Comparison of Road Noise Policies across Australia, Europe, and North America.

Developing innovative noise policies that build on international best practices is difficult when policies around the world differ along many dimensions, ranging from different sources covered to different levels of governance involved. This is particularly critical in the context of road traffic, identified as one of the main culprits leading to noise-associated complaints and health issues. In this article, we document the wide range of specifications observed in road traffic policies and propose a methodology to compare noise limits across noise policies.

Diversity and dynamics of bacterial and fungal communities in cider for distillation.

Bacterial and fungal population dynamics in cider for distillation have so far been explored by culture-dependant methods. Cider for distillation can be produced by the spontaneous fermentation of apples that do not undergo any intervention during the process. In this study, cider microbiomes extracted from six tanks containing ciders for distillation from four producers in Normandy were characterized at three main stages of the fermentation process: fermentation Initiation (I), end of the alcoholic Fermentation (F) and end of the Maturation period (M).

[Maternal deaths due to infections in France 2013-2015].

Over the 2013-2015 period, maternal mortality due to infections accounted for 10 % of direct maternal deaths and 13 % of indirect maternal deaths. Among the 21 deaths from infection, and compared to the last triennium, maternal deaths from genital infection doubled with 11 deaths during the 2013-2015 period. This included 6 cases of puerperal toxic shock syndrome, 4 of which due to Streptococcus A, and 5 cases of sepsis caused by intrauterine infection due to Gram-Negative Bacillus.

Oenococcus sicerae sp. nov., isolated from French cider.

Two Gram-stain-positive, small ellipsoidal cocci, non-motile, oxidase- and catalase-negative, and facultative anaerobic strains (UCMA15228 and UCMA17102) were isolated in France, from fermented apple juices (ciders). The 16S rRNA gene sequence was identical between the two isolates and showed 97 % similarity with respect to the closest related species Oenococcus oeni and O. kitaharae.

Multiplex PCR for rapid identification of major lactic acid bacteria genera in cider and other fermented foods.

Lactobacillus, Pediococcus, Oenococcus and Leuconostoc are the main Lactic Acid Bacteria (LAB) genera present in cider as they are able to survive this hostile environment. LAB play a significant role in cider quality, for example in the process of malolactic fermentation, even though they can also be involved in spoilage of cider (production of biogenic amines, exopolysaccharides, off-flavours…). In this context a better monitoring of the fermentation process is a matter of interest to guarantee cider quality.

Prevention and management of genital herpes simplex infection during pregnancy and delivery: Guidelines from the French College of Gynaecologists and Obstetricians (CNGOF).

Objective: Identify measures to diagnose, prevent, and treat genital herpes infection during pregnancy and childbirth as well as neonatal herpes infection.

Materials And Methods: Bibliographic search from the Medline and Cochrane Library databases and review of international clinical practice guidelines.

Results: Genital herpes lesions are most often due to HSV-2 (LE2).

[Not Available].

Objective: Identify measures to diagnose, prevent and treat genital herpes infection during pregnancy and childbirth and neonatal infection.

Methods: Bibliographic search from Medline, Cochrane Library databases and research of international clinical practice guidelines.

Results: Genital herpes lesion is most often due to HSV2 (LE2).

Microorganisms in Fermented Apple Beverages: Current Knowledge and Future Directions.

Production of fermented apple beverages is spread all around the world with specificities in each country. 'French ciders' refer to fermented apple juice mainly produced in the northwest of France and often associated with short periods of consumption. Research articles on this kind of product are scarce compared to wine, especially on phenomena associated with microbial activities.

[Health and housing].

The report recalled the determinants of air quality in buildings and the dysfunctions which are most commonly found in buildings. They have their roots in economic, sociologic, demographic and technologic changes which occurred in last decades. Then, the authors stated what should be the health issues at each step of the life of a building, namely planning by the architect, construction, maintenance, rehabilitation and, in some instances, control by health authorities.

Redox balance via lactate dehydrogenase is important for multiple stress resistance and virulence in Enterococcus faecalis.

