Relationship between glycocalyx and povidone-iodine resistance in Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC 27853) biofilms

Samples of duck eggs were collected from 65 farms distributed in 6 counties in Taiwan to analyze the contents of Pb, Cd, Hg, and Cu in albumen and yolk. Lead, Cd, and Cu determinations were performed by microwave digestion together with atomic absorption spectrophotometry, whereas Hg was analyzed by sulfuric acid-nitric acid digestion and cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Expressed on a wet weight basis, the average concentrations (ranges) of the four metals were as follows: Pb, 13.6 ng/g (.8 to 27.5) in albumen and 84.7 ng/g (44.8 to 224.7) in yolk; Cd, 1.8 ng/g (< .5 to 4.4) in albumen and 3.8 ng/g (< 1.0 to 5.7) in yolk; Hg, 17.8 ng/g (2.5 to 47.5) in albumen and 9.7 ng/g (1.2 to 20) in yolk; Cu, .83 micrograms/g (.56 to 1.08) in albumen and 1.36 micrograms/g (.95 to 1.95) in yolk. Comparison of the calculated daily intakes of Pb, Cd, and Hg from eggs with the World Health Organization-Food Agriculture Organization provisional tolerated daily intakes suggest that duck eggs are safe with respect to the contents of the three metals. Eggs are poor sources of Cu, supplying less than 2% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance.     

Potassium contents of northeastern Thai foods

From our previous nutritional assessment, low potassium (K) intake among northeastern Thai males has been clearly demonstrated. This prompted us to undertake a survey of the K content of local foods. Food samples comprised of 57 animal and 142 plant products which were collected from various places in the northeast of Thailand. The dry ashing method was used to prepare the samples for K analysis using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Foods could be divided into 7 groups according to their K levels. Foods containing K > or = 1000 mg per 100 g fresh food were categorized in group 1. These were mainly foods in the legume group, i.e., soybean, cowpea and mungbean. While rice (polished) and rice products, the main staple, were in group 7, the lowest K group of less than 100 mg per 100 g fresh food. Comparison studies of the natural foods between those collected from the northeast and from the central regions of the country, and between the cooked foods purchased from the rural villages and from the urban areas of Khon Kaen municipality, showed that, for most food items, the K content was similar wherever it came from. However, when the K content in various parts or in different stages of growth of the same kind of plants or animals was compared, a great variation was clearly seen, for example, young tamarind leaves contained K in group 6 whereas ripe tamarind fruit contained K in group 1. According to our food consumption data, the analysis of food components of 48 meals taken during the hot season by 13 rural volunteers revealed that food items eaten with the highest frequencies and in the largest amount were those in the low K food groups, i.e., glutinous rice (group 7) and green papaya (group 6). Our results suggest that the low K intake of these northeast rural Thai people is not due to a low K content of foods in this region, but rather that their food habits and low socioeconomic status restricts consumption of those food items with higher K contents.     

Species identification and molecular characterization of Acanthamoeba isolated from contact lens paraphernalia

Because of recent agricultural policy to suppress rice production, a rather rare situation occurred in one prefecture in Japan that rice and winter wheat were grown in fields neighboring each other, rice being grown from May to October, and wheat from November to June of the next year. Grains of such rice and wheat were analyzed for cadmium (Cd) and lead (Pb) by atomic absorption spectrometry, and eight nutrient minerals by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry. Concentrations of nutrient minerals were higher in wheat grains than in unpolished rice grains (without husk), and similar trends were observed also for Cd and Pb. Flour obtained by milling of the wheat grains had significantly less Cd and nutrient minerals than the mother grains, and such reduction was also observed by treatment of unpolished rice to polished grain. Pb concentration was also reduced by the polishing of rice. Pb in wheat flour appeared to be higher than that in whole grain. Comparisons between the final edible forms of the two cereals showed that K and Cu were higher in polished rice than in wheat flour and that such may also be the case for Cd, whereas the reverse was the case for Ca and Fe, and possibly for Pb.     

