Unit 4 Reflection

Unit 4 was about the integumentary system and the immune system. We learned about how our bodies stay healthy by keeping pathogens out or defeating them when they enter the body. The body's most basic defense is the integumentary system, which includes things like skin and nails that give us a physical barrier from the outside. 

The epidermis contains melatonin to absorb some of the UV radiation because too much radiation can cause cancers such as basal cell carcinoma and malignant melanoma. The dermis of the skin is where many glands, receptors and blood vessel lie. The third major layer of the skin is the hypodermis and its main purpose is to anchor the skin to the organs. Nails and hair act as physical protection as well.

If we enter the body, mucus membranes trap pathogens that may have entered the body. Other mechanical methods of defense include the urinary tract, tears, sebum, and perspiration--all of which are non-specific defenses. Another common reaction to invaders is inflammation, triggered by tissue damage. Many different types of white blood cells activate and fight whatever harmful substances they find in the wound. Specific immunity is a little different in that it targets specific pathogens by creating the appropriate antibodies. Memory T and B cells remember the invaders and are more prepared for an attack by the same invader in the future. 

A lot of this unit's content overlapped with  the AP Biology course I took last year, but this class revealed more anatomical structures of the body, like hair and nail matrices, rather than solely focused on the chemical side of bodily defense. From the debate, I was able to see the various perspectives on nature deficiency disorder and the debate actually changed some of my opinions; for example, I was strong believer of the deficiency, but after hearing the debate out, I see now that maybe the deficiency doesn't really have enough evidence to back it up. For my groups debate, I researched a ton on organs markets--which I would have never been interested in doing on my own. I'm glad I did though, because it brought a new light to the problems with our current organ donation system that I never knew existed. 

This unit was pretty eye opening--I especially enjoyed the debates--and I do feel like I am a better, more well educated student now. I've learned about topics I never would have even thought about learning and I had the opportunity to participate in a debate myself. 
I'm pretty bad at staying focused when reading the textbook or handouts, so the note packets were harder for me to do. I think I was pretty successful in my debate though. My team was relatively prepared and I was ready to shoot down any pro organ market comments. 

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I have a multimodal learning preference which means I don't have a specific method that is better for me. Me scores for each VARK category were:

• Visual 8

• Aural 7 

• Read/Write 5

• Kinesthetic 10

The results didn't surprise me because I've been trying to figure out how I learn best for years and haven't found any answers except that I don't like to read academic texts and write. However, it does seem that kinesthetics was my strongest point. To play that to my benefit, I should engage my senses and put real life examples in my notes. Studying with another person is probably best.

Unit 3 Reflection

In Unit 3 we learned about the various components of the heart, blood vessels, blood, cardiovascular diseases, and circulatory system. At the very end, we touched on the respiratory system because it is in many important ways connected to the cardiovascular system. 

At the beginning of the unit, we covered how the cardiovascular system continuously circulates blood and oxygen throughout the body via arteries and veins. The heart is divided into four chambers--right/left atria and right/left ventricles--that pump blood to the heart for reoxygenation and also to the body to distribute nutrients and oxygen. The respiratory system brings oxygen into the lungs and fills the blood with oxygen through the alveoli and capillaries that surround them.

When the heart is unhealthy due to a bad diet, cardiovascular diseases may arise, the most well known being heart attacks. Heart attacks result from a severely reduced blood supply to the myocardium, no to be confused with cardiac arrests, which occurs when there's a malfunction in the electrical system of the heart. A big culprit of heart attacks is atherosclerosis, where a plaque develops in a blood vessel due to the excessive intake of fats and sugars and clogs the vessels enough to hinder blood flow. Similarly, strokes in the brain can be caused by atherosclerosis nearer to the brain, but also the bursting of vessels in the brain.

