I Got a Covid 19 Vaccine Shot Recently – Part 2

You may read previous post (Part 1):

- I Got a Covid 19 Vaccine Shot Recently – Part 1

Fig 01- Christmas decoration at one of city corners

Then, in term of effectiveness, just for comparison of effective rate for other two familiar vaccines are:

- 50% for H1N1 flu vaccine
- 90% for varicella vaccine.

Immediately after getting shot, nothing happen to my body, feeling and whatever. Then, I was asked by a nurse to stay in the specific room for about 15 minutes.

Image 2- Pfizer vaccine (credit to BBC)

Image 3- Plants, just for illustration

I was observed to see “adverse reaction.” No “anaphylaxis,” a serious allergic reaction. Nothing happens at all.

You might wonder that why I could be included as first recipients of covid 19 vaccine?

No, I am not older than 75 years old.

I am a healthcare personnel “who worked directly with Covid 19 patients.” 100% of my patients are survive.

Merry Christmas and happy new year to all of you!!

# Previous postings:

- The Gloomy in the Beginning of the Year of Rat – Part 2
- Making Perfume in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory - Science 1
- Cold Morning at My Workplace, Baton Rouge, USA
- The Gloomy in the Beginning of the Year of Rat – Part 1

*** 24 December 2020

Important of Microorganisms in Food Industry – Healthy Life 1

 

Lactobacillus casei, Shirota is used for enumeration of 

Bifidobacterial in fermented milks

Our life might not exist without microorganisms, since these “tiny” unseen creatures help human being in many ways.

They are digesting our food, fixing gases, decomposing waste and involving in may cycles like to break down dead organisms then to be used as fertilizer by living organism as part of food chain.

In industry, microorganisms are widely used in many industries, from small to large scale ones, and from traditional to cutting edge technology industries.

Bacteria, yeast, molds, combination of several microorganisms and even virus are commonly used in many types of industries.

The types of industry include food industry (industrial products), pharmaceutical industry, biotech industry, agriculture industry and waste treatment (reduce toxic pollutants).

In food processing, our ancestors routinely used microorganisms for production of beverages, sausages and dairy products.

Ornaments in the parking lot

Currently, we could use microorganisms of naturally occurring and genetically modified microorganism to increase food production.

These products (beverages, sausages and dairy products) could be improved their health benefit to public by attaching probiotic microorganisms.

The health benefits include to improve digestion, to protect body from pathogens, increase peristaltic activity in intestine and stimulate immune system.  

Above figure (top of this article) shown an example of probiotic microbes from lactic acid bacteria group.

The bacteria called Lactobacillus casei, Shirota is used in dairy product to improve nutritional and health benefit.

The Japan company, Honsha used this bacterium to produce Yakult. The Yakult is believed nutrient rich drink and could improve immune system.

I Got a Covid 19 Vaccine Shot Recently – Part 1

Luckily, I got first shot of Covid 19 vaccine on December 18, 2020, few days ago. The date was exactly with vice president of USA, Mike Pence.

Image 1- Entrance to vaccine shots administration

The difference that Mike Pence was injected in Washington DC, while me in my city, Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

I was included as first recipients in the city. Vaccine brand called as Biontech – Pfizer needs two shots.

In my cases, two shots and dates are:

- Primary shot, done on December 18, 2020
- Booster shot will be on January 8, 2021.

Image 2- An interior building, just for illustration

Image 3- A public building

The interval between primary shot and booster shot is 21 days. Quite shorter compared to another vaccine (Moderna vaccine).

As you might know that the effective rate of both Biontech – Pfizer and Moderna are higher:

- 95% for Biontech – Pfizer
- 94.5% for Moderna

Then, you might wonder: what happen to my body after getting Biontech – Pfizer vaccine shots?

# To be continued to Part 2

## Previous postings:

- The Gloomy in the Beginning of the Year of Rat – Part 2
- Making Perfume in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory - Science 1
- Cold Morning at My Workplace, Baton Rouge, USA
- The Gloomy in the Beginning of the Year of Rat – Part 1

** 22 December 2020

The Gloomy in the Beginning of the Year of Rat – Part 2

You may read previous post (Part 1):

- The Gloomy in the Beginning of the Year of Rat – Part 1

Image 1- The cartoon of coronavirus (Credit: Murray et al)

Normally, corona virus infects the epithelial cells of respiratory tract of human. The reason is this place has the optimum temperature for the corona virus to grow in optimal condition.

This virus is believed to well develop in the temperature range of 33 – 35 degree Celsius.

China had been ready for the biggest festival to celebrate their New Year, called as Spring Festival.

Image 2- Just for illustration

Image 3- Cute cat, illustration only

In their faith, to welcome the new year, they decorate their to against demons and evil, put calligraphy to welcome the fortune, and prepare the red envelopes to health of their children.

