Diverse bacteria on fresh fruits, vegetables vary with produce type, farming practices

Public release date: 27-Mar-2013
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Contact: Souri Somphanith
onepress@plos.org
41-562-412-17199
Public Library of Science

Bacterial species on fresh produce correlated with type of produce more than other factors

Fresh fruit and vegetables carry an abundance of bacteria on their surfaces, not all of which cause disease. In the first study to assess the variety of these non-pathogenic bacteria, scientists report that these surface bacteria vary depending on the type of produce and cultivation practices. The results are published March 27 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Jonathan Leff and Noah Fierer at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

The study focused on eleven produce types that are often consumed raw, and found that certain species like spinach, tomatoes and strawberries have similar surface bacteria, with the majority of these microbes belonging to one family. Fruit like apples, peaches and grapes have more variable surface bacterial communities from three or four different groups. The authors also found differences in surface bacteria between produce grown using different farming practices.

The authors suggest several factors that may contribute to the differences they observed, including farm locations, storage temperature or time, and transport conditions. These surface bacteria on produce can impact the rate at which food spoils, and may be the source of typical microbes on kitchen surfaces. Previous studies have shown that although such microbes don't necessarily cause disease, they may still interact with, and perhaps inhibit the growth of disease-causing microbes. The results of this new research suggest that people may be exposed to substantially different bacteria depending on the types of produce they consume.

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Citation: Leff JW, Fierer N (2013) Bacterial Communities Associated with the Surfaces of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. PLoS ONE 8(3): e59310. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059310

Financial Disclosure: This work was supported with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Microbiology of the Built Environment Program. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interest Statement: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059310

Disclaimer: This press release refers to upcoming articles in PLOS ONE. The releases have been provided by the article authors and/or journal staff. Any opinions expressed in these are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLOS. PLOS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the release and article and your use of such information.

About PLOS ONE: PLOS ONE is the first journal of primary research from all areas of science to employ a combination of peer review and post-publication rating and commenting, to maximize the impact of every report it publishes. PLOS ONE is published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS), the open-access publisher whose goal is to make the world's scientific and medical literature a public resource.

All works published in PLOS ONE are Open Access. Everything is immediately availableto read, download, redistribute, include in databases and otherwise usewithout cost to anyone, anywhere, subject only to the condition that the original authors and source are properly attributed. For more information about PLOS ONE relevant to journalists, bloggers and press officers, including details of our press release process and our embargo policy, see the everyONE blog at http://everyone.plos.org/media.

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Public release date: 27-Mar-2013
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Souri Somphanith
onepress@plos.org
41-562-412-17199
Public Library of Science

Bacterial species on fresh produce correlated with type of produce more than other factors

Fresh fruit and vegetables carry an abundance of bacteria on their surfaces, not all of which cause disease. In the first study to assess the variety of these non-pathogenic bacteria, scientists report that these surface bacteria vary depending on the type of produce and cultivation practices. The results are published March 27 in the open access journal PLOS ONE by Jonathan Leff and Noah Fierer at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

The study focused on eleven produce types that are often consumed raw, and found that certain species like spinach, tomatoes and strawberries have similar surface bacteria, with the majority of these microbes belonging to one family. Fruit like apples, peaches and grapes have more variable surface bacterial communities from three or four different groups. The authors also found differences in surface bacteria between produce grown using different farming practices.

The authors suggest several factors that may contribute to the differences they observed, including farm locations, storage temperature or time, and transport conditions. These surface bacteria on produce can impact the rate at which food spoils, and may be the source of typical microbes on kitchen surfaces. Previous studies have shown that although such microbes don't necessarily cause disease, they may still interact with, and perhaps inhibit the growth of disease-causing microbes. The results of this new research suggest that people may be exposed to substantially different bacteria depending on the types of produce they consume.

###

Citation: Leff JW, Fierer N (2013) Bacterial Communities Associated with the Surfaces of Fresh Fruits and Vegetables. PLoS ONE 8(3): e59310. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0059310

Financial Disclosure: This work was supported with funding from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation's Microbiology of the Built Environment Program. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interest Statement: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

PLEASE LINK TO THE SCIENTIFIC ARTICLE IN ONLINE VERSIONS OF YOUR REPORT (URL goes live after the embargo ends): http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0059310

Disclaimer: This press release refers to upcoming articles in PLOS ONE. The releases have been provided by the article authors and/or journal staff. Any opinions expressed in these are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLOS. PLOS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the release and article and your use of such information.