Maize and foxtail millet as substantial sources of dietary lead intake

In 1996, 24-h food duplicate samples were collected from two groups of 50 non-smoking women each; one group was in Jinan, the capital city of Shandong Province in China, and the other in a farming village in the Zhangqiu area some 30 km away from the city. The people in the village took significantly more dietary lead (46 micrograms/day) than their counterparts in the city (26 micrograms/day), and blood lead concentrations (35 and 50 micrograms/l for the urban and the rural people, respectively) were in parallel with the dietary lead intake. Search for cereals as the determinants of dietary lead intake and blood lead concentration by multiple regression analysis showed that maize was the most influential source of dietary lead intake among the four common cereals of wheat, rice, foxtail millet (to be called just millet) and maize, whereas millet was the leading determinant of the blood lead level among the four cereals although the influential power was weaker than millet for dietary lead. Lead content in maize (47 ng/g) and millet (47 ng/g) was twice or even more times higher than the levels in wheat (26-30 ng/g) and rice (20-21 ng/g). The significant roles of non-rice/non-wheat cereals such as millet and maize as possible dietary lead sources for farming populations are discussed.     

飞行时间-电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定钢、镍基合金及锆锡合金中痕量元素(英文)

在微波辅助系统中对屑状的样品进行湿法消解,采用飞行时间电感耦合等离子体质谱测定钢、镍基合金及锆锡合金中9种痕量和超痕量元素元素。所建立的工作曲线的线性跨度达多个数量级。对一些稀有元素如Ga,Ta,Ir,Pt和,U和较常见的元素如Sn,Sb,Pb和Bi一起进行测定,检测的含量范围从0.046μg/g(锆锡合金中的U)至45μg/g(低合金钢中的Sn),并测定了镍基合金中的微量元素Sn。对于所分析的样品中μg/g级和次-μg/g级的元素,获得了较好的精密度和准确度。     

Polychlorinated diphenyl ethers, dibenzo-P-dioxins and dibenzofurans in Finnish human tissues compared to environmental samples

Finnish human samples from the Helsinki area and Arctic cod samples from Vestertana Fjord (Norway) were analyzed for polychlorinated diphenyl ethers (PCDE) and 2,3,7,8-chloro substituted dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDD) and dibenzofurans (PCDF). The PCDE, PCDD and PCDF contents in human and animal samples from Finland and elsewhere were briefly reviewed. PCDEs were non-detectable in human liver and testis, but some PCDE congeners were identified in human adipose tissue and fat of boiled Arctic cod liver composite. The contents of PCDEs in Finnish human samples were similar to those reported in the literature for human tissues from North America. The estimated concentrations of PCDEs 99, 147 + 153 (coeluting) and 206 ranged between 2 and 8 ng/g lipid weight (lw) in one Finnish human adipose tissue. The concentrations of PCDE congeners identified in the cod liver fat were between 0.4 and 5 ng/g lw. Of toxic PCDDs and PCDFs, hepta- and octa-CDDs dominated in human. The concentrations of PCDD and PCDF congeners varied from < 2 to 7700 pg/g lw in human. In Arctic cod samples analyzed (muscle tissues of an air dried cod and cod liver fat), 2,3,7,8-tetra-CDF was nearly the only congener of PCDD/PCDFs detected.     

激光剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定高纯草酸中锌镍钡铅

高纯草酸是电子工业中重要的试剂,其纯度和洁净度对于产品的成品率、电性能和可靠性有很重要的影响。若用化学湿法对其中杂质进行测定,则前处理过程较为繁琐。由于缺少相应的标准物质,使得元素分馏效应和基质效应得不到很好的校正,故而激光剥蚀-电感耦合等离子体质谱法(LA-ICP-MS)在定量分析中受到限制。在系统研究激光剥蚀条件对LA-ICP-MS测定结果影响的基础上,通过在高纯草酸中添加不同量的待测元素标准溶液,烘干研磨后压片,自制了一系列高纯草酸校准样品片以绘制校准曲线,同时将实际样品也压制成片,实现了采用LA-ICP-MS对高纯草酸中Zn、Ni、Ba、Pb这4种杂质元素的测定。在优化的实验条件下,各元素的线性范围为50.0~600.0ng/g,相关系数均大于0.98,方法检出限为3.2~21.1ng/g。按照实验测定6个不同批次的高纯草酸样品中Zn、Ni、Ba、Pb,每个样品平行测定5次,同时采用微波消解-ICP-MS进行方法比对试验。结果表明,两种方法测定值基本一致,相对标准偏差(RSD)为3.0%~15%;连续3天重复测定同一样品,每天重复测定5次,测定结果的相对标准偏差为5.7%~16%。     

