20 Time Final Post

Above is the 20 Time presentation me and my partner Ashkan gave today during Anatomy/Physiology class. Overall, I believe our TED Talk went relatively well in the fact that not only we met the requirements, but we also connected with the audience. We presented a lesson that many students throughout the world do not have the same benefits as we do in Saratoga when it comes to technology, and every little bit we do to aid other student's education not only helps them, but helps the world in being more educated and articulate. I also believed that our presentation had a clear layout on what we wanted to accomplish and how we accomplished it. However, no presentation is perfect, including ours. If I could have changed something differently in the presentation, it would be to stop saying "uh" almost every other sentence as it makes me look clueless when presenting. This has always been a bad habit for me when giving public presentations, which is something I plan to improve on before college begins. Also in our presentation we did not have a Works Cited since we believed we did not need one since we were building something rather than giving an educational lesson on the topic. Based off the rubric, I would give our presentation at least a 70 since we were extremely articulate and connected to the audience, but not a full score since we did not include sources (even though we believed we did not need one since our presentation was not about educating the audience, but displaying what we built and how we did it). I felt we were well prepared for the presentation, as we did not do it last minute and ran through rehearsals countless times to the point where we could memorize our whole presentation from start to finish. As for giving the talk, although I felt we did quite well, it was still nerve-wrecking having to present to the whole class, especially with other great presentations being displayed around the same day too. I have grown from this project as to realize the computer field is not for me, which is great because I get to narrow down my career choices. Additionally, my official takeaway from this project is that we all must do what we can to help others receive the same educational opportunities as us, granted that they display rigorous academics and extracurriculars too. In the end, we not only explored our personal interests, we were able to provide great opportunities to an individual who took academics seriously, and not only help aid his future, but the future of his family and generations to come too.

River Clean Up Service Project

On Saturday, me and some fellow classmates traveled to the Calabazas creek in San Jose to participate in the annual river clean up. We were given two bags, one for recyclables and one for trash. However, the creek had a rarity of recyclable bottles and cans but was extremely abundant in trash. The most notable of this trash was food items such as chip bags, and plastic bags too. What I also found from the creek were multiple baseballs, which makes sense since the creek is right next to the Westmont High School baseball field. Afterwards, we dumped all the garbage bags onto one of the supervisor's truck, and then had popsicles and water after. Overall, it was a great experience to help the community and environment, especially for today when the environment is overlooked and undervalued.

Unit 8 Reflection

In this unit, we learned about the muscular system and the everyday role they play in our lives that allow us to function as human beings. One of themes of the unit were what are the major muscles of the body and what purpose do they serve. Instead of learning this through notes however, I instead learned it through our chicken lab dissection. The main muscles in the chest are the pectoralis major and minor, which aid humans in bench press and supports the arms. The trapezius muscle in the back helps support posture while the latissimus dorsi helps move the arms in multiple, fluid directions. The deltoids help raise and support the upper arms while the biceps brachii bends and flexes the arm. The triceps humeralis supports the lower arm and helps position the arm into normal position. The flexor carpi ulnaris provides movement to the hand and wrist while the brachiordialis flexes the forearm through the elbow and pronates and supinates the arm. The sartorius is an important flexor and rotator of the hip joint while the iliotibialis extends, abducts, and laterally rotates the hip. The biceps femurs helps flex the knee. The semimembranosus enables the leg to flex and rotate while the semitendinosus helps medially rotate the femur and tibia when the knee is extended. The quadriceps femoris flexes the thegh and helps with leg extensions while the gastrocnemius helps extend the foot and aids us on standing on our toes. Lastly, the peroneous longus extends the foot while the tibialis anterior flexes the foot and causes “shin splints”. Movement of the limbs through synovial joints were also incorporated into the unit. Skeletal muscles work in opposing pairs, known as flexors and extensors, to produce multiple types of movement. Muscles are organized through their name with factors such as direction, size, action, and number of origins, and location. Muscles are also classified through four terms: Prime Mover, Antagonist, Synergist, and Fixators. Prime movers cause a desired action such as elbow flexion while antagonist relaxes when prime mover contracts. Synergist muscles help the prime mover by reducing unnecessary movements while fixators stabilize the origin of the prime mover and can immobilize the bone. Muscles work based on whether they can contract or not. For a muscle to contract, nerve sends impulse to the muscle fiber, where Ca2+ ions are released from the sarcoplasmic reticulum into the cytoplasm. From there, Ca2+ binds to proteins wrapped around actin filaments. The binding of Ca2+ causes myosin filaments to bind to and pull on actin filaments. The sarcomere then shortens and the muscle begins to relax. As an impulse passes, Ca2+ gates close. As Ca2+ is transported back into the sarcoplasmic reticulum, the muscle relaxes. Another theme we learned was the facilitation of muscle fibers and how they respond to different types of exercise. These contractions play an important part when we stretch. There are three types of muscle fibers: Slow twitch, Fast twitch(a), and Fast twitch(b). Slow twitch fibers contract relatively slowly and are highly aerobic. FT(a) fibers are fast in contractile speed, moderately high oxidative capacity, and relatively fatigue resistant. FT(b) fibers are anaerobic, fatigue quickly, and have high glycogen stores. Slow twitch fibers and FT(a) fibers are usually involved in repetitive and long distance exercises while FT(b) fibers are involved in short exercises such as sprints and max repetition.    

