Space Poster :)

Hello, and welcome to my last action project at GCE for my S.T.E.A.M core class, "Frontiers". In this unit, we reviewed different styles of presenting and condensing research papers into poster presentations similar to a science fair format. For this action project, I was challenged to create a poster that I will use to make my previous research paper on the further advancements in space technology and instruments more attractive to read and understand. Below is my poster with a link and QR code to my most recent research paper. It's been a long journey finishing this senior year and I'm excited to be moving on to a new adventure. I hope you enjoy the poster and research paper!

N.L. "Space Instruments and Technology Poster" 2022

You can find my research paper here: 

https://nlgcelabschool.blogspot.com/2022/06/better-tech-further-space-exploration.html

Works Cited:

Hall, Shannon. “Venus Is Earth’s Evil Twin — and Space Agencies Can No Longer Resist Its Pull.” Nature, vol. 570, no. 7759, June 2019, pp. 20–25, https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01730-5. 

mars.nasa.gov. “Mars Exploration Rover Instrument Diagrams – NASA Mars Exploration.” NASA Mars Exploration, 2017, mars.nasa.gov/resources/mars-exploration-rover-instrument-diagrams/.

“Why We Explore.” NASA, 2013, www.nasa.gov/exploration/whyweexplore/why_we_explore_main.html#.YpoaLXbYrrc.

Garden Shears Reimagined

Hello and welcome to my first action project for my STEAM core class, Design & Engineering. In this class via virtual learning, we learned about what it means to have empathy in the topic of design. Empathy is to understand and share feelings with others. We got the opportunity to speak with Field Experience guests from Greater Good Studio about empathy and how they incorporate it into their designs and projects. We also spoke with some designers from Dyson and participated in a design activity based on reinventing a household product. In our class meetings via google meet, we dove deeper into the math and engineering that goes into the design process. We covered topics such as simple machines, classification of levers, trigonometry, and algebra. For this action project, we were instructed to create a new product based off of tools we looked at in Home Depot during another Field Experience. We started the process by interviewing people who participate in gardening about the tools they use and discussing how they felt about gardening and their tools. Next, we researched the tools we chose from Home Depot and discussed it with their employees. We did this in order to try to create a product that properly met the needs of an elderly person. My partner and I worked on creating a new product based on the concept and tool, garden shears. Our garden shear is a battery-powered tool. It comes with a charging stand and adapter for the charging stand. The hardest part of this project for me was deciding what tool I should redesign. I worked with my teacher and my partner on the project to create a schedule that worked for me. Check out my partner's project here. During this time of this global pandemic of Covid-19, I'd like to say thank you for taking the time out of your day to view my projects. I hope you enjoy this action project!

Citations: 

“Best Garden Clippers - Titanium & Teflon Coated Blades - Traditional Bypass Pruning Shears. Garden Scissors With Anti Slip Ergonomic Rotating Handle. Garden Tool Avoids Carpal Tunnel & Blisters. - Walmart.Com.” 2018, www.walmart.com/ip/Coated-Blades-Shears-Carpal-Slip-Blisters-Rotating-With-Ergonomic-Titanium-Pruning-Best-Anti-Tool-Teflon-Garden-Avoids-Handle-Tunnel-Bypass-Scissors-/941252306. Accessed 16 Oct. 2020.

‌

Bipolar Disorder I

Hi and welcome to my second action project for my STEAM class called Disease. In this class, we have been looking into different mental disorders. During this second unit, we read the book, The Reason I Jump by Naoki Higashida. The novel is about a young boy who has autism. Throughout the book, the author answers questions people have about autism and the way he deals with his autism. In class, we also learned how to create piecewise functions by graphing the different brain waves people produce. We mainly studied the DSM-V (Diagnostic and Statistic Manual of mental disorders fifth edition). The three mental disorders we researched closely are schizophrenia, OCD, and autism. With the DSM-V we looked at the overviews and diagnostic criteria of each disorder along with some related disorders.

