Essays on Microorganisms

Introduction

Most of the microorganisms naturally present in the human body are harmless commensals. However, there also exists other disease causing microorganisms known as pathogens and the mechanism by which they cause disease is known as pathogenesis. These pathogens persist or multiply within the host causing infection. Some pathogens like Pseudomonas aeruginosa are considered as opportunistic pathogens that cause disease only in patients with compromised immunity and only under certain conditions. The infectious diseases may be treated with antibiotic drugs. However, it is important to know the different types of pathogens and the virulence factors by which they cause disease ...

Microbiology is the study of microorganisms. Microorganisms are those organisms that are less than a millimeter in size and require the help of a microscope to view them. Microorganisms can be unicellular or multicellular but have very simple cell structure, unlike the highly developed, complex organisms such as larger animals and humans. Microorganisms are classified based on criteria such as their cell structure, pattern of growth, nutrition, reproduction method, etc. However, microbial classification is a challenging task due to the dual nature of some microorganisms that exhibit both animal and plant like characteristics. Some microorganisms are photosynthetic like plants ...

Lab report #

Introduction
In recent times, synthetic antibiotics have caused resistance in microorganisms and also, have shown unwanted side-effects. This has demanded for alternate therapies to combat infections. Scientists have developed interest in plant extracts, especially the ones that are traditionally used as spices, for new antimicrobial agents. Spices are traditionally used to give a distinctive flavor to the food but, they also contain potential antimicrobials which are also documented in literature. Even Louis Pasteur demonstrated the antibacterial effect of garlic and onion extracts. Salsa contains three main ingredients which have potential antimicrobial compounds. First, Lemon (Citrus Limon) is reported to ...

Dissolved Oxygen

INTRODUCTION
Dissolved oxygen is a useful parameter used to determine the level of effluent in waste water treatment. Living organisms in water bodies require oxygen to break down organic matter. These organisms consume the dissolved oxygen in water and give out carbon dioxide. Oxygen does not readily dissolve in water and gets depleted quickly by increased micro-organism activity. To maintain optimal oxygen levels in a water body, the oxygen replenishing rate from the air should be equal to dissolved oxygen use by micro-organism in the water. A curve drawn to represent dissolved oxygen levels down a stream from a ...

Asepsis

Microorganisms are the tiny microscopic structures that cannot be seen with naked eyes. They are present on all the living things and also in the environment. Some of these microorganisms are non pathogenic that is they do not cause any disease. However, many of the microorganisms are pathogenic in nature. The pathogenic microorganisms can cause disease or infections. Absence of these pathogenic microorganisms is known as asepsis.

Importance of asepsis

Asepsis is usually carried out in the laboratory mostly while dealing with microorganisms. The techniques used to carry out asepsis are known as aseptic techniques. If aseptic conditions are not maintained in ...

NITROGEN AND COPPER DOPED SOLAR LIGHT ACTIVE TIO2 PHOTOCATALYSTS FOR WATER DECONTAMINATION

Abstract:
A new category of photocatalytic coating that can degrade chemical as well as bacterial contaminants under visible sunlight wavelengths was generated by the deposition of a stable photocatalytic TiO2 film over the internal lumen of glass bottles by means of a sol–gel technique. Such a coating was produced either in doped or undoped form. This coating used copper and/ or nitrogen for producing visible light-active TiO2 films that were normalized or annealed at 600 ◦C and were characterized by Raman and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The degradation of methylene blue was seen to accelerate with doped and undoped ...

THE MICROSCOPE

The fundamental objectives of this report are to learn how to:
- handle and care about the microscope
- Identify various parts of the microscope such as the eye piece, arm, coarse adjustment knob, fine adjustment knob, base, nose piece, objective lenses, stage condenser, and Iris diagram.
- Define various terminologies used while using the microscope such as the total magnification, resolving power, working distance, parfocal and real and virtual images.
- And finally to observe stained slides of bacteria or the fungi.

RESULTS

Concerning how to care about the microscope, the following should be taken into consideration: while using ...

