New Guinea Highlands Research Articles

Cloning and analysis of lipooligosaccharide synthesis genes of Haemophilus influenzae type b that assemble or expose a 2-keto-3-deoxyoctulosonic acid epitope in Escherichia coli.

1. Tager I, Speizer FE. Role of infection in chronic bronchitis. N Engl J Med 1975;292:563-71. 2. Clancy RL, Wallace FJ, Cripps AW, Pang GT. Protection induced against acute bronchitis?the use of human and rat models to determine mechanisms of action of oral immunization with Haemophilus influenzae. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol 1989;146:181-5. 3 Wallace FJ, Cripps AW, Clancy RL, Husband AJ, Witt CS. A role for intestinal T lymphocytes in bronchus mucosal immunity. Immunology 1991;74:68-73. 4 Clancy RL, Cripps AW, Murree-Allen K, et al. Oral immunisation with killed Haemophilus influenzae for protection against acute bronchitis in chronic obstructive lung disease. Lancet 1985;2:1395-7. 5 Clancy RL, Cripps AW, Gebski V. Protection against recurrent acute bronchitis after oral immunization with killed Haemophilus influenzae. Med J Aus 1990;152:413-6. 6 Tandon MK, Gebski V. A controlled trial of a killed Haemophilus influenzae vaccine for prevention of acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis. Aust NZ J Med 1991;21:427-32. 7 Lehmann KJ, Coakley KJ, Coakley CA, et al. Reduction in the incidence of acute bronchitis by an oral Haemophilus vaccine in patients with chronic bronchitis in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. Am Rev Respir Dis 1991;144:324-30.

Armillaria novae-zelandiae in Papua New Guinea

Two Armillaria isolates from the highlands of central Papua New Guinea were fruited in culture. Monospore isolates were made from the fruit bodies. Crossings between monospore isolates from a same fruit body gave results indicative of heterothallism and tetrapolarity. In mating tests with the haploid testers of Australian Armillaria species the monospore isolates were compatible with testers of the species of A. novae-zelandiae.

Chimbu and Stranger: Many Histories in Intercultural Relations

History, ethnography and ethnohistory meet at the moment of contact. Here consider the different assumptions, perceptions and reactions of participants in early contact. In a few months after the first strangers traversed the highlands of Papua New Guinea, three violent incidents at Kunabau and in the Chimbu valley set a pattern of fear of guns and acceptance of white man's power. The unforgotten events of 1933-4-5, involving theft, deaths, and arrests, had lasting consequences for the relations between the Chimbu and the white Australian government kiaps, German missionary padres, New Guinea police, and visitors. Sahlins (1981:67) observes, [p]eople act upon circumstances according to their own cultural presupposions, the socially given categories of persons and things. In his work on the early contacts of Hawaiians with Europeans, and on Fiji, Sahlins is concerned to show the Hawaiians' and the Fijians' interpretations and reactions in their own terms. He makes full use of Polynesian and European sources to explain the events and their meanings. Axtell (1979:2), notes that history, anthropology, and ethnohistory tend to focus on one society or culture at a time. Axtell (1979:9-10), an historian, identifies the task of ethnohistory in treating the contact of two cultures as the recognition of conflicting values and understanding ethnocentric bias and motives in interaction. Another historian, Dening (1988:99), said, I take my historical task to be to describe what actually happened in the past. call that ethnography. Thus in his study of the Marquesas 1774-1813, documentary sources form only a part of the story, informed by his personal knowledge of the area, anthropological analyses of important concepts (such as tapu), and an historian's regard for the background and setting, time, and place of the portentous and violent events. He further elucidates the metaphor of islands and beaches, the frontier and boundary, the intrusion of outsiders who, Dening (1980:20) says, had no capacity to understand the Enota (Marquesans) in their own terms. Dening views ethnohistory as a subdivision of anthropology which concentrates its interest upon the native peoples and their culture. He (Dening 1980:37) comments that ethnohistorians are not quite ready to admit that soldiers and missionaries are also the objects of their inquiry and methods.

