PBH 220 Public Health Biology Review Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering Modules 1, 2, and 3 for PBH 220 Exam 1 review.

Dendritic Cells

The main cells of the innate immune system that help to stimulate adaptive immune responses, alongside macrophages.

Adaptive Immune Response Events

The sequential order of events during an adaptive immune response: Antigen exposure, T Cell activation, B Cell activation, clonal expansion, antibody production, and memory cell formation.

IgM

The antibody class that changes concentrations in blood shortly (early) after vaccination.

IgG

The antibody class that changes concentrations in blood months after vaccination.

Andrew Wakefield

Promoted the conspiracy theory that the MMR vaccine causes Autism.

Inflammatory Innate Immune Cells

Innate immune cells important for stimulating inflammation, specifically mast cells, macrophages, and neutrophils.

NSAIDs

Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs indicated for pain, fever, and anti-inflammatory treatment.

Acetaminophen

A medication indicated for pain and fever only, lacking anti-inflammatory properties.

Aspirin Primary Mechanism

Irreversible COX-1 and COX-2 inhibition affecting prostaglandins.

Celiac Disease (CD) Pathophysiology

An autoimmune reaction to gluten characterized by villous atrophy.

Celiac Disease Etiology

Development of celiac disease driven predominantly by HLA-DQ2/DQ8 genetics combined with exposure to gluten.

Food Allergy Mediation

Allergic reactions to food mediated by IgE antibodies and Type I hypersensitivity reactions.

Poor Oral Tolerance Factors

Factors contributing to poor oral tolerance for foods like peanuts, including genetics, gut microbiome, impaired regulatory T cells, and early skin exposure.

Natural Active Immunity

Immunity naturally acquired through an infection.

Natural Passive Immunity

Immunity naturally acquired via maternal antibodies passed down to offspring.

Artificial Active Immunity

Immunity artificially acquired through vaccination.

Artificial Passive Immunity

Immunity artificially acquired through an antibody injection from outside the body.

Human Chromosomes

Human genetic complement consisting of 22 autosomes and X/Y sex chromosomes.

Cystic Fibrosis

An autosomal recessive monogenic condition.

Complete Dominance

Inheritance pattern where one allele completely masks another, as seen in brown eyes.

Codominance

Inheritance pattern where both alleles are fully expressed, as seen in ABO blood type.

Incomplete Dominance

Inheritance pattern resulting in a blended phenotype, as seen in pink snapdragons.

Sex-Linked Traits

Traits driven by genes on sex chromosomes; X-linked recessive traits appear more frequently in males ($XY$), with examples including hemophilia and color blindness.

Monogenic Disease

A disease caused by mutation in a single gene, such as cystic fibrosis.

Polygenic Disease

A disease caused by variations in many genes, such as diabetes and hypertension.

Genome Wide Association Studies (GWAS)

Studies that compare single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) between individuals with a disease and those without.

Ancestral Diversity in GWAS

Expanding diversity in GWAS to reduce bias, improve accuracy, and discover population-specific genetic variants.

Epigenetic Modifications

Molecular modifications that alter gene expression without altering DNA sequence, most commonly DNA methylation and histone modification.

DNA Methylation Impact

Epigenetic mechanism where more methylation results in lower gene expression, and less methylation results in higher gene expression.

Lymphatic System Organs

Organs comprising the lymphatic system: lymph nodes, spleen, thymus, tonsils, bone marrow, and lymph vessels.

B-Cell and T-Cell Maturation Site

Both B-cells and T-cells originate in the bone marrow; B-cells mature in the bone marrow, whereas T-cells mature in the thymus.

Innate Immune Response Characteristics

An immune response that is fast, non-specific, and lacks immunological memory.

Adaptive Immune Response Characteristics

An immune response that is slow, specific, and possesses immunological memory.

Primary Causes of Death in US

Chronic diseases, which have caused most deaths in the United States over the past half century.

DALYs

Disability-Adjusted Life Years; a measure of total disease burden reflecting years lost due to disability or early death.

QALYs

Quality-Adjusted Life Years; a metric evaluating burden of disease incorporating both length of life and quality of life.

Incidence Rate Formula

$\text{Incidence} = \frac{\text{new cases}}{\text{specific population at risk}}$ or new cases per risk population.

Prevalence Rate Formula

$\text{Prevalence} = \frac{\text{all existing cases}}{\text{total population}}$ or total existing cases per total population.

Observational Data

Data gathered through observation where researchers do not perform any manipulation.

Experimental Data

Data gathered in a study where exposure is directly assigned to participants by the researcher.

Necessary Cause

A causal pie component that must be present for disease occurrence.

Sufficient Cause

A full set of component causes in a causal pie chart that inevitably produces disease.

Component Cause

An individual piece or single factor in a causal pie chart.

Health Disparity

An unjust and avoidable difference in health between population groups.

Health Difference

Any general variation or non-specific difference in health status.

Public Health Goal

Primary objective focused on preventing disease in whole populations.

Clinical Medicine Goal

Primary objective focused on treating individual patients.

Genotype

The specific alleles a person carries; their underlying genetic makeup.

Central Dogma of Molecular Biology

The framework describing the flow of genetic information: $\text{DNA} \rightarrow \text{transcription} \rightarrow \text{RNA} \rightarrow \text{translation} \rightarrow \text{protein}$.

Complementary Base Pairing

Nucleotide binding rules where DNA pairs A with T and C with G, while RNA pairs A with U and C with G.

Messenger RNA (mRNA) vs DNA

DNA is double-stranded, contains thymine, and stays in place; mRNA is single-stranded, contains uracil, and leaves the nucleus.

Degenerative Coding

The property of genetic translation where multiple codons can code for one amino acid.