O uso de suplemento a base de ferro é fundamental para profilaxia e tratamento da anemia ferropriva, agravo freqüente em gestantes que vivem em paises em desenvolvimento, e que se não for tratada, pode ter conseqüências tanto para mulher quanto para o feto. Entretanto, muitas mulheres não aderem a terapêutica. O objetivo deste estudo foi identificar a utilização de suplemento à base de ferro no ciclo grávido-puerperal, em um grupo de mulheres.Trata-se de um estudo descritivo com abordagem quantiqualitativa realizado em uma Unidade Básica e Distrital de Saúde (UBDS) de Ribeirão Preto, e que teve como sujeitos um grupo de mulheres, usuárias de um serviço de saúde, que compareceram a UBDS para consulta de puericultura. A coleta foi realizada através de entrevista, coleta de sangue para dosagem de hemoglobina e consulta aos prontuários. A idade das mulheres variou entre 19 a 24 anos, sendo que destas 36,3% apresentaram ensino fundamental incompleto e 75% referiu não trabalhar. Quanto a realização de pré-natal, 75% realizou em Centro ou Posto de Saúde tendo como média de consultas durante a gestação oito. Durante a gestação e o puerpério o valor médio de hemoglobina encontrado nas entrevistadas foi de 12,1 g/dl e 12 g/dl, respectivamente. Quanto ao uso de suplemento a base de ferro na gestação e puerpério, 81,8% referiu ter usado durante a gestação e 66,9% no puerpério. Assim, conseguimos identificar que a maioria das gestantes fez uso do suplemento durante a gestação e puerpério e que apresentaram hemoglobina maior que 11 g/dl, ou seja, não apresentavam anemia. Os dados qualitativos revelam que as mulheres desconhecem a importância do uso do suplemento neste período, sendo mais evidente a preocupação com a saúde do feto. / The supplement use the iron base is basic for Prophylaxis and treatment of the ferropriva anemia, I aggravate frequent in gestantes that live in paises in development, and that if it will not be treated, it can in such a way have consequences for woman how much for the embryo. However, many women do not adhere the therapeutical one. The objective of this study was to identify the use of supplement to the base of iron in the pregnant-puerperal cycle, in a group of mulheres.Trata-if of a descriptive study with carried through quantiqualitativa boarding in a Basic and District Unit of Saúde (UBDS) of Ribeirão Preto, and that a group of women had as citizens, users of a health service, who had appeared the UBDS for puericultura consultation. The collection was carried through through interview, collection of blood for dosage of hemoglobina and consults to handbooks. The age of the women varied enters the 19 24 years, being that of these 36.3% had presented incomplete basic education and 75% related not to work. How much the accomplishment of prenatal, 75% carried through in Center or Rank of Health having as average of consultations during gestation eight. During the gestation and the puerpério the average value of hemoglobina found in the interviewed ones was of 12,1 g/dl and 12 g/dl, respectively. How much to the supplement use the base of iron in the gestation and puerpério, 81.8% related to have used during gestation and 66.9% in the puerpério. Thus, we obtain to identify that the majority of the gestantes made use the supplement during the gestation and puerpério and that they had presented 11 bigger hemoglobina that g/dl, or either, they did not present anemia. The qualitative data disclose that the women are unaware of the importance of the use of the supplement in this period, being more evident the concern with the health of the embryo.

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Maternal iron deficiency is a world wide and major public health issue. Despite recent researchers’ interest related to this topic, its impact in the offspring still remains unclear. The aim of this study is to understand the impact of maternal iron deficiency on the auditory functions and serum cortisol levels in the young and adult guinea pig at post-natal day (PNd) 24 and PNd84, respectively. Pregnant guinea pigs were given an iron deficient (ID) or iron sufficient (IS) diet during gestation and lactation. An iron sufficient diet was provided to all pups after weaning day. No significant difference was observed in the hearing threshold and latencies in siblings from both groups at PNd24 and PNd84. However, ID offspring showed a significant higher interpeak latency I-IV at 100 dB than IS pups at PNd24. ID offspring also had significant elevated cortisol levels at PNd24 compared to IS control group. Maternal iron deficiency affects negatively the auditory functions and raises the serum cortisol levels, a biomarker of stress in the offspring.

