Posted by I am using music to represent the digestive system and immune system in the context of Helicobacter pylori. The objectives at play are knowing the tissues of the stomach and describing the innate immune response (or lack thereof). To start, I’m using notes in the key of B minor (B for bacteria). To translate the process of getting a peptic ulcer into music, each letter of the alphabet is assigned a note from the B minor scale. Important letters from the process are bolded below and those letters are played as notes in the order they are written. My goal is to play specific notes in a specific order to musically show the bacterial infection. Everything else about the music is up to my discretion. – Ana Li Hansen
H. pylori = B B A E A C# C#
Oral = A
Stomach = D
LPS attachment = E B D
Epithelial layer = F#
Urease = F#
Ammonia = B
Neutralizes HCl = G B D E
Survive = D
Virulence factors = G G
CagA = D B A B
Breaks junctions and cell structures = C#
IL-8 stimulus = C# E
Chemotaxis = D
Neutrophils = G
No Opsonization = G A
VacA = G B D B
Apoptosis = B
Cytokine release and high pH stimulate gastrin release by G cells = D B B A A
Stimulate HCl release from Parietal cells = D B D E B
More HCl and Less epithelial cells = F# E
Peptic ulcer = B F# B E C# D F# E D F# C#
Review of Ana-Li Hanson’s STEAM project
I have to admit that I know nothing about music, except how to turn on my own radio or select a song in I-Tunes. So, I thought that this was rather a unique way to express the method of how the bacteria Helicobacter pylori works in the digestive tract, and Ms. Hanson’s focus on its symptom of ulcers. The way she broke down the different steps into musical notes is remarkably interesting. I am not sure that I totally understand what the music is trying to say though. I did ask for the write-up and that makes a lot of sense and does help me in the understanding of the notes. Ms. Hanson even provided me a spreadsheet to assist in my understanding.
What I learned is that the bacteria survive and even thrive in the stomach due to the stomach acid that kill the body’s defenses, primarily the neutrophils. The immune system response seems to cause the stomach to continue to form more acid which, in turn, eats the walls of the stomach forming the ulcers.
The cure from this bacterial infection is to use antibiotics to stop the bacteria from functioning. That combined with the proton pump inhibitor to reduce the HCl in the stomach to allow the body to heal the ulcers will stop these symptoms and cure the problem.
So, in other words, great job on this project.