Welcome to  Micro!

 

Donald R Hicks

Professor of Life Sciences - Microbiology

Los Angeles City College

 

855 North Vermont Avenue; Science Bldg Rm 110/112/218-S

Los Angeles, CA 90029

 

The Microwebsite by Hicks, DR at L.A. City College...

 

 

 

IF YOU ARE HAVING BROWSING PROBLEMS TRY AVANT BROWSER:

 

There will be an essay for the Unit 3 Parasite Test.  Each form of the test (A, B, C, D etc) will have a different essay to do in class  - without any notes (from memory).   If you want to see the Essay topics, click on the NEXT Essay on the Nav page of this website.  This material is the same material that will be used to construct the multiple choice questions on the exam, so it is not separate or new - you have to know the complete Unit 3 notes/class PowerPoint notes/discussions for the test.  The choices I will pick from are:

 

Essay P to Z and HIV Prophylaxis/Prevention as well as Hep C - new treatment/cure?

 

THE LAST LECTURES ON HIV-AIDS plus Treatments and Vaccines are online on the MICRO DROPBOX now as "End HIV-AIDS May 10A and 10B" - get ahead!  Listen again or before your last lecture. 

 

Eurkaryotic Parasites (all 14) will be in your last lecture this coming Monday/Tuesday - NO LAB time!

 

DID YOU READ THE: HEP C, HIV Prophylaxis & HIV Vaccine assignments?

 

TIME CHANGE for Unknown Paper Review and Discussion - Friday May 18 from 10-12 in SC-112 as no one has any labs to finish - lab is over

 

 

The LAST LECTURES on HIV-drugs, AIDSVAX, & Eukaryotic Parasites are posted!  You will see these again on the Final Exam!

 

 

HOME TESTING FOR HIV - OraQuic Home Test approved for Home use on 5/15/12

FDA Panel Says Yes to Home HIV Test

By Emily P. Walker, Washington Correspondent, MedPage Today

Published: May 15, 2012

GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- An FDA advisory committee has voted 17-0 to recommend approval for the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test. If approved, it will be the first over-the-counter home HIV test.

About 2.8 million people would use the OraQuick In-Home HIV Test, made by OraSure Technologies, each year, an FDA reviewer estimated. The review projected that the home-use test would lead to 45,000 new positive test results and could avert more than 4,000 HIV transmissions in a year.

That would be the best-case scenario, said Blaine Hollinger, MD, chairman of the FDA's Blood Products Advisory Committee and professor of medicine, molecular virology, and epidemiology at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston.

But in order for the in-home test to have an effect on HIV infection rates, people who learn they are HIV-positive from the OraQuick test would have to change their behavior to prevent spread of the virus, Hollinger said.

The test isn't perfect, and in OraSure's clinical trials, there were eight individuals out of 5,558 who received a false negative result. So, if approved, OraQuick could lead to 3,800 false negative tests in people who wouldn't otherwise be tested, the FDA reviewer said.

In addition, the test could be expected to deliver one false positive test for every 3,750 true negative results, or approximately 1,100 false positive test results per year, according to briefing documents released ahead of Tuesday's meeting.

Panelists did not think the potential raised by inaccurate results were a reason not to approve the test. They especially hoped OraQuick will be used by high-risk people who wouldn't otherwise get tested.

OraSure said that a total 41% of those who used OraQuick in its clinical trial had never been tested for HIV previously. Of those who learned they were HIV-positive from the OraQuick test, 96% said they were highly likely to follow up with a doctor or clinic for treatment options, the company said.

For the OraQuick test, individuals swab their upper and lower gums, then insert the swab into a vial of test fluid. If the user has HIV, two colored lines develop on the test strip after 20 minutes. The information booklet in the package includes directions to call an OraQuick HIV support center -- reachable 24 hours a day, 7 days a week -- for counseling on the test results and referral to medical services.

A clinical trial of OraSure's test identified 106 previously undiagnosed people infected with HIV out of 5,558 individuals who used the product, according to OraSure's background documents.

The sensitivity of the test is 92.98% (95% CI 86.6% to 96.9%). The specificity of the test is 99.98% (95% CI 99.9% to 100%). The sensitivity was much higher when the same testing kit was administered by a trained professional.

Some panelists expressed concern that individuals who currently get tested professionally may instead opt for the less sensitive but more private at-home test, but the panel ultimately voted 17-0 in a separate vote that the test is safe and effective.

HIV testing has evolved greatly over time. In the 1980s, testing always involved a clinical laboratory, pre-test counseling, posttest counseling, and medical referral. In the mid-1990s, the FDA approved two over-the-counter home-use blood collection kits for HIV testing. With those kits, the user mails in a blood sample and receives a result over the phone or by mail. Counseling and medical referral were also available by phone.