Enterococcus faecalis is a highly stress resistant opportunistic pathogen. The intrinsic ruggedness of this bacterium is supposed to be the basis of its capacity to colonize the hostile environments of hospitals and to cause several kinds of infections. We show in this work that general resistance to very different environmental stresses depends on the ability of E.

Genetic modifications and introduction of heterologous pdc genes in Enterococcus faecalis for its use in production of bioethanol.

Genetically-modified Enterococcus faecalis has a potential of survival and can be used in ethanolic fermentations. Fermentation profiles of E. faecalis JH2-2 were assessed using glucose and lactose as carbon sources.

Role of methionine sulfoxide reductases A and B of Enterococcus faecalis in oxidative stress and virulence.

Methionine sulfoxide reductases A and B are antioxidant repair enzymes that reduce the S- and R-diastereomers of methionine sulfoxides back to methionine, respectively. Enterococcus faecalis, an important nosocomial pathogen, has one msrA gene and one msrB gene situated in different parts of the chromosome. Promoters have been mapped and mutants have been constructed in two E.

The cold shock response of Lactobacillus casei: relation between HPr phosphorylation and resistance to freeze/thaw cycles.

When carrying out a proteome analysis with a ptsH3 mutant of Lactobacillus casei, we found that the cold shock protein CspA was significantly overproduced compared to the wild-type strain. We also noticed that CspA and CspB of L. casei and CSPs from other organisms exhibit significant sequence similarity to the C-terminal part of EIIA(Glc), a glucose-specific component of the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system.

[Health and nutrition claims made on food: what future?].

The number of foods bearing health and nutrition claims is growing in line with consumers' expectations. This market offers attractive prospects of profit for industry and commerce. The question is whether such foods really have health effects, and whether the general population or specific groups really benefit from their use.

Implication of (Mn)superoxide dismutase of Enterococcus faecalis in oxidative stress responses and survival inside macrophages.

The gene encoding the manganese-containing superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) of Enterococcus faecalis was characterized. It is transcribed monocistronically from an upstream promoter identified by rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE)-PCR. A sodA mutant was constructed and characterized.

Polyphasic study of Zymomonas mobilis strains revealing the existence of a novel subspecies Z. mobilis subsp. francensis subsp. nov., isolated from French cider.

Zymomonas mobilis strains recently isolated from French 'framboisé' ciders were compared with collection strains of the two defined subspecies, Z. mobilis subsp. mobilis and Z.

Zymomonas mobilis subspecies identification by amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis.

Aims: To identify strains of Zymomonas mobilis at the subspecies level by a fast and reliable technique.

Methods And Results: Amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis (ARDRA) was used to identify strains of Z. mobilis at the subspecies level using the restriction enzyme StuI.

Purification, characterization and subunits identification of the diol dehydratase of Lactobacillus collinoides.

The three genes pduCDE encoding the diol dehydratase of Lactobacillus collinoides, have been cloned for overexpression in the pQE30 vector. Although the three subunits of the protein were highly induced, no activity was detected in cell extracts. The enzyme was therefore purified to near homogeneity by ammonium sulfate precipitation and gel filtration chromatography.

Biosynthesis of exopolysaccharide by a Bacillus licheniformis strain isolated from ropy cider.

A strain of Bacillus licheniformis displaying a ropy phenotype was isolated from a French ropy cider. The influence of culture conditions on the production of exopolysaccharide (EPS) was investigated. When B.

Characterisation of the diol dehydratase pdu operon of Lactobacillus collinoides.

The three genes (pduCDE) encoding the diol dehydratase of Lactobacillus collinoides were sequenced. They exhibited strong identities with the ddrABC and pduCDE genes of Klebsiella oxytoca and Salmonella enterica, respectively. These genes are part of a putative operon with at least four other genes.

The stress proteome of Enterococcus faecalis.

Enterococcus faecalis is a resident bacterium of the intestinal tract of humans and animals. This bacterium can be responsible for serious diseases and is one of the largest causes of hospital-based infections. This hardy organism resists many kinds of stresses and is used as a major indicator of the hygienic quality of food, milk, and drinking water.