MBI 161 - Elementary Medical Microbiology

Course Syllabus - 2013

Lecture Schedule - 9:00–10:45 am, MTWR; 200 Mosler Hall, Hamilton Campus

Lecture Textbook

• Textbook - Cowan. 2012. Microbiology: A Systems Approach, 3rd Ed. McGraw-Hill, Dubuque, IA.
  • The numbers in parentheses following each topic listing are the page numbers in the text to read to gain more insight into each topic.
  • You can buy a hard copy of this text from a number of online vendors, as well as the bookstore on campus, or as an eBook from the publisher, at the McGraw-Hill website.
• I have generated an extensive Elementary Medical Microbiology website that includes Study Guides for you to use as supplements to the material I present in lecture:
  • The button bar (below) appears at the bottom of every page in the web site, and can be used to navigate to any other page in the site.
  • The Study Guides contain links to other web sites in addition to material that I have written ... please understand that the web site is a dynamic entity (e.g., it is continually being updated and improved) and use it as such.

Laboratory Schedule - 11:00 am – 1:15 pm, MW; 416 Mosler Hall

May 20

Introduction and Overview

Microbes Around Us (Exercise 1... begin)

Microscopy (Exercise 2)

May 22

Microbes Around Us (Exercise 1... complete)

Staining Methods (Exercise 3)

Plate Streaking (Exercise 4... begin)

May 27

Memorial Day - No Classes

May 29

Plate Streaking (Exercise 4... continue)

Serial Dilution and Viable Counts (Exercise 5... begin)

Metabolic Activity (Exercise 6... begin)

June 3

Plate Streaking (Exercise 4... complete)

Serial Dilution and Viable Counts (Exercise 5... complete)

Metabolic Activity (Exercise 6... complete)

June 5

Heat vs. Microbial Growth (Exercise 7... begin)

UV Light vs. Microbial Growth (Exercise 8... begin)

Microscopic Examination of Leukocytes (Exercise 9... begin)

June 10

Heat vs. Microbial Growth (Exercise 7... complete)

UV Light vs. Microbial Growth (Exercise 8... complete)

Microscopic Examination of Leukocytes (Exercise 9... complete)

June 12

Disease Transmission (Exercise 10... begin)

Bacteriological Analysis of Foods (Exercise 11... begin)

Skin and Respiratory Tract Microbiota Assessment (Exercise 12... begin)

June 17

Heat and UV Light Combined Laboratory Report Due (Exercises 8 and 9 - 20 pt)

Disease Transmission (Exercise 10... complete)

Bacteriological Analysis of Foods (Exercise 11... complete)

Skin and Respiratory Tract Microbiota Assessment (Exercise 12... continue)

Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosis (Exercise 13... begin)

June 19

Skin and Respiratory Tract Microbiota Assessment (Exercise 12... complete)

Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosis (Exercise 13... continue)

Antimicrobial Agent Testing (Exercise 14... begin)

June 24

Bacteriological Analysis of Foods Laboratory Report Due (10 pt)

Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosis (Exercise 13... complete)

Antimicrobial Agent Testing (Exercise 14... complete)

June 26

Serological Diagnosis of Infectious Disease (Exercise 15)

Simulated Blood Testing (Exercise 16)

June 27

Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosis Laboratory Report Due (10 pt)

Laboratory Textbook

Elementary Medical Microbiology Laboratory Exercises. 2013. Based on materials generated at Miami University by John R. Stevenson, Kelly Z. Abshire, David B. Stroupe, and Robert A. Brady.

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INSTRUCTOR INFORMATION

• Instructor: Dr. John R. Stevenson - Department of Microbiology
• Phone: 785-3234 (Hamilton); 529-5427 (Oxford)
• E-mail: stevenjr@miamioh.edu
• URL: http://microbiology.muohio.edu/~stevenjr/
• Office Hours: 552 Mosler - MTWR 1:15-2:15 pm (or by appointment)

COURSE DESCRIPTION

Elementary microbiology for students interested in a single unit devoted to understanding characteristics and activities of microorganisms and their relation to health and disease. Taught in Hamilton and Middletown only. Does not count as credit toward an A.B. in microbiology.This course is a foundation course for the Biomedical Science thematic sequence, which will satisfy the Miami University liberal education requirement.

