The product was distributed by Von's in thirteen western states and by Food Lion outlets in the east. No illnesses have been reported, though listeria was present in the product in tests conducted by Florida health officials.

I do love movies primarily consisting of the characters talking at each other. Heist is a heist movie where the heist itself is about as creative, interesting and thought-provoking as the movie's title. I've seen it probably close to a half-dozen times (at least five times more than was necessary, of course) and I couldn't tell you what happens in the slightest--there's some gold, there's some tension between youthful arrogance and the wisdom of experience, and there are even more double crosses than there are uses of the word "fuck." No matter, in a David Mamet movie the plot isn't nearly as important as the tough-guy gibberish the characters spew in each other's directions, lines that don't mean much of anything, and bear no resemblance to the way people actually talk, but sure sound pretty/hilarious. Here are ten exchanges real-life criminals probably wish they were witty and verbose enough to come up with on their own. Or maybe they don't.

10. "Ain't you a piece of work?"
"Yeah, I came all the way from China in a matchbox."

9. "Where's the gold?"
"You know, I'm reluctant to tell you."
"When we put it to you...you know when we put it to you, you're going to be telling us the gross national product of Bolivia! You're going to be telling us the area codes of Luxembourg and Belgium!"

8. "No one lives forever."
"Frank Sinatra gave it a shot."

7. "The other thing, the Swiss thing, if I was a publisher, I'd publish the plans."
"Why don't you publish the plans?"
"Yeah, no, I said that's what I'd do if I was a publisher. Unfortunately, I'm a thief, so I have to do that thing."

6. "Don't you wanna hear my last words?"
"I just did." (Shoots in face)

5. "So, is he going to be cool?"
"My motherfucker's so cool that when he goes to bed, sheep count him."

4. "Makes the world go 'round."
"What's that?"
"Gold."
"Some people say love."
"Well, they're right too. It is love. Love of gold!"

3. "You know why the chicken crossed the road? Because the road crossed the chicken!"

2. "Hey, I'm as quiet as an ant pissing on cotton."
"I don't want as quiet as an ant pissing on cotton. I want you as quiet as an ant not even thinking about pissing on cotton!"

1. "Everybody needs money! That's why they call it MONEY!"

Is milk a panacea?  Milk is not usually a hot topic of conversation.  Do not get me wrong, there have been great bets in college to drink a gallon in an hour.  There was that time the milk smelled so bad, I threw out everything in the fridge.  Oh, and that night I poured milk all over her...  All that aside, milk is usually a bland and creamy delicious part of the day I just do not feel the need to discuss, but apparently all that has changed.

Milk is the new drug of choice for a select group of unorthodox health nuts.  What is at stake:  raw milk.  Illegal altogether in most states, legal for pets in some, and only for sale on location at farms in some others, people want it and they want it now.  There is a craze going on in places where groups want raw, unpasteurized milk sold in stores for its nutritional value.  Some research has been done on the benefits of raw milk, but there are a whole host of possible illnesses that can be contracted from raw milk.  An article in the Boston Globe really gets thorough with the discussion, if you want more information on the topic. 

The short and dirty of it:  raw milk contains certain good bacteria that could be very beneficial, I repeat, could be beneficial to the development of a stronger immune system, especially in young children.  The dangers include bad bacteria, listeria, salmonella, and E. coli among others.  But, these dangers rarely occur in clean healthy milking facilities.  The problem:  Most big milking farms are not clean.  Quality control is not easy in a big dairy farm, especially since 1920's when pasteurization became widespread.  Just read what current raw milk dairy farmer thinks about it: 

Rick Vreeland is in the perfect position to explain the differences between a big dairy farm and a small one. At Freedom Hill Farm, they've gone from nine to 22 cows, but he used to own a dairy farm with 2,000 cows. He says he wouldn't have downed the milk from his old operation.

Crazy as it might be, I am down for some raw milk.  My grandfather cared for a milking cow when he was child and drank it fresh from the teet.  He claims there is nothing quite like it and all the milkrazies agree.  My mission:  find raw milk and try it asap.  Here's where I start:  Real Milk

Urgent Visitor Health Warning: Keep Your Kids OUT of New Zealand!

Health workers revealed an outbreak of group A streptococcus bacterium, which causes rheumatic fever and can lead arthritis and heart damage, had infected at least 32 children in Kaikohe, New Zealand.

Original Entry Blocked by Google:

Urgent Health Warning: Outbreak of Dangerous Group A Streptococcus Bacterium

Photomicrograph of Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria, 675x Mag. A pus specimen, viewed using Pappenheim's stain. Last century, infections by S. pyogenes claimed many lives especially since the organism was the most important cause of puerperal fever and scarlet fever. This media comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Image Library (PHIL), with identification number #2110.

News Links:

• High levels of dangerous bacterium in Kaikohe
• Baby died after infection breakout
• Stuff New Zealand

Keep Your Kids OUT of New Zealand!

Health workers revealed an outbreak of group A streptococcus bacterium, which causes rheumatic fever and can lead arthritis and heart damage, had infected at least 32 children in Kaikohe, New Zealand.

Photomicrograph of Streptococcus pyogenes bacteria, 900x Mag. A pus specimen, viewed using Pappenheim's stain. Last century, infections by S. pyogenes claimed many lives especially since the organism was the most important cause of puerperal fever and scarlet fever. This media comes from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Public Health Image Library (PHIL), with identification number #2110.

News Links:

• High levels of dangerous bacterium in Kaikohe
• Baby died after infection breakout
• Stuff New Zealand

It is my belief, Watson, founded upon my experience, that the lowest and vilest alleys of London do not present a more dreadful record of sin than does the smiling and beautiful countryside.
(Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, The Copper Beeches)

I’m catching up on obituaries, so many great people are dying just now. Tomorrow, that French designer guy and Bo Diddley.

But today, here’s the full text of Arthur Cunynghame’s moving obituary for Lucy Appleby, pioneer and champion of British farmhouse cheesemaking:

Government controls over milk and cheese production during and after the second world war decimated Britain’s farmhouse cheesemaking. Farmers were encouraged to send their milk to central creameries, where it would be made into blocks of cheese, usually nondescript, and then vacuum-packed. The individuality of farmhouse cheese was being lost.

