Posts Tagged ‘education’

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Things You Should Know About Genetic Testing

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011

DNA tests are performed on a variety of settings and for different reasons. In medicine, it is used to screen for genetic diseases in unborn babies and newborns. Genetic testing can also be done as a carrier screening test, which determines if a certain individual has a genetic mutation that can be transmitted onto his or her children. DNA testing can be performed to screen for hereditary conditions in grown-ups with a familial history of the said disease prior to showing any symptoms. It can also be performed to confirm a diagnosis, which can help determine the most appropriate treatment.

Parental testing is also a kind of DNA testing which is used to determine whether two individuals have a biological parent-child relationship.  Testing for DNA can be done for genealogical purposes too. It can also provide clues about your ethnic origin. In the legal setting, testing for DNA is an integral component of criminal investigation, and the results of such tests, are admissible in court as evidence to implicate or exculpate the alleged suspect. It is also used in verifying the identity of those who died in natural disasters, like earthquakes and floods.

Genetic testing is performed on a sample of blood, hair, skin, the fluid that surrounds the fetus during pregnancy, or some other tissue, such as those in the cheek, through a painless buccal swab. These samples are then forwarded to a lab for testing and the official results are usually in by 2 to 6 weeks. Results are never given on the phone and data is not given to anyone without the consent of the individual being screened. In most cases, the DNA testing facility will send the results in writing to the doctor or genetic counselor of the person being tested.

A positive or negative DNA test outcome has 98-99% accuracy. These tests do not have a hundred percent accuracy due to the likelihood of human oversight or technical problem which is sometimes inevitable in lab work despite best efforts to prevent them. These errors might be due to sample misidentification, contamination of the chemicals used for testing, or other factors.

For one, in terms of genetic disorder mapping, DNA testing can only screen for the presence or absence of mutated genes. The test often can’t determine if a person will show symptoms of a disorder, how severe the symptoms will be, or whether the disorder will progress over time.

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Step Into Geological History At The Bay Of Fundy

Friday, December 9th, 2011

As Fundy’s massive tides steadily erode the imposing coastal cliffs and also wash the shores, a large number of wonderful rocks, zeolites and even semi-precious stones are often revealed day by day. The Bay of Fundy absolutely is a rock hounder’s haven.

On the shores in the vicinity of Parrsboro, Nova Scotia, mineral treasures such as amethyst and agate are common discoveries. Parrsboro is also home to the Fundy Geological Museum in which vacationers get the chance to examine mineral terminals and even explore some of the oldest dinosaur bones in Canada and the earth’s 1st reptiles.

During a trip to New Brunswick’s Fundy National Park go look at both tale-telling rock clusters. Although the beige and gray rocks stumbled on around Owls Head are created from sandstone, the volcanic rocks near Point Wolfe illustrate the moving of our land masses, and they are made from light quartz veins, swirling folds and criss-crossing cracks. The oldest rocks in the area can be seen near Point Wolfe. The Caledonia Highlands, which are as old as the Ice Age, will also be found in Fundy National Park.

Several months ago, in the Fall season of 2010, a region in the region of St. John, New Brunswick, became the very first UNESCO recognized Geopark within Canada and the United States. The Stonehammer Geopark runs east from the Fundy Trail Parkway, west near the Lepreau Waterfalls and proceeds inland as far as Norton, Hampton and Grand Bay-Westfield.

Stonehammer’s tagline is “A Billion Years of Stories” and this couldn’t be more valid. From an observation patio by the side of Saint John’s Harbour Passage, visitors look across the Reversing Rapids gorge to witness a pair of continents that slammed into each other millenia earlier. Taking a look across the gorge, the rocks located on the left come from the Cambrian period (roughly speaking 500 million years of age) while the lighter greyish rocks on the right come from the Precambrian period (seven hundred and fifty million-1.2 billion years old). Stonehammer has rocks of almost all of the geologic eras aside from the Tertiary and Jurassic eras.

Further Stonehammer Geopark sites include the Irving Nature Park, Rockwood Park, Dominion Park, Tucker Park, Fort Howe and King Square West. You’ll discover more than two hundred possible places of geological significance through this 2800 km2 region.

Find out more about the geological formation of the Bay of Fundy on the official Bay of Fundy website.

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What To Expect In Radiology Technician Jobs

Saturday, November 19th, 2011

If you are one of those who want to have a career in the medical world but do not have the money to spend to become a medical doctor, why not settle for a career as radiology tech?  In order to become a radiology technician, you must first attend and complete a four-year course in an accredited university.  The course that you take can be a bacholor’s degree in radiologic sciences or similar courses.  Since radiology tech jobs are very competitive, you should then enroll in a radiology technician course.  This degree usually takes 1-2 years to complete, depending on your school’s program and schedule. 

Many ultrasound tech schools are offering training courses on the different aspects of radiology.  Trainings can be on mammography and pediatric radiology.  The radiology tech may choose to specialize in a specific field if he wants to establish a career there. 

The job of a radiology tech is mainly the operation of medical imaging facilities to diagnose patients.  They then evaluate injuries or illnesses and recommend medical treatments for such injuries or illnesses.  He also needs to learn common technological machines such as X-rays, CT scanners, 3D medical imaging programs, MRIs, special cameras used in surgeries and operations, sonogram machines. 

