Cell survival after treatment with cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) [cis-Pt(II)] and host-cell reactivation of cis-Pt(II)-treated SV40 DNA were investigated using two Fanconi anaemia, one xeroderma pigmentosum of complementation group A, and three normal human control fibroblast cell strains. The Fanconi anaemia and xeroderma pigmentosum cell strains showed an increased sensitivity to the cytotoxic action of cis-Pt(II) treatment, suggesting a deficiency in the repair pathway of cis-Pt(II)-induced damage. In addition, the survival of cis-Pt(II)-treated SV40 DNA was about 2-fold lower in xeroderma pigmentosum cells than in control cells. No difference in viral DNA survival was found between Fanconi anaemia and control cells, although the Fanconi anaemia cells were more sensitive to the cytotoxic action of treatment with cis-Pt(II) than the xeroderma pigmentosum cells in the clonogenic cell survival assay.

Cell Line↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Relations between serum pepsinogen levels, pepsinogen phenotypes, ABO blood groups, age and sex in blood donors.

Serum pepsinogen A (pepsinogen I) levels and urinary pepsinogen A phenotypes were studied in relation to ABO blood group, age and sex in 700 healthy blood donors. There was no relation between urinary pepsinogen A phenotypes and serum pepsinogen A levels. It is concluded that serum PGA levels and PGA phenotypes are independent factors in predisposition to gastroduodenal disorders. Serum pepsinogen A levels were higher in males than in females and rose with increasing age. The ABO blood groups were not related to pepsinogen A phenotypes. Blood group O individuals showed higher serum pepsinogen A levels compared with blood group A. Pepsinogen A phenotypes with intensity of fraction 5 were more frequent in males compared with females.

ABO Blood-Group System↗

PubMedDate not supplied

ABH secretion polymorphism in Icelanders, Aland Islanders, Finns, Finnish Lapps, Komi and Greenland Eskimos: a review and new data.

The secretion of the ABH antigens in saliva was tested in indigenous individuals of several populations: Icelanders in Reykjavik and Husavik (northeastern Iceland), Aland Islanders, Finno-Ugrians (Finns, Finnish Lapps, Komi) and Eskimos (Augpilagtok, northwestern Greenland). The frequencies of ABH non-secretors among the Icelanders (28-36%) were among the highest ever noted in Europeans. Among Alanders and Swedes on the Finnish mainland the frequency (around 20%) was comparable to Swedish values but considerably higher than among Finns (13-14%). The values among northeastern Finns and Komi (about 9%) were intermediate between values among Lapps (below 5%) and Scandinavians (15-26%), excluding Icelanders (28-41%). The average frequency of non-secretors among Lapps in Finland (2.2 +/- 0.5%) was the lowest observed among white populations. Like many other arctic populations of the Mongolian race, the Greenland Eskimos had a very low frequency of non-secretors. It is probable that the non-secretor allele ABH*se was absent from the ancient Lapps and Greenland Eskimos but introduced by invading populations. It is concluded that the ABH*se allele frequencies vary much more among northern European populations than hitherto appreciated. Recent studies indicate that the non-secretor status of the ABH blood group substances in mucous body fluids is associated with pathological conditions of the mucous membranes of the embryologically related digestive and respiratory systems, particularly with duodenal ulcer and gastric (pre)malignancies but probably also with pulmonary dysfunction. In view of these disadvantages of the ABH non-secretor status the high frequency of ABH*se in Icelanders is a paradoxical phenomenon. The frequency of ABH non-secretors among the founders (Vikings) of Iceland may have been considerably higher than among the present populations in northwestern Europe. The increase in northwestern direction of the ABH*se allele frequencies supports this hypothesis; the dilution effect has not been as strong in Iceland as on the European continent.

ABO Blood-Group System↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Marital migration and genetic structure in Kitee, Finland.

A genetic analysis of marital migration in Kitee, Finland, is presented. The data are based on 9970 marriages which took place between 1750 and 1877. The results of this analysis are compared with those of previous studies of the population of the Aland Islands, Finland. Analysis of inter-subdivision genetic kinship matrices shows that genetic heterogeneity in Kitee is substantially less than in Aland. This is due primarily to higher rates of migration, both between subdivisions and from outside the population, in Kitee compared to Aland. These differences in migration rates can in turn be attributed to greater geographic isolation in Aland and the contrasting social structures of the two populations. Because of differences in geographic structure and population distribution, geographic distance between subdivisions is a better predictor of inter-subdivision genetic kinship in Kitee than in Aland. The Aland Islands are known to have high frequencies of several otherwise rare genetic diseases; in addition, these diseases are distributed very non-randomly among Aland's subdivisions. The genetic structure results presented here suggest that Kitee should have a less unique distribution of genetic diseases.

Emigration and Immigration↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Regional, temporal, and seasonal variations in births and deaths: the effects of famines.

A knowledge of the seasonal variation in births and deaths during normal years is important for analyses of the effects of wars, famines, epidemics or similar privations on these two variables. In studies of seasonality, multiple trigonometric regression models are more flexible than the simple sine curve. The seasonal variation in mortality in Iceland, 1856-1990, shows a strong secular decrease, and a connection between this and the epidemiological transition is considered. As a consequence of the severe famine in Finland in 1867-68, the mortality for the whole year 1868 was almost four times as high as during normal years, and the seasonality of the mortality was even more accentuated. The birth rate in Finland during 1868 was about 70 percent of that during normal years and showed an aberrant seasonality, with a strong trough from October 1868 to February 1869 (fewer conceptions between January and May 1868, when the food shortage was severe).

Birth Rate↗