For this action project, we had to choose a disorder to focus on and research. I chose to research bipolar disorder 1. I was assigned to lead a lesson for my class demonstrating how it feels to have bipolar disorder. I also had to record the brainwaves of our classmates during the whole session.


Bipolar Disorder I (Bipolar Disorder)
Bipolar Disorder is a mental disorder that causes unusual shifts in mood, energy, activity levels, concentration, and the ability to carry out day-to-day tasks. (NIMH) is also known as bipolar disease or manic depression. I define Bipolar Disorder as a mental disorder that mixes the emotions, energy, and activity levels negatively by increase or decrease.

According to the DSM-V., criteria for at least one manic episode (Criteria A-D under “Manic or Hypomanic Episode” above) has to be met in order to diagnose someone with Bipolar Disorder I.

I found an interview with Demi Lovato where she at down with “Extra’s” Renee Bargh and opened up about being one of the more than 12 million Americans living with bipolar disorder. She is outspoken about her struggles with drug addiction, bulimia, and mental illness.

Some takeaways from this interview were that people often throw the word “bipolar” around very often and in situations that don’t relate to bipolar disorder at all. Also, there’s a lot of negative stigmas when it comes to discussing mental illness in America. During the interview, Demi Lovato said, "The biggest misconception when it comes to bipolar disorder, in particular, is that you’re fine one minute then you’re not fine the next minute. In reality that’s not how that works."

Below you can find my slideshow further explaining the disorder, a lesson plan video, and template, piecewise function and graph, and poster. I hope you enjoy!

 



 

Works Cited

“Area of Brain Linked to Bipolar Disorder Pinpointed.” ScienceDaily, 2017, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170124144000.htm. Accessed 3 Mar. 2020.

“Bipolar Disorder | NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness” Holland, Kimberly. “Everything You Need to Know About Bipolar Disorder.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 18 Jan. 2018, www.healthline.com/health/bipolar-disorder. Accessed 12 Mar. 2020. ‌

“NIMH » Bipolar Disorder.” Nih.Gov, 12 Mar. 2020, www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/bipolar-disorder/index.shtml. Accessed 12 Mar. 2020. ‌

Prostate Cancer

Hello and welcome to my blog. This is my very first action project for my STEAM course, Disease. In this unit, Body, we studied different diseases that are very common in our world and country. In class, we thoroughly learned about the 11 body systems of the human body and what's in blood along with other topics. We went on a field experience to the Museum of Science and Industry where we ventured their YOU! exhibit. The exhibit helped us dive deeper into the human body while having an engaging experience. For this action project, we were instructed to interview a family member or friend that had been diagnosed with a disease. We had the choice of who and what disease we wanted to do. I chose to interview my grandfather who once had prostate cancer. I chose this because my grandfather has been negatively impacted by this cancer. While I learned more about the disease, I have become more aware of the seriousness and risks of it.

My grandfather's name is Willy. He is an African-American in his mid-late 60s who lives in Chicago, Illinois. Grandpa Willy began experiencing noticeable symptoms of prostate cancer when he was 62. He started to have pain in his lower back, pelvic area, and knees. He was very active years prior to cancer. He used to shoot hoops with my older brother and me while at the same time living with his asthma. Ever since he was diagnosed with cancer, he has noticeable fewer amounts of energy at times. This disease is included in SDG 3 because the goals focus on influencing healthier lifestyles and advocating for access to health resources such as medical evaluation and immunization in order to catch diseases before they possibly become lethal. Some prevention methods for prostate cancer are maintaining a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables, consuming foods that are rich in vitamins and minerals over vitamin supplements, and sustaining a healthy weight. These prevention methods aren’t applicable to areas that have food deserts and are experiencing malnutrition and food shortages.

