Many food recovery agencies depend on donated food, and its safety is critical for the health of vulnerable populations. A food safety curriculum was developed for agency volunteers and paid staff of the Lower Mississippi Delta region. Examples of topics in the curriculum included: personal hygiene, food storage, transporting food safely, and HACCP. Food Safety Knowledge Pre- and Posttests (20 questions) were identical, and validity and reliability were established prior to use. Paired t-tests were performed to determine the effectiveness of the curriculum (n=190). A Food Safety Practices Survey (10 questions) demonstrating attitudes and behaviors regarding food safety practices in the agency and/or the home was given with the Food Safety Knowledge Posttest. The heading on the survey was, After the food safety training today I plan to, and possible responses were already doing, yes, or no. A Food Safety Practices Delayed Survey was administered by mail to participants 3-6 months following the food safety training. The Food Safety Practices Delayed Survey was similar to the Food Safety Practices Survey except there were four possible answer choices-- always, most of the time, sometimes, and never. Food Safety Knowledge Posttest scores (19.0 ± 0.1) were significantly (p<0.000) greater than Food Safety Knowledge Pretest scores (16.6 ± 0.2). Food Safety Practices Survey results indicated that participants were already using proper food safety practices (5.8 ± 0.2), or that they plan to use proper food safety practices (4.0 ± 0.2). On the Food Safety Practices Delayed Survey (n=82) participants indicated that they always (8.8 ± 0.2) or most of the time (0.8 ± 0.1) follow proper food safety practices. Results demonstrated the food safety curriculum was used successfully to improve food safety knowledge. Food Safety Practices Survey results indicated that the majority of food recovery agency personnel and staff were already using proper food safety practices in their agency or at home. In addition, the results from the Food Safety Practices Delayed Survey showed the participants retained the knowledge from the food safety training and a majority were always following proper food safety practices.

This study investigated children's perceived self-competence and its relationship to the social antecedent of adult attachment and the outcome of children's cognitive ability. Utilizing a predominantly African American sample, 154 mothers, 80 fathers and 205 children were included in this cross-sectional study of second and fourth grade children. Regression analyses indicated that the exploratory relationship between adult attachment as a predictor of children's self-competence was upheld with both second and fourth grade children of participating mothers and fathers. More specifically, maternal attachment was a significant predictor of second grade children's perceived physical competence, social acceptance, and maternal acceptance. Maternal attachment was a significant predictor of fourth grade children's perceived social acceptance. Paternal attachment was a significant predictor of fourth grade children's perceived athletic competence. Regression analyses also indicated that second and fourth grade children's perceived self-competence was a significant predictor of cognitive ability as measured by a standardized test of cognitive ability. In addition, fourth grade children's perceived cognitive competence was a significant positive predictor of cognitive ability while perceived social acceptance was a significant negative predictor of cognitive ability. This exploratory study found relationships between adult attachment and children's perceived self-competence in middle childhood. Further research is necessary to investigate whether these relationships are upheld over time and with larger and more diverse samples.

Anorexia nervosa is the third most common illness among adolescent females. Approximately one half the cases of anorexia nervosa have been suggested to be activity-induced. Various animal studies have been used to study human anorexia, particularly the activity-based anorexia model (ABA). The ABA paradigm consists of diet restriction and liberal access to activity, which ultimately results in a rapid decrease in both body weight and food intake paradoxical to the significant increase in activity. Because resistant starch (RS) has been shown to initiate a lower rise and a steady level of post-prandial blood glucose, it was hypothesized that a diet containing RS would reduce the severity of the anorexia associated with the ABA model. In this study, 56 five-wk old male Sprague-Dawley rats were assigned to 8 groups. Animals were fed a control diet (C-diet) or a RS-diet, on an ad libitum or a restricted-feeding (one 90min meal per day) schedule, and allowed 22-hr of access or no access to activity wheels. The study ended when majority of the ABA rats reached <75% of their pre-experimental bodyweights. Within 4 days of the experiment, ABA rats on the RS-diet lost an average 66g of bodyweight compared to an average loss of 31g in the C-diet (p<0.01). ABA rats on the RS-diet ran 31% more (NS), despite consuming 30% fewer calories per kg body weight, than those on the C-diet (p<0.01). ABA rats fed the RS-diet had 3.97 times higher levels of plasma norepinephrine (NE) compared to their associated controls (p<0.0001); ABA rats fed the C-diet had only 1.4 times the NE level of their corresponding controls (NS). All RS-fed rats had an average of 17-50% less fat pad (brown, perirenal, epididymal, & retroperitoneal) weights compared to C-fed rats (p<0.02). Resistant starch exacerbates rather than mitigates the responses to the ABA paradigm.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the response of participants in the first three Stages of Change (SOC) to a preparation stage-tailored intervention to increase fruit and vegetable (F&V) consumption. An on-line survey was delivered to 400 university employees, and included questionnaires about their demographic information, SOC, self efficacy (SE), and decisional balance (DB). One hundred fifty six (39%) responded to the survey. A total of 40 were selected from the first three stages, precontemplation (PC), contemplation (C), and preparation (P), and were assigned into two groups (PC/C and P) with consideration to the best possible matching in age, gender, income, education, and smoking status. Employees in both groups received the same intervention which was composed of four 1-hour sessions given over four consecutive weeks. Outcomes (F&V, SOC, SE, and DB) were measured at every session, and were also measured at weeks 5, 6, and 20 following the intervention. At baseline (the response to the survey), the majority of the 400 employees were in the contemplation and the maintenance stages (34.9 and 34.3% respectively). Most of them reported positive perception and self confidence of consuming 5 servings of F&V everyday. Employees who were greater than 50 years old and held a PhD degree were more likely to consume five servings of F&V every day. During the intervention and until week 5, all employees increased their F&V, SE and DB and moved an advanced along SOC. However, employees in the PC/C group failed to maintain the change after week 5, and relapsed back to the baseline measures. The repeated measure MANOVA revealed a statistically significant interaction between the intervention and time which suggests that the intervention had a different effect on the employees in the two groups (i.e., relapse for the PC/C group and maintenance of the P group). These results suggest that individuals who receive intervention not matching their SOC are at higher risk to relapse. Stage-tailored interventions may be more cost-effective when delivered to the appropriate individuals.

In this study a new method of preparing biodegradable all-cellulosic composite nonwoven materials composed of cotton and kenaf or cotton and bagasse has been developed. Alkaline extracted kenaf or bagasse fibers were used as the main component of composite nonwovens. Recyclable or low value cotton fibers were used to entangle coarser kenaf or bagasse fibers in a web on which the nonwoven architecture was based. The novel adhesive system developed in this work for the web bonding was cellulose from a solution, in N-methyl morpholine N-oxide monohydrate. The completely biodegradable composite nonwovens were obtained by sandwiching and hot-pressing the cellulosic webs and the adhesive into a bonded sheet. It was shown that synthetic polymers can be substituted for the stabilization of nonwovens by a solution of cellulose prepared from recyclable cotton textiles. Some relevant properties of final nonwoven products, such as strength, viscoelastic characteristics and thermal properties were determined and compared among several compositions. The physical characteristics of all-cellulosic composite nonwovens were comparable to that of biodegradable composite nonwovens prepared earlier at LSU from natural fibers and a biodegradable synthetic polyester. Practical application of all-cellulosic composite nonwovens will be determined by the economics of delignification of composing fibers.

Overweight in children has become a major health concern. Research suggests that many parents may not be aware of their childs actual weight status. The objectives of this study were to test the effectiveness of a body mass index (BMI)-forage percentile report in raising parent awareness of their childs weight status. Eighteen public elementary schools in southeast Louisiana were pair matched and divided into nine intervention and nine control schools. Children in the intervention and the control schools were divided into two groups 1) healthy weight (BMI ≥ 5th to <85th percentile) and 2) at risk and overweight (BMI ≥ 85th percentile). Forty children were randomly selected from each of the two weight groups from the intervention and the control schools. Parents of children in the intervention group received a BMI-for-age percentile health report along with a short questionnaire. Parents of children in control schools received the questionnaire only. Parents in the intervention group have 4.7 times more accurate perception about their childs weight compared to the control group (OR: 4.7, 95% of CI: 0.89-24.86, p=0.00 ). After receiving the report, more parents of at risk or overweight children were concerned and only fewer parents of healthy weight children were anxious about their child weight. When parents were compared based on their childs weight regardless whether they got the report, parents of at risk or overweight children were more than five times less likely to perceive the correct weight classification of their child (OR: 1.8, 95% of CI: 0.05-0.62, p=0.00) and less concerned about their childs weight (OR: 0.98, 95% of CI: 0.32-2.93, p=0.00) when compared to parents of healthy weight children. All parents were willing to help their child follow healthy behaviors regard less of the report and their childs weight status. A BMI-for-age percentile report appears to be an effective way to increase parent awareness and concern regarding their childs weight status. With increased awareness, parents may be more likely to encourage their children to achieve a healthy weight.

The main obstacle for adaptation of fabric selection through the Internet is that there is no objective selection method that is suitable for fashion fabrics. The purpose of this research is to develop an objective evaluation method for selecting fabrics through an online fabric database. The relationship between fabric mechanical properties and fabric drape was investigated. One hundred eighty-five commercial fabrics from different manufacturers were tested using the Kawabata fabric evaluation system (KES-FB) and Cusick drape tester. Applying regression analysis, the parameters that were significantly correlated with drape coefficient (DC) were determined. The test results, fabric structural parameters, and contact information for fabric manufacturers, were included in the database. A web-site with a user interface allowing users to implement various types of searches was published on the Internet. Fuzzy linear clustering technique was used to predict fabric drape property. The accuracy for predicting fabric drape using this technique was 94%. This means the model using fuzzy linear clustering is an efficient method to predict fabric end-use properties. Additionally, a new method to measure drape coefficient using Photo Shop was developed by this author. Instead of weighing paper rings, shaded drape area was used to calculate the drape coefficient. With the new Photo Shop method, the cost, testing time and human error was reduced while the accuracy of the test result was increased.