Those things seem do not help for this year. The new coronavirus from Wuhan have come over the China and now spread to other countries.

On January 27, the Day of Rat, which is the day that rats marry, the virus had killed at least 80 people in China and infected about 3000 people around the world and the most is in China.

The Rat looks mourn.

# Previous postings:

- Visitor My Blogger - 12 Countries in 3 Days
- Cold Morning at My Workplace, Baton Rouge, USA
- Local Event Called as “Mardi Gras” In Louisiana, USA
- Making Perfume in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory - Science 1

# December 16, 2020

Nobody Can Replace a Mama's Love – Cardiovascular - Part 2

Red flower beside my office.

She and I love the things related to the fishes, we spent sometimes either fishing or visiting any fisheries in our county.

So we have the same idea that the Underwater World Singapore was the best and closest place to introduce many species, sizes, hues, and behaviors of fishes to our kids.

Each of us was so busy at work and taking care kids, but we kept in touch via social media where we used to support each other. Suddenly, bad news hit my nerves.

It was un-acceptable...she was so young, agile, and always excited about her kids and her life. She passed away in doing her duty as a civil servant.

It was so sad and so sudden. I was very much down to think about the kids, three of them (3, 5, and 7) always stick to her, they need her. Nobody can replace a mama's love for them.

A wonderful red flower

It was a heartbreaking to imagine how her kids' feeling about losing their mama. Can they understand that their mama had never ever among them again...Oh nooo!!!!! The cause her death was very brutal.

Two years later a boy that sit among us in the class also suddenly passed away, and the other one was last year he also passed away suddenly in his duty visitation.

I stared at my paper work in my hand, I opened, there is in the first page:

Cardiovascular disease is any disease that involves the heart and blood vessels and the most causing of death and disability effects in the US.

This disease kills about 630,000 people every year in only the United State, and there are 28.4 million of adults are identified having heart disease (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018).

Many action plans and strategies based on etiology and risk factors to prevent these diseases. The researchers are also going on to reveal the ways that could protect and prevent the heart from any injuries and damages that lead to cardiovascular diseases.

Nobody Can Replace a Mama's Love – Cardiovascular - Part 1

An autumn color's tree

Summer is over, and I need to reorganize my “study room” before Fall Semester get started. An orange storage bin in the corner of room attracted my sight.

It was a pumpkin color bin for all my papers, notes, and text books of Cardiovascular Anatomy and Physiology and my research paper about Cardio-myocyte.

I was holding my research report. It brought me to the time when I was high school, once a month I and whole my classmates run circling stadium for physical Science class.

Now I lost three of them. They were my classmates, and one of them was a special person for me.

I know her since we were fifteen-year-old at the first day freshman in the high school. We did our school assignments and projects together.

We grow together. We spent the most our time in the school and after school activities, and the friendship get along till we got a job and married.

Creation of a Christmas tree.

Then, I had moved out from our town for some reasons.

The last time I met her was in her office lobby, I saw her get out from her room walked toward me with her beautiful smile, gave me her warmest hug, and asked me about my new place.

I still remember her happy face, happy life, and happy marriage with her adorable kids, and she was so excited to let me know that she, her husband, and kids were going spend a week vacation in Singapore.

Making Perfume in the Organic Chemistry Laboratory - Science 1

Condenser for making perfume

You, we, teenagers, young, old, all of us encountered what we call as “perfume” in daily life.

May be thousands of perfume’s trade marks (brands) are available in the market: from famous to ordinary, from cheap to very expensive; from attractive to ordinary scents.

Many famous brand names perfumes made by modern manufacturer, mass scales, but some of them are homemade or small-scale industries.

In principle, we can produce perfumes by ourselves too, even in the garages.

First, we need apparatus called Condenser (please see above figure). It is a simple tool with two sides of tubulations: distilling flask in one side, and the receiving flask in another side.

Then, please prepared chosen fragrance herbs or shrewd plants in the distilling flask.

A flower, one source of scents. Illustration only.

There are plants or flowers could be sources of scent ingredient naturally, some of them are:

- jasmine

- lavender

- amyris

- lemongrass

- eucalyptus

- narcissus

- common lilac.

These plants known for their attractive fragrances.

Distilling flask which contains crushed plants or flowers within liquid, then ready to be heated.

Steam will bring the solvent, but crushed materials will stay in the distilling flask. Pure fragrance solvent will be collected in receiving flask.

Basically, this solvent could be used for further purposes such as for making perfumes.

You can make your own perfumes or may be your own brands. You may select many flowers you like as source of fragrances.

Just an example, luxury brand, Chanel used fragrance that extracted from plenty flower species include jasmine, rose geranium and iris pallida.