Starting in 2001, the FDA began approving a number of "rapid" HIV tests which are used by trained professionals and quickly deliver results in an outreach setting -- including the OraQuick test, offered in different packaging.

The OraQuick In-home HIV test would be the first to deliver results at home, in much the way a home pregnancy test does.

During Tuesday's meeting, the panel heard testimony from dozens of HIV patients and public health advocates urging the panel to recommend approval for OraQuick.

If marketed, the test would likely be sold in a similar manner to some cough medicines, according to a company spokesman. At checkout, the cashier would ask to see the purchaser's ID to confirm he or she is at least 17.

 

 

Prophylaxis for HIV?

 

AP MATTHEW PERRONE

 

WASHINGTON -- A pill that has long been used to treat HIV has moved one step closer to becoming the first drug approved to prevent healthy people from becoming infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

 

The Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday that Gilead Sciences' Truvada appears to be safe and effective for HIV prevention. It concluded that taking the pill daily could spare patients "infection with a serious and life-threatening illness that requires lifelong treatment."

On Thursday, a panel of FDA advisers will consider the review when it votes on whether Truvada should be approved as a preventative treatment for people who are at high risk of contracting HIV through sexual intercourse. The FDA is not required to follow the advice of its panels, but it usually does.

 

An estimated 1.2 million Americans have HIV, which attacks the immune system and, unless treated with antiviral drugs, develops into AIDS, a fatal condition in which the body cannot fight off infections. If Truvada is approved, it would be a major breakthrough in the 30-year campaign against the AIDS epidemic. There have been no other drugs proven to prevent HIV and a vaccine is believed to be decades away.

 

Gilead Sciences Inc., based in Foster City, Calif., has marketed Truvada since 2004 as a treatment for people who are infected with the virus. The medication is a combination of two older HIV drugs, Emtriva and Viread. Doctors usually prescribe the medications as part of a drug cocktail that makes it harder for the virus to reproduce. Patients with low viral levels have reduced symptoms and are far less likely to develop AIDS.

 

Researchers first reported that Truvada could prevent people from contracting HIV in 2010. A three-year study found that daily doses cut the risk of infection in healthy gay and bisexual men by 44 percent, when accompanied by condoms and counseling. Another study found that Truvada reduced infection by 75 percent in heterosexual couples in which one partner was infected with HIV and the other was not.

Because Truvada is already on the market to manage HIV, some doctors already prescribe it as a preventive measure. But FDA approval would allow the drugmaker Gilead Sciences to formally market its drug for that use.

 

FDA reviewers on Tuesday said that patients must be diligent about taking the pill every day if using it as a preventative measure. Adherence to the medication was less than perfect in clinical trials, and reviewers said that patients in the real world may forget to take their medication even more than those in clinical studies.

 

Some patient advocacy groups say the drug is an important new option to prevent HIV, alongside condoms, counseling and other measures. Last month, advocacy group AIDS United and more than a dozen other groups sent a letter to the FDA, urging approval of Truvada.

"If we're going to reduce the more than 50,000 new HIV infections in this country each year, we need to increase the available options for people," said Ronald Johnson, AIDS United's vice president.

 

But support for FDA approval is not unanimous.

 

Although the FDA is legally barred from considering cost when reviewing drugs, health care providers have raised concerns about Truvada's price tag: $900 a month, or just under $11,000 per year. Medicare and Medicaid, the nation's largest health insurance plans, generally cover drugs approved by the FDA, and analysts expect most large health insurers to follow suit.

 

Additionally, some researchers say the prevention pill is not the chemical equivalent of condoms, which they say remain the best weapon against AIDS. They also worry about Truvada's mixed success rate in preventing infection among women: Last year, a study in women was stopped early after researchers found that women taking the drug were more likely to become infected than those taking placebo.

Researchers speculated that women may require a higher dose of the drug to prevent infection. They also said the disappointing results may have resulted from women not taking the pills consistently.

 

"We know that if the person doesn't take the medication every day they will not be protected," said Dr. Rodney Wright, director of HIV programs at Montefiore Medical Center in New York and chairman of the AIDS Health Foundation. "So the concern is that there may not be adequate adherence to provide protection in the general population."

 

 

UPDATED GRADESHEETS have been EMAILED to your recorded email address... If there is an error on the gradesheet, remember the correction process!  Bring me a printed copy of your gradesheet with the error circled, corrected, signed and your proof.  Otherwise it will NOT be corrected in my gradebook.

 

Lab is ending - we are having our last labs THIS week!

