Xmas jobs

 

 

 

Evil Zombie Cows of Satan

(In)famous histamine

Histamine, called by the chemists 2-(imidazol-4-yl)ethylamine, is located in many tissues of the body and even if its physiological function is too complex to be currently, completely understood, sure is that histamine plays a predominant role in the allergic inflammatory response of the body and in the regulation of the secretion of gastric acid.
Therefore, a huge effort has been done to the development of drugs (medicaments) that antagonize (stop) its effects and therefore reduce the allergic reaction of the body and/or help to the regulation of the gastric acid.
For a compound to have effect in the body, it has to interact in one way or another with the metabolic pathways. Usually this interaction happens between the compound, usually a small molecule (in this case histamine) and a big molecule, a protein (or an enzime, which are just a specialized kind of proteins).
The target protein is called receptor, and associated to the name of the small moleculle which is able to interact with it, therefore the proteins in the metabolic pathways which interact with the histamine moleculle are called histamine receptors.
In general, the receptors, these proteins, are inside of the body, in the cells (or in the body fluids) but no necesarilly everywhereor in the same amount. For example, some receptors are present in the muscle cells but not in the nervous system and so on.
The histamine receptors can be found amongst other in the smooth muscle of the bronchi, gut and uterus, in the central nervous system and in the stomach.
These receptors are proteins, and proteins are very peculiar moleculles. They can be different in respect of the little, small pieces they are made but and the end, they perform the same function due to their final shape (to kept it easy). Also or maybe for this reason they are proteins which are a bit different from each other but that perform more or less the same function, for example histamine receptors, there is not only one unique histamine receptor in the universe. Different living being have different proteins as the proteins are given by the genetic code which is different in every living being, but even inside of the same body, there are histamine receptors which even if they interact with histamine, they are a bit different from each other. They are called receptor types (or even sub-types).
For the family of the histamine receptors only four receptor types are known, called H1, H2, H3 and H4.
This nomenclature is kind of common, some capital letters (H for histamine) and a number which usually denotes the other of discovery of the receptor.
Different receptor types of receptor are present (expressed) in different cells (tisues, parts of the body) and asociated to different metabolic effects (allergic response or secretion of gastric acid).
Histamine will, obviously interact (bind, anchor) with all these receptor types (and subtypes) and therefore histamine is an in-expecific moleculle (sometimes called substrate).
As every receptor type is expressed in different cells and regulates different metabolic effects, for the development of new drugs it is of primordial importance to create moleculles which are able to bind in a specific and selective way only one of the receptor types (or subtypes) so that for example, the allergic reaction can be blocked without disturbing the secretion of gastric acid.
Known Facts about the histamine receptor types are:

• H1: to be found in the smooth muscle of the bronchi, wherein it regulates the contraction of the bronchi which leads to restriction of air flow in the lungs (if you have asthma, you know how it feels). Also the permeability of the capillary walls is regulated so that plasma constituents could flow into the extracellular spaces and produce an edema (basically the lungs are flodded with liquid and respiration becomes difficult). This receptor is also in the Central Nervous System wherein it is associated with drowsiness or somnolence. Drugs able to interact with this receptor are useful in the treatment of allergy and inflammation.
• H2: plays a minor role in allergic inflammatory processes but in the stomach, parietal cells (the cells in the wall of the stomach) stimulation increases production and secretion of acid. Drugs able to interact with this receptor are useful in the treatment of ulcers.
• H3: occurs in the brain, and it activation leads to a decrease in neurotransmiter release which promotes arousal, attention and improves learning (at least in animals). Allergic rhinitis is one condition in which drugs able to interact with this receptor may be useful.
• H4: the more obscure, appears to be limited to cells of the hematopoietic (or hematogenesis, formation of blood) system and its stimulation results in a chemotactic response (movement or orientation of an organism or cell along a chemical concentration gradient either toward or away from the chemical stimulus, basically cell migration). The presence of this receptor on these cells suggests that this receptor plays a role in the inflammatory response.

