December 28, 2022

Simple Tips on Savings

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During the pandemic, one of the affected aspects in our day-to-day living is financial. Some lost their job while some works in a reduced time. Because of this, it gives us difficulties in doing their monthly savings since our income is sacrificed. Most of our savings during the pandemic has been used up in order to survive the daily situation.

As of this time, we are not returning to the normal life. Many of us are now back in their regular work and starting to save again. I just want to share something Mommy and I were doing in our saving money and this might work with you too.

How to do it?

Compute and Set Aside
Before doing this part, I must say that honesty is the key.

You need to declare your combined monthly income then set aside a fixed percentage of it depending on your target. Remember, be realistic in giving your target. You can start in a lower value since you are still in the adjustment period. As the time goes, you can gradually increase your target.

Be sure that our monthly target shall be at least 10% of your monthly income. This part of your savings should not be touched unless in cases of emergencies.

Monitor Your Monthly Bills
Based on your previous bills, you can have an estimate of your monthly billings especially for the utilities like electricity, water, internet, gas, etc. You must also include salary for the househelp (if there is), kids monthly tuition fees, house rentals, and monthly auto-loan amortization.

This amount will be deducted in your combined monthly income.

Set Your Spending Limit
The remaining amount will be your alloted monthly spending and will be divided into four (4) weeks to determine your weekly spending limit.

Plan Your Spending
With the comouted weekly spending limits, try to plan your spending based on what is needed at home. Having an inventory before doing the grocery can help in determining what to buy. This will also help you track your items and avoid over stocking of household items.

Needs and Wants
It is very important to determine your spending based on your needs and wants. If you have in mind to buy, think first if it is necessary right away or you can delay it for a month or two. This will give you time to increase your savings alloted for the item of your target.

Save in Advance
If you have settling something on an annual basis or you are targeting in buying new appliances, you can start saving in advance. For example, if you are paying your vehicle's annual insurance every end of the year, you can start saving as early as January. By the time you need to pay, it is either you already have enough money or only a little bit short of the amount to be paid.

To give you a summary on the above tips, here is a sample computation:




In case of extra income like bonuses,, incentives, or commissions, you can do the same thing by saving a part of it then the rest can be use to treat yourself and your family.

I hope this one can help you save part of your income. 

Do you have some tips on how to save a part of your income?
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A Brief History Of Pizza

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Throughout the world, pizza is one of the most adored dishes. People from all walks of life have enjoyed it for centuries. And today, pizza lovers celebrate the food year-round with some pizza delivery open Bridgeport CT. Here is a brief overview of how pizza came to be.

Modern pizza originated from flatbread dishes eaten all over Italy for centuries beforehand.
Invented in Naples, Italy, pizza as we know it started out as a simple flatbread with tomato and cheese. It was popular with the working class in Naples and was thought to be the best since sliced bread.

Pizza was also popular in England, Spain, and France. The early pizzas had ingredients such as garlic, cheese, and olive oil. They were topped with tomatoes and sometimes anchovies.

The first pizza shop in Naples, Port Alba, was opened in the 18th century. In the mid-18th century, flatbreads with cheese and basil were sold in hot ovens. Afterward, savory toppings were piled on top.

Raffaele Esposito, a pizza maker in Naples, invented the first pizza with cheese and tomato. He named it the Margherita and served it to Queen Margherita of Italy.

Several historians say that flatbreads, such as pizza, existed in Italy as early as the 6th century BC. Egyptians and Persians also ate flatbreads from the Middle East. They were also topped with spices and olive oil.

Pizzarelli is a type of bread that Roman Jews used during the Passover festival.
During the Passover feast, Roman Jews would have served pizzarelle as their Passover bread. These bite-sized flatbreads are made with rolled-out matzo meal, eggs, raisins, and orange zest. They are traditionally dipped in honey.

This particular type of food has been made for thousands of years. Archeologists have found records of bread being baked over 7,000 years ago in Sardinia. In addition, Greek, Roman, and Persian records show that people would add other ingredients to pieces of bread.

