European Pharmaceutical Student Association

Bioidentical hormones are extracted from animals or plants. The hormones are then changed to make them molecularly the same or identical to the hormones you find in the body. Bio hormones are sometimes used for hormone replacement therapy. Women who are experiencing premenopausal or menopausal symptoms are typically the candidates for bio hormone therapy. This occurs when they are no longer producing adequate amounts of estrogen and / or progesterone. Bioidentical hormone replacement is similar to conventional hormone replacement. Unfortunately bioidentical hormones are not widely studied in the United States. This is because pharmacy manufactures have little interest in bioidentical hormones because they cannot be patented. The reason for this is the FDA considers them natural and a natural substance cannot have a patent. The pharmacy companies instead turn to synthetic compounds to produce hormones that they can patent. Bio hormones have been studied in Europe and have been found to be safer then synthetic hormones.

There are risk and benefits associated with synthetic hormones and bio hormones. Unfortunately more long term studies need to be done on bioidentical hormones. Read the rest of this entry »

For many centuries Hull has been dependent on its port as the source of most of its business and industry. The port still plays an important part in the economy of the city, although not such a dominant one as in the past given the decline in the fishing industry. Food processing companies associated with the fishing industry are now important employers in the city, alongside newer businesses that take advantage of Hull still being a major UK port. Hull and Humberside is one of the eight regions that make up the £30 billion ‘Northern Way’ economic development initiative, to attract and develop business opportunities in the region.

The port of Hull originally was founded on trade with northern Europe and came to have one of the largest UK trawler fleets working in the North Sea. Today the port is still very busy accounting for nearly 20% of UK imports and a total of 15% of all the UKs seaborne trade. Whilst the port handles many different commodities from containers and perishable foods to steel, minerals and ores; its main trade is in timber and the one million passengers a year that use its ferry services. The fishing industry in Hull is undergoing a revival following the development of the Fishgate fish auction market. Whilst the trawler fleet might be smaller the new technologies being used mean that high volumes of fish can still be caught and then sold at the market, which has a facility enabling freezer trawlers to land their catch directly into cold storage. The Ro-Ro terminal has 11 berths operated by P&O and Finnlines, with regular services to Holland, Belgium and Scandinavia. Whilst some small boat building does still take place in Hull, most of its marine engineering companies are concerned with the maintenance and repair of existing boats. Some of them, like Shiptech, offer a range of consultancies concerning various aspects of marine engineering from repairs to tonnage assessments. Read the rest of this entry »