Enough for today :)

No one is left behind

Based in a true story, until yesterday unknown to me, this very decent and elegant (if you allow me) movie remembers me of the "old" war movies about WWII.
It does not portrait the life of the soldier as great and very masculine, nor as heroic unkillable killing machines, does not make too much of propaganda for the U.S. forces and has not a "happy ending".
The movie just relates the odyseey of a group of US soldiers trapped in the middle of hostile territory in the city of Mogadishu (Somalia) during a "failed" operation to arrests the main warlord at the time, Mohamed Farrah Aidi (wiki).
The movie is based on a book of the same title (wiki) and both seem to be a fair account of the disaster.

Shinies

No gold, no jewels, no funky glass, but Clone Troopers.
They (We) are the best troops of the Galaxy, if full trained.
They (We) have the best genetic potential thanks to our "father" Jango Fett, but without proper training they (we) are like an uncut diamond.
Today I watched the Episode 5 of the 1st Season of the new animated series The Clone Wars where a bunch of shinies (new, non completely trainer Clone Troopers) man a small outpost on the observation line of the Republic. The line is formed by a large number of such outpost with the mission to establish a perimeter of early warning for incoming Separatist attacks.
Not needing to say, a droid commando tries to seize the outpost to allow a Separatist fleet to approach Kamino unnoticed.
The Episode is simple (as all the episodes of this TV Series) but the wakening op the shinies is great. They discover what for a potential they have.
Also, as far as I know, this Episode mentions by the very fist time the existence of the 501st, the elite legion of the Empire, which started as an Elite Clone Trooper group.

Defend the Republic, join the Empire ;)

Mexican Law

Just back from the cinema and still laughing.
This is movie is just crazy. The whole idea and set up is weird and funny.
I don't know what to tell you about without being a spoiler.
Just go to watch it, and be prepared for some gore, killing not machine, but Machete :D

Now, You know what I do for a living

Great movie.
True, Stallone looks old, but let's face it, he is old.

But, as far as I know this movie is the first and only one with Stallone, Schwarzeneger and Willis on it.
The scene they play together is just great.
I concede that Arnold only plays less than one minute in the movie, but, on the other hand he is retired from the movie business, maybe too busy being Governator (and being parodied by The Umbilical Brothers [Official Site]).

The plot is very linear ad without many surprises, but that is not the point, this movie is not Casablanca, but more like a burger in a MacDonalds, you know what you are getting for your money.
And in this case, what you get is a bunch of action movie guys beating up a whole army :D :D

Hope you enjoy it !

Bad Evil Distillery

Last week we were in Scotland for a short holiday. The country is great, full of nice people and beautiful places (also the other way around ;D ).

The idea of the holidays was to spend a long weekend in Edinburgh (Military Tattoo included) and surroundings, therefore our time schedule was a bit tight.

Thursday was the visit to Castle Rock (wiki), an impressive construction and view point of the city. Friday was the free walking tour in Edinburgh (Official Site) and a comedy show (Pappy's All Business).

Until that point in time everything was smoothly according to the plan.

Saturday was a very compact day. The idea was to pick up a rental car in Edinburgh at 0800 and head for Loch Ness to be back in Edinburgh the same day late in the evening (well, night). In the way to Loch Ness we intended to visit Stirling, Callander, Glen Coe, Fort Williams and Fort Augustus (south end of Loch Ness) and back over Perth to the initial city.

Along the trip we wanted to visit the Ben Nevis Distillery (Official Site) which should be open until 1600. So we hurry up to be there with plenty of time to be able to visit the place, taste some whisky and buy some bottles. We were serious about buying as in our group there were two persons who actually love whisky and who actually planned their holiday's luggage letting some extra empty room for the bottles. According to the webpage of the distillery, the place should have been fantastic and the visit to the place should have been one of the nicest moments of the trip.

That was the Theory. Reality was a total disappointment.

