My Thoughts and Interesting Facts

Immunology and Bono

2010-10-24T20:07:00.001-05:00

Hello all,

Sorry it's been a couple days. I haven't been feeling so good. I guess that means winter's coming.

~Fact of the Day: There are two different types of immunities: Innate and

specific resistance and many different types of antibodies~

Innate immunity is made up of attributions that you have prior to exposure and birth. Such as skin, mucus membranes, nose hairs, villi in the bronchi, eye lashes, and tears. (this is why you shouldn't remove the mucus lining from your nose. It has many purposes.)

Specific resistance is divided into two more types: passive and active.

Passive immunity is acquired from shots (of antibodies) and from breast milk. These antibodies are usually gone after they have done their job.

Active immunity is acquired while infected. They are antibodies (immunoglobulins(Ig)) that your body makes. There are several different types: IgG, IgA, IgE, IgM, IgD.

80% of plasma antibodies are IgG. These antibodies are small enough to cross the placenta, supplying needed immunities to the child. These are also the types of antibodies received when getting immunized by shot.

IgA is found in plasma and secretions such as mucus, saliva, tears, breast milk, and intestinal secretions. These are the type of antibodies you receive when you are immunized by nasal spray.

IgE antibodies deal mostly with allergic reactions. They are found mostly in tonsils, skin, and mucus membranes.

IgM antibodies are very big and are the main antibody in primary immune responses.

And last, but not least, IgD are found on B-cells as an antigen receptor.

And that's only scratching the surface...

In Latin 'bonus' means good.

bona filia = good daughter.

prō bonō = for good.

bonā fide = in good faith.

cuī bonō = good for who?

Bono Vox, the name one U2 singer Paul David Hewson is most commonly known as, is almost always mistranslated. Vox is derived from the verb voce meaning voice, but what most people don't take into account is that the way a word ends in latin changes it's meaning. When voce becomes vox it becomes what is called the dative form; it is for something.

Therefore, bono vox= a voice for good.

Riddles and Brains (Yumm)

2010-10-22T00:38:00.001-05:00

Today seems like a great day to inquire on some tricky question. No, I'm not talking about the meaning of life or any of the such (but I'm sure that will be a post sometime soon). What I speak of is the stretching of the brain muscles also known as dendrites. Like everyone knows, if you don't use them you loose them...

~Fact of the Day: Around the age of 4, you maintain the maximum amount of dendrite to neuron connections. You continue to make connections until the age of 20, but after age 4 what ever is not being used is snipped away. (My teacher compares it to maintaining a rose garden) Snipping is a good thing, other wise it would take longer to process information. This is also why it is much easier to learn and remember multiple languages as a child than later on in life (as long as you continue to practice it)~

As I was saying... riddles are one way to exercise one's brain. It can increase memory (practical and spacial) as well as reasoning skills. Basically, practice make almost perfect (nothing's completely perfect (just as the line never seems to be able to reach zero, but it sure does get close)...math). It's okay to feel challenged by the situation, learn the logic and apply it to real life.

Okay... ready to start? Of course you are... let's begin!
I will pose the question. Underneath lies the answer, but as you may see (or not so much) it is not visible. For your benefit I have posted the answers and high-lit them in the same color. Just highlight them with your cursor and then you will see. Good Luck!

Riddles of the Sphinx
Which creature in the morning goes on four legs, at mid-day on two, and in the evening upon three, and the more legs it has, the weaker it be?
Man—who crawls on all fours as a baby, then walks on two feet as an adult, and then walks with a cane in old age. Legend goes the sphinx would ask passers the riddles. If they did not answer correctly they would be devoured. Though the riddles are not found in the early tells. It wasn't until in later Greek history that they apper.

There are two sisters: one gives birth to the other and she, in turn, gives birth to the first. What are they?
Day and Nigh. tBoth words are feminine in the Greek language.

A Lewis Carroll Riddle

John gave his brother James a box:
About it there were many locks.

James woke and said it gave him pain;
So gave it back to John again.

The box was not with lid supplied,
Yet caused two lids to open wide;

And all these locks had never a key-
What kind of box, then, could it be?

A box on the head (hit him). First stanza: John his James, here locks = hair. Second: It hurt James, James his John. Third: the 'box' didn't have lid, but the 2 eye lid came open wide. Fourth: no lock for this kind of box.

Something more modern

Power Outage -http://www.trickyriddles.com/riddle/3229-Power-Outage

You're in a mansion and the power's out. You see a green door and a red door. Pick one. Now you see a purple door and a orange door. Pick one. Now you see a door with a golden handle and a door with a silver handle. Pick one. You finally come to some signs on three doors. One says "Death from drowning," another says "Death from machine guns," and the last one says "Death from electric chair." Then you see a big sign off to the side that says "Or stay in the mansion and starve to death." What do you choose and still live?

Pick the door with the electric chair. Remember, the power is out?

Water in the Cup -http://www.braingle.com/brainteasers/33929/water-in-the-cup.html

A man in a restaurant asked a waiter for a juice glass, a dinner plate, water, a match, and a lemon wedge. The man poured enough water onto the plate to cover it.
"If you can get the water on the plate into this glass without touching or moving this plate, I will give you $100," the man said. "You can use the match and lemon to do this."
A few minutes later, the waiter walked away with $100 in his pocket. How did the waiter get the water into the glass?

First, the waiter stuck the match into the lemon wedge, so that it would stand straight. Then he lit the match, and put it in the middle of the plate with the lemon. Then, he placed the glass upside-down over the match. As the flame used up the oxygen in the glass, it created a small vacuum, which sucked in the water through the space between the glass and the plate. Thus, the waiter got the water into the glass without touching or moving the plate.
You can even try this experiment at home!

What begins with and 'e' and ends with an 'e' and has only one letter?

An Envelope

Well that's all for now. The links have some more great riddles, puzzles, brain teasers, and logic problems. I recommend you check them out when you have the chance.

Ta-ta for now...

Urine Analysis

2010-10-20T21:53:00.000-05:00

So in my Anatomy and Physiology class we are learning the inner workings of the urinary system. For lab we brought in a "sample" (by sample I mean our urine in a cup). Gross! The entire class smelt of urea...

~Fact of the Day: urea is found in more than just urine; .01% of saliva is composed of urea~

So to continue... the class went on as usual. Our professor instructed us on how to complete the lab. She showed us how to test for trace amounts of leukocytes, blood, and other such things that are found in urine normally and abnormally. She then went on to tell us how professionals might test urine as well. She said professionals would be able to tell what is an urine just by sent. She then sniffed her sample. Further, she said the professionals of the very best could even recognize abnormalities by taste. At which time, she tilted her sample cup back and took a sip! The entire class was silent! She commented on the silence, turned around, and pulled out a container of white grape apple juice to show to the class: "Delicious!"

Once I got home, I thought to myself, what if I had filled my sample cup up with apple juice too. I would have tipped my cup up and turned the joke back on her. I can see her face now saying, "You weren't really suppose to drink it, mine was just juice..." Just for the fun of it, I think I would have tipped it again and gulped the rest down!

Ha, Science!