Roman Jewish cuisine has a rich culinary history, incorporating Italian, Sicilian, and Libyan influences. The Jewish community in Rome was established more than two centuries ago. Although the Jewish community has grown and evolved, the cuisine has remained largely unchanged.

The food is served at the Passover seder, a special family meal commemorating God's Exodus from Egypt. The seder requires strict dietary laws. A Passover seder includes prayers, recitations, and symbolic foods. It is usually celebrated with great pomp and ceremony.

Pizza lovers everywhere celebrate the world's perfect food throughout the year.
Across the globe, pizza lovers celebrate the world's perfect food throughout the year. Pizza is the most popular food in the world. The average person eats 23 pounds of pizza annually in the United States.

Pizza is available in hot and cold varieties and can be customized to taste. It is a versatile food that is enjoyed by kids and adults alike. It also contains glutamate, a substance that stimulates the human taste buds.

Pizza is considered the ultimate comfort food and has been known to attract families to dinner parties. Many children love cheese pizza.

Pizza originated in Italy, where it was a simple street food for the working class. It was later brought to the United States by Italian immigrants. As pizza became more popular, it began to spread throughout the world. In the US, 13% of the population eats pizza regularly.

While many people eat pizza for family dinners, it is also famous for parties and dates. In the US, more than a dozen pizza days are celebrated annually. Some of these are National Sausage Pizza Day, National Pepperoni Pizza Day, National Pizza Month, National Pizza Party Day, and more.
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December 12, 2022

Curing African Sickness Using Biological Trojan Horse

On my previous post, I mentioned that I will be shariing some of the topics on my #RoadToMSChemistry Journey. Here is one of the topics and this is how it was written including the references.

Curing African Sickness Using Biological Trojan Horse

When we hear or read the word Trojan Horse, we usually referred to the wooden horse used by the Greeks during the Trojan War. However, in the modern era, it is known as a computer malware that mimics a legitimate program ending up with phishing and spying of a computer’s content. (“What Is a Trojan Horse? Trojan Virus and Malware Explained”).

‌Since Trojan Horse is related to a virus, how about living things- humans and animals? Can there be also the so-called biological Trojan Horse?

Studying enzymes, particularly in irreversible inhibitors, lead to the discovery of new drugs and is considered to be one of the Biological Trojan Horses. These inhibitors react by attaching themselves to the functional groups of enzymes which are responsible for the primary enzyme’s activity. Once the covalent bond was formed between the active sites of the enzyme and irreversible inhibitor, the former will be deactivated halting the cell’s growth and reproduction (Nelson 571–572).

One type of irreversible inhibitor is the suicide inactivator or also called mechanism-based inactivators. These inactivators react only upon binding with the enzyme’s active site. Upon reacting with the active site, instead of producing a common product from an enzymatic reaction, it will create a highly reactive substance that will combine and inactivates the enzyme.

How do these Biological Trojan Horses use in the field of medicine? One example of the study of enzymes and suicide inactivators is in the treatment of African Sleeping Sickness.

African Sleeping Sickness, is commonly observed in the East and West parts of the African Continent. It is caused by a unicellular protozoan trypanosome (T. brucei rhodesience and T. brucei gambiense,) carried by the tsetse fly (Pascholati et al.). At first, this illness is manageable not until the late 20th century. With the continuous changes in the virus’ protection coat or antigen, vaccines are no longer effective as they should be (Nelson 571–72).

One mechanism studied in the treatment of African Sleeping Sickness is the reaction catalyzed by ornithine decarboxylase with diflouromethylornithine (DMFO) as suicide inactivators (Reddy, ch.2).

How does the reaction go?

Figure 1. ODC-catalyzed biosynthesis pathway forming putrescine and regeneration of PLP.

The primary step in decarboxylation of ornithine, with pyridoxal phosphate (PLP) as a co-factor, is the formation of Schiff base, an imine intermediate. This will go a rapid reaction forming putrescine, diamime and regenerates PLP (Figure 1) (Reddy, ch.2)

Putrescine is the diamine needed in the biosynthesis as precursor of polyamines spermine and spermidine which is an essential part of eukaryotic cells (Poulin et al.). 

