Laboratory Techniques in Nutrition & Food Science

Course # NFS 5140 Fall 2019

Instructor: Kevin Zhou

Email address: [email protected]
Office: 422 Life Science
Office Hours: By appointment
Prerequisite: NFS 2130, NFS 2210 and CHM 2220
Time: Lecture: 12:30 – 2:10 p.m. Monday
Lab: 4:30-7:20 p.m. Monday (section 002)
9:30-12:30 p.m. Tuesday (section 003)
Place: Lecture: 204 Education Building; Lab: 3012 Science Hall

Lab Instructor: Paba Edirisuriya

Email address: [email protected]
Office: 429 Life Science
Office Hours: M 12-1pm, W 12-1pm with appointment

NFS* Intensive Writing Requirement Faculty: Dr. Richard Caldwell, PhD in English
Dr. Hea-Gyong Jo, PhD in English
Office and Hours: #3049, Science Hall; Mondays (2: 30 am – 3:30 pm) or Tuesdays by Appointment.

Required Text: There is no text requirement.

The lecture and lab materials will be provided online via Canvas (previously
blackboard).

I. COURSE OBJECTIVES AND APPROACH

This course is designed to introduce students to a number of modern as well as classical laboratory
techniques in nutrition and food science (LO 1.1, 1.2). A number of experimental procedures for
evaluation of macro and micro food components as well as physiological and biochemical functions
relevant to nutrition will be studied (LO 1.3, 1.4). A thorough report, including a brief introduction,
critical discussion of the methodology and results (which may, in some cases, be derived over the
course of several laboratory periods), and interpretation of data will be expected for each specified
experiment (LO 1.3, 1.4).

In addition to practical methodologies in the laboratory, computer-based research techniques will be

introduced. Students will learn to conduct literature searches utilizing internet-based resources
provided through the Wayne State University Libraries system (PubMed, Ovid). The information will
equip students with the necessary tools to navigate article databases and on-line journals in relevant
subject areas.

Attendance is required and students will be graded based on their participation and attendance.
Make-up examinations will only be given for illnesses accompanied by a doctor's note; supported by
documentation and/or other extenuating circumstances approved by the instructor.

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II. REQUIRED MATERIALS

All students are required to use protective eyewear (goggles or safety glasses) and lab coat during all
laboratory sessions. Failure to bring appropriate eyewear and lab coat may result in not being
admitted to the laboratory.

III. ACADEMIC DISHONESTY

No form of academic dishonesty will be tolerated. You are in this class to learn, and you must commit
the effort to obtaining your own knowledge and skills. You should already be aware, but for specific
examples of academic dishonesty, including what constitutes plagiarism, it is your responsibility to
read the Undergraduate Bulletin, the Undergraduate Student Handbook, The Student Due Process
Policy and any other formal documents that are created for students at WSU.
Any academic dishonesty will clearly be considered premeditated and not accidental. Please think
carefully and thoroughly, ask for help when needed, and make smart decisions.
SEE “Note on Plagiarism” for additional details

IV. GRADING:

>93.0 = A 73.0 - 76.9 = C

90.0 - 92.9 = A- 70.0 - 72.9 = C-
87.0 - 89.9 = B+ 67.0 - 69.9 = D+
83.0 - 86.9 = B 63.0 - 66.9 = D
80.0 - 82.9 = B- 60.0 - 62.9 = D-
77.0 - 79.9 = C+ <59.9 = F

Note:
The last day to drop with full tuition refund is Sept. 14.
Failure to withdraw officially before the withdrawal deadline (Nov. 13) will result in an
“F”.

Students who request course withdrawals beginning with the 5TH WEEK of the term will now
receive one of these notations:

 “WP” Withdrawal with a passing grade earned to date

 “WF” Withdrawal with a failing grade earned to date
 “WN” Withdrawal never attended, or no graded work to date

Accommodations for students with disabilities

If you have a documented disability that requires accommodations, you will need to register with
Student Disability Services (SDS) for coordination of your academic accommodations. The SDS
office is located at 1600 David Adamany Undergraduate Library in the Student Academic Success
Services department. SDS telephone number is 313‐577‐1851 or 313‐577‐3365 (TDD only). Once you
have your accommodations in place, I will be glad to meet with you privately during my office hours
to discuss your special needs. Student Disability Services’ mission is to assist the university in creating

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an accessible community where students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to fully participate
in their educational experience at Wayne State University.

