Sabado, Setyembre 15, 2012

My Edu.blogging




MY EDU.BLOGGING


.Actually I’m not fond in writing, especially there’s so many things that I should have to avoid to. I need to read more books and search to make my topic educational and convincing. As a student I should follow what my professor said. Now, because of edu.blogging I learned a lot.





First being RESPONSIBLE, the way I respond to what my professor’s said to make a blog. For me, it’s like I have no choice but to make, but I realized that I have two choices to make a blog or not, if I didn’t make it, my grades will suffer, I know that I’m not so good in Clinical Chemistry, all I need to pass is to make an effort. 
J








Second being a Critical thinker, as what I have said earlier, I need to read read and read. And after reading all those information I should analyze it and make it simple for the readers able to understand, I should feed my reader’s mind by making a lot of informative studies.








Third being CREATIVE, in making edu.blogging you should not only write, but you should also feed the eyes of the readers by putting some images that will be attractive and will be connected to my topic, the more pictures the better.







Fourth being a PROFESSIONAL, as future medical technologist, It’s my responsibility to gain more knowledge about my profession, I know it’s not an easy task, one mistake will become a risk to the patient.








Fifth the act of SHARING, edu.blogging is not simply you write what is your point of view or what have learned from the past. You should also think that it will be resourceful to the readers that they will learn and understand a lot about the said topic.





I know that I still need to make a lot of efforts to accomplish my goals, but with your help my dear professor I know I can make it. Thank you and God bless Ma'am G. J




photocredits:








Linggo, Hulyo 15, 2012

I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're toxic?!


I'm addicted to you, don't you know that you're toxic?!



It is one of the lines on the song of Britney Spears toxic. Being addicted to something is not good, because you’re being dependent to it and sometimes you think you can’t complete your day without it. The degree of the harm that a chemical can cause to someone will depend on the dose that a person takes in or the degree of the exposure as well on the other factors.




What is Toxicology?









Toxicology is the study of adverse effect or interaction of chemicals to a living organism.  It is the study of symptoms, mechanisms, treatments and detection of poisoning, especially the poisoning of people. 






Toxic substances may be organic or inorganic in composition






Chemical hazards in the workplace and in the environment
People may be exposed to a range of toxic chemicals at work or in the general environment. Here are some examples:

Category

Examples

Metals, and metalloids 
arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel, tin, etc
Inorganics (other) 
asbestos, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulphide
Hydrocarbons - aliphatic 
propane, butane, pentane, hexane
Aliphatic alcohols, ketones, ethers, aldehydes and acids 
ethyl alcohol (ethanol), acetone, diethyl ether, formaldehyde, acetic acid
Hydrocarbons - aromatic 
benzene, toluene, xylene, naphthalene
Phenols 
phenol, pentachlorophenol
Chlorinated volatile organic compounds 
perchlorethylene (tetrachloroethene), trichloroethylene (trichloroethene), vinyl chloride
Chlorinated non volatile organic compounds 
chlorinated dioxins and dibenzofurans, polychlorinated biphenyls, pesticides such as chlordane and DDT
Miscellaneous organic compounds 
acrylonitrile, benzidine, aniline, di-isocyanates, organophosphates


Toxicokinetics
 - or how the body handles poisons 

Absorption into the body
  • As a general rule, fat soluble liquids are readily absorbed through the skin and fat soluble vapours are readily absorbed through the lungs. Notably these routes apply to organic solvents such as hexane, toluene, trichlorethylene and many others. 
Distribution within the body
  • Many factors affect the delivery of a toxic material but water or fat solubility is very important. Thus for example water soluble compounds of lead are found (amongst other places) in the red blood cells, while fat soluble ones concentrate in the central nervous system (CNS).
  • The distribution of a toxic substance determines its concentration at a particular tissue and therefore the number and type of cells exposed to high concentrations of it. 
Routes of elimination of toxic substances / or their metabolites
  • Kidneys - especially water soluble substances
  • Lungs - especially fat soluble vapours e.g. - alcohols, or gases such as carbon monoxide
Toxicodynamics
-         or what poisons may do to the body