Assignment topic: Infection control

Email:
Length: 1987 words excluding references and coverage
Primary Research Chosen for Infection Control analysis:
Amy M. Treakle, MD, Kerri A. Thom, MD, Jon P. Furuno, PhD, Sandra M. Strauss, BS M(ASCP), Anthony D. Harris, MD, MPH, and Eli N. Perencevich, M. (2010). Bacterial contaminations of health care workers' white coats. Am J Infect Control 37(2): 101–105.

1.1 SUMMARY
The issue that white coats worn by the medical staff being contaminated with hospital acquired infections ...

14th April, 2011.

Objectives/Aims

1) The aim of the experiment was to scrutinize food samples for the presence of microorganisms using the Australian Standard (AS) techniques to establish quality and safety of food produce for consumption.
2) The experiment is also aimed at comparing standard and new techniques of food sampling. This will assist in establishing the most efficient, convenient, cheap, reliable, sensitive and easy to use technique in analyzing food samples for the presence of microbial organisms.

Introduction

Microbial organisms in food can either be useful or poisonous if consumed. For years now, ...

The History and Modernization of Poultry Inspection Systems in the United States and the Food Safety Hazards that are Being Diminished because of Those Systems

Abstract

The accessibility, health benefits and low cost have kept the demand for poultry consumption up and poultry slaughter production plants moving forward; however, up until recent years there has been a lack of quality inspection standards leading to an increased amount of food safety issues. The pathogens that contaminate raw poultry products for human consumption are an issue in the United States. There have been new advances in technology which has led to an ...

Facilitator:

In the last five years, the best practices in hand hygiene has proved to be a reliable mean of reducing unnecessary infection in modern dynamic society. Global healthcare professionals have ranked hand hygiene as one of the basic initiative that has significantly improved health condition in the world. Evaluation of various hand washing practices have affirmed that these strategies are effective in reducing the spread of infectious diseases by lowering microorganisms load (Jefferson, Foxlee, & Del Mar, 2007). Hands contact is a common vehicle through which transmission of microorganisms happens from patient to resident, form resident to the client and ...

Background and significance of the problem

Salmonella species are a group of Gram-negative enterobacteria associated with human and animal infections. There are two types of Salmonella strains viz. Typhoid Salmonella and non-typhoid Salmonella (NTS). The former causes enteric fever that leads to significant morbidity and mortality, especially in the developing countries. The epidemiology of Salmonella infections vary considerably depending on the species involved. The enteric fever caused by S. typhi and S. paratyphi is severe and life threatening condition whereas NTS infections are self-limiting. Humans serve as the reservoirs for typhoid Salmonella that transmits predominantly through water. On the contrary, NTS strains harbor animals as ...

Pediatric Case Study

Part I. Cultural and Family Assessment

Culture and family are oftentimes neglected during patient assessment, especially when the person is viewed only in terms of disease, causes and treatment. However, providing holistic care that encompasses all aspects of the patient’s life has the potential to improve patient outcomes. In nursing theory, Callista Roy and Madeleine Leininger refer to culture as a belief system, a worldview through which the patient perceives health, care, nursing and the world in general (George, 2011). It is transmitted from one generation to the next through interaction in social institutions such as the family, ...

Hygiene and Infection in Hospitals

Hygiene refers to the practices that communities perceive to uphold as preserving healthy living, while an infection is an attack of parasites on a host organism, (Pittet, 2007). Outstanding hygiene practices are paramount in our lives in order to prevent infection and ultimately diseases. Hospitals being public places where both sick and healthy people mingle ought to be hygienically maintained in order to prevent infections (Bloomfield, Aiello, Cookson, O’Boyle, Larson, 2007). The sources of infections in hospitals include hospital staff, patients and the inanimate environment.

It is crucial to maintain hygiene in hospitals to prevent and control infection  ...

Land and sea polluted with petroleum-based synthetic and natural substances have led to the development of techniques using biological organisms for clean-up. The technique is called bioremediation. “Bio” refers to biology and “remediation” to clean-up. The types of microorganisms used are bacteria fungi and actinomycetes. Bacteria can be used for bioremediation under anaerobic or aerobic conditions. Actinomycetes are generally anaerobic and grow from spores forming filaments and branches. The applications and environment for optimum bioremediation varies depending on the pollutant and the biological organisms. Different combinations work better depending on the temperature, substrata and other environmental variables. The goal ...

