Systemic AA amyloidosis in the red fox (Vulpes vulpes)

Amyloid A (AA) amyloidosis occurs spontaneously in many mammals and birds, but the prevalence varies considerably among different species, and even among subgroups of the same species. The Blue fox and the Gray fox seem to be resistant to the development of AA amyloidosis, while Island foxes have a high prevalence of the disease. Herein, we report on the identification of AA amyloidosis in the Red fox (Vulpes vulpes). Edman degradation and tandem MS analysis of proteolyzed amyloid protein revealed that the amyloid partly was composed of full‐length SAA. Its amino acid sequence was determined and found to consist of 111 amino acid residues. Based on inter‐species sequence comparisons we found four residue exchanges (Ser31, Lys63, Leu71, Lys72) between the Red and Blue fox SAAs. Lys63 seems unique to the Red fox SAA. We found no obvious explanation to how these exchanges might correlate with the reported differences in SAA amyloidogenicity. Furthermore, in contrast to fibrils from many other mammalian species, the isolated amyloid fibrils from Red fox did not seed AA amyloidosis in a mouse model.     

Alpha-thalassemia in Papua New Guinea

Summary A study of the distribution of -thalassemia in Papua New Guinea (PNG) was carried out by DNA analysis. A total of 664 DNA samples were screened for -thalassemia 2 and -thalassemia 1 caused respectively by either deletion of one or both of the duplicated -globin genes. -Thalassemia 2 was detected in high frequencies in coastal and lowland regions where malaria has been holo- to hyperendemic but in low frequencies in non-malarious highland regions. The highest frequency was observed in the north coast of PNG. The distribution of -thalassemia 2 seems to be in accordance with other conditions such as ovalocytosis and G6PD deficiency which are also prevalent in this population, suggesting that they may interact in protection against malaria. However, it appears to be negatively correlated with -thalassemia and -thalassemia 1, the latter being extremely rare in this population. Analysis of the types and subtypes of the single -globin gene deletion revealed a predominance of the –^4.2 type in general, except in some regions in the south where the –^3.7 type is prevalent. The –^3.7 I subtype is the common form of the –^3.7 deletion in the PNG mainland. The –^3.7 III subtype, previously reported to be unique in Melanesians and Polynesians, was detected in an offshore island of PNG. However, this subtype is very rare in Melanesians from the PNG mainland.     

Reflecting on Loss in Papua New Guinea

This article takes up the conundrum of conducting anthropological fieldwork with people who claim that they have ‘lost their culture,’ as is the case with Suau people in the Massim region of Papua New Guinea. But rather than claiming culture loss as a process of dispossession, Suau claim it as a consequence of their own attempts to engage with colonial interests. Suau appear to have responded to missionization and their close proximity to the colonial-era capital by jettisoning many of the practices characteristic of Massim societies, now identified as ‘kastom.’ The rejection of kastom in order to facilitate their relations with Europeans during colonialism, followed by the mourning for kastom after independence, both invite consideration of a kind of reflexivity that requires action based on the presumed perspective of another.     

Health research in Papua New Guinea

The Papua New Guinea Institute of Medical Research (PNGIMR) is one of the most respected health research institutions in the developing world, and its studies of the local health problems of PNG have consistently had international relevance. This article examines the structural and philosophical factors that have enabled the success of the PNGIMR, and presents the PNGIMR approach to research as a potential model for other disease-endemic countries. An overview of PNGIMR research into malaria and filariasis is given with selected examples as an introduction to a Trends in Parasitology series on health research in Papua New Guinea.     

Parasitic zoonoses in Papua New Guinea

Relatively few species of zoonotic parasites have been recorded in humans in Papua New Guinea. A greater number of potentially zoonotic species, mostly nematodes, occur in animals but are yet to be reported from humans. Protozoa is the best represented group of those infecting man, with Giardia duodenalis, Cryptosporidium parvum, Cyclospora cayetanesis, Toxoplasma gondii, Sarcocystis spp., Entamoeba polecki, Balantidium coli and, possibly, Blastocystis hominis. The only zoonotic helminths infecting humans include the trematode Paragonimus westermani, the cestodes Hymenolepis nana, H. diminuta and the sparganum larva of Spirometra erinacea, and the nematodes Trichinella papuae and Angiostrongylus cantonensis and, possibly, Ascaris suum. Other groups represented are Acanthocephala (Macracanthorhynchus hirudinaceus)), insects (Chrysomya bezziana, Cimex sp., Ctenocephalides spp.), and mites (Leptotrombidium spp. and, possibly Sarcoptes scabiei, and Demodex sp.). One leech (Phytobdella lineata) may also be considered as being zoonotic. The paucity of zoonotic parasite species can be attributed to long historical isolation of the island of New Guinea and its people, and the absence until recent times of large placental mammals other than pig and dog. Some zoonotic helminths have entered the country with recent importation of domestic animals, in spite of quarantine regulations, and a few more (two cestodes, one nematode and one tick) are poised to enter from neighbouring countries, given the opportunity. Improvement in water supplies, human hygiene and sanitation would reduce the prevalence of many of these parasites, and thorough cooking of meat would lessen the risk of infection by some others.     

Injuries caused by garfish in Papua New Guinea.

