Term
| How was the plague controlled in the Middle Ages? |
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Definition
| A "bird guise" with a beak filled with parsley, sage, rosemary, and thyme was supposed to protect the wearer from the plague |
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Term
| Which microbes are the most resistant? |
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Definition
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Term
| Which microbes are moderately resistant? |
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Definition
Cysts
Zygospores
Non-enveloped viruses
Hardy vegetative bacteria |
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Term
| Which microbes are not very resistant? |
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Definition
Fungi
Bacteria
Enveloped viruses
Protozoans
"Animals" |
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Term
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Definition
| Removing ALL viable organisms by physical or chemical means. Is not done on large living organisms, like skin. |
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Term
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Definition
Bactericide
Fungicide
Sporicide
Virucide |
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Term
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Definition
| Preventing growth of germs without necessarily killing them. Mainly caused by chemical agents. |
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Term
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Definition
| Reducing microbial load through mechanical displacement, generally through detergents and soaps. |
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Term
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Definition
| Reducing microbial load on the skin or other living tissue by removing oils, debris, etc. |
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Term
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Definition
| A broad-spectrum chemical agent that kills many "germs" but may not kill all resistant cells or spores, used on living and nonliving things |
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Term
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Definition
| A broad-spectrum physical or chemical agent that destroys resistant cells but not all spores. By definition, used only on nonliving things. |
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Term
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Definition
| The prevention of infection through physical or chemical means. |
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Term
| What are the four modes of action for anitmicrobial agents? |
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Definition
Disruption of cell walls
Disruption of cell membranes
Disruption of protein/nucleic acid synthesis
Changing protein function |
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Term
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Definition
| Boiling/hot water or steam, typically 60 to 135 degrees. Microbicidal. Causes coagulation and denaturing of proteins. |
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Term
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Definition
Little or no moisture, provided by flame or heating coils, typically at higher temperatures. Causes denaturing of proteins, and dehydration and oxidation of the cell.
Can use an incinerator or an oven, depending on the application. It's very versatile, but time-consuming. |
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Term
| How much heat is needed to kill microbes? |
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Definition
It depends:
Higher temperature = less time
Moist heat = less time at a given temperature
Pressure = raises temperature of steam |
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Term
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Definition
| Shortest amount of time required to kill all microbes of interest at a given temperature |
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Term
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Definition
| Lowest temperature required to kill all microbes of interest in 10 minutes |
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Term
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Definition
| Under pressure, the temperature of steam increases. This is best for durable, hardy objects, or items that will be discarded. |
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Term
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Definition
| A cylinder with an airtight door and racks used to heat and pressurize steam to sterilize objects in healthcare and industry. |
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Term
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Definition
Intermittent sterilization/Tyndallization. Good for culture media or food.
The object is basically steamed for 30-60 minutes, then cooled to incubate for 24 hours, then steamed again, 3 to 4 times. The thinking is that spores that aren't destroyed during the initial steaming will sprout during incubation and be killed by the next cycle. |
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Term
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Definition
Heating to a specific temperature for a specific period of time without allowing recontamination. Used on food.
The higher the temperature, the shorter the time, but it depends on what the food can handle what type will be used. |
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Term
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Definition
| Logistically quick and easy to do, and takes care of many microbes. It's a good disinfection tactic. |
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Term
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Definition
| A combination of cold and dessication used to preserve cells, microorganisms, or proteins for scientific purposes. |
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Term
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Definition
Hypochlorites (bleach) are most often used, and are good against most microbes.
They work by disrupting disulfide bridges and oxidizing cysteine groups. |
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Term
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Definition
| Free iodine (I2) or iodophors are antiseptics used for tissues and medical equipment. They are good against most microbes, and work by disrupting hydrogen and sulfur bonds. |
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Term
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Definition
Good against most microbes. Composed of aromatic rings with functional groups.
Examples include Lysol and triclosan. |
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Term
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Definition
At moderate concentrations, they denature proteins, but at high concentrations, they dessicate.
Used on skin, work surfaces, and medical equipment. |
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Term
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Definition
Good against most microbes (most have catalase to neutralize the free radicals, but not enough to counter all of the peroxide).
Used for general disinfection and for small and delicate equipment |
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Term
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Definition
| Polar molecules (with both hydrophilic and hydrophobic components) that reduce surface tension and can disrupt membranes. |
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Term
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Definition
| Dish and handsoaps. They have low antimicrobial activity. |
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Term
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Definition
| Have more antimicrobial activity |
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Term
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Definition
| Mercury and silver salts in solution can disrupt protein functional groups, but because they're so toxic, they're rarely used. |
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Term
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Definition
| Formaldehyde and glutaraldehyde are most commonly used, but are not good against all microbes. |
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