Biology assignments 1 & 2

Bio320Fall2023HomeworkAssignment2.docx

Bio 320 Fall 2023

Homework Assignment #2 (covers the material found in the Week 3,4 and 5 content sections of the course). THERE ARE FIVE CASES WITH QUESTIONS BASED ON EACH SCENARIO. Each question is worth a total of 20 points.

Name: ______________________________________________ Date: ________________

#1. Neighbors called the police to check on the home of a 55-year-old male who had not been seen taking in his mail or his morning walk for a week. The officers arrived and when no one answered the doorbell, they looked inside the garage from the side window and saw what appeared to be a person in the driver’s seat of the car. The vehicle had a vintage car license plate being a restored 34-year-old Ford. The hood was up and tools were placed on a portable workbench next to the car. After gaining entry, they found the body of the homeowner, called 911 but the paramedics find no sign of life in a cadaver that showed the usual signs of decomposition that appear several days after death. The key was in the ignition and turned in the “on” position.

a. A subsequent inquiry with autopsy showed that the man did not die due to natural causes. While it appeared that the victim was working on his car when he died, what are two clues that the death was intentional?

b. What constitutes the appearance of livor mortis in this case?

c. If instead the man had been found to be alive but unconscious, what is the minimum carbon monoxide blood saturation percentage that would be found on testing?

d. What does it mean when we state that the formation of carbaminohemoglobin induces hypoxia in a victim of carbon monoxide poisoning?

#2: An 86-year-old man was brought to the local emergency room with a high fever in a dehydrated state from a local long-term care facility. His weight of 94 lbs. was well below the expected weight for a person with his height and bone frame. Contractures of the extremities were noted. Two stage-four decubitus ulcers were noted (each above the bony prominence of the hip on the right and left sides).

a. Name three issues in the history of this patient as told above that point to a possible case of patient neglect.

b. What was not done to prevent the formation of the ulcers?

c. What blood test can be done to ascertain the nutritional status of this man over the past two months?

d. What can we look for in the medical record that could point to neglect being a cause of this person’s current condition?

#3: A twenty-year-old Caucasian male was found high up in an oak tree in the local city park. He claimed that he was “Superman” and was trying to decide where to fly next. The first responders attempted to engage him in conversation to distract him from the idea of trying to take flight but he appeared to be quite confused. Firemen were able to extract the man from the tree using their aerial apparatus. When he reached the ground, he began to fight the first responders stating that they were “out to get him.” He then tried to run away but was apprehended and taken to the local emergency room. The staff at the ER had to call for assistance to restrain this man once he was given a bed in the ER.

A. Name one drug that could have been taken by this man.

B. Twenty-minutes after admission to the bed in the ER, he suffers a cardiac arrest. Thus, what other drug could possibly be in his system?

C. What factors in this history point to the fact that he probably did not take MDMA (Ecstasy)?

#4: A 29-year-old male was pulled over by police after a 10-mile chase. They initially spotted him driving at 90 mph on the local freeway where the speed limit is 65 mph. The driver had difficulty moving to the side of the road and judging where the shoulder of the road was located. He was able to put the car into park but unable to shut the engine off. He appeared to be in distress, sweating profusely and his body weight could be described as “very thin.” He was not violent and stated his name when asked and knew that he was speaking to the police. His speech was slurred.

A. What is the substance that this man probably ingested?

B. Judging by his behavior, what is the minimum blood alcohol concentration (BAC) that he had in his system?

C. Assuming he had ingested 5 drinks (of vodka) with no food within the last hour, as of the moment he was arrested, how long will it take for his body to reduce his blood alcohol concentration by 0.075%?

D. In order for a breath test to work, what must occur when the man is breathing out into the testing apparatus?

#5. A crime scene investigation was able to collect a minute quantity of DNA found in a saliva sample left on a drinking cup where the stabbing occurred earlier that day. Below you will find data developed at the crime lab that analyzed the status of the noncoding regions in the suspect’s DNA.

a. For this question, please consult the illustration below.

A screenshot of a computer screen Description automatically generated with low confidence

a. At the TH01 locus on both #11 chromosomes, the following number of repeats were found. (The STR sequence at the TH01 locus is AATG).

On one of the two #11 chromosomes, the following number of repeats was found.

