Preparedness and Response to Bioterrorism

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There are different categories of weapons of mass effect—chemicals, biological pathogens and toxins, radioactive materials, nuclear devices, and nonconventional high-yield explosives. Out of these, biological weapons are used in a terrorism type called bioterrorism. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), there are the six focus areas for preparedness and response to bioterrorism and other outbreaks that are detrimental to public health.

On the basis of your understanding of the topic of bioterrorism and our preparedness to handle the health services requirement during any such attack, answer the following questions:

  • Which of the categories of weapons of mass effect is the healthcare industry most prepared to deal with? Why? Provide a factual basis for choosing the particular category of weapons. Which of these categories is the healthcare industry least prepared to deal with? Why?
  • What are the six focus areas, for preparedness and response to bioterrorism and other outbreaks, covered in your course textbook? Are these focus areas still relevant? Why or why not?
  • Research and explain the meaning of each focus area. Which focus area is the most important and why?
  • Which focus area would be the most challenging? And why?
  • Why is communication an important variable within calming fears and suppressing rumors?

Preparing for a bioterrorist attack presents unique challenges in the United States. There are no real wide-scale events you can study to prepare for a bioterrorist attack. In the absence of this experiential knowledge, training exercises are often used. Answer the following questions regarding the training exercises for preparation for bioterrorist attack:

  • Why are training exercises important in planning for a bioterrorist attack? How would you use training exercises to help prepare the staff of a hospital from a bioterrorist attack?
  • What are the benefits of real-life training scenarios involving multiple agencies?
  • Using the Internet, research on Amtrak’s “Operation Rail Safe” program. Would hospitals and medical centers benefit from a program of this nature to aid in their preparation?

Triage is a process developed by the military to cope with large number of victims of combat or disaster situations. In many disaster situations, it becomes necessary to triage patients in order to assess their medical needs and decide how to allocate the resources and staff available to treat the incoming patients. Using the Internet, research on nerve agent “sarin” and answer the following questions in regard to the above process:

  • What criteria would you use in the emergency room to triage patients with potential exposure to the nerve agent sarin?
  • How would you classify the incoming patients when triaging them? Why?

You are the chief executive officer (CEO) of a major hospital. A bioterrorist attack just occurred in your city. The ICS has been activated. Despite the infusion of this additional money provided by the government after the event of September 11, 2001, to the healthcare industry, in an effort to prepare the industry for a possible bioterrorist attack, some people feel that the healthcare industry in US is still unprepared for a bioterrorist attack. As a CEO, you need to assess the situation and prepare your hospital to deal with the situation.

Answer the following questions keeping in mind the above information:

  • Why is the use of an ICS in a hospital important when dealing with a bioterrorist attack? What are the most challenging issues associated with using an ICS in a hospital? Why?
  • As a healthcare administrator, how would you allocate money and why? How prepared do you think the healthcare industry is to handle a bioterrorist attack? Why or why not?

Your review should be of at least 7- to 8-page Microsoft Word document, not counting the cover page or the reference page.

Support your responses with reasoning and examples.

Cite any sources in APA format.

***ZERO PLAGIARISM, INCLUDE REFERENCES AND APA FORMAT PLEASE***

choose one case study: i choose MONO LAKE

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Case Study: Application of Environmental Management Concepts:

As part of your authentic assessments, you will choose a case study on which to reflect and apply your knowledge of environmental management.

You may choose one of the following:

  • Events that led to the Cuyahoga River fires in 1969 up to the present
  • Mono Lake, from the 1940’s to the present
  • Donora, Pennsylvania, from the 1940’s to the present

You may also choose your own case study if you want, but you must obtain approval from me.

