The thermal resistance of 3 strains of Listeria monocytogenes was compared using test tube versus sealed tube methods of thermal inactivation. All L. monocytogenes strains were rapidly inactivated in milk when survival was measured using sealed tube thermal inactivation methods. Calculated D62°C values ranged between 0.1–0.4 min for the three strains tested. In contrast, total inactivation of L. monocytogenes populations using test tube methods of thermal inactivation could not be accomplished within 30 min at 62°C. Extensive tailing of survivor curves was consistently observed. When an initial population of 5 × 106 L. monocytogenes/ml was heated at 72, 82, or 92°C, consistent survival of a population of 102–103 L. monocytogenes/ml after 30 min was observed. The results prove that the test tube method for measuring thermal resistance of L. monocytogenes is inaccurate. Reports of extraordinary heat resistance based upon this method are correspondingly inaccurate. L. monocytogenes cells, dispersed freely in milk, will not survive pasteurization.

The use of social media in the urologic community is common and increasing. Although the potential benefits of platforms like Twitter have been described in the literature, the use of social media in the clinical context of Urology has not been explored.In this case report, we describe how we used Twitter to share ideas about the clinical management of a complex urologic patient. By posting a clinical scenario, a timely discussion was generated with global participation and expert suggestions. This knowledge was applied to the surgical management of a patient with positive clinical outcomes.The ability of Twitter to facilitate rapid communication with a wide network of contributors makes it a potentially useful tool for clinical decision making. Care must be taken to ensure patient confidentiality and caution used appropriately when evaluating the sources and content of the clinical information shared.

Ground pork patties were prepared containing 37% fat and assigned to one of five treatments: (a) control; (b) precooked, no calcium alginate coating; (c) calcium alginate coated, no precooking; (d) calcium alginate coated before precooking and (e) calcium alginate coated after precooking. The calcium alginate coating significantly improved sensory attributes. Warmed-over flavor (WOF) was eliminated in precooked, alginate-coated patties as judged by sensory scores and TBA values. Coated patties with no precooking, and patties coated after precooking were found to be more desirable than control patties.

Gentamicin-thallous-carbonate (GTC) medium contained (per liter): 40.0 g of Trypticase soy agar, 5.0 g of KH2PO4, 2.0 g of NaHCO2, 1.0 g of glucose, 1.0 g of esculin, 0.5 g of thallous acetate (TA), 0.5 g of ferric citrate, 0.75 ml of Tween 80, and 2.5 mg of gentamicin sulfate. The NaHCO3 (20 ml of a 10% solution that had been heated to boiling) was added after sterilization of the basal medium. The spread plate technique was used to compare GTC agar with Pfizer selective enterococcus, TA, and KF agars by using sewage as well as bovine and swine fecal samples. Significantly greater numbers of group D streptococci were recovered on GTC agar than on Pfizer selective enterococcus or KF agars, within and over all samples. Higher counts also were obtained on GTC than on TA agar, but the differences were not statistically significant. The percentage of false positives was about the same for all four media. Samples of riverwater also were plated on GTC, TA, and KF agars, and significantly higher recoveries were obtained with GTC agar. GTC agar was superior to the other media examined primarily because of increased recoveries of Streptococcus bovis and S. equinus; other advantages of GTC agar were large colony size and short (24-h) incubation period. The percentage of false positives from riverwater was 13% for GTC agar and 0% for TA and KF agars; therefore, confirmation would be necessary when GTC agar is used with some types of environmental samples.

Spent fowl was flaked and formulated to include: (1) 100% dark meat; (2) 75% dark rneat, 25% white meat; (3) 50% dark meat, 50% white meat; (4) 25% dark meat, 75% white meat; and (5) 100% white meat. Patties were made and half from each formulation were coated with calcium alginate. Proximate analysis of patties before and after cooking, calculation of cooking loss, and evaluations for textural properties and sensory attributes were performed. As the proportion of white meat increased, the samples contained less fat, had less cooking loss and shrinkage, and received higher sensory preference scores. Patties coated with calcium alginate were more desirable in texture, flavor, juiciness, and overall palatability as cornpart d to the controls.