Water utilization situations at two suburban areas in Lao P.D,R. - The cases of Lahanam district, Savannakhet and its changing pattern in Xaithani district in Vienntiane Capital -

Utilization and availability of water source is a serious health problem in developing countries. To analyze local condition of water utilization patterns in Lao PDR, a comparative study on water utility and sanitation condition along the local context was conducted at 2 villages in Savannakhet province and a village in Vientiane Capital in 2005. There was no city water supply in the two areas. Water utilization and the sanitation data of the Capital village in 2000 were also employed to compare change of the situation for 6 years at the place. In Savannakhet, main water sources were dug well, river, purchase-bottle water, and rainwater storage. Rainwater was common drinking source, and a half of them drink before boiling. In the capital area, main water sources were well (borehole and dug wells), purchase-bottle water both in 2000 and in 2005. Utilization of drinking water, well water was chosen firstly and the water boiling practice rates were not so different in both areas. The consumption of purchase water was higher in Vientiane than in Savannakhet. Also, it was demonstrated that the rate of purchase water increased much at the capital in these six years

Testing the thrifty gene hypothesis: the Gly482Ser variant in PPARGC1A is associated with BMI in Tongans

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The thrifty gene hypothesis posits that, in populations that experienced periods of feast and famine, natural selection favoured individuals carrying thrifty alleles that promote the storage of fat and energy. Polynesians likely experienced long periods of cold stress and starvation during their settlement of the Pacific and today have high rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2DM), possibly due to past positive selection for thrifty alleles. Alternatively, T2DM risk alleles may simply have drifted to high frequency in Polynesians. To identify thrifty alleles in Polynesians, we previously examined evidence of positive selection on T2DM-associated SNPs and identified a T2DM risk allele at unusually high frequency in Polynesians. We suggested that the risk allele of the Gly482Ser variant in the <it>PPARGC1A </it>gene was driven to high frequency in Polynesians by positive selection and therefore possibly represented a thrifty allele in the Pacific.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Here we examine whether <it>PPARGC1A </it>is a thrifty gene in Pacific populations by testing for an association between Gly482Ser genotypes and BMI in two Pacific populations (Maori and Tongans) and by evaluating the frequency of the risk allele of the Gly482Ser variant in a sample of worldwide populations.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We find that the Gly482Ser variant is associated with BMI in Tongans but not in Maori. In a sample of 58 populations worldwide, we also show that the 482Ser risk allele reaches its highest frequency in the Pacific.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The association between Gly482Ser genotypes and BMI in Tongans together with the worldwide frequency distribution of the Gly482Ser risk allele suggests that <it>PPARGC1A </it>remains a candidate thrifty gene in Pacific populations.</p

Association of ADRB2 polymorphism with triglyceride levels in Tongans

Background:Our previous study demonstrated that the A-allele of the single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs34623097 located in the upstream region of the β2 adrenergic receptor gene (ADRB2) is significantly associated with risk for obesity in Oceanic populations. Methods:To investigate whether the ADRB2 polymorphisms explain part of the individual differences in lipid mobilization, energy expenditure and glycogen breakdown, the associations of 10 ADRB2 SNPs with total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglyceride levels were examined in 128 adults in Tonga. Results:A multiple linear regression analysis adjusted for age, sex, and body mass index revealed that rs34623097 was significantly associated with triglyceride levels (P-value = 0.037). A copy of the rs34623097-A allele increased serum triglyceride levels by 70.1 mg/dL (0.791 mmol/L). None of the ADRB2 SNPs showed a significant association with total-cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, or low-density lipoprotein cholesterol. Conclusions:In a Tongan population, a SNP located in the upstream region of ADRB2 is associated with triglyceride levels independent of body mass index

Inter- and Intra-Population Migration of the Gidra in Lowland Papua: A Population-Ecological Analysis

