coli outbreak, with no known restaurant our social event being in common with any cases. This suggests that a grocery store supplier most likely had a contaminated batch of either lettuce or alfalfa. This E. coli, was most likely transmitted by a food handler somewhere along the grocery supply chain. Produce suppliers should be targeted as the next probable source of the virus.
Question 8A

Finding controls for this study would require identifying people who were exposed to the possible sources of the contaminated produce but did not get sick. Controls must have been at risk to the exposure but did not acquire the symptoms seen in those who were identified.

Question 8B

While matching can help a study by minimizing the risk of confounding, I disagree with the studies employment of these criteria. Gender is not really specific to occurrences of E. coli and may serve to distract from more informative relationships…...

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References

Stehr- Green, J. (2002). A Multistate Outbreak of E. coli O157:h7 Infection. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, April 2002.

Ecoli
Escherichia coli (E. coli) is notorious for its adverse effects on the human body. A bacterium that normally lives in the stomach, some strains of E. coli can cause illness such as diarrhea. The strains most harmful to human beings include E. coli O157:H7 (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011). Food and water contaminated with these harmful strains of E. coli are usually the means by which the bacteria is transmitted; adults usually recover but some patients with weakened immune systems including the elderly and children may die from an E. coli infection (Mayo Clinic Staff, 2011). Therefore, it is important to understand the role and various manifestations of the E. coli family of bacteria. Less is known about the potential benefits of E. coli. Some strains of E. coli are touted as beneficial intestinal flora, much like probiotics such as acidophilus. For example, uud (2001) notes that the health benefits of…...

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References

Ashihara, H. & Crozier, A. (2001). Caffeine: A well-known but little mentioned compound in plant science. Trends in Plant Science 6(9): 407-413.

Douky, N., Toyoda, K. & Aono, R. (2002). Indigo production by Escherichia coli carrying the phenol hydroxylase gene from Acinetobacter sp. strain ST-550 in a water-organic solvent two-phase system. Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology 60(6): 720-725.

"E. Coli Bacteria: A Future Source Of Energy?" (2008). Science Daily. Retrieved online:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080129170709.htm 

"E. coli Has Its Benefits -- Rice University Scientist Honored for Research Converting Glycerine Into High Value Products," (2010). Business Wire. 19 May 2010. Retrieved online:  http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20100519006670/en/E.-coli-Benefits-%E2%80%93-Rice-University-Scientist

outbreaks of E. Coli arising from inappropriate handling of food. In May, 2010, for instance, an Escolar outbreak forced the recall of lettuce in 23 U.S. States, most of it destined for supermarket and restaurant salad bars. This is critical in America today in which almost 50% of meals are prepared and eaten outside the home. So many different products are used to prepare meals in fast-food and convenience restaurants that there are any number of potential contaminants. In this particular case, the FDA is focusing its research on lettuce grown in Arizona. At least 12 people were hospitalized and another 10 cases with probable cause-based specifically on romaine lettuce (Memmott, 2010).
Analysis- I remembered that in the early 1990s there was an E. coli outbreak based on food from Jack in the Box, actually causing children to die. I did some research, finding that 400 people were infected, but…...

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References

E. Coli Prevention. (2012). MayoClinic.com. Retrieved from:  http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/e-coli/DS01007 /DSECTION=prevention

Escherichia coli. (2012). Centers for Disease Control. Retrieved from:  http://www.cdc.gov/ecoli/index.html 

Baker, Mallen. (2002.). "Odwalla and the E-coli outbreak." Mallenbaker.net

Corporate Social Responsibility. Cited in:

Question 14

The main criteria that should be considered is the type of infection based on microbiological evidence. Additionally, it is important to determine whether or not there was onsite mishandling which may have led to E. coli being present on particular products. The scope of the outbreak would also be important, as it would show either a local outbreak, or a more widespread one that would indicate a larger producer.

Question 15

All steps between harvest and consumption would be needed to facilitate the traceback. Thus, the events from the time of purchase by the customer would be needed to be traced back down the supply chain all the way back to the grower. This means an investigation on the seller, wholesaler, processer, and laborers involved in harvesting the sprouts. The dates of purchase and processing, along with lot numbers, would also be helpful.

Question 16

The general hypothesis for these particular cases is…...