Lucy Appleby, who has died aged 88, was one of those who bucked the trend. A guardian of farmhouse production, she became a pivotal figure in the renaissance of British cheesemaking which came to full flower in the 1980s and 90s. It is a fitting testament to her achievements that her cheese – predominantly “Mrs Appleby’s Cheshire” – now sells one and a half tons a week in many countries, and that the stand she made against the industrialization of cheesemaking has resulted in a wealth of artisan British cheeses now being appreciated as delicious examples of a cultural tradition worth preserving.

As a girl growing up on Lighteach farm, in Whitchurch, Shropshire, Lucy Walley, as she then was, learned to make Cheshire cheese and studied at Reaseheath Agricultural College, Nantwich, Cheshire, during the 1930s. She put this skill to good use after she had met and married Lance Appleby in 1940. Two years later, they bought Hawkestone Abbey Farm, 10 miles over the county border in Shropshire, and in 1952, after bringing up her seven children, Lucy took charge of cheesemaking. She had a flair for it. There was an abundant supply of fresh milk from the farm’s herd of Friesian cows and, naturally, she made the cheese in the manner she had been taught: unpasteurized and bound in calico cloth.

As was customary at the time, their cheese was sold through the Milk Marketing Board. But this meant that once they had made the cheese, the Applebys lost sight of it, not knowing where it was sold, to whom, in what quantities or even if the customer liked it. Cheeses were sold simply as “Cheshire” without reference to the farm of origin.

Breaking this mould, the Applebys decided in the early 1980s to sell directly to the customer – one of their first was the newly opened Neal’s Yard Dairy in Covent Garden, London. The owner, Randolph Hodgson, was astounded by the quality of their produce, and the reputation of “Mrs Appleby’s Cheshire” was soon assured. In 1989, the death knell for raw milk cheeses was nearly sounded when a number of supermarkets erroneously responded to a listeria scare by insisting their suppliers pasteurize their milk for cheesemaking. Again, Lucy stood firm. She knew that pasteurization inactivates flavour-giving enzymes, resulting in cheeses that lack personality and show fewer of the characteristics of the farm on which they are made. That year, she became a founding member of the Specialist Cheesemakers’ Association (SCA), which has encouraged the use of unpasteurized milk for cheesemaking ever since.

One of Lucy’s skills was her instinctive sense of observation. Hodgson remembers being guided through the cheese store as she looked at different cheeses and pronounced one to be acidic because it had straight sides, another to be wet because its sides curved slightly.

Even after she handed over the day-to-day making of the cheese to someone else, she would still keep an eye on the vat from her kitchen and would often walk into the cheese room when some sixth sense told her that something was amiss. Nine times out of ten, she would be right, and she would find the temperature of the curd was a little too high or the cheese had been slightly over-salted.

The daughter of a Baptist minister, who also farmed, Lucy later became a Methodist. She had what might today be called an old-fashioned work ethic, but she enjoyed herself. She was certainly not dour, and a little giggle was never far from her lips. It was simply that she took pride in doing the best job she could and refused to cut corners. Holidays were few and far between; she got her enjoyment from life and work on the farm. The trips that she did make were generally to visit the five of her seven children who live in Australia and New Zealand.

At home she was hugely welcoming and delighted in offering cups of tea, cakes and cheese to visitors, whom she would invite into her warm, friendly kitchen and look after with a calmness of manner which guaranteed that visitors felt relaxed.

It was a great day for the farm when the Prince of Wales visited in 1994. This joyous occasion seemed to symbolize the Applebys’ achievements: all the effort they put in to their cheesemaking and the successful campaign they had fought to keep alive British farmhouse cheese. Both Lance and Lucy were individually appointed MBEs in 2003 for services to the food industry.

Lucy was one of the most skilled cheesemakers in Britain and was held in great esteem by her fellow cheesemakers. To me the appeal of the cheese she has bequeathed to us lies partly in its lively, fresh flavours with hints of citrus and sea spray. It never shouts its flavours from the rooftops: it is simply and quietly a lovely cheese. It has great depth of flavour, which is not to be confused with strength of flavour. Its flavours are delicate, almost elusive but they last in the mouth - a long, lingering, delightful reminder of a summer’s day.

Lucy is survived by six of her seven children – John, Margaret, Rachel, Edward, Ruth and Helen. Her third son, Robert, died in 2002, a year before Lance. Today, Appleby’s of Hawkstone is run by Edward and his wife Christine.

R.I.P. Florence Lucy Appleby 1.2.1920 – 24.4.2008

Deli Meat: Deli meats have been known to be contaminated with Listeria, which can cause miscarriage.  If you are pregnant and you are considering eating deli meats, make certain that you reheat the meat until it is steaming.

Fish with Mercury: Fish that contain high levels of mercury should be avoided.

Smoked Seafood -Also could be contaminated with Listeria. Canned or shelf-safe smoked seafood is ok to eat.

Raw Shellfish:  Raw shellfish pose concern for everybody and they should be avoided altogether during pregnancy.

Raw Eggs: Raw eggs should be avoided because of the potential exposure to salmonella.

Soft Cheeses: Imported soft cheeses may contain bacteria called Listeria.  All soft non-imported cheeses made with pasteurized milk are safe to eat.

Pate: Could contain the bacteria Listeria. Canned pate, or shelf-safe meat spreads can be eaten.

Unwashed Vegetables: Yes, vegetables are safe to eat, so you still need to eat them. However, it is essential to make sure they are washed to avoid potential exposure to toxoplasmosis. Toxoplasmosis may contaminate the soil where the vegetables were grown.

Are people crazy?  Okay before I get to my gripes about this list, where listeria seems to be the dominant danger, lets look at toxoplasmosis.  You can get this just from not cleaning your cutting board, so basically, I am at risk for this regardless of what I eat.  I also can't eat my cat's poop.  Dang.

