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The nutritional status of both women and men before conception has profound implications for the growth, development, and long-term health of their offspring. Evidence of the effectiveness of preconception interventions for improving outcomes for mothers and babies is scarce. However, given the large potential health return, and relatively low costs and risk of harm, research into potential interventions is warranted. We identified three promising strategies for intervention that are likely to be scalable and have positive effects on a range of health outcomes: supplementation and fortification; cash transfers and incentives; and behaviour change interventions. On the basis of these strategies, we suggest a model specifying pathways to effect. Pathways are incorporated into a life-course framework using individual motivation and receptiveness at different preconception action phases, to guide design and targeting of preconception interventions. Interventions for individuals not planning immediate pregnancy take advantage of settings and implementation platforms outside the maternal and child health arena, since this group is unlikely to be engaged with maternal health services. Interventions to improve women's nutritional status and health behaviours at all preconception action phases should consider social and environmental determinants, to avoid exacerbating health and gender inequalities, and be underpinned by a social movement that touches the whole population. We propose a dual strategy that targets specific groups actively planning a pregnancy, while improving the health of the population more broadly. Modern marketing techniques could be used to promote a social movement based on an emotional and symbolic connection between improved preconception maternal health and nutrition, and offspring health. We suggest that speedy and scalable benefits to public health might be achieved through strategic engagement with the private sector. Political theory supports the development of an advocacy coalition of groups interested in preconception health, to harness the political will and leadership necessary to turn high-level policy into effective coordinated action.

Written for the clinician and other healthcare professionals who treat and counsel pregnant women and women of child-bearing age, Handbook of Nutrition and Pregnancy is an excellent and easy-to-use resource in the practical form of a handbook. In Handbook of Nutrition and Pregnancy, the authors provide historical perspective and background to support recommendations which are provided in each chapter, importantly for the practitioners, recommendations and guidelines have been summarized and provided in tables that are easy to locate and interpret. This book discusses relevant topics in the scientific community such as determining to what extent prenatal and perinatal environmental factors are linked to childhood and adult obesity and chronic diseases. This book also examines issues that are common to both the developed and the developing worlds and includes chapters that are specific to nutritional and reproductive factors seen mainly in developing countries. These chapters discuss contemporary issues that impact both the woman and the developing infant. Also covered in several chapters is a review of nutritional as well as physiological factors that either increase or decrease the potential for high risk pregnancies such as gestational diabetes mellitus, Type I and Type II diabetes mellitus, preeclampsia, anemia, and so forth. Handbook of Nutrition and Pregnancy is a comprehensive volume that includes up-to-date information in chapters written by the leaders in the fields of diet, nutrients, ingredients, environmental factors and physiological consequences addressing the needs of women of childbearing potential and pregnant women.

We cannot easily avoid structuring our explanations of self and society as well as of in-groups and out-groups without recourse to the center-periphery archetype. The capital city of one's country is typically located in the center of Mercator maps, and subjects who locate the self at the center of a symbolic space give a more rapid interpretation of that symbolic system than subjects not locating the self in the center. These 'central' tendencies are attributed to the role of vision, kinesthesia and touch.

the use of marginal quality water can be a viable alternative in regions with water scarcity when associated with an adequate irrigation management strategy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physiological and biochemical responses of 'Sugar Baby' mini watermelon as a function of irrigation management and salinity of the nutrient solution (ECsol). The experiment was carried out in a greenhouse of the Federal University of Recôncavo of Bahia, in the municipality of Cruz das Almas - BA, in a completely randomized design, with four replications. The plants were grown under two types of irrigation management (conventional drip - CD and pulse - PD) and four saline levels of the fertigation nutrient solution (2.5 - control; 4.5; 5.5; 6.5 dS m-1). At 65 days after cultivation, the following variables were evaluated: chlorophyll a and b content, chlorophyll a fluorescence, and organic and inorganic solutes content. The treatments did not influence the levels of chlorophyll a and b. Salinity decreased the quantum yield of photochemical energy conversion due to the increased quantum yield of unregulated energy loss. Irrigation management and water salinity did not affect carbohydrate content in mini watermelons leaves. However, soluble proteins were higher in the CD than in PD and decreased with increasing salinity in both managements. Salinity increased free amino acids in CD but did not change the content of these solutes in PD. Free proline was only influenced by the management system and was higher in CD than in PD. Sodium, chloride, and sodium to potassium ratio increased with ECsol, but these increases were more pronounced in PD. Salinity increased potassium content in PD and reduced in CD. The CD led to lower absorption of toxic ions, reducing the effects of salinity on the mini watermelon.

