Acronyms and Abbreviations

In the past few years, I have encountered so many acronyms and abbreviations that only hold true depending on which industry you are in. People speak in their specific jargon that tends to throw me off when in a different setting.

Take for example a job I took on at the Air Force Base here in Colorado Springs. I was helping guide cars in and out of parking lots. At the end of the event, everyone was in their car, waiting at the exits to get on the road. All parking lots were shut down for the moment and no one was allowed to leave. Why? They were waiting for the DV's to exit.

This is what confused me. The first time I heard of DV, I instantly thought of Domestic Violence first (being a survivor) and then calculated that we are on a military base so Disabled Veterans could apply. But why would EVERY parking lot on base have to stop to let them out? I asked one of the military base police and they clarified "Distinguished Visitor". Oh. Not what I was thinking of at all.

For those who don't know or need a refresher: An acronym is an abbreviated form from the first initial letters of each word and pronounced as a word (i.e. NASA, SCUBA, CAPTCHA etc.).

So I thought I would have some fun since I came across this website called AllAcronyms. This would be handy for down the line if someone tries using jargon (special words or expressions that are used by a particular profession or group and are difficult for others to understand.), I had a place to go check what it could mean. What also is great about this website is that it tries to pinpoint where and when this word would be used.

I decided to take my initials: MHM.

The first I got was Menstrual Hygiene Management that is used in both water supply and sanitation. Not what I was expecting. Though it does open up a new world that I knew nothing about. I came across some really interesting information I'd like to share on this!

Does menstrual hygiene management and water, sanitation, and hygiene predict reproductive tract infections among reproductive women in urban areas in Ethiopia?

Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene and Menstrual Hygiene Management: A Resource Guide

The second one I looked up was Machine Health Management. I thought I would be able to understand what it is but when I looked up a research paper in the Journal of Mechanical Science and Technology, I was a bit more confused. By the name, I'm assuming that it will have to do with the ability to keep machines and equipment running smoothly as long as there is frequent maintenance and care taken. But look, I'm not even sure if I got that correct.

Next was very similar to the previous acronym I looked up. And I think my assumption may be a little more accurate here. Machine Health Monitoring! Some websites and how they cover these acronyms are very informative. Sometimes I find information I possibly could use in the future. Advanced Tech does well in this.

Lastly, I am adding another just because it caught my eye and I'm interested in picking up some medical acronyms/abbreviations whenever I can. Male Hypermethylated popped up and all I could guess from it is that it came from the male's side of medical issues. Yeah, a bit sad but let's see what the internet pulled up for me? So all that I could gather is that methylation is a biological process where methyl groups are added to the DNA. The factors that could have modified this process include the rate of cell growth and DNA replication, chromatin accessibility, nutritional factors, inflammation, aging, and more. I saw some references in that this process can increase the intensity in tumors.

To be fair, this is not my realm of expertise or understanding. This would be more along the lines of my husband's knowledge. But though I don't get a lot of what it is saying, I can still pick up a few pieces. Such as learning that the acronym MHM to stand for Male Hypermethalyated doesn't quite research as such. It will pop up the term Methylation or DNA Methylation. Or it goes into information about chickens and you just lost me and my attention. How much of this can you understand?

The usage of acronyms and abbreviations is astounding. So many worlds that use my initials to mean completely different things and thoughts. I challenge you to take a day and look up what else your initials could stand for!