Fertility‐related changes in maternal body composition among the au of Papua New Guinea

Evolutionary theory predicts that organisms make trade-offs between their somatic and reproductive energy budgets. Thus every round of reproduction should result in a concomitant decline in the parents' total energy reserves. Among humans this prediction was corroborated more than 25 years ago when fertility-related nutritional depletion was reported among mothers in the Highlands of New Guinea (Jelliffe and Maddocks, 1964). More recently, however, a number of studies of fertility and maternal nutritional status in both developed and developing nations have reported fertility-related increases in various indices of adiposity and lean body mass. Such findings have called the so-called "maternal depletion syndrome" into question, and have raised serious doubts as to whether the phenomenon is widely generalizable to all populations. In light of this recent controversy, data are presented here on fertility-related changes in maternal adiposity and lean body mass among the Au, a lowland forager-horticulturalist population in Papua New Guinea. While both a short-term decline in adiposity following childbirth, and a long-term fertility-related decline are seen among more traditional Au, individuals with a regular source of wage-income show only the former. There are no significant changes in lean body mass with increasing fertility in either group. The finding of significant socioeconomic variation in the capacity to withstand the stress of repeated reproduction even within this one extremely rural area of Papua New Guinea may lend insight into why previous studies have been unable to find evidence of maternal depletion. The fertility-related decline in adiposity that is reported for the more traditional Au is consistent with the predictions of evolutionary theory.

Reduction in the Incidence of Acute Bronchitis by an OralHaemophilus influenzaeVaccine in Patients with Chronic Bronchitis in the Highlands of Papua New Guinea

Following the administration of a standardized questionnaire, 62 adult patients with chronic bronchitis were enrolled into a double-blind controlled trial of an oral killed Haemophilus influenzae vaccine in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. A 3-day course of vaccine or placebo was given monthly for 3 consecutive months. Participants were monitored weekly over 12 months for acute exacerbations; early morning sputum specimens were collected monthly and during acute exacerbations. Density of colonization by H. influenzae and H. parainfluenzae was determined by standard quantitative and semiquantitative techniques, and the latter method (quadrant score) was used to determine the density of growth of pneumococci. A total of 30 patients received vaccine and 32 placebo. The incidence rate of acute bronchitis in the vaccine group (0.011 episodes/person-weeks) was significantly lower than that in the placebo group (0.021 episodes/person-weeks), but there was no difference between the two groups in the incidence rates of more severe disease. Vaccine efficacy was maximal at times of peak incidence of disease. There was no evidence of a decline in vaccine efficacy for acute bronchitis over the 12-month follow-up period. The number of viable H. influenzae in the sputum declined in both vaccine and placebo groups over the 12-month follow-up period. The average concentration of H. influenzae in the vaccine group fell below that in the placebo group within 1 to 2 months after first immunization and remained so for 12 months, although the difference between the two groups narrowed during the follow-up period.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Short Stature and Decreased Serum Growth Hormone-Binding Protein in the Mountain Ok People of Papua New Guinea*

Two circulating GH-binding proteins (GH-BP), one of which is related to the GH receptor, have been described. To assess their possible role in or link with determining statural growth, we measured their activity/level in the serum of 25 adult subjects from a short-statured population from the highlands of Papua New Guinea (Mountain Ok people, similar in stature to African pygmies) and in 25 normal-statured North American control subjects. The Mountain Ok people have normal levels of GH, insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I), IGF-II, and serum albumin and prealbumin in association with short stature, making them a unique study population. Levels of the high affinity (GH receptor-related) GH-BP were significantly lower in the Mountain Ok subjects than in the taller controls (5.2 +/- 3.0% vs. 10.6 +/- 3.9% GH bound/160 microL, respectively; mean +/- SD; P less than 0.001). In contrast, the low affinity GH-BP was comparable in Mountain Ok and control subjects. Because of the structural similarity between the GH receptor and GH-BP, these data suggest that a limitation in GH receptor/GH-BP endowment may be associated with short stature despite normal circulating IGF-I levels. Alternatively, it is possible that the GH-BP itself plays an important role in growth promotion. Thus, the GH receptor (and/or GH-BP) complement may be a determinant of the genetically programmed height achieved.

