Jean Apgar | |
|---|---|
 Jean Apgar, from a 1970 publication of the United States federal government | |
| Born | Barbara Jean Francis March 4, 1936 Tyler, Texas |
| Occupation | Biochemist |
Barbara Jean Francis Apgar (born March 4, 1936) is an American biochemist. She worked on important research on ribonucleic acids (RNA), and on zinc deficiency as a risk factor in reproduction. She won the Federal Woman's Award in 1970, and the Arthur S. Flemming Award in 1973.
Barbara Jean Francis was born in Tyler, Texas, the daughter of Albert Edward Francis and Mary Agnes Linehan Francis. [1] Her father was a railroad engineer. [2] She completed undergraduate studies in chemistry at Texas Woman's University, and earned her master's degree and Ph.D. at Cornell University. [3] Her 1959 master's thesis was titled "The effect of conventional and electronic cooking on the thiamine content of pork patties, roasts, and chops"; [4] her 1964 doctoral dissertation was titled "Separation of E. coli leucine-acceptor RNAs". [5]
Apgar worked for the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a biochemist in the Plant, Soil and Nutrition Laboratory at Cornell University. She was a member of a team studying the structure of ribonucleic acids (RNA) with Robert W. Holley. [6] The team won a 1965 USDA Distinguished Service Award, and Holley received a Nobel Prize in 1968, for that work. [7] "Being the first person to do something has a certain fascination," she later wrote, "but it isn't an experience most of us expect to have." [8] Her research in the 1970s focused on the role of zinc in reproductive physiology, and on zinc deficiency as a maternal and fetal health risk during pregnancy and delivery. [9]
In 1970, she was one of the six recipients of the Federal Woman's Award, [10] and the youngest woman to receive that honor. [3] In 1972, she received an Arthur S. Flemming Award, given annually to ten promising young employees of the federal government. [9]
Between 1959 and 1997, Apgar published dozens of research articles in academic journals including Journal of the American Dietetic Association , [11] Journal of the American Chemical Society , [12] Journal of Biological Chemistry, [13] American Journal of Physiology, [14] Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry , [15] Journal of Animal Science , [16] and Journal of Nutrition . [17] Some of her articles include the following:
Jean Francis married Ronald W. Apgar in 1958; they lived in Ithaca, New York, and had three children. [9] "The children went to the laboratory with me," she explained, adding "I have very efficient children." [3] Her son Michael died in a car accident in 1985. [27]
Vitamins are organic molecules that are essential to an organism in small quantities for proper metabolic function. Essential nutrients cannot be synthesized in the organism in sufficient quantities for survival, and therefore must be obtained through the diet. For example, Vitamin C can be synthesized by some species but not by others; it is not considered a vitamin in the first instance but is in the second. Most vitamins are not single molecules, but groups of related molecules called vitamers. For example, there are eight vitamers of vitamin E: four tocopherols and four tocotrienols.
Folate, also known as vitamin B9 and folacin, is one of the B vitamins. Manufactured folic acid, which is converted into folate by the body, is used as a dietary supplement and in food fortification as it is more stable during processing and storage. Folate is required for the body to make DNA and RNA and metabolise amino acids necessary for cell division. As the human body cannot make folate, it is required in the diet, making it an essential nutrient. It occurs naturally in many foods. The recommended adult daily intake of folate in the U.S. is 400 micrograms from foods or dietary supplements.
Biotin (also known as vitamin B7 or vitamin H) is one of the B vitamins. It is involved in a wide range of metabolic processes, both in humans and in other organisms, primarily related to the utilization of fats, carbohydrates, and amino acids. The name biotin, borrowed from the German Biotin, derives from the Ancient Greek word βίοτος (bíotos; 'life') and the suffix "-in" (a suffix used in chemistry usually to indicate 'forming').
Essential fatty acids, or EFAs, are fatty acids that humans and other animals must ingest because the body requires them for good health, but cannot synthesize them.
Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), or fetal growth restriction, refers to poor growth of a fetus while in the womb during pregnancy. IUGR is defined by clinical features of malnutrition and evidence of reduced growth regardless of an infant's birth weight percentile. The causes of IUGR are broad and may involve maternal, fetal, or placental complications.
Vegetarian nutrition is the set of health-related challenges and advantages of vegetarian diets.
Robert William Holley was an American biochemist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1968 for describing the structure of alanine transfer RNA, linking DNA and protein synthesis.