密闭酸溶-电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定道路扬尘中铜铅锌镉铬镍砷

准确测定道路扬尘样品中重金属元素Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd、Cr、Ni、As,对于城市道路环境污染的防治工作来说意义重大。采用HF-HNO₃体系密闭酸溶法消解样品,选择⁵²Cr、⁶⁰Ni、⁶³Cu、⁶⁶Zn、⁷⁵As、¹¹¹Cd、²⁰⁸Pb为测量同位素,采用He气模式的碰撞反应池技术测定Cr和As,采用仪器自带干扰校正公式对Cd的测定结果进行校正,建立了电感耦合等离子体质谱法(ICP-MS)测定道路扬尘样品中Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd、Cr、Ni、As的方法。重点对溶样条件进行了优化,结果表明,在0.1 g样品中加入7.0 mL由HF和HNO₃按照体积比为1︰6组成的混合酸,于160 ℃密闭溶解2 h可将样品溶解完全。在优化的实验条件下,校准曲线的相关系数均大于0.999,检出限为0.012~0.096 μg/g,定量限为0.040~0.32 μg/g。将实验方法应用于道路扬尘样品中Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd、Cr、Ni、As的测定,并进行加标回收试验,结果的相对标准偏差(RSD,n=12)均小于4%,加标回收率为95%~104%。采用实验方法对道路扬尘样品进行分析,测定结果与高压微波消解-ICP-MS法测定Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd、Cr、Ni,氢化物发生原子荧光光谱法(HG-AFS)测定As的结果基本吻合。     

Genetics of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus

IDDM is caused by autoimmune destruction of insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas in genetically susceptible individuals. Although the incidence and prevalence if IDDM in Japan are much lower than those in Caucasian countries, the recurrence risk in siblings of IDDM probands is much higher than the population prevalence, indicating that IDDM is clustered in families even in Japan, where the incidence of the disease is the lowest in the world. The higher concordance rate in monozygotic twins than in dizygotic twins indicates that genetic factors contribute to the familial clustering of IDDM in Japan. Analysis of the HLA region revealed that susceptibility genes (IDDM1) consist of multiple components, those in class II DR and DQ regions and another in the class I region. Analysis in NOD mice, an animal model of IDDM, supports this observation: susceptibility genes (Idd1) are mapped to class II A and E regions, but the incidence of the disease is strongly affected by a gene or genes outside of this segment (Idd16). Studies in both humans and an animal model will clarify the genetic components of IDDM, facilitating prediction of the disease and the development of effective strategies for its prevention.     

Comparative study on rare earth elements from Flos Sophorae and Fructus Sophorae

Flos Sophorae and Fructus Sophorae are two kinds of traditional Chinese medicines. In this work, the two kinds of traditional Chi-nese medicines collected from eleven areas of Dezhou, were analyzed by inductively couple plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) to compare the content and distribution of 14 kinds of rare earth elements (REEs). The method was verified by analyzing GBW07605 certified reference material. The results showed that ICP-MS is an accurate, sensitive and reliable technique for determining REEs in traditional Chinese medi-cine. There were big differences in contents for REEs in Flos Sophorae and Fructus Sophorae from different areas. The contents of total REEs in Flos Sophorae samples from different areas ranged from 1.0785 to 2.2659 g/g, while those in Fructus Sophorae from 0.6826 to 1.0527 g/g. The contents of total REEs in Flos Sophorae samples from different areas were obviously higher than those in Fructus Sophorae of the same area and there was big difference between various Flos Sophorae samples. Interestingly, the higher the content of total REEs in Flos Sophorae samples, the lower the content of total REEs in Fructus Sophorae samples of the same area. The plots of normalized element con-centration versus atomic number showed some characteristic distribution trends. The distribution trend of light REEs (La-Gd) was relatively flat except a positive Eu anomaly, however, that was steep and discrepant for heavy REEs (Tb-Lu). The results could provide a valuable ref-erence for understanding the relationship between the curative mechanism, pharmacology characteristics and their geological condition for the two traditional Chinese medicines investigated.     