Agronomic improvements in grain yield and quality of wheat crops could be obtained through the application of strategies, such as using foliar fungicides with fertilizers, to protect the leaves against pathogens and delay senescence during grain filling. However, few studies have reported the effect of these practices on wheat, although these treatments could represent a new method of increasing wheat production and profits. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of foliar fertilizer, applied alone or in combination with a fungicide, on the photochemical, biochemical, and nutritional parameters of wheat plants. The experiment was conducted under greenhouse conditions in a 2 × 3 factorial design (fungicide × foliar fertilizer) with four replications. The fungicide treatment used was azoxystrobin + cyproconazole + mineral oil; the control was left untreated. The foliar fertilizer was used at two different rates, and the control was not treated. Plants were sprayed at the GS29/GS30, GS45, and GS60 growth stages, and the plants were assessed ten days after the last spray. Chlorophyll a fluorescence, the photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), and electron transport rate were positively influenced by fertilizer. Fertilizer spraying significantly increased the leaf pigment content (chlorophylls a and b and carotenoids) and the nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium concentration in flag leaves. When used in mixture, the fertilizer mitigates the stresses generated by the fungicide.

Growth in mammals encompasses several stages, from intrauterine growth through infancy and childhood to adolescence. Each of these phases is characterized by very specific nutritional, molecular and endocrine perspectives which, under ideal conditions, allow the organism to achieve its genetically programmed growth patterns. In this book, an international panel of experts addresses these topics in a historical, physiological and social perspective. The first part investigates the genetic, epigenetic, molecular and nutritional determinants of intrauterine and postnatal growth. Part two deals with non-evolutionary changes which occurred in the recent past, such as changes in body size in utero, during infancy and childhood, and during adolescence, and the potentially unfavorable consequences of enhanced nutrition and growth, including early onset of puberty, development of obesity, and increases in metabolic and cardiovascular disease. The last part addresses the question of which factors define healthy growth in light of the influence of nutritional, molecular and endocrine influences. Although the association between rapid changes in body size and adverse health effects is clear, the precise nature of causality remains uncertain. Presenting the latest scientific findings in growth research, this publication provides essential reading for pediatricians, clinical investigators and health workers.

1 • Introduction -- Framework -- Fundamentals -- Summary -- 2 • Measurement of Physical Attractiveness -- Development -- Measurement Process -- Measure Qualification -- Measure Reliability -- Self-Measures versus Other Measures -- Measure Validity -- Moderate Physical Attractiveness -- Research Procedure: Experimental Design -- Measurement Limitations -- 3 • Interpersonal Realities -- Expectations and Assumptions -- Psychopathology -- Educational Milieu -- Social Deviance -- Crime and Courts -- Helping Behavior -- Conclusion -- 4 • Interpersonal Reciprocations -- Romantic Attraction -- Nonintimate Liking -- Employment -- Conclusion -- 5 • Intrapersonal Realities -- Reality -- Interpersonal Outcomes -- Personality -- Physiological Effects -- Prospective Horizon -- 6 • Determinants of Physical Attractiveness -- Hierarchical Rankings -- Sex Differences -- The Face -- Physique -- Height -- Perceptual Distortions -- Association -- Context -- Conclusion -- 7 • Persuasive Communication: Original Research -- The Need -- Persuasive Communication -- Physical Attractiveness -- Physical Attractiveness and Persuasive Communication -- Research Problem and Hypotheses -- Research Methodology -- Analyses and Results -- Conclusions -- Practitioner Implications -- Future Research -- Theoretical Proposition -- 8 • Cultures and Societies -- Cross-Cultural Corroboration -- Response by Society -- Applications -- Expanding Plight -- 9 • Science and Theory -- Philosophy and History -- Current Knowledge -- Theory -- Future Research Quests -- References.