 

Wed/Thurs May 16-17 is the BIG BiWEEKLY TEST.  This is a BIG ONE!  It counts 2X  Are you ready!!! THE BONUS ON IT IS A 1/2 PAGE TYPED SUMMARY OF THE MOVIE "AND THE BAND PLAYED ON." due on test day in class!

 

 

 

The NEXT Lecture material is Chapters 12-15; Read it in the text and print out the PowerPoints for ALL LECTURE next Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday - this will be the NEW QUESTIONS on the Final Exam (50)!

 

 

UPCOMING IMPORTANT NOTES/DATES FOR YOU!

 

NO M-40 on SATURDAY May 19 ; The LAST M40 is on Friday May 18th 10-12 noon in SC-112!  The Unknown Paper Review on FRIDAY May 18th from 11-1; you can do the last lab work on Friday from 10-11 AM

 

 

 

HEP C info Treatment/Cure? - ON YOUR NEXT TEST!

 

April 28

Good Week for People with Hepatitis C

 
It’s been an unusually good week for people with hepatitis C — even those for whom current treatments have failed.

 

Not one, but two effective new hep C treatments got a strong endorsement from an FDA advisory panel. Both drugs — Merck’s Victrelis (boceprevir) and Vertex’s telaprevir (no brand name at this writing) should soon get full FDA approval.

 

Right now, only about half of people who undergo hep C treatment get cured (defined as a “sustained viral response,” or hep C virus levels too low to detect). Cure rates are particularly low for people infected with the strain of the virus most common. For reasons that are not entirely clear, blacks also have lower cure rates.

 

Responses to treatment vary by genotype. Sustained response is about 40-50% in people with HCV genotype 1 given 48 weeks of treatment.[3] Sustained response is seen in 70-80% of people with HCV genotypes 2 and 3 with 24 weeks of treatment.[3] Sustained response is about 65% in those with genotype 4 given 48 weeks of treatment. The evidence for treatment in genotype 6 disease is currently sparse, and the evidence that exists is for 48 weeks of treatment at the same doses as are used for genotype 1 disease

 

About two-thirds of people are cured when either of the new drugs is added to current treatment. The telaprevir combination takes six months — half the time of current treatment — while Victrelis treatment lasts eight to 12 months.

 

As usual in the world of hepatitis C treatment, there are serious downsides to both drugs. The biggest downside is that people who take them still have to take the standard treatment of alpha interferon and ribavirin. Taking these drugs is like having a bad case of the flu that lasts for months.

 

Unfortunately, the combination of standard treatment with either of the new drugs is even harder to take. Each drug adds to the anemia from the interferon/ribavirin combo. Some 40% of people taking Victrelis get so anemic they need expensive doses of the anti-anemia drug           terythropoietin. And a nasty rash is a common side effect with telaprevir.

 

The two drugs work in essentially the same way. Both are protease inhibitors, which means they attack a hepatitis C virus (HCV) enzyme that is essential for the virus to make new copies of itself. Each of the drugs brings virus replication to a near halt.

 

But when used alone, HCV quickly becomes resistant to each of the new drugs. That’s why they have to be given in combination.

So which is better, Victrelis or telaprevir? The FDA panel was careful not to speculate — and don’t hold your breath for a head-to-head study. Both drug companies plan big marketing campaigns. Financial analysts currently speculate that Vertex will grab a bigger market share.

Meanwhile, people with hep C wonder when they’ll see the really big breakthrough everyone is waiting for — a drug combination that works for nearly everyone and which does not require either interferon or ribavirin.

 

Such treatments are in the pipeline. Some experts say they may come in as few as two or three years, while others say it will be a decade before they’re finally here. What is for sure is that telaprevir and Victrelis are just the first in what is hoped will be a long line of treatment options for people with the deadly hepatitis C virus.

 

Hep C genotype 1 Protease inhibitors — Patients with genotype 1 are also treated with a protease inhibitor in addition to pegylated interferon and ribavirin. Protease inhibitors became available in May 2011, so patients treated before to this time did not receive them.

Protease inhibitors do not work if taken by themselves because the virus quickly becomes resistant. By taking the protease inhibitors with peginterferon and ribavirin, resistance is much less likely. Protease inhibitors are pills and include boceprevir (brand name: VictrelisTM) and telaprevir (brand name: IncivekTM). These medications are used only for patients with genotype 1 and significantly increase cure rates in patients with genotype 1. Common side effects of protease inhibitors include low blood counts (anemia) and rashes.