Determination of cadmium and lead in urine by electrothermal vaporization isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Electrothermal vaporization isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ETV-ID-ICP-MS) was applied to the determination of Cd and Pb in urine samples. The isotope ratios for each element in each analytical run were calculated from the peak areas of each isotope. A relatively low vaporization temperature was used, which separated the analyte from the major matrix components and improved the ion signals of Cd and Pb significantly. Various chemical modifiers were tested to obtain the best signal of Cd and Pb. After preliminary studies, 1% HNO3 was added to the samples as the chemical modifier. The ETV-ID-ICP-MS method was applied to the determination of Cd and Pb in freeze-dried urine reference material NIST SRM 2670 and several fresh urine samples. The results for NIST SRM 2670 agreed satisfactorily with the certified values. The results for other samples obtained by isotope dilution and the method of standard additions agreed satisfactorily. The detection limits were 0.02 and 0.005 ng ml-1 for Cd and Pb, respectively. The precision between sample replicates was better than 11% for all determinations.     

Concentration of cadmium in rice and urinary indicators of renal dysfunction

OBJECTIVES: (1) To examine the relation between concentrations of cadmium (Cd) in rice and urinary concentrations of indicators of renal dysfunction and the prevalence of abnormalities in urine in areas polluted by Cd. (2) To establish the maximum allowable concentration of Cd in rice from these findings. METHODS: The target population consisted of 1703 inhabitants (832 men and 871 women) aged over 50 years who consumed home grown rice and had lived in the same hamlet in areas polluted by Cd in the Kakehashi River basin in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan for at least 30 years. The correlation coefficients between concentrations of Cd in rice and several urinary substances, the prevalence of abnormalities in urine and sex in hamlets polluted by Cd were calculated. Finally, regression analysis was performed for significant indicators to calculate the maximum allowable concentration of Cd in rice based on values in a control group. CONCLUSIONS: Significant correlations between concentration of Cd in rice and concentrations of urinary beta 2-microglobulin, metallothionein, glucose, and aminonitrogen were established. Similarly, there were significant correlations between concentration of Cd in rice and the prevalence of beta 2-microglobulinuria, metallothioneinuria, glucosuria, proteinuria, proteinuria with glucosuria, and aminonitrogenuria. The highest maximum allowable concentration of Cd in rice calculated for these indicators was 0.34 ppm/l and 0.29 ppm/g creatinine. Both values are lower than 0.4 ppm, the tentative limit prescribed by the Japanese government.     

电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法测定Sn-Ag-Cu系焊锡中铅和镉

样品用盐酸、过氧化氢溶解,在少量硫酸存在下,以盐酸和氢溴酸挥锡,电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法测定铅和镉的含量。优化了仪器的工作参数,对溶样酸和锡基体等影响因素进行了试验。本法测铅和镉的线性范围分别为0.50～5.00 μg/mL和0.050～0.50 μg/mL ,检出限分别为13.2 μg/L和0.9 μg/L,样品测定结果的相对标准偏差(n=6)均小于4 %,用标准加入法测得回收率分别为97 %～108 %和90 %～96 %。     

全谱交直流电弧发射光谱法测定地球化学调查样品中9种元素

传统电弧发射光谱法分析地球化学样品中Ag、B、Sn等元素时,采用光谱相板作为记录介质,而相板的灵敏度较低,谱线的线性范围较窄,采用人工操作译谱时,测量结果的精密度和正确度较差,因此在地球化学调查样品分析配套方案中,只采用电弧发射光谱法测定Ag、B、Sn这几个其他分析方法不易测定的元素。实验采用全谱交直流电弧发射光谱法,选择K₂S₂O₇-NaF-Al₂O₃-碳粉为缓冲剂,以Ge元素作为内标,确定曝光时间为45s,并进行仪器校正,选取合成硅酸盐光谱分析标准物质系列(GSES I-1~GSES I-9)绘制各元素的校准曲线,直接测定地球化学调查样品中Ag、B、Sn、Mo、Pb、Co、Ni、V、Bi等9种元素。方法检出限为:Ag 0.014μg/g、B 0.68μg/g、Sn 0.12μg/g、Mo 0.18μg/g、Pb 0.98μg/g、Co 0.32μg/g、Ni 1.79μg/g、V 1.51μg/g、Bi 0.05μg/g。方法用于测定6个地球化学标准物质中Ag、B、Sn、Mo、Pb、Co、Ni、V、Bi,结果的相对标准偏差(RSD,n=12)均小于10%;测定值与标准值之间的对数误差ΔlgC绝对值为0~0.057;按照实验方法和其他方法(电弧发射光谱法测定Ag、B、Sn,电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定Bi、Mo、Co,X射线荧光光谱法测定V、Ni、Pb)分别测定8个土壤样品中Ag、B、Sn、Mo、Pb、Co、Ni、V、Bi,结果相吻合。     