About PLOS ONE: PLOS ONE is the first journal of primary research from all areas of science to employ a combination of peer review and post-publication rating and commenting, to maximize the impact of every report it publishes. PLOS ONE is published by the Public Library of Science (PLOS), the open-access publisher whose goal is to make the world's scientific and medical literature a public resource.

All works published in PLOS ONE are Open Access. Everything is immediately availableto read, download, redistribute, include in databases and otherwise usewithout cost to anyone, anywhere, subject only to the condition that the original authors and source are properly attributed. For more information about PLOS ONE relevant to journalists, bloggers and press officers, including details of our press release process and our embargo policy, see the everyONE blog at http://everyone.plos.org/media.

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[ | E-mail | Share ]

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-03/plos-dbo032613.php

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RBS Rolls Out Mobile Chat For Business Customers - Bank Systems ...

March 26, 2013

U.K. banks RBS and NatWest have launched a a mobile text-based chat function for their business banking customers.

The banks, which are both operate under the RBS Group umbrella, said the service is designed give business clients quick access to agents while on the move.

[See Also: Is Mobile Banking Ready For Business?]

The in-app function was designed in conjunction with London-based mobile company Grapple. Once logged in to the app, customers can then initiate a conversation with a business banking advisors. The service is available from 9am to 6pm on weekdays and 10am to 4pm on Saturdays.

According to the banks, the new mobile chat function is designed to reduce call-waiting and in-branch wait times for time-sensitive business account holders.

?The number of RBS business banking customers banking on mobile has increased significantly within the past 12 months and we are delighted to be the first bank in Europe to launch Mobile Chat, delivering a consistent customer service experience across all our channels," said Aron Thompson, Digital Director, Business & Commercial at RBS, in a statement. "The drive to enable customers to bank with us on the move is part of our ahead for Business commitment to make life easier for our customers."

The mobile chat service is currently available for iPhone users only.

Source: http://www.banktech.com/channels/rbs-rolls-out-mobile-chat-for-business-c/240151701

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Facebook Touts Gaming Numbers at GDC, Lays Out New Plans ...

After a ?dark time? of balancing unhappy users and unhappy developers, Facebook turned around its gaming unit in 2012, the company said today at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco.

Games will still not be a ?primary pillar? of Facebook, product manager George Lee said (that privilege is reserved for the Timeline, News Feed and Graph Search). But they will be increasingly woven into the ?whole experience,? starting with games-focused sections of the new News Feeds and Timelines that the company has started rolling out to some users.

Lee said games were the ?dominant use case? for Facebook by 2010. However, as both Lee and platform gaming head Sean Ryan noted, users were unhappy with notification spam ? particularly from what Ryan would only call a ?farming simulator game.?

At the end of 2011, the company huddled on how to make both users and developers happy. ?We think we?ve reached a balance right now,? Ryan said.

A few quick-hit numbers from Facebook?s presentation: 250 million monthly active users play games, amounting to one-fifth of all the people who visit Facebook each day; compared to March 2012, game installs are up 75 percent; and monetization has also increased, with Facebook paying out more than $2 billion to developers last year.

Ryan also laid out the company?s goals for 2013, which include desktop (?We care about desktop because it?s big, and it?s growing, and we can make it grow faster?), more cross-platform games that players can enjoy equally well on both desktop and mobile, and broadening the types of games available on Facebook?s sites and apps.

More than half of the Top 400 iOS games are integrated with Facebook, a spokesperson noted via email.

The company also plans to roll out the ability for developers to charge players? in-game purchases using their local currencies (instead of the now-defunct Facebook Credits) ?in a few weeks.?

Source: http://allthingsd.com/20130326/facebook-touts-gaming-numbers-at-gdc-lays-out-new-plans/

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Uncovering Africa's oldest known penguins

Mar. 26, 2013 ? Africa isn't the kind of place you might expect to find penguins. But one species lives along Africa's southern coast today, and newly found fossils confirm that as many as four penguin species coexisted on the continent in the past. Exactly why African penguin diversity plummeted to the one species that lives there today is still a mystery, but changing sea levels may be to blame, the researchers say.

