EduBlogging: A fun way to learn


Many things I learned from blogging ever since I started.

Freedom and Responsibility
Blogging improves my self-expression skills and it helped me to voice out my opinions and ideas. In blogging, we can write whatever we want and express our feelings the way we want them to be expressed. But of course, we must also know our boundaries and never try to write something against someone. We must try not to do things we will be apologetic for.

Plagiarism
In blogging, other content should not be used, claim or share by anyone without the writer’s consent. We must not steal other people’s ideas.

Kindness matters, all the time.
If we don’t have anything good to say, it’s better not to say anything at all. We don’t have to say anything mean and hurt other people’s feeling.
It is important to reply so that readers will return and read your other posts.

It is an enjoyable thing, indeed!
Blogging is a fun way of learning. We learn through browsing and reading other people’s posts. It can also help us to relieve boredom by writing blogs during our leisure time.

Blogging buddies are the best
Blogging is an opportunity to interact with a set of people through social networking sites. You learn something from others; they also learn something from you.

Privacy is still important.
Private information like last name, address, school, contact number should not be given for safety reasons.

Self-improvement
My writing skills improved by not using shorten words because shortcuts can cause confusion to readers.  Blogs should be easily understood. Blogging also increased my confidence.
I learned how to be responsible with what I share, what I write and what I post.
Sometimes, learning the hard way is the only way to learn.
Signing up, editing your template, layouts, writing your first blog, everything is difficult at first. But then, you should not let this stop you from getting started. Everything is just part of the learning process. And as you go along, difficulty will lessen.


Now, grab your pen and start writing! J
P.S. Thank you, Ma’am G. :D

Toxicology



We are surrounded by a lot of chemical substances that can provide ease from pain and illnesses but can also produce toxic effects if more than the desired amounts enter our bodies. Doctors, when we are sick, prescribe a lot of medicinal drugs that could have adverse effects. A lot of people also take over-the-counter drugs even without medical supervision. Other people consume large amounts of alcohol and cigarettes in their social lives and some become addicted. Alcohol is the most commonly abused substances in the United States, and possibly the entire world.


What is Toxicology?

            Toxicology deals with the study of the antagonistic effects of chemicals on living organisms. It is concerned with the study of symptoms and treatments and categorization of poison.


Different types of Toxicology:

  • Descriptive Toxicology - toxicity testing of chemical substances to provide information for safety evaluation.
  • Mechanistic Toxicology - identification and understanding chemical, biochemical and molecular basis by which toxicants have effects.
  • Regulatory Toxicology - based on mechanistic and descriptive studies, set standards for safety exposures.
  • Developmental Toxicology - concerned with the life-long antagonistic effects of toxicants (before conception, during prenatal development and postnatal). 
  • Forensic Toxicology - measure toxins and drugs in tissues for medico-legal aspects (example: to determine the cause of death of a person)
  • Occupational Toxicology - concerned with the hazards occurring in workplace and preventing antagonistic effects in employees.
  • Environmental Toxicology -  is the study of the nature, effects and detection of toxic substances in the environment.
  • Clinical Toxicology - concerned with diseases, diagnosis and treatment of poisoning.


Routes of Exposure
Exposure through inhalation, skin contact and ingestion provides opportunity of obtaining a poisonous dose.
Photo credit: http://slidesha.re/NITN6n



Drug Abuse Screening
-       To monitor usage of a drug for a nontherapeutic effect, to detect and evaluate a drug overdose, and to monitor someone with a substance abuse problem. Some of the most commonly abused drugs are:

§  Alcohol (Ethanol, grain alcohol)


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§  Nicotine (main addictive agent in cigarettes)
Photo credit: http://bit.ly/OcsYTV






§  Cocaine (coke, snow, white lady, crack)


Photo credit: http://bit.ly/MCoVG9




§  Caffeine (coffee)


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Therapeutic drug monitoring
-       Measurement of serum concentrations that enables the physician to correct and adjust the dose.
§  Toxic dose – higher than the required dose, produces toxic effects
§  Therapeutic dosage -  required dose to produce the desired effect
§  Subtherapeutic dose – less than the required dose



Toxicology is essential because it helps us understand the harmful effect of drugs and other chemical substances. It also helps in improving the health of humans, animals and the environment.





References:

Wildmann’s Clinical Interpretation of Laboratory Tests, 11th Edition

Introduction to Endocrinology


How can human body able to adapt to changes? How can human body maintain homeostasis? What causes your voice to change throughout adolescence? What controls female menstrual cycle, pregnancy, birth and lactation? The answer is hormone.
Endocrinology is a branch of medical science specializing in conditions of the endocrine system. The endocrine system is a body system that consists of glands that secrete hormones directly into the blood stream. The endocrine system and the nervous system are related because each system can influence the function of each other. Both systems help maintain homeostasis in our body.
Hormones are substances synthesized at one location and travel through the blood stream to produce effects at another location. For example, the concentration of Calcium ions in extracellular fluids is regulated mainly by the parathyroid glands. When Calcium concentration drops below normal, parathyroid glands stimulates to release parathyroid hormones. Parathyroid hormones causes increase activity in osteocytes and osteoclasts. These cells dissolve Calcium Phosphate crystals found in bones, thereby releasing Calcium and Phosphate ions into the extracellular fluids. The different types of hormones will be discussed by the video below:



The endocrine system is involved in tissue function, metabolism, regulating mood, sexual functions and reproductive processes. Our growth and development can also be addressed by studying the varying hormone patterns. Disruption of the endocrine processes can lead to different disease states like for example underproduction and overproduction of thyroid hormones leads to thyroid problems like Hypothyroidism and Hyperthyroidism.



References:
Medical Terminology, A living language 3rd Edition by Bonnie F. Fremgen and Suzanne S. Frucht
Clinical Chemistry, Interpretation and Techniques 4th Edition by Williams and Wilkins
Donald F. Calbreath, PhD  Clinical Chemistry, A fundamental textbook