Causes of Chronic Diarrhoea

Remember the 5 Cs as Causes of Chronic diarrhoea:
Crohn's disease
Colitis (Ulcerative) or Ulcerative Colitis
Coeliac diseases
Cystic fibrosis
Cow's milk intolerance

How to use your computer for better learning and memory - Part 2

Continuing from our previous post in this series:

• How do you like the idea of computer reading aloud the notes for you? Well to do this get hold of free Text to speech software like Talk it! or natural readers or read please or Panopreter . Out of this if the download link to the first program (Talk it!) works, that's the best because it has many voices which you can make to read normally / whisper / sing. Now type / copy the text you need to read. You can get the paid versions of these programs to get better sounds or other features. Sit back relaxed while the computer reads aloud the lesson to you. You can adjust the speed of reading, font size and watch your screen from a distance. To make better experience, you can connect your computer / laptop to the LCD TV, home theater etc.
•  As a next step, you can record what the computer speaks to a mp3 file and write it as an mp3 CD ! Here's how you do it. If you want programs that straight away do this job, there is paid version of above free programs or there is Text Aloud. 
• In case you want to create free mp3 file online these are 2 sites: 1 -  http://www.hearwho.com/   2 -  http://vozme.com/index.php?lang=en
• So having created your mp3 lessons, burn it into CDs, label the CDs, exchange with your friends, listen to these lessons on your home / car / Walkman mp3 player. Whenever you feel that your eyes are sore or tired from sleepless night just pop a CD into the player and relax. It is recommended that you hear your lessons while going to sleep, when the relaxing brain waves starts as you will remember better. May be you can order the mp3s to get a song between your lessons for refreshment. 
• You can get hold of free audio editing software like Audacity sound editor and mix you favourite song in background or you can put your song into the left channel of mp3 and lessons into the other channel.
• And if you don't want to get all this complex work, just plugin your mic and record in your own voice using the windows sound record utility ! You can then convert the recorded sound from .wav to mp3 format using the free small downloadwav to mp3 program. Then burn the mp3 file to a CD and you are done !
• The aim of all these ideas are to get effortless revision. Remember, the more you revise, the better your memory
  

Drugs acting on 30s & 50s ribosomes

Remember this picture: 30 year old robber named ATkins is in CELL no. 50

Drugs acting on 30s ribosome subunits :

• Aminoglycosides ( Including Streptomycin, Gentamicin, Amikacin, Tobramycin)
• Tetracyclines 

Drugs acting on 50s ribosome subunits :

• Chloramphenicol
• Erythromycin
• Lincomycin
• cLindamycin

 
 

 

How to use your computer for better learning and memory - Part 1

Below are a few ideas for how to make the best out of your computer for learning. We are not going to ask you to browse a list of good websites or buy some good multimedia CDs and see them in your computer. Of course, they are good and followed by everyone and if done repeatedly, will help you to memorize better. For executing the novel ideas, you may require few software to be downloaded. We have provided the links also.

• The easiest tip is to start making powerpoint presentations yourself out of your notes. If you want pictures added search for required pictures at http://images.google.com/. Make your powerpoints in different designs and colours. Spare extra slides to highlight points that you forget in big / bold letters. May be you can ask your friends to prepare ppts for the same / different topics and get your works written in a CD / DVD and exchange your ppts so that the points missed by you may be covered by your friend or vice versa. If you want to make a VCD / DVD out of your powerpoints get hold of software like ppt2VCD or ppt2DVD or PPT to Video Scout or Moyea PPT to Video convertor are few of the software to get this work done. Another idea is to get a screen video recording utility like SnagIt to get this work done. If you want to do it free, check out this article from Labnol.com. 

More tips and ideas will follow in forthcoming posts.

Visual Mnemonics for Pharmacology : Preview

This is a very useful book with good picture mnemonics to remember Pharmacology. Very nice and funny cartoons help you to remember the key points in Pharmacology.

Location of Scaphoid on Palm

The Scaphoid can be approximately located on palm by flexing the fingers, as in this position the fingers point to the Scaphoid. See picture below.

Signs of Onset of Labour

Remember: Ready Mom, for Safe Delivery ?

