S. In all, 4379 isolates from 35 products, including 24 artisanal cheeses, were surveyed with a view to identifying strains that could be used as starters in commercial dairy fermentations. Of the isolates, 38 % were classified as Lactococcus, 17 % as Enterococcus, 14% as Streptococcus thermophilus, 12 % as mesophilic Lactobacillus, 10% as Leuconostoc and 9 % as thermophilic Lactobacillus. Acid production by the isolates varied considerably. Of the 1582 isolates of Lactococcus and 482 isolates of mesophilic Lactobacillus tested, only 8 and 2 % respectively produced sufficient acid to lower the pH of milk to 5n3 in 6 h at 30 mC. In contrast, 53, 32 and 13 % of Str. thermophilus, thermophilic Lactobacillus and Enterococcus isolates respectively reduced the pH to 5n3. These isolates were found only in some French, Italian and Greek cheeses. Bacteriocins were produced by 11 % of the 2257 isolates tested and 26 of them produced broad-spectrum bacteriocins which inhibited at least eight of the ten target strains used, which included lactic acid bacteria, clostridia and Listeria innocua. The most proteolytic of the 2469 isolates tested wereStr. thermophilus from Fontina cheese followed by Enterococcus from Fiore Sardo and Toma cheese and thermophilic Lactobacillus from all sources. Exopolysaccharides were produced by 5n3 % of the 2224 isolates tested.In many Southern European countries cheeses are made from cows', goats', ewes'

This paper reviews the use of plant extracts as vegetable coagulants for cheesemaking. It covers the plants used as sources of coagulants, with a historical overview and particular emphasis on Cynara species. The genus Cynara L., its composition, milk clotting and proteolytic enzymes (cardosins) and their specificity towards peptide linkages are also described. Cheeses produced in the Iberian Peninsula using Cynara L. as coagulant are documented. Cynara L. is still the most used vegetable coagulant in cheesemaking, and also the most investigated. However, much work remains to be done to understand its action during cheese maturation and further characterization.

Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing K. pneumoniae is spreading globally and represents a challenge in infection control and treatment. Solid organ transplant (SOT) recipients are especially at risk for infection by multidrug-resistant bacteria, and little is known about infection with KPC-producing organisms in this setting. The aim of this study was to describe the clinical and microbiologic aspects of KPC-producing K. pneumoniae infections in SOT recipients. A KPC-2-producing K. pneumoniae outbreak was identified in a public teaching tertiary care hospital in São Paulo, Brazil, in June 2009. During the outbreak, cases of KPC-2-producing K. pneumoniae infection in SOT recipients occurred between July 2009 and February 2010; these cases were retrospectively reviewed. Overall, 12 episodes of infection with KPC-producing K. pneumoniae occurred in 2 heart, 4 liver, and 6 kidney transplant recipients with incidence rates of 16.7%, 12.9%, and 26.3% in heart, liver, and kidney transplantation, respectively. Infection occurred at a median time of 20 days after transplantation. Primary infection sites were as follows: 4 urinary tract infections, 4 bloodstream infections, 2 pneumonias, and 2 surgical site infections. All patients except one had received antibiotics in the last 30 days, mostly piperacillin-tazobactam or glycopeptides. All strains exhibited susceptibility to amikacin and gentamicin. Patients were treated with tigecycline plus polymyxin B (3 cases), polymyxin B plus carbapenem (3 cases), polymyxin B alone (3 cases), or tigecycline plus imipenem (1 case). In 2 cases, patients received only carbapenem, and death occurred before the final culture result. The overall 30-day mortality rate was 42%. In this series of KPC-producing K. pneumoniae infection in SOT recipients, the infection occurrence was high during an institutional outbreak and was potentially life threatening.

