Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Medicine & Health

The Unpredictable Fury of Nature

In December 2004, Pat Ralston was enjoying a luxurious stay at a Thai hotel. As he relaxed on the balcony, engrossed in a book, the beach below buzzed with volleyball players. The sun painted a picture of paradise. Suddenly, the idyllic scene dissolved into chaos as a tsunami roared ashore, engulfing the beach and hotel in its watery grip. Pat miraculously survived, but the immense wave left a trail of devastation across Southeast Asia, claiming thousands of lives and reducing buildings and villages to rubble.

Even the seemingly safe haven of a ship offers no guarantee against nature's wrath. In April 2005, the cruise ship Norwegian Dawn encountered a monstrous 21-meter wave near the Bahamas after battling two... Continue reading "The Power of Preparedness: How We Can Reduce Deaths from Natural Disasters" »

Tilikum's Early Life and Trauma

Blackfish analyzes how Tilikum’s life led up to his violent encounters. Tilikum was captured as a calf off the coast of Iceland, being separated from his family and taken to Sea Land of the Pacific in British Columbia. At Sea Land, Tilikum and the other orcas were placed in a 30 by 20 foot module at night, with barely enough room to float, and with the lights turned off, leaving him in total darkness and no room to swim. Animal specialists interviewed in the film claim that this led to a type of psychosis.

Tilikum's Involvement in Human Deaths

After Sea Land of the Pacific went out of business in 1992, Tilikum was transferred to Sea World, Orlando. Other than Dawn Brancheau’s death, Tilikum played a part in... Continue reading "Tilikum and Blackfish: Trauma of Orcas in Captivity" »

Prefixes and Word Families

• Prefixes: Inter- (between), pre- (before), tri- (three), dis- (not), im- (not), hyper- (more than usual), over- (more than usual), re- (again).
• Word Families:
  • Educate, education, educative
  • Terrify, terrified, terrifying
  • Strengthen, strength, strong
  • Criticise, critic, critical
  • Endangered, danger, dangerous
• Word Transformations: Blood/bled, cheat/to cheat, dry/dryness, experience/to experience, frozen/to freeze, hot/heat, just/justification, length/lengthen, low/lower, memory/memorize, modern/modernize, separate/to separate, sure/ensure, threat/en-threat.
• Phrasal Verbs (Off): Delayed (put off), move away (back off), cancelled (call off), shouted at (told off), say goodbye (see off), exploded (gone off), disappeared (went off)

Key Australian History Milestones (1770–1901)

A brief timeline detailing the initial period of British contact and colonization in Australia.

• 1770: British navigator Captain Cook arrives in Australia.
• 1788: The first British colony is set up.
• 18th–19th Century: Thousands of British convicted criminals were sent to serve their sentences.
• 19th Century: Further voluntary immigration from Europe, gradually displacing the native Aborigines.
• 1901: Australia becomes an independent Dominion of the British Commonwealth.

Essential Vocabulary and Modern Workplace Jargon

A comprehensive glossary of terms, including corporate slang, professional definitions, and general vocabulary.

Adjust

Adapt.

Aspect

A machine used by call-center employees which contains the

... Continue reading "Diabetes Mellitus: Type 1 and Type 2 Differences" »

Vowel Articulation: Lip Position and Quantity

Lip Shape and Vowel Length

The position of the lips or shape of the lips can be rounded ( ) or unrounded ( ). Vowel quantity is determined by length: RP 5 long vowels ( ) versus 7 short vowels ( ).

Vowel Length Conditions

• So-called long vowels occur in syllables closed by a voiceless consonant ( ), where they become shorter or halflong (pre-fortis clipping).
• Vowels can be checked or free depending on their phonological distribution.
• Short vowels ( ) are checked because they cannot occur in final stressed syllables.
• Long vowels and diphthongs have no such restriction and are labeled free. The short vowel ( ) falls into this class.

Pure Vowels: Stress and Contrast

Stressed vs. Unstressed Vowels

Pure vowels... Continue reading "English Vowel Articulation and Phonetics" »

Culinary Terms and Food Descriptors

• Steamed: Cooked by being placed in steam. Example: Steamed vegetables retain more nutrients.
• Seasoned: Enhanced with flavorings. Example: The salad needs to be seasoned; maybe a little salt and olive oil will be enough.
• Stewed: Cooked slowly in a small amount of liquid. Example: The stewed apples were soft and flavorful.
• Broth: A soup, often with vegetables or rice in it. Example: Chicken broth is a common base for soups.
• Savory: Having a usually salty, but not sweet taste. Example: The dish had a savory flavor that was very satisfying.
• Jelly: A soft, sweet food that shakes when you move it. Example: Strawberry jelly is a popular choice for toast.
• Tender: (Of meat) Soft and easy to bite through. Example: The steak

Definition of Consonants

A consonant is a speech sound produced when the airstream from the lungs is obstructed (completely or partially) or when the mouth passage is so narrow that the air is expelled with audible friction.

1. State of the Glottis

This refers to whether or not the vocal cords vibrate during sound production:

• Voiced: The vocal cords vibrate.
• Voiceless: The vocal cords do not vibrate.

2. Place of Articulation

1. Bilabial: Both lips.
2. Labiodental: Lower lip and upper teeth.
3. Dental: Tongue tip just behind the upper front teeth.
4. Alveolar: Blade of the tongue against the alveolar ridge.
5. Post-alveolar/Pre-palatal: Blade or tip of the tongue on the rear part of the alveolar ridge.
6. Palatal: Raising the front of the tongue towards the hard palate.
7. Velar:

Coetzee Wins Nobel Prize

Coetzee wins Nobel Prize

The Nobel Prize has often been misapplied. It evaded Tolstoy, Chekhov, Joyce, Kafka, and Nabokov. Coetzee was born in Cape Town in 1940 and trained as a computer scientist, coming to London in the Sixties to work for IBM, a period recollected in a superb autobiographical novel. According to the text, literary qualities have not always been the main reason for authors to be awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature. Sometimes, the judges have been influenced by political factors. Before writing his first novel, Coetzee was very busy professionally. In the Sixties, he worked for IBM in London and later became a professor of Literature in the United States and finally in Cape Town.

a) unquestionably c)