WHAT IS HEALTH?

Health is metabolic efficiency. Sickness is metabolic inefficiency. Nobody is totally healthy

or totally sick. Each of us is a unique combination of health and sickness. And each of us
has a unique combination of abilities and disabilities, both emotional and physical.

As we grow up, we learn that we are loved for our abilities but hated for our disabilities.
This happens at home, at play, at school, and at work. Sometimes, this even happens with
our doctors, especially if our disabilities mystify them or remind them of their own
disabilities.

So, we try to hide our disabilities from people and from ourselves. This charade
undermines our relationships and our self-esteem. We learn to fear society and hate
ourselves.

Self-hatred is the most debilitating sickness. It interferes with our ability to seek and accept
help. And everybody needs help. How do we free ourselves from self-hatred?

First, we reclaim our disabilities, whether society accepts them or not. This means that we
learn to accept ourselves. Then, we cope with our disabilities. This means that we learn to
take care of ourselves.

Health is the general condition of a person in all aspects. It is also a level of functional and/or metabolic
efficiency of an organism, often implicitly human. From Google dictionary: "The state of being free from
illness or injury".

At the time of the creation of the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1948, health was defined as "a
state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity".[1][2]

What Is Disease

It was a rather strange idea of a recent distinguished writer upon Hygiene, that perhaps, if we
understood perfectly all the laws of health, and obeyed them all, life might be indefinitely
prolonged. Nature around us pronounces otherwise. Every tree, though it live a thousand years,
withers, root and branch, at last. All the animals, from the long-lived elephant and tortoise down
to the ephemeral insect floating on the breeze, have set terms of life. On this globe of ours,
whatever organism is born, dies. Man's body furnishes no exception; his spirit, only, is immortal.

The marvel is, that so delicate a mechanism as the human body can survive for a single year,
amongst the various perils that surround it. Yet we live on, some of us, accidents apart, for a
good while. Most persons fail to reach advanced age, because of disease. What is disease ?
It is something either being or acting wrong in the body. There may be as many kinds of
disorder, or disease, at least, as there are organs of the body. More than that there really are,
however; because complications of diseases occur, and each organ, or the general system, may
be out of sorts in a large number of different ways.

First, it will be well for us to consider what makes the body, or parts of it, get out of order.

Human disease" redirects here. For the Slayer song, see Soundtrack to the Apocalypse.
"Flare-up" redirects here. For the Transformers character, see Flareup.
"Medical condition" redirects here. For the descriptive terminology using words such as "good",
"serious", "critical", etc., see Medical state.
For other uses, see Disease (disambiguation).

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be

a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs.[1][2] It may be caused by
external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as
autoimmune diseases. In humans, "disease" is often used more broadly to refer to any condition
that causes pain, dysfunction, distress, social problems, and/or death to the person afflicted, or
similar problems for those in contact with the person. In this broader sense, it sometimes
includes injuries, disabilities, disorders, syndromes, infections. Isolated symptoms, deviant
behaviors, and atypical variations of structure and function, while in other contexts and for other
purposes these may be considered distinguishable categories. Diseases usually affect people not
only physically, but also emotionally, as contracting and living with many diseases can alter
one's perspective on life, and their personality.

Death due to disease is called death by natural causes. There are four main types of disease:
pathogenic disease, deficiency disease, hereditary disease, and physiological disease.

Diseases can also be classified as communicable and non-communicable disease.

MAJOR CATEGORIES OF ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS

1. Identifying an Infectious Organism

Usually, doctors need to know which specific microorganism is causing a disease. Many
different microorganisms can cause a given disease (for example, pneumonia can be caused by
viruses, bacteria, or fungi), and the treatment is different for each organism.There are many ways
to identify microorganisms.

