13 plement fixation tests were carried out by Mr. H. Turner and Dr. R. J. Heubner for the following diseases: para-influenza 1, 2, and 3; respiratory syncitial; psittacosis group; and Q fever. The modified Bengtson method was used.’""”? Sodium and Potassium Levels. Determinations of sodium and potassium urinary excretion and dietary levels were carried out by Dr. L.K. Dahl of Brookhaven National Laboratory. This study was made to see whether there was any correlation between salt consumption by the Rongelapese and blood pressure levels. Both spot and 24-hr urine collections on about 200 people were tested for sodium and potassium levels by flame photometry. Several sample meals from the Rongelap people were also analyzed. Thyroid Metabolism. Since the largest dose to anypart of the body had been received by the thyroid glands in the Marshallese, studies of the metabolic state of the thyroid gland have been of interest. These studies have been madeby Dr.J.E. Rall at the National Institutes of Health. Samples from the previous years’ surveys had shown surprisingly high protein-bound iodine levels. In order to determine whetherthis was a true finding or due to contamination of glassware, 14 samples were again collected, with very carefully cleaned glassware used. In addition to protein-bound iodine, butanol-extractable iodine and thyroxin binding proteins were determined. Several! urine samples were analyzed for total iodine content. Serum Vitamin B,,. Determinations of serum vitamin B,, concentrations done during the pre- vious year’s survey gave values higher than normal in the majority of the Marshallese people. Therefore, 15 samples from the 1959 survey (7 from personstested the year before) were analyzed by Dr. D.W. Watkin of the National Cancer In- sutute, National Institutes of Health. Studies of Genetically Inherited Characteristics Studies of genetically inherited characteristics of blood components and urine were continued on samples brought back to laboratories in the United States. Such studies, although not directly related to radiation effects, are of interest in under- standing the anthropological background ofthe people and in establishing a baseline of genetic characteristics for detection of possible genetic ef- fects of radiation in future generations. These studies included the following: blood groups ABO, MN, Rh-Hr, and Duffy, Kell, and Diego by Dr. Leon N. Sussman, Beth Israel Hospital, New York, N.Y.; and haptoglobins by Dr. B.S. Blum- berg and Zora Gentile of the National Institutes of Health. Blood samples were obtained from 176 individuals representing 70% of the inhabitants of Rongelapfor the above studies. Aliquots of urine samples from 65 exposed and 119 unexposed people collected for routine analysis were used for determination of B-amino-tso-butyric acid. Eighteen urine samples from Utirik were also analyzed. Blood Groupings. To complement studies begun in 1958, blood grouping studies were carried out on 57 of the blood samples mentioned above. In addition, 64 blood samples were collected at Utirik, and 65 at Majuro for this purpose. Dr. Sussman tested these for ABO, MN, Rh-Hr, and Duffy, Kell, and Diegofactors. Haptoglobin and Transferrin. Further analyses for haptoglobin by the method of Smithies were carried out on these samples at the National Institutes of Health. Transferrins were determined by the discontinuous buffer starch gel method of Poulik'® on 66 Rongelapese sera, and on an additional 40 sera by the borate buffer, horizontal method.'* No transferrin types other than CC were seen. DOE ARCHIVES Hemoglobin Types. Further starch gel electrophoretic studies of hemoglobin types were also made on these samples by Dr. R.L. Engle, Jr., and Dr. G. Castillo of the Cornell University Medical Center, New York, N.Y. Glucose-6-phosphate Dehydrogenase Activity of Red Cells. \’arious studies have indicated that adeficiency of the enzymeofred cells is transmitted by a sex-linked gene. Individuals with this deficiency can develop a hemolytic anemia after the ingestion of certain drugs (e.g., primaquine or fava beans’*""*). In the present study the blood samples were col- lected in ACD solution, refrigerated (4°C), and sent by air to Seattle, Washington, where thetests were done by Dr. Arno G. Motulsky, Department of Medicine, University of Washington. All tests were performed within one week of collection. Tests were done on 151 individuals: 75 males, 75 females, and one not classified. B-Amino-iso-bufyric Acid (BAIB) Excretion. Differential excretion of B-amino-ise-butyric acid (BAIB)is under genetic control, and family data indicate that a single major gene pair is responsible for most of the variations.'*-?° High excretors are homozygousfor a single recessive gene, and (7 a ge . a