A note on terminology: 
  • Acute effects refer to the short term consequences of  exposure
  • Chronic effects relate to a much longer time scale, while  sub-acute are in between acute and chronic)
  • Some effects may be dose related - the higher the exposure the worse it gets e.g. irritant effects on the skinasthmaasbestosis etc
  • Other effects are 'all or none' and for a given exposure there is an element of chance (stochastic) as to whether or not the disease develops e.g.the development of cancer (carcinogenesis) or some forms of developmental damage to the foetus (teratogenesis)

Other effects  on specific organs:
You may wish to refer to another resource on specific organ damage, but here are some other points: 
  • 'Heavy' metals e.g. Pb (lead) Cd (Cadmium) and Hg (mercury) have a propensity to bind sulphur and indeed in nature in the earth's crust are often found as sulphides. they tend to bind to sulphydryl groups -SH in enzymes and other proteins and cause damage in various parts of the body
  • The lungs are often the subject of damage e.g paraquat poisoning
  • Cardiovascular effects include arrhythmias e.g. caused by trichloroethane or by carbon disulphide
  • A very specific effect of exposure to some poisons such as the organophosphate insecticides (e.g. malathion, parathion) relates to their anticholinesterase effect. Synaptic transmission from a nerve cell to another cell such as a muscle cell in many situations relies on acetyl choline. The enzyme  acetylcholinesterase in nerve endings catalyses the hydrolysis of acetylcholine to choline and acetylCoA, thus determining a very short action of acetylcholine. Organophosphate and carbamate pesticides inhibit acetylcholinesterase and lead to accumulation of acetylcholine at sites of  neuromuscular transmission causing weakness of muscles, and paralysis including of respiration.
  • Endocrine mimicking agents can act as endocrine disrupters

Prevention and treatment
Preventing exposure: 
Through the practice of good occupational hygiene

Treatment: 
  • Decontamination e.g. eye washes, showers, etc 
  • Antidotes e.g. methylene blue for treating methaemoglobinaemisa caused by aniline
  • Other treatment e.g. oxygen for asphyxia
Note:
For a more detailed account of occupational and environmental toxicology, another resource comes strongly recommended.



References:



Photo Credit:





Linggo, Mayo 20, 2012

Endocrinology Introduction

Endocrinology is a branch of biological science which the concern is about the action of hormones and organs to the body, and the hormones are being formed through the organ. These organs are pituitary gland, thyroid gland, parathyroid gland, adrenal gland, pancreas, ovaries in female and scrotum in male. The study focused to the anatomy and physiological functions of the major endocrine organs, the products that were secreted by the organs, hormones mechanism of action and  the clinical manifestation if there's a dysfunction in the hormones.

Endocrine system
Male and female endocrine system :
Both endocrine system and nervous system are working together for the regulation and proper mechanism of the organs and the organ systems of the body. The endocrine system secretes chemical signals or ligands, "are molecules released from one location that move to another location to produce a response."
Functions of Endocrine System
  • it facilitates the water balance by controlling the solute concentration.
  • there's a uterine contraction during the delivery of the newborn , and also stimulates the production of milk from the breast of lactating females.
  • the growth of many tissues, such as bone and muscle, the maturation of tissue for the development of adult features and behavior and the rate of metabolism of many tissues which helps to facilitate the maintenance of the normal body temperature.
  • the regulation of ions, sodium, potassium and calcium concentration in the blood.
  • facilitates the heart rate and blood pressure. Also helps the preparation of the body to physical activity.
  • regulation of glucose level in the blood and other nutrient levels in the body
  • helps in controlling the production and functions of immune cell.
  • helps in controlling the male and female reproductive system for the development and function of it.
Grave's disease
If the system fail to function properly, there will be disorganization in the system, failure in secreting hormones that can result to certain diseases like Graves' disease, it is characterized by an increase secretion of thyroid hormones from the thyroid gland. Diabetes is another disease, failure to secrete enough insulin may lead to increase glucose to the bloodstream, there will be no conversion of sugar to energy and if there's prolonged sugar imbalance in the body, the person may develop major health problem. But treatments for many endocrine disease are available.



Reference:
  • http://www.buzzle.com/articles/list-of-human-hormones-and-their-importance.html
  • Anatomy and Physiology 5th edition by Seeley et al.

Photo Credit:
  • http://www.umm.edu/imagepages/17067.htm:
  • scienceblogs.com: