Testing the Effects of Two Field-to-Fork Programs on the Nutritional Outcomes of Elementary School Students From Diverse and Lower-Income Communities.

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to evaluate the effects of two farm-to-school programs, specifically the Field-to-Fork Multi-visit Program (N = 264) and the Field-to-Fork After-school Club (N = 56), on nutritional outcomes of elementary school students (third to fifth grade) from urban, diverse, and lower-income communities. Data were collected via self-report surveys measuring: (a) knowledge of recommendations for daily fruit and vegetable intake; (b) fruit and vegetable consumption; (c) knowledge of cooking a healthy recipe using vegetables; and (d) desire for farm fresh foods at school. Statistical analyses included McNemar's and Wilcoxon signed rank tests. The proportion of students knowing how to cook a vegetable rich recipe increased with both programs (Multi-visit Program p < .001; After-school Club p = .002). Vegetable consumption increased with the After-school Club (p = .002). Farm-to-school programming can increase knowledge of cooking vegetable rich recipes and vegetable intake among elementary school students from diverse, urban, and lower-income communities.

Pilot Intervention Using Food Challenges and Video Technology for Promoting Fruit and Vegetable Consumption.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the feasibility of a Social Cognitive Theory-based intervention on cognitive, affective, and behavioral outcomes in a college nutrition course. DESIGN: A pre-post quasi-experimental design. SETTING: Large metropolitan university. PARTICIPANTS: College students (n = 138) aged 18-40 years. INTERVENTIONS: Students participated in weekly food challenges during a 15-week nutrition course to apply nutrition knowledge, develop self-efficacy and promote positive behavior change. Food challenges were implemented by a guided goal-setting strategy. Cooking videos, which modeled important nutrition-related skills, accompanied each challenge. Students independently selected 2-goal options to implement weekly and wrote a reflection about their experiences. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cognitive outcomes (nutrition and cooking self-efficacy), affective outcome (cooking attitudes), and behavioral outcomes (fruit and vegetable consumption). ANALYSIS: Descriptive statistics and paired sample t tests. RESULTS: Analyses showed significant increases in cognitive outcomes (produce consumption self-efficacy [P = 0.004], cooking self-efficacy [P = 0.002], using fruit/vegetables and seasoning self-efficacy [P = 0.001]) and behavioral outcomes (fruit consumption [P < 0.001], and vegetable consumption [P < 0.001]). CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: This pilot study suggested a framework for behavioral change, grounded in constructs central to Social Cognitive Theory, that simplified the goal-setting process (by using guided goal setting) and used video technology to decrease the cost of implementation.

The effect of hair color on the incorporation of codeine into human hair.

The influence of melanin on the binding of xenobiotics in hair will impact the interpretation of drug concentrations determined by hair testing. The purpose of this study was to determine if codeine, as a model compound of abused drugs, would be incorporated into black, brown, blond, or red hair as a function of melanin concentration. Such data would assist in the interpretation of codeine concentrations in hair and help elucidate the potential influence of hair color on incorporation of drugs. Male and female Caucasians with black (n = 6), brown (n = 12), blond (n = 8), or red hair (n = 6) and non-Caucasians with black hair (n = 12) aged 21-40 years were enrolled in the study. Each subject was administered oral codeine phosphate syrup in a dosage of 30 mg three times a day for five days. Twenty-four hours after the end of the treatment period, a 30-mg codeine dose was administered and the subject's plasma area under the concentration time curve (AUC) for codeine was determined. Codeine and melanin were measured in the first 3 cm of hair closest to the vertex region of the scalp prior to and 1, 4, 5, 6, and 7 weeks after dosing. The quantitative and qualitative melanin profiles were determined for each subject's hair to provide an objective measure of hair color. The plasma concentrations of codeine were measured to eliminate differences in the bioavailability and clearance of codeine as factors that might account for the differences in codeine hair concentrations. The subjects were asked not to cut their hair in the vertex region of the scalp or to use any form of chemical treatment on their hair, but otherwise normal hygienic measures were permitted. The mean (+/- SE) hair codeine concentrations 5 weeks after dosing were 1429 (+/- 249) pg/mg in black hair; 208 (+/- 17) pg/mg in brown hair; 99 (+/- 10) pg/mg in blond hair; and 69 (+/- 11) in red hair pg/mg. In black hair, codeine concentrations were 2564 (+/- 170) pg/mg for Asians and 865 (+/- 162) pg/mg for Caucasians. Similar concentration relationships were observed at weeks 4, 6, and 7. A strong relationship between the hair concentrations of codeine and melanin (R(2) = 0.73) was observed. Normalization of the codeine concentration with the melanin concentration reduced the hair color differences observed. These data demonstrate that the interpretation and reporting of hair test results for codeine are influenced by hair color. After this dosing protocol, the proposed federal guideline cutoff of 200 pg/mg of codeine would result in 100% of subjects with black hair and 50% of subjects with brown hair being reported as positive, and subjects with blond or red hair would be reported as negative. The incorporation of these drugs into hair should be studied carefully in humans to ensure the appropriate interpretation of drug concentrations.