University of Arizona

Made-from-scratch pasta, fresh mozzarella, whole-grain bread and savory olive oil – those are the kinds of items you might expect to see on a menu in a fine Italian restaurant, but on a University of Arizona science class syllabus? You can find them there, too, if you're among the lucky students taking part in the UA's new Mediterranean Diet and Health study abroad program.

 This week, 18 students will head to Verona, Italy as part of the inaugural program, which was created by Donato Romagnolo, professor in the department of nutritional sciences in the UA College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, to teach students about the health benefits of the Mediterranean diet. Students in the program have diverse academic backgrounds in disciplines including nutritional sciences, dietetics, public health, biology, physiology and more.

A native of Padova, Italy, Romagnolo wanted to create a study abroad program that would expose students to the traditional diet and lifestyle habits of his native country while emphasizing the link between nutrition and health.

Born and raised in Yuma, recent University of Arizona-Yuma graduate Aremy Téllez hopes to use her education to practice medicine in the local community.

The speaker for UA-Yuma's 2013 commencement, Téllez graduated with a bachelor's degree in family studies and human development as well as a minor in public health.

“I chose this program from the variety of degree options at UA-Yuma because it was related to my ambition to attend medical school. Although it may not seem like a traditional route to get to medical school, I looked into the courses and found that they would offer me a well-rounded education to understand my future patients in all aspects of life, whether physical, emotional or spiritual.

“The degree not only offered courses in human development, which apply directly to my pre-medical studies, but also offered education in family planning, problems in childhood and adolescence, issues in aging — overall, it offered me a chance to learn about and identify with each stage of life, so as to better prepare myself for my future as a physician. I am certain that this degree helped me learn skills necessary for what the medical profession calls bedside manner.”

The Arizona Cooperative Extension is offering student externships in community sustainability during the summer, with projects including community gardening and a farmers market.

University of Arizona students accepted into the program will work directly with extension station agents on sustainability projects in counties around the state.

"Our program was created with the idea of providing opportunities for University of Arizona students who are really interested in sustainability to get out of the University environment and work with our extension agents around the state," says Mark Apel, extension agent with the UA's Cooperative Extension in Cochise County.

In its third year, the externship program is seeking up to 11 students for eight projects in seven counties. Students need sophomore standing or above, and though the externship is paid, housing is not provided, so a connection to a rural community is preferred.

A pile of dirty dishes looms in the kitchen. It's your spouse's night to wash, but you know he or she has had a long day so you grab a sponge and step up to the plate. It's just one of the minor daily sacrifices you make in the name of love. But what if you had a long, stressful day, too?

A new study from the University of Arizona, forthcoming in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, published by SAGE, suggests that while making sacrifices in a romantic relationship is generally a positive thing, doing so on days when you are feeling especially stressed may not be beneficial.

The study, led by Casey Totenhagen, a research scientist in the UA John & Doris Norton School of Family and Consumer Sciences, is featured in the journal's podcast series, Relationship Matters.

Participants in the study included 164 couples, married and unmarried, whose relationships ranged in length from six months to 44 years.

Keeping pace with the complex and ever changing physical, economic and social environment surrounding agriculture today can seem overwhelming for many land-grant universities that are dealing with the effects of a global economic recession. Global economic expansion alongside changing technologies, policies and demographics place dramatic demands on agricultural science and education. Shane Burgess, Vice Provost and Dean of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS) at the University of Arizona, believes in keeping his eyes on the future. In his strategic plan for the college he writes, "We have always known that we need to be where the world is going, not where it is today." But with hundreds of thousands of entities involved in the production and distribution of food and agricultural products, trying to predict where the world is going is more challenging than ever before.

University of Arizona's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences is ready and able to take on that challenge. Since its founding in 1885, U of A, like other land-grant universities, has had a powerful impact on the economy at both the state and national levels. Throughout the years, its contributions in academics, research and extensions (a channel for communicating new information to the marketplace) has made it an integral part of the regional community. While CALS strives to live up to its time-honored role of creating "new people and new knowledge for a new economy," current economic conditions have forced the college to reevaluate its strategy for accomplishing goals within new constraints.

It is official: Arizona has its first documented case of herbicide resistance to a weed — Palmer amaranth — and the state’s cotton growers should implement production changes this season.

Bill McCloskey, University of Arizona Extension weed specialist, confirmed the first case of resistance of Palmer amaranth (pigweed), Amaranthus Palmeri, to the herbicide glyphosate (Roundup).

McCloskey made the conclusive finding after a series of UA greenhouse tests with pigweed seed conducted last fall in Tucson.

“I am not surprised that glyphosate resistance was found in Arizona,” McCloskey told a crowd of cotton growers gathered for a UA Extension agronomic workshop in Yuma, Ariz., in January.

“It was only a matter of when,” McCloskey said. “Glyphosate is the predominant weed-management strategy used by Arizona cotton growers year after year.”

Arizona county fairs generate $4 million in livestock sales, according to the 2011-12 Governor's Advisory Committee for the County Fairs Livestock and Agricultural Promotion Fund.

Most of that livestock is raised by youth who participate in the Arizona 4-H Youth Development Program, based in the University of Arizona College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.

More than 10,000 youth across Arizona, ages 9 to 19, raise goats, sheep, hogs, steers and other animals – then bring them to market at county fairs. In 2011-12, those livestock auctions grossed a total of $4.1 million. Statewide, county fairs also collected $2.2 million in paid attendance, according to the new report, authored in part by the UA's Kirk Astroth, director of the Arizona 4-H Youth Development Program and assistant dean of Cooperative Extension.

That's a total of $6 million generated from an investment of $1.2 million in funding from the Arizona Legislature.

Most of the youth selling livestock at the fairs participate either in 4-H or National FFA Organization (formerly Future Farmers of America) programs around the state, said Astroth, who serves on the Governor's Advisory Committee for the County Fairs Livestock and Agricultural Promotion Fund.

Ian Pepper, director of the Environmental Research Laboratory, has been elected into the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists, as a Board Certified Environmental Scientist (BCES).

The BCES title is awarded to experienced professionals who have demonstrated expertise in one or more areas of specialization (air resources, environmental microbiology, surface water resources, environmental biology, environmental toxicology, sustainability science, environmental chemistry, groundwater and the subsurface environment) and with special capability in environmental science for the public benefit.

Pepper received the award at the 2013 Excellence in Environmental Engineering and Science Awards Luncheon and Conference in Washington, D.C. on April 25.