Although an understanding of chemistry is strongly suggested, there are no prerequisites for this course. Successful completion of this course will provide the background to better understand the microorganisms that surround us and can affect our health.

Elementary Medical Microbiology is the foundation course for the Biomedical Science thematic sequence, which will satisfy your Miami University liberal education requirement.

BIOMEDICAL SCIENCE THEMATIC SEQUENCE

Through exposure to principles and examples of diseases caused by microbial infection, students come to understand the role of microorganisms in development of disease in the human host. Students study the host at the genetic or cell and tissue level and gain an overview of infectious and non-infectious diseases in populations. The sequence fosters understanding of the effects of diseases on human communities and provides a perspective that helps one evaluate health dilemmas and develop strategies to solve them.

• MBI 161 - Elementary Medical Microbiology (MPF) (4)
• ZOO 232 - Human Heredity (3) or ZOO 325 - Pathophysiology (4)
• MBI 361 - Epidemiology (3)

COURSE OBJECTIVES

An emphasis will be placed on historical perspective throughout the course. The work of pioneering scientists will be used to introduce various sections of course material. This will provide you with ideas of how one inquires into the unknown.  You will see how some very old observations continue to be highly important today. Advances in technology have led to great discoveries, but new problems arise. The discovery of antibiotics and their impact on life throughout the world will be presented as well as emergence of antibiotic resistance.

You will be challenged to think about all the subject matter. The course will employ critical thinking throughout.  As a member of the class, you should question all aspects of the subject matter.  Is every advance in science good for us? For example, if immunization is viewed as beneficial, should it be required for everyone even if it’s against some individuals’ religious beliefs?  Has anyone contracted a disease from an immunization? Are there immunizations for all infectious diseases? How well do they protect? The course will provide a foundation for understanding new developments. The fostering of continuing interest on personal and global health is a major objective.

The way course material is presented will highlight human diversity. For example, some diseases such as trichomoniasis are symptomatic only in women. Diseases such as tuberculosis have a higher incidence in African Americans and Native Americans than in Caucasians. AIDS in Africa is primarily transmitted heterosexually, but in America most cases occur in homosexual males. Sexually transmitted diseases have a much higher incidence in urban areas. Therefore, factors such as gender, race, economic status, and geographical location directly affect the individual’s chances of developing various infectious diseases.

This course involves extensive use of audiovisual materials. A significant number of figures from the text and other sources are used to illustrate concepts and characteristics of various infectious diseases. For example, when we discuss staphylococci, slides will be shown so you can visualize the appearance of these bacteria as well as a disease, such as impetigo, caused by them.

The laboratory is a very important part of this course. In this setting you will work independently and with others to complete exercises that will not only help you understand basic concepts, but also provide opportunities for discovery. For example, one simple experiment that is done early in the course is to “sample” the environment. Using a sterile swab moistened with sterile water, you will select an area to sample.  The contaminated swab will then be rubbed on the surface of a nutrient agar plate and incubated. A great variety of results will be observed.  This should stimulate your intellectual curiosity.  Why do bacteria grow on skin and hair yet not on doorknobs? Bacteria are widespread in nature but some areas have very few, if any, organisms present. Many of the laboratory exercises require the use of different organisms and different responses are observed. You will see that metabolic characteristics can be used to identify an organism. You will be introduced to a variety of methods used for studying microbes.

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Evaluation

Your course grade will be based 75% on your lecture-related performance, and 25% on your laboratory-related performance.

Examinations (440 points): During this four credit hour course, you will take five examinations whose points will be proportional to the number of lectures covered on each. These examinations will be based ~85% on material covered in lecture, and ~15% on material covered in lab. All examinations will include essay questions as well as multiple-choice, matching-multiple-choice and true-false questions. If you miss any of the first four examinations for an acceptable reason, you may take a makeup examination within two class days after the (missed) examination was originally given.