V. POINT DISTRIBUTION:
Total
 Lecture Exam (2) 100 point each 200
 Lab quiz (2) 10 points each 20
 Lab reports (10) 10 points each 100
 Lab presentation 20 points 20
 Practical Exam 40 points 40
 Attendance, Lab, Class participation 20 points 20
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400

Note: Laboratory notebooks are to be used for all lab activities, calculation and notations.

Attendance Policy

Students are required to attend all lectures. There is no penalty for missing two classes. However, each
additional unexcused absence will result in a five point reduction in the student's final grade. Students
are required to turn off or silence your cell phones before coming to the class. Penalty may be applied.

VI. LABORATORY RULES AND SAFETY

1. Wear lab coats and protective eyewear during all laboratory sessions.

2. No eating or drinking is allowed in the lab.

3. Wear gloves at all times when handling chemicals and reagents.

4. Before starting a project, read the experiment thoroughly. Know the rationale behind each
procedure.

5. The experiments will be performed in groups. All members of the groups will share the
responsibility of performing tasks, collecting data, clean up, etc, equally. Data should
be accessible to all members of the group so that reports can be completed by the
deadline.

6. The laboratory exercises in NFS 5140 vary in the length of time needed for their
completion. Some of the exercises require more than one class period or require extra
time between scheduled laboratory sessions.

7. Laboratory glassware used in each session is to be washed at the end of each lab period.

8. Any samples to be saved for later experimentation must be properly labeled (name, date,
and what the sample is) and must be stored appropriately until needed.

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 9. Reagents that require refrigeration are to be placed back in the refrigerator at the end of
your lab period unless otherwise instructed.

10. Handle all equipment/instruments with care.

VII. LABORATORY REPORTS

A well-written/typed laboratory report should serve as an excellent study guide for your lab
examination. These reports summarize laboratory findings that will be used to solve hypothetical
problems encountered in the area of nutrition and food science. Lab reports must be typed (double
spaced). Use of headers within the reports is required accordingly.
The laboratory reports will include title, abstract, introduction, purpose/objectives, procedures (in
general, can cite the laboratory handouts), data/results, discussion and conclusions. Citation of specific
references supporting your results is required.
Lab reports are due 1 week after completion of an experiment. Lab reports will be collected within
the first 5 minutes of lab. Any reports submitted after the first 5 minutes have passed will be considered
late and will not be graded. In case of an emergency, lab reports can be emailed to your lab instructor
before your lab session begins. LATE work will not be accepted. Reports are part of IWR
fulfillment, failure to comply may result Incomplete or Fail in course work. Detailed information
is listed in the last section (VII).

FORMAT:

Headers: Your name, date, and page number are to be included on the upper right hand corner of
each page. (0.25 point)
Title: Begin your reports with the title of the experiment. Titles should be brief, but specific and
rich in informative words. A title should “tell” what is contained in a report in the fewest
possible words. (0.25 point)
Abstract: The abstract or summary should state the problem briefly, mention the experiments
performed to solve the problem, give the results obtained, and state the conclusion formed.
100 – 150 words. (2 points)
Introduction: The introduction should state the purpose of the experiments and briefly give the
relationship to other work in the field. (2 points)
Materials & Methods: Briefly describe the experimental procedures performed and include a list
of materials and/or instruments used in each experiment. The experimental section should
be brief. (2 point)
Results: Results can be presented in text form in addition to tables, graphs, and/or figures. Tables
and graphs should be used whenever possible to give a concise presentation of the results.
Present your data with headings and units. (2 point)
Discussion: The discussion should contain the interpretation of the results and the development of
hypotheses that explain and are consistent with the data. In addition to discussing your
results, discuss related studies where appropriate, difficulties with the methods, source of
error, and alternative methodologies. (1 point)

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Acknowledgements: The acknowledgement recognizes special help received from individuals or
groups by way of information, special assistance, and use of special equipments,
compounds and so forth. (0.25 point)
Bibliography: The reference cited section should list all the literature cited in the report and should
follow a consistent format. (0.25 point)