Cardiovascular health can be maintained by looking after diets, particularly the intake of HDL and LDL levels. HDL really help lower the risks for contracting a heart attack or stroke and is more important to have high HDL levels than low LDL levels. Exercise can prevent overweightness and the build up of fatty waste in blood vessels, thereby preventing problems like atherosclerosis.

I thought that just learning the various parts of a heart was really confusing because the heart has so many vessels leading blood in and out, and in addition, has so many small details like the chordae tendinae or semi lunar valves that made the heart overall just really complex and hard to grasp. I would perhaps be interested in learning more about how  electrical pluses work in pumping the heart because we only discussed it a little when talking about nodes.

This class is demanding in that it requires a lot of outside-of-class work, especially for the blogs, which I have to make sure to plan my time accordingly for. Unfortunately, I'm weak in the motivation department and have a hard time not procrastinating on homework that requires more effort. I am thankful, however, that this unit included a lot of group work, because I find it helpful to work with others that may understand parts of the lectures more than I do and can help me digest information better.

Looking that my Unit 2 goals, I am sad to report that I have not starting running like I wanted to, but I do make an effort to sleep earlier/more now. I've actually been noticing a small increase in energy in the mornings now when I wake up--progress! As for the remainder of the semester, I would like to continue working on my Unit 2 goals, but also try to become more self motivated so I can improve my academics and not fail school like I am right now.

Picture:

https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/8a/64/63/8a64636fd3d3b83d709723c7cec8489d.jpg

Heart Dissection Lab

1. The pericardium protects the heart and keeps it in place. The membrane is made of an outer fibrous layer and an inner serous double layer.

2. Arteries are thicker than veins because they need to withstand more pressure as blood is being pumped out of the heart to the rest of the body. However, the veins carry more blood by volume than the arteries back to the heart for oxygenation.

3. The auricles are appendages connected to the outsides of the atria and serve to increase the blood holding capacity of the atria.

4. The ventricles are larger than the atria and do not have auricles attached to them.

5. The coronary sinus brings deoxygenated blood from the coronary veins into the right atrium. The inferior vena cava carried deoxygenated blood from the part of the body below the heart into the right atrium. The right atrioventricular valve (aka tricuspid valve) prevents the back flow of blood when the blood travels from the right atrium to the right ventricle.

6.














7. The heart valves need to be anchored by chordae tendinae to keep them from opening when the ventricle contracts and the blood pushes against the valves. The papillary muscles control when the valves open and close.

8. Down the pulmonary trunk, you can just see the bicuspid valve, which lies between the left atrium and ventricle.

9. The semi-lunar valves, located at the base of the aorta in the left ventricle and at the opening of the pulmonary trunk on the right ventricle, prevent the back flow of blood into the heart once it is pumped out.

10. Valvular Heart Disease:
      a) if the valve disease occurs on the right side of the heart, the feet and ankles may swell because the right ventricle/atrium are unable to pump all of the blood against gravity back into the heart for reoxygenation. The blood would leak back out and presumably into the foot area.
      b) the the disease occurs on the left side of the heart, not enough blood would be distributed to the rest of the body, which would starve the cells of oxygen and cause the heart to swell.

11. The right and left coronary arteries branch from the aorta and wrap around the heart. The aortic semilunar valve prevents blood from flowing from the aorta back into the left ventricle. The bicuspid valve prevents back flow from the left ventricle to the right atrium. Chordae tendinae attach the valve to the papillary muscle in the ventricle to make sure the valve can withstand pressure and stay closed when appropriate.

12. The left side of the heart has thicker walls because the extra muscle is needed to pump oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. The right side has much thinner walls because it only needs to pump blood to the heart for reoxygentation.

13.

Mid-Unit Summary

The heart is cone shaped and consists of chambers (atria and ventricles) and valves that prevent back flow and control where the blood travels, whether that be to the rest of the body or to be oxygenated in the lungs. The pericardium pumps and lubricates the heart--the SA node starts each heart beat and the SV node delays the impulse until the atria is completely contracted. Arteries carry blood away and veins carry deoxygenated blood back to the heart. Capillaries connect the two and are where the oxygen is released to be used by the cells. Problems like atherosclerosis and aneurysms can occur to blood vessels the would cause the flow of blood to be disrupted. 