I would have liked to learn about performance enhancing drugs such as HGH or other steroids and their negative impacts to the human body. I would have also liked to learn a little more about protein shakes and if they really do work or are just a waste of money and resources. Before the unit started, I only knew basic muscles that we use to lift weights. After this unit and the chicken dissection, I am glad to say I know more complex and intricate muscles and how they actually work instead of just basic muscles. 

My New Years Goals have been in a constant roller coaster this year. While my weightlifting habits have been fine and I have been achieving the goals I desired ( I currently passed 215 pounds), my grades have received a sudden shift. My goal for this year was to achieve an A in this class, but due to a zero on a lab that goal seemed impossible. However, with the new extra credit opportunity with cleaning up the creek, an A now seems reachable. If I can perform well on my cat dissection and my 20 time project, and volunteer at the creek, I can receive that A. Not only will this achieve my goal, but it will also cut my college tuition in half, which I am desperate for as I will be paying for college by myself without my parents. Either way, at the end of the day, I need an A in this class, and I believe in myself that I WILL get an A in this class. 

What Happens When You Stretch

One sentence I found interesting was, " Once the muscle fiber is at its maximum resting length, additional stretching places force on the surrounding connective tissue." I find it intriguing that by stretching, the force exerts itself on surrounding tissue. This is what allows us to be more flexible and avoid injury. Another sentence I found interesting was about "stretch reflex". As stated, " This basic function of the muscle spindle helps to maintain muscle tone and to protect the body from injury." I always thought that muscle tone was developed through weightlifting and exercise. However, I would have never thought that we could be able to maintain muscle tone through stretching, since the whole stereotype of stretching is that it only prevents injuries. The last quote I found interesting was, " This is the dynamic component of the stretch reflex: a strong signal to contract at the onset of a rapid increase in muscle length, followed by slightly 'higher than normal' signaling which gradually decreases as the rate of change of the muscle length decreases." I found this interesting as it shows how our muscles mirror our bodies' contraction. The increase in contraction is due to the higher than normal signaling, and the vice versa for decreasing contraction. The article starts off by claiming that the stretching of a muscle fiber begins with the sarcomere, the basic unit of muscle contraction. The more fibers stretched within a muscle, the more force exerted to the surrounding tissue. This allows the surrounding tissue to expand in length and me more developed. The nerve endings that relay information is known as proprioceptors, while the source of the nervous system is known as proprioception. Sometimes when we stretch, the muscle attempts to resist the change in muscle length by causing it contract, known as the stretch reflex. Many professional athletes and dancers have been able to master the art of stretch reflex, keeping them athletically physical and mental.