I interviewed Willy and asked him 5 questions to get his perspective on the disease and its impact on him. My grandfather was 62 in October of 2015 when he was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He will be 67 years old this year (2020). This year will make his 5th year mark after being diagnosed with prostate cancer. Some of his initial questions were, “Is the disease serious meaning life-threatening, will I need surgery for prostate cancer? Grandpa Willy decided to seek treatment the same year he was diagnosed with it. A couple days after his 63rd birthday in late-October of 2015, he started treatment in November. He attended External Beam Radiation Treatment (EBRT) for one year. According to the American Cancer Society, “In (EBRT), beams of radiation are focused on the prostate gland from a machine outside the body. This type of radiation can be used to try to cure earlier stage cancers, or to help relieve symptoms such as bone pain if the cancer has spread to a specific area of bone.” They compare each treatment to getting an x-ray. The radiation becomes stronger in each procedure but is typically painless. Treatment only lasts a few minutes, but preparing for it takes a while. Prostate cancer occurs when malignant (cancer) cells form in the tissues of the prostate. The exact cause of prostate cancer is unknown. It is a multifactorial disease with genetic and environmental factors involved in its make up. It is a non-transmittable disease.

Willy from the interview; “I would usually go for radiation therapy treatment out of a 5 day per week limit. I received treatment in an outpatient center. I had to go for 30 days which was 6 weeks of radiation therapy.” At first, he was terrified after hearing the news, but after getting treatment and good news from the doctor, he was relieved of the burden. Willy was aware of the risk of the disease of killing him. It’s been a couple of years since he beat prostate cancer. It has negatively impacted him because he goes to the doctor once every 6 months to participate in a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test. (PSA) is a substance that's naturally produced by your prostate gland. It's normal for a small amount of PSA to be in your bloodstream. In the test, they examined his blood sample and he received his results in two weeks' notice. They look for a test reading between 1-4. It can vary within an increase or decrease in change of the reading which is relatively a red flag of cancer. If a higher than normal level is found, it may indicate prostate infection, inflammation, enlargement or cancer. His symptoms from this disease were the urine flow being stopped at times and having trouble releasing urine from the bladder, and the bladder not feeling emptied or feeling full. I feel that prostate cancer can be considered hereditary in our family because Willy’s grandfather died from it and his uncle currently has it. Prostate cancer is one of many diseases that appear in unpredictable patterns within older black men.

The body systems affected by this disease are the lymphatic, urinary, and skeletal body systems. The lymphatic body system is made up of a network of lymphatic vessels, organs, and tissues. Prostate cancer may metastasize (spread) and form tumors in nearby organs such as the bladder, or travel through your bloodstream or lymphatic system to your bones. Signs of metastatic prostate cancer can include swelling in legs or pelvic area, numbness or pain in the hips, legs or feet, and bone pain that doesn’t go away. The symptoms of prostate cancer often differ from patient to patient. The most common first sign of recurrent prostate cancer is a rise in the PSA level in the blood. Medical organizations recommend men to consider prostate cancer screening in their 50s, or sooner if they fit the risk factors for prostate cancer. Willy says men should get tested for it in their early 40s to be safe.

The risk factors of this disease are your age, family’s history of the disease, race, hormones, folic acid in the body and obesity. Older men, African American men, in particular, are more susceptible to prostate cancer. Women very rarely get this disease. It’s a widespread disease across the United States and common outside the country. Scientists don’t know why black men have it more than white men worldwide. According to the Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF), “African-American men are nearly 1.6 times more likely to develop prostate cancer than Caucasian men. They are also 2.4 times more likely than white men to die from the disease.”


Diagrams

N.L. Anatomy of Prostate Cancer. 2020.

N.L. Lymphatic System. 2020

Conclusion
I was interested in learning about this disease and the possibilities it holds for me since I am at risk by being an African-American male. I’m not scared but more aware of the importance of my health as I age. I was able to connect with my grandfather and enjoyed the interview with him. I have stored much of my research on this specific cancer in my memory for future references.