There are many types of white blood cells that all serve a specific purpose. Neutrophils eat invasive  bacteria and responds to infections. Basophils release histamine to stimulate inflammation. Eosinophils engulf items coated in antibodies. Lymphocytes are further divided into 3 types: B, T, and natural killer cells. Monocytes arrive later to the infection cite and turn into macrophages to fight foreign materials. Platelets are cell fragments that clot blood and prevent blood loss in the case of a cut. 

Major components of the circulatory system include the previously mentioned arteries and veins. Accessory organs are the lungs, kidneys, small intestine, and large intestine that filter the blood and get rid of waste. The lungs replenish the blood with oxygen through the alveoli.

Some diseases that can affect the heart are heart attacks, cardiac arrests, and atherosclerosis. For the most part, all can be prevented by leading a healthy lifestyle and taking care of HDL/LDL levels.  In "Atherosclerosis: The New View", the article mentions that HDL levels greatly affect a person's risk for atherosclerosis. Maintaining a good amount of HDL is more important than having low LDL. Another risk that can heavily damage the brain is stroke. According to "Strike Against Stroke", plaque ruptures in vessels near the brain can cause blood clots and restrict oxygen from being distributed to brain cells. 

http://www.newhealthadvisor.com/images/1HT00876/heart.gif

Blood Pressure

Analysis Questions:
1. Compare the systole to the diastole.
Systole is the contraction of a vessel and diastole is the relaxation of it. In relation to blood pressures, systolic pressure is the the maximum pressure during ventricular contraction and diastolic is the lowest pressure achieved in the arteries when it is relaxed.

2. What equipment is used to measure heart rate? Blood pressure?
A stethoscope is used to measure heart rate and a sphygomomanometer is used to measure blood pressure.

3. Why is using your thumb to measure pulse not ideal?
Because the thumb has a pulse of its own, reading the carotid or radial pulse with your thumb would result in unreliable data.

4. Describe how to use a blood pressure cuff. 
Wrap the deflated cuff snugly around the upper arm. Hold the pump in the hand of the opposite arm. Place the stethoscope head just under the cuff above the crease of the elbow. Inflate the cuff with the pump until the pressure gauge reads around 150. At 150, open the pump valve slightly so that the air lets our slowly. Listen for the heartbeat and record the pressure at which the first beat is heard (systolic). Keep listening until you cannot hear the heartbeat anymore and record that pressure (diastolic).

Chalk Walk: Heart

From the body/myocardium, de-oxygenated blood flows from the superior and inferior vena cava and the coronary sinus into the right atrium. From the right atrium, the blood passes the tricuspid valve into the left ventricle, up through the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary arteries, and then finally into the lungs. In the lungs, the the blood re-oxygenates and gets rid of carbon dioxide waste in the alveoli. Once sufficient oxygen is once again incorporated in the blood, it enters back into the heart through the pulmonary veins into the left atrium. From the left atrium, blood crosses the bicuspid valve into the left ventricle and then through the aortic valve to reach the aorta arch and descending aorta, where the blood is once again pumped into the body to distribute oxygen and nutrients. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MyQ2jNr3_64&feature=youtu.be

Wellness Day: Zumba!

Caroline, Josh, and I decided to teach the class a little bit about zumba for wellness day. We chose zumba because we thought it would be more fun and interactive than just doing a workout move like push-ups or leg lifts, which we did consider doing. Who wouldn't rather listen to upbeat music and laugh with each other while learning an exciting dance and getting a great workout at the same time? Personally, I've been to a zumba class before and I really enjoyed it--45 minute class got my heart racing and beads of sweat dripping down my back. I know Caroline has also attended a class and loved it as much as I did. In addition, Caroline actually dances so we knew that at least one of us could look good and teach the harder dance moves properly. In preparing for the presentation and creating a dance routine, we watched many, many zuba videos and filtered through a lot of music choices to finally come up with a routine that was not too hard but was also hard enough that the class would sweat and have fun learning it.