Examination under a microscope: Despite the development of rapid identification systems,

direct microscopic examination of samples taken from the site of infection is often the most rapid
method of identifying microorganisms that cause disease. Chemical stains are usually applied to
make the microorganisms easier to see. The size and shape of the microorganisms and their
stained color can help distinguish between different types. However, the microorganisms must be
of sufficient size and number to be seen with a regular microscope. For example, viruses are too
small to be seen with a regular microscope.
Culture: Usually, microorganisms are too few or too small to see, so they may be grown in the
laboratory until there are enough to be recognized with chemical tests. The process of growing
the organism is called a culture. Many microorganisms, such as the bacteria that cause gonorrhea
or strep throat, can be grown this way.

2. MORBIDITY AND QUALITY OF LIFE

Abstract

The moderating effect of level of education (as an indicator of socioeconomic status) on the
associations between chronic medical morbidity and six domains of health-related quality of life
(physical function, role function, social function, health perceptions, bodily pain and mental
health) is studied in a large community-dwelling elderly sample (N=5279). The results showed
that health-related quality of life is substantially affected by chronic medical morbidity, and that
level of education has weak, but significant unique contributions to physical function, social
function, health perceptions, and mental health. We did not find substantial evidence for the
differential vulnerability hypothesis. At best, low education might amplify the negative effects of
the number of chronic medical conditions on mental health only, but this result was not
confirmed in four specific disease groups.

3.

Abstract

By using the criteria that define emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) of humans, we can identify
a similar group of EIDs in wildlife. In the current review we highlight an important series of
wildlife EIDs: amphibian chytridiomycosis; diseases of marine invertebrates and vertebrates and
two recently-emerged viral zoonoses, Nipah virus disease and West Nile virus disease. These
exemplify the varied etiology, pathogenesis, zoonotic potential and ecological impact of wildlife
EIDs. Strikingly similar underlying factors drive disease emergence in both human and wildlife
populations. These are predominantly ecological and almost entirely the product of human
environmental change. The implications of wildlife EIDs are twofold: emerging wildlife diseases
cause direct and indirect loss of biodiversity and add to the threat of zoonotic disease emergence.
Since human environmental changes are largely responsible for their emergence, the threats
wildlife EIDs pose to biodiversity and human health represent yet another consequence of
anthropogenic influence on ecosystems. We identify key areas where existing expertise in
ecology, conservation biology, wildlife biology, veterinary medicine and the impact of
environmental change would augment programs to investigate emerging diseases of humans, and
we comment on the need for greater medical and microbiological input into the study of wildlife
diseases.

Author Keywords: Emerging diseases; Biodiversity; Conservation; Zoonosis;

Chytridiomycosis; Coral reef diseases; Nipah virus; West Nile virus

During the processes of human population dispersal around the world over the past 50 000–100
000 years, along with associated cultural evolution and inter–population contact and conflict,
there have been several major transitions in the relationships of Homo sapiens with the natural
world, animate and inanimate. Each of these transitions has resulted in the emergence of new or
unfamiliar infectious diseases.

4. Pesticide resistance is the adaptation of pest population targeted by a pesticide resulting in

decreased susceptibility to that chemical. In other words, pests develop a resistance to a chemical
through natural selection: the most resistant organisms are the ones to survive and pass on their
genetic traits to their offspring.[1]

Manufacturers of pesticides tend to prefer a definition that is dependent on failure of a product in

a real situation, sometimes called field resistance. For example, the Insecticide Resistance
Action Committee (IRAC) definition of insecticide resistance is 'a heritable change in the
sensitivity of a pest population that is reflected in the repeated failure of a product to achieve the
expected level of control when used according to the label recommendation for that pest species'.
[2]

Pesticide resistance is increasing in occurrence. In the 1940s, farmers in the USA lost 7% of their
crops to pests, while since the 1980s, the percentage lost has increased to 13, even though more
pesticides are being used.[1] Over 500 species of pests have developed a resistance to a pesticide.
[3]
Other sources estimate the number to be around 1000 species since 1945.[4]

Factors

Propensity of pest populations to develop resistance is probably caused by a number of factors.