Works Cited

“Symptoms of Advanced Prostate Cancer | Cancer Research UK.” Cancerresearchuk.Org, 2019, www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/prostate-cancer/advanced-cancer/symptoms-advanced-cancer. Accessed 31 Jan. 2020.

“Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) Test.” National Cancer Institute, Cancer.gov, 4 Oct. 2017,
www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/psa-fact-sheet. Accessed 1 Feb. 2020.

“Prostate Cancer In African Men | Prostate Cancer For Black Men.” Spaceoar.Com, 2018, www.spaceoar.com/patients/prostate-cancer-resources-and-articles/prostate-cancer-in-african-american-men/. Accessed 5 Feb. 2020

‌“Prostate Cancer - Diagnosis and Treatment - Mayo Clinic.” Mayoclinic.Org,  , 2019, www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prostate-cancer/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20353093. Accessed 1 Feb. 2020.

“Prostate Cancer Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version.” National Cancer Institute, Cancer.gov, 12 June 2019, www.cancer.gov/types/prostate/patient/prostate-treatment-pdq. Accessed 31 Jan. 2020.

SDG 2: Zero Hunger

This action project is about SDG 2, Zero Hunger. In my Humanities Class, we've been talking about the difference between SDGs and MDGs. We have mainly been focusing on SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), and SDG 4 (Quality Education). We've had Adam Olson from Oxfam America come in and talk to us about the organization and their goals on helping other countries. He also talked about what his organization does in the US. A field experience I went on was to the Lincoln Park Community Shelter where I help cook "Homemade Chili" with my classmates. This action project talks about World Hunger.

World Conference Center (WCC). (2017) Global Festival of Ideas for Sustainable Development  https://www.flickr.com/photos/globalfestideas/33263432976 

Some might argue that access to food shouldn't be a human right because it's a human need. Human needs should become human rights when health and lives are at risk. Hunger is a worldwide problem. People should have the right to have access to food. Therefore nobody starves and or suffers. It shouldn't be a problem in a world full of resources and people. Many people die from hunger, and kids don't fully develop due to malnutrition. Almost all the hungry people live in lower-middle-income countries. There are 11 million people undernourished in developed countries. The human need for food should become a human right when lives are at risk from starvation and access to food becomes a problem. Hunger and malnutrition make the body weak and vulnerable to diseases and infections because the body doesn’t have the fuel to build muscle and fight off infections. This is deadly in children and many children die in hunger prone areas for this reason. Pregnant and malnourished mothers deliver underweight babies, who struggle for survival. Children often have stunted growth as a result of malnutrition. There are 815 million hungry people in the world—one in every nine people...according to (The United Nations). An estimated sixty percent of the worlds hungry are women or girls. Stunted growth, also known as stunting and nutritional stunting, is a reduced growth rate in human development. “It is a primary manifestation of malnutrition (or more precisely undernutrition) and recurrent infections”, such as diarrhea and helminthiasis, in early childhood and even before birth, due to malnutrition during fetal development brought on by a malnourished mother. The definition of stunting according to the is the impaired growth and development that children experience from poor nutrition, repeated infection and poor psychosocial stimulation. Children are defined as stunted if their height-for-age is more than two standard difference below the WHO Child Growth Standards median. Children under 5 affected by stunting (low height-for-age): 150.8 million (22.2%). Children under 5 affected by wasting (low weight-for-height): 50.5 million (7.5%).This data matters because it talks about how many children are affected with low height or weight for their age due to malnutrition and stunting.

We all need food to eat every day so our bodies stay nourished and in good health. Since hunger is a worldwide problem, "we" on this planet need to help come to a solution to this problem. In Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, food falls under physiological needs. A physiological need is something that is necessary for you in order to survive. Some benefits of having access to food and healthy food are that healthy food will provide optimal nutrition for infants that will benefit them throughout their lives, healthy eating can reduce the risk of chronic illness and disease, and having access to healthy food reduces food insecurity.