Your case study should provide the following:

Component

Total Points Possible and Points Earned

Brief summary of the major events that led to the crisis

 

Possible points: 10

Instructor Comments:

Points earned:

Brief summary of the scientific data pointing to the source of the problem

 

Possible points: 10

Instructor Comments:

Points earned:

Social and legislative barriers to resolving the problem

Possible points: 10

Instructor Comments:

Points earned:

Actions taken to resolve the problem, with a brief summary of the key players taking the actions

Possible points: 10

Instructor Comments:

Points earned:

Ramifications of the case

Possible points: 10

Instructor Comments:

Points earned:

Your recommendations on the environmental management systems and practices you think would be best to avoid such cases in the future and/or manage the case going forward.  Please make sure to provide a clear argument for how your suggestions would resolve the problem more effectively or avoid future cases, whichever one is the most applicable case to demonstrate your management knowledge.  Make sure to think clearly about each particular situation given time, culture, and resources.

Possible points: 40

Instructor Comments:

Points earned:

References and citations from reliable sources in the American Psychological Association (APA) format

Possible points: 10

Instructor Comments:

Points earned:

Environmental science

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You will prepare an APA-style research paper to discuss energy topics, as follows:

 

  • In your own words, describe the laws of thermodynamics.
  • Explain how these scientific laws apply to energy use, energy conversions, and the need for energy efficiency.
  • Describe the pros and cons of the following energy types, writing 1 paragraph for each:
    • Fossil fuel: Oil, natural gas, and coal
    • Nuclear energy
    • Solar energy
    • Wind power
    • Water (hydro) power
    • Bioconversion (biofuel)
  • Research and describe 2 provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.
    • Describe each provision, and provide your opinion about how each provision helps the United States meet energy use goals.

For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, Web resources, and all course materials.

Please submit your assignment.

This assignment will also be assessed using additional criteria provided here.

The following rubric will be used for grading:

 

 

Grading Rubric

70%

Content Development/Critical Thinking: Student uses relevant content to fully and accurately answer all questions. Student demonstrates critical thinking by synthesizing original answers in student’s own words based on reading and research, and includes relevant examples.

20%

Organization, Grammar, and Presentation: Organization is clear. Writing clearly and effectively communicates relevant content. Few if any errors in grammar, spelling, and sentence structure.

10%

5% Information Literacy and Research: Student selects and uses high-quality, credible references relevant to the assignment questions.

5% Sources are correctly cited using APA style: The paper follows APA format and includes a title page, abstract, body of paper, and reference list.

Reading Assignment

 

 

Instructions:

Include at least two pros and two cons for each source of energy. You can discuss fossil fuels as one source, rather than discussing natural gas, coal, and oil separately. Remember that a description of how they work is not a pro or con.

 

Discuss each renewable source individually. Do not discuss as a collective group. Though pros are similar, cons are different for each source.

 

 

Instructor’s Comments:

Include at least two pros and two cons for each source of energy. You can discuss fossil fuels as one source, rather than discussing natural gas, coal, and oil separately. Remember that a description of how they work is not a pro or con.

 

Discuss each renewable source individually. Do not discuss as a collective group. Though pros are similar, cons are different for each source.

Environmental Science

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Assignment Description

In this assignment, you will investigate the biotic and abiotic structure and function of an ecosystem. You will also investigate how ecosystems recover from disturbance naturally and through human restoration.

 

Choose 1 of the following ecosystems:

 

Tropical rainforest

Grassland

Coral reef

Estuary

Desert

You will write an APA-style research paper about your choice of ecosystem, including the following elements:

 

Describe where this type of ecosystem might be located. Name 1 specific example.

Describe the structure of the ecosystem.

List at least 3 specific examples of both abiotic components and biotic components for the ecosystem type selected.

Describe the function of the ecosystem

In your own words, explain or define biogeochemical cycle.

Describe the steps in the carbon cycle as an example of one biogeochemical cycle.

Describe disturbance and recovery

Describe 1 natural and 1 human-caused disturbance to the ecosystem that you have chosen.

Describe the damage to the ecosystem for each example, including how the abiotic and biotic characteristics of the ecosystem changed.

Provide 2 examples of natural resources provided by the ecosystem that you have selected.