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References

Stehr-Green, Jeanette K. (2002). "A Multistate Outbreak of E. coli 0157: H7 Infection." U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"Elimination of these and other pathogens from the lower respiratory tract is made possible by an effective innate immune response, which is necessary yet potentially dangerous to the infected host."
E. coli Outbreak:

There have been numerous E.coli outbreaks over the years. Pakalniskiene, Falkenhorst, Lisby, and Madsen (2009) studied one of the larger single source outbreaks. On November 11th, 2006, there was an outbreak in Greater Copenhagen, Denmark. The director of a high school had contacted the regional health authority to report an outbreak of diarrhea and vomiting among guests of a school dinner party. A total of 750 people, nearly all of the teachers and students at the school, had attended the dinner. The evening, the first people became sick. Three days later, when the director made the report, approximately 200 to 300 teachers and students had reported gastroenteritis. It was found that the fresh basil used in the pesto…...

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References

Cegelski, L., Marshall, G., Eldridge, G., Hultgren, S. (Jan 2008). The biology and future prospects of antivirulence therapies. Nature Reviews: Microbiology. (6). Retrieved May 7, 2009, from Proquest.

Hacker, J. & Blum-Oehler, G. (2007). In appreciation of Theodor Escherich. Nature Reviews. Microbiology, 5(12) Retrieved May 7, 2009, from ProQuest.

Justice, S., Hunstad, D., Cegelski, L., & Hultgren, S. (2008). Morphological plasticity as a bacterial survival strategy. Nature Reviews. Microbiology, 6(2). Retrieved May 7, 2009, from ProQuest.

Pakaliniskiene, J., Falkenhorst, G., Lisby, M., Madsen, B., Olsen, K., Nielsen, E., Mygh, A., Boel, J., & Molbak, K. (2009). A foodborne outbreak of enterotoxigenic E. coli and Salmonella Anatum infection after a high-school dinner in Denmark, November 2006. Epidemiology and Infection, 137(3) Retrieved May 7, 2009, from ProQuest.

Lac Operon Genetics
Practical 2. Analysis of wild type and lac operon mutant strains of the bacterium Escherichia coli

Complete the results tables below using the data you obtained in the practical.

Describe the size, colour and eosin sheen of the colonies on the EMB plates in Table 1 below.

Strain

Size

Colour

Eosin sheen

WT

Large colonies purple

Strong eosin sheen

H

Large colonies purple

Weak eosin sheen

J

Small colonies pink

No eosin sheen

K

Small colonies pink

No eosin sheen

Fill in the fluorescence results for NA+glu and NA+lac in Table 2 below.

Strain

NA+glu within 1 minute of MUG overlay

NA+glu

minutes after MUG overlay

NA+glu

minutes after MUG overlay

NA+lac within 1 minute of MUG overlay

NA+lac

minutes after MUG overlay

NA+lac

minutes after MUG overlay

WT

H

J

K

* Record the degree of fluorescence as (-) or (+) or (++) or (+++). Where (-) is no fluorescence and (+++) is the greatest fluorescence.

5. Based on your experimental observations of each strain on EMB and the NA+lac and NA+glu plates decide on the genotype/phenotype of each of the strains and…...

Instituting these measures showed that the company was vitally interested in not only maintaining the company's integrity, professionalism and reputation but also in ensuring that the problems never arose again. Other methods initiated by the company included a program that would test heat cleaning of apples that would kill the bacteria while not affecting the taste of the apples. The company also introduced a process of cleaning and decontamination called "flash pasteurization, which "would guarantee that E-coli had been destroyed whilst leaving the best flavoured juice possible." (Companies 2005).

Some experts wonder why the company did not use the pasteurization method before the outbreak.

"Pasteurization, which involves heat treatment, would have killed the bacteria in the Odwalla products. Health officials said when people drink non-pasteurized juice, they run the risk of becoming sick. They suggest boiling juice first. But authorities also said most juices sold in stores are safe." (E. Coli 1996).

If…...

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Works Cited

Half Moon, (1996)

Accessed Sept. 5, 2006http://www.kidsource.com/kidsource/content2/ecoli/odwalla.11.23.html,

Companies in Crises, (2005),  

Amidation of Peptides in Humans
Modern biotechnology has experienced dramatic leaps in the body of knowledge concerning molecular processes in peptides and how they work. Many of these processes rely on amidation of peptides to achieve increasingly important medical and commercial applications. Peptides are created when two or more amino acids are covalently joined by peptide bonds, a process termed post-translational modification. One increasingly valuable application of post-translational modification is amidation. This paper provides an overview of peptides and their role in biological processes, how amidation of peptides works and its importance, and a description of the two functional domains of the PAM enzyme (PHM and PAL) and the roles they play in amidation. An assessment of whether amidation prevents C-terminal degradation is followed by a discussion of which peptides/proteins are susceptible to C-terminal degredation by carboxypeptidase. An analysis of whether E. coli can be modified to perform amidation will…...