I actually learned a lot about zumba that I would not have previously assumed, like the fact that zumba can burn 600-1000 Calories in an hour long class or that it worked out so many parts of the body. From the zumba class I attended, I could tell that zumba was cardio, but how many Latin based moves worked the abs, obliques, and lower back was new to me. Speaking of Latin dance, I had no idea that zumba had Latin origins. On top of that, the cardio workout was actually invented by accident in Columbia by substituting regular aerobics music with Latin music. Nowadays, hip-hip/pop dance moves are also incorporated into zumba for a modern kick.

This topic was important for health and wellness because we all need around 150 minutes of exercise a week to receive the benefits of exercise and to remain healthy. While there are many different types of exercise like weightlifting or cross fit, zumba is another fun way to meet 45-60 minutes of that requirement. Besides raising the heart rate, the dance cardio also works specific muscles in all major muscle groups, giving the participant a total body workout. Dancing can also relieve stress, especially if it's held in a happy and uplifting environment like zumba classes usually are. Participants can go with friends or even go meet new friends through the classes. You can kill, like, 5 birds with one stone!

The presentation was fun to give and I would rate my performance a 9/10 because I messed up while dancing in front of the class when I should have been more prepared. As one of the teachers, I should have known the dance routine a little better.

Here is the link to our presentation if you want to learn more specifics about zumba and its benefits!
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1rpNrNR7Qal8YfOlmei3lTgG7EyyY9qCsmVIQLQRI3JY/edit#slide=id.g35f391192_00

Unit Two Reflection: Health

This unit's main themes were centered around the 5 Pillars of Health, which are maintaining a balance of sleep, stress, exercise, nutrition, and social relationships. Through the diet and sleep diaries I recorded over the past few weeks, I determined that I was not doing a good enough job of either. My nutrition intake was fine, but my body required a little more calories to function properly in daily life involving marching band and other activities. On the other hand, the amount of sleep I get on average is definitely not enough to sustain for a long duration of time. During the day, I would feel tired and nod off in my classes when I should actually be energized and ready to learn. I also found that I was stressed frequently, usually by time constraints and work.

I think most students at Saratoga can attest to the same lifestyle: too little sleep, too much stress. To counteract stress and promote better lifestyles and health, I strongly suggest the school serve more nutritious food options and lower the amount of homework. In explanation of the former, our school cafeteria offers pizza, corn dogs, cookies, cup noodles, and various plastic encased burritos for lunch. Even the "healthy" option (aka the salad bar) is really just iceberg lettuce and croutons. On to homework, I know that it important for students to practice what they learned in class or even learn on their own at home, but I don't think that the homework system we have now is necessarily the best way to educate kids. There are schools out there that don't give homework, yet their kids are just as successful as ours and perhaps even happier and more relaxed. I don't know how realistic it is to expect the same of Saratoga, but it's a thought. In any case, maybe teachers here could reduce the amount of homework by doing away with busy work.

I learned about the functions of insulin, leptin, glucagon, and cortisol in the body, mostly having to do with the usage and storage of sugars. I also learned a lot about nutrition (carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, water, minerals, vitamins, fiber, phytochemicals) and what it means to have a healthy diet. One thing that I would be interested in exploring further is sleep, particularly dreams. Dreams don't exactly relate to this unit on health but I feel like there is a lot of unknowns when it comes to explaining dreams and it would be fun to learn about.


The TED Talk " Sugar: The Bitter Truth" is very relevant to modern day eating habits. Because of the accessibility of processed foods, we tend to consume way too much sugar without even realizing it.  Early on in this unit, we learned that "overcarbsumption" or eating too much sugar can result insulin resistance, leptin resistance, and basically the overall degradation of one's health. The necessity to eat whole foods and be aware of what processed foods you do eat were really highlighted in the TED talk as well as this unit.