Radiology techs are becoming in demand.  Employment of radiology technicians are expected to rise in the coming years as more and more medical imaging machines are being invented.  Radiology tech salaries are also relatively high.  There are many factors that determine the range of salary given to a radiology tech.  Extensive training also has monetary advantages in the person’s career as a radiology technician.  The accredited status of the university he has graduated from is also taken into consideration.  Graduates from accredited universities are more preferred because the government has ensured that the teaching standards rise up to the requirements set by the medical associations.  Experience is also the best determining factor of the amount of salary.  With experience comes knowledge and years of training also comes expertise.  These are the things that you have to consider in finally deciding to take a radiology tech course.

A radiology tech located in the California area can earn up to $67,000 per year.  A radiology technician with more years of experience can even earn up to $300,000 annually.  The fastest way to increase your salary as a radiology tech is to advance your education.  The more skilled a radiology tech is, the higher pay he will get.

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Storing Energy

Tuesday, September 27th, 2011

We have come to rely completely on energy.  We use it in almost everything we do; we live in it, use it for all our modern conveniences and more.  Without energy we wouldn’t know what to do.  In the past, before energy, there were lanterns for light and matches and wood for heat.  That was the only options people had.  When power was accessible to everyone by running power lines through cities, towns, residential areas to allow everyone to tap into the new generation, people were skeptical as to how this would affect everyone in the future.Over the years, appliances became energy friendly, which made for less manual labor and more free time.  Wash machines, dryers, dishwashers and the latest in cooking stoves that no longer needed wood.  These were all great inventions and although people were skeptical they still took advantage of these appliances.  Today we have the worry of saving the energy that we know and love so well.  Our energy is fueled by non-renewable resources which will allow the depletion of these resources slowly and over time where we won’t realize it until it is gone. We need to find an alternative to the way we power our energy but we also need to store the energy that we already have.

 

Solar energy has been tested and experimented with as we learn more and more about how to conserve and store the natural heat from the sunlight.  We all know how effective it is and why it is something that we should work very hard at conserving.  Storing the solar energy can mean endless usage of water and other necessities by using conservative methods of saving energy.  Thermal mass systems are the process of using natural resources to make material that will store solar energy.  This type of storage uses renewable resources from the earth, such as dirt, water and man made resources such as concrete to help store energy if only for a short period of time.  Thermal mass can help heat water at night or heat your home long after the sun goes down or on cloudy days when the sun doesn’t peak through the clouds at all.  These need to be worked on because there is no extensive long storage capability using solar power just yet. Then you have the thermo-chemically phase which uses types of devices to store heat.  Some examples of this type of storage includes

 

Paraffin wax inside of a storage tank.  When the paraffin wax is cold it is solid but when it is heated it is a liquid that can help hold heat for a very long time without cooling it down. As the paraffin wax cools it becomes hard which can hold the heat in longer. Eutectic Salts are inexpensive and can store heat in a heating system which will distribute the heat evenly and lasting hotter longer. Molten Salts are an effective way to store solar energy because it allows the heat to remain hot without being non-flammable and cost effective.  During the time that the storage tank is heating up, the salt mixture is heated and then used to make steam. Rechargeable batteries can be a great way to store energy.  This type of storage allows the power source connected to the battery maintain its power.  Lead acid batteries are the more common battery used for this type of storage. As you see there are several ways that we can store natural energy we just need to learn how to make these methods more practical and efficient.  When we figure it out we will have an unlimited supply of natural heat.

Malcolm Deur writes for Uniformhaven.com who offers cherokee scrubs, urbane scrub pants and lab coat as well as a lot of other items.

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How To Become A Radiology Technician

Wednesday, September 14th, 2011

x ray technician schools

Graduates of a radiology tech course are called radiology technicians. They are the ones that produce radiographic images that will then be used by medical doctors for diagnosis. Radio techs need a certification from any accredited radiology program. These technicians may also do some other tasks aside from performing x-rays. This is possible if they specialize in various fields of radiography, including CT or MRIs as well as PET scans. Although it is very common to see these technicians in medical hospitals, there are a lot of x-ray technicians also who choose to work in other healthcare facilities and private clinics.

Educational Background

The basic requirement for any x-ray technician is to have a diploma or certificate in radiography, which can be obtained from any accredited x ray technician schools. It usually takes a year or two to complete a certificate program. A student also has an option to have a two year associate course or a four year bachelor’s degree course. No matter what the degree program you choose, the primary coursework to be included are anatomy, physiology, radiographic positioning, clinical x-ray, pharmacology, film evaluation, imaging technology, radiation protection, radiation physics and medical ethics. Radiology tech students will also need to undergo a clinical training program, where they will be dealing with patients under the supervision of professional radiology technicians.

Qualifications

X-ray tech applicants need to submit certain sets of certificates, which actually vary from one state to another. States that require licensing also vary in terms of the requirements to get a license. A person with an online radiology tech degree may also take voluntary certification. This system is offered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists or ARRT. An ARRT accreditation examination is normally utilized by states as an option to a licensure exam. You may say that there is no law requiring radio technicians to be certified, but you have to understand also that employers always prefer those with certifications over those who don’t.

Job Duties

A radiology technician is mainly responsible for taking and producing x-rays as well as other kinds of radiographic images which are going to be used by physicians to diagnose illnesses. It is also a duty of a radiologist to prepare patients for their radiology procedures. It is also important that the body of the patient be positioned properly for imaging. A radiologic technician also works under the supervision of one other technician or physician. Another task they need to perform is to keep the records of patients as well as to make sure the equipment is in good condition.

Salary

By going to some accredited x ray technician schools, a certified radiologic technician has the potential to earn as much as $55,210 annually. With no certification, a technician can still earn around $48,530 a year.

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