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References

Allen, J.M. (1963). The nature of biological diversity. New York: McGraw-Hill.

Audesirk, T. & Audesirk, G. (1993). Biology: Life on Earth, 4th ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

Bradbury, A.F. & Smyth, D.G. (1988). Biosynthesis of peptide neurotransmitters: studies on the formation of peptide amides. Physiol Bohemoslov, 37(3), 267-74.

Brighton, P.J., Szekeres, P.G. & Willars, G.B. (2004). Neuromedin U. And Its Receptors: Structure, Function, and Physiological Roles. Pharmacological Review, 56, 231-248.

Safety and Health Issues in Meat Processing Industry
In the meat processing industry, health and safety issues are of vital importance, in view of the several risks arising out of microbial contamination of meat and the occupational hazards faced by workers. Past experiences have shown that microbial reproduction in meat and meat products can reach alarming proportions traversing across countries and even continents. The infamous mad cow disease and the foot and mouth disease in cattle has rattled the British meat industry for a considerable period, resulting in loss of image, confidence and erosion of profits. North America's main problem is the widespread prevalence of eschericia coli in meat, more commonly known as the hamburger disease. It is well-known that meat is highly susceptible to attack of bacteria and virus and hence there is a constant need to address this risk. When microbial activity sets in, the quality of meat is…...

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References

American Meat Industry Fact Sheet: 'Worker Safety in the Meat and Poultry Industry', (2002) Available at www.meatami.com/content/presscentre/factsheets_infobits/FactSheetWorkerSafety.pdf. Accessed 11/28/2003

Brodeur, C. (n.d) Agriculture and Agri-food Canada - 'Meat Safety: The war on bacteria', Available at Accessed 11/28/2003http://www.res2.agr.gc.ca/orda/pubs/art8_e.htm.

Cannon, J.E et. al (1996) 'Pork Chain Quality Audit Survey: Quantification of Port Quality Characteristics', Journal of Muscle Foods (7), 56-62

Chesworth, N (1997) 'Food Hygiene Auditing', Blackie Academic & Professional, London

Transcription is a process that genetic information on the DNA copies into NA and the DNA acts as the template for the new molecules of NA. Transcription process begins with the DNA double helix unwinding as the hydrogen bonds holding the opposing bases breaks and the DNA strands are uncoupled. The process occurs within the cytoplasm of a prokaryote and in the nucleus of eukaryotic cells. Transcription process consists of three steps; initiation, elongation, termination, and are regulated by transcription factors that include protein products of the genes. The protein products regulate at postranscriptional levels every time.
Initiation of transcription begins with enzyme NA polymerase that identifies and attaches to DNA at the promoter and transcription of the DNA template starts. An initiation complex forms by association of 50 proteins different from each other required by NA polymerase II. NA polymerase synthesizes polynucleotides of NA from the template of DNA.…...

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References

Latchman, D. (2009). Eukoryotic Transcription Process. New York: Cengage Learning.

Alvis, F. (2010). New Approach to Translation Process. Chicago: Chicago University Press.

Singer, M. (2011). Genes and Genomes. New York: Cengage Learning.

Campbell, M. (2009). Biochemistry. London: Oxford University Press.

The apology should also be publicized creatively, such as by having company representatives stage in-store demonstrations of Odwalla products to underscore their inherent safety and offer free giveaways.
The "former company officials" mentioned in the case are anonymous, have no credentials, and no sources to back up their claim that chlorine washes might prevent bacterial outbreaks. Therefore, Odwalla should ignore the advice to use chlorine washes unless scientific evidences proves their efficacy. Although pasteurization would reduce the potential for future outbreaks, it would not do so with one hundred percent certainty. More importantly, the worst thing Odwalla could do would be to pasteurize its drinks. Their entire business model would go down the drain if they sacrificed the pure quality of their fresh juices.

The solution to the flawed production process is relatively straightforward: Tighter health, hygiene, and safety regulations enforced and practiced throughout the production process. When production rates are…...

Business Tools & Methods
Business tools and methods

Q1 Hypothesis for a local business: High employee turnover

High employee turnover is caused by the large number of part-time teenagers employed by the company who have school commitments that compete with work.

To test the hypothesis the company could determine if rates of employee attrition tended to increase at times when students tended to have other commitments (such as at the end of summer break or before midterms, finals, and the SATs). Or did attrition have a correlation with other factors, such as the opening of a new business nearby that paid better wages? Did rates spike at the end of the training period (which might highlight a problem with orientation or hiring)? It could compare the rates of attrition of teenagers compared with other employees at the company. It could also compare the rates of part-time vs. full-time workers' attrition. It could be that…...