We arrived there at 1500 (sharp) but the only lady there promptly informed us that even if it was one hour before closing time, it was not possible to visit the place anymore but that the shop and the visitor centre were, of course, still open.

According to the webpage:


"After your experience with Hector, a conducted tour of the production areas by a trained guide concludes with a complementary 'tasting'.

After your tour around our distillery why not relax with a refreshment or if you are hungry, try some of our delicious home cooking in our coffee shop and restaurant. It will be an unforgettable treat."



However, there was nothing there to drink or to eat. Even the tasting was impossible, because as apparently they do not have a "Pub licence", they are not entitled to serve you alcoholic drinks. I was not aware that you would be punish in the UK by offering alcohol for free inside of a building to an adult person. But, of course, if you were part of a group, then the tasting was included in the visit (?!)

Incidentally I must say that such a group happens to arrive at the same as us, therefore all the attention of the only lady there was focused on this group with total disregard to our small group (only six of us) and a poor couple which was waiting in front of the desk to buy some souvenirs or some bottles, what exactly I don't know.

Briefly said: If you are in Scotland, enjoy the country, but don't waste your time with this distillery. It is not worth of your time. There are more pleasant things to do in Scotland that to be disregarded by a mindless minion.

Obviously, our two whisky lovers were totally sunken by the "unforgettable experience!".

However, the day after we visit The Scotch Whisky Experience (Official Site) which was, by far, a better place.

Swedish Cider !?

Sail 2010

The harbour of Amsterdam (Wiki) was the host of the Sail 2010 (Official site)  this last weekend.
Some amazing tall ships were there open to visitors and curious. Some of them are currently academy or school ships of the corresponding Navy, as the Russian Sedov (Wiki), a nice ship from the beginning of the XX century with German origins.
In the context of the event there were displays of fireworks and activities for all ages.

I got some more pictures which I will upload to the Visual Archives on picasa as soon as possible.
Currently, the ships are on their way to the Sail 2010 - Bremerhaven (Official site).

Goal !!!!

Hussar, the new players in the team

The last (so far) two members of my Red Block army arrived today.

I can not wait to try them in the field :D :D

Varen Corso

Varen Corso is a flower festival on the road or on the channels. If you consider that Dutch people are crazy about channels and flowers, then the combination of both is just something you should see at least once :D

Here the link to the picasa album ;D (http://picasaweb.google.com/ariano.olvido/VarenCorso#)

Therian Chemical Station (2)

Here some pictures with a Molot unit and a Krasny soldier for size comparison and a huge OF TOPIC that I think you will indulge me :D :D

OF TOPIC

Therian Chemical Station

The Therians have a powerful industry. Their factory worlds cross the cosmos transforming entire solar systems. The landscape of those planetary industrial complexes should be full of tanks with different chemicals, fuels and similar.
This could be one of those.

Therian Central Satellite Link

A few days ago I found an old funnel for salt for the dish-washer which combined with the insides of a soap dispenser and some other pieces of junk I assembled into this Therian Central Satellite Link.

Piece of Landscape

Yesterday I found something which seems to fit quite well with the size and scale of the AT-43 game. It looks like a volcanic rock from a desolated planetary landscape or like some kind of industrial post-holocaust dervish. Actually it is a piece of pavement, which happens to be very hard but incredibly light due to its porosity.

Nice, isn't it?

Budapest

The Forest

This story is the result of a proposal to write a very short story of less than 300 words with the only premise of the title being "The Forest". Hope you like it.

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It is dark now. 

I canʼt see them, but I can hear them. 

They are close now. 

I told them, told them it was not a good idea to come here. 

Too far away. 

But they never listened to me, except maybe Mike. 

Yes, Mike. 

Mike always listened to every one, even me. 

Good fellow, Mike. Yes, good fellow. 

But he was the first one who died. 

Actually, he didnʼt die. 

He was killed. 

Killed by them. 

They killed him. 

Damn forest! 

