Group A streptococci from a remote community have novel multilocus genotypes but share emm types and housekeeping alleles with isolates from worldwide sources.
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Group A streptococci (GAS) cause several human diseases that differentially affect distinct host populations. Genotypes were defined by multilocus sequence typing and emm typing for 137 organisms collected from individuals in a remote aboriginal island community in tropical Australia and compared with >200 isolates obtained from sources elsewhere in the world. The majority of aboriginal-derived isolates shared emm types and housekeeping alleles with GAS isolates recovered from outside Australia, but these emm types and alleles were in novel combinations. There were many examples in which isolates from aboriginal and non-Australian subjects shared the same emm type, but for approximately 50% of emm types, the multilocus genotypes of isolates of the same emm type but from different regions were very different. A single emm type may typically define a single clone within the United States and on the remote island that is the focus of this study, but in many cases, these clones will be different, and this finding has implications for attempts to make global associations between emm types and certain disease manifestations. (+info)
Origins and dispersals of Pacific peoples: evidence from mtDNA phylogenies of the Pacific rat.
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The human settlement of the Pacific in general, and the origin of the Polynesians in particular, have been topics of debate for over two centuries. Polynesian origins are most immediately traced to people who arrived in the Fiji, Tonga, and Samoa region approximately 3,000 B.P. and are clearly associated with the Lapita Cultural Complex. Although this scenario of the immediate origins of the Polynesians is generally accepted, the debate on the ultimate origin of the Polynesians and the Lapita cultural complex continues. Our previous research has shown that analyses of mtDNA variation in the Pacific rat (Rattus exulans), often transported as a food item in the colonizing canoes, are valuable for tracing prehistoric human migration within Polynesia. Here we present mtDNA phylogenies based on approximately 240 base pairs of the d-loop from both archaeological and modern samples collected from Island Southeast Asia and the Pacific. We identify three major haplogroups, two of which occur in the Pacific. Comparing our results with Lapita models of Oceanic settlement, we are able to reject two often cited but simplistic models, finding support instead for multifaceted models incorporating a more complex view of the Lapita intrusion. This study is unique and valuable in that R. exulans is the only organism associated with the Lapita dispersal for which there are sufficient ancient and extant populations available for genetic analysis. By tracking population changes through time, we can understand more fully the settlement process and population interactions in both Near and Remote Oceania. (+info)
Nuclear and isotopic techniques applied to supporting nutritional studies in East Asia and Pacific Countries: IAEA's contributions over 20 years.
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The world's scientific community has recognized that isotopic techniques play a vital role in monitoring the effectiveness of nutrition intervention by providing precise data on absorption, bioavailablity and interaction of various micronutrients in a cost effective manner. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been supporting many such health related studies in Member States from developing countries using nuclear and isotopic methods for over 20 years. This report documents the Agency's support for a variety of projects in East Asia and Pacific countries to assess body composition, total energy expenditure, nutrient intake, osteoporosis, infection, vitamin and mineral bioavailability as well as food composition. The IAEA spent a total of 10,302,356 US dollars through Coordinated Research Projects (CRP) and Technical Cooperation Projects (TCP) over the past 20 years. Out of this only 2,732,802, US dollars or 26.5% was used by the East Asia and Pacific countries. While the participation of East Asia and Pacific countries was strong in CRPs and moderate in regional TCPs, they did not participate in national TCPs at all. The non-participation under national TCPs is a serious deficiency when compared with Latin American and African regions and therefore, more participation from the East Asia and Pacific countries in national TCPs is strongly encouraged in the future. (+info)
Cancer burden and trends in the Asian Pacific Rim region.
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This paper describes the current cancer burden and time trends, discusses dominant risk factors and prevention and control strategies, and makes future projections for the top eight cancers (stomach, lung, liver, colon/rectum, esophagus, breast, cervix, and leukemia) in the Asian Pacific Rim region. The future cancer trends through to the year 2050 are projected based on population dynamics, including population growth and ageing. In 2000, the Asian Pacific Rim had over 3 million new cancer cases, over 2 million cancer deaths, and 5.4 million people living with cancer. In 2050, 7.8 million new cancer cases and 5.7 million deaths from cancer are projected. The current cancer burden and the future projection provide facts that cancer is and will be a very serious public health problem in the Asian Pacific Rim region and will assist public health officers and cancer researchers in the design and establishment of public health policies, prioritization of future research, and application of current knowledge in the prevention and control of cancer. (+info)
Subsite-specific colorectal cancer incidence rates and stage distributions among Asians and Pacific Islanders in the United States, 1995 to 1999.
