Distribution of OCA2*481Thr and OCA2*615Arg, associated with hypopigmentation, in several additional populations

Two mutants, OCA2*481Thr (c.1441G > A, p.Ala481Thr) and OCA2*615Arg (c.1844A > G, p.His615Arg), in the OCA2 (oculocutaneous albinism type II) gene are associated with hypopigmentation in East Asians. Here, these two alleles were studied to assess the frequencies in five different populations. In addition, the allele frequency of OCA2*615Arg was investigated in seven populations. Among a total of 24 global populations investigated, Oroqens in Heihe showed the highest frequency for OCA2*481Thr (0.519), and among 26 populations, Han Chinese in Changsha showed the highest frequency for OCA2*615Arg (0.673). This study confirmed that these two East Asian-specific alleles are characteristic of northern and central-southern East Asian populations. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Distribution of OCA2*481Thr and OCA2*615Arg, associated with hypopigmentation, in several additional populations

Two mutants, OCA2*481Thr (c.1441G > A, p.Ala481Thr) and OCA2*615Arg (c.1844A > G, p.His615Arg), in the OCA2 (oculocutaneous albinism type II) gene are associated with hypopigmentation in East Asians. Here, these two alleles were studied to assess the frequencies in five different populations. In addition, the allele frequency of OCA2*615Arg was investigated in seven populations. Among a total of 24 global populations investigated, Oroqens in Heihe showed the highest frequency for OCA2*481Thr (0.519), and among 26 populations, Han Chinese in Changsha showed the highest frequency for OCA2*615Arg (0.673). This study confirmed that these two East Asian-specific alleles are characteristic of northern and central-southern East Asian populations. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved

Representing theater: text and performance in kabuki and bunraku

Since the fourteenth century, theater has been at the center of cultural life in Japan to an extent rare in the world. several Japanese theatrical traditions, noh, kyogen, bunraku, and kabuki, continue to the present as living lineages of actors passing on their skills from generation to generation, actors have maintained control over the interpretations of texts on the stage. kabuki and bunraku differ fundamentally in their origins and essence. Joruri was the inheritor of the long oral storytelling tradition of blind musicians that flourished after the Genji civil war. During the time of the playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon, who wrote for both the bunraku and kabuki stages, it became standard to publish complete bunraku texts at the time of first performance with the name of the playwright as author. The theater was a vibrant aspect and stimulant of cultural life in the Edo period, one in which individuals from all walks of life participated through a variety of means