More Effective Joint

   I decided to do my design on plantar fasciitis as it is an injury that affects me and my family line every generation. Although I already had a basic idea of what plantar fasciitis is, I first decided to begin my research by researching the basics of the injury, such as how it is defined and what causes the injury. I then decided to work backwards by researching the injuries of plantar fasciitis, and what modifications are needed to prevent such injuries. I decided to connect my knowledge from units before such as blood supply and apply it to the new modifications of the plantar fascia. After realizing that we cannot modify our bodies, I did extensive research on preventing such injuries to live a happy and healthy life.
   Plantar fasciitis usually occurs to people with flat feet, but can also occur to runners and obese people. It is involved with the plantar fascia, a thick band of tissue which is a ligament, that runs across the foot and is connected to the calcaneus (heel bone). To fix the problem of plantar fasciitis, I decided to remodel the ligament that is the main cause of the injury, the plantar fascia. The plantar fascia stretches from the medial calcaneal tubercle towards the proximal phalanges of the toes. The fibrous tissue then divides into five sections to accommodate for the five toes we humans have on each foot. The main function of the plantar fascia is to help maintain the arch of the foot. During athletic activities such as walking or running, the main contribution of the plantar fascia is to assure that both the heel and toes lift off the ground and prevent the calcaneus from everting, stabilizing the arch in the process. As mentioned before, the plantar fascia is heavily involved in basic activities such as walking, running, and standing. These activities however, can create tiny micro tears to the plantar fascia, and as a result cause inflammation of the ligament. These injuries are proven common to runners who strain their plantar fascia due to the consistent pressure, overweight people as the weight forces the arch of the foot to collapse, and flat-footed people as they have no support, causing the plantar fascia to be in constant contact and pressure on the ground. When designing a new feature to the plantar fascia, I decided that if there were more blood vessels added to the ligament, this would provide enough oxygen and nutrients that it would prevent micro tears from occurring in the plantar fascia. Another design feature to prevent the injury would be connecting the plantar fascia to the achilles tendon, allowing a supportive system from the leg and having the ligament react the same to stimulants as the achilles tendon. Young people already have their plantar fascia connected to their achilles tendon, but as we age the connective tissue between the two degenerate and become their own muscles. I arrived at this idea knowing that blood in our body is the number one source of providing nutrients and oxygen to the body. If we could increase the capacity of blood volume being transported to stressed areas, such as in the plantar fascia, we can prevent them from tearing and inflaming which can cause injury. As for connecting the plantar fascia to the achilles tendon, we already have this as a feature while we're young. However, as aging occurs the tissue degenerates as I have said before. If there were a way to prevent connective tissue from being destroyed as we age, we could be able to provide a supporting system to the plantar fascia from the leg. One problem with this new design however is that the connective tissue between the plantar fascia and the achilles tendon would make the foot uneven in balance, and as a result put more strain and stress on other parts of the foot other than the arch. After completing this assignment, I question whether it is possible to perform such new designs on the human body to prevent these injuries or diseases. Although the designs seem as if they are out of a science fiction piece, I truly wonder if it is possible that scientists can control human evolution to specifically cater towards these injuries. Or would our bodies eventually realize these injuries directly affecting the human body, and would they attempt to evolve over time instead of artificial evolution? Since we can not redesign our body instantly to prevent such injuries, we have to take cautionary measures to assure that no such injuries occur so that we may lead a happy, healthy life. One way to prevent plantar fasciitis is to utilize heel cord stretching, which would unload stress in the foot and reduce pain. This would stretch the fascia directly, strengthening it from future tears. Losing weight would also exert less pressure on the arch, allowing it to be supported rather than collapsed. Wearing shoes with great arch support and cushioning can also prevent plantar fasciitis as it alleviates stress and pain on the foot. Wearing night splints, which are casts around the ankle to the toes, are effective in reforming the foot to be away from chronic pain. Foot orthotics, which you can buy over the counter or prescribed from your doctor, can help reshape feet to be arched instead of flat, which would reduce stress on the plantar fascia.  

Note: Highlighted parts indicate modifications

Works Cited: 

http://www.wheelessonline.com/ortho/plantar_fasciitis

http://www.wesnorman.com/soleoffoot.htm

https://patient.info/health/heel-and-foot-pain-plantar-fasciitis

Tortora, Gerald J., and Bryan Derrickson. The Essentials of Anatomy and      Physiology. 

    

Chicken Dissection Analysis

In this lab, we dissected a chicken to compare it's muscles anatomy and physiology to that of a human. We first had to remove the skin of the chicken using scissors, while carefully avoiding to cut any muscles. After removing the skin, we dissected the breast, back, arms, and legs of the chicken to observe their muscles' similarities and differences from humans. After careful cutting, we were able to observe certain muscles of the chicken similar to humans. The muscles purpose in organisms is to provide movement since it has the ability to contract and release, unlike other tissues. Muscles can also help provide maintenance of body structure and position. Bones also help serve this purpose too, as they assist in structuring our limbs and body's shape. Tendons are muscles connecting to bones, and are capable of withstanding external pressure. An example would be the supinator tendon, which helps bend the elbow and rotate the forearm. For the bone, we have our femur, which provides shape and structure to our legs. As for muscles, our hamstrings prove critical when it comes to our basic ability of walking. In each muscle, there are two ends that help it contract, the origin end and the insertion end. The origin of the muscle is a fixed attachment that cannot move, while the insertion end is able to move through contraction. When a muscle is contracted, the insertion end is moved towards the origin end. The insertion end usually runs along the muscle while the origin is at one end of the muscle.