Garfish, which are found in the Indo-Pacific Ocean areas, have a long, spear-like beak with two marrow jaws and small pointed teeth. They often make sudden leaps while swimming, particularly when attracted by bright lights. In Papua New Guinea people often fish from canoes using a light at night, and serious injuries may be caused by a fish jumping and its beak piercing part of the body. The surface wound may appear deceptively small and innocent, but if the wound is on the chest or abdomen the beak may have penetrated sufficiently deeply to cause internal injuries, and death may result. Patients may have to be admitted to hospital for removal of the beak, which may remain embedded in a limb.     

Hegemony and Voice in Papua New Guinea

Constructing Inequality: The Fabrication of a Hierarchy of Virtue Among the Etoro . Raymond C. Kelly.
Voices of Conflict . Andrew Strathern.     

Malaria vectors of Papua New Guinea

Understanding malaria transmission in Papua New Guinea (PNG) requires exact knowledge of which Anopheles species are transmitting malaria and is complicated by the cryptic species status of many of these mosquitoes. To identify the malaria vectors in PNG we studied Anopheles specimens from 232 collection localities around human habitation throughout PNG (using CO₂ baited light traps and human bait collections). A total of 22,970 mosquitoes were individually assessed using a Plasmodium sporozoite enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay to identify Plasmodiumfalciparum, Plasmodiumvivax and Plasmodiummalariae circumsporozoite proteins. All mosquitoes were identified to species by morphology and/or PCR. Based on distribution, abundance and their ability to develop sporozoites, we identified five species as major vectors of malaria in PNG. These included: Anophelesfarauti, Anopheleshinesorum (incriminated here, to our knowledge, for the first time), Anophelesfarauti 4, Anopheleskoliensis and Anophelespunctulatus. Anopheleslongirostris and Anophelesbancroftii were also incriminated in this study. Surprisingly, An. longirostris showed a high incidence of infections in some areas. A newly identified taxon within the Punctulatus Group, tentatively called An. farauti 8, was also found positive for circumsporozoite protein. These latter three species, together with Anopheleskarwari and Anophelessubpictus, incriminated in other studies, appear to be only minor vectors, while Anophelesfarauti 6 appears to be the major vector in the highland river valleys (>1500 m above sea level). The nine remaining Anopheles species found in PNG have been little studied and their bionomics are unknown; most appear to be uncommon with limited distribution and their possible role in malaria transmission has yet to be determined.     

Female fecundity in highland Papua New Guinea

Demographers often assume that interpopulation variation in birth spacing is attributable primarily to behavioral differences (e.g., in breastfeeding, coital frequency, or contraceptive practice), and that the contribution of physiological factors is negligible. This assumption may be correct, but it should be tested, especially in light of recent evidence that there may be more variation in ovarian function among human populations than was previously believed. In this paper, we apply a stochastic model of the determinants of fecundability (the monthly probability of conception) to endocrinological data collected among the Gainj, a tribal population in highland Papua New Guinea. Based on previous research, the Gainj are known to have age patterns of ovarian function that differ markedly from the Western norms. When account is taken of the late menarche, early menopause, and long ovarian cycles that appear to characterize Gainj women, mean apparent fecundability across the female reproductive span is reduced by about 27 per cent (from 0.316 to 0.235), and the mean waiting time to next apparent conception is increased by just over one month. Thus, despite the fact that Gainj women differ from Western women with respect to reproductive physiology by as much as or more than any other known population, the demographic impact of these differences appears to be slight.     

Culture and Class in Papua New Guinea

Mangrove Man: Dialogics of Culture in the Sepik Estuary. David Lipset. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 335 pp.
Emerging Class in Papua New Guinea: The Telling of Difference. Deborah B. Gewertz and Frederick K. Errington. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999. 179 pp.     

Reorganization of a nutrition unit in Papua New Guinea.

Adequate nutrition is a medical priority. It has been estimated that more than half the children in the Chimbu District of Papua New Guinea are malnourished. A practical scheme combat poor nutrition there was based on emphasizing the value of breast-feeding and of locally grown foods. The daily menu given was the same, with three meals each day. The scheme''s underlying principles can be adapted for any developing country or for migrant and other minority groups in a developed country.     

Pre-capitalist modes of production in Papua New Guinea

Conclusion In the articulation-of-modes-of-production literature there is a tendency to treat conceptual structures as if they had lives of their own. Thus modes of production are sometimes portrayed as meeting, intertwining, and reproducing like giant organisms animated by ineluctable laws of motion. But these structures and categories are primarily the products of thought. As such, they cannotdo anything, and they possess no motivational capacity whatsoever. They are simply analytical tools, more-or-less useful in explaining how and why history unfolded in the way it did.The categories and relationships suggested in this paper represent a preliminary attempt to make some sense of pre-contact change in Papua New Guinea. Their adequacy or otherwise will be determined ultimately through more rigorous engagements with the empirical evidence than is possible here.Terence Wesley-Smith is Assistant Professor, University of Hawaii at Monoa, Center for Pacific Islands Studies.     

Development,Labour Relations and Gender in Papua New Guinea.

This paper examines the relationship between ‘subsistence’ production, simple commodity production and wage labour and the different effects this relationship has on males and females. The peri-urban village of Siar, located a few kilometres north of Madang town in Papua New Guinea, is used as a case study. It is argued that the village as a social group is dependent on wage labour for its reproduction and hence is proletarianized. As part of the proletarianization process, married women in the village have become doubly subordinated: to capital and to men.