This project was a qualitative case study that recorded and analyzed the professional development of one certified elementary teacher as she studied developmentally appropriate practice (DAP) and pursued her Pre-K and Kindergarten add-on certification. It focused on the changes in her classroom practice from mostly developmentally inappropriate practice (DIP) at the beginning of the project towards mostly DAP at the end of the project. The project recorded her acquisition of concrete knowledge about DAP, and her beliefs regarding DAP as she taught young children over the course of one year, June 2003 through May 2004. It included study of the supports and barriers to the teachers growth in her use of DAP that she encountered along the way. It also included observations about the researchers own practices as a mentor and source of support for DAP in early childhood teachers, and the changes in those roles that occurred over the course of the project. This study found that the teacher made substantial progress along the DIP to DAP continuum during the project, particularly in her practice with preschool children. The study further showed that the various supports for DAP that served her during the year of the project were sufficient to allow her to overcome most of the barriers to DAP with which she struggled. It also revealed an area of developmentally appropriate practice, with kindergarten children, in which she has an opportunity for ongoing growth. This study also looked at the role that a researcher-mentor may play in supporting and encouraging growth in an early childhood teacher, from developmentally inappropriate practice towards developmentally appropriate practice. It revealed that strategies that have been shown to be appropriate with young children in early childhood education can be similarly effective when applied to supporting teachers in DAP.

It has been proposed that the glucose sensing mechanism in the hypothalamus and hindbrain is similar to pancreatic â cells, and brain glucose sensing may be involved in the regulation of food intake. For the first part of the dissertation, it is proposed that molecules involved in â-cell glucose sensing, including glucokinase (GK), glucose transporter GLUT2, sulfonylurea receptor-1 (SUR1), glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R), and the feeding-related neuropeptide Y (NPY), are colocalized in specific areas in the hypothalamus and hindbrain. GK, GLUT2, SUR1, GLP-1R and NPY mRNA expression in ten discrete brain areas were quantified by real time RT-PCR, which will serve as an initial step for the next functional study. The second part of the dissertation has been focused on GLUT2 only and it is proposed that brain GLUT2 may play a role in the central glucose sensing, specifically, brain GLUT2 is regulated by energy / glucose status and overexpression of GLUT2 in neuronal cells will alter cellular energy status and feeding related neuropeptide expression. Under three conditions: in vivo, ex vivo and in vitro, GLUT2 mRNA was significantly upregulated in the area postrema (AP) in the two-week 50% underfed rats, and by 1 mM glucose in rat area postrema / nucleus of the solitary tract (AP/NTS) tissue culture as well as in N1E-115 neuroblastoma cell culture. Next, rat liver GLUT2 were overexpressed in GT1-7 neuroblastoma cells. Compared with control cells, GLUT2 overexpression resulted in significantly increased cellular ATP levels at 5 mM or higher glucose concentrations, greater inhibition of AgRP mRNA by 25 mM glucose, and attenuated AgRP mRNA stimulation by 2DG. In summary, brain GLUT2 mRNA is upregulated by low energy and low glucose status; overexpression of GLUT2 in neuronal cells results in higher cellular energy status and greater suppression of hunger signals at high glucose levels or during glucoprivation. The conclusion is that brain GLUT2 is likely to play a role in the central glucose sensing and may be involved in the regulation of food intake.

Fashion involvement is a consumers perceived importance of fashion clothing (OCass, 2001). It is important to investigate fashion involvement to understand consumer purchase behavior and to develop improved marketing strategies. Although researchers agree that consumers consider apparel purchases to be important, there has been little research done regarding fashion involvement (OCass, 2000) of affluent female consumers. The purpose of this study was to measure the fashion involvement of selected affluent female consumers from eight metropolitan areas in the United States and to identify relationships between fashion involvement and other selected variables. After controlling for socioeconomic demographic characteristics, the following variables were investigated with correlation and regression analyses: media usage, personality traits (self-confidence and public self-consciousness), and price perceptions (price/quality and prestige sensitivity) of affluent female consumers. Regression results showed that media usage was significantly related to fashion involvement, indicating that media usage was the best predictor of fashion involvement. Prestige sensitivity was significantly related to fashion involvement, indicating that respondents perceptions of purchasing high prestige products was a predictor of fashion involvement. Price/quality was significantly related to fashion involvement; respondents perceptions of the price of a product were a good indicator of its quality. Results indicated that personality traits (self-confidence and public self-consciousness) were not significant predictors of fashion involvement. Regression analyses of the demographic characteristics were consistent with previous literature. A statistically significant negative relationship was found between age and fashion involvement in this study, with younger ages indicating higher fashion involvement. Income was positively related to fashion involvement; as income increased, so did fashion involvement. Education was negatively related to fashion involvement; fashion involvement increased as education levels decreased. By focusing solely on female consumers, with money to spend and access to retail fashion, the results can provide information into a recently untapped market. Marketers can use this research in developing improved marketing strategies to this market. Retailers can benefit from this information when pricing and promoting, and educators can expand on the findings by developing new studies examining affluent female consumers.