Nerve Decompression Surgery

For this unit we took a deeper look into surgeries. We started off the term by beginning to read a book called, The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks, which tells the story of a woman during the civil rights movement who has cervical cancer. We hear stories of her reaction to having cervical cancer, treatments, and more. Something special about Henrietta is that her cells were taken for multiple tests, but a medical professional at the time named George Gey sold them and they become internationally popular. As we go on in the course, we also looked into DNA structure and cell biology. For this AP we were asked to find a surgery we want to learn more about, and allow the audience to take a deeper look into the specific surgeries we looked into. I chose to look into Nerve Decompression surgery which is usually performed on people who suffer with migraines regularly like myself.

To conclude, this AP was very interesting to look into. For someone who struggles with migraines quite regularly, I thought it was nice to see that there are options to treat them. Migraines a constant struggle in my life and others, and it’s important to inform others on these surgeries, even something as simple as Botox, to treat migraines. This unit gave me inspiration to look into different surgeries and see the affects our bodies have when they are performed!

The Taming of the Lad

In Unit 1 of Drama we looked into the playwright of The Taming of the Shrew written by William Shakespeare. As we read, we stumbled upon some questions on gender equality and how it has evolved from then and now. We visited The Goodman Theatre to look deeper into costume design, set design, how actors prep, and more! The Taming of the Shrew tells the story of two young sisters living in Padua. Katharina is a young, independent women who will not get told off by any man, while Bianca is a pretty, kind, gentle girl who everyone is in love with. Practically every man in Padua is in love with Bianca, but Bianca is not able to get married until Katharina is married according to their father, Signor Baptista.  The story plays around with gender in a way that gets the audience thinking which is something that Shakespeare was known for. Who looked at societal "issues" that weren't really issues at the time because no one acknowledged them. Another thing that Shakespeare is quite known for are his sonnets. Sonnets are interesting because Shakespeare followed an iambic pentameter which meant that certain words in the sentence would follow a "duh-dum" beat like the rhythm of your heart. Each sentence would have to have ten syllables. After reading The Taming of the Shrew, we were asked to make a sonnet for one of the characters in the play. We would need to give them advice for a situation that they were in or tell them something we agreed or disagreed with. I chose Signor Baptista, the father of two young women who he marries off. Read or watch my sonnet to learn more!


                                                      NB. The Taming Of The Shrew. (2019)
                   

Sonnet:

Baptista sure knows how to be a vex

Although others may disagree with me,

It’s all about the superior sex.

You know all they care for is the dowry.

If you want your daughters to be happy,

Allow them to wed whom they truly love.

All the men for your daughters are scrappy,

Treat your daughters the same way one treats doves.

Don’t tell those petty men to woo her off

“That is, her love;for that is all in all”

You know Katharina will only just scoff.

Why do you need to see your daughters bawl?

Signor Baptista just take my advice,

Switch this story up, and get the bride price.

My Experience with Biomedicine

My independent study was based on my experience with different career options that involved biomedicine. This was a very bumpy road for me, as any one else would be when searching for different career options. Although I am only a sophomore in high school, I think that when looking into the medical industry it is important to think about different paths to take in terms of schooling. Something that I found quite challenging during this term was figuring out how much schooling would be necessary for me depending on the career path that I take. I went from exploring biochemistry to clinical science to microbiology, and finally ended up with a subject I am really into at the moment. I met with different people, and even got a volunteer opportunity by the end of the term that I love. One of my career aspirations is connecting my medical background with helping refugees and/or migrants in need who are not able to get the sufficient resources they need to stay healthy. I work for SCN, Syrian Community Network, as a tutor and help students learn and develop social/emotional learning skills. Starting off small is an important way to build up where you want to be in the future! Read my presentation to learn more about my experience throughout this term!

To conclude, this independent study was quite the experience. This independent study class is new to GCE, and I think that it worked efficiently. This is a good way for students to connect to something they want to do in currently or in the future. Because I spent a term thinking and looking for different options to take, I definitely will not stop here! I would love to continue on researching and thinking about the steps I could take now while still at GCE to get one step closer to my career aspirations! 

