PLM College of Medicine Application Results 2014-2015

The results are out now!

Here's a glimpse of the official list :D Also, be reminded that you should all reserve your slots by May 19, 2014.

Please do like these pages for more info:

Medical Alliance Rendering Service to Fellowmen

Medical Union for Service

Click on the image to enlarge it:

Congratulations to all!

/no1!

MARSF Booksale 2014!

Good day PLM Med Hopefuls & Fellow PLM Med folks, and all Med students!

Our organization, the Medical Alliance Rendering Service to Fellowmen (MARSF) of PLM College of Medicine, is once again here to bring you the annual MARSF Booksale!

You may contact me via this blog, on FB (JVBoy Aclan), on Twitter (@jvboytheman) or text me at 0915-191-3719 for details and when you want to place your orders.

Or you guys may choose to directly contact my orgmates whose names appear in the succeeding images.

Thank you!

Click on the images to enlarge 

/no1! 

How to love Genetics and Genomics! Use of CLC Sequencer and BLAST!

One of the tools we are currently using as Medical Students is the CLC Sequencer. It is actually fun to use but it can also be major headache. This post aims to help those using the sequencer and NCBI-BLAST to get what they need.

Things we need:

1. CLC Sequencer (click here)
2. A stable internet connection
3. A sample case (I'm going to use our homework as example)

Now, let us install the CLC Sequencer first, before doing anything. Once everything is in place, we can now begin.

First, open your CLC Sequencer:

The interface is quite simple, anyway, the next thing we need is to load our samples. As seen in my screenshot, I have already saved the samples that I need. To do so, click NEW and then paste your whole sequence into the text box provided:

Name your sequence, then save it (click the save button at the menu). When you are done, your sequence would then appear  on your screen. 

 

 Next, click the following on your CLC Sequencer:

Find the longest Open Reading Frame (ORF) by following these steps:

 

Choose these options (unless you have instructions otherwise), then Click Next

 Confirm, and click FINISH

 

This table would appear and show you which possible ORFs there are available so you can choose. Remember, the longest ORF is what we need (as highlighted above). 

 

Using the table as a guide, look for the sequence number (in my case it is 1010 to 1831). Remember, each line consists of 60 nucleotides with 10 in each column. The one I highlighted above is shown to be from 1010 to 1831, which CLC said was my longest possible ORF.

Next, copy and paste that particular sequence and create a new sequence in the CLC.

Your next step now is to translate it to protein by clicking the menus posted above.

Tada. Now you have your protein sequence. Its now time to fire up your web browser and point it to NCBI-BLAST (blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)

Click on PROTEIN BLAST and paste your protein sequence in the text box seen below:

You will find the following results. What you need is the result with the highest (99-100%) Query Value, and it will usually be the first one. 

Click the Accession Value link, and you will be linked to this page:

Look for the title of the study where your protein sequence is related to. You can now infer the case that was given to you. In my case, it is Phenylketonuria.

It's fun to use this CLC viewer, albeit the hardships you gotta go through just to understand and be able to use this tool properly. Once you get the hang of it, however, it'll be smooth sailing from here on out.

Hope this helps!
/no1! 

MARSF Presents: Strings n' Percs - An Acoustic Christmas! (Christmas Rock!)

PLM College of Medicine! (and to the undergrads, yes, nood rin kayo go go go!)

Christmas break is just around the corner, so before we all go vacation mode, we from the Medical Alliance Rendering Service to Fellowmen present to all of you something to look forward to:

(c) Erick James Gastardo, 2013

Watch as each band from the different sections of CM beat and strum and mash-up the tunes you are all familiar with together with everyone's favorite season's music!

It will be held at the Justo Alberto Auditorium on December 17, 2013 from 6pm to 8pm onwards, followed by MTG (May Tinatagong Galing!) hosted by the CM Student Council from 8 onwards.

See you folks! 

/no1! 

2013

Goodbye 2012 and Welcome 2013!

It has been a great 2012. Yes, obviously there were ups and downs, as normally would happen in life. But hey, never forget to count your blessings ALWAYS. Life itself is already a huge blessing!

Some highlights of my year 2012:

• Graduation! Bio 2012, you homies would forever be part of my life.
• PLM-CM! That day when I learned I wasn't a first lister.. Yeah, it sucked real bad. I was down for quite some time. But it was a good lesson for me; sometimes you fall but you gotta stand up. You can't always go on being up there, you gotta experience some failures to learn to live life to the fullest.
• Like Dr. Wayne told Bruce: "Why do we fall? So we can learn to PICK OURSELVES UP" 

•  PLM-CM! Again, when I got accepted! Thank the Lord for his wonderful blessings. And because I was accepted to PLM, I met..
• PLM-CM 1D 2016. Yeap, my section. New classmates, but quickly we evolved into a family. Glad to have met these people as well. Forever grateful to them for truly we all got each others' backs. Without them, Medicine Life would have been kind of boring
• And of course, could I ever forget the alamat boys? Yeap, we're that awesome. And the DotA boys of course! 
• Obviously, special mention din dapat ang mga magagadang girls ng 1D. Oh yeah!