VIII. Intensive Writing Requirement II for *NFS 5140

Objectives and the Department’s Guidelines

The objective of the Intensive Writing Requirement portion of NFS 5140 is to evaluate students’
writing skills based on the satisfactory completion of their laboratory reports. The focus of this process
is also to instruct and enhance students’ prose so that they can pursue an effective, strong
communication capacity within the NFS discipline and beyond as well. When students finish this
process successfully, they are expected to have advanced to a higher level of NFS Lab Report Writing,
toward a competent Laboratory Report writer and practitioner in the field as well. *All BS students
in Nutrition and Food Science must complete this course and fulfill their Writing Intensive
Requirement for *graduation (Department Protocol on IWR). *Students with Dietetics
concentration or students with BA or BS are exempt from this Requirement.
Scope of Evaluations
Check Lists:
Proper Punctuation (commas, semicolons, colons, periods, etc.)
Proper Word, Phrase and Sentence Formation (capitalization, prepositions, pronouns, adverbs,
adjectives, infinitives, gerunds, participles, etc. ; no fragments nor run-ons.)
Proper Prose Mechanics: Effective Paragraphing and Transitions for reader awareness; this is
particularly significant in the process-analysis, aspect of a Field Trip Report, which conventionally
doesn’t employ a Lab Report format. (*Students can still adopt this structure format in their field
trip report.)
Proper Discourse: The discourse of Lab Reports should develop ability to vary according to the stages
of experiment, thereby maintaining and/or shifting to the nature of discourse in manifesting specific
stage of lab experience with proper format of syntax and narrative (e.g. the past tense and passive
voice in specific process of description versus others). Also students should not reproduce
prescriptive or imperative discourse taken from the manual or protocol or class handouts while
descriptive narrative rather is required.
Proper Referencing: In order to avoid Plagiarism, students must identify all sources of in-text citation
(including charts, figures, data, images, etc.) and references. Referencing also includes all materials
involved in laboratory experiments (Blackboard information, Class Handouts, Lecture Sheets/Notes,
etc.), along with sources from articles in print or electronic materials, books and the like. All these
sources need to be identified with proper research conventions. Students should remember that the
reader of the Laboratory Report (as a genre) can replicate the process contained in it; the source
references should be reliable and authoritative as future guides.
For proper format in referencing, Handouts on Documentation are provided at the first class. NFS
5140 *Intensive Writing Requirement citations are expected to follow the conventions of college
research writing (e.g. the APA, the MLA and so on), unless it is *recommended otherwise by the
Department’s *guidelines.
Rationale of Evaluation and Grading
In order to complete the Intensive Writing Requirement, students are required to produce at least 2
Lab Reports and a Field Trip Report each with a “satisfactory completion” (therefore 3 reports each

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with an S grade). When students receive an S grade, this will be communicated to them each time
through an e-mail from *NFS 5140 Intensive Writing Requirement faculty.
The followings are three primary steps to process and complete the Writing Intensive Requirement.
1. The first two Lab Reports will be reviewed in diagnostic to assess the quality of students’
writings both in their strength and weakness. If needed, detailed feedback and critique is
provided. The focus of this process is to prime and devise an effective strategy from each
party (students and instructors) toward the grading period. On the basis of the feedback,
students rewrite and submit the revision with the original marked-up copy within a week. Each
revision of a diagnostic will not be graded, but marked with a “pass” on the successful response.
2. From the third report on, the feedback will be only indicators, not detailed, and if each report
is satisfactory, the student will receive an S grade or grade not given yet only with comments
requiring the revision. The revision should return with the original marked-up copy within a
week. The third revision is the maximum for each report (except for particular
circumstances); the reason is the expectation that the subsequent paper will be improved.
Instructors will be given a week of assessment period for both the first copy and rewrite.
3. The performance of students’ papers is expected to be progressive (not repeating the same
errors) and complete as the Semester advances. Regardless of the outcome of the grade (“S”),
all students are required to continue to turn in every paper.

Final Grade Range: S (Satisfactory); I (Incomplete, agreed upon by both student and Instructor –
one month for rewrite period and grade change); X (insufficient *quality and amount of work for
grading)
Instruction: Handouts on particular grammar are provided for instructional aide, targeting a specific
problem-solution; *on instructional need, NFS 5140 Intensive Writing faculty can also attend NFS
5140 class/lab, however, only through coordination with the Department and its support .
Folders: In order to assure an effective assessment of students’ papers, students should turn in their
folder each time with previous papers and any handouts or materials. Also, when the Semester is
finished, all students should turn in their folders for final confirmation and assessment.
Conferences: Conferences are significant in order to have effective communication for students’
improvement. Students who experience difficulties in progress or ability in performances are strongly
encouraged to have a conference and *consult their progress. When students want to have an
overall assessment conference, they contact the instructors a week before the meeting (either through
e-mail or mail-box message with the folder). A stopping-by during office hours doesn’t require this
process. *Conference by appointment is also available.
Questions: Students are encouraged to come to *NFS 5140 Intensive Writing faculty with any
questions on the subject of the Intensive Writing Requirement. We are here to help you all succeed!