Maternal iron deficiency is a world wide and major public health issue. Despite recent researchers’ interest related to this topic, its impact in the offspring still remains unclear. The aim of this study is to understand the impact of maternal iron deficiency on the auditory functions and serum cortisol levels in the young and adult guinea pig at post-natal day (PNd) 24 and PNd84, respectively. Pregnant guinea pigs were given an iron deficient (ID) or iron sufficient (IS) diet during gestation and lactation. An iron sufficient diet was provided to all pups after weaning day. No significant difference was observed in the hearing threshold and latencies in siblings from both groups at PNd24 and PNd84. However, ID offspring showed a significant higher interpeak latency I-IV at 100 dB than IS pups at PNd24. ID offspring also had significant elevated cortisol levels at PNd24 compared to IS control group. Maternal iron deficiency affects negatively the auditory functions and raises the serum cortisol levels, a biomarker of stress in the offspring.

In order to examine the effects of prelatent/latent iron deficiency on physical work capacity and selected muscle enzyme activities, forty female subjects were studied before and after eight weeks of supplementation with either oral iron or a matching placebo. Initially, female volunteers engaged in regular endurance running were screened for iron deficiency by blood analysis (serum ferritin and hemoglobin). Forty non-anemic subjects with deficient iron stores underwent physiological and anthropometric tests to obtain a comprehensive profile. The specific physical work capacity tests were alactic and lactacid power on the Wingate cycle ergometer test, lactacid capacity on the anaerobic speed test, anaerobic (ventilatory) threshold using gas exchange variables, V0₂ max. and the max. treadmill velocity during the V0₂ max. test. Muscle biopsy samples pre-, and post- treatment were assayed for citrate synthase and alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase activity. Treatment was oral iron supplementation (320 mg ferrous sulfate = 100 mg elemental iron taken as SLOW-Fe® twice a day) or a matching placebo. The subjects were randomly assigned to one of the treatment groups and a double-blind method of administration of the supplements was used. It was hypothesized that work capacity would be enhanced following oral iron supplementation, possibly due to the repletion of iron containing oxidative enzymes important in energy production. Results could not strongly support this hypothesis with the difference between the two groups on the work capacity and enzyme activity variables being statistically nonsignificant. Serum ferritin values rose from a mean of 12.4+4.5 to 37.7+19.7 ngml⁻¹ for the experimental group and 12.2±4.3 to 17.2±8.9 for the controls; (p=0.0025). Hemoglobin levels remained fairly constant for both treatment groups; 13.4±0.6 to 13.5±0.5 gdl⁻¹ (experimental), and 13.0±0.6 to 13.1+0.5 (control); (p=0.6). Pre to post values on the work capacity variables, experimental vs control respectively were: Alactic power, 8.8 to 8.4 watts-kg⁻¹ body wt. vs 8.4 to 8.2; lactacid capacity, 6.9 to 6.9 watts-kg⁻¹ body wt. vs 7.0 to 6.0; anaerobic speed test, 41.3 to 45.1 seconds vs 43.7 to 44.8; anaerobic threshold, 7.4 to 7.5 mileshour⁻¹ vs 7.2 to 7.2; V0₂ max, 51.3 to 52.7 ml-kg⁻¹ min⁻¹ vs 50.6 to 50.6; max velocity during V0₂ max, 9.8 to 9.8 mileshour⁻¹ vs 9.6 to 9.5. Except for alactic power, the change in work capacity favored the iron treated group. Noting this trend, further study may be warranted. Prelatent/latent iron deficiency appeared not to depress the activities of the two enzymes measured. Cytoplasmic alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase activity rose from 0.066 to 0.085 units for the experimental group (p=.58) vs .058 to .066 for the control group and citrate synthase activity changed from 0.047 to 0.048 (experimental) vs 0.039 to 0.042 (control). It can be concluded that eight weeks of iron supplementation to prelatent/latent iron deficient, physically active females does not significantly enhance work capacity nor the activity of 2 oxidative muscle enzymes (citrate synthase and cytoplasmic alpha-glycerophosphate dehydrogenase). Within the limitations of this study the presence of a serum ferritin below 20 ng-ml⁻¹ does not pose a significant handicap to anaerobic or aerobic capacity. / Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies / Graduate