Listeria is just another term for food poisoning.   Do you know how many deli sandiwhiches, sushi, raw shellfish, and unwashed vegetables I have eaten in my life?  I grew up in Hawaii, where sashimi is more common than deviled eggs.  Do you know how many times I have gotten food poisoning?  2.  In my whole life, I have had food poisoning twice.   I have lived over a quarter of a century, ate all over the world from Egypt to Ecuador, and have been fine.

So what these people are telling me, is that I have to avoid getting food poisoning.  Now how many people get this?  The Center for Disease Control says:

In the United States, an estimated 2,500 persons become seriously ill with listeriosis each year. Of these, 500 die. Pregnant women are about 20 times more likely than other healthy adults to get listeriosis. About one-third of listeriosis cases happen during pregnancy.

As I stated before, about 6 million people will get pregnant this year.  1/3 of 2500 cases this year will be in pregnant women.  So what is your chance of getting this disease? .013%.  What are your chances of dying in a car accident? .015%  So, you are more likely to die in an accident than get listeriosis.   Now, you don't want to  partake in risky behavior.  No driving while blindfolded, and no licking raw chicken.  But do you never get into a car while pregnant?  No, you just make good choices.  Your favorite sushi restaurant where you know they get the fish fresh at the market might not pose as much risk as you think.  You have a craving for your favorite brand of brie cheese?  Yea, statistically you could cause your infant harm, but so do people who breath in the air in Los Angeles.

Just think about it.  Don't take all those dos and don'ts at face value.  Research people.  This is YOUR life and YOUR BABY's LIFE.

He personally doesn't think the baby is big. He said he just had a patient who's smaller than me and gained more weight, and they told her the same thing. She went into labor in her 38th week and had a 7 lbs baby. He said my measuring two weeks ahead could just mean I have more amniotic fluid. Well, I won't worry about it for now. I think I might avoid the inducement and get the acupuncturist to do it naturally in weeks 38-39. I told him I needed the extra time anyway to get stuff done.

I got an email from my friend who had her baby last week and she gave me details of the complications that she had (which she's still recovering from). I don't want to talk about it too much here -- because it was very traumatic -- but my heart was aching when I read her email. I was so sad that she had to go through this terrible ordeal and is still recovering, and feels like a failure as a mother because she can't breastfeed due to the complications. I can understand how she's feeling and I feel terrible that she had to go through this. (Good news is the baby is healthy.) But it goes to show that giving birth is still a tricky business.

As I have previously mentioned, I have had cravings in my third trimester for ice cream, in particular soft serve. Well, the other day -- while watching my favorite show, TMZ -- they made fun of Baskin' Robbins for their free soft serve to pregnant women campaign, but apparently, soft serve is on the no-no list because of potential infection from listeria. I had no idea! I've been having practically a cone a day for the past month! The caution against soft serve is that the machines aren't cleaned regularly and can harbor the bacteria. Ugh, what terrible news! Also, packaged salads (like egg salad, potato salad, macaroni salad) fall into the same category. (Which I have also eaten.) This also applies to women who are breastfeeding. I wonder if Slurpees fall into this list too since they come out of those type of machines?

I also thought that hot dogs and deli meat were on the no-no list because of nitrates. But we got some non-nitrate hot dogs, which I have been eating regularly because they're quite tasty, and I also just learned that those have to be reheated to 160 F.

Well, I guess the bright side is that eating less soft serve means less fat on my butt.

Maybe my own elementary school-era experiences in musical theater (Winthrop in The Music Man and Randolph in Bye Bye Birdie, if you must know) have something to do with it, but "Bye Bye Greasy" is one of my favorite episodes of Home Movies, almost certainly my favorite outside of that golden first season. To have Brendon do a musical was a natural development for the show, since due to the real life Brendon Small's talent, the show's music (whether incidental or directly plot related) had always been exceptionally strong--the show soundtrack disc that comes with the Season Four DVDs is almost worth the set's price in itself. And the episode doesn't disappoint--the hilarity comes so fast and furious, especially once the musical actually starts, that it might be the single best Home Movies episode for non-fans to get into the show. Plus, musical theater can always stand to be taken down a peg or two, even at the grade school level.

Ten best moments:

10. Coach McGuirk's typically encouraging consolence to Brendon on the play's difficulties:

"This play is completely sucking, Brendon. Do you have any control on what's going on? It's kind of a disaster....like, a historic disaster. And that's good...in a way...because you'll be sort of famous, for putting on the worst play ever in this elementary school."

9. The lyrics to the spacey Angela's audition song for the lead role:

"I'm not the girl you thought I WAAAAAAAAAASSSSS... / I'm just the girl you want me wish, was not, was were / Cause thou must think'th I / was not, once was, was not / but a girl..."

8. Mrs. Small's unlikely confirmation of Melissa's paranoia over her newly discovered kiwi allergy:

Melissa: "I think I smell kiwi. Does anyone else smell kiwi?"
Brendan (frustrated): "Relax, there's no kiwi around here! Don't worr-"
Mrs. Small: "Well, no, I made Kiwi Pie. It's for the scene where [Melissa's character] eats the pie."

7. The extremely unmetaphorical lyrics to "If You Were a Car"

"If you were a car, instead of a boy / You'd have headlights instead of eyes / And tires instead of feet..."

6. Mr. Lynch missing the point of theatrical breakthrough of suspended bully Shannon as Maloney, the play's tough guy protagonist:

Mr. Lynch: "WHAT?!? Is that Shannon? Defying my suspension?!?!?"
Brendon: "That's not Shannon, Mr. Lynch...it's Maloney!"
Mr. Lynch: "It's Shannon! You can tell by his...thing!"

5. Brendon instructing Melissa to sing-talk her way through her part, Rex Harrison style:

"No-I-don't-have-a-date-to-night-but-thanks-for-ask-ing / Lena...."

4. Mrs. Small getting too creative with the play's background set:

Brendon: "Listen, Mom, when somebody says an outdoor background, you don't have to jump to the conclusion that it must be a winter."
Mrs. Small: "Brendon...why don't you just make it winter?"
Brendon: "Why don't I make it win--?!?!? Because...th-there's a cookout scene! There's a 4th of July scene! There's a big independence song!!!"