How can these be sustained into the future?

How can humans act as good stewards to assist ecosystem recovery? Provide 1 example specific to the ecosystem that you have chosen.

For assistance with your assignment, please use your text, other credible references, intellipath, and course materials.

 

Please submit your assignment in your assignment box.

 

 

Grading Rubric

 

70%

 

Content Development/Critical Thinking: Student uses relevant content to fully and accurately answer all questions. Student demonstrates critical thinking by synthesizing original answers in student’s own words based on reading and research, and includes relevant examples.

 

20%

 

Organization, Grammar, and Presentation: Organization is clear. Writing clearly and effectively communicates relevant content. Few if any errors in grammar, spelling, and sentence structure.

 

10%

 

5% Information Literacy and Research: Student selects and uses high-quality, credible references relevant to the assignment questions.

 

 

5% Sources are correctly cited using APA style: The paper follows APA format and includes a title page, abstract, body of paper, and reference list.

M4A2_SOCENVI

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Assignment 1: Discussion—Environmental Change and Community Health

Regardless of ideology, scientific evidence suggests that the climate is changing and humans may contribute to this change (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], 2007). Climate changes are predicted to have an enormous impact on the environment and global health, both directly and indirectly.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) maintains a Web site that discusses the impacts of these changes.

Using the links and Search feature on the EPA Web site listed above, select what you think is the most important issue that your generation needs to address—for example, agriculture and food supply or forests. 

Using the readings for this module, the Argosy University online library resources, and in particular the above link, respond to the following:

  • Identify the generation that you are from, for example, baby boomer, generation X, or generation Y. >>I AM A GENERATION Y
  • Examine how the issue that you selected affects public health directly or indirectly. How did your generation contribute to this issue?
  • Briefly summarize how this issue came about. Explain what is predicted to happen as climate change continues with respect to the issue you have chosen. If you chose climate change as your issue, then discuss the predicted impact on health.
  • Research how this issue is currently being addressed. Do you think this is a good strategy, or can this issue be addressed in a better way?

Support your statements with scholarly and credible references as well as appropriate examples.

>>1 PARAGRAPH IS FINE

environmental science

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environmental science

Based upon what you have read, do you believe that the government should establish a national energy policy? If so, how would you construct this policy? Would you emphasis non-renewable energy (oil, natural gas, coal) or renewable energy (solar, hydro, thermal)? If not, how would you address our current energy issues? Again, would you emphasis non-renewable energy (oil, natural gas, coal) or renewable energy (solar, hydro, geothermal)?

Your paper should be 2-3 pages in length and all citations must use APA formatting. Please refer to the Course Project overview for a list of all requirements for this paper.

 

Project Overview

For a major part of your grade, you are going to research the environmental issues discussed in this course. This will help you build the skills necessary to develop an informed opinion and present that opinion in written form. You will complete four components of this project, perform a peer review, and submit a final paper in Module 06.

Using the content of the course each week, critically evaluate and analyze each controversial environmental issue. You must examine the pros, cons, compromises, and tradeoffs of the issue by gathering credible information from various sources and assess the scientific credibility of the information. You will then develop from this information a well thought out paper that will address the major players involved, relevant cited facts, and a clearly identified opinionWhile some readings have been provided to get you started, you should continue to research each topic using the online library, scientific journals, government documents, books, science magazines, and personal interviews. Peer reviewed sources should form the basis of your paper. Use a minimum of 4 sources each week. All submissions as well as the final paper should be double-spaced, and 12-point font with citations in APA format.  Anytime you use the writings or ideas of others as though they were your own, you are plagiarizing (even if you paraphrase). All information and ideas that are not a part of general knowledge must be cited. When in doubt, cite.

REPLY TO CLASSMATE’S POST

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Your textbook does an excellent job of reviewing the significance of the environmental health laws in the United States. Please select at least two examples found in the textbook that you feel are the most important environmental health laws (past or present) and provide an explanation as to why you feel this way. Also, please share your opinion regarding the current effectiveness these laws have on protecting public health, providing specific examples to support your opinion.