Would you try?

Local Event Called as “Mardi Gras” In Louisiana, USA

 

Fig 01- A unique designed “vehicle” with many people on it

“Mardi Gras” is French for “Fat Tuesday” in English. Mardi Gras also called as Shrove Tuesday, which means confess on Tuesday.

In Louisiana, Mardi Gras is occurring on any Tuesday from February third to March ninth. We celebrate Mardi Gras on February 3rd in the year (2018). We scheduled March 5th for Mardi Gras in the year of 2019.

Unfortunately, no Mardi Gra in the 2021 due to Covid 19 pandemic. However, discussion to change the date is still gong.

Actually, other countries celebrate Mardi Gras too, few of them are:

- Binche, Belgium

- Quebec City, Canada. ...

- Nice, France

- Venice, Italy

- Trinidad and Tobago

- Goa, India

Fig 02- A strange “creature” in the carnival

It is related to religious obligation, where people in Louisiana “shrove” before fasting. The schedule of Mardi Gras is 47 days before each year.

Fig 03- Two adorned vehicles in carnival.

Mardi Gras is happy day for me and many friends in Louisiana. We are happy to catch and collect beads throw down from vehicles during carnival.

There are many colors of beads. What I know are:

- Purple means justice

- Green represents faith.

- Gold symbolizes power.

Have you involved in Mardi Gras celebration or watch carnivals? Where and when? 

Cold Morning at My Workplace, Baton Rouge, USA

Fig 01- Parking lot for guests

We are living in Louisiana, Southern state of USA, hardly experience with freezing where temperature reach down to F 28 degree or minus 2 degree Celsius (-2 C) several days ago.

Just to let you know, the lowest temperature ever in our city:

- 2020, F 14 (C – 10) degree.

- 1989, F 18 (C – 8) degree

- 1977, F 18 (C – 8) degree

However, the common temperature are between F 43 (C 6) degree to F 91 (C 33) degree year round.

This morning, couple weeks to Christmas eve, the city of Baton Rouge, Louisiana so cloudy or foggy.

Difficult to view far distance. Making driving quite dangerous for me, especially in the early morning when I go to work.

Fig 02- Cactus pear, good source of vitamin C in cold season

Fruit is good to consume during winter, because as you know that fruit are Vitamin C rich.

Fig 03- Waiting room

In my workplace, no crowd yet in parking lot, just staff and administration employee parked their own cars in parking area.

The waiting room has empty chairs, no guests are coming yet. I guess, they will come later in the afternoon.

The temperature is so un-predictable: one day freezing, another day raining, and other days cloudy and snowy.

I wish the spring is coming soon!!

Visitor My Blogger - 12 Countries in 3 Days

Fig 01- Type of browsers

I am quiet surprising by number of countries viewed my Blogger in just three days.

There are 12 countries, they come from 5 continents Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia and America. The countries are:

01.USA

02.India

03.United Kingdom

04.Pakistan

05.Canada

06.Indonesia

07.Nigeria

08.Brazil

09.Egypt

10.Italy

11.Australia

12.Papua New Guinea

Fig 02- Operating system

Total number of visitors was 355 as of third day (January 20, 2018). Based on type of browsers, visitors used 4 types:

- Chrome

- Firefox

- Safari

- CriOs

They mainly familiar with Chrome, 72%, while the least type of browsers used was criOs browser, 1 % (please see the first Figure, Figure 01).

Base on operating system as of Figure 02, visitors used mainly Windows system (76%), and the small number of visitors used Unix system.

I wish many visitors from many more countries will visit my “Google blogger” in the near future, and stay tune with my articles.

The Gloomy in the Beginning of the Year of Rat – Part 1

This opening of the first year of the Chinese zodiac cycle seems will be a historical year in Medical Microbiology.

Image 1- The cartoon of the Year of Rat.

We welcome to symbol of this year, Rat, but we have never ever welcome to the beautiful and powerful name, which is “Corona” virus.

It was not long ago, 2002, we were shocked about the corona virus that attack human upper respiratory, and this virus so easily roamed in the air to find the nice niche to grow, human respiratory tracts.

The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak began in South China's Guangdong Province in November 2002.

Image 2- Neighborhood in the morning, illustration

Image 3- A mouse, Illustration only

There was 8000 people got infection and at least 750 people death. This disease spread through respiratory droplets and also:

- sweat
- urine
- and feces.

Coronavirus is enveloped virions with the longest positive RNA genome. The surface of the envelope are glycoproteins.

Those glycoproteins have club-shaped and cling around the surface so that it looks like a “corona” or halo under the electron microscope.

The glycoprotein functions are:

- to bind to the host
- and fusion activity.

# To be continued to Part 2

* December 09, 2020