Major histocompatibility class I antigens in the Lebanese population

Except for two reports on Lebanese immigrants, there have been no studies on the major histocompatibility [MHC] antigens in the Lebanese population. We describe the frequency and distribution of MHC class I antigens present in the A, B and C loci based on data obtained from 200 healthy unrelated individuals from different parts of Lebanon. The highest gene frequencies were as follows:A2 [24.8%], B35 [17.9%] and Cw4 [18.6%], making this haplotype the commonest. Comparison of genetic distances revealed a pattern closer to the Caucasoid population than to the Mongoloid, Oriental or Black populations

DPYD gene polymorphisms in patients with gastrointestinal tumors receiving chemotherapy with 5-fluorouracil.

90 Background: Complete or partial deficiency of the DPD enzyme due to genetic polymorphisms of the DPYD gene causes acute toxicity of fluoropyrimidines, which are widely used in combination chemotherapy regimens for various malignant neoplasms. The purpose of the study: to identify polymorphisms of the DPYD gene significant for 5-fluorouracil-induced toxicity. Methods: Venous blood samples from Caucasian patients were used to identify alleles of *2А rs3918290, 5* rs1801159, *13 rs55886062 and rs67376798 DPYD by RT-PCR and direct sequencing. Inclusion criteria were: verified diagnosis of gastrointestinal tumors, age>18 years old, fluoropyrimidine-containing regimes of treatment. Results: 104 pts were included, 54% were female. Mean age-61 years. Colorectal cancer was found in 80.7% pts, non-colorectal in 19.3% pts. Hematological and non-hematological toxicity Gd.3-4 was found in 24% pts. Allele * 5rs18011595, which causes enzyme deficiency was found in 28% of patients, (frequency was 0.281) which is significantly higher than the population frequency of the allele charactering for Caucasoid population (p <0.05). Meanwhile genotyping did not reveal the *2A, *13 alleles and rs67376798 alleles in the DPYD gene. Conclusions: *5rs1801159 allele was found as the main DPYD polymorphism associated with fluoropyrimidine toxicity in Caucasian pts with gastrointestinal tumors.

The Dynamics of Anthropological Types of the Sarmatian Population That Left Staritsa Burial Mound

The paper presents the intergroup analysis made by the canonical method aimed at determining variability of anthropological types in chronological groups of the Sarmatian population that left Staritsa burial mound. For this purpose, digital information on 44 male and 30 female series including all three stages of Sarmatian culture from the burial mounds of the Lower Volga region was studied. The results of the analysis reveal smaller massiveness of the Sauromatian and Sarmatian population in comparison with the Bronze Age samples. The main anthropological type, whose carriers were the early Sarmatian groups of Staritsa burial mound, is the type of ancient Eastern Caucasians, and they are not separated from the synchronous population of other burial mounds. Characteristic features of this type include meso-brachycrania, weakened horizontal profiling at the upper facial level and a quite Caucasoid structure of the nose and nasal bones. There is the influx of the long-headed Caucasoid population in the middle Sarmatian epoch, which increases due time, and the late Sarmatian population acquires dolicho-mesocrane features. In the early epoch, the middle– late 2nd century A.D., some cultural and morphological features are blurred, as the material from burial 2 of barrow 8, burial 1 of barrow 54 and burial 1 of barrow 11 shows. In the late Sarmatian time, the inflow of not only long-headed groups, but also individuals with the mixed anthropological Caucasoid-Mongoloid type was possible. Like the early Sarmatian group from Staritsa burial mound, the late Sarmatian group is more similar to the synchronous population from other Lower Volga burials.

Genetic Variability of Apolipoprotein E in Different Populations from Venezuela

The genetic variation at the Apolipoprotein E locus (APOE) is an important determinant of plasma lipids and has been implicated in various human pathological conditions. The objective of the present study was to estimate the distribution of APOE alleles in five Venezuelan communities: two Amerindian tribes (Bari and Yucpa), one Negroid population from Curiepe, one Caucasoid population from Colonia Tovar and the mestizo urban population living in Caracas. The APOE*3 allele was the most common allele in all populations studied. However, a significant increase in the APOE*2 allele frequency in the Mestizo (18.96%) and Negroid (16.25%) populations was found. Similar to results reported in other Native American populations we have found that the APOE*2 allele is completely absent in the Bari and Yucpa Amerindians. Frequencies found in the Colonia Tovar population are in agreement with those reported in the population of Germany, indicating a high degree of relatedness. The results support the notion that the distribution of the APOE alleles shows ethnic variability.

Genesis of the Silk Road and Its Northern Directions

This article argues that the conclusions in the prevailing modern scientific literature on the formation of the Great Silk Road 3rd‑2nd millennium BC or from the 4th‑3rd centuries BC cannot be considered reasonable in light of available scientific and archival evidence. Until the 3rd‑2nd centuries BC at the western and northern borders of Xinjiang Region the predominantly Caucasoid population of Xinjiang contacted the related cultures of Kazakhstan and Sayano-Altai, but did not have any noticeable or documented trade (exchange) connections with the eastern Mongols of the Gansu Corridor, nor with farmers of ancient China and nomads of Northern China. Significant migrations of the population from Xinjiang to China and in the opposite direction between the third and the first half of the 1st millennium BC according to the available archaeological records has not been observed. The Silk Road from China through Xinjiang to the west with the direct involvement of the Chinese, only begins to function in the 1st century BC, and then only when the Han Empire at great cost finally succeeded in pushing the Hunnu out of Xinjiang, and established control over this territory. This event was preceded by active trade relations between the northern kingdoms of China and the nomads of Southern Siberia in the 4th and 3rd centuries BC and the delivery of the gifts to the Huns from the Han Dynasty in the 2nd century BC. This enabled silk and varnish products to penetrate Southern Siberia, Central Asia and then back into Xinjiang