3. Jason lacking improv skills when taking over Brendon's part at the last mintue (pictured above):

Brendon (whispering, off-stage): "Tell her that you know she's seeing Maloney!"
Jason: "Oh, oh yeah..." (To Angela): "So...you're not seeing Maloney..."
Brendon (still whispering off-stage): "No, you know that--"
Jason (repeating to Angela): "You know that--"
Brendon: "No, you know! You know!--"
Jason (to Angela): "You know, Lena...Lena, you know that--"
Brendon (moving onstage, conspicously using a bush for cover): "No, you know that! Not her!"
Jason (to Angela): "No, you know that! Not her--" (Breaking character): "I'm sorry, Brendon"
Brendan: "No, you know that shee's seeing Maloney!"
Jason: "Oh." (To Angela): "I know that you're seeing Maloney! The guy Brendon is playing..."

2. Brendon describing Coach McGuirk's character to him

Brendon: "You're probably familiar with the character Quick Rick."
McGuirk: "The drag racer."
Brendon: "Then you know he's like, the coolest guy in the whole play, hello."
McGuirk: "There are no cool guys in musicals."

1. McGuirk's Springsteen-Meets-Sondheim Street Racing Anthem:

"And I'll race / to feel the wind in my face / And I'll race / to feel alive / And I'll race / to feel like I own this place / And I'll race until I die / And I'll race against the other racers / And I'll race with one big shout / And I'll race against the clock / And I'll race against MYSELF / And I'll race..."

The company is voluntarily recalling the product after the contamination was discovered. There have been no reports of illnesses. Listeria, however, can be especially harmful in pregnant women.

(078114055)

Listeria monocytogenes bukan merupakan hal yang baru lagi. Sejak 1911, para ilmuwan menemukan bahwa bakteri tersebut menginfeksi hewan. Pada tahun 1929 muncul kasus pertama pada manusia. Awalnya, banyak pihak yang berpendapat bahwa hewan ternak menularkan Listeria monocytogenes kepada para petani, tetapi ketika muncul kasus di kota, departemen kesehatan masyarakat menyadari bahwa kontak dengan hewan bukanlah satu-satunya penyebab penyebaran Listeria monocytogenes.

Pada tahun 1981, lebih dari 100 orang di Kanada terjangkit listeriosis. Tiga puluh empat kasus terjadi pada ibu hamil, diantara mereka 9 ibu mengalami keguguran saat melahirkan, 23 bayi lahir terinfeksi, dan 2 yang lain lahir dengan sehat.
more information >>

listeria-monocytogenes-ancaman_bagi_si_jabang_bayi.pdf

Gourmet Boutique, a New York food company, is recalling almost 300,000 pounds of its fresh and frozen meat and poultry products because of possible listeria contamination. According to the USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), the contamination was discovered through sampling by their officials and those of the Florida Department of Agriculture.

The recall includes some three dozen different food products manufactured by the company, which calls itself "a USDA approved manufacturer of high quality, preservative-free specialty foods." There have been no illnesses associated with the products as yet.

A New York food company is recalling more than 286,000 pounds of meat and poultry because it might be contaminated with the bacteria Listeria monocytogenes.

The voluntary recall includes several different brands of fresh and frozen products made by Gourmet Boutique, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said Saturday.

Included are some types of chicken salad and sandwiches sold under the name Gourmet Boutique, and several frozen wraps and burritos sold under the names "Jan's" and "Archer Farms."

Be careful out there!

This time 286,320 pounds of fresh and frozen meat and poultry have been recalled after regulators found it might be contaminated with potentially fatal listeria germs. The company Gourmet Boutique, have been forced to recall products containing chicken, turkey, beef and pork.

They might want to amend the description of themselves on their website 'Gourmet Boutique is a USDA approved manufacturer of high quality, preservative-free specialty foods and is the natural choice in offering your customers the absolute finest foods available'. Not quite accurate is it?

Casi todos los patógenos intracelulares entran en una célula se dividen activamente y salen a infectar más. El problema es que el sistema inmune está ahí fuera, esperando o buscando signos de que la célula está infectada para matarla con sus huéspedes dentro.

Listeria no se arriesga a salir al medio extracelular para infectar a otras células, ¿cómo lo hace entonces? Pues bien, agarraos que viene lo curioso. Muchos sabréis que la actina, un componente de un tipo de fibras del citoesqueleto (esqueleto celular) se polimeriza y despolimeriza, cambiando así la forma de las células (permitiéndolas lanzar pseudópodos para fagocitar entre otras cosas).

Pues Listeria deshace las fibras, y cuando tiene bastante cantidad de actina alrededor, la polimeriza en su "trasero" pa salir disparada como un cohete, atravesando así la célula infectada para atravesar como una bala la membrana de la célula contigua y seguir dividiéndose...

Aquí os cuelgo un vídeo de estas bichas infectando una célula en cultivo, fijaos que salen como cohetes, pero como no hay otra célula al lado dan media vuelta y siguen buscando, una pasada de vídeo del laboratorio de Thierot ( University of Stanford, CA. USA)

Bueno, aquí os dejo los trozos más interesantes.
---------------------
Introducción:

La infección causada por Listeria monocytogenes, llamada listeriosis, había sido hasta hace relativamente escasos años una enfermedad poco común y con casos o brotes esporádicos. Sin embargo, a partir de comienzos de la década de los 80, la listeriosis empezó a manifestarse como una enfermedad de transmisión alimentaria emergente para la que se deben desarrollar métodos de detección y eliminación mucho más eficaces que los existentes hasta ahora.

Pese a su reciente importancia la listeriosis no es una enfermedad nueva de aparición repentina, como ocurre en el caso del SIDA o la legionelosis, sino que se han ido documentado diversos casos desde el primero descrito en humanos, en un soldado de la Primera Guerra Mundial. Fueron las múltiples interacciones entre diversos factores (...) los que trajeron como consecuencia los brotes masivos de enfermedad causada por Listeria monocytogenes en lugar de los casos esporádicos. (...)

