- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
UC ANR will be making additional travel support available for UC Cooperative Extension Specialists to collaborate directly with CE Advisors and REC Directors in FY 2024/25.
Each Specialist may apply for up to $2,000 for FY 2024/25 (travel reports must be submitted within 30 days of travel, and funds must be expended by June 30, 2025). These travel funds can only be used by CE Specialists and cannot be used for out-of-state travel. This funding is not provided for the purpose of presenting at or attending meetings.
In recognition of the importance of the partnership between UC ANR academics and Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) faculty, UC ANR will support travel by AES faculty to meet and work with UC ANR county-based or REC-based academics. Support is limited to $1,000 per AES faculty member, with a cap on the total pool of funds available set at $25,000 for FY 2024/25 (funds must be expended by June 30, 2025). Additional support may be available through the campuses; AES faculty should consult their departments or colleges to determine if additional support is available. Travel funds must be used by the AES faculty member for their own travel to plan and execute research or present research findings at meetings hosted by UC ANR academics.
UCCE Specialists and AES faculty can apply for travel support funding by completing an application through this short survey: https://surveys.ucanr.edu/survey.cfm?surveynumber=37624.
There is no deadline for applications, but travel funds will be awarded on a first-come, first-serve basis and funding received must be expended in the Fiscal Year 2024/25. Any travel completed toward the end of the fiscal year must be submitted and approved within the fiscal year as no award will be carried forward.
Brent D. Hales
Associate Vice President
Fleas can be found on pets year-round, but populations tend to increase dramatically in spring and summer when temperatures are warmer. Larvae develop rapidly in areas where temperatures reach 70° to 90°F. Fleas are a major concern for pet owners as they can give dogs and cats tapeworms, but they can also transmit flea-borne typhus to people and spread plague to wild animals like ground squirrels. These blood-sucking pests can be introduced to backyards from feral cats, squirrels, opossums, and other wildlife.
To learn more about fleas, the diseases they can spread, and their management, check out the recording of UC IPM's Urban & Community IPM Webinar from June 2024 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-w7J6mkTeM. You'll hear from flea expert Dr. Laura Krueger of the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District on how you can protect yourself and pets from fleas.
- Author: Pamela S Kan-Rice
UC researchers will study effects of whole milk and low-fat milk on toddlers' health and development.
![Toddler-age girl drinking milk from a glass. Toddler-age girl drinking milk from a glass.](http://ucanr.edu/blogs/food/blogfiles/108304.jpg)
Researchers to study whether whole or low-fat milk is best for toddlers
San Francisco Bay Area toddlers who drink cow's milk are being sought to participate in a 12-month study by UC Nutrition Policy Institute, a part of University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources. Milk will be provided for free to participants.
Milk provides children with calcium, protein and vitamin D, which are essential for health and brain development. In the U.S., the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children switch from whole milk to low-fat or nonfat milk after age 2 to reduce their intake of saturated fat and calories.
“The purpose of this UC study is to see how the type of milk toddlers drink affects their health, growth and development,” said Kassandra Bacon, NPI project policy analyst.
Researchers with the Nutrition Policy Institute are recruiting children ages 23 to 30 months old. The 625 toddlers will be randomly assigned to drink either whole fat or 1% fat milk starting at age 2. The scientists will assess body fat, diet, health and developmental outcomes.
“We will follow each participant for one year, collecting baseline and follow-up data,” said Ryan Williams, a NPI project policy analyst and registered dietitian who is involved in the research.
For 12 months, the scientists will measure each child's height, weight, waist and head circumference. They will ask the parents what else the toddlers eat. They also will ask parents to check their child's blood profile – lipids, cholesterol, insulin resistance and vitamin D – cognitive development and gut microbiome diversity.
Benefits to participants
The assigned milk type will be delivered to participants free of charge via a grocery delivery service. Participating parents will receive advice from a registered dietitian to support healthy milk consumption as part of a balanced diet. The Nutrition Policy Institute also will send the parents monthly newsletters with general health tips. Participants also may earn up to $275 in gift cards by completing the study.
Requirements to participate
Participants for the milk study must meet these requirements:
- Child must be 23 to 30 months old and have public or private medical insurance
- Child's parent/legal guardian must be 18 years or older
- Child must live with the participating parent/legal guardian in the San Francisco Bay Area (Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Santa Clara, San Francisco or San Mateo counties)
- Child's parent or guardian must speak English
Children are ineligible for the study if they are:
- a WIC participant
- lactose intolerant
- allergic to milk protein
Lorrene Ritchie, NPI director and registered dietitian and NPI director, and Anisha Patel, pediatrician at Stanford Medicine Children's Health and professor in the Division of General Pediatrics at Stanford University, are the principal investigators for the study.
For more information about the research and to sign up for the study, visit https://npi.ucanr.edu/milk.
/h3>/h3>- Author: Kathy Keatley Garvey
Photographers call the first hour after dawn and the last hour before dusk "The Golden Hour."
That's when the sunlight is softer and warmer.
It's also called "The Magic Hour."
Compare that to high noon, when the sun casts such strong highlights and shadows on the subject that even images of Miss Universe and Miss America look harsh.
Now if you photograph a golden honey bee during The Golden Hour, the world looks even warmer and softer.
But use the term, Golden Hour, figuratively. As Wikipedia explains: "The term hour is used figuratively; the effect has no clearly defined duration and varies according to season and latitude. The character of the lighting is determined by the sun's altitude, and the time for the sun to move from the horizon to a specified altitude depends on a location's latitude and the time of year. In Los Angeles, California, at an hour after sunrise or an hour before sunset, the sun has an altitude of about 10–12°. For a location closer to the Equator, the same altitude is reached in less than an hour, and for a location farther from the equator, the altitude is reached in more than one hour. For a location sufficiently far from the equator, the sun may not reach an altitude of 10°, and the golden hour lasts for the entire day in certain seasons."
The honey bee (below), foraging on a blanket flower, Gaillardia, couldn't discuss Golden Hours, seasons, latitude and longitude with you. But she knows how to return to her colony (which could be five miles away) and how to communicate with the other bees. And that, too, is Golden.
![A honey bee foraging on Gaillardia during The Golden Hour in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) A honey bee foraging on Gaillardia during The Golden Hour in a Vacaville garden. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](/blogs/blogcore/blogfiles/108306.jpg)
With childhood obesity on the rise, research in early life dietary habits are essential to promoting long-term health in children. The current recommendation is for children to drink whole milk from ages 1-2 years, then drink low-fat 1% or non-fat 0% milk. However, there is limited research to support this recommendation. Milk Type in Toddlers—also known as Milk-TOT—is a study being conducted by the Nutrition Policy Institute in partnership with Stanford University and funded by the National Institute of Health. In this randomized control trial, toddlers ages 23-30 months, in the San Francisco Bay Area, will receive whole or low-fat 1% milk for one year through grocery delivery. Their height, weight, waist circumference, diet, and other health markers will be measured throughout the study. Parents will also receive nutrition guidance from a registered dietitian. This study aims to reduce childhood obesity by improving nutrition recommendations and creating long-term healthy eating habits. If your child is healthy and between the ages of 23-30 months they may be eligible for participation. To determine eligibility please fill out this survey. For more information or questions email milktotstsudy@ucanr.edu or call 510-987-9023.