The Shah & a Book Banning

During this unit, diversity, we were able to choose a book that had been banned, and figure out why it may have been banned. While we read, we thought about different themes that may have been mentioned such as politics, diversity, and religion. I read the book Persepolis written and illustrated by Marjane Satrapi. In terms of FE's, we went to the Women & Children First bookstore located in Andersonville. This was an interesting experience because we were able to see the diversity in book that they had, and books that I had never seen in ordinary book stores. Banning books is caused by a group, government, or anything higher than the proletariats, censors or blocks a book from being read in the public. Read my research paper to see why Persepolis was banned from Chicago Public Schools and libraries, and my stance on the issue. 

NB Persepolis (2019)

Here is my research paper on the ban of the book Persepolis. 

Alzheimer's Disease

For this term, Disease, we focused on the function of the brain. We started this unit by reading a book called, The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida. This book was written in a Q & A style where there was an interviewer who spoke to this boy named Naoki who is on the Autism Spectrum. This was an interesting read before this unit started. Throughout the unit, we also looked into Schizophrenia. We looked into all sorts of mental disorders that were found in the DSM-V. The DSM-V stands for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders. For this AP, we had to choose one mental disorder that was on the DSM-V. From there, we did research, learned criteria, created a simulation, and created a flier that encourages awareness of the mental disorder. Here is my project on Alzheimer’s disease!

Alzheimer's Disease:

Alzheimer’s, also known as Major Neurocognitive Disorder according to the DSM-V, is a “Neurocognitive disorders can affect memory, attention, learning, language, perception, and social cognition,” as stated in the DSM-V. In other words, Alzheimer’s disease is a disease that slowly kills brain cells.This disorder may lead to memory loss, and gradually worsen with the disability to carry on a conversation. Alzheimer’s comes with different stages. Because of the death of brain cells, the brain begins to shrink. Along with that, we begin to see the hippocampus shrink. The hippocampus allows us to have long-term memory. Alzheimer's disease can have a huge affect on your day to day life. Not only for yourself, but the significant others in your life. Richard Taylor, an American Academic who wrote about his life with Alzheimer's stated, "One day I will no longer know how to express love. Bit by bit, everything that connects us will disappear, and I suspect that I won't even miss it." According to the DSM-V, you must experience at least three symptoms that is listed in the criteria in order to be diagnosed with a mental disorder. Most people that are diagnosed with Alzheimer’s/Dementia experience:


1. Complex attention: For example, a person diagnosed with Alzheimer’s is dependent on a caretaker to help them with their daily routine like using the restroom, remembering to pay bills, etc.

2. Learning and memory: The patient may experience memory loss such as forgetting a person who is usually in their everyday life or forgetting their own address. This is caused by the hippocampus slowly destroying itself.

3. Deficiency in perceptual motor skills: Not knowing how to walk, holding a cup, etc. Tasks that you were able to complete in your everyday life are slowly getting harder to accomplish.

Alzheimer Patient Brain (2019) NB

Brain + Brainwaves 

Almost all Alzheimer’s patients brains are affected in the entorhinal cortex and hippocampus region in the brain. The brain waves that are active in the life of a person with Alzheimer’s are difficult to record. They are constantly fluctuating and go off the charts. Although these brain waves vary, neurologists are using Gamma wave therapy to revive some parts of the brain that may not currently be working for patients. Here is a visual representation in parts of the brain that are affected by Alzheimer’s.

Lesson Plan + Brainwave Function

This lesson plan shows the step by step plan of the experience that my peers had to go through for my simulation. It shows the list of materials that were needed to complete the simulation, what was supposed to be going on for each minute, and the brainwaves that should have been active throughout that time in order to convert them onto a graph and create a piecewise function.

Lesson Plan (2019) NB

Graph & Piecewise Function

This graph shows how my peers brains functioned, and which brain waves were active throughout my simulation.