Características:

La característica más importante de L. monocytogenes es su amplia resistencia a condiciones ambientales diversas tales como el pH bajo, las concentraciones elevadas de NaCl y las temperaturas muy bajas, pudiendo llegar a crecer a temperaturas de refrigeración, lo que incrementa las posibilidades de infección aun y cuando los alimentos se conserven en refrigeradores. Además, es una de las pocas bacterias infecciosas que pueden atravesar la placenta. (...)

L. monocytogenes es una bacteria de forma bacilar que responde positivamente a la tinción de Gram, aerobia facultativa, no esporulada y móvil con flagelación peritrica. (...) L. monocytogenes está difundida ampliamente en la naturaleza, pudiendo encontrarla en suelos, aguas superficiales y residuales, materia fecal, vegetales, carnes crudas, ensilados y diversos animales de corral, así como en humanos portadores asintomáticos (aproximadamente un 5 o 10% de la población presenta la bacteria en sus heces). Podríamos decir, por lo tanto, que es ubicua en la naturaleza. (...) Esta extensa distribución en el ambiente, junto con la tolerancia a los agentes conservantes más comunes, tales como el NaCl y el nitrito, es la que determinará la presencia de la bacteria en los alimentos, por la amplia variedad de oportunidades que tiene para contaminarlos.(...)

Fuera de la célula, L. monocytogenes es móvil debido a sus flagelos, mientras que cuando infecta una célula, pierde los flagelos y sigue moviéndose gracias a su habilidad de polimerizar la actina en largas cadenas que propulsan a la bacteria a través del citoplasma. (...) Otra característica en torno a la movilidad de la bacteria es que L. monocytogenes es móvil a 25ºC, pero inmóvil a 37ºC debido a la desactivación de los flagelos. (...)

Epidemiología y patogenia:

Listeria monocytogenes es responsable de una enfermedad transmitida por alimentos (ETA) conocida como listeriosis, de baja incidencia a nivel poblacional (4-8 casos por millón de habitantes) pero con tasas de mortalidad importantes (de un 25-30%), sobre todo en los grupos de riesgo, donde se incluyen mujeres embarazadas, pacientes inmudodeprimidos (enfermos de SIDA, trasplantados, uso de corticoesteroides, etc.), personas ancianas, fetos y niños de hasta 12 meses. (...) La enfermedad causada por L. monocytogenes puede presentarse esporádicamente o en brotes epidémicos y es principalmente contraída por el consumo de una gran diversidad de alimentos contaminados, entre los que destacan vegetales crudos, leche, quesos bandos, patés y productos cárnicos crudos o insuficientemente cocidos, como por ejemplo salchichas de Frankfurt. También se han detectado en menor medida en productos de pesca. (...)

En mujeres embarazadas suele causar una enfermedad que puede cursar como un cuadro pseudogripal (fiebre moderada acompañada o no de síntomas de ligera gastroenteritis) de evolución favorable. Es muy poco frecuente el desenlace fatal en la madre, pero si no se instaura el tratamiento adecuado puede producir la infección del feto, causando aborto, alumbramiento de un niño muerto o parto prematuro de un neonato que manifieste una infección septicémica general que afecta a varios órganos y con formación de lesiones granulomatosas (granulomatosis infantiséptica). (...) En el resto de adultos, sobre todo ancianos o inmunocomprometidos, los síntomas de la listeriosis son septicemia, meningitis y encefalitis. Un pequeño porcentaje de los infectados tiene lesiones focales, que incluyen endooftalmitis, artritis séptica, osteomielitis, pericarditis y endocarditis, sin septicemia manifiesta.(...)

Tratamiento:

El tratamiento mediante antibióticos en mujeres embarazadas o personas inmunocomprometidas que han ingerido alimentos contaminados por L. monocytogenes puede prevenir las consecuencias más serias de la listeriosis, pero sólo si la infección es diagnosticada a tiempo. Frecuentemente el diagnóstico de las infecciones no es lo bastante precoz como para que los antibióticos administrados sean eficaces, ya que a menudo las primeras señales de un brote de listeriosis son abortos o infecciones serias en adultos susceptibles. (...)

Prevención:

La amplia difusión de Listeria en la naturaleza, junto con su habilidad de crecer a temperaturas de refrigeración hacen de la bacteria una seria amenaza en productos listos para consumir (RTE, del inglés ready-to-eat), que son los que frecuentemente han sido asociados con casos de listeriosis. En estos productos, la contaminación por L. monocytogenes se suele producir durante el envasado después de ser cocinados. (...) Los alimentos RTE raramente son recalentados antes de ser consumidos, y si lo son, no se llega a las temperaturas ideales para la eliminación de las bacterias, por lo que son un peligro potencial si están contaminados por Listeria. (...)

Como los test que detectan la contaminación por L. monocytogenes pueden tardar varios días, la comida a menudo se encuentra ya en los supermercados antes de que la contaminación haya sido detectada. Por eso, en la actualidad la responsabilidad de la prevención de listeriosis se encuentra en última instancia en manos del consumidor. Las mujeres embarazadas y las personas inmunocomprometidas deben tomar precauciones tales como evitar los quesos blandos y no consumir leche no pasteurizada, así como evitar comidas que no son calentadas antes del consumo. (...)

La implantación de un sistema de Análisis de Peligros y Puntos de Control Críticos (APPCC) en las industrias de procesamiento de alimentos es indispensable para reducir y evitar la contaminación de los alimentos. El sistema requiere que la industria de producción de alimentos identifique los puntos críticos donde los alimentos puedan ser contaminados y seguir los pasos necesarios para prevenir la contaminación.

One of the joys I've rediscovered about the ends of major sport seasons is that you get to go back to magazines you may have purchased at the beginning of the season and chuckle at the seismic differences between what was expected to happen and what actually happened. After going through my ESPN and Sports Illustrated NBA season previews, I have to say that while it's perhaps regrettable that Acie Law IV did not have a Rookie of the Year-caliber season, that Andrea Bargnani is still maybe a year or two off from being the next Dirk Novitzki, and that the Bulls and Heat will not be enjoying home court advantage this playoff season (unless you count getting control over the remote while your friends come over to watch teams that were halfway decent this year in the playoffs, ZONG), it's pretty hilarious and amazing that the 76ers not only didn't come in the bottom two in their conference (as both magazines predicted), but they will in fact be suiting up for this post-season with the 7th-best record in the East. In fact, had certain games gone a little differently this past week, they might even have gone as high as #5. Forget the fact that this is an Eastern Conference that practically had to bribe teams into competing for the #8 spot, and that the Sixers would currently be sitting at #11 in the East right now with their 40-42 record--this is a season that exceeded expectations by any measure, and the Sixers deserve extreme props for it.