Regular & painful uterine contractions
Membranes get ruptured
Show
Dilatation & effacemnent of cervix

Diagnosis of SLE

Symptoms, signs and laboratory findings  to diagnose SLE:
Remember MD SOAP BRAIN ( To pass your MD exam, you need to SOAP your professors and need BRAIN )

Malar rash
Discoid rash

Serositis
Oral ulcers
Arthritis
Photosensitivity


Blood abnormalities
Renal involvement 
ANA positive
Immunologic abnormalities
Neurologic abnormalities

Retinal detachment

• Causes of Retinal Detachment 

Remember the retina detaches from where it SITS :
Secondary to some intra-ocular problem such as melanoma
Idiopathic
Traumatic
Surgery for cataract

• Symptoms of Retinal Detachment 

Remember 4 Fs:
Falling acuity
Floaters
Flashes (migraine)
Field loss (dark cloud covers a field of vision)

Sickle Cell Anemia

In SICKle cell anemia (HBS), the abnormality is in the SICKsth position of Beta chain of HB. Valine is present instead of Glutamic acid, i.e. Glutamic acid Goes.

Parasitic eggs that float in saturated saline

 Fertilised eggs of the following Float in saturated saline:
Remember: Imagine a DWARF holding a WHIP and PINned on ROUND HOOK
i.e. Eggs which Float are Fertilised eggs of:
Dwarf tape worm = Hymenolepis nana
Whip worm = Trichuris trichura
Pin worm =  Enterobius vermicularis
Round worm = Ascaris lumbricoides
Hook worm = Ankylostoma / Necacator



Another alternate mnemonic: I HATE Fertilised eggs - HATE stands for Hook / Hymenolepis, Ascaris, Trichuris, Enterobius.

JVP

Jugular Venous Pulse waves:

a - wave : due to Atrial contraction
x - descent : due to atrial relaXation
c - wave : Bulging (Closure ) of Tricuspid valve into right atrium
v - wave : Venacaval blood Volume increased when Tricuspid valve is closed
y - descent: Tricuspid valve opening and inflow of blood into right ventricle ( Yahooooo ! - Tricuspid valve open! )

Note that first 2 waves are described in relation to Atrium and the next 3 waves in relation to Tricuspid.

Cerebellar Signs and symptoms

Remember: 3 Deadly ANTS Playing on your cerebellum ( =  DDD ANTS P , i.e 3 Ds expanded )

Dysarthria
Decreased tone
Dysdiadochokinesis
Ataxia
Nystagmus
Tremor (Intention tremors)
Slurrred speech / Scanning speech
Pendular knee jerk

Note: Please try to quote the ANTS first in the order of symptoms before 3 Ds, as they are the most important. See the picture below to remember the 3 ants better :-)

Blot techniques

NoRthern blot is for RNA. The opposite, Southern blot is for DNA.
So what remains is the Western - for proteins.

Here's a more effective mnemonic if you know about Indian food habits.
In North India  Roti is favourite food - Northern RNA
South India : Dosa - Southern DNA
Western world food : Pizza - Western Proteins

For Hindi knowing people, here's an alternate menmonic:
South = Dakshin - DNA
West = Paschim - Proteins

Joke : Ragging a first year

The house surgeon saw a new face in the ward actively taking history from a patient. "Ah a fresher - I will give him a ragging"' he thought. He approached the fresher with a serious face as if he was a senior professor. "Which year, Eh?", the HS asked teasingly. "First year, sir", prompt reply. "First year in the wards taking history, Ha ha. Let me see what you have taken. Ok, present the case", he told the fresher. The fresher obliged. The case presentation was so impressive and detailed, so the house surgeon was asking him why he was going to unnecessary points. But the fresher had a sound reason for his each history detail that the house surgeon was impressed. " Is your father a doctor?", was the HS's next question. "No" came the answer. "Which book have you started reading?" was the next question. " Sir, Harrison, Davidson,........" and the fresher listed some books which the HS had not heard off. "Hey that's brilliant! I never read those books in my first year MBBS" the HS said. At this the fresher raised a brow, he became serious and asked "I am a first year Post Graduate in general medicine". Hearing this the HS said' "sorry sir" and fled from the scene.