Nutrition and pregnancy refers to the nutrient intake, and dietary planning that is undertaken before, during and after pregnancy. Nutrition of the fetus begins at conception. For this reason, the nutrition of the mother is important from before conception as well as throughout pregnancy and breastfeeding. An ever-increasing number of studies have shown that the nutrition of the mother will have an effect on the child, up to and including the risk for cancer, cardiovascular disease, hypertension and diabetes throughout life.
Folate deficiency, also known as vitamin B9 deficiency, is a low level of folate and derivatives in the body. Signs of folate deficiency are often subtle. A low number of red blood cells (anemia) is a late finding in folate deficiency and folate deficiency anemia is the term given for this medical condition. It is characterized by the appearance of large-sized, abnormal red blood cells (megaloblasts), which form when there are inadequate stores of folic acid within the body.
Protein–energy malnutrition (PEM), sometimes called protein-energy undernutrition (PEU), is a form of malnutrition that is defined as a range of conditions arising from coincident lack of dietary protein and/or energy (calories) in varying proportions. The condition has mild, moderate, and severe degrees.
Cat skin disorders are among the most common health problems in cats. Skin disorders in cats have many causes, and many of the common skin disorders that afflict people have a counterpart in cats. The condition of a cat's skin and coat can also be an important indicator of its general health. Skin disorders of cats vary from acute, self-limiting problems to chronic or long-lasting problems requiring life-time treatment. Cat skin disorders may be grouped into categories according to the causes.
Biotin deficiency is a nutritional disorder which can become serious, even fatal, if allowed to progress untreated. It can occur in people of any age, ancestry, or of either sex. Biotin is part of the B vitamin family. Biotin deficiency rarely occurs among healthy people because the daily requirement of biotin is low, many foods provide adequate amounts of it, intestinal bacteria synthesize small amounts of it, and the body effectively scavenges and recycles it in the kidneys during production of urine.
Zinc deficiency is defined either as insufficient zinc to meet the needs of the body, or as a serum zinc level below the normal range. However, since a decrease in the serum concentration is only detectable after long-term or severe depletion, serum zinc is not a reliable biomarker for zinc status. Common symptoms include increased rates of diarrhea. Zinc deficiency affects the skin and gastrointestinal tract; brain and central nervous system, immune, skeletal, and reproductive systems.
Selenium deficiency occurs when an organism lacks the required levels of selenium, a critical nutrient in many species. Deficiency, although relatively rare in healthy well-nourished individuals, can have significant negative results, affecting the health of the heart and the nervous system; contributing to depression, anxiety, and dementia; and interfering with reproduction and gestation.
Nutritional neuroscience is the scientific discipline that studies the effects various components of the diet such as minerals, vitamins, protein, carbohydrates, fats, dietary supplements, synthetic hormones, and food additives have on neurochemistry, neurobiology, behavior, and cognition.
Copper is an essential trace element that is vital to the health of all living things. In humans, copper is essential to the proper functioning of organs and metabolic processes. The human body has complex homeostatic mechanisms which attempt to ensure a constant supply of available copper, while eliminating excess copper whenever this occurs. However, like all essential elements and nutrients, too much or too little nutritional ingestion of copper can result in a corresponding condition of copper excess or deficiency in the body, each of which has its own unique set of adverse health effects.
Nutriepigenomics is the study of food nutrients and their effects on human health through epigenetic modifications. There is now considerable evidence that nutritional imbalances during gestation and lactation are linked to non-communicable diseases, such as obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and cancer. If metabolic disturbances occur during critical time windows of development, the resulting epigenetic alterations can lead to permanent changes in tissue and organ structure or function and predispose individuals to disease.
Vegan nutrition refers to the nutritional and human health aspects of vegan diets. A well-planned, balanced vegan diet is suitable to meet all recommendations for nutrients in every stage of human life. Vegan diets tend to be higher in dietary fiber, magnesium, folic acid, vitamin C, vitamin E, iron, and phytochemicals; and lower in calories, saturated fat, cholesterol, long-chain omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin D, calcium, zinc, and vitamin B12.
Retinol-binding proteins (RBP) are a family of proteins with diverse functions. They are carrier proteins that bind retinol. Assessment of retinol-binding protein is used to determine visceral protein mass in health-related nutritional studies.
Zinc is an essential trace element for humans and other animals, for plants and for microorganisms. Zinc is required for the function of over 300 enzymes and 1000 transcription factors, and is stored and transferred in metallothioneins. It is the second most abundant trace metal in humans after iron and it is the only metal which appears in all enzyme classes.
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