three cents a kilowatt-hour — half the average cost of coal power worldwide. Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Mexico are all aiming to drop prices even lower this year.

“These are game-changing numbers, and it’s becoming normal in more and more markets,” said Adnan Amin, the director-general of the International Renewable Energy Agency. “Every time you double capacity, you reduce the price by 20%.”

The World Economic Forum (WEF) predicts that in just a few years, about two-thirds of all the nations in the world will reach grid parity. The term “grid parity” means that an alternative power source like solar energy is capable of generating the same amount of power as a traditional power grid at a cost that is the same or lower. As of today, over 30 countries have already achieved unsubsidized grid parity.

Solar power is becoming more popular and less expensive for a number of reasons, including lower production costs, more investors, greater government subsidizing, more local legislation, and advancements in technology.

The “sunbelt countries” are leading the way in cutting solar power costs, but low prices have less to do with the sun and more to do with competition. Countries like Chile have used auctions to award power-purchase contracts, forcing energy companies to compete for business by lowering costs.

“We’re seeing a new reality where solar is the lowest-cost source of energy, and I don’t see an end in sight in terms of the decline in costs,” said Sami Khoreibi, founder and chief executive officers of Enviromena Power Systems.

Right now, the average American household is spending about 2.7% of its income on energy bills, totaling to about $2,000 a year. As solar power gains momentum, it is highly likely that energy costs in the U.S. will see a major decline, benefiting Americans around the country. A 600 square foot solar panel would be needed to power the average home, and this alone could save about $84 a month in energy costs.