Further evidence for heterogeneity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase deficiency in Papua New Guinea

Summary Four new G6PD variants have been characterized in individuals from Papua New Guinea. This study demonstrates that the previously reported Markham variant and the newly characterized Salata variant may be widely distributed in Papua New Guinea. The data presented here together with those of previously published studies demonstrate a degree of heterogeneity of G6PD deficiency that is much higher than that in other regions of the world where G6PD deficiency is common.     

Extremely high frequencies of alpha-globin gene deletion in Madang and on Kar Kar Island, Papua New Guinea.

Extremely high frequencies of the deletion form of alpha(+)-thalassemia (-alpha/), as studied by the DNA mapping technique, were found in the population of Madang, a coastal province in the north of Papua New Guinea (PNG) and in the population of Kar Kar, an island situated near Madang. Ninety-seven percent of the population tested from Madang and 89% of that from Kar Kar Island were either alpha(+)-thalassemia heterozygotes or homozygotes. By contrast, no examples of the deletion form were detected in the Eastern Highlands of PNG. The haplotype frequencies of alpha(+)-thalassemia (-alpha/) in Madang and Kar Kar Island were found to be 81.33% and 66.67%, respectively. A more detailed analysis of the gene deletion revealed that in both populations 96% were of the 4.2 kilobase (kb) type and 4% were of the 3.7-kb type. Thus, this group is the only example in which the 4.2-kb deletion is predominant over 3.7-kb defect. The presence in high frequencies of alpha(+)-thalassemia in the coastal area of Madang and on the neighboring island, where malaria has long been holoendemic or hyperendemic, and its virtual absence from the nonmalarious highlands of PNG suggest the role of malaria as the selective factor in maintaining alpha(+)-thalassemia. If this selective pressure is still operating, and since alpha(+)-thalassemia has no apparent homozygous disadvantage, the abnormal haplotype (-alpha/) will be in the process of fixation in this population.     

Clinical Evaluation of the Oral Contraceptive Use of Norethindrone 5 mg. plus Mestranol 0.075 mg

Norethindrone 5 mg. plus mestranol 0.075 mg., taken daily from menstrual cycle day five through day 24, was used as an oral contraceptive agent in 1248 cycles by 132 clinic patients. One hundred and one patients used this method for six months or more. There were no unplanned pregnancies. Breakthrough bleeding occurred in 38 cycles (3.0% of all cycles). In 25% of 1201 cycles the duration of menstrual flow was shorter than that which had been considered usual for the individual patient involved, and the most common weight change was a gain of 6 to 10 lb.     

The Properties and Classification of the Predominant Bacteria in Rotten Eggs

A collection of 226 strains of bacteria was assembled from eggs which had rotted on the premises of the producer and from others which had been allowed to rot in the laboratory at 10, 20 or 30°. A majority of the eggs had a mixed infection. All but 8 of the isolates were Gram negative rods. The predominant types were Alcaligenes faecalis, Aeromonas liquefaciens, Proteus vulgaris, Cloaca spp., Citrobacter sp. and Pseudomonas fluorescens. A nonpigmented pseudomonad could not be identified with any of the species included in Pseudomonas.     

Purification and properties of gamma-glutamylcyclotransferase from human erythrocytes.

1. GAMMA-Glutamylcyclotransferase was purified 10000-fold from human erythrocytes. 2. The purification steps involved fractionation with (NH4)(2)SO(4) and chromatography on Sephadex G-75, DEAE-cellulose and hydroxyapatite. The purified enzyme was found to be homogeneous on density-gradient polyacrylamide-gel electrophoresis. 3. The maximum reaction rate was observed at pH9.0 and the apparent Km value for gamma-glutamyl-L-alanine was 2.2mM. 4. The molecular weight (25250) of the purified enzyme agreed well with the value (25500) in fresh haemolysates, indicating no apparent structural modification of the enzyme during purification. However, rapid processing of the blood through the initial (NH4)(2)SO(4) and Sephadex-chromatography steps was required to prevent formation of a high-molecular-weight aggregate with substantially lower specific activity. 5. gamma-Glutamylcyclotransferase catalyses the formation of 5-oxoproline from gamma-glutamyl dipeptides. The role of this enzyme in erythrocytes is of particular interest, because gamma-glutamyl-L-cysteine serves as a substrate for both gamma-glutamylcyclotransferase and glutathione synthetase. Thus the cyclotransferase could modulate glutathione synthesis.     

寿高九旬驾鹤西去 德范后人紫气东来——沉痛悼念焦瑞身先生

<正>焦瑞身(Jui-shen Chiao)1918-09-13,2009年12月22日卒于上海。1936年考取清华大学化学系,1941年毕业于西南联合大学并留校任化学系助教。1946年在北京大学农学院农化系任助教。