Pacific Eclipse exercise: Value to US Indo-Pacific Command Surgeon’s Office

The United States Indo-Pacific Command Surgeon Office had the opportunity to participate in the Pacific Eclipse workshop in December 2019. This paper discusses the value of the exercise in pandemic and disaster planning for the US Indo-Pacific Command.     

Pacifiplex: an ancestry-informative SNP panel centred on Australia and the Pacific region

The analysis of human population variation is an area of considerable interest in the forensic, medical genetics and anthropological fields. Several forensic single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assays provide ancestry-informative genotypes in sensitive tests designed to work with limited DNA samples, including a 34-SNP multiplex differentiating African, European and East Asian ancestries. Although assays capable of differentiating Oceanian ancestry at a global scale have become available, this study describes markers compiled specifically for differentiation of Oceanian populations. A sensitive multiplex assay, termed Pacifiplex, was developed and optimized in a small-scale test applicable to forensic analyses. The Pacifiplex assay comprises 29 ancestry-informative marker SNPs (AIM-SNPs) selected to complement the 34-plex test, that in a combined set distinguish Africans, Europeans, East Asians and Oceanians. Nine Pacific region study populations were genotyped with both SNP assays, then compared to four reference population groups from the HGDP-CEPH human diversity panel. STRUCTURE analyses estimated population cluster membership proportions that aligned with the patterns of variation suggested for each study population’s currently inferred demographic histories. Aboriginal Taiwanese and Philippine samples indicated high East Asian ancestry components, Papua New Guinean and Aboriginal Australians samples were predominantly Oceanian, while other populations displayed cluster patterns explained by the distribution of divergence amongst Melanesians, Polynesians and Micronesians. Genotype data from Pacifiplex and 34-plex tests is particularly well suited to analysis of Australian Aboriginal populations and when combined with Y and mitochondrial DNA variation will provide a powerful set of markers for ancestry inference applied to modern Australian demographic profiles. On a broader geographic scale, Pacifiplex adds highly informative data for inferring the ancestry of individuals from Oceanian populations. The sensitivity of Pacifiplex enabled successful genotyping of population samples from 50-year-old serum samples obtained from several Oceanian regions that would otherwise be unlikely to produce useful population data. This indicates tests primarily developed for forensic ancestry analysis also provide an important contribution to studies of populations where useful samples are in limited supply.     

HLA in Uros from Peru Titikaka Lake: Tiwanaku,Easter and Pacific Islanders

Uros people live in floating reed islands in Titikaka Lake in front of Puno town (Peru). They could have started Tiwanaku culture and shared genes and culture with Pacific Islanders; it is particularly relevant the giant hat covered men statues found in both Tiwanaku at Titikaka Lake shore and Easter Island (3700 km far from Chile in Pacific Ocean). These giants monoliths are very similar one another and unique in America and Pacific Islands. The following HLA alleles are shared in a specifically high frequency between Uros and Pacific Islanders : HLA-A*24:02, HLA-B*35:05, HLA-B*48:01, HLA-DRB1*04:03, HLA-DRB1*08:02 and HLA-DRB1*09:01. Uros also have 3 unique HLA haplotypes: A*24:02-B*15:04 ? DRB1*14:02-DQB1*03:01, A*68:01:02-B*35:05-DRB1*04:03-DQB1*03:02, A*24:02-B*48:01-DRB1*04:03-DQB1*03:02. Also Uros seem to be one of the most ancient population in Titikaka Lake that could have started Tiwanaku culture. Prehistoric contacts between Amerindians and Pacific Islanders are strongly suggested by genetic and cultural traits. It is not discarded that Uros could have come from Pacific Islands: Uros show melanic skin and are dolichocephalic; in contrast, surrounding Aymara people have a clear skin and are brachicephalic. The Kon-Tiki project led by Thor Heyerdahl showed that a simple sailing is possible between Peru and Polynesia Islands; also, the most ancient skull found in America is of black origin: Luzia, suggesting that first America peopling was also carried out by Black/coloured people.     

Pacific Islands Families (PIF) Study: housing and psychological distress among Pacific mothers

Objective: In a sample of Pacific mothers living in New Zealand, we examined: 1) maternal reports about seven specific major housing problems (too small, difficult to get to from the street, in poor condition, damp, cold, presence of pests, too expensive); and 2) associations between these housing problems and maternal psychological distress, adjusting for some maternal sociodemographic characteristics. Methods: The Pacific Islands Families longitudinal study follows a cohort of Pacific children born in Auckland, New Zealand, in 2000 and their parents. At the 14‐year phase, mothers (n=844) were asked about housing conditions and psychological distress. Results: Mothers who reported having any major housing problem, particularly the presence of pests and poor housing conditions, were significantly more likely to report psychological distress after adjusting for sociodemographic confounders. Conclusions: The impact of housing on mental health is complex and may be influenced by social, health and sociodemographic characteristics of Pacific mothers. Implications for public health: The finding that housing problems are significantly associated with psychological distress among Pacific mothers in New Zealand is an important finding. However, more in‐depth qualitative research is needed to provide a clearer understanding of the way housing problems affect mental health and to guide strategies that minimise this outcome for Pacific mothers.     

燥邪对健康大鼠气管和肺内细小支气管黏膜组织肺泡表面活性物质相关蛋白-D表达的影响

目的:基于健康大鼠气管组织形态学及气道黏膜和肺内细小支气管黏膜肺泡表面活性物质相关蛋白-D(SP-D)的表达探索燥邪致病的微观机制。方法:60只SPF级SD雌鼠按体重随机均分为六组,正常对照组(N-24 d和N-48 d)置于常温常湿环境中,秋燥组(D-24 d和D-48 d)和西北燥组(D&D-24 d和D&D-48 d)置于人工气候箱分别予轻度燥邪和重度燥邪干预,分期采集短期和长期干预组大鼠气道和右肺中叶组织,制备石蜡切片,经HE染色后镜下观察其组织形态,采用免疫组化学分析技术,比较上述六组大鼠气管和肺内细小支气管黏膜SP-D的表达。结果:燥邪可引起大鼠气道组织形态学发生病理改变,秋燥组损害程度随干预时长增加加重,西北燥组损害程度随干预时长增加有所改善。气道黏膜SP-D表达D-48 d组分别高于N-48 d组和D&D-48 d组(均P<0.05); D-48 d组分别高于N-24 d组和D-24 d组(均P<0.05),但N-48 d组、D&D-24 d组和D&D-48 d组比较差异均无统计学意义。肺内细小气道黏膜SP-D表达在各组间的差异均无统计学意义。结论:燥邪可引起气道组织形态发生改变。气道黏膜SP-D异常表达和肺内细小气道SP-D表达未发生显著变化可能是燥邪致病亚健康状态的微观机制之一。燥邪气道黏膜SP-D表达的差别影响提示气道黏膜SP-D表达可作为西北燥证证候机制研究的线索之一。     

Report of PAPS meeting

This is a report of the Pacific Association of Pediatric Surgeons Fifty-First Scientific Meeting held in Sapporo, Japan, from May 13to May 17, 2018.     

Profil de l’hémogramme et intérêt de la mesure de l’hémoglobine pré-don chez des donneurs de sang de la région Nord-Ouest du Maroc

Background

Blood donation in Morocco and more particularly in the northwest region is carried out without prior determination of the pre-donation hemoglobin. In addition, we note the lack of scientific research that reports data on the red blood cells, leukocytes and platelet lines in donated blood at the regional or even national level.