AATG AATG AATG AATG AATG

And on the other #11 chromosome, the following number of repeats was found.

AATG AATG AATG AATG AATG AATG AATG AATG

How would these numbers be reported in a DNA profile of the TH01 locus?

b. Why are noncoding regions used in forensic science instead of mapping the coding areas of DNA?

c. In the following diagram, after using PCR to make billions of copies of the noncoding sequence of the VWA locus on chromosome #12, the sample was then added to the well of a gel electrophoresis apparatus. The electric current was turned on and the sample was separated into two separate bands labeled as #1 and #2 below.

Why did the noncoding DNA samples from both #12 chromosomes produce two bands and not one?

A picture containing screenshot, diagram, design, illustration Description automatically generated

d.. If only one band had been produced from the noncoding regions of both #12 chromosomes, what would that have inferred about the number of repeats in the VWA locus on both chromosomes?

image1.png

image2.png

Bio320Fall2023.HomeworkAssignment1.docx

Bio 320 Homework #1. Fall of 2023. Please type your answers on this sheet and submit the completed assignment in your assignment folder.

Name:____________________________________________ Date:_________________

#1: Below is an illustration of the 20 locations (loci) that are investigated for the number of repeating sequences (STR’s) when creating a DNA profile for an individual.

When looking at the TPOX locus on chromosome #2, the sequence that is found in everyone is AATG.

The number of repeats found in both #2 chromosomes in the mother are 4,6

The number of repeats found in both #2 chromosomes in the father are 7, 4

a) So, everyone on earth has the AATG sequence at the TPOX locus on chromosome #2, but what is the difference between one person and the next?

b) Provide three examples of repeat sequences that could be found in the son or daughter?

c) Are these repeats found in coding or noncoding regions of DNA?

d) What is one basic difference between coding and noncoding regions of DNA?

A screenshot of a computer screen Description automatically generated with low confidence

#2: A jogger found a body along the trail he customarily runs every day near his home.

He does not touch the body but runs back home to get his phone to call 911. The paramedics arrive and so do the police. The paramedics cannot resuscitate the victim. Provide 5 steps in the proper sequence about how the scene can be secured and documented by law enforcement. Take care to use a sequence that minimizes the amount of contamination that can occur.

1.___________________________________________

2.___________________________________________

3.__________________________________________

4.________________________________________

5.__________________________________________

#3: An 8-year-old child was trying to climb a tree in his backyard. He fell and landed with his outstretched arms hitting the ground first fracturing the humerus (bone of the arm) on the right side.

a) Name one type of fracture that you would expect to see in this small child.

b) What would the emergency room physician be looking for to ensure that this fracture was not part of a pattern of abuse

#4: Jeff is 18-years old and just got his license. His parents bought him the car of his dreams and he decided to take it out on a long stretch of country road near their home because he felt he could speed there without getting a ticket.

A local man of the same age decided to do the same thing with his car and they had an unexpected meeting at the local intersection. Jeff’s front end rammed into the passenger side of the vehicle that crossed his path.

Jeff’s head hit his windshield as his air bag failed to deploy but he was wearing his seatbelt. He was knocked unconscious and was brought by EMS to the emergency room. CT scans are still used these days when the intention is to detect a brain bleed and that was the first scan ordered. The trauma section in your reading on contusions of the brain addressed the different types of bruising that can occur in these cases.

a) If the scan shows a brain bruise without bleeding on the side of the brain opposite to the site of impact, which type of contusion is most likely to have occurred?

b) If the scan shows skull fracture nd bleeding at the site of impact, what type of contusion is most likely to have occurred?

c) If the scan shows only a brain bruise at the site of impact, what type of contusion would be present?

d) If the scan shows localized brain bleeds in the outer gray matter and the inner white matter, what type of brain bruise would that be?

#5: A five-alarm fire resulted in units from around the county being called to the site of an old abandoned factory. The firemen were able to get the fire under control within an hour and as they progressed through the different sections of the building, they discovered the remains of a body which was partially burned. An autopsy revealed that the victim did not show any signs of smoke inhalation when the lungs were removed and examined.

A) What happened here?

B) What could have been a cause of death?

C) What would you look for to support the cause of death that you proposed as your answer to “B?”