The Gidra-speaking Papuans, numbering 1,850 and inhabiting thirteen villages, are an endogamous population; 95% of the married members were born within the Gidra territory. Indeed, 70% of the marriages are village endogamous. The bulk of the remainder of marriages are between adjacent villages. Thus, the Gidra population is maintained by inter-village migration in overlapping sub-units, each including several adjacent villages. The rate of out-migration to urban areas, which has been increasing in the last couple of decades, is higher in acculturated villages, although the difference is largely offset by an uneven flow of inter-village migrants within the territory

The Role of Agricultural Land Use Pattern Dynamics on Elephant Habitat Depletion and Human-Elephant Conflict in Sri Lanka

The drastic depletion of elephant habitats in the dry zone of Sri Lanka has led to intense human-elephant conflict (HEC) in a region that is home to one of the celebrated agrarian settlements in Asia. Known as the tank villages, these settlements have a long history of human coexistence with elephants and other wild animals. However, the escalating incidence of human-elephant fatalities and crop losses to farmers indicates that the mode of interaction between the tank village inhabitants and the elephants has transformed from coexistence to conflict. Both population and agricultural land use pattern dynamics have contributed to agricultural expansion and loss of elephant habitat in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. However, our knowledge of how the agricultural land use pattern dynamics has contributed to the drastic depletion of elephant range in the dry zone is limited. This research attempted to gain insight into the role of agricultural land use dynamics on elephant habitat depletion and HEC in Sri Lanka through the study of Kuttikulama, a dry zone tank village. The data were collected through focus group discussions, key informant interviews and a cross sectional survey. The study revealed that agricultural land use patterns in traditional dry zone villages have changed in major ways over the last few decades. Such changes included the transition from a shifting-cultivation mode of farming to a fixed sequential mode of farming, the expansion of the per capita cropping area, and the disappearance of communality in agricultural land use patterns. The changes were found to have significantly contributed to a shift in human&#8722;elephant interactions from relatively harmonious ones to contentious ones. The study reveals the potential of traditional and alternative cropping and land use systems to minimize human-elephant conflict in Sri Lanka

HLA-DRB1 polymorphism on Ha’ano island of the Kingdom of Tonga

HLA-DRB1 polymorphism was investigated by molecular DNA-based typing in 37 Tongans living on Ha’ano island of the Ha’apai group. The predominant HLA-DRB1 alleles were DRB1*0901 (20.3%) and DRB1*0403 (18.9%). A principal component analysis of the DRB1 allele frequencies discriminated between the Polynesians and other Oceanian populations, including Melanesians, Micronesians, and Australian Aborigines. Both present and previous studies have shown that the allele frequency of DRB1*0901 is markedly high in Polynesians and Asians, while this allele is seldom found in Non-Austronesian (NAN)-speaking Melanesians, Micronesians, and Australian Aborigines. Furthermore, we analyzed the frequencies of allele coding for Arg at position 196 (196R: nucleotide [nt] 587G) of tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 (TNFR2, TNF-R75) in three Oceanian populations: Tongans, Austronesian (AN)-speaking Balopa islanders living in Manus province of Papua New Guinea, and NAN-speaking Gidra living in the southwestern lowlands of Papua New Guinea. The frequencies of the TNFR2-196R allele, observed at a relatively high frequency in East and Southeast Asian populations, were 24.0%, 7.3%, and 1.0% in the Tongans, Balopa islanders, and Gidra, respectively. Considering that the allele frequencies of DRB1*0901 and TNFR2 196R are relatively high in Asians, Polynesians, and AN-speaking Melanesians (Balopa islanders), but very low in NAN-speaking Melanesians (Gidra), we conclude that at least part of the AN-speaking Polynesian ancestors were derived from Asian populations, and that extensive gene flow from the Polynesian ancestors to the indigenous Melanesians occurred around their initial migration to Melanesia. This is consistent with the results from analyses of mitochondrial DNA and ABO blood group gene polymorphisms in the same study populations