Development of an online food safety training and pilot study for employees of university farms and school gardens

Two one-hour on farm food safety online module were developed to inform k-12 students and university farm workers on food safety hazards associated with production and harvesting of fresh produce. Module content was developed through a review of the current Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs) Program, current research available, and updated regulations in produce food safety. Quizzes for students and a user manual were created for facilitators and instructors to support the online modules. After developing the course materials, a pilot study was conducted at two k-12 school districts in Iowa, two land grant universities, with a six member expert steering committee panel to test the knowledge gained through the two developed curriculum. The six member expert steering committee along with three other facilitators completed an online survey consisting of open-ended questions to determine the effectiveness of the online module and the supporting materials available on the inclusive webpage. The hypothesis of this research is that the online curriculum and supportive material will be beneficial to both demographics, and increase in knowledge will be observed after viewing developed material. Students and university survey results indicate that the online module will significantly increase the knowledge of students and university workers related to hazards associated with produce food safety (P\u3c0.05). The topics, graphics, design, length, and webpage were appropriate for the age group. Additionally, the resource guide and quizzes were perceived as helpful and will be useful to increase the knowledge and confidence of the training facilitators (P\u3c0.05). The group indicated that specific graphic and content material changes should be made within the module. This online module is a first step toward educating youth about food safety in the garden. Knowledge on hazard prevention can reduce the risk of produce contamination and decrease produce outbreaks from occurring in school gardens

Triterpenoids Display Single Agent Anti-tumor Activity in a Transgenic Mouse Model of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia and Small B Cell Lymphoma

The synthetic triterpenoid 2-Cyano-3,12-Dioxooleana-1,9-Dien-28-Oic Acid (CDDO) and derivatives display anti-tumor activity against a variety of cultured tumor cell lines and in mouse xenografts. In this report, we have studied the effects of CDDO and its imidazolide derivative (CDDO-Im) on chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), using patients' CLL cells and a mouse model of CLL and small B cell lymphoma (SBL).CDDO and CDDO-Im efficiently induced apoptosis of malignant human and mouse B-cells ex vivo, although CDDO-Im was over 10-fold more potent than CDDO. Treating mice with CLL/SBL with liposome-formulated CDDO or CDDO-Im resulted in significant reductions of B cells in blood, spleen and lung. CDDO-Im was shown to be more potent than CDDO, while treatment with empty liposomes had no impact on disease. CDDO-Im treatment initially resulted in an increase of circulating B cells, which correlates with a reduction in resident lymphocytes in spleen, and lungs, suggesting that CDDO-Im induces mobilization of tumor cells from lymphoid organs and infiltrated tissues into the circulation. Analysis of blood cells recovered from treated mice also showed that CDDO-Im is a potent inducer of tumor cells death in vivo. Furthermore, CDDO-Im efficiently eradicated mouse CLL/SBL cells but had little effect on the viability of normal B and T cells in vivo.The presented data demonstrate that triterpenoids CDDO and CDDO-Im reduce leukemia and lymphoma burden in vivo in a transgenic mouse model of CLL/SBL, and support the clinical testing of CDDO-based synthetic triterpenoids in patients with CLL