3rd Blog Post: Slow and Steady Progress!

This week, I have learned that this process of spreading this program is not dependant on how fast I work. Now that I am trying to spread this program to other districts, this project is dependent on the people I am trying to pitch this idea to. I have received a response from the Sunnyvale district, but the coordinator said that she would only be able to get back to me sometime in May because they are in the midst of hiring and firing employees. I have also sent an email to the Loma Prieta district, but I haven't heard anything back from them. I have learned about myself that I am not a pushy person as my mom wants me to send a third email to the Sunnyvale district requesting to meet earlier than May, but I do not feel comfortable sending a third email. My next steps include possibly taking my mom's advice and sending the third email, practicing my presentation to other districts, and trying to contact other districts. I have learned that the California Education System is really slow at making changes, although, it is understandable because the change has an effect on all school. I have the feeling that if a district adopts the PPBS program, it will take a year or more to fully implement this program into their elementary schools. 

Unit 7 Refection

 This unit was about the muscular system. To begin this unit, we learned about synovial joints and movement. To deepen our understanding of this, we had to come up with a synovial movement dance, which is basically a dance which is described completely using terms such as adduction, abduction, rotation, hyperextension, etc. Then we proceeded to learn about the muscles themselves, starting small at the muscle fibers. Muscles fibers are made up of sarcomeres, which are actin and myosin filaments arranged in a certain way to help with movement. Here is a picture of a muscle fiber: In our muscle contraction video above, you can see the specific steps of muscle contraction, including the involvement and expenditure of ATP into ADP. During this unit, we also completed a chicken dissection. 

The chickens were bought from Safeway, so they were already hairless and skinless; it was pure bone and muscle. The coolest, and probably at the same time most gross, part of the entire dissection was when I lifted the chicken to flip it over, it's heart, liver, and some other organs, fell out from the inside of the chicken. This lab dissection helped me to get a 3-dimensional view on how the muscles look wrapped around a body and other muscles. I was also able to see (using the wing), how the muscle use pull and push forces to extend the wings. Before this lab, we had a crash course on naming of muscles. To me, this vodcast was a lot to take in and in a way, it confused me a bit more than I already was regarding the topic of muscles. After learning about this, we learned about the different types of muscle fibers, including fast twitch A and B fibers and slow twitch fibers. Fast twitch A fibers rely on glucose stores to fuel their movement. Fast twitch B fibers rely on glycogen stores. Slow twitch fibers have a slow oxidative pathway and are mostly useful for in marathon runners. As our final subtopic, we learned about steroids. Steroids are performance enhancers, most of which are illegal to use during sporting events. A cool fact I remember from class is that music is also seen as a steroid because it shows time and again astonishing increases in athletic performance. Students may take steroids to boost athletic performance, to aid and recover faster, build muscle, increase body mass, and lose body fat. Although logically speaking, the cons of taking steroids (including increasing feminine characteristics in males and also the other way around in females) definitely outweigh the pros of taking steroids. So why take them? I would like to learn more about the psychology behind taking steroids and how people convince themselves that steroids are actually helping them. 

 My New Year's Goals are only getting half completed. My mom is helping me eat healthier by reminding me to eat a fruit salad every day (this includes ~5-7 fruits per serving). I have also started incorporating more vegetables into my diet. I haven't started running continuously yet. I went once, but then I caught the flu so I wasn't able to get out of bed for a couple days. After coming back to school and swamped with makeup work, I didn't have any time. I am sick again now, so hopefully when this sickness passes, I will finally be able to accomplish this goal! 

Performance Enhancement Advertisement

 

These performance enhancers, aka steroids, are very detrimental to our health. Although they may seem appealing to some, the risks definitely outweigh the benefits. People take steroids most of the time to look a certain way. But what they don't understand is that these steroids cause more harm than good. EPO, for example, is a steroid that Neil Armstrong took to help him do better during his races. I am concerned for steroids like this one because not only does it null the sportsmanship of the athlete, but it also puts the athletes in danger of permanently injuring their bodies. Any natural performance enhancement such as vitamin supplements would be considered somewhat safe, although we must still be careful. A wrong dosage of a natural vitamin can severely alter the pH balance (among other things) in our bodies. Any synthetic or chemical steroid which alters normal human processes in any way should not be considered safe and should be taken with medical advice. 

Chicken Dissection Lab Report

In this lab, we dissected a chicken. We used a chicken because a chicken has muscles that are similar to those of a human. We dissected the different parts of the chicken muscle, identified them, and then labelled them. The muscle in our bodies are used to help us move with ease and fluidity. Muscles attach to bones via tendons. On our chicken, tendons were stiff, white and were attached to both the muscle and the bone. For example, the Pectoralis Major and Minor both are connected to the sternum through a tendon. At the origin, the tendon is more stationary, and the muscle usually contracts towards it. At the insertion, the muscle is more flexible. It tends to be more distal and has greatest movement during contraction. Although chickens look very different from humans, we have similar muscular systems. There are some differences though. The flexor carpi ulnaris works on the "thumb" side of the bird while it works on the "pinky finger" side of humans. The latissimus dorsi is present in both species and extends or pulls the wing or arm. The deltoid is in the same place on both humans and chicken and serves the same purpose: extend or pull back the arm or wing.