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Reference

Davis, M (2011). U.S. beef consumption in decline. Reuters. Retrieved from:

 http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/22/us-usa-beef-consumption-idUSTRE7BL1MI20111222

air traffic has continued to increase and it now constitutes a considerable proportion of the travelling public. The amount of long-hour flights has increased significantly. Based on the International Civil Aviation authority, air traffic can be anticipated to double amid till 2020. Airline travel, especially over longer distances, makes air travelers vulnerable to numerous facets that will impact their health and well-being. Particularly, the speed with which influenza spreads and mutates, via transportation routes, is the reason why the influenza pandemic is considered to be a huge threat to the human population. Pandemic is a term, which is used for a virus or microbe when it spreads over a large area, in severe cases even the whole world and large number of people start getting affecting by it (CDC, 2009).
In the past 300 years, there have been ten significant influenza pandemics outbreaks that have taken place in this world. The…...

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References

Airports Council International (2009) Airport preparedness guidelines for outbreaks of communicable disease. Available at: (Accessed: 28 November 2011)http://www.airports.org/aci/aci/file/ACI_Priorities/Health/Airport%20preparedness%20guidelines.pdf

Bouma, G.D. (2002) The research process. 4th edn. Melbourne: Oxford University Press.

Brigantic, R., Delp, W., Gadgil A., Kulesz, J., Lee, R., Malone, J.D. (2009) U.S. airport entry screening in response to pandemic influenza: Modeling and analysis. Available at:   (Accessed: 28 November 2011)http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B7578-4W2M6SG1&_user=10843&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000000150&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10843&md5=44685b11dd53d74a8ef85a4f03e185f2 

Bush, George W. (2003a). Homeland security presidential directive -- 5: Management of domestic incidents. Available at:   (Accessed: 28 November 2011)http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/02/20030228-9.html 

The obesity crisis is, I believe, even more important than problems surrounding food safety-borne epidemics. Despite the recent attention given to obesity in the popular media, obesity is in some ways more difficult to treat than food safety issues. People's consciousness may be raised by a fear if becoming sick through food poisoning and throw out the offending, recalled products on their shelves if they contain salmonella or e.coli, but they seem less willing and/or able to change food habits that have been ingrained within them since childhood.
The diabetes epidemic, along with other illnesses related to obesity (like heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and osteoarthritis) will increase unless more active preventative healthcare measures are undertaken on a wide scale. Limiting the number of fast food restaurants that can be present in a specific area and near schools, along with promoting the spread of grocery stores and farmer's…...

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Changing lifestyles is a vital aspect of making the community healthier -- as well as the world. Sanitary and healthy cooking conditions are, of course, extremely important to observe and to know about, on an individual basis. Increasing the ease of reporting suspected unsafe conditions is also vitally important. But the relative safety of day-in, day-out food choices -- food choices that are often taken for granted -- also cannot be dismissed.

Reference

Engber, Daniel (2009). Does poverty make people poor? Slate. Retrieved November 2, 2010 at  http://www.slate.com/id/2229523/

Based on the results of these assays, S. flexneri can often be identified, although additional kits may be required. The simplest way, however, may be the novel approach through multiplex PCR (mRPC). It is possible to identify Shigella species through mPCR techniques by identifying pathogenicity islands associated with Shigella and S. flexneri.
6. How could you create a corn plant that would express the human protein fibrin? (You need to include techniques, steps, enzymes, etc.)

In order to create a corn plant that would express the human protein fibrin, scientists would first need to incorporate the human fibrin gene within the corn plant genome. The incorporated human gene would require regulation and promoter sequences that would function within the plant cell. Proper splicing sequences would also be required or removal of the introns altogether.

The delivery of transgenes into the corn plant could be accomplished through electroporation into corn protoplasts followed by…...

## The Impact of Proper Nutrition and Lifestyle Choices on Digestive Health

The digestive system plays a pivotal role in overall well-being, responsible for extracting nutrients from food and eliminating waste products. Maintaining a healthy digestive system is crucial for optimal physical and mental health. Proper nutrition and lifestyle choices can significantly impact the health of the digestive tract.

### Role of Nutrition in Digestive Health

Dietary Fiber: Fiber is an indigestible carbohydrate that promotes bowel regularity and prevents constipation. Soluble fiber, found in fruits, vegetables, and beans, absorbs water and forms a gel-like substance that slows digestion and helps regulate blood sugar....