Inter-relações entre minerais no solo, plantas forrageiras e tecido animal 3. Manganês, ferro e cobalto

An experiment was conducted with samples from six farms in northern Mato Grosso, Brazil, to study the interrelationships among levels of minerals in soil and forage and animal tissues during the wet and dry seasons of the year. Soil extractable Mn levels were slightly low (6 and 14 ppm) in two farms, but adequated over 20 ppm in the other four farms. Forage Mn levels were sufficient to meet the requirements of grazing cattle in all six farms. However, liver Mn was deficient on five of the six farms, and during the wet season there was more deficiency than during the dry one. Soil extractable Fe was slightly low for production of some crops in two of the farms, but adequate (over 20 ppm), on the other four farms. High forage Fe on all six farms was sufficient to meet the requirement of grazing beef cattle. Liver Fe levels were normal in all six farms. Soil extractable Co was adequate in the farms 1,3 and 4, and deficient in the other three. Forage Co was adequate in the farms that had also adequate soil Co, and deficient where soil Co was deficient. Liver cobalt was at normal level in all six farms due to the high cobalt supplementation. Liver Co means were lower during the wet season than during the dry season.Fez-se um estudo das deficiências minerais em seis fazendas localizadas ao norte do Estado de Mato Grosso, tendo sido amostrados os solos, plantas forrageiras e tecido animal, coletados durante as estações seca e chuvosa. As análises de Mn indicam que, das seis fazendas estudadas, duas tinham níveis de Mn no solo considerados baixos, 6 e 14 ppm; as outras quatro apresentaram níveis adequados, acima de 20 ppm. Os níveis de Mn nas forrageiras eram suficientes para atender às exigências dos bovinos, em todas as seis fazendas, nas duas épocas estudadas. Entretanto, os níveis de Mn no fígado dos animais foram deficientes em cinco das seis fazendas estudadas, e na estação chuvosa, a deficiência era mais generalizada do que no período seco. As análises de Fe no solo mostraram que duas fazendas apresentaram níveis ligeiramente baixos para algumas das forrageiras, mas as outras quatro tinham níveis médios adequados, acima de 20 ppm. Os níveis de Fe nas forrageiras e no fígado, em todas as seis fazendas, foram considerados adequados para bovinos de corte. Os solos da fazenda 1, 3 e 4, mostraram teores adequados de Co; entretanto as demais fazendas possuíam solos deficientes. Apenas as forrageiras das fazendas que tinham solos ricos em Co, possuíam esse mineral em quantidade suficiente para atender às exigências nutricionais dos animais. Em todas as fazendas, os animais apresentaram níveis adequados de Co. As médias de Co no fígado foram mais baixas na estação chuvosa do que na estação seca

Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs and Behaviors Regarding Fruits and Vegetables among Cost-Offset Community-Supported Agriculture (CSA) Applicants, Purchasers, and a Comparison Sample

Data were collected in August, amid the summer CSA season, when shares include many of the summer FV preferred by low-income caregivers and their children [33], which may have contributed to the magnitude of the differences in children’s FV consumption that we observed. Because resources to support the CO-CSA were limited and offsets were awarded on a first-come first-served basis, and because almost all KABs were equivalent for purchaser and non-purchaser sub-groups, selection bias into the purchaser sub-group is an unlikely explanation for differences observed between CO-CSA purchasers and non-purchasers. [...]the inclusion of some CO-CSA applicants who participated in a longitudinal study regarding CO-CSA may have biased upwards estimates of KAB and self-efficacy with respect to FV consumption in the applicant sample. [...]although selection of adults into the comparison group used similar eligibility criteria, they were not comparable to CO-CSA applicants who were older, more educated, and more often lived in food-secure households. [...]sample sizes were too small to permit exploration of observed associations in a multivariate context that controlled for key sample differences such as age, educational attainment, or self-efficacy for eating and cooking FV. 5

Maternal participation in a nutrition education program in Uganda is associated with improved infant and young child feeding practices and feeding knowledge: a post-program comparison study