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OBJECTIVE: This study examined subsite-specific colorectal cancer incidence rates and stage distributions for Asians and Pacific Islanders (API) and compared the API data with data for Whites and African Americans. METHODS: Data included 336,798 invasive colorectal cancer incident cases for 1995 to 1999 from 23 population-based central cancer registries, representing about two thirds of API population in the United States. Age-adjusted rates, using the 2000 U.S. standard population, and age-specific rates and stage distributions were computed by anatomic subsite, race, and gender. All rates were expressed per 100,000. SEs and rate ratios were calculated for rate comparison. A significance level of 0.05 was used for all analyses. RESULTS: Overall, age-adjusted colorectal cancer incidence rates were significantly lower in API than in Whites and African Americans across anatomic subsites, particularly for proximal colon cancer in which rates were 40% to 50% lower in API males and females. Exception to this pattern was the significantly (10%) higher rectal cancer incidence rate in API males than in African American males. The incidence patterns by anatomic subsite within API differed from those of Whites and African Americans. Among API, the rate of rectal cancer (19.2 per 100,000) was significantly higher than the rates of proximal (15.2 per 100,000) and distal (17.7 per 100,000) colon cancers in males, with little variations in rates across anatomic subsites in females. In contrast, among White and African American males and females, proximal colon cancer rates were over 25% higher than the rates of distal colon and rectal cancers. Increases in age-specific rates with advancing age were more striking for proximal colon cancer than for distal colon and rectal cancers in Whites and African Americans, while age-specific rates were very similar for different subsites in API with parallel increases with advancing age, especially in API males. Similar to Whites and African Americans, in API, proximal colon cancers (32% to 35%) were also less likely to be diagnosed with localized stage compared with distal colon (38% to 42%) and rectal (44% to 52%) cancers. CONCLUSION: The patterns of subsite-specific colorectal cancer incidence in API, especially API males, differ from those of Whites and African Americans. Similar to Whites and African Americans, lower percentage of localized disease in API for proximal colon cancer than for distal colon and rectal cancers was also observed. (+info)
Asian/Pacific Islander American women: age and death rates during hospitalization for breast cancer.
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PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To investigate whether differences in age and death rates exist between hospitalized Asian/Pacific Islander American (APIA) women and women of other racial groups. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis of a national data set. SETTING: The Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Nationwide Inpatient Sample, Release 6, was used to obtain hospitalization data on women with breast cancer based on racial status. A total of 20,507 hospitalization records met the study criteria. SAMPLE: All women who were hospitalized with a primary diagnosis of breast cancer, were older than 18, and did not die during hospitalization, plus all women who met the criteria stated above but died during hospitalization. METHODS: Secondary data analysis. Post hoc analysis was used to identify significant differences among racial groups. FINDINGS: Significant differences were found between APIA and Caucasian and Latino women. Significant differences based on race were found between subjects who had died during hospitalization. On average, APIA women were the youngest to die. CONCLUSIONS: APIA women with breast cancer were among the youngest women being hospitalized and the youngest to die during hospitalization. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Cultural awareness by nurses is critical when discussing methods for prevention and early detection of breast cancer with minority women. Targeting new immigrants is a priority for those who screen and educate women about detection and treatment of breast cancer. (+info)
Avian extinction and mammalian introductions on oceanic islands.
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The arrival of humans on oceanic islands has precipitated a wave of extinctions among the islands' native birds. Nevertheless, the magnitude of this extinction event varies markedly between avifaunas. We show that the probability that a bird species has been extirpated from each of 220 oceanic islands is positively correlated with the number of exotic predatory mammal species established on those islands after European colonization and that the effect of these predators is greater on island endemic species. In contrast, the proportions of currently threatened species are independent of the numbers of exotic mammalian predator species, suggesting that the principal threat to island birds has changed through time as species susceptible to exotic predators have been driven extinct. (+info)
Dietary factors are not associated with high levels of obesity in New Zealand Pacific preschool children.
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Pacific children living in New Zealand (NZ) are prone to excessive weight gain. In this study, we assessed the anthropometric status of 2- to 5-y-old Pacific children (n = 60) in relation to their macronutrient intakes. Measurements of height (n = 56), weight (n = 60), midarm circumference, and triceps skinfold thickness (n = 58), and 2-d weighed food records (n = 60) and demographic data were collected. Z-score results (mean +/- SD) showed that these children were tall (0.61 +/- 1.1) and heavy (1.67 +/- 1.1) for their age, and had high arm-muscle-area-for-height (geometric mean, 2.05). Over 64 and 45% of children were classified as overweight (including obesity) and obese, respectively. The percentage of energy contributed by fat in their diets met recommendations. In contrast, the percentage of energy contributed by sugar was high. The macronutrient intakes of children classified as obese (n = 32) compared with non-obese (n = 24) did not differ; however, their adjusted energy intakes were higher [5.79 (1.4) vs. 4.97 (1.4) MJ/d; P = 0.01]. Overweight and obesity were very common among very young NZ Pacific children, although the dietary etiology was not elucidated. These results emphasize the urgent need for obesity prevention for NZ Pacific children that begins early in life to avoid a future public health crisis. (+info)