 

other links:

 

http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/hepc_news_genotype.html

 

http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/2010_conference/easl/docs/0514_2010_a.html

 

 

 

 

NOTE: EVERY REGISTERED CLASS MEMBER MUST have an official active email address that you check daily.  You must also READ this announcement/Index page each day BEFORE you leave for class as emergency announcements will be posted above this box.  Please supply your instructor AND college with your email address immediately.  Those without active official email addresses listed with the college will NOT receive gradesheet updates or important emergency announcements.  If you are "checking-out" the course for the upcoming term, you may email me at hicksdr@att.net for the ID/PASSWORD for entry into the Microwebsite.  Please include your LAST NAME, ID# and your enrolled Section # within your email.  THANKS!  DRH

 

MICROWEBSITE USAGE DIRECTIONS:  You are on the Microwebsite INDEX Page. 

 

Click on the "Microwebsite Login" button below to enter the instructional website, you will be taken to the Microwebsite LOGIN PAGE.  After inputting your Instructor NAME and the provided Password you will be sent to Entry Portal Page. 

 

Click on the  GOLD Microwebsite/Navigation Page button on that page to go to the main website page.  After clicking on the GOLD Microwebsite/Navigation button, you will be taken to the Microwebsite NAVIGATION PAGE (NAV page). 

 

The Nav page has all the major entry points for information pertaining to this course: General Information buttons, LAB BUTTONS, & DAILY BUTTONS. Please be aware that some classes, labs, and help sessions are videotaped.  This is for teaching purposes in order to improve instruction, for demonstration, and to improve safety procedures... Good Luck!

 

Please read under the button labeled: GRADE PROBLEMS from the Nav Page (or the top of this page) to see the grading standards for your class as well as new ways to earn BONUS POINTS!  Also, note that we are asking for volunteers to be CLASS/LAB CHECKERS.  These checkers are NEEDED in for each section - please volunteer by seeing me before or after your class during the first week of school.  I will need: 2 before class Microscope Checkers, 2 end of class Microscope Checkers, 2 during and end of class Room Checkers, 2 after class Sink Checkers plus 2 Administrative Class Aids or Grader/Checkers.  Those assisting in the administration of class and lab will be dismissed/exempt from the 10-12 hours of Lab Prep Work in Micro-40 and only have to attend 4-6 hours of the Instructor Help Sessions during the term to receive their Micro-40 grade.

 

NOTE: This website does NOT work for devices without "FLASH" - you must access the Microwebsite with a FLASH-ENABLED microcomputer or smartphone.  Apple devices do not normally utilize FLASH.  Also, please update your JAVA files at JAVA.com before attempting login.  Ask me in lecture how to partially utilize this website using and Apple Device. Go into the microwebsite and learn how to navigate the pages:  

 

 

 

 

   

 

 

ALL MICROBIOLOGY lecture recordings are now in a Microbiology Dropbox file online for everyone to use BEFORE your lecture/after your lecture/ or for review of the lectures - to share!  You will also find many important helpful Microbiology Documents there to download as well... 

 

You may click on the Lecture Recordings button below and sign-in yourself to download and then listen to them.  If you have problems with the "process" to access the document or lecture recording downloads - email me!  To sign-up for our Microbiology Dropbox there are 2 options (click on the button below).

 

  If you need to hear the lectures NOW, use the first option and you will not have to email me for an invitation... 

 

REMEMBER, to listen to the lecture recordings you must: (1) have an AMR player installed on your computer (go to www.cnet.com and download the vlc player FREE, install it, reboot your computer, and then (2) you can DOWNLOAD the lecture files to your machine and listen to the lectures.

 

 

 

Instructor HELP and assistance verbally (through "Call the Prof") on Sundays 12-3 PM and by email is limited during Test/Exam weeks.  If you send email you must do it by 4 PM on the SUNDAY before any Test/Exam as I must have time to write, copy and organize Exams.  "Last minute/night before" questions cannot be answered! When you are asking for assistance you should work in groups as I limit any practice question discussion to 10 questions per student all presented in 1 email per student.  You must type the WHOLE question (10) and all the answers (options) and select the answer that you believe is correct.  If you are wrong, I will return the question with the correct answer and a explanation if required.  I WILL NOT ANSWER QUESTIONS YOU ARE TOO LAZY TO LOOK UP IN THE NOTES OR TEXT.  If the answer is directly taken from the notes are is easily found in the text or by "googling" - DO NOT WASTE MY TIME - I will respond with "LOOK IT UP."  Memorizing old test questions is discouraged as it will cause you to miss them on the exam as they are always altered.  If you learn the material about which each question tests - then you will be fine.  MEMORIZATION IS PENALIZED.  Plan ahead - the SUNDAY before a test/exam is my DUE DATE.

 

   

 

RECOMMENDATION LETTERS:

 

I prefer electronic recommendations.  Please forward an electronic form if possible.  If you request a written letterhead recommendation letter, they now will be left in SC-218 in a box in a folder/envelope with your name on the outside.  Go to the second floor; turn right as you exit the elevator.  Go right again and through the Dept door. Turn left for about 10 ft and then right for about 20 ft.  at the end of that hallway on the right-hand side of the hall is a set of low black file cabinets.  The STUDENT COMMUNICATION BOX will be labeled and on top of the file cabinets.  Pickup your recommendation there.