First, pest species are usually capable of producing large number of offspring. This increases the
probability of random mutations and ensures the rapid build-up in numbers of resistant mutants
once such mutations have occurred. Secondly, pest species have been exposed to natural toxins
for a long time before the onset of human civilization. For example, many plants produce
phytotoxins to protect them from herbivores. As a result, coevolution of herbivores and their host
plants required development of the physiological capability to detoxify or tolerate poisons[5] [6].
Thirdly, humans often rely almost exclusively on insecticides for pest control. This increases
selection pressure towards resistance. Pesticides that fail to break down quickly and remain in
the area contribute to selection for resistant organisms even after they are no longer being
applied.[7]

In response to pesticide resistance, pest managers may resort to increased use of pesticides,
exacerbating the problem.[8] In addition, when pesticides are toxic toward species that feed on or
compete with pests, the pest population will likely expand further, requiring more pesticides. [8]
This is sometimes referred to as pesticide trap,[8] or a pesticide treadmill, since farmers are
continually paying more for less benefit.[4]
Insect predators and parasites which live on other insects generally have smaller populations and
are therefore much less likely to develop resistance than are the primary targets of the pesticides,
such as mosquitoes and those that feed on plants. This can compound the pest problem because
these species normally keep pest populations in check.[7] But resistant predators of pest species
can be bred in laboratories, which can help keep pest populations down.[7]

The fewer sources of food a pest has the more likely it is to develop resistance, because it is
exposed to higher concentrations of pesticides and has less opportunity to breed with populations
that have not been exposed.[7] Other factors in the speed with which a species develops resistance
are generation time and fecundity (shorter generations and more offspring lead to resistance
more quickly).[7]

[edit] Examples

Resistance has developed in a variety of different pest species: Resistance to insecticides was
first documented by A. L. Melander in 1914 when scale insects demonstrated resistance to an
inorganic insecticide. Between 1914 and 1946, 11 additional cases of resistance to inorganic
insecticides were recorded. The development of organic insecticides, such as DDT, gave hope
that insecticide resistance was an issue of the past. Unfortunately, by 1947 housefly resistance to
DDT was documented. With the introduction of every new insecticide class – cyclodienes,
carbamates, formamidines, organophosphates, pyrethroids, even Bacillus thuringiensis – cases of
resistance surfaced within two to 20 years.

5. Toxic Chemicals
There is information about safety, poisons, toxins, carcinogens, testing procedures, regulations. Learn
how to recognize hazardous substances and avoid laboratory accidents. Links to toxic chemical journals
and software are included.

1. Chemical Weapons & Warfa...

Dangerous Household Chemicals

Many common household chemicals are dangerous. They may be reasonably safe when used as
directed, yet contain toxic chemicals or degrade over time into a more dangerous chemical. Here's a list
of some of the most dangerous household chemicals, including the ingredients to watch for and the
nature of the risk.

6.

Abstract

Cholera Toxin (CT) recognizes the cell membrane through specific interactions with ganglioside
GM1. Recent structural elucidation of the CT/GM1 complex has allowed the rational design of
artificial receptors for the toxin, which could function as anti-cholera drugs. The efforts towards
the rational design of Cholera Toxin inhibitors will be presented.
7. Diet, in relation to food, might mean:

 Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group.

 Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake
 Diet food, foods that aid in dieting
 Cuisine, the diet of a particular culture

Diet may also mean:

 Diet (assembly), formal deliberative assembly

o The Imperial Diet: (German: Reichstag) the imperial assembly of the princes of
the Holy Roman Empire until 1806
o The Diet of the Empire: (German: Reichstag) legislative assembly of the German
Empire 1871–1917
o The Federal Diet: (literally for German: Deutscher Bundestag) federal parliament
of Germany
o State Diet: (literally for German: Landtag) state parliament of most of the German
federated states
o Diet of Finland: the legislative assembly of the Grand Duchy of Finland from
1809 to 1906
o Diet of Japan: Japan's legislature
 Diet (Aqua Teen Hunger Force episode): an episode of the animated series Aqua Teen
Hunger