Relationships between growth and acute lower-respiratory infections in children aged < 5 y in a highland population of Papua New Guinea

One hundred fifty-six children in the highlands of Papua New Guinea aged less than 5 y, studied for a total of 7019 child-weeks, had an incidence of 1.3 episodes per child-year of acute lower-respiratory-tract infections (ALRIs). There was a marked age trend with an incidence of almost three times this average for children aged less than 6 mo. Those with low weight-for-age or low height-for-age had a higher ALRI incidence rate, with no evidence of cutoffs above which nutritional status had no effect; there was no association between low weight-for-height and increased risk of ALRI. A slow weight gain was not a significant risk factor in the short term but weight gain was reduced during episodes of ALRI.

Sources of metals in the Porgera gold deposit, Papua New Guinea: Evidence from alteration, isotope, and noble metal geochemistry

The Porgera gold deposit is spatially and temporally associated with the Late Miocene, mafic, alkalic, epizonal Porgera Intrusive Complex (PIC), located in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG). The highlands region marks the site of a Tertiary age continent-island-arc collision zone, located on the northeastern edge of the Australasian craton. The PIC was emplaced within continental crust near the Lagaip Fault Zone, which represents an Oligocene suture between the craton and volcano-sedimentary rocks of the Sepik terrane. Magmatism at Porgera probably occurred in response to the Late Miocene elimination of an oceanic microplate, and subsequent Early Pliocene collision between the craton margin and an arc system located on the Bismarck Sea plate. Gold mineralization occurred within 1 Ma of the time of magmatism. Metasomatism accompanying early disseminated Au mineralization in igneous host rocks resulted in additions of K, Rb, Mn, S, and CO 2, and depletions of Fe, Mg, Ca, Na, Ba, and Sr; rare-earth and high-field-strength elements remained largely immobile. Pervasive development of illite-K-feldspar-quartz-carbonate alteration assemblages suggests alteration by mildly acidic, 200 to 350°C fluids, at high water/ rock ratios. Strontium and lead isotopic compositions of minerals from early base-metal sulphide veins associated with K-metasomatism, and later quartz-roscoelite veins carrying abundant free gold and tellurides, are remarkably uniform (e.g., 87Sr 86Sr = 0.70745 ± 0.00044 [n = 10] , 207Pb 204Pb = 15.603 ± 0.004 [n = 15] ). These compositions fall between those of unaltered igneous and sedimentary host rocks, and specifically sedimentary rocks from the Jurassic Om Formation which underlies the deposit (igneous rocks: 87Sr 86Sr ≈ 0.7035 , 207Pb 204Pb ≈ 15.560 ; Om Formation: 87Sr 86Sr |t~ 0.7153 , 207Pb 204Pb ≈ 15.636 ). It is therefore suggested that the hydrothermal fluids acquired their Sr and Pb isotopic signatures by interaction with, or direct derivation from, a plutonic root of the PIC and host sedimentary rocks of the Om Formation. It is likely that Au was also derived from one or both of these two sources. Concentrations of Au in unaltered igneous and sedimentary rocks from Porgera (≤10 ppb Au) do not indicate that either lithology represents a significantly enriched protore, although Au and platinum-group element (PGE) abundances in the igneous rocks suggest a mild primary magmatic enrichment of Au relative to the PGE (average [ Au/( Pt + Pd)] mantle normalized = 14.0 ± 6.5 [ n = 8]). Evidence that the Porgera magmas were rich in volatiles permits speculation that Au may have been concentrated in a magmatic fluid phase, but alternative possibilities such as derivation of Au by hydrothermal leaching of solidified igneous materials or sedimentary rocks cannot be excluded at this time.

