Increasing community capacity for participatory evaluation of healthy eating and active living strategies through direct observations and environmental audits.

Background: Local partnerships from the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities initiative elected to participate in enhanced evaluation trainings to collect data through environmental audits and direct observations as well as to build their evaluation capacity.

Methods: Environmental audit and direct observation tools and protocols were adapted for the relevant healthy eating and active living policy and environmental change approaches being conducted by the Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities partnerships. Customized trainings were conducted by the evaluation team to increase capacity and understanding for evaluation activities.

HKHC Community Dashboard: design, development, and function of a Web-based performance monitoring system.

Background: As part of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities (HKHC) national grant program, a technical assistance team designed the HKHC Community Dashboard, an online progress documentation and networking system. The Dashboard was central to HKHC's multimethod program evaluation and became a communication interface for grantees and technical assistance providers.

Methods: The Dashboard was designed through an iterative process of identifying needs and priorities; designing the user experience, technical development, and usability testing; and applying visual design.

Examining the evidence for policy and environmental strategies to prevent childhood obesity in black communities: new directions and next steps.

Exposure to physical and policy environments that limit availability, affordability and appeal of healthy eating and active living options is higher for U.S. blacks than whites.

A new safe, simple and successful vitrification method for bovine and human blastocysts.

This study examined a new method for vitrification of blastocysts that is safe, simple and easy to learn and use. Current vitrification techniques have shortcomings that include the use of dimethyl sulphoxide, one of the more toxic cryoprotectants, and minute containers that are difficult to handle and are usually open to contamination. Cell handling and loading times are very short, which allows no room for user-associated errors and increases the difficulty of the procedure.

Cryopreservation of unfertilized human oocytes.

Previous investigations revealed that choline-based freezing media developed in our laboratory were superior to conventional sodium-based media for storing mouse oocytes. This paper examines the ability of the choline-based medium CJ2 and a modified form of this medium, CJ3, to cryopreserve unfertilized human oocytes. Oocytes that were consented for research and matured overnight, as well as freshly collected, donor, mature metaphase II (MII) oocytes, were cryopreserved using choline-based media and an optimized slow-cooling protocol.