Reflective Reports (20 points): You will be expected to submit two 10-point written reports based on recent news articles (published since last May). These news articles can be from newspapers, magazines or the World Wide Web, but they must be at least 1000 words in length and must have an author. Organization-based information websites are not acceptable sources.

• The due dates for your written reports are listed on the Report Dates page in the Course Documents area of the course Niihka website.
• Each of your news articles must be directly pertinent to a topic I will be discussing in class on the day the report is due.
• Look for articles intended for educated people who are not professional scientists ... news articles that involve microbes in stories with human interest.
  • The articles should relate more to the social and community aspects of microbial topics, which makes them more interesting and informative for this class.
  • In other words, what I need you to find is news articles that describe or discuss the impact of a microbiological topic on people's lives in specific ways.
• Avoid web sites that simply present facts about your topic ... these are what I will be presenting during the lecture portion of each class session; therefore, they are not good choices for your reports or your presentation.
• A good way to find appropriate articles is to use GoogleNews, which has the best and most user friendly web search engine for news articles on a variety of topics.

Written reports must be digital, 500-words long and must:

• give the complete reference for the article at the top of the page... must include: Author, Title, Source (magazine, newspaper, web page address [URL]), Date published, and Pages)
• describe the article's content (7 points):
  • thoroughly explain what the article was about (If you are using two or more short articles as the basis for your report, be sure to integrate the information from all of them into your written report... do not simply describe each one in sequence.)
  • this will take several long paragraphs that will occupy about two-thirds your written report
• explain how the article is relevant to both the discussion topic and this course (3 points)
  • Thoroughly explain how your article is relevant both the discussion topic and this course
    • this will involve describing how your article is related to past, present, and/or future issues in infectious disease microbiology, and how/why that makes it relevant to this course
    • this will take at least one long paragraph that occupies about one-third of your written report
  • When writing your relevance statement, consider:
    • What does your article tell us that we wouldn't have known if we hadn't read (or heard about) it?
    • Does your article present:
      • newly discovered information, a new discovery, or a new application of existing information or technology?
      • a new or otherwise different perspective or interpretation of information?
    • Be certain you explain why it is important for others in the class to hear about your topic as well as why your topic is important to people in the US
    • Examples of good course relevance statements
• be emailed to me on the due date

Extra Credit (15 points): You will have the opportunity to earn this extra credit by presenting one of your reflective reports as an oral report during class on the day that your topic is being discussed. If you choose to do this, it is crucial that you:

• Consult with me two weeks prior to your presentation to determine the suitability of your article and to plan when to give your oral report.
• Design your PowerPoint using these rules:
  • PowerPoint must consist of exactly 5 slides;
  • Slide 1 must include your report title, your name and a relevant picture;
  • Slides 2-4 must describe what was in your article(s) in bullet format (3-5 bullet-point statements per slide)... and must include at least one relevant picture per slide;
  • Slide 5 must explain the relevance of your article to the discussion topic and this course, and must list the reference(s) you used to generate your report (bullet format with a link to each article);
• Email me your PowerPoint at least one week prior to your presentation, because:
  • I need to review your PowerPoint prior to your oral presentation so I can give you feedback that will help you improve it;
  • I will integrate your talk into my lecture on your topic, so I need to know the focus of your presentation.
• Present your 2-5 minute oral report based on a PowerPoint presentation on the day we agree on.

Laboratory Reports (40 points):

• You will be required to generate three laboratory reports:
  • Heat and UV Light vs. Microbial Growth (Exercises 7 and 8, combined; 20 points)
  • Bacteriological Analysis of Foods (Exercise 11; 10 points)
  • Urinary Tract Infection Diagnosis (Exercise 13; 10 points)