Motivation and study design: Iron deficiency is a common condition in infancy, particularly in lower socio-economic groups. In Cape Town it remains a problem in spite of public health measures taken against it: a recent survey found a prevalence of iron deficiency anaemia of 34% in healthy 1-year old term infants who had ready access to a municipal health clinic where iron fortified milk formula is sold at subsidized prices. The consequences of iron deficiency extend beyond anaemia- to involve all organ systems including the immune system. Since Helen Mackay's report in 1928 of a striking decrease in incidents of infection in infants treated with iron, clinicians have assumed that iron deficiency predisposes to infection. Despite a sound theoretical basis for this belief, the clinical evidence for the assumption is poor as studies to date have displayed methodological deficiencies. On the other hand, iron is also essential for the growth of micro-organisms. As such, supplemental iron may predispose to infection. Indeed, there is much laboratory and clinical evidence to show that excess iron can result in the recrudescence of quiescent infections and increase the virulence of newly acquired infections. Thus, the competition between host and parasite may sometimes hinge on the relative availability of iron and it has been speculated that excess iron in infant milk formula may increase susceptibility to infectious diarrhoeal disease. The problem addressed by this thesis was to determine the utility of increasing the level of iron fortification of infant milk formula. Three questions were posed: Does increasing the level of iron fortification of conventional infant milk formula improve the iron nutrition of normal infants fed on the formula? Does increased iron fortification of infant milk formula alter immunity as reflected by incidence of infection and laboratory tests of immune function? Are there any handful effects of increasing the quantity of iron in conventional infant milk formula? A double blind randomized trial was carried out in 1983 and 1984 to answer these questions. A group of 149 healthy, well-nourished infants from a lower socio-economic community of so called Cape Coloureds were followed from the age of 3 months to 1 year. Half of the infants, the Control group, were given a commercially available infant milk formula (Lactogen Full Protein) which has 8.3 mg Fe/ 100 g formula and 37 mg ascorbic acid/ 100 g. The other half of subjects, the Test group, were given the same milk formula but fortified with iron to a concentration of 40 mg Fe/ 100 g. The children were examined every 3 or 4 weeks and any infection or history of infection was noted. Laboratory tests were done at the start of the trial and again on completion. During the trial, laboratory tests were performed only if clinically indicated. The tests included full blood count and differential analysis, red cell zinc protoporphyrin, plasma ferritin, plasma and hair zinc and lymphocyte subtyping with monoclonal antibodies. Within each group, half of the infants were randomly selected for assay of neutrophil bactericidal activity. The other half were assayed for lymphocyte blastogenic response to stimulation with phytohaemagglutinin. Tests of delayed cutaneous hypersensitivity to Candida antigen and PPD were done and all children and their mothers had antibodies to tetanus and polio determined. Results: 74 infants in the Control group started the trial and 62 completed it. In the Test group, 75 infants began and 70 completed the study. Intake of milk and solid foods was not quantified, but the ages of weaning and of introduction of new foods were determined. The Control and Test groups did not differ significantly on any test item. The mean age of completion of weaning was 3.60 months for the Control group and 4.04 months for the Test group. The Control group was first given meat or fish at a mean age of 5.19 months; the Test. group had meat or fish introduced to their diets at a mean age of 4.36 months. These differences were not statistically significant. The children in the Control group were lighter and shorter than the Test group at the end of the year. Mean standard deviation scores for weight were 0.23 and 0.48 respectively (P = 20%), while for length the SD scores were -0.13 and 0.06 (P = 20%).

Half a billion school aged children suffer from anemia, with the majority of anemia caused by iron deficiency. Researchers have shown a strong correlation between low hemoglobin levels and presence of intestinal parasites in children with anemia. Childhood anemia has profound negative effects on physical growth, maturation, and cognitive development leading to poorer educational achievement. Using hemoglobin as a measure of anemia, this quasi-experimental study investigated impact of either iron supplementation or an antiparasitic medication on hemoglobin levels in two groups of children in a rural region of Eastern Ghana. Surprisingly, after a 6-month intervention period, hemoglobin levels in both groups significantly decreased. Further research is needed toinvestigate other factors impacting nutrition and incidence of anemia in pediatric populations in developing countries.