Early blight(Alternaria solani)of potato in the highlands of Papua New Guinea

Abstract Early blight (Alternaria solani) is the most important foliar disease of potatoes in the humid highlands of Papua New Guinea. Late blight (Phytophthora infestans) is not found. Two trials compared copper oxychloride, mancozeb and chlorothalonil, applied by knapsack sprayer at 7‐ and 14‐day intervals, with an unsprayed control. Copper oxychloride, the least expensive fungicide, gave the greatest yield in the relatively dry season (May‐September) at Taluma (altitude 2570 m) and was the only fungicide consistently to increase yield in the wet season (November‐February) at Rakamanda (1920 m). The extra benefit from spraying at 7‐ rather than 14‐day intervals was small. When sprayed every 14 days, starting at 31 days after planting, copper oxychloride (2–0 kg a.i./ha) increased the yield of cv. Sequoia from 21–8 to 26.2 t/ha (SEd 1.75; 28 d.f.) at Taluma, and from 26.4 to 300 t/ha (SEd 1.69; 28 d.f.) at Rakamanda. Copper oxychloride increased average tuber weight and specific gravity at Taluma but not at Rakamanda.

Impact of active immunisation against enteritis necroticans in Papua New Guinea

Enteritis necroticans, known locally as pigbel, has been a major cause of illness and death among children in the highlands of Papua New Guinea. After a successful trial of active immunisation against the beta toxin of the causative organism, Clostridium perfringens type C, immunisation of children was begun in 1980. The effects of the immunisation programme on pigbel admissions in 3 of the 5 major highland hospitals were assessed. In each of the centres studied the proportion of admissions due to enteritis necroticans dropped significantly after immunisation was introduced (p<0·001) and hospital admissions for pigbel in 1984-86, when immunisation was well established, were less than one fifth of previous figures.

Phases in the Representation of Intraobject Spatial Relations of the Face as Precursors to Literacy: A Testable Hypothesis Engendered by Neolithic Art

An hypothesis is discussed on the emergence of intrapattern spatial relational representation, one prerequisite for ultimate attainment of literacy skills. The hypothesis is testable, e.g., by evaluating potential phases in preschoolers' drawings of the face pattern or of analogous subtle spatial relations within a pattern. The hypothesis was engendered by an analysis of various face patterns engraved on an ancient stone with a “neolithic” face configuration from the Western Highlands of New Guinea. One heuristic value of the present study lies in its potential use for specific refinement of remedial assistance in the attainment of subtle intrapattern representation of spatial relations either in preschoolers or in developmental as well as in acquired dyslexia.

Geochronology of the Porgera gold deposit, Papua New Guinea: Resolving the effects of excess argon on K-Ar and [formula omitted] age estimates for magmatism and mineralization

Mesothermal/epithermal gold mineralization at Porgera in the highlands of Papua New Guinea (PNG), occurs in structurally controlled veins and disseminations, which overprint and cross-cut a suite of shallow-level, comagmatic, mafic alkaline stocks and dykes (the Porgera Intrusive Complex, PIC) and their sedimentary host rocks. Conventional K-Ar apparent ages of twelve hornblende separates from eight different intrusions scatter between 7 and 14 Ma, but four biotite separates are concordant at 6.02 ± 0.29 Ma (2 σ). 40Ar 39Ar step-heating experiments on six of the hornblende separates reveal saddleshaped age spectra, which indicate the presence of excess 40Ar. One of these samples yields a well-defined plateau with an apparent age of 5.96 +- 0.25 Ma (2 σ). This age is identical to that of the biotites and suggests an age of 6.0 ± 0.3 Ma (2 σ) for emplacement of the PIC; older apparent ages obtained from conventional K-Ar and 40Ar 39Ar analyses are explained by excess 40Ar contamination. Conventional K-Ar analyses of six separates of hydrothermal illite and roscoelite associated with gold mineralization yield apparent ages of between 5.1 and 6.1 Ma and indicate that ore deposition occurred within 1 Ma of magmatism at Porgera. Evidence for the evolution of a magmatic volatile phase, and the presence of excess 40Ar both in the intrusives and in hydrothermal fluids associated with the orebody, suggest that magmatic fluids may have had some involvement in metallogenesis, but the exact nature of this involvement is not yet clear. Late Miocene magmatism and mineralization at Porgera are thought to have occurred shortly prior to or during the initiation of continent/arc collision and to pre-date associated Pliocene uplift and foreland deformation in the highlands.

Clinical signs and risk factors associated with pneumonia in children admitted to Goroka Hospital, Papua New Guinea.