We as people can come together to help put an end to world hunger. Organizations like Oxfam America focus on poverty. Oxfam America hosts hunger banquets which open up peoples’ eyes to what other people around the world experience every day when they are hungry. Organizations and groups accept volunteers willing to help pack food to send to countries that suffer from hunger, malnutrition, and poverty. Another organization is called “Feed My Starving Children.” This organization allows people to come in and volunteer packing “Manna Packs.” MannaPack Rice: Consists of vitamin-packed flavoring, dried vegetables, soy protein, and rice.

In conclusion, I believe that access to food should be a human right because we need access to food in order to survive and live healthy lives. There is straight up proof that kids without food and who are malnourished don’t grow as much as kids with access to food. Food for all is the goal but we are still working towards this goal. I learned a lot from this action project. I’m grateful to be living in a place where I have to worry about whether or not I will be able to have food for the next day. That concludes this action project.

Works Cited

“Impact of Hunger.” Hunger in America, Feeding America,
www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/impact-of-hunger/.

“Zero Hunger.” Zero Hunger, World Food Programme, www1.wfp.org/zero-hunger.

“History of Feed My Starving Children.” Feed My Starving Children, FMSC,
www.fmsc.org/about-us/history-of-feed-my-starving-children.

“Stunting in a Nutshell.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 19 Nov. 2015,
www.who.int/nutrition/healthygrowthproj_stunted_videos/en/.

H20 and Us

This is my first action project for my first STEAM course on the unit “Water.” During this class, we have been working on converting measurements for liquids. We converted gallons into liters, liters into pints, and pints into cups, and we also converted gallons and liters into pounds. We went on a Field Experience to the Chicago River were we collected as much water as we could carry back to the school. We measured how much water each person had. We talked about our daily water usage and the categories that revolved around using water. I made a poster that shows my daily water usage, the US's water consumption per day compared to other countries, and I also included ways to reduce the amount of water we use.

I predicted that my daily water use would be around 55 gallons. After doing research and calculating the number of gallons I use, my daily water usage was 200 gallons. I use 120 gallons of water (60% of 200 gallons) for cleaning. I use 60 gallons (30% of 200 gallons) of water for hygiene. I use 15 gallons of water (7.5% of 200 gallons) for cooking. I use 5 gallons of water (2.5% of 200 gallons) for drinking. The average person in the United States uses 151 gallons per day which is 575 liters and 1,267 lbs. The average person in Japan uses 99 gallons of water per day which is 375 liters and 826 lbs. The average person in Mozambique uses 1.3 gallons of water per day which is 5 liters and 11 lbs. The average person in the US uses 51 more gallons than the average person in Japan. The average person in the US uses 150 more gallons than the average person in Mozambique. I think it’s crazy how much water we waste without even realizing it. On our Field Experience, it took me 18 minutes to carry the water I had. I carried about 5 gallons. I can’t imagine if I had to carry heavy amounts of water like 20 gallons every day. If I didn’t have a clean water source, I would have to walk 30 minutes to Montrose Beach (from my house). I would also have to carry about 10 gallons of water and make 20 trips back and forth in order to have 200 gallons of water for my daily use. Each trip would be 60 minutes. That would take me 1,200 minutes (20 hours). I calculated the time it would take me to carry my daily water usage from a nearby water source to my home by, multiplying the number of minutes each trip was by the number of trips I would have to take.

NL. (2018)  Help Save Water 

NL. (2018)  Help Save Water 

NL. (2018)  Help Save Water 

NL. (2018)  Help Save Water 

This action project has made me aware of how resources around the world are used and how we shouldn’t waste our resources. That concludes this action project. Remember that a little bit of water goes a long way.

Works Cited

“Human Development Reports.” Human Development Data (1990-2015) | Human Development Reports, English Home 

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME, 2006, hdr.undp.org/en/content/human-development-report-2006.