 

PLEASE REPLY TO MY CLASSMATE RESPONSE TO THE ABOVE QUESTIONS AND EXPLAIN WHY YOU AGREE? (A MINIMUM OF 125 WORDS)

                                   CLASSMATE’S POST

The use of environmental health laws in the United States of America are essential to the overall health and well-being of the country’s citizens and the planet.  I believe the two most important health laws listed in the textbook are the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 and the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976 (Friis, 2012).  First, the Safe Drinking Water Act was created to protect the quality of drinking water in the U.S whether it is actual or potentially a water source, such as tap or underground water (Friis, 2012).  This act allows the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set minimum standards for water operations that companies need to abide by (Friis, 2012).  One example of this act being implemented was back in 2016 when the EPA settled a lawsuit by agreeing to create a program that helped clean up oil spills into large bodies of water (Protecting Drinking Water from Hazardous Spills, 2018).  Second, the Toxic Substances Control Act was created to give the EPA authority to report, keep records of, and apply restrictions to the use of chemical substances or mixtures (Friis, 2012).  This Act does not include food, cosmetics, drugs, or pesticides because those have their own regulations and laws (Friis, 2012).  However, it does address the production, use, and disposal of certain chemicals such as asbestos, radon, and lead paints (Friis, 2012).  One example of this the continuous strict access to these chemicals and only allowing certified personnel to handle them as well as survey and maintain locations with high radon levels (Toxic Substances Control Act and Federal Facilities, 2018).  Based off of these examples, I feel as though these laws are extremely effective because even when there are mishaps, such as oil spills, the regulators of the laws are continuously coming up with new ideas on how to make the laws better for the citizens of America.  I believe these two laws are the most important environmental health laws because they not only protect the environment, but also the safety and health of the people in this country.  Without these laws, the water would be polluted beyond repair and the use of chemicals would be too wide spread and they would effect just about everyone in the U.S.

                                               References:

Friis, R. H. (2012). Essentials of Environmental Health (2nd ed.). Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Protecting Drinking Water From Hazardous Spills. (2018). Retrieved October 10, 2018, from https://www.cleanwateraction.org/features/protecting-drinking-water-hazardous-spills 

Atmospheric Science

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Part #1: How much water and energy are in a small storm? (20 points)

 

The liquid water that is in a thunderstorm in the Midwest primarily comes from evaporated water from the Gulf of Mexico. When that water vapor condenses in the updraft of a thunderstorm, tiny liquid water droplets form and the storm is born. Let’s calculate how much water and energy is in a small thunderstorm complex – the kind that pop up on a hot summer day. Please find the total number of gallons of water in this storm and also the total energy content of the storm expressed in megatons and joules. You must show your work to get credit.

 

Assumptions:

Each cubic centimeter (cm3) contains 7.5*10-7 grams of water (7.5*10-7 g/cm3)

The storm’s dimensions are 20 km wide, 15 km long and 9 km tall.

1 gallon of water = 3785 grams of water

Each gram of water in the cloud releases 2260 Joules of energy as it forms those tiny cloud droplets (2260 J/g)

A 1-megaton nuclear bomb contains 4.18*1015 Joules of energy.

 

Water in the Atmosphere

 

Scenario: February is often a bitterly cold month and you may spend most of the month with a sore throat and cough. A doctor will recommend that you get a humidifier to help raise the humidity levels in your apartment. Before you turn on your humidifier, you decide to measure the relative humidity and air temperature in the room and find that the RH = 12.4% and the temperature is 68°F. Using this information answer the following questions. (Hint: check out figure 1.9 in the textbook and in the video lecture I provided***.)