Brainwave Graph (2019) NB

Piecewise function work (2019) NB

Piecewise function (2019) NB

Video of Simulation: 

This simulation shows the recorded experience that my peers went through. This is my lesson plan finally coming to life. The video has some explanation, and different time's when my classmate's experience specific moments. 

  Alzheimer Simulation (2019) NB

Alzheimer Awareness Flier:

Alzheimer Awareness (2019) NB

Conclusion:

To conclude, I thought this AP was interesting to look into. I never found a true interest in neurology until now. I never really understood how much an impact our bodies and lives could have when our brains don't function the right way. I learned that Alzheimer's is a disease that needs more awareness. A cure for Alzheimer's disease is already being looked into deeper and it is my understanding that it's being into by the study of Gamma waves. Brainwave therapy can regenerate parts of the brain that are affected and inoperative due to Alzheimer's/Dementia.

Works Cited:

1. “Major Neurocognitive Disorder.” Major Neurocognitive Disorder – Knowledge for Medical Students and Physicians, www.amboss.com/us/knowledge/Major_neurocognitive_disorder#xid=v30A4f&anker=Zc052cec87a4296e043ba6fcd94d588f1.

2. National Institutes of Health, 13 October 2011,
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alzheimers_brain.jpg

3. Heerema, Esther. “How Music Therapy Can Benefit Alzheimer's Disease Patients.” Verywell Health, www.verywellhealth.com/using-music-in-alzheimers-disease-97624.

4. Lakotta, Beate. “Interview with Alzheimer Sufferer: 'You Turn Into a Person You Don't Know Anymore' - SPIEGEL ONLINE - International.” SPIEGEL ONLINE, SPIEGEL ONLINE, 28 Feb. 2010, www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/interview-with-alzheimer-sufferer-you-turn-into-a-person-you-don-t-know-anymore-a-688049.html.

Distractions vs. Government

A socratic dialogue is a method that Socrates used on his students. He would question people’s statements in order to get them thinking about what they know. This caused Socrates to be a problematic figure in his day because the citizens of Athens thought he was corrupting the youth. They believed that Socrates didn’t believe in the Gods. The problem was that he did, and the only reason why he kept questions was to better his belief. Because people didn’t agree with the Socratic dialogue, this led to Socrates being prosecuted in Athens. In class, we read through Socrates’ Apology in class. This apology was basically Socrates trying to state that he was right, and his accusers were wrong. What was effective throughout the whole apology was that he kept questioning his accusers. This was basically a banter of back and forth, questions and answers. Although Socrates argument was effective for the reader, that was not the case for the accusers. Socrates was sentenced to a death penalty, but his methods are still functional today.

For this class, we were assigned to create our own Socratic dialogue on an issue that was going on in the world. One character was supposed to act as Socrates. In this case, the “Socrates” had to keep asking questions to get character two thinking. Character two was supposed to react to character one’s questions, until character two gained knowledge from the conversation. The topic was on the government implanting distractions for society to avoid global issues. This is something that my partner and I agree on, and it was also something that was easier to back up on our part. Researching global issues that went on in the year 2018, along with viral trends started us thinking about the ways the government works. Society tends to not pay attention to the correlation between certain political events and viral trends. They focus on the viral trends, and that leads us falling into the government’s trap. Half of America doesn’t advocate for our government, yet these trends lead us into distraction. Check out my partner's blog to learn more!

Citations:
Clips in video 1. Stories, Pinkfong! Kids' Songs &. “Baby Shark Dance | Sing and Dance! | Animal Songs | PINKFONG Songs for Children.” YouTube, YouTube, 17 June 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=XqZsoesa55w. 2. Levenson, Eric. “Saudi Teen Granted Asylum in Canada Says She's One of the Lucky Women Who Escaped.” CNN, Cable News Network, 15 Jan. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/01/15/americas/saudi-teen-asylum-intl/index.html. 3. NOPE, DOPE or. “6 Of The Most Unique Fidget Spinners!” YouTube, YouTube, 2 May 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDwcFrLJRyI.