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Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen capable of adhering to a range of surfaces utilized within the food industry, including stainless steel. The factors required for the attachment of this ubiquitous organism to abiotic surfaces are still relatively unknown. In silico analysis of the L. monocytogenes EGD genome identified a putative cell wall-anchored protein (Lmo0435 [BapL]), which had similarity to proteins involved in biofilm formation by staphylococci. An insertion mutation was constructed in L. monocytogenes to determine the influence of this protein on attachment to abiotic surfaces. The results show that the protein may contribute to the surface adherence of strains that possess BapL, but it is not an essential requirement for all L. monocytogenes strains. Several BapL-negative field isolates demonstrated an ability to adhere to abiotic surfaces equivalent to that of BapL-positive strains. BapL is not required for the virulence of L. monocytogenes in mice.Listeria monocytogenes is a food-borne pathogen that causes serious illness, including meningitis, septicemia, and stillbirth, with a mortality rate of up to 30% (37). More recently, there have been reports of listerial gastroenteritis following the consumption of several different food types (16,34). A number of studies have demonstrated that this organism is able to persist in the food-processing environment for several months and even up to 10 years (23, 29). One of the major causes for concern about L. monocytogenes in these environments is its ability to attach to many different surfaces (2). Indeed, there is recent evidence to show that listerial biofilms formed inside the lumens of stainless steel tubes are able to withstand the shears generated by high-Reynolds-number flows (31). Biofilms, including those produced by L. monocytogenes, are more resistant to detergents and disinfectants (33) and also are a potential source of contamination within food-processing plants; hence, they pose a risk to the maintenance of product safety (27). Consequently, there is considerable interest in determining the mechanisms of attachment and biofilm formation.Our in silico analysis of the genome sequence of L. monocytogenes identified an open reading frame (lmo0435) for a protein with similarity to biofilm-associated proteins (Bap) believed to be important for the binding of staphylococci to abiotic surfaces (10). This Bap protein also has been implicated in the virulence of Staphylococcus aureus (10, 11). Thus, the aim of the current study was to establish if this protein (Lmo0435 [BapL]) of L. monocytogenes influenced biofilm formation and virulence and to determine the prevalence of the lmo0435 (bapL) gene within a selection of field isolates. MATERIALS AND METHODS Bacterial strains and plasmids.A list of the L. monocytogenes isolates and plasmids used in this study is given in Table 1. The strains were cultured in tryptone soya broth (TSB; Oxoid) or brain heart infusion agar (Oxoid) with shaking at 37°C unless otherwise stated. Escherichia coli JM...

-Portugal has a strong tradition of cheesemaking from raw ewe's milk; most of these cheeses are still made on a traditional farmhouse scale. Their production is protected by Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) but the specific biochemical aspects of the majority still need to be characterised. Two different cheesemaking procedures, traditional and semi-industrial, were compared technologically, biochemically and microbiologically. It was observed that, despite the highly significant difference between artisanal and semi-industrial cheeses (P < 0.001), both products were within the limits of national regulations for most parameters except maturation temperature, humidity and the value for the maturation index. Although the present study was not fully representative of the region, the results obtained suggest that the specific regulations for Serpa cheese should be revised and that other parameters, such as moisture and salt-in-moisture content, which are very much dependent on the cheesemaking process, should be included in order to characterise better this traditional cheese.Serpa cheese characterisation / PDO cheese / ewe's milk cheese / Cynara cardunculus L. / vegetable coagulant Résumé -Le fromage Serpa : caractérisation technologique, biochimique et microbiologique d'un fromage AOP au lait de brebis, coagulé par Cynara cardunculus L. Le Portugal a une forte tradition dans la fabrication de fromage au lait cru de brebis, continuant à être fabriqués pour la majorité à l'échelle des fermes traditionnelles. La production de quelques-uns de ces fromages est protégée par l'AOP (Appellation d'Origine Protégée) mais leurs caractéristiques spécifiques restent inconnues. Deux procédés de fabrication (artisanal et semi-industriel) ont été réalisés et les résultats obtenus ont été comparés. On a pu observer que, malgré la différence significative des deux procé-dés de fabrication (P < 0.001), tous les deux avaient des valeurs comprises dans les limites imposées par la réglementation. Toutefois, certains paramètres, tels que la température et les conditions d'humidité pendant la maturation, ainsi que les valeurs proposées pour l'index de maturation, étaient différentes. Cela nous conduit donc à suggérer que certains paramètres pourraient être révi-sés et d'autres tels que l'humidité et le sel dans l'humidité, qui dépendent beaucoup du procédé de fabrication, soient dorénavant inclus afin de permettre une meilleure caractérisation de ce fromage traditionnel. Caractérisation du fromage

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