A Civic Biology Part 45

DIETETICS. Diet influenced by age, weight, occupation, temperature or climate, cheapness of food, digestibility.

NUTRIENTS. List of nutrients found in seeds and fruits, also other common foods. Need of nutrients for human body. Nitrogenous foods, examples. A mixed diet best.

DIGESTION AND INDIGESTION. What is digestion? Where does it take place?

_Causes of indigestion._ Eating too rapidly and not chewing food. Eating foods hard to digest. Overeating. Eating between meals. Hard exercise immediately before or after eating.

CONSTIPATION. A condition in which the bowels do not move at least once every day. Dangers of constipation. Poisonous materials may be absorbed, causing lack of inclination to work, headache. Importance of regular habits of emptying the bowels. Each one must try to get at the cause of constipation in his own case. _Causes of constipation._ Lack of exercise, improper food, not drinking enough water, lack of laxative food, as fruits; lack of sleep, lack of regular habits. _Remedies._ Avoid use of drugs. Half hour before breakfast a gla.s.s of hot water, exercise of abdominal muscles, laxative foods, form habit of moving bowels after breakfast.

HYGIENE OF CIRCULATION AND ABSORPTION. How digested foods get to the cells.

Absorption. Definition. The pa.s.sing of the digested food into the blood.

How accomplished. Blood vessels. In walls of stomach and food tube.

Membrane of cells separating food from blood. Food pa.s.ses by osmosis through the membrane and by osmosis through the thin walls of the blood vessels.

CIRCULATION OF FOODS. Blood contains foods, oxygen, and waste materials.

Heart pumps the blood, blood vessels subdivide until very small and thin, so food, etc., pa.s.ses from them to cells. Hygiene of the heart.

TRANSPIRATION AND EXCRETION. Skin, function in excretion. Bathing. Care of skin. Hot baths. Bathe at least twice a week. Cold baths, how taken.

Bathtub not a necessity. Effect of latter on educating skin to react.

Relation to catching cold.

CARE OF SCALP AND NAILS. Scalp should be washed weekly. If dandruff present, wash often enough to keep clean. Baldness often results from dandruff. Finger nails cut even with end of fingers and cleaned daily with scrub brush.

HYGIENE OF RESPIRATION. Definition of respiration. Object of respiration.

(Connection between circulation and respiration.) Necessity of oxygen.

Organs of respiration. Lungs most important. Deep breath, function.

Ventilation, reasons for. Mouth breathing. Results. Lessened mental power, nasal catarrh, colds easily caught.

PLANTS HARMFUL TO MAN. Poison ivy and mushrooms. Treatment. Poisoning. Send for physician. Cause vomiting by (1) finger, (2) mustard and water. (NOTE.

An unconscious person should not be given anything by the mouth unless he can swallow.) Relation of yeasts and bacteria to man. Fermentation a cause of indigestion. Relation to candy, sirups, sour stomach, formation of gas causes pain.

BACTERIA OF MOUTH AND ALIMENTARY Ca.n.a.l. Entrance of bacteria by mouth and nose. Nose: "cold in the head," grippe, catarrh. Mouth: decay of teeth, tonsillitis, diphtheria. Germs pa.s.s from one person to another, no one originates germs in himself. Precautions against receiving and transferring germs. Common drinking cups, towels, coins, lead pencils, moistening fingers to turn pages in book or to count roll of bills. Tuberculosis germs. Entrance by mouth, lungs favorite place, may be any part of body.

Dust of air, sweeping streets, watering a necessity. Spitting in streets and in public buildings. Germs of typhoid fever. Entrance: water, milk, fresh uncooked vegetables, oysters. Thrive in small intestines.

Preventable. Typhoid epidemics, methods of prevention of typhoid.

Conditions favorable for growth of specific disease germs. Work of Boards of Health.

Home sanitary conditions, sunlight, air, curtains and blinds, open windows.

Live out of doors as much as possible. Cleanliness. Bare walls well scrubbed better than carpets and rugs. Lace curtains, iron bedsteads, one thickness of paper on walls. Open plumbing, dry cellars, all garbage promptly removed.