Hashimoto's Thyroiditis

For this Winter term STEAM course, Disease, we looked into Cancer. We researched what may cause certain cancer and the treatments that could be taken when getting diagnosed. We dove deeper into the eleven different body systems, and how they work. For my first AP, we were asked to conduct an interview with someone who suffered from a disease. After, we took that information and created a research paper talking about the cause and effects of the disease the patient had. I decided to interview someone with a disease I am pretty aware of- Hashimoto's Thyroiditis. Throughout this paper, you will see the etiology and epidemiology of this disease as well as which parts of the body it affects.

Diagnosis: 

Our patient is named Rhiannon. Rhiannon is 41 years old. She works a 9-5 job, and works in the purchasing department. She identifies as half Mexican and half Spanish. She is married and has a sixteen year old daughter. Rhiannon also suffers from Hashimoto’s Thyroid disease, and has been for about a year or so.

This disease impacts the Thyroid nodules. Thyroid nodules are lumps that show up in a normal thyroid gland. They feel like lymph nodes, but lymph nodes are located on the sides of the neck, collarbone, and armpit area. Hashimoto’s causes there to be a goiter which is when the thyroid becomes abnormally enlarged. Leads to trouble swallowing and trouble breathing. This disease could impact the uterus. The uterus is an organ in a female’s body where an offspring is conceived. Hashimoto’s could impact the uterus because the imbalance of hormones that the thyroid produces can lead to heavy or irregular menstruation which makes it harder to conceive. People with Hashimoto’s could also feel fatigue which a sense of tiredness or lack of energy.

Rhiannon says, “I had felt lazier than I normally do. I just felt like I had to go to sleep constantly.” When she had sought for help, she made an appointment with her primary care doctor. He suggested to take a thyroid test which is a blood test to check the balance of hormone functions, particularly in the thyroid. When she got her results back, the doctors realized that her hormones were balanced. That was a relief for Rhiannon, but she still wondered why she found it hard to breathe. The doctor recommended for her to get an ultrasound. Although thyroid nodules are normal, Rhiannon’s were abnormally enlarged. The ultrasound did show an enlargement in the thyroid, specifically her thyroid nodules.

NB Hashimoto's Thyroiditis Patient (2019)

After the ultrasound, the doctors sent her to another hospital to perform something called a Needle Aspiration Biopsy. During this procedure, they stick a needle in the center of your throat to extract small tissue from the thyroid. From there, they are able to determine the diagnosis. They found out that her thyroid was in fact enlarged, but particularly on the right side. The best option at this point was surgically remove the right side of the thyroid because they were afraid that what she was feeling could be a tumor. The dangerous thing about this tumor is that there was an unknown answer of it being benign or malignant. A benign tumor is a non-cancerous tumor, and a malignant tumor is cancerous. There was a point in the middle of all of this talk about different surgeries to get that Rhiannon thought about taking the natural route. Rhiannon said, “I did go see an herbalist. They didn’t use any needles, but they did tell me that this is caused by anxiety. I have suffered from anxiety from an early age. She prescribed me some natural herbal remedies to try out, and I did take them. I felt like my body was functioning the way it should be, but the worry that I could have a tumor in my thyroid was worrying me.” Sometimes taking the natural route is the healthier option for your body. Sometimes there are natural supplements in nature that are made to rejuvenate our bodies. The problem is we usually go towards the quickest options, pharmaceutical drugs. You know your body best. If you believe that by seeing an herbalist your taking the route that is healthier for you, take it. In this case, Rhiannon thought it was better for her to get half her thyroid taken out, and she did. She got the surgery, and the tumor came out to be benign! Now, Rhiannon has changed her diet. Lowered her sugar intake to decrease her insulin levels. She has tried different techniques to alleviate stress. All of these methods have changed her for the better, and Rhiannon is now feeling healthier than she has ever felt.