Sleep Diary

As I expected, I didn't quite meet the 9 hours of sleep recommended for teenagers. In fact, this week isn't even an accurate representation of my daily school sleep schedule-- I had an unusually high amount of sleep as a result of a long weekend and also because my sleep deprivation caught up to me by the end of the week and I tried to sleep earlier than usual. Based off of the data I collected over the week, I averaged about 8 hours of sleep a day (I wish it were reality; 8 hours sounds blissful), but in reality my sleeping hours were erratic and not consistent at all.
On the other hand, I found that my sleepiness scale was relatively consistent day to day: I was most awake in the early afternoon and sleepy in the mornings as well as late afternoons.
This sleep diary did make me realize a few things: although I do not wake up (to my knowledge anyway) in the middle of the night, when I wake up in the mornings, I often don't feel fully rested. Perhaps this problem is a consequence of my late night electronic use, and the blue light emitted from the screen is causing my cortisol levels to the unbalanced. I can probably cut my electronic time, especially right before I sleep, in order to be better rested when I wake each day.

Nutrition Analysis

In the 5 short days that I closely inspected my diet, I learned a lot about my eating habits. Monitoring my food choices made me realize that I don't eat too many packaged/processed foods but that I am also deficient overall in total calories. Although I feel like I am eating enough every day, my caloric intake does not even meet my resting metabolic rate, let alone allow me to do any kind of rigorous activity. I previously assumed that I was eating enough and was relatively healthy because I was eating mostly three meals a day and snacks in between. The summary of my data showed that while my nutrition needs are almost all met, I was still eating too few calories. I calculated that I needed 2235 Calories daily in order to perform my daily activities, yet I was eating a mere 1250 Calories a day. My recommended amounts of each nutrition
To balance my diet, my fiber and iron--all of which I am consuming over 200% of the recommended amount--should be lowered significantly. Peas apparently have high amounts of fiber, so when I eat peas one day, I should be careful about eating any other veggies that also contain significant amounts of fiber, like broccoli or red beans. I should also stop skipping lunch because school lunch doesn't really appeal to me and instead opt to bring lunch to school, which would be healthier than pizza everyday anyway.

Nutrition that I lack include fat and vitamin A. To add more vitamin A, I can eat more foods like carrots and dark leafy greens. Fruits I can eat to lessen my deficiency include apricots, cantaloupe, bell pepper, and other tropical fruits. Fat is an easier problems to solve as it can be found in most foods. As long as I start eating closer to my caloric needs, my fat intake will probably increase to an appropriate amount. Drinking less soy milk would help decrease both my protein intake and iron intake. Speaking of protein, I was pleased to confirm that fact that I could intake enough protein without eating meat (ha mom). I get plenty of protein from the various legumes, fruits, and veggies I eat--maybe even a little too much. Even though my sodium intake appears to be extremely low, the "percent below recommended" was calculated based on the maximum amount I could consume in a day, so my sodium intake is actually decent.
Ideally, I could take out processed foods out of my diet completely and solely rely on whole foods for satisfying my hunger, but I think a little junk food occasionally is okay if it makes me happy--as long as I am aware of how much junk I am putting inside my body.
I do feel like after this activity, I became more in tune with my body and will actively think about how certain foods will impact my health. This new consciousness will definitely help me in the future when I go to college or live on my own and have to make my own food choices rather than eat what my parents provide me. Or even now, I can start making eating right a habit I can carry on well into the rest of my life.
With an improved diet, hopefully my body will become stronger and help me through any sort vigorous exercise or even just keep my mental and physical health stable.










