Thursday 11 August 2022

What does Hypertension Mean? - Part 1 – Cardiovascular 3

Literally the term of hypertension is high blood pressure. Hypertension happens when the force of the blood from the heart through arteries is too strong.



Image 1- High blood pressure worldwide
(Credit to Center for Diseases Control (CDC))

The heart is pumping the blood hardly.

Whenever the heart beats, the blood is pumped from the heart through arteries to the entire of the body.

The rhythm of heartbeat or pump is not always the same. The rhythm is depending on our activities.

What is it mean?



Image 2- Community library, illustration



 Image 3- Books in community library

It is mean that the rhythm is increasing or beating a little faster when someone:

- wake up
- exercise or under stress

This condition is normal but when blood pressure insist to stay high most the time, it might lead to the hypertension.

So, the hypertension is the chronic elevation of pumping blood in arterial blood pressure.

# To be continued to Part 2

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Tuesday 9 August 2022

Does Red Bell Pepper Contain more Vitamin C than Orange? - Part 1 – Food 21

Few people consume red bell pepper sometimes, but many people love to eat often with their own reasons.



Image 1- Red bell pepper

I am including in the group who eat bell peppers almost with every meals. A kind of appetizer for me.

Actually, we familiar with this vegetable. I always see red bell pepper or any peppers whenever I went to Walmart, groceries or our neighborhood farmer markets.

The price is quite reasonable, depend on the places you go whether groceries or farmer markets.

The cost is generally about US$ 1 each or even much less.



Image 2- Bell peppers in the farmer market



Image 3- Navel orange, sold in Walmart

They are fresh and attractive.

However, if there is a comparative question: Which one has vitamin C more - Red Bell Peppers or Oranges?

You might answer suddenly: an orange!

Is it right?

No

Off course not!

Why?

# To be continued to Part 2

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Monday 8 August 2022

Newborn Sea Turtles are almost All Females – Science 16

I believe that we all know about global warming, and I just post about higher temperature in many cities across America:

- Higher Temperature due to Heat Island Effect – Science 15 



Image 1- A box turtle at our yard.

Increasing of temperatures has caused responds either positively or negatively by natures (animals).

Just for one example that in fact, eggs of sea turtles have hatching almost all female of new babies in many places in recent years.

Normally, ratio between female and male turtle babies was about 60% to 40% or 65% to 35%.



Image 2- Toy turtle, illustration

99% of females for newborn turtle has been found in the beaches include in the areas of:

- in Australian beaches
- in Florida, USA beach



Image 3- Turtle box came to backyard

As you might know that turtle gender is determined by temperature after fertilization. Few other animals are (examples only):

- alligators and crocodiles.
- some species of lizards

Then, temperature during eggs incubation in the beaches (sand) will decide turtle baby's sex:

- lower than 27.7 Celsius (81.9 F) degree will result in almost males
- higher than 31 Celsius (88.8 F) degree will hatch almost female

Now, you may guess why newborn turtles are tending to almost all females.

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Saturday 6 August 2022

Do You Like Boba Bubble in Your Drink? - Part 2 – Food 20

You may read the previous post (Part 1):

-  Do You Like Boba Bubble in Your Drink? - Part 1 – Food 20



Image 1- Natural white tapioca pearls.

Yuca or cassava is well-known as food in the regions which includes:

- the South America,
- Asia
- and Africa.

Cassava roots can be cooked into varieties of delicious dishes. Even though the root produces natural cyanide, the right processing such as by peeling the skin, cutting, and soaking them in water are able to get rid of the toxic.

The starch can be made pudding and balls. The tapioca balls or boba come with natural white color or any variety colors. 



Image 2- Succulent, just for illustration



Image 3- Boba dessert, white pearls with some chopped fruits in coconut milk.

One medium size cup of any beverage is about 5 to 6 bucks and extra cost 50 cents to 1 buck for adding boba.

The price is too expensive for me if I have to buy almost everyday for summer. So I made my own boba dessert.

I had boba in my cold beverages and cold desserts as long as this time of hot summer season.

Since tapioca is an energy-dense food, one cup starch contain over than 500 calories, no wonder, I gain weight in last three months.

Do you know this kind of food?

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Friday 5 August 2022

Giveaway and Discount in Time of High Inflation

We just talk about “abnormal” higher price compared to inflation rate (please read at previous posting):

- The Rainbow Before Evening : Is Rising Price due to Greedflation?



Image 1- Monthly giveaway at one store.

Last weekend, we went to our city mall, we thought the price will higher like food prices, surprisingly, no, not at all for certain products and brands.

We are happy to find the true facts that:

- there are plenty of discount where many stores provide almost 33% discount rate.
- other interesting deals include buy 3 get 3 free
- thousand dollars of giveaway by several stores.
- and free service such as piercing



Image 2- Accessories at a store



Image 3- Service for free piercing



Image 4- Icing, a store

You might wonder that the “good deal” just for certain items?

Are they for all items?

It is true for beauty relate products such as:

- cosmetic
- shampoo and soap
- cream
- lotion
- accessories and etc

Do you find similar discount or discount rate in your city or place?

# Previous postings:

Thursday 4 August 2022

Higher Temperature due to Heat Island Effect – Science 15

If you live in the city or urban areas in Europe or America, I believe that you experience heat wave, at least you face “higher temperatures” during this summer season.



Image 1- Higher temperature in the city
(credit to World Meteorological Organization).

It is called as “Heat Island Effect” where higher temperature occur in the bigger cities.

Infrastructures in the cities absorb heat during daylight then they release its throughout the night. Temperatures have increased both at day and at night.

The city infrastructures may include:

- buildings (offices, malls, supermarkets and urban residential)
- roads
- bridges



Image 2- Road and building in the city



Image 3- Crowded in the city

Heat island effect could cause temperature increase by about:

- in daytime is 2 to 5 F (1.1 to 2.8 C) degree
- in nighttime is 1 to 7 F (0.6 to 3.9 C) degree

There are 159 cities are affected by Heat island effect across USA, few of them are:

- San Francisco, California
- New Orleans, California
- Newark, New Jersey and New York City, New York

How about with your city? Do you feel heat in this summer?

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Tuesday 2 August 2022

Why does Gum Disease cause Alzheimer's?- Part 1 - Alzheimer's 8

Tau or neurofibrillary tangles protein is one of landmarks of the Alzheimer's disease. It is abnormal accumulation of protein in the brain cells.



Image 1- Porphyromonas gingivalis, bacteria cause the gum disease.

The abnormal conditions of Tau could spread from one neuron to another neuron.

Their patterns are exactly the same with the spreading of infections in many diseases as we know.

The researchers, Stephen Dominy and his colleagues, reported in ScienceAdvances (2019) that toxic enzymes from the bacteria Porphyromonas gingivalis were found in Alzheimer’s brain patients.



Image 2- A mask, just for illustration



Image 3- Flowers in the garden, illustration

Moreover, the percentage quite higher that about 99 and 96 percent of 54 human Alzheimer’s brain samples correlated with tau and ubiquitin pathology.

Porphyromonas gingivalis is Gram-negative anaerobic bacterium that produces virulence factor that we called gingipains, which is a protein-degrading enzyme.

This bacterium is well known for inflammatory diseases to cause destruction of tissues on tooth, and then make us loss our teeth.

The question then what is relationship bet ween teeth bacteria and Alzheimer’s diseases?

# To be continued to Part 2

# Previous postings:

Raising Cows on Local Farms - Nature 143

Some people have health issues, even diagnosed near to death due to consumption of processed foods.    Image - A local cow  Other people avo...