Note on Plagiarism

The definition of plagiarism is: "to take and use another's words or ideas as one's own”
Examples of plagiarism include:
 Failure to use appropriate referencing when using the words or ideas of
other persons.
 Altering the language, paraphrasing, omitting, rearranging, or forming new
combinations of words in an attempt to make the thoughts of another
appear as your own.

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  Copying and pasting information from the Web, and then submitting it
as if it were your own.
Students are to avoid plagiarism and instructors are expected to take appropriate action when
instances of academic dishonesty are discovered. An instructor, on discovering such an instance,
may give a failing grade on the assignment or for the course. The instructor has the responsibility of
notifying the student of the alleged violation and the action being taken. Both the student and the
instructor are entitled to academic due process in all such cases. Acts of dishonesty may lead to
suspension or exclusion. Information on procedures is available in the Office of the Dean and in the
2007-09 Undergraduate Bulletin.
Please refer to http://www.clas.wayne.edu/unit-inner.asp?WebPageID=1676 for our policy on
plagiarism

The Department supports individual actions taken in accordance with the instructor’s plagiarism
policy policies. The instructor may also request that formal charges be filed by the Department with
the University Judicial Officer for possible further disciplinary action.

Assignments that have been plagiarized in their entirety, or assignments in which the majority of the
submission is plagiarized, whether from a print source or from an electronic source, automatically
result in failure of the course for which they have been submitted.

The names of students found in violation of the Nutrition and Food Science Department Plagiarism
Policy will be sent to the Deans of the Colleges or program in which the students are enrolled, or in
which the students plan to enroll.

Depending on the nature and extent of the offense, Nutrition and Food Science may file charges on
its own behalf with the Judicial Officer. All cases of multiple plagiarism by any student – more than
one plagiarized paper submitted in a single course or plagiarism violations in more than one course –
are automatically referred to the Judicial Officer with a recommendation for further disciplinary
action, including suspension and expulsion.

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IX. LECTURE SCHDULE

LECTURE SCHEDULE (Sec 001)

Sep 02: Labor day (no class)

Sep 9: Introduction and Measurements/ Solution and Buffer Preparation

Sep 16: Determination of Microbial Numbers

Sep 23: Effect of Environmental Conditions on Bacterial Growth

Sep 30: Turbidimetric Estimation of Bacterial Growth

Oct 7: Moisture Content in Foods

Oct 14: EXAM 1

Oct 21: Total Solids and Carbohydrates

Oct 28: Fats in Foods

Nov 04: Protein

Nov 11: Methods used in Protein Determination

Nov 18: Nucleic Acids 1

Nov 25: Nucleic Acids 2

Dec 09: FINAL EXAM

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X. LABORATORY SCHEDULE

Please note that this is only a Tentative Schedule. When we do research, unexpected
things do occur in some instances, such occurrences are beyond control. As a
researcher you must learn to make adjustments and alternative arrangements.

LABORATORY SCHEDULE (Sec 002)

Sep 03: Labor day (No lab)

Sep 10: Pipetting/ Preparation of Buffers and Reagents

Sep 17: Effect of Serial Dilution on Microbial Growth

Sep 24: Effect of Environmental on Microbial Growth (Quiz 1)

Oct 01: Effect of Antibiotic Treatment on Microbial Growth (followed by Field Trip)

Oct 8: Methylene Blue Reduction

Oct 15: Exam 1 (No Lab)

Oct 22: Total solids and Carbohydrates

Oct 29: Fats in Foods

Nov 05: Protein Estimation 1 (Quiz 2)

Nov 12: Protein Estimation 2

Nov 19: Nucleic acids

Nov 26: PRACTICAL EXAM

Dec 03: PRACTICAL EXAM

Dec 10: Student Presentation

Dec 17: Student Presentation

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 LABORATORY SCHEDULE (Sec 003)

Sep 04: Introduction

Sep 11: Pipetting/ Preparation of Buffers and Reagents

Sep 18: Effect of Serial Dilution on Microbial Growth

Sep 25: Effect of Environmental on Microbial Growth (Quiz 1)

Oct 02: Effect of Antibiotic Treatment on Microbial Growth (followed by Field Trip)

Oct 9: Methylene Blue Reduction

Oct 16: Exam 1 (No Lab)

Oct 23: Total solids and Carbohydrates

Oct 30: Fats in Foods

Nov 06: Protein Estimation 1 (Quiz 2)

Nov 13: Protein Estimation 2

Nov 20: Nucleic acids

Nov 27: PRACTICAL EXAM

Dec 04: PRACTICAL EXAM

Dec 11: Student Presentation

Dec 18: Student Presentation

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