This study examined the clinical signs and symptoms in 897 children aged under 5 years presenting with pneumonia to Goroka Hospital in the highlands of Papua New Guinea between June 1982 and July 1985. The usefulness of the signs in predicting severity of disease was determined and risk factors for severe disease were identified. While cyanosis and poor feeding were the strongest predictors of death, bronchial breathing, grunting, and nasal flaring also significantly increased the risk of dying. First-born children, children under 1 year of age, females, malnourished children, and children with symptoms for more than 7 days were at increased risk of severe disease and of dying. Fever alone did not increase the risk of dying unless it was present for more than 7 days. These clinical signs of severity and risk factors may be used to improve the efficiency of health education programmes, for both health workers and mothers, aimed at reducing childhood mortality from pneumonia.

Asthma and chronic airflow limitation in the highlands of Papua New Guinea: low prevalence of asthma in the Asaro Valley

The prevalence of asthma in the South Fore region of Papua New Guinea was found to be 7.3%, which is thought exceptionally high for highland areas in this country. To investigate the prevalence of asthma and of chronic airflow limitation in a different highland region with similar living conditions, adults and children from 7 villages in the Asaro Valley were interviewed. Questions were asked about smoking history and about past and present symptoms of cough, of shortness of breath, of chest tightness and of asthma. Of 743 adults interviewed, 206 underwent a clinical study with measurements of lung function, bronchial responsiveness and skin prick tests. Dust was collected from the floors and blankets of 36 houses for counts of house dust mites. We did not find any children with symptoms of asthma. Only 2 adults (0.3%) had symptoms consistent with asthma, and a further 6.2% had symptoms and/or lung function consistent with chronic airflow limitation. Most bronchial hyperresponsiveness was associated with asthma or with chronic airflow limitation. The prevalence of atopy was similar in the Asaro and South Fore populations, but the South Fore had higher house dust mite counts in blanket dust. The low prevalence of asthma in the Asaro Valley is unexplained in terms of factors normally associated with asthma. Because asthma in this area does not appear in childhood and only develops in a small proportion of adults, it may be of different aetiology to asthma in Caucasian populations.

Observations on the 1972 Frosts and Subsequent Relief Programme among the Enga of the Western Highlands

The west-Pacific drought of 1972-1973 was accompanied in the highlands of Papua New Guinea by frosts of a severity not experienced since 1941. The food crops of between 130,000 and 150,000 people were severely damaged or destroyed. The Govern- ment instituted a major programme of famine relief, at the same time discouraging the traditional strategy of outmigration to stay with hosts, the importance of which the authorities were largely unaware. This paper, rewritten from a report prepared in 1973, reviews the event, then the famine relief programme and its effectiveness. Administration and mission perspectives are contrasted with those of the highland people, and an attempt is made to reconstruct what actually happened in 1972. The relief programme is criticized as an over-reaction on the part of the authorities, and in conclusion some later perspectives are introduced; in contrast to what happened in 1941, no one died and few were seriously hungry for long. None the less, the cost of Government intervention was high, and many mistakes were made.

Another Perspective on Acculturation and Health in Highland New Guinea

Evidence suggesting that disease contact in the highlands of New Guinea precedes 1st descriptions casts serious doubt on Dennett and Connells view of acculturation and health in highland New Guinea. Dennett and Connell erroneously equated direct contact with 1st contact. They subsequently reasoned that since the Europeans penetrated the highlands in the early 1930s the initial census counts demographic profiles and dietary data obtained at that time could serve as the basis for generalizations about precontact conditions. Hence their view hinges on the reliability of initial demographic and nutritional profiles as indicators of precontact demography and health. However demographic and epidemiological literature of highland New Guinea suggests that Dennett and Connells assumptions of 1st contact are not uniformly accepted and that exposure to foreign parasites and subsequent decline predates direct contact. Furthermore Kroeber a contemporary of Dennett and Connell who shared their assumption that direct contact equals 1st contact has also been challenged. In Kroebers estimation of precontact population size he systematically excluded disease as a factor in aboriginal postcontact decline. Recent evidence refutes this approach. Archaeological and ethnohistorical work in North America shows that infectious parasites fundamentally changed native demographic structures decades if not centuries before the onset of direct interaction. Historical descriptions and census counts obtained during these periods of instability cannot be accepted as referring to pristine societies. In conclusion although the Europeans direct contact with the natives of Papua New Guinea certainly brought about demographic change they were not necessarily responsible for the spread of infectious diseases to the highlanders or for the start of a sizable population decline.