How they did it, of course, is anybody's guess. Yeah, you'll hear some hubbub about Mo Cheeks suddenly deciding to re-invent the Sixers as a run-and-gun team, a piece of likely apocrypha that ranks up with Nate McMillan's infamous "let's get physical" Trailblazer practice for Good Stories That Would've Won Their Coaches Awards if Things Had Ended Better. And you'll hear lots of stuff about Andre Iguodala and Andre MIller really improving their game, which is probably true, but isn't reflected in their stat sheets nearly as much as you'd think (Miller, despite being credited for stepping up as a team leader and distributor this year, actually averaged more assists last year, for instance). And you'll hear plenty about how the young guys have started to play like pros, providing energy off the bench and coming through in the clutch, which is almost definitely true.

It's not a pretty lineup, certainly--figuratively, or literally (and if there's an uglier team across the board in the NBA, I certainly don't want to know about it). But it's mid-April, and these guys somehow have engagements upcoming that are more pressing than getting manicures and planning their golf schedules. Here are ten reazons why this is so mindblowing:

10. Jason Smith. He looks like the exact halfway point between Jason Priestly and Luke Perry, he (allegedly) hooks up with porn star / political hopeful Mary Carey in clubs, and he sticks out like a well-groomed sore thumb on a team that mostly looks like they'd be filling up some basement pool hall in Cleveland if they weren't playing basketball in Philly. He may cost the Sixers games with his bad foul timing and poor foul shooting (the last one, anyway), but we love our goofy back-up big-in-training nonetheless.

9. A.I.'d Be Better Off Back Here Now. Think about this--if Allen Iverson was a free agent next year, and the Sixers decided he was the best signing available, how would this not suddenly constitute both a really good idea and a potential elite team? Makes sense from A.I.'s standpoint--who would you rather have on your team, Andre Miller and an enthusiastic bunch of team-player young guys, or a bunch of think-later shooters and Eduardo Najera? Makes sense from Philly's standpoint--imagine Allen and the two Andres making plays for themselves and each other with Reggie, Thad and Sammy around to play post, pick up rebounds and do the intangibles. It'd probably cause the world to fold in on itself, but that doesn't make it a bad idea necessarily. Right? No? Maybe?

8. The Disparaty Between Their Pre-Break Losses and Post-Break Wins. Before break: Lost to New York. TWICE. After break: Beat San Antonio, Boston, Detroit, Phoenix, Orlando and Dallas. Unbelievable.

7. Even Their Unofficial Blogger Has Them Getting Swept. Forget Fo', Fo', Fo, Jon Burkett won't even give us "One".

6. The team has two members on the NBA's All-Wire Lookalike Team:

Rodney Carney / Leandor Sydnor

Kevin Ollie / Norman Wilson

Not pictured: Deron Williams (White Mike), Josh Childress (Bubs) and Nate Robinson (Kennard).

5. Mo Cheeks' Mono-Emotive Coaching Face. I can't wait to see Cheeks in the playoffs. Dalembert gets called for a three-second violation with the team down two and half-minute to go. Cut to Mo with a stern, unimpressed look on his face. Andre Miller alley-oop from 35 feet to a racing Iguodala. Cut to Mo with a stern, unimpressed look on his face. He ain't exactly Mike D'Antoni, but it's working pretty OK so far I guess.

4. Finally, Some Nationally Televised Games. The Sixers, which when I last heard were operating out of a major market, did not have a single game that was nationally televised. Teams that were bestowed such honors include: The Seattle Supersonics, the Minnesota Timberwolves, and time and time again, the Miami Heat. Finally, I'll be able to watch Andres & Co. operate in real time from my Brooklyn apartment, instead of just watching the ESPN update and seeing the replays later.

3. Reggie Evans is in the Starting Lineup. Fans, semi-including myself, love this guy for his scrappiness and heart, claiming he gives a "boost of energy" to the game. On a fantasy team, though, he'd probably be about half as useful as even Joel Pryzbilla, and there's no surprise why--his truly horrific shooting. It's so bad then he shoots, you're not even angry at him for taking a shot, you're angry at the other guys for letting him have the ball with enough time to consider making a play, something Reggie shoudl never, ever do. Plus, have you seen that foul shot? I could probably do better. And maybe I could. Who wants to go bowling?

2. They still have this man:

Calvin, you may not be getting much time on the court, but you'll always have my heart.

1. The Best Offensive-Rebounding Team in the League. They kept trotting this stat out during games I was watching at home in January, and it started to sound like a back-handed compliment of sorts. After all, you don't get to be the number one O-Rebounding team in the league without missing a ton of shots, something the Sixers never had a problem with doing. Their only half-decent three shooter (Kyle Korver) went to Utah shortly afterwarsd, and a month or two after he left, he was still leading the team in three's made. This just didn't seem like a team that'd be able to score, say, 85 points a game, much less finishing in the 100s (as I've often mentioned I'm sure), and leading the league in Offensive Rebounding--a stat which few ever actually use to judge a player by--is too perfect a summation of what could've and be probably should've made for a super disastrous '07-'08 season.

Whatta series this is gonna be. Who's excited for the weekend?!?!?!?