Etiology & Epidemiology

So you may be thinking, what can cause your thyroid to act up? Many articles, including Endocrineweb states, “caused by a malfunction in your immune system.” Instead of having the immune system protect your thyroid tissue, the cells in the immune system attack it. The goiter in your thyroid is a reaction and cause of hypothyroidism. As this goes on without paying attention to the side effects of hypothyroidism, this could affect your entire thyroid. Hashimoto’s is caused by “large amounts of damaged immune cells, ” says Mira Milas, MD, and that can irritate the thyroid. This takes quite a while until you feel the side effects of Hashimoto’s which is why people usually go years until detecting that there is a problem. Now you may be asking, how can we find a cure? There currently is no cure for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, but there are treatments.

Now you may be asking, how can we find a cure? There currently is no cure for Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis, but there are treatments. Rhiannon decided to take the surgical route. This is usually recommended by the majority of doctors and surgeons because usually by the time they get diagnosed, the thyroid is abnormally enlarged which can lead to a tumor that could be benign or malignant. Other routes could be medication. Although medication is better than surgery, there is a concern many biochemists are talking about. The thyroid produces a hormone called T4 that usually gets converted to T3. T3 usually regulates the body temperature, metabolism, and heart rate. This task for cells also includes brain cells. This conversion for hormones usually takes an enzyme that we produce called type-2-deiodinase. Many patient that suffer with hypothyroidism have trouble converting and using this enzyme effectively. Biochemists who look particularly into the way cells react to medication, noticed that doctors who prescribe oral medication aren’t getting to results they were expecting. An article written by John Easton at The University of Chicago, states, “In as many as 20 percent of people who rely on levothyroxine however, the tiny genetic flaw in D2 causes the shuttling process to go astray.” Meaning the medication is only effective to twenty percent of patients.

This is something that is still being researched, and in a couple years we will probably have a more efficient and effective oral medication. There is always the natural route to take. Many people with hypothyroidism have began to reduce their intake of soy. Soy is ineffective when dealing with a hormonal issue. Soy acts like estrogen in your body, but could also block estrogen from producing which can lead to infertility and other health risks. Seaweed is high in iodine, so that’s something else to avoid. Yoga or meditation are important to relieve stress. Stress is what causes the hormone imbalance. Because of stress, there is an increase in adrenaline and cortisol levels. With these levels rising, this can increase your heart rate. This leads to high blood pressure which is just one more health risk your thyroid is taking over your body. Hashimoto's is affecting many different people from around the world, and this disease needs a cure.
Overall, I found this action project as a good way to wrap up this unit. Being able to research diseases like these makes you walk out of class with more of an understanding of who we are. I think this term is going to be a lot about self care, and being aware of your own body. Because we know our body best, we are able to detect when we aren't feeling the way we normally do. Being aware of diseases that other people can get like cancer, it is important that we educate ourselves on how this disease can affect us physically and emotionally.

Citation: 

1. “Causes of Hashimoto's Thyroiditis.” EndocrineWeb, PracticalPainManagement, www.endocrineweb.com/conditions/hashimotos-thyroiditis/causes-hashimotos-thyroiditis.

2. Easton, John. “Genetic Flaw Causes Problems for Many with Hypothyroidism.” UChicago Medicine - At The Forefront, UChicago Medicine, 5 Nov. 2018, www.uchicagomedicine.org/forefront/biological-sciences-articles/2018/november/genetic-flaw-causes-problems-for-many-with-hypothyroidism.

I guess you could say this AP is pretty smelly

For this last AP we dove deeper into decomposition. During this unit we went on multiple FEs. My favorite was, The Plant. We were able to explore throughout the building, and we were able to see the process of aquaponics which was very interesting to see. Another FE guest came in, Sharayu, who gave a presentation on Vermi-composting. Vermi-composting is very impactful on the environment, and you will see why throughout my presentation.  We learned about different fungi, and the beneficial effects that they have on the environment. Without decomposers we wouldn't have closed loop systems. Closed loop systems are used in multiple environmental friendly business that think of Earth's resources as a system that could be reused. They believe that waste can be recycled and transformed into something else for their company that benefits everyone. Less waste leads to more possibilities.