The fossil findings, described in the March 26 issue of the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, represent the oldest evidence of these iconic tuxedo-clad seabirds in Africa, predating previously described fossils by 5 to 7 million years.

Co-authors Daniel Thomas of the National Museum of Natural History and Dan Ksepka of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center happened upon the 10-12 million year old specimens in late 2010, while sifting through rock and sediment excavated from an industrial steel plant near Cape Town, South Africa.

Jumbled together with shark teeth and other fossils were 17 bone fragments that the researchers recognized as pieces of backbones, breastbones, wings and legs from several extinct species of penguins.

Based on their bones, these species spanned nearly the full size spectrum for penguins living today, ranging from a runty pint-sized penguin that stood just about a foot tall (0.3 m), to a towering species closer to three feet (0.9 m).

Only one penguin species lives in Africa today -- the black-footed penguin, or Spheniscus demersus, also known as the jackass penguin for its loud donkey-like braying call. Exactly when penguin diversity in Africa started to plummet, and why, is still unclear.

Gaps in the fossil record make it difficult to determine whether the extinctions were sudden or gradual. "[Because we have fossils from only two time periods,] it's like seeing two frames of a movie," said co-author Daniel Ksepka. "We have a frame at five million years ago, and a frame at 10-12 million years ago, but there's missing footage in between."

Humans probably aren't to blame, the researchers say, because by the time early modern humans arrived in South Africa, all but one of the continent's penguins had already died out.

A more likely possibility is that rising and falling sea levels did them in by wiping out safe nesting sites.

Although penguins spend most of their lives swimming in the ocean, they rely on offshore islands near the coast to build their nests and raise their young. Land surface reconstructions suggest that five million years ago -- when at least four penguin species still called Africa home -- sea level on the South African coast was as much as 90 meters higher than it is today, swamping low-lying areas and turning the region into a network of islands. More islands meant more beaches where penguins could breed while staying safe from mainland predators.

But sea levels in the region are lower today. Once-isolated islands have been reconnected to the continent by newly exposed land bridges, which may have wiped out beach nesting sites and provided access to predators.

Although humans didn't do previous penguins in Africa in, we'll play a key role in shaping the fate of the one species that remains, the researchers add.

Numbers of black-footed penguins have declined by 80% in the last 50 years, and in 2010 the species was classified as endangered. The drop is largely due to oil spills and overfishing of sardines and anchovies -- the black-footed penguin's favorite food.

"There's only one species left today, and it's up to us to keep it safe," Thomas said.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by National Evolutionary Synthesis Center (NESCent), via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Daniel B. Thomas, Daniel T. Ksepka. A history of shifting fortunes for African penguins. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/zoj.12024

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/most_popular/~3/sBXiGc1qknY/130326101606.htm

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Supreme Court justices signal uncertainty on drug settlements

By Lawrence Hurley

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Supreme Court justices on Monday signaled uncertainty over how they would rule on whether brand-name drug companies can settle patent litigation with generic rivals by making deals to keep cheaper products off the market.

Eight justices, lacking the recused Justice Samuel Alito, asked questions that indicated concerns about such deals, but several seemed unsure how courts should approach the matter.

In the deals in question, brand name manufacturers settle litigation by paying generic manufacturers to stay out of the market for a specified period.

U.S. and state regulators say the practice costs consumers, insurers and government billions of dollars annually.

The Federal Trade Commission, which has called the deals "pay for delay," has fought them in court for more than a decade.

A number of justices on Monday appeared skeptical of the Justice Department's argument that the deals should be viewed as presumptively unlawful.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor said she had "difficulty understanding" Justice Department lawyer Malcolm Stewart's argument that "the mere existence" of a payment should change the way courts view a settlement.

But several justices asked questions raising concerns that the deals could be anticompetitive.

Justice Elena Kagan said that in some cases, companies could share monopoly profits "to the detriment of consumers."

The problem the court appears to face is how to tell lower courts to determine which agreements were lawful and which were not.