The presence of a suicide inactivator diflouromethylornithine (DMFO) in the reaction with PLP forms a Schiff base which proceeds with the elimination of fluorine atom and carbon dioxide forming a secondary metabolite flouroolefin derivative. This terminal flouroolefin part will become highly reactive with the nuclephilic thiol residue at the enzyme’s active site. This will undergo Michael’s addition followed by a fast elimination of the fluorine atom forming an inactivated enzyme (Figure 2)(Reddy, ch.2).

Figure 2. Reaction pathway of DFMO and PLP forming a highly reactive Schiff base. Upon further reaction with the enzyme active site, it will for an inactivated ezyme.

With the continuous study and research in enzymology and metabolism, more and more drugs or treatments will be discovered especially to the diseases that are currently incurable. Although it will take several times, Biological Trojan Horses are just around the corner waiting to be found.

References:

Nelson, David. Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry. 7th ed., W.H. Freeman, 2017.


Pascholati, Cauê P., et al. “The Interaction of an Antiparasitic Peptide Active against African Sleeping Sickness with Cell Membrane Models.” Colloids and Surfaces B: Biointerfaces, vol. 74, no. 2, 2009, pp. 504–10. Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.colsurfb.2009.08.018.


Poulin, R., et al. “Mechanism of the Irreversible Inactivation of Mouse Ornithine Decarboxylase by Alpha-Difluoromethylornithine. Characterization of Sequences at the Inhibitor and Coenzyme Binding Sites.” Journal of Biological Chemistry, vol. 267, no. 1, 1992, pp. 150–58. Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.1016/s0021-9258(18)48472-4.


Reddy, Prakash. Organofluorine Compounds in Biology and Medicine. Elsevier Gezondheidszorg, 2015.


“What Is a Trojan Horse? Trojan Virus and Malware Explained.” Fortinet, www.fortinet.com/resources/cyberglossary/trojan-horse-virus. Accessed 17 Mar. 2022.



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December 1, 2022

An Understanding of Protease Mechanisms Lead to New Treatments of HIV Infection


In time with the HIV Awareness Month, I am glad to share one of my reaction papers in my graduate study program.

I hope that this can somewaht add information about human immunodeficiency virus or HIV.


 An Understanding of Protease Mechanisms Lead to New Treatments of HIV Infection

“…I would raise awareness to certain causes like HIV awareness that is timely and relevant to my country, which is the Philippines…” This is one part of Pia Wurztbach’s response to the final Q&A of Miss Universe 2015 where she hooked the crown.

What is the real status of HIV in the Philippines?
The case of HIV in the Philippines increased up to 207% from 2010 to 2019 with a death toll increase of 338%. This is considered the fastest rising in the Asia and Pacific region. In 2019, there are about 97,000 persons living with HIV or PLHIV. The majority of these PLHIV are persons who injected drugs, men who have sex with men, sex workers, and transgender (Nguyen).

The virus can be transmitted through body fluids like blood, breastmilk, semen, and vaginal secretions but does not pass by kissing, hugging, sharing food, or drinks (“HIV/AIDS”).

Human immunodeficiency virus or HIV is the main causative agent of acquired immune deficiency syndrome or AIDS, which emerges in the 80s and is considered an epidemic worldwide.

HIV is a retrovirus having its genetic information is in the form of RNA and has a reverse transcriptase enabling the virus to use the RNA in the synthesis of complementary DNA (Nelson, 587).

How do HIV infection proceeds?
The infection occurs when the viral and cellular membrane fused with the facilitation of viral envelope glycoprotein and the receptors CD4 of the target cells.

When the virus enters the cell, its RNA is reversed-transcribed to DNA by the reverse transcriptase. The HIV genetic material will combine with the host’s cell using the integrase enzyme followed by transcription into the messenger RNA and replicated into viral polyproteins. The HIV protease will incise these polyproteins to form new virions and become ready to infect another host’s cell. With the destruction of the host’s genetic materials and continuous production of virions results in the death of infected cells (Brik and Wong 5–14).