To ascribe the word "underrated" to just about anything Wes Anderson has touched is a relatively useless statement; Anderson has been so lionized by the critical community (as well as by the generation of semi-devoted filmgoers coming of age when Rushmore hit it semi-big) that the relative scale of the movies' quality is pretty unimportant. Still, if there's one thing that the increasingly overbakedness of his later movies makes you really appreciate, it's just how loose and unassuming Bottle Rocket is. The elements are there, certainly--the quirky preciousness, the montages set to 60s underground rock, the immature adults and overly mature kids--but it just feels more organic, more...innocent, I guess. The script feels appropriately meandering (the whole thing with Bob, his brother and his weed-growing farm is among film's all-time great "what was the point of that?" sub-plots ), the dialogue feels more natural than it ever would again (Anthony's declaration of love speech to Inez, while far from being quotable enough for this article, is brilliant in its sheer incoherence), and hell, it's got Owen and Luke Wilson in that all-too-rare stage of their careers where they had no idea they could ever be considered celebrities.

Though I'm not sure I could say I enjoy it more than Rushmore and Tenenbaums (movies with recipes that brilliant are allowed to be so obviously cooked, I suppose), I do feel a certain level of comfort catching Bottle Rocket on TV that I don't necessarily get with the others. It never feels stale, or cloying, or nearly as self-indulgent as his other works, and for those reasons, the movie's few but legitimate moments of genuine drama (the scene where Dignan finds out that Anthony tricked him into giving away all their stolen loot money to Inez, especially) always strike me more than they do in his others. Plus, as should be obvious by now, it's got a hell of a lot of great quotes--the kind that don't jump out as obvious punchline quotes, but are insiduous in how gleefully unexpected they usually are, and in how much of the character they usually reveal. Here are ten reasons why I'd probably call Bottle Rocket my favorite Wes Anderson movie:

10. Anthony: "This is great! Sitting here in the laundary room, you working on your vocabulary, and we're sharing these tamales...it's just how I'd expect it."

9. Bob (Driving): "I hate to interrupt your conversation, guys, but I think I know what you've been going through, man. 'Coz I've been through some pretty heavy shit myself. If you're feeling alone, like nobody in the world cares, and nobody in the fucking world gives a shit, then I'm here. I'm ready to listen, man--"
Anthony (Interrupting, not listening): "...that was a stop sign..."

8. Random Bathroomgoer: "Hello, my friend!"
Dignan (at stall): "Hey, hola amigo! Como estas?"
RB: "You are in the army, yes?"
Dignan: "No, I just have short hair!"

7. Anthony: "Don't call her a housekeeper!"
Dignan: "Don't threaten me. That's what she is. She is a housekeeper, right? People are housekeepers!"

6. Anthony: "Dignan, you know what's gonna happen if you go back there."
Dignan: "No, I don't. They'll never catch me, man...'coz I'm fucking innocent!"

5.Dignan: "BACKYARD! RIGHT NOW! LET'S GO!"
Bob: "Backyard? This is my house!"

4. Grace: "When are you coming home?"
Anthony: "Grace, I can't come home. I'm an adult."

3. Dignan: "He's out. And you're out too. And I don't think I'm in either. No gang!"

2. Dignan: "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE??"
Worker Hostage 1: "We work here!"
Dignan: "YOU'RE ALWAYS AT LUNCH NOW!!"
Worker Hostage 2: "...not always."
Dignan: "YES, ALWAYS!!"

1. Anthony (Explaining how he "went nuts"): "One morning, over at Elizabeth's beach house, she asked me if I would rather go water skiing or lay out. And I realized that not only did I not want to answer that question, but I never wanted to answer another water-sports question...or see any of these people again...for the rest of my life."

Tuttavia esiste qualche eccezione: ad esempio i batteri Listeria monocytogenes sono in grado di moltiplicarsi anche a temperature molto basse. Non a caso questo ceppo è all'origine della cosiddetta malattia del frigorifero o Listeriosi. La presenza di Listeria monocytogeness nei banchi frigoriferi dei negozi di gastronomia viene anzi considerata condizione quasi "fisiologica", perché si rintraccia facilemente nei derivati del latte, come ad esempio nellla crosta di gorgonzola.

Ma sabato 29 marzo al Ministero dell'Agricoltura francese la presenza di Listeria su una partita di ricotta salata italiana (marchiata IT 03/180 CE) non è sembrato così fisiologico e la frontiera si è chiusa per questo prodotto italiano. A quanto pare la segnalazione è partita dalla Germania: Deux contrôles effectués en Allemagne sur ce fromage italien de la marque "Ricotta Salata" fabriqué par la société Pieve San Giacomo.

Una nota del Ministero transalpino invita coloro che avessero consumato ricotta salata a non sottovalutare i possibili sintomi della Listeriosi (febbre e mal di testa) con particolare attenzione alle donne in gravidanza, agli immunodepressi e agli anziani: "Ces symptômes peuvent évoquer une listériose, maladie qui peut être grave et dont le délais d'incubation peut aller jusqu'à huit semaines".

Ora, questo quadro sarà pure limitato a qualche partita destinata all'esportazione, d'accordo, ma non vi sembra comunque un dato allarmante? E allora siamo costretti a ripeterci: come nel caso delle scorie nucleari italiane destinate allo Utah (a proposito, nessuna novità dalla stampa italiana?) la notizia va ricercata nell'assenza di notizia... Tranne qualche rara eccezione e sparuti lanci d'agenzia il silenzio mediatico è forte. Quasi quanto la Listeria...

Andrea Mameli, Cagliari, 2 aprile 2008

Dall'istèria all'isterìa il passo è breve (sarà per questo che la stampa tace?)

GEICO has nothing further to prove with its ad campaigns. Between the identity-solidifying GEICO Gekko character, the pleasantly surprising "I just saved a boatload of money on car insurance by switching to GEICO" ads, the phenomenon-inducing "So easy a caveman can do it" series, and a little commercial called "Tiny House" (which if you don't rank as the greatest commercial of all-time, you certainly have to at least put in the top ten), there's no question about it--GEICO is the advertising dynasty of the 00s. Anything further that it does at this point is just stat-padding.

That said, it's been a while since GEICO's ads have been consistently groundbreaking and hilarious. The GEICO Gekko commercials (which, to be honest, were never particularly hysterical to begin with) have become rote. The Caveman commercials have run their course, and in the shadow of the Caveman hype (or anti-hype, I guess), the premise has been sapped of all freshness. And their most recent regular series, the GEICO Celebrity ads, have been very, very hit or miss.