For my final AP, I was looking into how long it takes a disposable diaper to decompose. The information I got back was quite surprising. Working with the idea of a closed loop system, I decided to create an efficient diaper that would work with the closed loop system.  Continue reading to learn more about the effect disposable diapers have on the environment, and how we could change that.



To conclude, I believe that it's important to think about the overall life of things. We as a society should be thinking about where our trash goes after we have thrown it out. Our landfills are getting way to cluttered, and we tend to think that composting is a hassle. Composting, especially vermicomposting, is an efficient way to throw away biodegradable materials and the leftover soil can be used as nutrients for your garden. There are many ways to close the loop on products we use in our everday lives, start doing it!

#THEFORGOTTENWAR

This is my final AP for Global Peace. During this term, we discussed what it is to become an activist. We were assigned to focus on a certain conflict in the world. I decided to work with a war that not everyone is aware of, the Yemeni Civil War. I made a nonviolent public intervention by posting stickers around different street poles in Chicago to raise awareness. Read and watch my video to learn more about my public intervention.


Citations:
1. Patrick Cockburn @indyworld. “'The Yemen War Death Toll Is Five Times Higher than We Think – We Can't Shrug off Our Responsibilities Any Longer'.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, 26 Oct. 2018, www.independent.co.uk/voices/yemen-war-death-toll-saudi-arabia-allies-how-many-killed-responsibility-a8603326.html.
2. “Yemen Crisis: Why Is There a War?” BBC News, BBC, 18 Dec. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-29319423. 3. “Yemen Profile - Timeline.” BBC News, BBC, 5 Nov. 2018, www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14704951.

The Voice for the Voiceless

This is my first AP in Global Peace which was my humanities class for this elective term at GCE. We looked into Gandhi's principles. The first Gandhian principle was Sarvodaya, the uplift of all. We looked into Swadeshi, which is looking particularly on local economy. Swaraj looked deep into self government. This means to work for yourself, and making your own decisions before making communal ones. Lastly, we looked into Satyagraha. This means finding the truth in something that already exists, or finding the truth in resistance. These principles are important in an activist. In order to create your own "perfect" world, you must be able to follow these principles according to Gandhi. To further our knowledge on Gandhi's principles, we were asked to choose an activist that has used at least one of these principles.

I chose Ahed Tamimi which is activating for her own country. Throughout my research paper you will see examples that makes this young woman an activist, and find out more about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I learned that this young activist has become the inspiration to many different people who are going through similar crisis in the world. She is a brave figure to the 21st century. She is the change we as a society need to see in the world. She is an inspiration to not just journalists and other activists, but an inspiration to the youth. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is a conflict that should not go unheard. We need to think about the world that we live in today, and be the next Ahed Tamimi of our own nation.

Diario de Madrid. Mauricio Valiente recibe a Ahed Tamimi. 28 Sept 2018

Swordfish 1.0 & The Underwater Office

In Unit 2 of my STEAM course, Biomimicry, the subject was based off animals. Throughout this course, we looked into different animal adaptations that influenced the design to solve real world problems. While looking into the adaptations, we also looked into different animal architects that create structures for themselves to help them in their habitats. For this AP, we were asked to choose two different animals, and create two structures for housing and transportation influenced by the animals you chose. I chose the Japanese Puffer Fish and the Swordfish, and you will see how I incorporated the two to create a unique design.


To conclude, I found that we as a society should be looking deeper into animal architecture, and what purposes they serve in the environment that they are found in. I found that there were multiple types of animal architecture which were used for mating. We should be thinking more about how we can incorporate these ideas into our everyday lives. Some of these ideas are already being used for housing and transportation. This AP allowed me to look into more of that in depth, and think about the way society is changing along with the direction in which we are going.