Occurrence of fumonisins in corn-based food products

Corn-based food products obtained from commercial outlets in three different parts of the U.S., Maryland, Nebraska, and Arizona were analyzed for total fumonisins by a commercial competitive direct enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (CD-ELISA) and for fumonisin B1 (FB1) by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). The highest fumonisin concentrations were found in samples collected in Maryland, where all 18 samples were found positive for fumonisins (200 to 7,450 ng/g of food) by CD-ELISA and 15 of the 18 samples (83%) were found positive for FB1 (< 75 to 5,916 ng/g) by HPLC. Fumonisins were also detected by CD-ELISA in 14 of 15 samples collected in Arizona with concentrations ranging from 200 to 1,450 ng/g, but analyses by HPLC showed that only 8 of 15 samples (53%) were positive for FB1 (< 75 to 1,565 ng/g of food). Of the 23 samples collected in Nebraska, 20 (87%) were positive for fumonisins (200 to 2,500 ng/g) by CD-ELISA, but only 10 (44%) were positive for FB1 (< 75 to 927 ng/g) by HPLC. The highest fumonisin and FB1 concentrations were found in cornmeal samples, ranging up to 7,450 ng/g of cornmeal by CD-ELISA and 5,916 ng/g by HPLC. These findings indicate that there may be a risk of human exposure to fumonisins through the consumption of some corn-based foods.     

Oral cadmium exposure of adults in Germany. 1: Cadmium content of foodstuffs and beverages

The cadmium contents of 94 and 105 foodstuffs bought in six-fold repetition in 1988 and in nine-fold repetition in 1991, respectively were analysed within the framework of a market-basket study. These foodstuffs were typical of German eating habits. Additionally, 170 samples of drinking water were investigated. The cadmium concentrations of the foodstuffs were comparable with results of recent studies carried out in Europe and North America. Fruit, milk and dairy products, sugar and sugar-rich foodstuffs as well as beverages showed mean cadmium contents < or = 5 ng/g fresh matter or ng/ml, respectively. The cadmium content of meat, sausage, fish and tinned fish was also low. Pork and beef, the most important kinds of meat, contained 5.4 and 2.5 ng/g on average. The majority of the vegetables investigated, including potatoes, had cadmium concentrations < 25 ng/g. However, individuals samples of lettuce showed very high cadmium levels. The cadmium content of bread, cakes and pastries as well as farinaceous products were within the range of 20-40 ng/g. The most important bread, cakes and pastries (wheat and rye bread, toasted bread, rolls) contained 25-35 ng/g. A median cadmium concentration of 0.2 micrograms/l was found in the drinking water. As expected, liver and kidneys showed the highest cadmium levels of 73 and 204 ng/g, respectively on average.     

The effect of traumatic brain injury on children with learning disability

In Argentina, there is rather little information about the natural occurrence of mycotoxins in feedstuffs. The aim of this work was to determine the fungal flora and natural incidence of aflatoxin B1 (AFB1), zearalenone (ZEA) and deoxynivalenol (DON) in poultry feeds from 5 factories of Río Cuarto, Córdoba. Three hundred samples were taken from May 1995 to May 1996. Fungal counts of poultry feeds ranged 10(4) to 10(6) CFU g-1. The lowest counts were obtained on the first months from the sampling (May to September 1995) with mean values significantly different from those found at the last of the sampling (October 1995 to April 1996). The most prevalent species isolated of poultry feed samples belonged to the genera Penicillium that was present in 98% of the samples, Fusarium (87%) and Aspergillus (52%). Fusarium species isolated were: F moniliforme in 73% of the samples, F subglutinans (35%), F graminearum (20%) and within Aspergillus species: A. parasiticus (33%) and A. flavus (8%) were identified. In poultry feeds aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) was the most significant mycotoxin with levels ranging from 17 to 197 ng/g. For deoxynivalenol (DON) the levels ranged from 240 to 410 ng/g. Only three out of 300 samples were contaminated with zearalenone (ZEA) in concentrations of 30, 120 and 280 ng/g. These are preliminary data on this subject in our region.     