 

Micro-40 ENDS this FRIDAY!  Have you done all your hours (14-16 for an "A" and the M40 Final Exam?  Saturday M40 Lab Prep continues with Naira on Mon/Wed 8-2 and Fridays 9-5 PM in SC-110 until 15 June.  GET YOUR HOURS COMPLETED!

 

Listen to the class lectures again or in advance of your class. Remember to use our Dropbox Lecture Recordings, you must email me your agreement to our "conditions of use," with your ID, Class section number, and Last name, first name and DROPBOX REQUEST in the subject line.  The newest lectures are online now.

 

 

MICRO-40 Instructor Help Hours ends Friday May 18 from 10-12 in SC-110; M40 Lab Prep continues M/W 8-2 and Fridays 9-5 PM until June 15.  Sign in and out!

 

Microbiology 40 (1 sem hr #0932 "TBA" usually Fri and or Sat morning/afternoons; some Thurs evenings also) is an additional semester hour of Microbiology Laboratory.  Micro-40 has 3 required parts (1) additional  Instructor assistance time (2) additional time to complete in-class laboratory assignments & (3) additional experience in a functioning microbiology preparation laboratory. You are signed in/out of Micro-40 and you must complete at least 16 hours of attendance during the 18 week semester; grading is by satisfactory attendance/participation as well as a "take-home" self-study unit which is a Final Exam.  See the instructor during the first two weeks of class if you have questions.  The first organizational meeting of Micro-40 is on a Friday  (see the Micro Calendar page for the exact date and time during this term. 

 

You may take Micro-40 three times at LA City College. During the second and third term of M40 you will be assigned a special project - see the instructor.  You must have taken or be taking Micro-1 or Micro-20 at LACC to take Micro-40.  Micro-40 cannot be used to substitute for lab credit when you have taken your lecture at another college/university.

 

To find out about when Micro 40 meets:  (1) CHECK YOUR CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT BOARD - it has the latest updates (2)Check your email and Check the INDEX page for any EMERGENCY ANNOUNCEMENTS and the weekend schedule - BEFORE ATTENDING!  (3) Check the MICROBIOLOGY COURSE CALENDAR FALL 2012 for scheduled meetings of M40.

 

You do not have to attend every session of M40 nor do you have to arrive and leave at a specific time.  You may choose times and dates suitable to your needs in class but you cannot attend for less than 1 hour each visit.  M40 Instr Assistance Hours and Lab Prep Hours may be substituted for each other with permission but you must total 16 hours by the end of the term.  CHECKERS do NOT HAVE TO COMPLETE the Lab Prep Hours.

 

The next meeting for Spring 2012 is every Friday and Saturday until the Final Exam week.
>
>DRH

 

The last day to drop with a "W" and without receiving a grade (A, B, C, D, F or "i" ) is on the college website... check it!

 

GRADING: You can return one (1) paper that I have taken off points for recording infractions once by putting it in your Final Exam packet and I will give them back ONCE on 1 paper only!  I will NOT return points for cheating or writing on exams.

 

IF YOU MADE AN "i" in a previous term, PLEASE DO NOT RE-REGISTER.  Come to my first class during the next semester and discuss your status.   YOU HAVE 1 calendar year to repeat or 'make-up' the class; if you do not make-up your work the grade defaults to the grade listed on your notification - usually an "F."

 

(Website Revision 02/2012)  This is the home page for these Microbiology Classes: Micro-1 (#3432), Micro-20 (#0930, #0931), Micro-40 (#0932), Bio 25 and Bio 112 (#7412). This MICROWEBSITE is used solely for Prof. Hicks' students

 

OFFICE NUMBER: If you need to contact me in the office you may try to reach us at (323) 953-4000  x 2791; if you leave a message, please note that the message machine is RARELY checked... emails are ANSWERED IMMEDIATELY!

 

IF YOU EMAIL ME: (Outlines, Library Assignment) etc.  PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR LAST NAME, ID#, and SECTION # in the SUBJECT LINE with a short topic word.  All information you are communicating should be loacated INSIDE THE EMAIL... Usually the college computers do not allow me to download attachment files.  EXCEPTION - PLEASE SEND UNKNOWN PAPERS AS A "WORD" ATTACHMENT ONLY as I must grade the "formatting" on your paper... THANKS!

 

STUDENTS will be assigned to numbered seats/scopes alphabetically during the second meeting of your class.  IF YOU HAVE A DISABILITY or Sight problem, please notify me during the 1st or 2nd class.  LATE ADDS will be added to those seats left un-assigned - THANKS for your co-operation!