Bibliography:

"Foods List." Foods List. United States Department of Agriculture, n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

"CalorieKing - Diet and Weight Loss. Calorie Counter and More." CalorieKing - Diet and Weight       Loss. Calorie Counter and More. CalorieKing Wellness Solutions, Inc., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2016.

Assorted Food Lables

What is Health?

Many of us are caught up in the fast paced life of school (or work), but it is still important to make sure your body and mind are well taken care of. Health ultimately rests on keeping nutrition, stress, exercise, sleep, and social life in check. Personally, I like to stay relatively physically active, whether it be in extracurricular activities or personal. However, my sleep schedule is not very healthy and my stress level stay pretty high. It isn't enough to simply meet 1 of 5 aspects of health; in order to promote a healthy life, all 5 categories need to be considered.

Tactile Cell

The tactile cell, otherwise known as the Merkel cell, is a sensory cell located in the epidermal basal layer of vertebrates. Although the exact function of these cells is largely unknown, they are thought to be able to distinguish between various shapes and textures to ultimately help determine fine details (Gupta & Wang). The majority of Merkel cells are in synaptic contact with neurons, which they use to transmit sensory messages to the brain (Démarchez). In most mammals, with the exception of humans, a large number of tactile cells nerve endings are gathered in whiskers. These cells can be otherwise found in any touch sensitive areas, such as finger pads and hair follicles. 

The typical Merkel cell is oval shaped and has a lobulated nucelus (Démarchez). The cell size is not unlike normal skin cells. Protrusions from the cell allow it to communicate with surrounding cells to transfer and gather information. Unlike the typical eukaryotic cell, the tactile cell contains granules similar to those of packages hormones, assumed to be another method of information transmission (Ikeda, Cha, Ling, Jia, Coyle, & Guo). Desmosomes (shown as paired purple lines below) anchor the Merkel cell to its neighboring cells. Ofthen times, the cell will be connected to a nerve ending of a secondary neuron for sensory purposes (Christiaan). Tactile cells can be classified as epidermal tissue (Démarchez).

Works Cited:

Christiaan. "Why Are Merkel Cells Innervated by an Axon, and Not a Dendrite?"Neurophysiology. Stack Exchange Inc, n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.

Démarchez, Michel. "Merkel Cell." Biologie De La Peau. SPIP, n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.
http://biology.stackexchange.com/questions/24349/why-are-merkel-cells-innervated-by-an-axon-and-not-a-dendrite

Gupta, Sheela, and Linda Wang . "Merkel Cell Carcinoma." Merkel Cell Carcinoma. Merkel Cell Carcinoma, n.d. Web. 06 Sept. 2016.

Ikeda, Ryo, Myeounghoon Cha, Jennifer Ling, Zhanfeng Jia, Dennis Coyle, and Jianguo G. Guo. "Merkel Cells Transduce and Encode." Cell. Elsevier Inc., 15 Apr. 2014. Web. 6 Sept. 2016.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merkel_cell

The Case of Hana the Banana

Hana the Banana Anterior View

Hana the Banana Posterior View

Report:
In the dissection of Hana, deep gashes in groups of 2-4 were found in oblique planes lateral to the sternum and pelvis on both the left and right side of Hana. A grouping of 3 cuts was on the posterior side of her head. A centimeter inferior to the chin towards the left, there were signs of puncture wounds in a shape of two crescents facing each other. Upon internal inspection, heavy bruising caused by the puncture wounds damaged the left sagittal plane.

Hana the Banana Sagittal Right View

Hana the Banana Sagittal Left View

Cause of Death:
The puncture wounds look suspiciously similar to the bite mark of the feline variety, but based on the size, the bite more possibly belongs to one of the monkey family. If the cause of the woulds were so, then the various lacerations along the body could logically be inferred to be claw marks. The largest grouping of gashes was a group of four, which would match how a monkey would likely scratch. As Hana the Banana was found in the middle of the savanna, death by wild animals is possible. It can then be hypothesized that a small animal such as a monkey took Hana's life.