Both the chicken and human have similar yet quite different muscle anatomy and physiology. The pectoralis major in chickens help them gain the ability to fly, while in humans it helps us bench press and do push ups. Biceps brachii in humans help us flex and bend our arm through the elbow. In chickens, the biceps brachii helps chickens bend and flex their wings to assist in flight and their basic nature. The trapezius in humans help move the scapulae and support the arm, along with providing posture. In chickens, the trapezius helps raise their wings while providing support for their posture.

The following are muscles that we observed and dissected:

Pectoralis major: supports wings during flight
Pectoralis minor: provides recovery position after flight
Trapezius: Supports back posture and helps raise wings
Latissimus Dorsi: runs from spine through side of back, helps move wings in multiple directions instead of one direction
Deltoid: helps raise wing and supports upper arm
Biceps Brachii: bends and flexes wings
Triceps humeralis: Supports lower wing, helps position wing into normal position
Flexor Carpi Ulnaris: Provides movement to hand and wrist
Brachiordialis: flexes forearm through elbow, responsible for supination and pronation
Sartorius: Important flexor and rotator of thigh through the hip joint
Iliotibialis: extends, abducts, and laterally rotate the hip
Biceps femoris: helps flex the knee
Semimembranosus: enables leg to flex and rotate, serves as a thigh extensor
Semitendinosus: helps medially rotate the femur and tibia when knee is extended
Quadriceps femoris: flexes the thigh and extends the leg, helps with leg extensions
Gastrocnemius: helps extend foot and flexes lower leg, primary muscle used for standing on your toes
Peroneous longus: primary superficial muscle on lateral side of drumstick, helps extend foot
Tibialis anterior: flexes the foot, causes the painful injury known as "shin splints"

Thigh

Blue- Sartorius

Black- Iliotibialis

Yellow- Biceps femoris

Green- Semimembranosus

White- Semitendinosus

Red- Quadriceps femoris

Breast

Yellow- Pectoralis Major

White- Pectoralis Minor

 

Drumstick

Blue- Gastrocnemius

Black- Peroneous longus

Yellow-Tibialis anterior

Red- Quadriceps femoris

Wing

White- biceps brachii

Green- triceps humeralis

Blue- deltoid

Black- Flexor carpi ulnaris

Green- Brachioradialis

Back

Yellow- Trapezius

Green- Latissimus dorsi

Unit 7 Reflection

In Unit 7, we studied the anatomy and physiology of the bones in the human body. We first studied about diseases that affect the skeletal system such as arthritis, the inflammation of joints, which has affected my family in the past. Osteoporosis is when the bones lose calcium and become more porous and easier to break down, while scoliosis is when the spine is not aligned straight. A pattern I noticed from these diseases is that they affect bones through either inflammation, breaking them down due to poor nutrition, or are misaligned. In order to prevent such diseases from occurring, it is critical to have a balanced intake of vitamins and minerals. Vitamins C and D helps the bone become stronger while protecting it’s marrow. Minerals such as calcium helps produces calcitonin, a hormone that develops and matures the bone in order for it to not break in the future. Bones are extremely important when it comes to maintaining homeostasis, as they regulate blood flow through the Haversian system along with regulating metabolism and temperature. Cells play a huge role when it comes to the development of bones too. Osteoblasts are cells that create new and stronger bones, while osteoclasts are cells that destroy bone and pave way for new and stronger ones to be created. Sadly, accidents are bound to happen to our bodies wherever we are, bones included. There are many types of fractures, the most common being complete, where the bone snaps into two or more parts, or incomplete, where the bone doesn't break all the way through. Bones are usually repaired first by blood clotting where the fracture is located. As the blood dries, fibroblasts are formed, and solidify the clot to form new bone to replace the fracture. Lastly, we learned about joints in the human body and how they’re connected to our bones (quite literally). Synovial joints are completely moveable, and include our elbows and shoulders. Ampiarthrosis joints are slightly moveable, and include joints such as our vertebrae. Lastly are diarthrosis joints, which are not moveable and include joints such as sutures in our skulls. Most of these joints are usually fibrous, while we do have some that are cartilage such as our knee. In this study, I was hoping to learn about more hormones that are involved with our bones’ development and maturity. As a student, I feel that my study of the bones had blossomed when we studied the owl pellet lab, and compared bones from organisms that are quite similar to humans. I also feel that bone bingo had helped me better classify and identify bones in the body. As of my New Year’s goals, they have taken quite a hit. While my lifting goals have been on track, I have gained about twenty-five pounds of muscle, and moved from 190 to 215 pounds. My grade in Anatomy however has taken a deep hit due to the reflex lab being graded as a zero, even though I turned it in a day late. As of now, the best I can do is continue on and power throughout the school year and not be rescinded from my colleges, and graduate knowing I will attend a university soon.