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Figure 1. The life cycle of HIV (“Life Cycle | NIH”)

 

Based on the mechanism, there are 3 major enzymes of the HIV used in the cycle – reverse transcriptase, integrase, and HIV protease. With these three enzymes, the HIV protease is the most studied in the development of treatments against HIV.


Proteases are classified into two huge groups according to their ability to catalyze the mechanism. The first class uses a nucleophilic atom, either hydroxyl or thiol of the amino acid side chain to start the amide hydrolysis (Brik and Wong 5–14).


The second classification requires two aspartyl β-carboxyl groups in the enzymatic sites to activate a water molecule for nucleophilic reaction on a peptide bond. It is referred to as aspartyl protease where HIV protease belongs (Windsor et al. 1465).


One way to inhibit the proliferation of HIV is by disturbance of the HIV protease enzyme responsible for the breakdown of polyprotein virus using protease inhibitors called anti-retroviral or ARVs. Here are several USFDA-approved ARVs given to PLHIV (Brik and Wong 5–14).


HIV awareness month,HIV awarenes,HIV,HV protease,AIDS,HIV protease mechanism,HIV cycle,#RoadToMSChemistry,road to MSChemistry,MSChemistry,
Figure 2. Structures of different HIV protease inhibitors or antiretrovirals.


The different HIV protease inhibitors vary in their structures but have similarities in terms of the main chain with a hydroxyl group in the β-position from the benzyl group (Nelson, 589).


Refer to the figure below regarding one of the accepted mechanisms for the aspartyl protease (HIV protease) mechanism.

 

HIV awareness month,HIV awarenes,HIV,HV protease,AIDS,HIV protease mechanism,HIV cycle,#RoadToMSChemistry,road to MSChemistry,MSChemistry,
Figure 3. One of the acceptable mechanisms of HIV protease.

Studying the mechanisms for HIV protease enzyme, and other enzymes is a good starting point in the discovery of new drugs that can cure (or at least control its progress) not only HIV but also other chronic illnesses. The available ARVs help extend the lifespan of the PLHIV.


Recently, there is a reported case of PLHIV cured of the said retrovirus. The patient undergoes stem cell treatment using cord blood with the mutation that prevents the entrance of HIV into the cell. Thirty-seven (37) months after the transplant, the patient chooses to top the use of ARVs. After 14 months, the patient did not show any signs of HIV in the blood tests as well as detectable antibodies to the virus (Mandavilli).


With this information, it can be a great breakthrough for researchers to further study the mechanism on how the stem cell procedure works in killing the HIV in the body which will lead to the right medicine or drug in the cure of this incurable disease.


References:

Brik, Ashraf, and Chi-Huey Wong. “HIV-1 Protease: Mechanism and Drug Discovery.” Organic & Biomolecular Chemistry, vol. 1, no. 1, 2002, pp. 5–14. Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.1039/b208248a.

 

“HIV/AIDS.” WHO, 30 Nov. 2021, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hiv-aids.

 

“Life Cycle | NIH.” CLINICAL INFO.HIV.GOV, clinicalinfo.hiv.gov/en/glossary/life-cycle. Accessed 21 Mar. 2022.

 

Mandavilli, Apoorva. “A Woman Is Cured of H.I.V. Using a Novel Treatment.” The New York Times, 22 Feb. 2022, www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/health/hiv-cure-cord-blood.html.

 

Nelson, David. Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry. 7th ed., W.H. Freeman, 2017.

 

Nguyen, Alice. “The HIV Epidemic in the Philippines: Affected Populations.” The Borgen Project, 26 Jan. 2021, borgenproject.org/hiv-epidemic-in-the-philippines.

 

Windsor, Ian W., et al. “An N→Ï€* Interaction in the Bound Substrate of Aspartic Proteases Replicates the Oxyanion Hole.” ACS Catalysis, vol. 9, no. 2, 2018, pp. 1464–71. Crossref, https://doi.org/10.1021/acscatal.8b04142.

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November 25, 2022

Defective Glucose and Water Transport in Two Forms of Diabetes (Part 3 of 3)

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Diabetes is about sugar and the one that helps in regulating this compound in our body is the insulin secreted by the pancreas. 