Introduction

Food and beverages that sustain humankind are the driving force of human life. All human activities are directed towards getting food to eat and beverages to drink so as to live a healthy and happy life. As human civilization grows and develops, the need for more food and beverages increases and at the same time, the need to know about the quality and content enhances. The need for more food and beverages increases with the constantly growing human population. Hence, the food security is a great concern. Also, the increased awareness about health and happiness, the food security assumes ...

Introduction

A scientific study was conducted to evaluate the effects of crude oil on different nitrifying prokaryotes. The researchers utilized ammonia-oxidizing bacteria and archaea to develop a bioassay. The study evaluated the ecological responses of these two groups of microorganisms on marine oil spills. Researchers found inhibition of nitrite production in all tested ammonia-oxidizing micro-organisms. The paper highlights the impact of crude oil spills on the environment. The paper also demonstrates the effects of phytoremediation to treat the oil spills. Many scientific studies had been conducted to evaluate the effects of phytoremediation (Using Nitrosopumilus maritimus and Nitrosococcus oceani) for crude ...

Of principal concern is the prevention and control of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) by medical practitioners in intensive care units (ICUs). VAP is one of the most frequently reported infections acquired by patients under mechanical ventilation healthcare. Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) persists to be a frequent and potentially deadly complication of ventilator care (Chulay, 2005), often occurring within environments characteristic of the intensive care unit (ICU) that are high-tech and high touch. Patients who are ventilated and intubated present the unique challenge for critical care registered nurses (RNs) to incorporate evidence-informed practices concerning the delivery of high-quality care (Crunden, 2005).
Ventilator-Associated ...

Ventilator-associated pneumonia

Ventilator-Associated Pneumonia
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), defined as pneumonia that was absent or not developing at intubation, is the second most common hospital acquired infection (Bahrt, 2009, p. 49). It is the most prevalent hospital acquired infection amongst mechanically ventilated patients in critical care units with an estimated 10-20% incidence rate in some hospitals. It affects approximately 28% of patients requiring mechanical ventilation for >48 hours (Button, Culmer, Southard, & Donaldosn, 2005). Patients on mechanical ventilation for >24 hours are 6 to 21 times more likely to acquire VAP than patients not on ventilator support. VAP is the most ...

Introduction

In our time, we are used to satisfy our nutritional requirements by simply buying raw or cooked food products at grocery stores or restaurants. Nowadays we can access pretty much any type of food product even if is coming from remote locations at affordable prices. However, there is an extra price to pay: unprecedented amounts of liquid and solid residues continuously accumulate in our soil, air, and water resources as a result of activities associated with food production and consumption. At the consumption end of the food chain, farm products are processed and packaged, distributed and finally eaten. Each ...

Introduction and Background

In assessing the impact of microbes in the New South Wales (NSW) health system, it was discovered after laboratory testing evaluating Part A and B categories different types of colonies were discovered, for laboratory 1 evaluations. In laboratory 11specimens used in this experiment were blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid; sputum, swabs from and

Mucous membranes.

Bacteria colony morphology:-. E Coli. This bacterium appeared to be creamy, shinny and rose to a level of 2-3 mm. M Luteus. This one was yellow shinny circular and rose to 1-2 mm. ...

The Role of Diet in Human Health

The human immune system is highly developed and complex to ensure that it fights with a wide range of microorganisms, viruses, bacteria, particles and other foreign objects that may affect the body in any way. The system is made up of various components within the body, and all are in some relation with each other to ensure that there is an effective immunity against any foreign body capable of causing some pathological conditions in the body. The major components of the human immune system include a group of immune cells ...

There exists about 300,000 plant species on earth, and every individual plant hosts one or more endophytes. However, it is just a few of these plants that have been researched relative to their endophytic biology. Hence, the chance for isolation of new, as well as, interesting endophytic bacteria in plants are important. Endophytic bacteria can be referred to as bacteria that can be isolated from tissues of a surface-disinfected plant or bacteria extracted from inside of a plant, which cause no visible negative effects to the plant. Almost every plant is populated by varied bacteria referred to as ...