 

  1. Write down the equation for relative humidity (RH) in the space below.

  1. What is the air temperature in Celsius?

  1. What is the saturation vapor pressure (SVP) of the air in your apartment?

  1. What is the vapor pressure (VP) of the air in your apartment?

  1. What is the dewpoint temperature (Td) of the air in your apartment?

Six hours after turning your humidifier on, you measure the humidity levels again and see that the relative humidity has risen to 50% and you are now finding some relief in your sore throat and your cough is gone. The air temperature has not changed. Answer the following questions.

 

  1. What is the dewpoint temperature in your apartment now that the RH is 50%?

  1. What is the vapor pressure (VP) of the air in your apartment now?

  1. What is the saturation vapor pressure (SVP) of the air in your room now?

  1. If you were to raise the air temperature in your room to 72°F, how would this change the relative humidity (increase, decrease or stay the same)? In one or two sentences, explain your answer.

*** Figure 1.9 shows the relationship between the SVP and Temperature. If you know the air temperature (in Celsius) you can find the SVP (in mb). This same chart can be used to find the vapor pressure (VP) if you know the dewpoint temperature (Td). This works because when the relative humidity is 100%, the VP = SVP and T = Td. So, as you are trying to answer questions #4 and #7 above, use Figure 1.9 to find the VP.

Help, Pandemic Influenza Homework

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Unit 3, Item 2: Pandemic Influenza

Assignment Objectives:

Relate the historical impact of disease on homeland and national security. Characterize and discuss the current threat and importance of preparedness for naturally occurring diseases. Understand the threats from and history of use of weapons of mass destruction. Identify the public health community’s role in responding to weapons of mass destruction.

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

Pandemic influenza represents one of the greatest infectious disease threats to human health. Webster and his colleagues (2006) describe how new strains of influenza may emerge from avian, swine and human types of influenza. Kilbourne (2006) presents an overview of the influenza pandemics of the 20th century and their consequences. Taubenberger and Morens (2006) discuss the severe influenza pandemic of 1918. Fauci (2006) discusses the threat of pandemic influenza and the need to prepare for such pandemics. In 2009, a novel strain of influenza caused the first influenza pandemic of the 21st century. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010) article presents an overview of the CDC response to the outbreak.

Write a 500- to 600-word essay and cite references in APA style. Use the outline below as topics to guide development of your essay from your research.

  1. –Background: Discuss the three major influenza pandemics of the 20th century that occurred in 1918, 1957, and 1968. Why was the 1918 pandemic the most lethal?

  2. –Pandemic Response: Discuss the CDC response to the 2009 H1N1 pandemic. What were the major response activities?

  3. –Future Pandemic Expectations: What does Fauci (2006) identify as measures to prepare for the next influenza pandemic?

Readings:

Four articles from Emerging Infectious Disease, Volume 12, Number 1, January 2006:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2010). “The 2009 H1N1 Pandemic: Summary Highlights, April 2009-April 2010.” Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/cdcresponse.htm.

Read the articles linked above.

HSE VII

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Question 1

         Your organization—a company that manufactures automobile brake pads—is about to introduce lean concepts into its operations in order to be more competitive with foreign manufacturers. The lean project manager does not understand why you, the safety manager, want to be a part of the process. Provide a convincing argument about what you can contribute if you are included.

        

                  Your response must be at least 75 words in length.

Question 2

         Think about a time when you were required to accomplish a new or nonroutine task at work that had the potential to cause injury or illness. Discuss how a management of change process could be used to reduce the risks. Who would be involved in the process? How could the risks be reduced?

        

                  Your response must be at least 75 words in length.

Question 3

         From your own experience or through research, select a job that has a high risk of serious injury or fatality. Discuss how the 5S concept could be used to redesign the job and reduce the serious risks.

        

                  
Your response must be at least 200 words in length.

Question 4

         Your purchasing department does not want to buy adjustable height work stations for the shipping department, stating that they cost twice as much as nonadjustable ones and that they are not required in the OSHA standards. Provide a risk-based argument as to why the adjustable workstations would be the better choice.

        

                  Your response must be at least 200 words in length.