AbstractWith a view to finding new applications of biomedical system dynamics, this article expands upon on our talk at the 2021 International System Dynamics Conference on the occasion of receiving the J. W. Forrester Award for the article, "Personalized ESA doses for anemia management in hemodialysis patients with end‐stage renal disease" (System Dynamics Review 2018, 34(1–2): 121–153). We summarize the evolution of a project which took place in a clinical setting between 2008 and 2015 that led to the award‐winning article. We present concepts from receptor theory that informed the first system dynamics application of biophysical system dynamics to the successful diagnosis, prescription, administration, and improvement of individualized patient care. We expand upon these ideas to present a generalized structure, DART (Dynamic Approach to Receptor Theory). It can be used to simulate the physiological effects of any agent, be it an exogenous pharmacological agent, an endogenous enzyme or hormone, or a toxin of some sort. We suggest including within the pharmacological technical literature easily acquired but frequently omitted critical parameter values and rate constants. These would enable researchers to perform transient analyses of biophysical phenomena in addition to static equilibrium analyses typically performed. With the availability of this data, we suggest that the fundamental tools of system dynamics might be used to reconceptualize the 100‐year‐old field of "occupation theory" (today, receptor theory) to deliver high‐resolution insights into physiological dynamics and the preventive, prescriptive, and palliative interventions they might require. It is our hope that these ideas could pave the way forward to novel, groundbreaking applications in biomedical system dynamics. © 2022 System Dynamics Society.

Deficiency of iron is a major cause for disability and mortality globally and it occurs due to non-absorption of iron from diet. Hence, the physiological requirements of human body cannot be met leading to various conditions of health concern such as gestational complications, poor pregnancy outcome, decreased educational and occupational performance. Usually, the dietary iron bioavailability is low in populations consuming vegetarian diet. This iron deficiency can cause several health and economic losses. At large, whole nation and country suffers as a consequence. Iron requirements are at specified upward extent in adolescents, particularly during the rapid growth period [1]. Overweight children and adolescents are at higher risk of iron deficiency due to insufficient dietary intake of iron and use of those foods which are unbalance in nutrition [2]. Menstrual blood iron losses varies markedly from one woman to another but these losses are very constant for an individual from month to month [3]. Even in geographically widely separated populations of the world, the central part of the variation of menstrual blood losses is controlled genetically by fibrinolytic activators in the uterine mucosa. The variations in iron contents in different populations are related to a variation in the absorption of iron from the diets but not related to a variation in iron requirements [4,5]. Iron supplementation and flour fortification can control iron deficiency in populations. Governments should take initiatives by monitoring the health status of populations by adopting various methodologies and conducting surveys, follow ups and then providing fortified foods to deficient populations, taking special care of pregnant anemic women and devising a proper policy and guidelines in this regard.

Abstract
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides food vouchers, nutritional counseling, and health care referrals to low-income pregnant and breastfeeding women and their young children. This paper uses duration models to study the factors that influence the timing of prenatal WIC participation among pregnant women. The estimates show that Hispanic women, women with low levels of education, women who have no private insurance, and women who are overweight participate in WIC earlier than others. WIC program rules such as allowing applicants to self-declare income and linking WIC eligibility to Medicaid eligibility are related to earlier participation for women experiencing their first pregnancies. Extending the analysis to women pregnant for the second time shows a strong relationship between WIC participation during the first pregnancy and the timing, and likelihood, of participation during the second pregnancy.