Introduction

Bacterial meningitis is an infection that affects the meninges, the cerebrospinal fluid and the spinal cord that causes death and disability in a number of people worldwide. This is a highly contagious airborne disease that is spread through the transmission of three organisms present in the respiratory secretions: Neisseria meningitides, Haemophilus influenzae, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The onset or origins of the disease varies among different age groups and geographic locations. According to estimates, 200,000 people die annually of meningitis. Case fatality rates vary with age at time of illness and also depend on the particular bacterial strain causing ...

Abstract

Solid waste and wastewater are primary sources of pollution from food processing industries. The wastewaters usually contain high suspended solids, organic starch and sugars that may contain toxic substances to the environment. Solid wastes come from organic materials while the mechanical preparation processes need biological treatment before releases into the environment. When untreated, they find their way into other water plants like lakes and streams. Since they have higher nutrient content, they result of eutrophication of the water systems hence causing algal growth. It, therefore, compromises the stability of the aquatic ecosystems as the water quality is changed. It ...

Introduction

Ciproflaxins (or simply Cipro) are a known second-generation of fluoroquinolones. Fluoroquilones, or more generally quinolones, are known as potent chemical agents against Gram-negative bacteria, widely used as a treatment of bacterial infections (Ball, 2000). Ciproflaxins have a wider spectrum of in vitro antibacterial activity and are effective in the treatment of many types of infection associated with Gram-negative bacteria, specifically respiratory tract infections. It is also known to treat anthrax in people (Hilts, 2001).
In a livestock and other animals, a drug which is chemically similar to Cipro is commonly used, known as Baytril. The primary target of Cipro ...

1. Ecosystems.
(10 pts) Provide a review of the process of succession and trends in biodiversity, productivity, and nutrient cycling.
Ecological succession refers to the process of gradual change of the ecosystems. This is attributed to the fact that habitats do not remain constant and they keep changing over time. Succession is divided into two; there is primary succession and secondary succession. Primary succession refers to changes which occur on an environment that has never been colonized before, for instance, quarrying on land that has never been quarried before. Secondary succession on the other hand involves environmental disturbance on ...

Introduction

Architecture is very significant in people’s life. Hence, every building should be created correctly. The point is that people face buildings every day: we lie in houses created by architectures; we work in offices created by them as well; we shop in malls projected by architectures. However, some architectures do not strive to build correctly. Although, there is no clear cause for it, but there are many cases when “badly built” buildings cause different diseases. Doctors call it sick building syndrome. This research is devoted to the issue of sick buildings and the syndrome they cause. The peculiarity ...

Epidemiological transition is a demographic transition during the Paleolithic phase, which was characterized sudden and stark increase in the human population because of significant improvement in medical innovation. Paleolithic archaeology was initiated by a need to change to suit natural dictates during the upper Paleolithic period. This was the prime phase for evolution of human beings. Omran, coined a theory on epidemiological transition, which he divided into three phases. Omran divided this period into an age of pestilence and famine, which was characterized by high yet fluctuating mortality rate. There was a very low life expectancy. In essence, humans ...

Applying the precautionary principle to consumer household cleaning product

Development.
Summary
Precautionary principle, which can be summarized as when an activity raises the threat of harm to human and the environment, preventive actions should be taken even if some cause and effect relationship are not fully established scientifically, is the common principle used to guide in managing scientific uncertainty in ingredient safety assessment (Cara , 2011). The available registered disinfectants in the consumer market are quaternary ammonium, sodium hypochlorite and Triclosan. However, there is a possibility of existence of the relation between these disinfectants and human health and environmental issues.
Triclosan is a spectrum anti-microbial found in anti-bacterial products. ...

Antibiotics usage in farm animals is rather heavy and extensive and has been a characteristic practice of farmers in Europe and North America for some time. Based on the health hazards that usage of antibiotics on livestock pose to human health, they should completely be banned from animal feed. A good number of pork, beef, and poultry eaten by humans have small levels of antibiotics. This is an outcome of efforts to improve quality, as well as quantity of farms output. The United States utilizes more than 29 million pounds of antibiotics in farm animals per annum, which accounts ...

