Reference no: EM132434780
Assignment -
A. Short-Essay Question
The essay should be 300-500 words long.
1. Identify one body system, and describe an infection of this system according to the following criteria:
a. site of infection
b. etiology
c. virulence factors
d. pathology
e. outcome of disease
f. treatment
g. prevention
B. Short-Answer Questions
1. Define meningitis. What three bacteria cause meningitis?
2. Compare the etiologies of bacterial pneumonia, viral pneumonia, and influenza.
3. Travellers to other countries may aquire an infectious disease of the gastrointestinal tract. Some illnesses are self-limiting, while others are more severe and require medical intervention. Contrast two diseases of the digestive tract, Traveller's diarrhea and cholera, in terms of causative agent, method of transmission, symptoms, and treatment.
4. Name one protozoal disease of the reproductive system, and indicate the causative agent.
5. Define bioremediation and bioaugmentation, and give an example of the use of bacteria to remove pollutants.
6. Describe one method of food preservation. What food is preserved by this method? Name at least one contaminating organism that this method is used to prevent.
7. What is a toxoid? How are toxoids used as vaccines? Give an example of a toxoid vaccine.
8. What is the minimal inhibitory concentration of an antibiotic, and how does this relate to treatment of disease?
9. What are restriction enzymes, and why are they used in recombinant DNA technology?
C. Research Questions
These research questions are based on articles in the Scientific American special supplements.
1. Article: Taubenberger, J. K., Reid, A. H., & Fanning, T. G. (2005). Capturing a killer flu virus. Scientific American 292(1), 62-71.
a. What unusual symptoms did patients infected with the 1918 virus display that made it appear that this influenza was a new illness? How many people died of this particular strain of the flu?
b. Describe the genetic structure of influenza A.
c. How are influenza A strains classified? What is the classification of the 1918 strain?
d. How were scientists able to characterize the 1918 virus even though no samples of the living virus were available?
e. This article was published in 2005. Based on the classification of the 1918 strain and the predictions these authors make, what connections can be made to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic?
2. Article: Costerton, J. W., & Stewart, P. S. (2001; updated 2006). Battling biofilms. Scientific American 285(1), 74-81.
a. What is a biofilm?
b. State the industrial and medical implications of biofilms.
c. Why are biofilms so resistant to antibiotics?
d. Studies have shown that bacteria must turn on certain genes to begin to form a biofilm. How is this achieved?
e. What strategies could be used to prevent biofilm formation?
3. Article: Levy, S. B. (1998; updated 2007). The challenge of antibiotic resistance. Scientific American 278(3), 46-53.
a. List three bacterial species that are capable of causing life-threatening infections that have strains resistant to all available antibiotics.
b. What are the routes by which bacteria can become antibiotic resistant?
c. How does antibiotic use promote the evolution of resistant bacteria?
d. How does non-compliance of a patient promote the development of resistance?
e. How can antibiotic resistance be reduced?
4. Article: Mallin, M. A. (2006). Wading in waste. Scientific American 294(6), 52 59.
a. What has contributed to the pollution of coastal regions?
b. What types of organisms are of concern in these polluted regions?
c. What are the implications of this contamination?
d. Discuss the relationship between impervious surfaces and microbial pollution in a particular area.
e. How can coastal communities fight microbial pollution?
Attachment:- Assignment File.rar