Discuss the factors that influence cell adhesion to biomaterials surfaces.

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You are a biomedical engineer working in the Research and Development Division of a company in the cardiovascular prostheses field. Your project is to design a blood compatible material for vascular prostheses.

a. What characteristics should this material have?

b. The implant must be designed to last for a minimum of 3 years in-vivo. There are 2 major mechanisms of chemical degradation of polymers in-vivo. Describe each of these mechanisms. Given the following polymers, indicate whether they are susceptible to hydrolysis, oxidation, both or neither of these processes.

Poly(carbonate urethane) Poly(ether urethane)
Poly(ethylene terephthalate) Polyethylene (linear)
Polytetrafluoroethylene

c. Choose one of these materials for your new heart valve material. Justify your choice.

d. Discuss the factors that influence cell adhesion to biomaterials surfaces.

e. How could you modify the surface of this material to improve its haemocompatibility?

Describe how biosecurity is used to minimize biological threats. Discuss the policies concerning development of medical countermeasures.

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Epidemiologist for a Day

Assignment Objectives:  Describe how biosecurity is used to minimize biological threats. Discuss the policies concerning development of medical countermeasures.

Assignment: This assignment should take about 2 hours to complete.

Be an epidemiology intern and solve the disease outbreak at Watersedge. Play the game and see if you can find the clues to identify the cause of a disease outbreak.

Play the Game: http://www.mclph.umn.edu/watersedge/index.html

Write a 500-word essay and cite the references in APA style. Use outline below as topics to guide development of your essay from your research.

  1. –Background: Look up the disease agent on the Centers for Disease Control website. What are the major symptoms? Are there any long term concerns?
  2. –Outbreak Response: From an emergency management perspective, what do you think the main issues would be during the outbreak?
  3. –After Action Report: Write a paragraph about your experience in this role-based game.

Emergency Management of Mosquito-Borne Disease Outbreaks

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Unit 5, Item 2: Emergency Management of Mosquito-Borne Disease Outbreaks

Assignment Objectives: Describe how biosecurity is used to minimize biological threats. Discuss the policies concerning development of medical countermeasures.

Assignment: This assignment should take about 3 hours to complete.

Mosquito-borne diseases constitute a major threat to human health. Malaria continues to be a significant killer worldwide, with an estimated 207 million cases of malaria in 2012 and an estimated 627,000 deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Other important mosquito-borne illnesses include yellow fever, dengue, West Nile virus, chikungunya virus and most recently the Zika virus. In 2015, the first outbreak of Zika virus in the Brazil occurred. The disease spread rapidly across the Caribbean islands and into Central and South America.

Read “Before the swarm: Guidelines for the emergency management of mosquito-borne disease outbreaks.” Watch the Fauci video “Zika Virus: A Pandemic in Progress.” Optional readings are listed from the CDC and Pan American Health Organization on the chikungunya outbreak and provide insights into the management of emerging disease outbreaks.

Write a 600-word essay and cite the references in APA style. Use outline below as topics to guide development of your essay from your research.

  1. –Background: Describe effective public health measures for preventing the spread of Zika virus.
  2. –Barriers to Prevention: What are some barriers to the use of effective prevention measures?
  3. –Analysis of Zika in the U.S.:   Could major outbreaks of Zika virus occur in the United States? Why or why not?

Reading:

Association of State and Territorial Health Officers (2008). Before the swarm: Guidelines for the emergency management of mosquito-borne disease outbreaks. Washington, DC: Association of State and Territorial Health Officers. Retrieved from http://www.astho.org/programs/environmental-health/natural-environment/before-the-swarm/

Katz, R., Chapter 11, Surveillance, Essentials of Public Health Preparedness, Jones & Bartlett Learning, Burlington, 2013.

Video

Fauci, A.N., (March 18, 2016). Zika Virus: A Pandemic in Progress, US DHHS, National Institutes of Health,

https://videocast.nih.gov/Summary.asp?File=19561&bhcp=1

Supplemental/Optional Readings

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Recent Outbreaks and Incidents: http://www.bt.cdc.gov/recentincidents/index.asp

Pan American Health Organization, Chikungunya page:  http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_topics&view=article&id=343&Itemid=40931

Photo story: http://www.paho.org/hq/index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=index.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_download&gid=25929&Itemid

Who was the technology specifically developed for and who is currently using the technology?

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Choose a current (within the last 5 years) movie or documentary about – or involving – consumer technology. Write a synopsis of the movie. Do additional research about the technology and the consumer that the movie addresses. Some ideas of consumer technology can be the use of 3D Printers, medical technology, nutrition and farming technology, etc. Be sure to answer these questions in your paper: • When and how was the technology developed? • Who was the technology specifically developed for and who is currently using the technology? • What are future expectations for this technology and how is it expected to benefit consumers? • What are the global applications of this technology for international consumers? Be sure to write your paper using an Academic APA Writing style. This means to write using a third person style, not using first person referencing. Do not use “I” or “We” in the writing. Your paper should be a minimum of 5 pages, excluding the title and reference pages.