• Include all five of these sections, with a header at the beginning of each one.
  • Introduction
    • Purpose:
      • Why did you do this experiment... what did you expect to learn?
      • What did the experiment(s) accomplish?
    • Background: What is the scientific basis of the approach or technique used:
      • How does it work?
      • Why would you expect it to work?
  • Materials and Methods
    • Materials: What essential supplies, including microbes, were used?
    • Methods: How (exactly, in a stepwise manner) did you perform the experiment(s)?
  • Results and Discussion
    • Tables/Graphs: Present your data in the most appropriate format... tables or graphs.
    • Text Description and Interpretation of Results:
      • Describe and discuss the trends indicated by your results.
      • Discuss the meaning of your results relative to the purpose of the experiment(s).
  • Summary and Conclusions
    • Summary of Results: What were the major results of your experiment(s)?
    • Conclusions: What do these results mean, in the context of both the current experiment and the field of microbiology in general?
  • References
    • List ALL the sources of information you used in preparing your laboratory report.

• As you write your laboratory reports:
• These reports must be generated using a computer-based word processor.
• In all sections (except the Tables/Graphs component of the Results) your description, explanation and interpretation must be in complete sentences and paragraphs, not outline format.
• You may use appropriate material from the textbook, Laboratory Manual exercises or lecture notes, but it must be appropriately cited in the References section.
• DO NOT COPY any of this material directly (including the materials or procedures in the Lab Manual) because the object of these reports is for you to integrate the information and present it in a clear and thoughtful manner in your own words.

Plagiarism and other infractions of Miami University rules and regulations will be dealt with as described in Chapter 5: Academic Integrity in the Miami University Handbook.

Class Attendance
This course consists of four, 105-minute lecture periods per week. In addition to the lectures, two, 135 minute laboratory sessions are required of every student each week. LABORATORY ATTENDANCE IS MANDATORY! Five (5) points will be deducted from your course grade each time you miss a laboratory session (although you are allowed one excused absence without penalty).

Grading Scale - Your course grade will be determined using the following scale:

Grade	Percentage
A+	97-100
A	93-96
A-	90-92
B+	87-89
B	83-86
B-	80-82
C+	77-79
C	73-76
C-	70-72
D+	67-69
D	63-66
D-	60-62
F	0-59

This is a direct quote from the Miami University Handbook:
"If a student is found guilty of academic dishonesty in a class and withdraws from the class, the student will receive the grade of F for the class, and a notation of academic dishonesty will be posted directly beneath the class on the academic record."

Dropping a Course

Dropping a course is a formal administrative procedure; merely ceasing to attend class is not the same as dropping a course. Before dropping a course, a student should consult with his or her instructor and academic adviser. A student may drop a course during the first 20 percent of the course, in which case no grade or other designation will appear on the student’s official record (see the academic calendar).

Withdrawing from a Course

Withdrawing from a course is a formal administrative procedure; merely ceasing to attend class is not the same as withdrawing from a course. Before withdrawing from a course, a student should consult with his or her instructor and academic adviser. A student may withdraw from a course after the first 20 percent of the course and, ordinarily, before the end of 60 percent of the course (see the academic calendar). A grade of W will appear on the student’s official record; a W is not calculated in the student’s grade point average. Refunds follow University policy, available via the Office of the Bursar website at http://www.units.muohio.edu/bur/ 2009-2010 Student Handbook

1. After the first 20 percent of a course through the end of the first 60 percent, a student may withdraw from a course with a signature of acknowledgement from the instructor.

2. After 60 percent of the course is complete, a student may no longer withdraw from a course, unless a petition is approved by the Interdivisional Committee of Advisers. The petition must include the signatures of the course instructor and the student’s academic or divisional adviser. The petition must also describe and document the extenuating circumstances (extraordinary circumstances usually beyond the student’s control) that form the grounds of the petition. If the petition for withdrawal is approved, the student will be withdrawn from the course with a grade of W. If the petition is not approved, the student will be expected to remain in the course (see Section 1.3.E).

3. Only in rare circumstances will a petition to withdraw from a course after 60 percent of the course is complete be approved for reasons of academic performance alone.

4. When possible, a student should continue to attend class until the Interdivisional Committee of Advisers has acted on his or her petition. Non-attendance does not void financial responsibility or a grade of F.