The Biceps Femoris (flexes leg) and the Semimembranosus (extends thigh)

The Deltoid (helps to raise the upper arm), the Biceps Brachii (flexes (bends) the arm), and the Triceps Humeralis (extends (straightens) the arm)

Iliotibialis (extends the thigh and flexes the leg) and Sartorius (flexes the thigh and allows crossing of the legs)

Tibialis Anterior (causes "shin splints")

Gastrocnemius (attached to the Achilles tendon) and Peroneus longus (extends the foot)

Quadriceps Femoris (used during group leg extension activity in class) and Semitendinosus (extends thigh)

Exposing the Pectoralis Major (the big fleshy muscle) and the Pectoralis Minor (the yellowish muscle)
A tendon is visible (the white object near the sternum near the middle of the chicken)

Brachioradialis (pulls the hand back) and the Flexor Carpi Ulnaris (largest muscle on the posterior side of the lower wing)

Trapezius (shrugs/ pulls back shoulders) and Latissimus dorsi (extend or pull the arm)

Progress Report: Playground Pals Bus Stop Program

I have learned that to help spread this program and to talk to other districts, I'm going to have to jump through a lot of rings. I have also learned that replying to emails on time relays a good impression on the other person. After I went to present to the board of Special Education directors, I got an offer from the Sunnyvale and Loma Prieta district to come and talk to them. I have sent them emails, but the problem is that no one has replied to them yet. To try to fix this problem, if they don't reply to my second email, I will try calling them to set up an appointment. My next steps would be to visit these school districts and present the Playground Pals Bus Stop Program to them.

What Happens When You Stretch Reflection

Title: What Happens When You Stretch
Author: Unknown
Publication: http://people.bath.ac.uk/masrjb/Stretch/stretching_2.html#SEC13
Date: 3/14/16

This article talks about what happens not only at a molecular level but also at a macromolecular level. Our bodies have proprioceptors which are nerve endings which relay all the information about the musculoskeletal system to the CNS. They are the source of the perception of one's own body position and movement. They detect any changes in physical displacement in our bodies. Stretches are used to help lengthen our muscles. 

• "The lengthening reaction is possible only because the signaling of golgi tendon organ to the spinal cord is powerful enough to overcome the signaling of the muscle spindles telling the muscle to contract." 
•  This quote demonstrates the strength of the golgi tendon organ signals. This also describes how some signalling molecules can override others. 
• "This is sometimes called reciprocal innervation but that term is really a misnomer since it is the agonists which inhibit (relax) the antagonists"
• This helps explain how some terms need to be so specific that they cannot be called something else for there is a possibility of misunderstanding. 
• "You also want to relax any muscles used as synergists by the muscle you are trying to stretch."
• This is a key tip to helping relax and stretch out a muscle. The article gives an example of stretching out your calf by flexing your feet. 

Playground Pals Bus Stop Program

Helping Students Feel More Included During Lunch and Recess at Elementary Schools!

Playground Pals Bus Stop program establishes a safer and more inclusive environment for elementary school students. 20% Time is a program which is implemented into our Anatomy and Physiology class. 20% of our class time is used to help us achieve a goal regarding a topic that we've always wanted to learn more about. Usually, we use our Monday class periods to work on our 20 time projects. For my project, I wanted to continue my Gold Award. I started my Gold Award last year, but since I did not have much time to do it due to the demands of junior year, I decided to make it my 20 time project so I would be forced to spend time at least once a week to work on it. My essential focus for this project is to try and spread this program (Playground Pals Bus Stop program which helps special needs children feel more included) to other schools and eventually other school districts. My goal is to spread this program to at least one other school (or preferably one other school district). Moving forward, I plan to pitch this idea to a board of 15 special education directors from 15 different districts on March 8th, I plan to also keep updating a website that I have created, and start creating a guidebook about the program. I will measure my progress by how many districts are willing to discuss the idea of this program and possibly implement it. 

Unit 6 Reflection

3/2/16

This unit was about the skeletal system. Not only did we discuss the different parts of the skeletal system, but we also learned about diseases which are caused by malfunctions in our skeleton. This part of the unit interested me the most. I find that I am more interested in learning more about the pathological aspect of our bodies. I remember once my doctor had told me that I had a very mild form of scoliosis, which is very common in people who grow fast during their childhood. If I could learn more about something, I would choose to learn more about the different diseases that are associated with the skeletal system. I would like to learn more about osteoblasts and osteoclasts and how they function to help out skeletal system grow. This video by Hank Green on Crash Course Anatomy and Physiology helps to describe the skeletal system and it's parts. For this unit, we completed an Owl Pellet Lab. 

This lab helped us identify the different structures of the skeletal system in a pocket gopher. 

For my New Year's Goals, I have started eating a lot healthier than I did earlier.