This outline is largely the work of Dr. L. J. Mason and Dr. C. H. Morse of the department of biology of the De Witt Clinton High School.

WEIGHTS, MEASURES, AND TEMPERATURES

As the metric system of weights and measures and the Centigrade measurement of temperatures are employed in scientific work, the following tables showing the English equivalents of those in most frequent use are given for the convenience of those not already familiar with these standards. The values given are approximate only, but will answer for all practical purposes.

WEIGHT =================================== Kilogram | kg. | 2-1/5 pounds ----------+-----+------------------ | | 15-1/2 grains | | avoirdupois.

| | 1/28 of an ounce Gram | gm. | avoirdupois.

CAPACITY ----------------------------------- | | 61 cubic inches, | | or a little more | | than 1 quart, Liter | l. | U. S. measure.

----------+-----+------------------ Cubic | | cc. 1/16 of a centimeter| | cubic inch.

MEASURES OF LENGTH ================================== METRIC |ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS ----------+---+------------------- Kilometer |km.| 2/3 of a mile.

| | ----------+---+------------------- Meter | m.| 39 inches.

| | ----------+---+------------------- Decimeter |dm.| 4 inches.

| | ----------+---+------------------- Centimeter|cm.| 2/5 of an inch.

| | ----------+---+------------------- Millimeter|mm.| 1/25 of an inch.

The next table gives the Fahrenheit equivalent for every tenth degree Centigrade from absolute zero to the boiling point of water. To find the corresponding F. for any degree C., multiply the given C. temperature by nine, divide by five, and add thirty-two. Conversely, to change F. to C.

equivalent, subtract thirty-two, multiply by five, and divide by nine.

CENT. FAHR.

------------- 100 212 90 194 80 176 70 158 60 140 50 122 40 104 30 86 20 68 10 50 0 32 -10 14 -20 -4 -30 -22 -40 -40 -50 -58 -100 -148 ------------- Absolute zero -273 -459

LABORATORY EQUIPMENT

The following articles comprise a simple equipment for a laboratory cla.s.s of ten. The equipment for larger cla.s.ses is proportionately less in price.

The following articles may be obtained from any reliable dealer in laboratory supplies, such as the Bausch and Lomb Optical Company of Rochester, N.Y., or the Kny-Scheerer Company, 404, 410 West 27th Street, New York City:--

1 balance, Harvard trip style, with weights on carrier.

1 bell jar, about 365 mm. high by 165 mm. in diameter.

10 wide mouth (salt mouth) bottles, with corks to fit.

10 25 c.c. dropping bottles for iodine, etc.

25 250 c.c. gla.s.s-stoppered bottles for stock solutions.

100 test tubes, a.s.sorted sizes, princ.i.p.ally 6" 3/4".

50 test tubes on base (excellent for demonstrations).

2 graduated cylinders, one to 100 c.c., one to 500 c.c.

1 package filter paper 300 mm. in diameter.

10 flasks, Erlenmeyer form, 500 c.c. capacity.

2 gla.s.s funnels, one 50, one 150 mm. in diameter.

30 Petri dishes, 100 mm. in diameter, 10 mm. in depth.

10 feet gla.s.s tubing, soft, sizes 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, a.s.sorted.

1 aquarium jar, 10 liters capacity.

2 specimen jars, gla.s.s tops, of about 1 liter capacity.

10 hand magnifiers, vulcanite or tripod form.

2 compound demonstration microscopes or 1 more expensive compound microscope.

300 insect pins, Klaeger, 3 sizes a.s.sorted.

10 feet rubber tubing to fit gla.s.s tubing, size 3/8 inch.

1 chemical thermometer graduated to 100 C.

15 agate ware or tin trays about 350 mm. long by 100 wide.

1 gal. 95 per cent alcohol. (Do not use denatured alcohol.) 1 set gram weights, 1 mg. to 100 g.

1 razor, for cutting sections.