• NALCA Trading as I see it had a great year, thanks to the hard work and efforts of my parents. Inspiration, indeed, for me to persevere in Medicine (Cheesy I know but what the heck, that's the truth yo)
• My brods and sisses (MARSF/MUSSS). Never regretted my decision. Glad to be part of this awesome family as well. Another big reason why Med Life ain't boring or difficult or hell
• Special mention goes to my Batchmates! Love you Ladies. Yeah, I'm a sole thorn among a group of roses, but never felt pushed aside. Glad to be part of their 2012 as well :)

• Rest in Peace, Lola Lucy, you'll always be remembered :)
• Football! I finally got to play Football after quite a while. Glad to be part of PLM-CM's Men's Football team. We got a match this Jan. 12-13, so prepping up through workouts.. :))

I guess that's about it. Actually I probably have more to add, but obviously I'm kind of high at the moment, had lots to drink with my Dad. Oh yeah, that's one thing to add pala, its really cool to drink with your dad. True story!

Anyway, here's to an awesome 2013 for everyone! Stay safe and enjoy! Positive outlook for the future, yo!

/no1!

PLM-CM 1D 2016

So, after a boring DotA game vs. bots wherein my team lost because of noob bots, here I am again. I don't even have a title for this post... yet.

Hmm, I might just watch a movie before hitting the sack. The problem is, I do not know what to watch. Can't believe the start of the break is actually this boring when I should actually be looking forward to it... And yes, it is a mystery as to why it is this way.

Most probably because I felt bitin sa Christmas Party ng 1D! Seriously we should have actually gotten a better deal than Max's =)) haha! But hey, the point here is that that is how awesome the party went -- bitin ka and you're longing for more!

These folks I met in Med school are the ones I am going to spend the rest of my professional life with. Yes, I know, every 4-5 years we all post about meeting new people and saying that they're your best buddies, blahblahblah. There are lots of folks I cherish, namely Bio 2012, Kinse and of course, 1D.

I guess it's because friendship is weird. But you know, at this age, after many friendships built and destroyed along the way, you tend to actually cherish every person you meet as you grow. Obviously, as an adult, you begin to realize that friendship isn't just about fun and games and everything we thought of when we were kids. 

Friendship isn't about the material stuff. Friendship isn't even about just meeting new people and hanging out with them. After two decades on Earth you'd realize that it is actually more than that, though I admit that I probably have to spend more decades before finally realizing the true meaning of friendship. 

You can't tell me that, after 21 years, I should actually know this true meaning already. What is this true meaning you speak of, then? 21 years isn't enough.. Friendships surpass the boundaries of time and survive the trials of hell. YES, we are already at an age where we are already adults, but reckless ones. Admit it folks! 

Though pretty soon, when we all get married and settled down, we'll all have another point of view on friendship... And then as we grow old and near our deaths, a new point of view would arise. Life is weird, isn't it? Every single day it gives you different experiences. In the end, when you look back, you'd be thanking life for being a bitch most of the time.

And so yes indeed, 1D 2016, you guys rock. Whatever happens we all should stick together, stay strong. You see, trials will come and test us all. I believe we are all mature enough to actually stay sane and hold our heads up high against these trials. 

Yo, seriously though, I miss you guys. Til Jan 2, 2013, then!

/no1

Write Stuff

It's been a long while since I updated my blog. Anyway, I would not be ranting about anything politically related in this post! Let's just say this is more of a personal one. So, some small stuff first:

The start of the second semester has truly been eventful. I am thankful that my second shifting grades were quite good, and that at least I now have assurance that I can do it! Though, a problem is that the start of the third shifting is not really as good though, mejo I know I can do event better pa, so it means during this Christmas break I MUST indeed study well to prepare for the last 2 shiftings for my First Year. After this, summer break na! And then, second year na.. Second year in Medical School. For that I must do my best. Oh, wait, not only for myself but for everyone else. I promised to help those na mas nangangailangan pa saken, and I vow to fulfill that promise. Kapit tayo, mga kaibigan!

Oh yeah, I'm now a member of MARSF as well. I never regretted this decision of mine and will never do so. Proud to be part of a close knit family! Also, I'm damn proud of my batchmates. Haha! These sisters of mine never fail to make me smile everyday :) Mahal ko kayo batchmates! 

Moving on..

I like poetry. Oh, and whenever creativity hits me with a power over 9000, I write, be it a poem or a blog entry. My poetry is reserved for a special someone. Because I am not as artistic as most of my friends, I guess poetry is my way of expressing, like drawing is to an artist. I never really just pick out the words to rhyme; what happens is they just hit me in the head and I keep repeating it to myself until I find some pen and paper to write them down.

I guess most people think that poetry is easy to do so. Basta hanap ka lang ng nagrrhyme na words ok na yun. However, it is not that simple. In a stanza or two you gotta give the gist of what you really mean. Poetry is special, in a way that it somehow never really seems to talk "clearly" but when you read it carefully, you get the message in a flash. 

I admit; it is actually difficult. Sometimes, when I write a poem, I think it is already quite good, but after re-reading it, I tear the paper to pieces and start anew. :| yeah I know, perfectionist? I am not really a perfectionist but of course I do my best job in everything I do. Di naman kasi pwede basta-basta ka lang magsusulat, di ba? But hey, the reward comes when one simple poem can actually change the course of things. I don't know, it has happened before to me. It is weird, yes, but kinda cool, actually.

For now, I'll leave y'all with a line. This is my next work, I guess. Still building from scratch..

"The morning sun greeted me; I awoke with a start

I dreamed of you, and longing ached my heart"

Haha. Emo? Nope. Di pa nga tapos di ba? haha!

Just my 2 cents!

/no1

That exciting feeling...

You all know the feeling.

The butterflies in your stomach, the machine gun heartbeat pounding inside your chest, the shivers, all that adrenaline, every single day while waiting for something to come or to be announced. Yeah, that exciting feeling.

Waiting for PLM to release its list of Med Students for 2012-2013 is killing me. How long do we still have to wait?


/no1!