Using repeated exposure through hands-on cooking to increase children's preferences for fruits and vegetables.

Few children in the United States meet national fruit and vegetable intake recommendations, highlighting a need for interventions. Children's food preferences act as a barrier to fruit and vegetable consumption, but prior research has demonstrated that repeated taste exposures can increase children's acceptance of these foods. Prior research in this area has typically utilized controlled procedures in which children sample small tastes of target foods over repeated occasions. The primary aim of the present pilot study was to test whether children's preferences for target fruits and vegetables increased following repeated taste exposures to them through hands-on cooking in a community setting. Seventeen 6-to-8-year-old children participated in biweekly study sessions during six weeks of a summer camp serving lower-income families. Liking of (yummy, just OK, yucky) and rank-ordered preferences for nine fruits and vegetables were measured before and after exposure sessions (pre-test and post-test). Based on pre-test assessments, four relatively less liked foods (two fruits, two vegetables) were chosen to become target foods. Children were then exposed to target foods during nine hands-on cooking sessions; liking of target foods was also measured at a midpoint assessment. At each exposure session, children assisted with preparation of a different snack using a recipe involving target foods and then ate the prepared snack together. Preferences for target foods increased from pre-test (Median = 5.8) to post-test (Median = 5.5; p < 0.05). On average, the majority of children rated the prepared snacks favorably. Results from this pilot study demonstrate the potential of applying repeated exposure techniques via hands-on cooking in a community setting.

Promoting healthy food preferences from the start: a narrative review of food preference learning from the prenatal period through early childhood.

The palatable, energy-dense foods that characterize modern environments can promote unhealthy eating habits, along with humans' predispositions to accept sweet tastes and reject those that are sour or bitter. Yet food preferences are malleable, and examining food preference learning during early life can highlight ways to promote acceptance of healthier foods. This narrative review describes research from the past 10 years focused on food preference learning from the prenatal period through early childhood (ages 2-5 years). Exposure to a variety of healthy foods from the start, including during the prenatal period, early milk-feeding and the introduction to complementary foods and beverages, can support subsequent acceptance of those foods. Yet development is plastic, and healthier food preferences can still be promoted after infancy. In early childhood, research supports starting with the simplest strategies, such as repeated exposure and modelling, reserving other strategies for use when needed to motivate the initial tasting necessary for repeated exposure effects to begin. This review can help caregivers and practitioners to promote the development of healthy food preferences early in life. Specific implementation recommendations, the role of individual differences and next steps for research in this area are also discussed.

Putting the P in Ptilotus: a phosphorus-accumulating herb native to Australia.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Ptilotus polystachyus (green mulla mulla; ptilotus) is a short-lived perennial herb that occurs widely in Australia in arid and semi-arid regions with nutrient poor soils. As this species shows potential for domestication, its response to addition of phosphorus (P) and nitrogen (N) was compared to a variety of the domesticated exotic perennial pasture herb Cichorium intybus (chicory), 'Puna'. METHODS: Pots were filled with 3 kg of an extremely nutrient-deficient sterilized field soil that contained 3 mg kg(-1) mineral N and 2 mg kg(-1) bicarbonate-extractable P. The growth and P and N accumulation of ptilotus and chicory in response to seven rates of readily available phosphorus (0-300 mg P pot(-1)) and nitrogen (N) (0-270 mg N pot(-1)) was examined. KEY RESULTS: Ptilotus grew extremely well under low P conditions: shoot dry weights were 23, 6 and 1.7 times greater than for chicory at the three lowest levels of P addition, 0, 15 and 30 mg P pot(-1), respectively. Ptilotus could not downregulate P uptake. Concentrations of P in shoots approached 4% of dry weight and cryo-scanning electron microscopy and X-ray microanalysis showed 35-196 mM of P in cell vacuoles in a range of tissues from young leaves. Ptilotus had a remarkable tolerance of high P concentrations in shoots. While chicory exhibited symptoms of P toxicity at the highest rate of P addition (300 mg P pot(-1)), no symptoms were present for ptilotus. The two species responded in a similar manner to addition of N. CONCLUSIONS: In comparison to chicory, ptilotus demonstrated an impressive ability to grow well under conditions of low and high P availability. Further study of the mechanisms of P uptake and tolerance in ptilotus is warranted.

Remediation of bromate-contaminated groundwater in an ex situ fixed-film bioreactor.

Use of a pilot-scale fixed-film bioreactor was investigated for remediation of bromate contamination within groundwater. Bromate reduction with stoichiometric production of bromide was observed, providing supporting evidence for complete reduction of bromate with no production of stable intermediates. Reduction of 87-90% bromate from an influent concentration of 1.1 mg L(-1) was observed with retention times of 40-80 h. Lower retention times led to decreases in bromate reduction capability, with 11.5% removal at a 10 h retention time. Nitrate reduction of 76-99% from a 30.7 mg L(-1) as NO(3)(-) influent was observed at retention times of 10-80 h, although an increase in nitrite production to 2.7 mg L(-1) occurred with a 10 h retention time. Backwashing was not required, with the large plastic packing media able to accommodate biomass accumulation without decreases in operational efficiency. This study has provided proof of concept and demonstrated the potential of biological bromate reduction by fixed-film processes for remediation of a bromate contaminated groundwater source.

Language lateralization in young children assessed by functional transcranial Doppler sonography.

Compared to adults, children show superior recovery of language function after damage to the dominant brain hemisphere. Possible explanations are that children have different patterns of language representation or display different patterns of reorganization. Information about language lateralization in children could provide insights into the repair mechanisms of the young brain. While functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is usually difficult to perform in children younger than 5 years, functional transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD) is nonfrightening and readily applicable in young and very young children. However, for serial examinations, sufficient validity and reliability are required. To this end, we designed a picture-description language task (PDLT) for fTCD examinations in children, compared the outcome to established protocols and determined the 1 month retest-reliability of the measurement in 16 children aged 2-9 years. The dependent variable was the task-related hemispheric perfusion difference based on averaged relative cerebral blood flow velocity (CBFV) increases in the middle cerebral arteries. This picture-description language lateralization index was compared to language lateralization by a phonetic word generation task (PWGT) in adults revealing good intermethod validity (r=0.70; P