Introduction

Biomass is a biological material obtained from a living organism or a recently living organism. The word biomass is derived from two Greek words; bio meaning life, and maza meaning mass (Demirbas, “Fuels from Biomass” 43). Biomass means non-fossil and bio-decomposable organic matter (originating from plants, animals and microorganisms). The products, byproducts, residues and waste from agricultural processing, all constitute biomass. Bio-waste simply means non-fossil and biodegradable waste that is composed of organic matter. Bio-wastes include food and kitchen wastes, garden and park wastes, and wastes from food processing plants. Bio-waste is therefore an element of biomass.
Non-fossil wastes ...

Introduction

Traditionally, biology is described as that branch of science that is involved in the study of living things. this implies that biologists invariably collect information in the course of this study. Moreover, this also implies that biologists have to interpret this information. this process has been a slow and arduous one until the turn of the21st century. before this period, biologists have had to contend with the prospect of interpreting collected information with the help of the senses and sometimes, laboratory investigations. however, with the turn of the century and its corresponding development of information technology, this arduous task ...

Introduction

Evolution is a debatable topic. Many theories have emerged in support or against the theory of evolution. Evolution refers to the changes of characteristics in living organisms over time. Evolution is a scientific concept that seeks to explain theories and researches made on a variety of scientific models (Bowler, 2003, p.111). Evolution is a science that provides evidence for differences in inherited characteristics. Evolution brings the differentiation in living organisms. The debate on whether to include evolution as a topic of study in public schools is raging. It is a controversial subject in the religious, legal and scientific fields. ...

Introduction

Ice cream, a milk-based good, is an excellent medium for microbial growth owing to high nutrient value, virtually neutral pH value (~pH 6–7), and elongated storage interlude of ice cream. The components of ice cream may be of a diversity of amalgamations of milk, cream, condensed milk, dried milk, colouring materials, flavours, fruits, nuts, sweetening agents, eggs, and eggs products, ...

Article #1: Becker, R., et al. (2011). “Functional dysphagia therapy and PEG treatment in a clinical geriatric setting.” Dysphagia, 26, 108-116.
1). Summary: The article by Becker et al. delves on the outcomes of two Functional Dysphagia Therapy (FDT) with one group using percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG), and another group of non-PEG users.
2) Element: The victims of stroke and those with cerebrovascular diseases have neurogenic dysphagia, 50% and 30% respectively. The result of this study revealed a mortality rate of 19.7%, and lower for the second group of non-PEG users which is at 8.6%.
3) Outcome: Those in ...

Certain elements involved in the geochemical and biogeochemical cycling are of great concern due to their limited availability both naturally or through industrial manufacture of the compounds involved in the cycles. Some of the processes involved are chemical reactions with other elements or substances. Some of these reactions are irreversible chemical reactions. This implies once the reaction has taken place, the elements are removed from natural cycle and they cannot be replaced again. As such, the more the cases of irreversible reactions, the greater the rate of reduction of these elements from the environment. Ultimately, there could be less ...

Hand hygiene entails the action of cleaning hands, and it is one of the easiest and effective methods of preventing the spread of microorganisms across the health care setting. There are two ways that healthcare providers can use in cleaning hands that are by using alcohol hand swabs or by use of soap and running water. Effective hand washing is an important practice for the health care providers as it has a significant impact in reducing the spread of hospital-acquired infections (Allegranzi & Pittet, 2009).
It is important to note that hand hygiene enhances patients safety and care and should ...

Introduction:

Clean non-polluted water is a major basic requirement for all the living things. Nowadays, its availability becomes a major problem in the ecosystem. This problem is expected to increase in the future due to population growth and industrialization processes. The processes discharge of domestic, industrial and agricultural wastes contribute largely to the contamination of existing natural waters in the environment. Therefore, at the present moment, it is important that the pathogens and pollutants are completely removed from the waste water to cater for the needs of domestic use, industrial use, and irrigation purposes. This paper discusses two processes of ...

Introduction

China’s air pollution crisis is currently a topic of concern at national and international based. It is indicated that the growing stages of pollution, more than 24 times the WHO-suggested limits, make long and short-term health threats containing of high sterility rates, and make threats to both the internal city areas and external neighboring state’s solidity. Growing fears on the impacts of pollution grows a new query: will China’s air crisis directed to more enclosed cities.

Discussion

Nowadays pollution arises from day to day. Air pollution is very awful for our well-being so illnesses increase gradually. In ...