Abstract Background Cost-effective approaches to improve feeding practices and to reduce undernutrition are needed in low-income countries. Strategies such as nutritional counseling, food supplements, and cash transfers can substantially reduce undernutrition among food-insecure populations. Lipid-based nutrient supplements (LNS) are an increasingly popular strategy for treating and preventing undernutrition and are often delivered with nutrition education. The post-program effects of participation in a LNS-supported supplemental feeding program on Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) practices and caregiver child feeding knowledge are not well understood. The objective of this study was to understand whether children’s diet quality and caregiver nutrition knowledge was improved after participation in such a program. Methods We conducted a post-program comparison group study to compare feeding practices and caregiver nutrition knowledge among mother-child dyads who completed a nutrition education program and a community comparison group in western Uganda. We administered a feeding practices survey and two 24-h dietary recalls to 61 Post-Program (PP) caregivers and children ages 6 to 59 months (mean age = 25.1 months) who participated in a supplemental feeding program (which included growth monitoring, caregiver nutrition education, and LNS) and a Comparison Group (CG) of 61 children and caregivers. PP caregivers were recruited 4 to 8 weeks after program participation ended. We hypothesized that PP caregivers would report better IYCF practices and greater knowledge of key nutrition education messages related to IYCF. Results PP children had higher dietary diversity scores (3.0 vs 2.1, p =0.001) than CG children, and were more fed more frequently (3.0 vs 2.1 times per day, p = 0.001). IYCF indicators were higher in the PP group for minimum meal frequency (44.8% vs. 37.9%), minimum dietary diversity (10.3 vs. 3.4%), iron-rich complementary foods (17.2 vs. 20.7%), and minimally acceptable diet (10.3% vs 3.6%), but differences were non-significant. Caregivers in the PP group demonstrated greater knowledge of healthful IYCF practices. Conclusions Nutrition education can be effective to improve caregiver feeding practices and children’s dietary diversity and the frequency by which they are fed. A 10-week nutrition education and supplemental feeding program appears to provide some benefit to children in terms of dietary diversity and frequency of meals, and caregiver knowledge of feeding 1 to 2 months after program completion. However, children in this rural Ugandan region have diets that are still largely inadequate, highlighting the need for enhanced interventions and policies to promote diverse and appropriate diets for young children in this region. Future follow-up work in LNS-supported programs is recommended to understand how other similar approaches influence children's diet quality after program completion in other contexts

Conceptualizing and comparing neighborhood and activity space measures for food environment research

Greater accessibility to geospatial technologies has led to a surge of spatialized public health research, much of which has focused on food environments. The purpose of this study was to analyze differing spatial measures of exposure to supermarkets and farmers’ markets among women of reproductive age in eastern North Carolina. Exposure measures were derived using participant-defined neighborhoods, investigator-defined road network neighborhoods, and activity spaces incorporating participants’ time space behaviors. Results showed that mean area for participant-defined neighborhoods (0.04 sq. miles) was much smaller than 2.0 mile road network neighborhoods (3.11 sq. miles) and activity spaces (26.36 sq. miles), and that activity spaces provided the greatest market exposure. The traditional residential neighborhood concept may not be particularly relevant for all places. Time-space approaches capturing activity space may be more relevant, particularly if integrated with mixed methods strategies

Practice level costs of office-based hypertension performance improvement: The Heart Healthy Lenoir study

Primary care practice leaderswho consider engaging in quality improvement (QI) need to understand the practice level costs incurred when asking staff to take on new tasks. The HeartHealthy Lenoir study is a prospective cohort trial in whichQImethods were used to enhance hypertension (HTN) care and reduce racial disparities in blood pressure control in small rural primary care practices inNorth Carolina. As part of this effort, we performed an activity-based costing analysis to describe the costs incurred to develop, implement, and maintain key tasks. We interviewed 20 practice stakeholders and phone-based health coaches during 2012-2014. We calculated the time invested by individuals to perform each task within each study phase and applied national hourly wages to generate cost estimates. Our descriptive analyses focus on four of themost widely used practices. Activities included time to abstract HTN control data, participate in project meetings, identify patients with uncontrolled HTN, create standardized work, and provide additional health coaching for patients with uncontrolled HTN. Despite practice and staffing differences, the developmental phase costs were similar, ranging from $879 to$1, 417. Implementation costs varied more widely as practices took different approaches to identifying patients with uncontrolled HTN. Practice-specific phone health coaching costs ranged from $19, 508 to more than$38, 000. This study adds to the growing literature regarding practice level costs of engaging in systems change. Understanding these costs and balancing them against practice incentives may be helpful as stakeholders make decisions regarding HTN QI