 

During Exams/Tests - all seating is assigned randomly by a "drawing" -- be prepared to leave your backpacks/personal items along the chalkboard or on my teacher's table (LACC)

 

 

Remember that seating is alphabetical by last name on lecture days and by random number on testing days - on a test day, come into the class and put your "things" at the front of the room ON THE TABLES! Select a number from the container, read it, return it to the "Used #'s" container and sit in that seat for the testing.

 

When you enter and just before exiting the Micro Lab, DO NOT FORGET to wash your hands and disinfect your area... Please do not leave the "lab" with your smock and gloves on - "it frightens the natives in the halls!"

 

 

Classroom Behavior:

 

PLEASE NO ACTIVE CELL PHONES, NO TEXTING, NO READING OF EMAIL or EMAILING DURING CLASS OR LAB! Warning 1st time -10 pts afterward!  TURN your electronic devices OFF or to Vibrate when entering the classroom!!! You may tape-record or use a laptop to take notes, but do not "chat" or "email/text" in lecture.  Some classes, labs, and help sessions are videotaped for teaching purposes and to improve instruction; by attending you are giving your permission to be filmed in a teaching situation.

 

PLEASE no: sleeping, eating, drinking, smoking, applying makeup, or any distracting behavior during the class. "Horseplay" is not acceptable behavior in the lab or classroom.   You are NOT allowed into the Microbiology area without a staff/instructor; however you may enter the classroom if the door is open if you wash your hands and disinfect before seating yourself to study.  DO NOT COME INTO THE LAB or LECTURE ROOMS and work on lab without permission.  Labs meet during scheduled times ONLY.  Remember: DO NOT EAT OR DRINK ANYTHING DURING LAB - microbes are "out!"  PLEASE, no visible coffee-cups, bottles, or food of any kind.

 

Each student is expected to show equal and proper respect to others. You have a right to free speech and free association outside a formal classroom.  Please avoid any overt or perceived actions that might be interpreted as prejudice or discrimination based on: age, sex, sexual orientation, religion, race, ethnicity, disability, or economic status; such is PROHIBITED in this class and is grounds for immediate dismissal from the class!  If you have a difficulty in class or believe you have been mistreated, please contact the instructor privately as soon as possible.  We benefit from the extreme diversity of our student population.  Everyone in a free democratic society MUST respect and defend the dignity and value of each of its members equally... Suggestions are encouraged to improve the class and the lab - EMAIL ME!

 

DO NOT BE a person caught CHEATING (in ANY WAY such as: talking, whispering, cheat sheets, copying, or exchanging different "FORMS" of any test during administration)... If you are seen cheating and you check your score online and see a "0", you do NOT  have an error in your grade!  When I see cheating I take witness statements as well as the "Proctor's" statement... Then, I apply the consequences. If you wish to challenge this please make an appointment by email! Otherwise, I will expect to see you AGAIN IN ANOTHER TERM...

 

 

  Read the latest NEWS concerning Micro and Laboratory Technology in one of the leading FREE professional magazines for Microbiologists.. You can also check MEDPAGE today or Scientific American or Science for recent articles in Science.

 

           STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES:  
 
 
 

ALL TESTS cover the material from the first day to the last lecture before the "TEST" plus a few questions from the ASSIGNED material to be read... Sometimes our tests will CONTAIN QUESTIONS ON HOW TO NAVIGATE THIS WEBSITE as many people are not taking the 'time' to look around and discover the links!

 

You will be dropped if you miss more than 2 class meetings!!!!!

 

* During your first class your instructor will give you the ID and Password to enter the MicroWebsite; EMAIL me if you have forgotten...

 

 

CONTACTS:

NOTE: You may "click" on the "*Default Email Addresses" listed on the chart to send me an immediate email...

 
Email Address for Students ONLY (PLEASE USE!): hicksdr@att.net  ---- DO NOT USE MY LACITYCOLLEGE.EDU address PLEASE!

 
The LACC MICROBIOLOGY LECTURE/ LAB Room is located in the SCI Building in Room #112. 

 

The LACC MICROBIOLOGY PREP ROOM is located in  the SCI Building in  Rm #110.  This room is used for the Lab Tech Lab Assistant and is where you will have at least 10 hours of laboratory preparation training (TBA - FRIDAY, SATURDAY and some Thursday evenings).

 

Microbiology OFFICE/STUDENT EMAIL:

 
Microbiology FAX: 323-372-3654

 
 "Call the Prof" is scheduled from 12-3 pm on the SUNDAY afternoons before every EXAM and most TESTS the telephone call-in number and exact times will be posted & announced in class

 
OFFICE HOURS: are by appointment or 1 hr before/after classes & during Micro-40 from (week 4-16) in SCI-110/112.