Did you know that insulin is accidentally discovered? Have you ever heard that the first commercially available insulin in the market is extracted from a pig's pancrease?

Here is the last part of one on the topics in Biochemistry about diabetes - about insulin.


Defective Glucose and Water Transport in Two Forms of Diabetes (Part 3 of 3)

Insulin: Discovery, Purification, and Mechanism
Insulin is accidentally discovered in 1889 by Oscar Minkowski and Josef von Mering after a friendly disagreement about whether the pancreas contains lipase. They surgically remove the pancreas of a dog for the study which eventually observed to urinate more. However, they failed to extract substance to reverse the effect of removing the pancreas (Nelson).

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Not until 1921 when Frederick Banting, Charles Best, and JJR MacLeod took up the problem and found anti-diabetic factors in the pancreas. They called it insulin from the Latin word “insula”, meaning islands since insulin was extracted from the islets of Langerhans. The same year, purification was successful (“Insulin | Definition, Structure, and Function”).

In 1922, they tested the purified insulin on Leonard Thompson and within a few days, they observed a drop of glucose and ketone in the body (Nelson).

A Nobel Prize was awarded to Banting and MacLeod in 1923 and since then insulin was isolated from the porcine pancreas. In 1980, through genetic engineering techniques, the mass production of insulin was developed (“Insulin | Definition, Structure, and Function”).

Insulin is composed of two chains of amino acids derived from preproinsulin. Preproinsulin is an inactive substance of Chain A, Chain B, C-peptide, and a signal peptide. When the preproinsulin reached the Endoplasmic reticulum, the signal peptide will be cleaved off leaving the still inactive proinsulin. As it procced to the Golgi apparatus, a disulfide bond in the cysteine residue is formed and the C-peptide will eventually cleave off producing the active insulin while the C-peptide will be degraded and excreted. (Vasiljević, et al.).
sugars,Type 2 Diabetes,glycolysis,health,diabetes mellitus,MSChemistry,health and living,#RoadToMSChemistry,Type 1 diabetes,sweets,GLUT4,health and beauty,diabetes, Insulin
Figure 4. Synthesis of insulin from preproinsulin.

Diabetes is often related to blood sugar with the early signs or symptoms of excessive urination. However, there are two forms of diabetes – diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus. The urine in diabetes mellitus is sweet while in diabetes insipidus is very dilute or tasteless.

Both forms of diabetes are hormone-related. Insulin is secreted by the pancreas for diabetes mellitus while vasopressin is secreted by the pituitary glands for diabetes insipidus.

Diabetes prevalence in the Philippines is quite alarming. This only gives us the warning to keep our health monitored and choose a lifestyle that will keep us fit.

 

References:

Baclig, Cristina Eloisa. “Diabetes: A Bitter Health Crisis for Filipinos.” INQUIRER.Net, 21 July 2021, newsinfo.inquirer.net/1461980/diabetes-a-bitter-health-crisis-for-filipinos.


Bryant, Nia J., et al. “Regulated Transport of the Glucose Transporter GLUT4.” Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, vol. 3, no. 4, 2002, pp. 267–77. Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.1038/nrm782.

 

“Diabetes Insipidus and Diabetes Mellitus.” The Diabetic Voice.Comwww.the-diabetic-voice.com/diabetes-insipidus-and-diabetes-mellitus.html. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

 

Felman, Adam. “What’s to Know about Diabetes Insipidus?” Medical News Today, 7 Apr. 2022, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/183251.

 

“Glucose Regulation and Utilization in the Body.” Nutrition FN 225media.lanecc.edu/users/powellt/FN225OER/Carbohydrates/FN225Carbohydrates5.html. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

 

“Insulin | Definition, Structure, and Function.” Encyclopedia Britannica, www.britanica.com/science/insulin.

 

Nelson, David. Lehninger Principles of Biochemistry. 7th ed., W.H. Freeman, 2017.

 

Qureshi, Sana, et al. “Diabetes Insipidus: Celebrating a Century of Vasopressin Therapy.” Endocrinology, vol. 155, no. 12, 2014, pp. 4605–21. Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.1210/en.2014-1385.