You know the ones. "[Non-Famous Person] is a real GEICO customer, not an actor, so to tell his/her story, we hired [Famous Person]." The reg tells their sympathetic, GEICO-fellating story, while the celeb punctuates their tales with exhortations meant to be representative of what the celeb is famous for. The purpose of this gimmick is obvious--to simultaneously present relateable stories praising the merits of GEICO while poking fun at the tendency of commercials to hire celebrity ringers for no particular purpose, and getting in some good, winking celebrity self-mockery while they're at it.

Fair enough. But given the translatability of these celebs' various skills to the commercial spokesperson format, the actual watchability of these commercials varies greatly from famous person to famous person. Given the ten I was able to remember / find on YouTube, I've ranked them from 10-1 in order of how bearable these commercials are, given that nearly all of them have been given the unenviable task of holding up to dozens and dozens of repeat viewings.

10. Joan Rivers. What a surprise that a celebrity otherwise as ingratiating and low-key as Joan Rivers should show up as the most annoying GEICO cameo on this list. Nonetheless, this takes on special proportions even for Mrs. Rivers given just how creepy this commercial is. Givn the fact that her countless visits to plastic surgeons now fills the entirety of the public's perception of Joan Rivers (God knows I could barely identify anything else about her), all she does in the commercial is make bad facelift jokes that end up sounding positively frightening--"I CAN'T FEEL MY FACE!!" "Am I smiling? I CAN'T TELL!!!" Creates more sympathy for Joan than it does for whoever the jobber next to her is.

9 . Verne Troyer. Troyer isn't really famous for anything besides being short, not talking much, and drunkenly, nakedly moroting around celebrity houses. So all he's given to say here is to pointlessly echo the sentiments of the customer with what could be interpreted as "attitude" ("Yeah, that's right. I was busy.") They could've gotten just about any other famous person to fill these lines with equal amounts of character, and The Spy Who Shagged Me kinda sucked anyway, so fuck this commercial.

8. James Lipton. Lipton is a walking self-parody as is, so actually getting him to take time out of his busy schedule to poke even more fun at himself seems especially purposeless. Plus, even if it wasn't, Will Ferrell's exemplary SNL parody and Lipton's brilliant appearance on Arrested Development should have closed the book on it anyway.

7. Michael Winslow. Not a particularly bad appearance--the sound effect guy from Police Academy pretty much has Pop Culture carte blanche for the rest of his life, and it's a natural fit--but I can't help but feel that he's just kind of phoning it in here. His car sound effects aren't particularly convincing, and the beatboxing and simulated hip-hop he closes the commercial with, meant to apprxoimate the sound of the customer's car radio turning on, don't sound like they'd be coming from that guy's car stereo at all. Maybe if he had done his best Glenn Campbell impersonation.

6. Little Richard. A little Little Richard definitely goes a long way, so this commercial quickly outwore its welcome back when it was in heavy rotation. That said, watching this wide-eyed, falsetto'd lunatic is almost always a pleasure, and his "MASHED POTATOES, GRAVY, AND CAH-RANNNBERRY SAUCE!!!" is practically "Tutti Frutti"-worthy. Perhaps the best part comes before he even says anything, watching him quietly sip a cup of coffee. First time I've seen Little Richard silent and stationary for, like, at least five seconds. He almost looks human.

5. Burt Bacharach. This one'd be higher, probably, except I only watched it for the first time tonight. Don't know why this one never quite caught on the way the others have, but it's easily worthy of the list's top half. The smooth sound of Bacharach's piano is always appreciated, and the lyrics ("I hope I never get hit...IN THE REAAAARRRR...again...") are appropriately inappopriate. Bacharach also behaves vaguely autistic throughout, which for some reason greatly adds to the commercial's appeal.

4. Peter Graves. Once again, should maybe be a slot or two higher, but before this commercial, I didn't really have much of a read on who exactly Peter Graves was (yeah, I know, I've been meaning to watch those Mission: Impossible reruns I see on the American Life Network every now and then). Still, his delivery of the commercial's key line ("I was one verrry lucky woman") and the awkward pause afterwards is practically flawless. Points to the customer for keeping a straight, even unimpressed, face throughout.

3. Peter Frampton. Of all the GEICO celebrity commercials, this one might have the most lingering effect in my Pop Culture consciousness. Now I can't hear a Frampton song on the radio, or discuss him in casual conversation (which, in my world, happens probably way more than it should) without cupping my hands to my mouth and muttering "NOT-A-GREAT-WAYYY-TO-START-THE-MOR-NING..." or "I-WAN-TED-TO-PULL-MY-HAAAAIIIRR-OUU-U-UTTT..." Only thing keeping this from taking top honors is the bit where he works in a strained "Do You Feel Like We Do" reference, as if to remind audiences what he's famous for. The talk box'll do just fine, thanks.

2. The Pips. This one I think probably best achieves the idea of what GEICO was going for the whole time with this campaign--the mild but undeniable novelty of a bona fide Pop Cutlure icon (which the three Pips collectively add up to, I figure) doing what they're famous for and using it to enhance a simple story of GEICO's effectiveness. Plus, it definitely shares with the Frampton one the tendency to get stuck in your head beyond TV watching hours (I've been known to unconsciously drop a "WOO-OOH, FENDER BENDER" into accident-related conversation from time to time), and teaches these Amy Winehouse-bred kids a thing or two about what real male backing vocals should sound like.

1. Don LaFontaine. "Who?" Exactly. This gets the #1 if only by sheer virtue of it finally teaching me the name of one of the all-time That Guys, given an even further That Guy mythology by the fact that I would never have known before what he even looked like. Don is of course "That Guy from the Movie Previews," perhaps best known for his "IN A WORLD..." introductory catchphrase, whose trademark intonation simply could not be further perfected. The introductory "IN A WORLD...WHERE BOTH OF OUR CARS WERE UNDERWATER," coupled with LaFontaine's dramatic hand motion, seals this one right from the outset. If only they were all of this quality.

Consumer groups and Democratic lawmakers contend that the public should have access to the names of retailers in all meat recalls. As originally written, the rule would have applied to all meat recalls....more...