Justice Stephen Breyer suggested that the justices should simply tell lower court judges to "keep in mind" that the deals could be anticompetitive.

"In other words, it's up to the district court," he said.

It is unclear how many of the justices would support that approach. Justice Antonin Scalia was openly critical, saying it would not tackle "the elephant in the room," which is the relative strength of the patent being challenged in the case. Justice Anthony Kennedy voiced similar sentiments.

In the case before the court, Solvay Pharmaceuticals Inc, which is now owned by AbbVie, sued generic drugmakers in 2003 to stop cheaper versions of AndroGel, a gel used to treat men with low testosterone.

Solvay paid as much as $30 million annually to Actavis Inc predecessor Watson Pharmaceuticals, Paddock Laboratories Inc and Par Pharmaceutical Cos to help preserve annual profits estimated at $125 million from AndroGel.

Under the deal, the three would stay off the market until 2015. The patent expires in 2020.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision by the end of June.

The case is Federal Trade Commission v. Watson Pharmaceuticals Inc et al, U.S. Supreme Court, No. 12-416.

(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Diane Bartz; Editing by Howard Goller and Lisa Von Ahn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/supreme-court-justices-signal-uncertainty-drug-settlements-175956120--finance.html

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Build A Space-Saving Roll-Out Pantry that Fits Between the Fridge and the Wall

If you have a little space between your fridge and the retaining wall next to it, or any space about six inches wide in your kitchen, this DIY roll-out pantry can hold a ton of canned goods and other non-perishables, roll out when you need it, and slide easily back into place when you're finished.

The project from the folks at Classy Clutter, is designed to hold canned foods, but we imagine you could use it for just about anything, and it doesn't have to live between the fridge and a wall. It's only 6" across, and it rests on 2" casters, so it can slide in and out of place easily. Everything you need to build it are easily available at your local hardware store (The full parts list is at the link below?it's pretty much just wood, casters, dowels, and a knob to pull the pantry in and out with.)

Once you assemble the thing, you have plenty of extra shelf space for storage, and dowels along the bottom part of the shelves to make sure items don't come falling out every time you pull the pantry out from behind the fridge. She even painted it so it would blend in nicely with the rest of the kitchen. Hit the link for more photos, the list of parts, and all the measurements.

Build Your Own Extra Storage (DIY Canned Food Organizer) | Classy Clutter

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/umm854i5pbY/build-a-space+saving-roll+out-pantry-that-fits-between-the-fridge-and-the-wall

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2 pedestrians killed, 2 hurt in Seattle crash

SEATTLE (AP) ? A pickup truck driver crashed into four pedestrians crossing a Seattle street on Monday, killing two and critically injuring two others ? a woman and the infant she was carrying, police said.

The driver may have been under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel said after the Monday afternoon crash in a north Seattle neighborhood.

Mark W. Mullan, 50, of Seattle, was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of vehicular homicide, jail records showed. He was expected to have a bail hearing Tuesday. It was not immediately known whether he had a lawyer.

A 66-year-old man and a 68-year-old woman died at the scene, Kappel said. They were not immediately identified.

A 33-year-old woman and a 10-day-old infant were hospitalized at Harborview Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, the spokesman said.

"Today's collision on our streets is shocking and tragic," Mayor Mike McGinn tweeted. "My thoughts are with the victims and their families and friends."

The infant was not breathing when medics arrived, "so we initiated CPR and got the heartbeat back," said Kyle Moore, Seattle Fire Department spokesman. The woman suffered a serious head injury, Moore said.

It was not known whether the woman was the infant's mother.

"This is obviously a very tragic situation," said Police Deputy Chief Nick Metz. "It's not very normal that we have this level of folks who are victimized in this way."

The driver didn't answer reporters' questions as police led him away in handcuffs. Police said he stopped after the collision and was cooperative. A phone number listed for Mullan was disconnected.

The accident occurred across the street from a middle school, and Metz said police would be more visible in the area in the immediate future.

Moore said the crash was particularly jarring for first-responders.

"It hits both police and fire ... they have kids, it hits them hard."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2-pedestrians-killed-2-hurt-seattle-crash-001401730.html

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