Soil fertility and sweet potato production on volcanic ash soils in the highlands of Papua New Guinea

Experiments are reported which examined the potential for increasing sweet potato yield in the highlands of Papua New Guinea; in the first set of experiments this was by increasing the rates of traditional composting, and in the second by applying phosphate and potash fertilizers. Experiments were conducted on nine soils representing the major soil types of the area derived predominantly from volcanic ash. Composting treatments were 0, 20, 40, 60, 80 and 100 t fresh weight per ha of the grass Ischaemum polystachyum. Fertilizer treatments were 0, 250, 500 and 1000 kg P/ha as triple super phosphate, and 0, 90, 180 and 360 kg K/ha as sulphate of potash. Yields varied with soil type and responded significantly to all manuring methods. Response to composting was less on soils of higher inherent soil fertility, and fertilizer response increased as the soil levels of the supplied nutrient decreased. Responses to phosphate and potash fertilizer application were predominantly asymptotic; maximum yield increase on any soil was by a factor of 3 to ca. 20 t fresh tuber yield/ha. In organic manuring experiments, yield responses to compost application were predominantly linear; maximum response was by a factor of 4 to a yield of ca. 17 t/ha. Improving sweet potato productivity by increasing rates of composting may have limited potential if it leads to an unacceptable increase in the burden of work for women. Despite large yield increases from phosphate and potash application, only potash application was economic. The efficiency of nutrient use for P and K applied in organic manuring was greater than in inorganic manuring, but this advantage decreased as the influence of resorted or limestone parent material in soil formation increased. Composting may be particularly suitable for use on volcanic ash soils because it supplies nutrients directly to the plant, thereby overcoming P fixation and poor base nutrition on these soils. Phosphate nutrition was the dominant factor affecting fertility on these soils and regression analysis showed that this nutrition was significantly affected by indigenous mycorrhizal infection; increased infection was associated with increased yield and reduced response to phosphate fertilizer application.

Gardening activity, food supply and nutritional status in the southern highlands of Papua New Guinea

A survey was conducted in three areas of the Southern Highlands to examine seasonal patterns in gardening activity and body weights and their inter‐relationship. The pattern of gardening activity during the two years of the survey (1981–83) was typically one of constant activity, with minor and regular fluctuations in response to normal social and climatic occurrences. However, an abnormally dry period during the survey disrupted this pattern and, when compounded by other factors, appeared to have important effects on food supply in subsequent years. Whilst anthropometric results showed important differences between study areas in anthropometric status, neither significant patterns in body weight changes nor a relationship with gardening activity were detected. These results were not, however, regarded as conclusive due to the inadequacy of the methods used.

Culture change and epidemiological patterns among the Hagahai, Papua New Guinea

The role of introduced epidemic disease in highland New Guinea is considered in light of recent debate concerning pre-contact adaptations. Seroepidemiological studies of the Hagahai, a small isolated group of hunterhorticulturalists in the fringe highlands of Papua New Guinea, document the recent introduction of mumps, hepatitis B, specific types of influenza, and rotavirus. Results are related to ethnographic findings, detailing past levels of intergroup contact and recent changes in settlement patterns, travel, feasting, health care, and other cultural factors. Data suggest that intergroup disease transmission is greatly increased decades before officially recorded time of contact and that mortality levels documented soon thereafter are not indicative of the pre-contact adaptation.

High prevalence of the haplotype HLA-A11, B27 in arthritis patients from the highlands of Papua New Guinea.

The haplotype HLA-A11, B27 is present in significantly increased numbers in arthritis patients, over and above the numbers expected from its relative proportion in B27-positive healthy controls, from the highlands of Papua New Guinea.