Examining the Influence of Price and Accessibility on Willingness to Shop at Farmers' Markets Among Low-income Eastern North Carolina Women

To examine the influence of farmers’ market pricing and accessibility on willingness to shop at farmers’ markets, among low-income women

Farmers\u27 market use is associated with fruit and vegetable consumption in diverse southern rural communities

Background While farmers’ markets are a potential strategy to increase access to fruits and vegetables in rural areas, more information is needed regarding use of farmers’ markets among rural residents. Thus, this study’s purpose was to examine (1) socio-demographic characteristics of participants; (2) barriers and facilitators to farmers’ market shopping in southern rural communities; and (3) associations between farmers’ market use with fruit and vegetable consumption and body mass index (BMI). Methods Cross-sectional surveys were conducted with a purposive sample of farmers’ market customers and a representative sample of primary household food shoppers in eastern North Carolina (NC) and the Appalachian region of Kentucky (KY). Customers were interviewed using an intercept survey instrument at farmers’ markets. Representative samples of primary food shoppers were identified via random digit dial (RDD) cellular phone and landline methods in counties that had at least one farmers’ market. All questionnaires assessed socio-demographic characteristics, food shopping patterns, barriers to and facilitators of farmers’ market shopping, fruit and vegetable consumption and self-reported height and weight. The main outcome measures were fruit and vegetable consumption and BMI. Descriptive statistics were used to examine socio-demographic characteristics, food shopping patterns, and barriers and facilitators to farmers’ market shopping. Linear regression analyses were used to examine associations between farmers’ market use with fruit and vegetable consumption and BMI, controlling for age, race, education, and gender. Results Among farmers’ market customers, 44% and 55% (NC and KY customers, respectively) reported shopping at a farmers’ market at least weekly, compared to 16% and 18% of NC and KY RDD respondents. Frequently reported barriers to farmers’ market shopping were market days and hours, “only come when I need something”, extreme weather, and market location. Among the KY farmers’ market customers and NC and KY RDD respondents, fruit and vegetable consumption was positively associated with use of farmers’ markets. There were no associations between use of farmers’ markets and BMI. Conclusions Fruit and vegetable consumption was associated with farmers’ market shopping. Thus, farmers’ markets may be a viable method to increase population-level produce consumption

Associations between access to farmers’ markets and supermarkets, shopping patterns, fruit and vegetable consumption and health indicators among women of reproductive age in eastern North Carolina, USA

We examined associations between access to food venues (farmers’ markets and supermarkets), shopping patterns, fruit and vegetable consumption and health indicators among women of reproductive age in eastern North Carolina, USA

Haplotype Structure of FSHB, the Beta-Subunit Gene for Fertility-Associated Follicle-Stimulating Hormone: Possible Influence of Balancing Selection

Follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) is essential for human reproduction. The unique functions of this hormone are provided by the FSH receptor-binding beta-subunit encoded by the FSHB gene. Resequencing and genotyping of FSHB in three European, two Asian and one African population, as well as in the great apes (chimpanzee, gorilla, orangutan), revealed low diversity and significant excess of polymorphisms with intermediate frequency alleles. Statistical tests for FSHB showed deviations from neutrality in all populations suggesting a possible effect of balancing selection. Two core haplotypes were identified (carried by 76-96.6% of each population's sample), the sequences of which are clearly separated from each other. As fertility most directly affects an organism's fitness, the carriers of these haplotypes have apparently had more success in human history to contribute to the next generation. There is a preliminary observation suggesting that the second most frequent FSHB haplotype may be associated with rapid conception success in females. Interestingly, the same haplotype is related to an ancestral FSHB variant shared with the ancestor of the great apes. The determination of the functional consequence of the two core FSHB variants may have implications for understanding and regulating human fertility, as well as in assisting infertility treatments

Addressing Rural Health Disparities Through Policy Change in the Stroke Belt

Obesity prevention policies are needed, particularly in low-income, rural areas of the Southern United States, where obesity and chronic disease prevalence are high. In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued the “Common Community Measures for Obesity Prevention” (COCOMO), a set of 24 recommended community-level obesity prevention strategies