 

Tahrani, Abd A., et al. “Management of Type 2 Diabetes: New and Future Developments in Treatment.” The Lancet, vol. 378, no. 9786, 2011, pp. 182–97. Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.1016/s0140-6736(11)60207-9.

 

Vasiljević, Jovana, et al. “The Making of Insulin in Health and Disease.” Diabetologia, vol. 63, no. 10, 2020, pp. 1981–89. Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.1007/s00125-020-05192-7.

 

“What Is Diabetes?” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2 Mar. 2022, www.cdc.gov/diabetes/basics/d


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November 23, 2022

How to Deal with Conflict in the Family

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Family conflict is one of the hardest situations to go through in life. Family is a guaranteed life-long social support system. Your family are people who are there for you, cheering on your accomplishments and they are also the people who are there for you when you hit rock bottom or have bumps along the way. However, with people this close (family, or friends), there is also bound to be disagreements, misunderstandings, minor conflicts, and sometimes larger conflicts, as well.

When you run into issues with conflicts - no matter if they are easy to solve, or much harder to solve - it can bring up sadness, anger, resentment, frustration, and so many other emotions, as well, and conflicts have the potential to tear families apart if you let it get that bad. The best way to keep things in check is to address each situation head-on. If you are not sure where to start, here are a few tips about how to deal with conflict in the family when it arises:

Try to understand and acknowledge
First of all, if you run into conflict within your family, try to understand and acknowledge it. Understand where the other person is coming from, if possible. Try to put yourself in their shoes and really think as they would. If you are able to understand where they are coming from, acknowledge that. A lot of the time, conflict can be resolved simply by addressing the issue and trying to understand why someone else feels that way. When you try to resolve the conflict with the person, keep this at the forefront and try to address the situation in a calm and understanding way.

Give a heartfelt apology

If you are able to talk calmly to the other person about the issues going on, give a heartfelt apology, if it is needed. In fact, most of the time (even if you truly did not do anything wrong), you can give an apology for making the other person feel whatever way they felt. Know that just because you did not mean to do anything, the other person might have felt a certain way, and they are not wrong for any of their feelings. When this happens, understand why they felt that way (or try your best to) and if you had any part to do with that, give a heartfelt apology. One way to stir the pot, even more, is by giving an apology that feels forced or not genuine, so try to avoid that, when possible.


Know triggers for the future

Trying to figure out triggers can be beneficial for trying to keep the peace down the road. A lot of the time, there will be something that pulls at the emotional strings of others, so if you are able to realize what has caused conflict in the past and try to avoid it in the future, it’s a great (and relatively easy) way to keep the peace going forward.


Focus on positive traits

Every single family member will not be your favorite person ever. For example, if things are tense with your siblings or inlaws, instead of focusing on the negatives, try to focus on positive traits. Sure, someone might chew with their mouth open or have obnoxious political opinions, but try to put that aside and write out their positive traits. Everyone has some good in them and you can focus on the good by listing out their positive traits!


Set and maintain boundaries

family,family counseling,family conflicts,home and living,home

Another great way to avoid conflict in the family is by setting and maintaining boundaries. Does this always work when there is a current conflict? No, because it’s never a good idea to just push things under the rug and run from the conflict, but if you know there might be conflict in the future, it’s a great idea to set and maintain boundaries. Sometimes, all it takes is a little space. If you live too close to family members, consider moving a bit farther away from them, to keep conflict at a minimum. When you do move, reach out to a moving company to help make the process easier. Movin’ is a great option because they go above and beyond for their clients, removing the stress from the move. They do residential moving, packing services, storage solutions, commercial moving, gun safe moving Salt Lake City, and more.


Talk with a therapist

If all else fails, talk with a therapist. Sometimes, conflict is just too big and hard to resolve on your own and that’s okay. Therapists are there to help you through conflict and life changes. It is NEVER a bad idea to talk with someone and see how they can help support you!


Shout out to MoversBoost for collaborating. MoversBoost is a marketing agency for movers offering leads and digital offerings.