My LACC MICROBIOLOGY OFFICE is located in the Science (SCI) Building on the 2nd floor in room #218-S (take the elevator to the 2nd floor, take a right and go through the first door on the right & ask)

 
 

Microbiology-40 (#0932) is for those students who are currently taking Microbiology Lecture/Lab at LACC & is appropriate for additional help, instructor tutoring, and to gain greater experience in Microbiology Laboratory procedures.  Students in Micro-1/Micro-20 are encouraged to take advantage of Micro-40 help/sessions by enrolling in Micro-40 concurrently (ask for the 1 credit hr. ADD SLIP during the first week of classes.  Micro-40 may be taken up to 3 times total in order to gain additional skills  in Microbiology Laboratory techniques.  Your second and third Micro-40 class requires at least 35 hours of student participation.  Micro-40 is held in SCI  #110/112 TBA  from the 4th to the 14th week of each term according to the posted COURSE CALENDAR... 

 

Microbiology-40 CANNOT be used to substitute for a UC/CS Microbiology Lab when your Microbiology lecture was taken at a UC/CS/USC campus. 

 

 

 

*SUGGESTIONS for Students having problems viewing the MicroWebsite:

 

NOTE: This website does NOT work for devices without "FLASH" - you must access the Microwebsite with a FLASH-ENABLED microcomputer or smartphone.  Apple devices do not normally utilize FLASH.  Please update your JAVA files at JAVA.com before attempting login. If you are attempting to access a microwebsite page on a non-flash enabled device you must first obtain the exact web address, then you must enter and bookmark each page individually to be able to return to it.  If you are using a flash-enabled device and cannot enter the website, then you are probably typing the LOGIN wrong (not using ALL CAPS and no periods.....) or:

 

(1) MOST PROBABLY YOU DO NOT HAVE updated JAVA! Go to www.java.com  and download the java virtual machine.  It is in the upper right corner of the page... Follow the instructions exactly.

(2) Your Browser is incompatible or out of date; download and install either the newest Internet Explorer, Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or AVANT BROWSERS (Google it!)

(3) Your CACHE is full. Go into your hard drive and look for THE TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES.  Open this and delete the contents as each time your browser looks at an online website, the information is stored in your Temp. Internet File folder which, after a time becomes "FULL!"

(4) Your security settings are wrong or set too high.  Go to your INTERNET Browser... Tools... SECURITY Settings and select ADVANCED... Always, make sure that the latest "JAVA" is installed from java.com

 

PLEASE NOTE: If you are downloading the Class PowerPoint Notes in PDF... the files are large and take about 30 seconds to open after you click on the Chapter.  WAIT 30 seconds "AFTER" clicking on the Chapter buttons before moving your Browser.  YOU MUST HAVE THE LATEST JAVA as well as the latest ADOBE READER TO OPEN THE PDF files   - update JAVA FIRST!  The Java update will allow you to download OPEN OFFICE which is a free word processing multi-use program that will save/open files in almost any format you wish.  If you are not running antivirus/anti spyware, you can use the Microsoft Security Essentials, it is a free download

 

 

*Micro-40 students: ALL  M-40 students must complete the MICRO-40 FINAL EXAM and print and include it in your Final Exam Packet - select your final exam date and time from that offered online. Micro-40 students must read and turn-in the simple Micro-40 Final Exam in their Final Exam Packet on Final Exam Day.  See Micro-40 button

 

MICROBIOLOGY 40 has 3 parts: YOU MUST COMPLETE ALL 3 to achieve an "A"

 

1) Register for Microbiology 40 section 0932. Then attend (4) four meetings of the Teacher Help Sessions with me: Selected FRIDAY'S (and a few Saturday's) only from the 4th to the 14th week of each term) - always according to the Course Calendar and held in SC-112!  You must come at least 4 hours during the term.  You must sign the attendance sheet each time!

 

2) M-40 Lab Prep Training/Experience with DRHicks:  on FRIDAY mornings according to the course calendar.  Those students who are room checkers get a BONUS on their LRB AND do their 10 hours in the classroom but must have the inside of their LRB cover signed by me.  They must attend the required Help Sessions as well. 

 

If you are seen NOT doing your checker assignment, you credit will be voided; I have noticed the sink, room, and scope checkers are NOT doing their assignments during the last weeks of class... I am noting this! 

 

3) Take notes during instruction in M-40 concerning an important component of microbiology lab preparation.  Then, before Final Exam Week - read, write and print/ submit a summary/multiple choice review of that training. INCLUDE YOUR MICRO-40 FINAL EXAM IN YOUR FINAL EXAM PACKET or you will not get a GRADE!