I told them we were too far away. 

Not even the GPS signals reach so deep in the forest. 

Anna tried to get some reception to determinate our position. 

The idea was to find the river. You find the river, you find the exit. 

But, they didnʼt listen to me. 

I told them. 

But anyway, she tried to climb up the damn tree. 

She broke her legs. 

Ok, maybe only one of them, but that was bad enough. 

We tried to help her, to carry her, but she was too heavy. 

We let her there. 

They got her. Damn it! 

I cannot stop hearing her cries. 

They got her. 

They killed her. 

But, they didnʼt stop there. 

They kept following us. 

They kept getting us. 

They kept killing us. 

Now it is dark. 

I am the only one left. 

I think. Not sure. 

Too dark to be sure of anything. 

Only thing sure, they are there. 

I canʼt see them, but I can hear them. 

The river. 

I have to find the river. 

It is close. 

I know. 

I can hear it. 

But, it is so dark now...

Chemical Reactor

I developed a chemical reactor for the AT-43 (or any other sci-fi 28mm wargame) basically from a plastic container for deodorant replacement for toiletry, a bunch of random pieces from my spare parts toolbox and a bit of color.

I hope you like it :D :D

P.S. No UNA-troop was killed, injured, damaged or mistreated in any way during the "shooting" of the photographs.

Groningen

Thiamat again !

I know that lately I have not been very active with the AT-43 game but yesterday we finally played again.

My Army List was basically Supra faction, with Urod and 4 infantry units, two Dragonov kommandos with AT-Gauss and two Spetznat kommandos with rocket launchers. In reserve there was a Kossak and another unit of Dragonov kommandos.

The Therian fielded a medical container, a Incubus, Thiamat and Nina-Zero on foot with three heavy infantry.

That was another massacre of Red Block people.

The terrain was basically agreed by us, so we started putting things until we were more or less satisfied with it, three markers for RPs of 200 RP each were placed and two markers for 1 VPs each also.

The RP markers were the elevated platform (controlling the base was enough to get the RP), the red container and the Therian artefact; the VP were on the chemical reactor and in the chemical tank.

The Red Block entered the battlefield from the elevated platform side, which was taken by the Dragonov kommandos.

Therian medical container dropped behind the chemical tank, close to the red container with the RP marker.

Spetznatz kommandos deployed close to the other red container and waited for enemies.

The Incubus entered the field by the dark container and activated the overwatch of both kommando units. I think that the rocket of the spetznatz was a hit which damaged the propulsion and the frame, and that the AT-Gauss was a miss.

The incubus killed several of the Spetznatz with its cannons.

Urod entered the field and walking without running over the medic of the spetznatz forced him to relocate closer to the other two spetznatzs and getting cover from the container opened fire on the incubus and I think to remember that there were two hits to the frame but not sure now. Anyway the incubus was not destroyed.

Thiamat dashed towards the spetznatz and the urod but was two short to engage in melee, so she created a hekcat.

The other infantry units tried to control the central objectives (the spetznatzs) and the dragonov tried to shoot to the Therian AFVs but without too much success.

The deployment of Nina-Zero and the heavy infantry signalled the dead of some of the dragonov kommandos taking cover at the base of the elevated platform.

That was the end of the first round.

Red Block got 400 RPs, Therians 200 RPs and 1 VP.

The second round was very short. Urod moved towards the heavy infantry letting the Spetznatz to die in front of Thiamat and the Hekcat, and managed to kill all the heavy infantry except Nina.

The Spetznatz were killed by both Thiamat and the Hekcat and Urod was destroyed by the heavy infantry which was back on the game thanks to the Therian routines (Therian faction was Cypher).

Red Block was forced to surrender :(

Funniest thing was that when the heavy infantry opened fire on the dragonov, they got 6 hits (on 2+) but the dragonov got the 6 cover rolls (on 3+), but Nina killed two of them with her snipper ability, obviously the medic and the AT-Gauss.

Green Biker