Thyroid hormones in human tumoral and normal nervous tissues

We have studied T4 and T3 concentrations, DNA and protein concentrations and 5' and 5 deiodinases in samples of brain tumors obtained at surgery from 49 patients, and, in most cases, also from surrounding normal tissue. T4 concentrations in normal cortical tissue (6.19+/-0.45 ng/g) were lower than in white matter, but the difference disappeared when referred to the DNA content (2.26+/-0.27 ng/mg DNA). No other differences were found between cortical and white matter, or among cortical lobes. T4 in normal tissue was higher than previously reported, mostly from autopsy samples, whereas T3 (0.99+/-0.07 ng/g) was similar. 5'D-I activity was negligible as compared to 5'D-II (8.11+/-1.09 fmol/h/mg protein). When expressed in relation to the different DNA contents of normal vs. tumoral tissue, 5'D-II activities were the same for both. 5D activity was highly variable in the tumoral tissue, with negligible activities in meningiomas and pituitary adenomas. When referred to the DNA content, T4 and 5'D-II were the same, but T3 concentrations were lower in the tumor (0.24+/-0.03 ng/mg DNA) as compared to normal (0.35+/-0.04 ng/mg DNA) tissue samples. Whether or not this decrease of T3 affects the expression of T3-sensitive processes remains to be studied.     

固相萃取-电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法测定磷矿及磷肥中镉和铅

使用电感耦合等离子体原子发射光谱法(ICP-AES)直接测定磷矿及磷肥中Cd和Pb,受P和Ca等共存元素的干扰。当待测液中P和Ca的质量浓度分别大于Cd和Pb的10倍时,直接测定Cd、Pb结果的相对误差均大于5%,而磷矿及磷肥中P和Ca相对于Cd和Pb的含量远高于此倍数。研究表明,在pH≈2并含有0.01g/mL抗坏血酸和0.20mol/L KI试液中,强碱性阴离子交换纤维(SBAEF)能够定量萃取试液中的Cd(Ⅱ)和Pb(Ⅱ),而Ca~(2+)、PO_4~(3-)和其他共存的阳离子不被萃取;被SBAEF萃取的Cd(Ⅱ)和Pb(Ⅱ),能够通过0.07mol/L EDTA溶液定量洗脱后,使用ICP-AES测定,从而消除了P和Ca等共存组分对测定的干扰。Cd和Pb的质量浓度分别为1.00×10~(-3)~2.00μg/mL和2.00×10~(-2)~40.0μg/mL时与其发射强度呈线性,线性相关系数R2分别为0.999 294和0.999 984。方法中Cd和Pb的测定下限分别为6.00×10~(-2)和2.00×10-1μg/g。按照实验方法测定模拟样品中Cd和Pb,测定值和理论值相吻合。方法应用于实际磷矿和磷肥样品中Cd和Pb的测定,结果的相对标准偏差(RSD,n=5)不大于4.4%。分离方法也适用于火焰原子吸收光谱法(FAAS)测定磷矿和磷肥中Cd和Pb。     

Behavioral components of marital satisfaction: an individualized assessment approach

Previous surveys of the prevalences of genotypes of hepatitis C virus (HCV) in different populations have often used genotyping assays based upon analysis of amplified sequences from the 5' noncoding region (5'NCR), such as restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) or hybridization with type-specific probes (e.g., InnoLipa). Although highly conserved, this region contains several type-specific nucleotide polymorphisms that allow major genotypes 1 to 6 to be reliably identified. Recently, however, novel HCV variants found in Vietnam and Thailand that are distantly related to the type 6a genotype (type 6 group) by phylogenetic analysis of coding regions of the genome often have sequences in the 5'NCR that are similar or identical to those of type 1 and could therefore not be identified by an assay of sequences in this region. We developed a new genotyping assay based upon RFLP of sequences amplified from the more variable core region to investigate their distribution elsewhere in southeast (SE) Asia. Among 108 samples from blood donors in seven areas that were identified as type 1 by RFLP in the 5'NCR, type 6 group variants were found in Thailand (7 from 28 samples originally identified as type 1) and Burma (Myanmar) (1 of 3) but were not found in Hong Kong (n = 43), Macau (n = 8), Taiwan (n = 6), Singapore (n = 2), or Malaysia (n = 18). Although this small survey suggests a relatively limited distribution for type 6 group variants in SE Asia, larger studies will be required to explore their distribution in other geographical regions and the extent to which their presence would limit the practical usefulness of 5'NCR-based genotyping assays for clinical or epidemiological purposes.