 

To complete the review and simple Micro-40 Final Exam, click here:

 

 

 

1) Many of you are missing a few things... and only studying the night before.  Or NOT KNOWING WHEN THINGS ARE DUE.  Remember, the announcements will be here if you forget - don't email me about what is on the test if you have copied the board - LOOK IN YOUR LRB or here.

 

2) Please do not email me questions DURING TESTING... I have no time to answer hundreds of questions on the day of exams.  The tests are given in day pairs... Monday/Tuesday or Wed/Thurs. ----- so if you want information ask by Sunday for the next week's test... but not on a day I give the test; Thanks!

 

3) I must "take down" the GRADEBOOK each time we have a new test/exam and re-do the entire website for Grades - THUS, you will not be able to log on to your personal grades when there is a test being graded... ONLY WHEN IT SAYS HERE THAT YOUR GRADES ARE READY! You will NOT be able to log into your Gradesheet when grades are being re-computed. 

 

  • POP QUIZZES are DAILY!
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    Zoonotic Viruses Found in Seized Wildlife
    By Kristina Fiore, Staff Writer, MedPage Today
    Published: January 14, 2012
    Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco and
    Dorothy Caputo, MA, RN, BC-ADM, CDE, Nurse Planner
    Bushmeat and other illegally imported wildlife confiscated at U.S. ports can harbor zoonotic viruses, researchers found.

    A pilot screening program conducted largely at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) identified several pathogens, including simian foamy virus and herpesviruses, among non-human primate products attempted to be smuggled into the country, Kristine Smith, PhD, of the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York City.

    "Although the findings to date are from a small pilot study, they remind us of the potential public health risk posed by illegal importation of wildlife products -- a risk we hope to better characterize through expanded surveillance at ports of entry around the country," Smith said in a statement.
    Action Points  
    • Bushmeat and other illegally imported wildlife confiscated at U.S. ports can harbor zoonotic viruses.


       
    • Point out that none of the rodents carried viruses but the primates carried several retroviruses, including simian foamy virus, and herpesviruses such as cytomegalovirus and lymphocryptovirus.
       

    The sprawling, global trade in wildlife has long contributed to the emergence and spread of infectious disease, the researchers explained, adding that nearly 75% of new diseases in humans are of zoonotic origin, largely acquired through direct contact with wildlife.

     

    Currently, there's minimal surveillance of imported wildlife -- even that which is legally imported -- despite the fact that the U.S. brings in more animals than any other country. From 2000 to 2006, for instance, 1.5 billion live wild animals were legally imported, most destined for pet industry. In addition, an average of over 25 million kilograms of non-live wildlife enter the country each year.

     

    Because of this lack of surveillance, potential health risks remain largely unqualified, Smith and colleagues wrote.

    So to get a better sense of what pathogens may come with illegally imported products, they created a pilot project to assess those seized by U.S. Customs. Most of the samples were confiscated at JFK airport in Queens, N.Y., from Oct. 2008 to Sept. 2010. Samples from four other airports -- Philadelphia, Washington (Dulles), Houston, and Atlanta -- were included starting in April 2010.

     

    Overall, eight packages shipped via mail and 20 passenger-carried packages were of sufficient quality for use in the study. These included parts from non-human primates and rodents, including baboon, chimpanzee, mangabey, guenon, green monkey, cane rat, and rat.

    None of the rodents carried viruses; all samples were negative for leptospira, anthrax, herpesviruses, filoviruses, paramyxoviruses, coronaviruses, flaviviruses, and orthopoxviruses, the researchers found.

    But the primates carried several retroviruses, including simian foamy virus, and herpesviruses, such as cytomegalovirus and lymphocryptovirus.

     

    Smith and colleagues warned that transmission of simian foamy virus to humans is poorly understood. Most, but not all, infected patients were bitten by diseased animals, which suggests the possibility of a less-invasive mode of infection, they wrote.

    Fortunately, they added, none of the samples contained simian immunodeficiency virus, which is the virus responsible for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and AIDS, or simian T-lymphotropic virus. Yet they warned that these viruses have been found in high prevalences in specimens at bushmeat markets.

    The researchers noted that many of the species were of conservation importance, with a status of either near-threatened, vulnerable, or endangered.

     

    "More education efforts or harsher penalties are needed regarding the handling, consumption, and illegal transportation of products from wildlife of conservation concern," they wrote.

     

    Though their study included only a small number of species due to its limited range and to the variable condition of confiscated samples, they warned that there's still a "large component of zoonotic disease risk assessment not included in this study."

    They called for wider-scale implementation of disease surveillance among wildlife products seized at U.S. ports "so that appropriate measures can be taken to further mitigate potential risks."