Iron (Fe) deficiency affects more than 3 billion of the global population. The objectives of this study were to (1) determine the genetic and environmental variation of seed Fe concentration and food matrix factors that govern Fe bioavailability in field peas (Pisum sativum L.) grown in North Dakota, USA in 2010 and 2011, and (2) determine the genetic variation of Fe uptake by field pea grown under greenhouse conditions with different Fe treatments. Seed Fe concentration in field pea samples from the field study ranged between 46-53 mg/kg with a mean of 51 mg/kg. Mean concentrations of the food matrix factors in those field peas were as follows: phytic acid=5.1 mg/g, xanthophyll=17.3 mg/100 g, canthaxanthin=86.8 mg/100 g, beta-carotene=516.8 μg/100 g, kestose=1697 mg/100g, quercetin=54.3 mg/100 g, and ferulic acid=46.9 mg/100 g. DS Admiral and CDC Golden showed high concentrations of Fe promoter compounds and low concentrations of phytic acid. DS Admiral showed high Fe uptake with increasing Fe fertilizer rates in the greenhouse study. Therefore, DS Admiral and CDC Golden could be potential field pea genotypes for future Fe biofortification efforts.

Iron deficiency anemia (IDA) is the most common extraintestinal complication encountered in patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD), and it is more prevalent in pediatric patients compared to adults (Rogler and Vavricka). The inflammation and blood loss from the disease impacts both the absorption and storage of iron in the body (Rogler and Vavricka). With the intent of establishing a standard of care for IDA treatment in patients with IBD, we conducted a prospective study of 104 consecutive pediatric patients to assess the safety and efficacy of intravenous (IV) iron therapy compared to oral therapy and no treatment, as well as the effects of iron therapy on patient quality of life. Efficacy was assessed by comparing the change in hemoglobin levels in the interval between admission to outpatient follow-up. The average time to the first ambulatory follow-up was 29.08 days. 69 patients received IV iron therapy, 17 patients received oral iron supplementation, and 18 patients had no treatment. Treatment with IV iron resulted in a statistically significant increase in hemoglobin levels (2.00 g/dL ± 1.57 g/dL, as mean ± standard deviation) from admission to the first follow-up ambulatory appointment (p < .0001). Patients receiving IV iron therapy also experienced a significantly greater mean increase in hemoglobin levels than those treated with oral iron (p = .0084) or no treatment (p = .0018). Further, patients treated with IV iron experienced a significant increase in their quality of life at follow-up compared to admission as measured by the Impact-III questionnaire (p = .0179). Our study illustrates the importance of screening pediatric patients with IBD for IDA and suggests that IV iron treatment is safe and more effective in raising hematologic and iron measures than orally- administered alternative options.

Iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) is the most common reason for chlorosis in soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) and causes an average yield loss of 120 million dollars per year across 1.8 million ha in the North Central US alone. As the most effective way to avoid IDC is the use of tolerant cultivars, they are visually rated for IDC by experts; however, this method is subjective and not feasible for a larger scale. An alternate more objective image processing method can be implemented in various platforms and fields. This approach relies on a color vegetation index (CVI) that can quantify chlorophyll, as chlorophyll content is a good IDC indicator. Therefore, this research is aimed at developing image processing methods at leaf, plot, and field scales with machine learning methods for chlorophyll and IDC measurement. This study also reviewed and synthesized the IDC measurement and management methods. Smartphone digital images with machine learning models successfully estimated the chlorophyll content of soybean leaves infield. Dark green color index (DGCI) was the best-correlated CVI with chlorophyll. The pixel count of four different ranges of DGCI (RPC) was used as input features for different models, and the support vector machine produced the highest performance. Handheld camera images of soybean plots extracted DGCI, which mimicked visual rating, and canopy size that were used as inputs to decision-tree based models for IDC classification. The AdaBoost model was the best model in classifying IDC severity. Unmanned aerial vehicle soybean IDC cultivar trial fields images extracted DGCI, canopy size, and their product (CDP) for IDC severity monitoring and yield prediction. The area under the curve (AUC) was employed to aggregate the data into a single value through time, and the correlation between all the features and yield was good. Although CDP at latest growth stage had the highest correlation with yield, AUC of CDP was the most consistent index for soybean yield prediction. This research demonstrated that digital image processing along with the machine learning methods can be successfully applied to the soybean IDC measurement and the various soybean related stakeholders can benefit from this research.