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November 21, 2022

Defective Glucose and Water Transport in Two Forms of Diabetes (Part 2 of 3)

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Did you know that there is another type of diabetes? It is not related to sugar but with the function of water retention by the kidney.

Here is the second part of my report concerning about diabetes.

Defective Glucose and Water Transport in Two Forms of Diabetes (Part 2 of 3)

Diabetes Insipidus
Diabetes insipidus is similar to diabetes mellitus. Instead of glucose, it is all about the re-absorption of water from the urine to the bloodstream. The hormone responsible for this condition is the vasopressin produced in the pituitary gland (Felman).

Instead of the GLUT4, aquaporin is present in the collecting duct in the kidney. These are responsible for the absorption and re-absorption of water.

The aquaporins 3 and 4 (AQP3 and AQP4, respectively) are located in the basolateral membrane of the urine-collecting duct in the kidney. Aside from AQP3 and AQP4, there is aquaporin AQP2 that will attach itself to the apical membrane where the diluted urine flows. This only happens when the arginine-vasopressin (AVP) binds with its receptor. The G protein, Gs, produces adenyl cyclase and converts ATP to cAMP. AQP2 will be phosphorylated by the protein kinase A (PKA). The phosphorylated AQP2 (P-AQP2) will attach itself to the apical membrane and facilitate the reabsorption of water going back to the bloodstream. The final product will be concentrated urine (Qureshi, et al).

Like type 1 and type 2 diabetes mellitus, when there is a problem in the supply or the body’s reaction to vasopressin, diabetes insipidus arises.

There are 2 major types of diabetes insipidus – neurogenic or the central type, and the nephrogenic or renal type. Like diabetes mellitus, pregnant women may also suffer diabetes insipidus and this iscalled the gestogenic diabetes insipidus (“Diabetes Insipidus and Diabetes Mellitus”).

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Figure 3 illustrates how water reabsorption in the body occurs.

The central type of diabetes insipidus is where little or not enough amounts of the antidiuretic hormone vasopressin are secreted from the pituitary gland. Because of this, there will be no substance to be attached to the AVPR2 receptor that is supposed to give the signal to the AQP2 to do its job. On the other hand, the renal type diabetes insipidus have enough amount of vasopressin but the body tends to have resistance in binding with the said hormone to facilitate the movement of the AQP2 to the apical membrane of the collecting duct cell in the kidney for the reabsorption of water from the urine (Qureshi, et al).

The third type, but considered to be rare, is the gestogenic diabetes insipidus. One of the side effects of the chemical reaction of the placenta in the body is the destruction of the vasopressin hormone. The degradation of the vasopressin is done by the vasopressinase or cysteine aminopeptidase. This usually occurs between the third trimester of pregnancy to the early postpartum period (Felman).

Diabetes is often related to blood sugar with the early signs or symptoms of excessive urination. However, there are two forms of diabetes – diabetes mellitus and diabetes insipidus. The urine in diabetes mellitus is sweet while in diabetes insipidus is very dilute or tasteless.

Both forms of diabetes are hormone-related. Insulin is secreted by the pancreas for diabetes mellitus while vasopressin is secreted by the pituitary glands for diabetes insipidus.

Diabetes prevalence in the Philippines is quite alarming. This only gives us the warning to keep our health monitored and choose a lifestyle that will keep us fit.


References:

Baclig, Cristina Eloisa. “Diabetes: A Bitter Health Crisis for Filipinos.” INQUIRER.Net, 21 July 2021, newsinfo.inquirer.net/1461980/diabetes-a-bitter-health-crisis-for-filipinos.


Bryant, Nia J., et al. “Regulated Transport of the Glucose Transporter GLUT4.” Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, vol. 3, no. 4, 2002, pp. 267–77. Crossrefhttps://doi.org/10.1038/nrm782.

 

“Diabetes Insipidus and Diabetes Mellitus.” The Diabetic Voice.Comwww.the-diabetic-voice.com/diabetes-insipidus-and-diabetes-mellitus.html. Accessed 26 Apr. 2022.

 

Felman, Adam. “What’s to Know about Diabetes Insipidus?” Medical News Today, 7 Apr. 2022, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/183251.

 

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